This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of killing. Junta troops killed a People’s Defense Force member and two civilians in Sagaing region’s Pale township this week, Pale People’s Administration Group told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. Residents of Nyaung Kone village fled ahead of a morning raid by around 80 soldiers on Tuesday. When some returned later in the day, troops arrested and killed three of them, according to the administration group’s Kyaw Soe Win. “[Some locals] were watching to see if the junta troops would leave the village.…
Month: September 2023
China appoints new finance head as government debt, revenue shortfalls threaten growth prospects
Lan Foan has been appointed party chief of China’s finance ministry as Beijing battles to tamp down local government debt and boost fiscal revenue to put economic growth back on a sustainable trajectory. Lan, 61, has taken over the position from Liu Kun, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Friday. He is also poised to succeed Liu as finance minister. Liu has held both positions since 2018 and will turn 67 later this year, well beyond the normal retirement age of 65 for civil servants of ministerial…
American Soldier Travis King Back in US After Fleeing to NKorea
Luanda, Angola — An American soldier who illegally crossed into North Korea in July arrived back in the United States early Thursday, according to a U.S. defense official. The official said Travis King landed in San Antonio, Texas. A senior Biden administration official told reporters Wednesday that King was transferred out of the DPRK and crossed the border to China with the help of the government of Sweden. The official said the U.S. received him in China and transferred him home. DPRK is an acronym for North Korea’s official name,…
China Evergrande Suspends Trading as New Trouble Roils Property Market
Just a few weeks ago, China Evergrande, the world’s most debt-saddled property developer, was writing its final chapter and working to resolve financial disputes with its creditors. Then a stream of bad news came and the pages were torn up. Staff at the company’s wealth management arm have been detained by the authorities. Two former top executives are reportedly being held and its billionaire chairman is under police surveillance. Investors have fled, selling off their shares and sending the company’s already depressed stock down more than 40 percent over the…
Vietnam Court Jails Climate Activist for Tax Evasion: Lawyer
HANOI, Vietnam — A Vietnamese court on Thursday jailed a leading climate activist for tax evasion, the latest environmentalist put behind bars by the communist government. The court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Hoang Thi Minh Hong to three years in prison for dodging $275,000 in taxes related to her environmental campaign group CHANGE, her lawyer Nguyen Van Tu told AFP. The 50-year-old is at least the fifth green campaigner to be jailed on tax evasion charges in the last two years as Vietnam’s authoritarian government steps up a…
Chinese scientists set record in water desalination with solar power
Chinese scientists have set a record in desalinating water through solar steam evaporation – a method they say is “green and efficient” and capable of filtering more water per day than similar methods. Through their method, the team was able to purify around 22 litres of water per square metre (0.54 per square foot) a day – about enough for 10 adults and “significantly higher” than other solar steam desalination methods, the scientists wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on September 13. The scientists used a…
China’s EV makers look west as Huawei puts in overtime
Hello everyone, this is Akito from Singapore. China’s cost-competitive electric vehicles are making inroads all over the global market. Here in Singapore, for example, it’s not uncommon to use a ride-hailing app and be picked up by a driver in a BYD EV. Given the circumstances, it is perhaps not surprising that Europe has voiced concerns about an influx of cheap Chinese-made EVs, as we explored last week. But similar problems have occurred throughout the automobile industry’s history, most notably between the US and Japan in the 1970s and ‘80s.…
Taiwan unveils first locally built submarine in pushback against China
Receive free Taiwan updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Taiwan news every morning. Taiwan has unveiled its first domestically built submarine, demonstrating its determination to push back against growing military pressure from China. Completion of the vessel, which has taken almost seven years at a cost of NT$49.4bn ($1.5bn), is a milestone for Taiwan, which has struggled for decades to buy submarines and acquire the technology to build them. Beijing has pressured other countries not to make such sales. “We did it,” said…
Taiwan launches first locally built submarine in pushback against China
Receive free Taiwan updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Taiwan news every morning. Taiwan has unveiled its first domestically built submarine, demonstrating its determination to push back against growing military pressure from China. Completion of the vessel, which has taken almost seven years at a cost of NT$49.4bn ($1.5bn), is a milestone for Taiwan, which has struggled for decades to buy submarines and acquire the technology to build them. Beijing has pressured other countries not to make such sales. “We did it,” said…
South China Sea: Beijing says it removed sea barrier voluntarily despite Manila’s claim ‘special operation’ cut cordon
Beijing has insisted it voluntarily removed a floating barrier in the South China Sea to resume “regular control” on Wednesday night, in a tit-for-tat with the Philippines over the disputed Scarborough Shoal. “The official vessel of the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) illegally entered the waters near China’s Huangyan Island without the approval of the Chinese Government,” said Gan Yu, a spokesman for China Coast Guard said late on Wednesday, using the Chinese name for the Scarborough Shoal. “[China] temporarily deployed blocking nets in response to the…