Day: February 5, 2024

‘Nowhere to hide’: Chinese scientists develop game-changing military surveillance device for electronic warfare

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Details of the game-changing technology were published by project lead scientist Yang Kai, a professor from the school of information and electronics at the Beijing Institute of Technology, and his team in a peer-reviewed paper in the Chinese academic journal Radio Communications Technology on January 17. In the paper, Yang wrote that the new breed of electromagnetic spectrum monitoring gear is “small in size, high in performance and low in power consumption”. Due to the enormous amount of data to be processed in the heat of combat, this technology was…

Vietnamese Real Estate Tycoon Facing Trial in Embezzlement Case 

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HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM —  Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan is set to go on trial next month, along with 85 alleged accomplices, on charges of embezzling about $12.5 billion from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank. Lan faces a sentence of 20 years to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. VOA was unable to contact Lan or her lawyers. The corruption case is the largest instance of alleged financial fraud in the Southeast Asian nation’s history, and experts say it reveals weaknesses in Vietnam’s…

China reaffirms support for inter-Korean ties amid peninsula tensions

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China has reaffirmed its stance that it would consistently support the improvement of inter-Korean relations amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has recently ramped up military provocations against South Korea and its allies with multiple missile launches and nuclear tests, labeling Seoul as a “primary enemy.” South Korea, under the conservative Yoon Suk Yul administration, has been implementing a hardline policy towards Pyongyang, with his  government openly vowing to respond to the North’s military provocation.  When asked by a reporter about China’s stance on inter-Korean relations during…

Aus writer given suspended death sentence spied for Taiwan, Chinese court claims

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The Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun given a suspended death sentence in China for espionage on Monday had spied for Taiwan, according to the verdict. Legal and academic experts said that cases of suspended death sentences for espionage crimes are rare in China, but they believed it was Beijing’s move to “punish one as an example to scare others.” Yang’s friend, Feng Chongyi, associate professor of Chinese studies at the University of Technology Sydney, told Radio Free Asia that a Beijing court publicly announced the verdict on Monday. “The verdict was…

Thai PM clashes with central bank governor over $14bn handout plan

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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. A proposal to distribute handouts totalling $14bn has ignited a months-long dispute between Thailand’s new leader and the country’s central bank governor over a crucial question: whether south-east Asia’s second-largest economy is in crisis. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has said that “people are suffering” and high interest rates are damaging the economy. He is urging parliament to approve a plan to give one-off payments of 10,000 baht ($280) to about…

‘Dragon bones’: did early humans in China collect ancient fossils for fun?

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The fossils and gravel found at the site, which appeared to have originated elsewhere, along with items showing marks of “human creativity”, could help reveal more about the culture and behaviours of ancient human ancestors in China. “A growing number of archaeological finds in the basin suggest that humans could not have migrated out of Africa later than 2 million years ago,” said Wei Qi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. Scientists find first genetic evidence of multiracial population in ancient…

China’s overseas investments to go green in 2024, ‘clear need’ for Belt and Road Initiative to focus on renewable energy

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China would concentrate its investments abroad this year in mining and energy as part of Beijing’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, according to a report from a university think tank, in a boon to its domestic economy as well as its overseas partners. The projects fit the next phase of the initiative, which seeks to smooth cross-border trade by building infrastructure projects across Asia, Africa and Europe, the Green Finance and Development Centre at Fudan University said on Monday. “The reasons seem to be economic – good opportunities for China…

Explainer: What Is in Hong Kong’s New National Security Law?

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hong kong —  Last week, Hong Kong’s government began the process of adopting a controversial new national security law that critics worry will further roll back civil liberties in the Asian financial hub. The government says the law is needed because the city is required by Article 23 of its mini constitution, the Basic Law, to establish its own national security legislation. The national security legislation will also build on the Hong Kong National Security Law, or NSL, that China enacted in 2020. Hong Kong authorities say that despite the…

China’s growth enigma

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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. The Chinese economy grew by 5.2 per cent last year, according to official statistics. But for many in business, it probably did not feel like that from the evidence on the streets of Beijing and other large cities last year, Restaurants were not busy, shops were vacant and there were widespread reports of property prices falling more than the official numbers. Rhodium Group, a research company, argued in December that…

Australian Yang Hengjun’s death sentence is a warning shot to anyone who wants to challenge China | Richard McGregor

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The death sentence handed to Yang Hengjun, an Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist, by a Beijing court has naturally focused attention on what the verdict means for bilateral ties with Canberra. A more interesting question, however, might set the lens wider, and ask what message the verdict on Monday was designed to send, not just to Australia, but to anyone at home or abroad critical of China’s ruling Communist party. The answer to that question lies in the serious charge of espionage that was levelled against Yang, and the rising…