Day: January 9, 2023

China retaliates against travel restrictions by suspending short-term visas for Japanese and South Koreans

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On Tuesday, Seoul announced that flights from Hong Kong and Macau would also only be permitted to land at Incheon, ruling out other destinations. China’s announcement came after newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang protested to his South Korean counterpart Park Jin about the travel restrictions in a phone call on Monday. Advertisement Qin expressed his concerns and urged Seoul to uphold an “objective and scientific attitude”, according to China’s foreign ministry – the first time that he, as foreign minister, has criticised any country over restrictions on Chinese…

Pro-democracy Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai requests Rishi Sunak meeting – report

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Lawyers for the Hong Kong activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai have reportedly requested a meeting with the British prime minister to discuss his case. Lai, a dual Hong Kong and British citizen, is awaiting trial on national security charges in one of the most high-profile cases brought by Hong Kong authorities against the pro-democracy movement. If convicted he could face life in prison. According to the BBC, Lai’s international legal team has written to the British leader, Rishi Sunak, requesting an urgent meeting about “potential ways to secure Mr…

Taiwan invasion by China would fail, but at huge US cost, analysts’ war game finds

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A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would probably fail if the United States helped defend the island – but would come at a debilitating cost to the American military itself, according to a US thinktank. Military experts brought together by the Center for Strategic and International Studies to war game the conflict said every likely direct participant in a war – the United States, China, Taiwan and Japan – would experience “enormous” losses. Chinese missiles would probably destroy US airbases in Japan and as far as Guam, and sink two US…

Myanmar court sentences 116 Rohingya refugees for violating immigration laws

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A court under the jurisdiction of Myanmar’s military junta has sentenced 116 Rohingya refugees to between two and five years in prison for traveling without documents after they left camps in Bangladesh and Rakhine state to try to get to Malaysia, sources in Myanmar told Radio Free Asia. The 57 men, 47 women and 12 children were arrested Dec. 20 from two motorboats near an island off Bogale township in the Ayeyarwady near Myanmar’s southern coast. According to a previous RFA report, at the time of their arrest they were…

Myanmar junta meets with ethnic rebels to garner support for 2023 elections

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Myanmar’s junta met with three armed ethnic organizations over the weekend as part of a wider campaign to enlist support for an upcoming general election dismissed by democracy watchdogs as a military ploy to maintain power. Leaders from the United Wa State Party, National Democratic Alliance Army, and Shan State Progressive Party – three rebel groups that have largely remained neutral in the country’s post-coup fray – met with officials from the military regime for three days of talks ending Saturday in the capital Naypyidaw. The three groups based in…

Australia news live: Chinese envoy warns against allowing differences to ‘hijack’ ties, severe storms for Queensland

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From 51m ago Chinese envoy warns against allowing differences to ‘hijack’ ties Daniel Hurst China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has warned against allowing differences between the two countries to “hijack” the overall relationship. Addressing the media at the Chinese embassy in Canberra, he said 2022 had been an “extraordinary” year for the relationship between China and Australia. The change of government had provided an opportunity for a reset, he said. Xiao said both sides considered the relationship to be a comprehensive strategic partnership. Differences and disputes remained, he said,…

China’s New Foreign Minister Heads to Africa

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Beijing —  China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang is starting his term with a weeklong trip to five African countries, the Foreign Ministry announced Monday. Qin, who until recently was ambassador to the United States, will visit Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt from January 9-16, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily media briefing. In Egypt, Qin will also meet the secretary-general of the Arab League. The new foreign minister is following in the footsteps of his predecessors, who have for more than three decades started each year with…

China Touts New Drug for Alleviating COVID-19 Now Undergoing Trials

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Beijing is touting a promising new drug, VV116, as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide after the abrupt end to its “zero-COVID” policy. Described as “superior goods of Chinese provenance” in government-affiliated media reports, a phase 3 comparative clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded the oral antiviral agent VV116 is as effective as Paxlovid at curbing mild to moderate illness among people at high risk of severe disease caused by COVID-19 with even lower incidence of adverse effects. Paxlovid is an antiviral drug produced by Pfizer that…

Ex-Marine held in Australia ‘singled out’ in ‘political’ US extradition bid, lawyer says

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A former military pilot has criticised an extradition bid by the United States as arbitrary and political, saying he was unfairly singled out. Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, a naturalised Australian, has been accused by the US government of providing military training to pilots working for China. Outside Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday, his lawyer slammed the extradition bid as an arbitrary prosecution brought about at a time when the US administration had entered into a geopolitical contest with China. “He’s clearly, in our view, been singled out in…

Hun Sen threatens to seize opposition’s properties

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen renewed his threat to seize properties belonging to opposition Candlelight Party members and others who accuse him and the ruling party of stealing last year’s local elections. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, made the threats on Monday while speaking at the opening ceremony for National Road No. 7 in Kampong Cham province, targeting Candlelight Party advisor Kong Koam.  The Candlelight Party secured around 19% of votes in last June’s nationwide local elections while Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party secured around 80%…