Month: September 2023

China Evergrande Chairman Put Under Police Watch; Liquidation Risk Looms 

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Hong Kong —  The chairman of China Evergrande Group has been placed under police surveillance, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, raising more doubts about the embattled developer’s future as it grapples with the mounting threat of liquidation. FILE – Hui Ka Yan, chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd,, attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China on March 29, 2016. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, the report said Hui Ka Yan, who founded Evergrande in 1996 in the southern city of Guangzhou, was taken away by police…

North Korea To Expel US Soldier Over Illegal Border Crossing

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North Korea says it will expel American soldier Travis King, who illegally crossed into the country in July, dashing through the Koreas’ heavily militarized border. The North’s official news agency, KCNA, said the country has wrapped up its final investigation into King but did not specify how, when or where King would be expelled. KCNA said King had harbored ill feelings over inhumane treatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. army. North Korea had said in its interim findings that King wanted refuge in North Korea or elsewhere because of…

Indonesia Bans Goods Transactions on Social Media Platforms

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Jakarta —  Indonesia has banned goods transactions on social media platforms in a new regulation, its trade minister said Wednesday, as Jakarta aims to rein in direct sales by major tech firms it says are harming millions of small businesses. Government officials in recent weeks called for social media and e-commerce to be decoupled, targeting platforms they say engage in monopolistic practices that threaten offline sellers, with some specifically blaming Chinese-owned short video app TikTok. Indonesia’s Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan speaks during a press Conference at the Ministry of…

Setting Sights on a Biden-Xi Meeting, a Softer US Tone on China?

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WHITE HOUSE —  While remaining noncommittal about who will represent China at a coming economic gathering, Beijing is hinting that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s attendance — and thus a possible summit with U.S. President Joe Biden — depends on Washington’s creating the right environment. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in November should promote cooperation rather than provoke confrontation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday during a news briefing, in response to a question about Xi’s participation. His comments echoed those of other Chinese officials. “To…

China Accuses Taiwan of Using Economic, Trade Issues To Seek Independence

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The Chinese government on Wednesday accused Taiwan’s ruling party of seeking independence, a day after the self-governing island’s president lobbied for Australia’s support in joining a regional trade pact. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, also said the recent Chinese military drills around Taiwan were held to combat “the arrogance of Taiwan independence separatist forces.” China claims Taiwan, an island about 160 kilometers off its east coast, as its territory.The two split during the civil war that brought the Communists to power in China in 1949, with the…

China to set up ‘restricted zone’ near Myanmar border to stop human trafficking by cybercrime gangs

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Authorities in southwestern China’s Yunnan province have announced they will set up a restricted zone near the Myanmar border in an attempt to prevent human trafficking by telecoms fraud gangs that target Chinese nationals. From October 1 until the end of this year, the city of Tengchong will control the entry of people and vehicles into the zone, according to a notice issued by local authorities on Tuesday. The zone aims to track and manage the flow of people and vehicles to reduce the risk of cross-border human trafficking and…

What the U.S.-China Chip War Means for a Critical American Ally

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Samsung and SK Hynix, the semiconductor titans of South Korea, have spent over $52 billion to build up their operations in China. Business with China has long made up a sizable portion of their sales. But the ties between South Korea’s chip companies and China are under strain from geopolitics. South Korea, which relies heavily on its semiconductor sector for jobs and revenue, is wedged between China and the United States, South Korea’s longstanding ally, in their trade war over technology. To curb China’s access to advanced chips that could…

Solomon Islands joins China-backed AIIB days after PM snubs Biden invite for Pacific leaders’ summit at White House

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AIIB president and chairman of the board of directors Jin Liqun said the members now “collectively account for 81 per cent of the world’s population and 65 per cent of global gross domestic product”. “The addition of El Salvador, Solomon Islands and Tanzania strengthens the AIIB community and supports our collective mission to finance infrastructure for tomorrow,” Jin said. “Together, we will work on priority projects within our clearly defined thematic priorities to drive long-term sustainable growth.” The three prospective members will officially join AIIB once they complete required domestic…

Junta threatens prison terms for unregistered SIM card users

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Myanmar’s junta-controlled Ministry of Transport and Communications is threatening mobile phone service sellers and users with six months in prison if they don’t register, or fraudulently register, SIM cards, state controlled newspapers said Wednesday. A ministry statement carried by the media, citing Section 72 of the telecommunications law, told users they needed to submit their personal information to register the cards. One Yangon resident told Radio Free Asia he had mixed feelings about the announcement. “This kind of systematic registration is good under normal circumstances but security has become a…

A nation encircled as China practices beach landings

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Taiwan’s minister of national defense and military analysts are calling recent Chinese military drills “abnormal” and “out of control” amid reports that civilian ferries are being harnessed to carry out beach landing drills on the Chinese side of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is concerned that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is using increasingly provocative tactics to habituate Taiwan – and its immediate de facto allies, the United States and Japan – into a militarily fractious routine. On Friday last week, Taiwan Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters at…