Chinese President Xi Jinping sought stronger trade ties with neighboring Vietnam at the start of a five-day swing through Southeast Asia where Beijing presents itself as a source of economic stability amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs. Xi was welcomed in Hanoi on Monday by Vietnam’s top leader To Lam. He also held talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The two countries signed 45 agreements including on enhancing supply chains and on cooperation over railways, Reuters reported. vietnam-china-xi-jinping Vietnamese General Secretary of the Communist Party To Lam and Chinese President…
Day: April 14, 2025
No deposit, no treatment: More patients from Myanmar shut out from Thai hospitals
MAE SOT, Thailand – When Aung Hein Thant’s brother went to a hospital in Thailand following a serious head injury from a motorcycle accident, he faced an unexpected and troubling situation: the hospital required him to show his passport and pay a deposit of US$5,800 before providing treatment. Facing a series of delays, he ultimately died from his injuries. “I thought at first everyone should have equal rights,” Aung Hein Thant told RFA Burmese, calling the hospital’s actions “discriminatory.” Thailand’s constitution guarantees patients’ fundamental rights to medical care without discrimination…
Taiwan says Cambodia deported its nationals to China after fraud arrests
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Cambodia deported Taiwanese fraud suspects to China, the island’s foreign ministry said, urging Cambodian authorities to provide a complete list of the deportees, who may number in the dozens. About 180 Taiwanese were arrested together with seven alleged Chinese coconspirators on March 31, during raids on an online fraud center in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. After receiving notification of the arrests on April 1, Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City began negotiating with the Cambodian government, said the ministry. Cambodia deported nearly 190 suspects to…
Myanmar junta bombs monastery as it blames quake for religious devastation
Myanmar’s junta bombed a monastery in the country’s northwest on Saturday, killing five people, including children, just one day before it publicly announced that a recent earthquake had destroyed almost 10,000 religious buildings across the country. The airstrike in Tabayin township, Sagaing region, injured nine others and reduced a monastery to rubble, according to the Tabayin Brotherhood Organization, which supports displaced civilians. “Around 1 p.m., a military plane opened fire on the monastery outside Kya Khat village,” a member of the organization said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to…
China told Hong Kong’s last major opposition party to shut down: members
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Senior members of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, the city’s last remaining major opposition party, said that Chinese officials and their proxies had warned the party to disband or face “serious consequences,” including possible arrests. Founded in 1994, the Democratic Party was Hong Kong’s first major pro-democracy political force. It emerged from a movement that began in 1982 to oppose any erosion of freedoms from China-U.K. negotiations on the territory’s future. In February, the party announced plans to disband amid an ongoing political crackdown under two national security…