Month: July 2023

Hong Kong’s Legal War on a Protest Anthem

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Advertisement Last week, Hong Kong’s high court dismissed a government request for an injunction order against the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong.” The government accused the piece of desiring and promoting Hong Kong’s independence, and previously attempted to bar the dissemination and circulation of the song on the internet. The protest song was composed by local citizens during the 2019 anti-extradition protests. It was widely used and chanted in protest scenes, at street demonstrations, shopping malls, and public schools. After Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020, the…

Police arrest activists for Khmer Krom minority in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region

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Three members of Vietnam’s Khmer Krom ethnic group who are suspected of distributing books about indigenous peoples’ rights were arrested on Monday in the Mekong Delta region, authorities told local media. One of the three men was To Hoang Chuong of Tra Vinh province. Radio Free Asia’s Vietnamese Service reported last month that he was beaten by local policemen in June while visiting a friend in neighboring Soc Trang province. On June 25, the U.S.-based Union of Khmers Kampuchea Krom issued a statement condemning the Soc Trang Provincial Police for…

China’s July Factory Output Shrinks, Adds Pressure to End Economic Slump

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BEIJING —  Chinese factory activity contracted in July as export orders shrank, a survey showed Monday, adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slowdown. A purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group improved to 49.3 from June’s 49 on a 100-point scale but was below the 50-point level that shows activity contracting. “China’s manufacturing PMI remained in contraction, albeit a softer pace, as the drag from the external sector deepened,” Erin Xin of HSBC said in a report. That…

Xi Appoints New Chief of China’s Nuclear Arsenal

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Beijing —  Chinese President Xi Jinping, also the military’s commander-in-chief, appointed a new head of the armed force overseeing the nation’s conventional and nuclear missiles, Monday, one day before the anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army. Wang Houbin, former deputy commander of the navy, was named the new head of the PLA Rocket Force, and Xu Xisheng, its new political commissar, with both men acquiring the top rank of general, according to state media. Until his move to the PLA Rocket Force, Wang had been deputy commander of the navy…

Officials order mass evacuations amid heavy rainfall, red flood warnings in Beijing

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Authorities in Beijing have evacuated tens of thousands of local residents following heavy flooding in suburban areas to the west of the capital, amid warnings of further flooding and rainfall to come as Typhoon Doksuri dumped huge amounts of rainfall on mountainous areas nearby. At least two people died as flash floods swept through Mentougou district on the outskirts of Beijing, with social media footage showing cars and other vehicles being swept away by turbulent floodwaters amid screams and shouts from onlookers in nearby buildings. News photos showed people picking…

China’s Xi replaces commander of the country’s nuclear arsenal

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Ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on Monday replaced the commander of the country’s rocket corps — which controls the country’s nuclear missiles — amid media reports of an investigation into his predecessor and his deputies. At a ceremony held by the ruling party’s Central Military Commission in Beijing on Monday, Xi named Wang Houbin as the new commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, promoting him and political commissar Xu Xisheng to the rank of general, state news agency Xinhua reported. “The two officers promoted to the…

China Curbs Drone Exports, Citing Ukraine, Concern About Military Use

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BEIJING —  China imposed restrictions Monday on exports of long-range civilian drones, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and concern that drones might be converted to military use. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow but says it is neutral in the 18-month-old war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks. Export controls will take effect Tuesday to prevent use of drones for “non-peaceful purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. It said exports still…

China ousts top generals from nuclear Rocket Force

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Receive free Chinese military updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese military news every morning. China’s leader Xi Jinping has replaced the generals commanding the country’s missile forces, in the first official confirmation of the largest purge at the top levels of the country’s military in a decade. General Li Yuchao, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, and his deputy General Liu Guangbin disappeared from public view several months ago amid what foreign experts on the PLA and intelligence officials say…

Hundreds in need of aid at Indian border after junta airstrike in Myanmar

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Some 2,000 villagers displaced by two consecutive days of junta airstrikes on a township in Myanmar’s Sagaing region are in dire need of basic necessities after being refused refuge by authorities across the border in India, according to the villagers and aid workers. The situation in Khampat, a 2,000-home township located around 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of the border with India’s Manipur state, highlights the plight of internally displaced persons in Sagaing.  Fighting between the military and anti-junta forces in the region has forced nearly 800,000 people to flee…

Uyghur woman confirmed detained for complaining about son’s sentence in Xinjiang

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A Uyghur woman arrested in July by authorities in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region for complaining about her son’s lengthy jail sentence is in detention, one of her relatives and a local police official said. State security police in the city’s Tengritagh district apprehended Rahile Jalalidin on July 22, according to information from the Norway-based Uyghur Hjelp, also known as the Uyghuryar Foundation, which maintains a list of Uyghurs arrested and detained by authorities in Xinjiang.  Jalalidin, who lived at the Expatriate Hotel Complex in Urumqi, was upset over the sentencing…