In the coming days, Papua New Guineans will head to the polls to vote in the first national election in five years. A struggling economy, the impact of the pandemic and growing frustrations about failing public services are among the leading issues. The results of the election will be important not only to the country’s almost 9 million people, but also for the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape in the wider Pacific region. The election process Of the 2,351 candidates running in the national election, 118 members will be elected. Members…
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Xi Jinping defends China’s clampdown in Hong Kong
CHINESE LEADERS rarely go to Hong Kong. Xi Jinping’s visit on June 30th and July 1st for official celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China was only his second since his rule began nearly a decade ago. It was his first since the territory was engulfed by pro-democracy unrest in 2019. Since then, he said after getting off his train, Hong Kong had “risen from the ashes”. In a speech the next day he said Hong Kong was entering a new period of “order…
Xi Defends Vision of Hong Kong on 25th Anniversary of Return
Advertisement China’s leader Xi Jinping marked the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return with a speech Friday that emphasized Beijing’s control over the former British colony under its vision of “one country, two systems” – countering criticism that the political and civic freedoms promised for the next quarter-century have been largely erased under Chinese rule. Xi praised the city for overcoming “violent social unrest” – a reference to massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 that were followed by a Beijing-driven crackdown that has snuffed out dissent and shut down independent media,…
With Kinmen Comments, Ko Wen-je Dives Into Cross-Strait Debate
Advertisement Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je recently stoked controversy with comments proposing a bridge between Xiamen and Kinmen, which are the geographically closest parts of China and Taiwan, respectively. The remarks have led to a flurry of criticism from the pan-Green camp, with the view that Ko is attempting to cozy up to China. Ko originally became Taipei mayor by running as an independent in 2014, with the endorsement of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and pan-Green camp. At the time, Ko claimed to be beyond the pan-Green and pan-Blue political…
Xi Jinping hails China’s rule over Hong Kong on 25th anniversary of handover
Xi Jinping has hailed China’s rule over Hong Kong as he led 25th anniversary celebrations of the city’s handover from Britain, insisting democracy was flourishing despite a political crackdown that has silenced dissent. After swearing in a new hardline chief executive, John Lee, in a solemn ceremony on Friday morning, the Chinese president laid out his vision for the city and its administrators. On his first trip outside mainland China since the pandemic began, he vowed that “one country, two systems” – a governance model under which Hong Kong was…
Australia news live: NSW flood warnings; Sydney train strike delays; at least 27 Covid deaths recorded
From 5h ago NSW rail union pushes ahead with industrial action Sydney commuters are in for a “very messy day” as the NSW rail union pushes ahead with industrial action that will take out 70% of the train fleet, AAP reports. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has been locked in long-running stoush with the Perrottet government over a new Korean-made Intercity fleet, which it says is unsafe. While the government has signalled it could be prepared to spend $264m to modify the fleet, the union says it has refused…
Xi Visits a Changed Hong Kong for Handover Anniversary
Advertisement Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party. In a staged event carried live on Chinese TV, students and others lined the platform of a high-speed rail station and packed a red carpet to greet the leader making his first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 and a…
Some Chinese want their country to move closer to communism
In a poor, communist country, the phrase sounded like a truism. But in the early 1980s China’s admission that it was still only in the “initial stage of socialism” was an ideological bombshell. The use of those words meant the country had become “totally freed from the restrictions of orthodox socialist principles”, recalled Zhao Ziyang, who took over as Communist Party chief later that decade and championed the term. It allowed China to introduce capitalism (a stage Marx viewed as essential) and repudiate Maoist madness. Many Chinese were delighted by…
China is improving its human capital. Gradually
In their book “Invisible China”, published in 2020, Scott Rozelle and Natalie Hell of Stanford University tell the dispiriting tale of Wang Tao, who grew up on the edge of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. Every year he took weeks off school to help his parents harvest rapeseed and watermelon from their small plot of land. He was a class monitor in middle school and studied diligently for entry into high school (which typically begins at age 15 or 16). But his grades fell a little short and his…
Getting around covid controls in Shanghai
For two glorious weeks at the beginning of June the residents of central Shanghai could sit in a café, sip a latte and forget about the chaos of April and May. The city’s harsh and shambolic lockdown, aimed at stemming an outbreak of covid-19, was finally over. People were able to move about again. The coffee had never tasted so good. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen to this story Save time by listening to…