Year: 2023

Chinese families of Malaysian flight MH370 victims urge new search after experts say plane could be found ‘within days’

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“There are now new technologies that can pinpoint new positions. I think they are all worth a try,” he said. But Song Chunjie, a relative of another victim, said it was useless for individual experts to call for a search. “Launching a new search should be led by the Malaysian government, because it would cost a lot of money and they need to hire a professional rescue and search team,” he said. Song said he believed in the professionalism of Ocean Infinity, a US-based marine robotics company that embarked on…

North Korea’s Kim Boasts of Achievements as He Opens Key Year-End Political Meeting

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised what he called achievements and victories that strengthened national power and boosted the country’s prestige this year, as he opened a key political meeting to set new policy goals for 2024, state media reported Wednesday. Experts said that during this week’s year-end plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, North Korea would likely hype its progress in arms development because the country lacks economic achievements amid persistent international sanctions and pandemic-related economic hardships. In his opening-day speech at the meeting that began Tuesday,…

China is stoking a controversy in order to influence Taiwan’s election

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ALICE OU DOES not mince words when criticising education officials in Taiwan. She has accused them of turning young people into “moral dwarves and historical idiots”. She says the government’s actions amount to “self-castration”. Ms Ou, a Chinese-literature teacher at the prestigious Taipei First Girls’ High School, is angry that the state has reduced the number of recommended classical Chinese texts in the high-school curriculum. She believes this is an effort to “de-sinicise” students. Ms Ou’s opinion, first aired at a press conference in early December, went viral. It quickly…

Taiwan election hopeful William Lai says KMT’s embrace of ‘one China’ is dividing island

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He said the KMT used to be anti-communist but senior figures in the party such as chairman Eric Chu Li-luan and former president Ma Ying-jeou – known for his efforts to engage Beijing – were now trying to placate mainland China. “First, instead of countering the communists, they now befriend the communists. Second, while claiming they will safeguard the Republic of China [ROC] they at the same time oppose arms purchases and even boycott indigenisation of our national defence,” Lai said, using the official name for Taiwan. The KMT –…

Hits and misses: rangebound copper brassed us off, flat oil flattered us

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. No one likes a show off. For that reason, Lex prefers to discuss its investment misses more than its wins at this time of year. One clanger which made us blush was our bullishness on the red metal itself, copper. At least Lex did not “print the top” of the price this year. That came just two weeks afterwards, in late January. The copper price then slumped during the year,…

China ups Asean trade, investment push with new high-speed railway link connecting to Vietnam border

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The first high-speed railway connecting a Chinese city on the China-Vietnam border with the nation’s national network began operations on Wednesday, underlining Beijing’s efforts to deepen trade and investment cooperation with its Southeast Asian neighbours. The 47km (29.2-mile) Fangdong Railway links the cities of Fangchenggang – which has the biggest seaport in western China and is a major gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – and Dongxing in the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region via the coastline of the Beibu Gulf, which is also known as the…

Indonesian Workers Protest After Deadly Blast at Nickel Plant

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Jakarta, Indonesia —  Hundreds of Indonesian workers protested Wednesday against conditions at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant where an explosion killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more over the weekend. The accident occurred on Saturday morning as workers repaired a furnace at a plant owned by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) in the Morowali Industrial Park on Sulawesi island. Sulawesi is a hub for the mineral-rich country’s production of nickel, a base metal used in electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel. China’s growing investment in the sector has…

Whisky and the Coal Mining ‘Shack’: Taiwan Election is Not Only About China

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TAIPEI, Taiwan —  As Taiwan’s election approaches next month, it is not only fraught ties with China competing for electors’ attention. The candidates are exchanging blows over everything from property disputes to whether drinking whisky is out of touch, in a raucous and freewheeling display of the island’s democracy. Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary election will define how the Chinese-claimed island deals with Beijing and the subject is indeed a major bone of contention. But it is far from the sole issue debated at rallies, press conferences and on…

China Threatens More Trade Sanctions on Taiwan as Election Nears

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BEIJING —  The Chinese government Wednesday threatened to place further trade sanctions on Taiwan if the ruling party “stubbornly” adheres to supporting independence, in a further escalation of the war of words as Taiwanese elections approach next month. Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place as China, which views the island as its own territory, has sought to force Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty claims. Taiwan this month accused China of economic coercion and election interference after Beijing announced the end of tariff cuts on some chemical…

China Sanctions US Firm Kharon, Provider of Research on Xinjiang

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Beijing —  China’s foreign ministry said it had sanctioned Kharon, a U.S. firm founded by former Treasury Department officials that provides data to companies on alleged forced labor in the Xinjiang region to help them comply with U.S. laws. The foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would take “countermeasures” against Kharon and its director of investigations for providing “so-called evidence for America’s illegal sanctions related to Xinjiang.” In response, Los-Angeles based Kharon said it had no presence in China, so the action was “largely symbolic” and would not impact its…