Month: August 2023

As Ghost Month starts in China, officials ban burnt offerings

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Local governments across China have been clamping down on the country’s folk religion, issuing bans on the burning of spirit money and other offerings during the Hungry Ghost Festival, and calling the practice “uncivilized.” “We must consciously resist worship activities with feudal superstitions, break old habits such as burning spirit money, setting off firecrackers and leaving offerings,” the government of Yongren county in the southwestern province of Yunnan said in an Aug. 20 notice on its website. Ghost Month, which began on Wednesday, is a period in the Chinese lunar…

Vietnamese blogger remains detained after deadline for release passes

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Detained Vietnamese blogger and YouTuber Duong Van Thai is still in prison almost three weeks after his temporary detention was supposed to have expired, his family told Radio Free Asia. Thai, 41, was living in Thailand when he disappeared on April 13 in what many believe was an abduction.  Vietnam has neither confirmed nor denied that he was abducted and taken back to Vietnam, but shortly after his disappearance, authorities announced that they had apprehended him for trying to sneak into the country illegally. They did not confirm to his…

Facebook deletes thousands of accounts, citing Chinese troll army ‘covert operation’

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Facebook’s parent company Meta has deleted thousands of accounts with suspected links to the Chinese government, describing them as “the largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world.” The Chinese Communist Party had targeted more than 50 apps, including Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok and Reddit, the company said in an Aug. 29 blog post. “We were able to tie this activity together to confirm it was part of one operation known in the security community as Spamouflage and link it to individuals associated with Chinese law…

China is stoking anger over Japan’s release of nuclear waste water

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On August 24th the government of Japan began releasing water into the ocean. This is not just any water, mind you, but treated waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was destroyed 12 years ago by a tsunami. So Japan has dealt with the situation carefully, putting the liquid through an advanced filtration and dilution process. It still contains a potentially harmful radionuclide called tritium. But experts say the levels are so low that this is not a concern. Japan wants to release more than a million tonnes of…

Cambodian activist assaulted in Thai beach town

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An opposition party activist who is seeking asylum in Thailand said he was attacked on the streets of the beach resort town of Pattaya by four men – the latest assault against a Cambodian activist in the neighboring country. Vatt Mony told Radio Free Asia that the attack on Tuesday happened as he was sitting on a motorbike. A white car pulled up and the four men got out and began beating him, he said. “I was shouting for help and ran toward a crowd,” he said.  Vatt Mony, an…

US Warns of Possible Russia-North Korea Arms Deal

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The United States expressed concern Wednesday that Russia is nearing a deal to buy arms from North Korea to help bolster its war against Ukraine. White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. believes that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are actively advancing. He said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently traveled to North Korea to try to persuade Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia. In addition, Kirby said Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had exchanged letters…

US: North Korea in talks to supply Russia with weapons

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North Korea is considering supplying Russia with arms for use in Ukraine, and talks are “actively advancing,” a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council said on Wednesday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently visited North Korea “to try to convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia,” John Kirby said on a call with reporters. Since then, he said, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had “exchanged letters” pledging further cooperation. “Information further indicates that following Shoigu’s visit, another group of Russian officials…

The Guardian view on the UK and China: Britain is muddling along in dealing with Beijing | Editorial

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There’s an old joke about a lost traveller asking how to reach their destination. The local they stop helpfully tells them: “If I were you, I wouldn’t start from here.” The foreign secretary made it to Beijing on Wednesday, but finds himself in something of the same situation when it comes to China policy. In a report published the same day, the foreign affairs committee rightly diagnosed a lack of coherence in the UK government’s approach to date. James Cleverly began from an unenviable position. For too long, the west…

Country Garden posts $7bn loss as China’s property crisis deepens

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Receive free Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd news every morning. Country Garden, China’s largest private property developer by sales, has revealed a record Rmb48.9bn ($6.7bn) loss for the first half of the year as it battles to survive the liquidity crisis afflicting the country’s real estate sector. The six-month results released on Wednesday represent the highest ever losses for the group, until recently considered safer than many of its peers. They also…

Analysts: Hate Speech Normalized During Malaysia Elections

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Bangkok —  Hate speech is becoming the new norm in Malaysia, says a media organization that monitored online posts during state elections this month. Based in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) set up teams to monitor social media sites over four weeks. Focusing on key areas of race, religion, royalty, gender, sexual orientation, and migration, the CIJ teams spent hours poring over activity from politicians, political parties, media outlets, government agencies and key opinion leaders. Their preliminary findings: Hate speech has become “normalized.” One aspect…