Month: August 2023

India’s communications ‘backdoor’ attracts surveillance companies

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Receive free Technology sector updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Technology sector news every morning. Every day, reams of personal data flow through the subsea cable landing stations that have proliferated around India’s coast, connecting the communications of the world’s most populous country to the rest of the globe. In each of these, innocuous-looking hardware is installed to search, copy and pump that data to Indian security agencies on demand, with the help of AI and data analytics. These so-called lawful interception monitoring…

Fukushima waste water release: how mainland China and Hong Kong got it wrong

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On August 24, Japan started releasing contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean and will continue to do so for the next 30 years. While governments in Beijing and Hong Kong have slammed the Japanese plan as an irresponsible decision with grave environmental and health risks, public discussions have crystallised on fears of imminent radioactive contamination of seafood imports from Japan. These responses are misguided as the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima does not represent a danger for people in mainland China and Hong…

British policy on China lacks clarity and coherence, say MPs

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What is included in my trial? During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your…

UK should take China to task on human rights and Taiwan, MPs say

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Britain must take a tougher stance on China over its severe human rights abuses and help Taiwan build its defences to deter a potential attack from Beijing, an influential group of MPs says. With the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, scheduled to land in China on Wednesday for a first official visit in five years, a report from the foreign affairs select committee says ministers have to call out the country’s transnational repression. China’s behaviour is a threat to world security that cannot be ignored, it says. The Chinese Communist party…

Fatal North Carolina shooting by Chinese doctoral student stirs anxiety among Asian-Americans

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The fatal shooting of a professor on Monday by a graduate student, both of Asian descent, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was greeted with anxiety and trepidation on Tuesday by members of the minority community over concerns it would only fan more stereotypes and racial hatred. On Tuesday, Chinese doctoral candidate Tailei Qi, 34, was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm on educational property in the killing of Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the applied physical sciences department. UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz…

Rail link with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan key to China raising Central Asia influence and skirting Russia sanctions

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In recent years, apart from China’s repeated attempts to review the project, Kyrgyzstan has also shown great interest in reviving the project. In 2020, then Kyrgyz president Sooronbay Jeenbekov stressed the importance of railways for the country, with the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway the most strategically important. Additionally, Kyrgyzstan sought to promote Russia as a partner for the track through a 3+1 format. Even so, little progress has been achieved since then. 01:26 New China-Europe Railway Express line faces challenges amid Russia-Ukraine war New China-Europe Railway Express line faces challenges amid Russia-Ukraine…

Who Wants to Talk? Communication Difficulties Constrain Japan-China Relations

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Advertisement In what has become a common occurrence in both the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan, Russian Il-38 information-gathering aircraft were found flying too close to Japan for Tokyo’s comfort, who scrambled fighter jets last week to intercept them. This came just hours after both Russian and Chinese vessels were crossing waters close to the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako. Incidents like these are common, particularly after notable events. For example, in May, when Japan hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the summit of G-7 in…

China’s too-big-to-fail property giants just the tip of real estate crisis, as ‘suppliers are being dragged to death’

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It wasn’t too long ago that times were great. Ye, now in his early forties, started the piling company in southern China in 2010 and was able to capitalise on China’s post-financial-crisis construction boom – when it turned to massive infrastructure investment to lift the economy. Piling is a technique that sets deep foundations for any form of construction work, including buildings. Back then, all of the players – including local governments, developers, suppliers and buyers – engaged in frenetic land purchases, construction and property trading. And for Ye, the…

Chinese Demand for Steel Not as Dire as Data Suggests, Brazil Miner Says

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RIO DE JANEIRO —  Brazilian mining company Vale SA sees declining steel demand in China, the world’s largest producer, but the situation is not as dire as some indicators suggest, the company’s vice president of iron ore solutions told Reuters. Vale is “cautiously optimistic” about the largest global consumer of iron ore, as China’s economy has proved resilient, despite uncertainties surrounding possible stimulus measures to achieve growth targets, the Vale executive, Marcello Spinelli, said. “We can see that there is demand [for steel]. It’s declining, but not to the extent…