Year: 2023

Chinese Ex-Navy Chief, With South China Sea Background, Named Defense Minister

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Taipei, Taiwan —  China appointed Dong Jun, a former commander of the Chinese Navy, as its new defense minister, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. Dong’s appointment was announced by the Standing Committee of China’s rubber-stamp parliament and comes two months after the removal of former Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu from his role without explanation. Because Dong is not a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, some analysts think his appointment suggests he may not play a significant role in the Chinese military. “Dong is…

China’s Fireworks Bans Spark Fiery Debate Ahead of Lunar New Year

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BEIJING —  Chinese lawmakers Friday weighed in on a fiery online debate on whether fireworks should be used to ring in the Lunar New Year in February, saying a total ban on pyrotechnics in the country credited with inventing them would be hard to implement. In an unusually frank response, lawmakers said air pollution prevention laws and fire safety regulations have led to “differences in understanding” of the ban on fireworks, which was never absolute. In 2017, official data showed 444 cities had banned fireworks. Since then, some cities have…

Academic paper based on Uyghur genetic data retracted over ethical concerns

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Concerns have been raised that academic publishers may not be doing enough to vet the ethical standards of research they publish, after a paper based on genetic data from China’s Uyghur population was retracted and questions were raised about several others including one that is currently published by Oxford University Press. In June, Elsevier, a Dutch academic publisher, retracted an article entitled “Analysis of Uyghur and Kazakh populations using the Precision ID Ancestry Panel” that had been published in 2019. The study by Chinese and Danish researchers used blood and…

Former navy commander appointed as China’s new defense minister

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Chinese lawmakers on Friday approved the appointment of Adm. Dong Jun, the former commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to the position of defense minister, state Xinhua news agency said. The decision was passed at the closing meeting of the 7th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature. The defense minister’s post had been vacant since October, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping signed a presidential decree removing Li Shangfu as Minister of National Defense. Li was also ousted from the State…

China appoints new defence minister after predecessor’s disappearance

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese politics & policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China has appointed a former navy chief as its new defence minister, four months after his predecessor disappeared from public view. Dong Jun, 62, replaces Li Shangfu, who was officially removed as defence minister and member of China’s cabinet in October. The Financial Times previously reported that US officials believe Li, who was last seen in public in August, was under investigation for corruption. The appointment of a…

China Appoints Adm. Dong Jun as Defense Minister

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China on Friday appointed a naval commander with experience in the South China Sea as its minister of defense, filling a monthslong vacancy created by the unexplained disappearance of the previous minister, who appeared to have fallen in an investigation into possible corruption or other misdeeds. The appointment of the commander, Adm. Dong Jun, as defense minister was finalized by China’s Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, after formal approval by lawmakers, the Xinhua news agency reported. Speculation spread earlier in the week that Admiral Dong would be named to that…

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com wins antitrust lawsuit against Alibaba, which was ordered by a Beijing court to pay US$141 million in damages

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The Beijing High People’s Court on Friday ruled that Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, “abused its market dominance” and conducted the monopolistic tactic known as “ picking one from two”, which caused damage to JD.com’s business, according to a statement released on the same day by the Beijing-based online retailer. JD.com hailed the court’s ruling, as it asserted that monopolistic practices, such as “picking one from two”, have hampered market competition and hurt the rights of brands, merchants and consumers. That tactic, in which online merchants are…

Can China’s international courts meet the challenge of the country’s global ambitions?

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Observers say that creating such courts indicates Beijing’s commitment to integrate into the global economy amid intensifying rivalries with Washington and its allies, and a challenging international environment. But they have warned more improvements are needed, as constitutional limitations like no foreign judges, an overall lack of expertise in foreign-related law and the potential interference of the ruling Communist Party cast doubts on the courts’ impartiality and independence. 02:48 Chinese President Xi Jinping unveils 8-point vision for nation’s Belt and Road Initiative at forum Chinese President Xi Jinping unveils 8-point…

China names former navy chief Dong Jun as new defence minister

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China has announced the appointment of a new defence minister, two months after the previous office holder Li Shangfu was stripped from his position without explanation. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress – China’s de facto legislature – announced on Friday that Dong Jun, 62, would be the new defence minister. Dong was most recently the chief of China’s navy. The announcement comes days after three senior executives from the aerospace defence industry were removed from a top advisory body to the Chinese Communist party (CCP) as part…