The UK pushed hard to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the newspaper publisher and British citizen who was a leading light in Hong Kong’s brutally suppressed pro-democracy movement. So, too, did press freedom and human rights campaigners. But the Beijing-appointed high court judges in the former colony convicted him anyway, finding Lai guilty last week on fake charges of trying to “destabilise” the Chinese Communist party (CCP). For Xi Jinping, China’s dictator-emperor, there is no greater crime. Protesting to China’s ambassador, the UK’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, condemned the…
Day: December 21, 2025
Indonesia calls in military to help clear forests at rapid pace
<div data-o-component="o-expander" class="o-expander o-expander__info-box" data-o-expander-shrink-to="hidden" data-trackable="clip-info-box" data-o-expander-collapsed-toggle-text="Show video info” data-o-expander-expanded-toggle-text=”Hide video info“>Show video info Indonesia is clearing forests at a rapid pace with military assistance in one of its most biodiverse regions for a state-backed agricultural project, even as recent fatal floods have illustrated the dangers of deforestation. Billed as a project to ensure the fourth most populous nation’s food and energy security, Indonesia is planning to cultivate rice and sugar on 3mn hectares in the eastern province of Papua. The area covers a mix of primary forests, grasslands, woodlands…
Chinese stocks cool on weak economic data
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A steep rally in Chinese stock markets has cooled in the past three months, as weak economic data and profit-taking bring this year’s steep rally to an end. The MSCI China index has fallen 7.4 per cent since September, its worst three-month performance in an otherwise strong year for the country’s equities, with gains fuelled by optimism over Chinese technological innovation and government support for markets. The index is still…
China’s top court sends message to employers on sexual harassment
China’s top court has ruled that if an employer fires an employee for sexual harassment it should not have to pay compensation to the dismissed worker – a move lawyers said would make it easier for victims to take action. The ruling was among five cases highlighted by the Supreme People’s Court on Tuesday as examples of “promoting core socialist values” in family relations, the workplace and transport. According to a document released by the court, a man surnamed Wu in the southern province of Guangdong had sued a restaurant…