A Thai-backed hydropower dam is under construction on the Mekong River near Luang Prabang, the old royal capital of Laos. It aims to export electricity to neighboring Thailand. But it is also raising alarm over the future of this scenic UNESCO heritage site. Tom Fawthrop reports from Luang Prabang, Laos. Camera: Houmphanh Voice of America
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Half of BN(O) migrants jobless, but 99% do not plan to return to Hong Kong: poll Hongkongers who have moved to Britain have struggled to find work, with half unemployed and those with jobs complaining of being overqualified and underpaid, despite being more highly educated…
South Korea, Japan, and China are set to convene their first foreign ministers’ meeting in four years in the South Korean port city of Busan on Sunday, where the major geopolitical players in Asia will address a comprehensive array of topics, including both economic and security issues. The meeting on Nov. 26, will be hosted by South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin and see participation of his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Wang Yi, the South’s foreign ministry said on Friday. The ministers are set to “extensively exchange…
The Taiwan People’s Party’s Ko Wen-je has arrived at the registration booth to complete the formalities of his run for president, marking an end of the two main opposition parties’ attempt to form a joint ticket for January’s presidential election, and giving the ruling Democratic Progressive Party an easier path to victory. Ko has chosen TPP legislator Wu Hsin-Ying as his running mate, on a ticket that does not include Kuomintang, the largest opposition party. He arrived at the registration booth minutes after 11am on Friday, hours before the official…
BANGKOK — Myanmar ‘s military-controlled government said Thursday that almost half of more than 250 cargo trucks stranded by fighting against ethnic minority armed groups near the northeastern border with China have been destroyed in a fire caused by bombs dropped by drones. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the ruling military council, said in a statement phoned to state television MRTV that trucks parked in a compound near a trade zone in Muse township caught fire after drones belonging to ethnic armed organizations launched an attack at about…
washington — A Chinese dissident who fled across the Yellow Sea on a Jet Ski-style watercraft is free in South Korea after three months in detention, at least for now. A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced Kwon Pyong, 35, to one year in prison for entering the country illegally but suspended the sentence for two years, effectively ending his detention. Kwon’s request for asylum in South Korea is still pending, meaning he still faces the threat of being deported to China if his request is rejected. He has also…
The World Health Organization said that China had shared data about a recent surge in respiratory illnesses in children, one day after the agency said it was seeking information about the possibility of undiagnosed pneumonia cases there. The Chinese data indicated “no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens,” according to a W.H.O. statement on Thursday. The data, which included laboratory results from infected children, indicated that the rise in cases was a result of known viruses and bacteria, such as influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterium that causes usually…
Taiwan says an Australian warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the sensitive and narrow waterway that separates the democratically governed island from China. The ship, which it did not name, entered the strait on Thursday and sailed in a southerly direction, the ministry said on Friday. Taiwan’s military kept watch throughout, the ministry said, without giving details. The Guardian has contacted the Australian government for comment. Euan Graham, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Australian navy had previously transited through the Taiwan Strait but…
Construction of one of Russia’s key natural gas projects to ensure a financial lifeline overseas is likely to be slower than expected as China seeks to leverage its “bargaining stance”, according to a Russian source and Chinese analysts. The discussions with Beijing over the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline, a long touted signal of bilateral cooperation, has progressed slowly. The pipeline, if completed, would divert 50 billion cubic metres (1.8 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas per year that previously supplied Europe to north China,…
War with China is “not an option,” Taiwanese election hopeful and former U.S. envoy Hsiao Bi-khim said on Thursday, as she set out further details of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s campaign platform for presidential elections in January. Hsiao, who is running mate to incumbent vice president Lai Ching-te and has twice been sanctioned by Beijing, brushed aside concerns that the pair would be stymied in any peace negotiations by the Chinese Communist Party’s mistrust of them as “independence” agitators. “War is not an option,” said Hsiao, who joins the…