Lawmakers in Hong Kong on Wednesday roundly rejected a bill that would have granted limited recognition to same-sex partnerships in the city, disappointing backers in the LGBTQ+ community. Opposition was staunch: of the lawmakers present, 71 voted against the measure, 14 supported it and one abstained. The legislation, unveiled by the government in July, would have created a registration system that would allow same-sex couples with unions that are legal in overseas jurisdictions access to rights such as hospital visitation. The measure followed a 2023 ruling in Hong Kong’s top…
Category: RFA
$2 billion Chinese-built airport opens in Cambodia
Passenger flights began on Tuesday at a $2 billion Chinese-built airport near Phnom Penh that Cambodian officials hope will boost the country’s sagging tourism industry. The inaugural flight, an Air Cambodia plane arriving from China, was welcomed with streams of water from fire trucks. Sitting about 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, outside the Cambodian capital, the three-runway, 10-square-mile Techo International Airport was jointly funded by the Cambodian government and the privately owned Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation, officials say. It was designed by Britain’s Foster + Partners and built by China’s…
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi faces worsening health in military custody, son says
The son of former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday that his mother is suffering from health problems and needs urgent medical attention, appealing for her release from military custody. Kim Aris told Reuters that the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate had asked to see a cardiologist about a month ago, but that he wasn’t able to determine if that request had been granted. “I am extremely worried,” he said, according to Reuters. “There is no way of verifying if she is even alive.” Aris said that…
Xi stresses China’s enduring friendship with North Korea in meeting with Kim
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed extending their countries’ communication and cooperation during in-person talks in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday. The meeting came a day after the two men appeared with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and other world leaders at a massive military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square that celebrated 80 years since the end of World War II and showcased China’s military might and deepening alliances. Chinese state media said that Xi told Kim that Beijing attached “great importance to…
Kim, Putin, Xi share world stage at China’s military parade
Enormous intercontinental ballistic missiles, new underwater drones, laser weapons and other military hardware paraded across Beijing’s Tiananmen Square for 90 minutes on Wednesday — a commemoration of 80 years since the Japanese surrender that ended World War II and a showcase of modern Chinese military might. But many eyes were on the world leaders Chinese President Xi Jinping invited to the event, especially Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Images from the event showed the three, who appeared together in public for the first time, shaking hands,…
Closing arguments conclude in Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai’s trial
Closing arguments ended Thursday in the national security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, although judges did not say when they would render a verdict. Judge Esther Toh, a member of the three-judge panel overseeing the case, said the court will release more details “in good time.” The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper faces life in prison if convicted of illegal foreign collusion under Hong Kong’s restrictive National Security Law, which was imposed by Beijing in 2020 after the massive pro-democracy protests of 2019. hong-kong-jimmy-lai-china…
Damaged Chinese ship now under repair, satellite images show
The Chinese coast guard ship that was damaged in a collision with another Chinese vessel in the South China Sea earlier this month is now being repaired at Hainan Island, according to satellite images published by Reuters. The news agency reported Wednesday that images show the vessel with a crushed bow near a dry dock at the Yulin naval base near Sanya, a city on Hainan. china-damaged-ship A satellite image of the recently damaged Chinese coast guard vessel under repair, at Yulin Naval Base in Sanya, Hainan Island, China, Aug.…
Cambodian lawmakers pass bill allowing government to revoke citizenship
Lawmakers in Phnom Penh on Monday approved a law that will allow the government to strip Cambodian citizenship from people convicted of conspiring with foreign governments against the national interest. Approved by 120 of the 125 members of the National Assembly, the measure was made possible by a change to Cambodia’s constitution that lawmakers passed in July. The measure needs to be approved by the Senate and signed by the king to be fully enacted. The bill’s passage comes amid a wider crackdown on opponents of the government of Prime…
China’s Xi makes a rare visit to Tibet to mark 60 years of contested rule
Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare visit to Tibet on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region — the consolidation of Beijing’s long-contested rule over the Himalayan territory. Xi arrived by plane in Lhasa on his second visit to Tibet as president. Video broadcast by the Chinese government showed hundreds of people in traditional dress dancing with flowers and banging traditional drums as Xi walked the red carpet. Thousands more waved flags and white ceremonial Tibetan scarves along Xi’s motorcade route. tibet-xi-jinping-visit-lhasa-china…
Hong Kong activists granted asylum in U.K., Australia
Two Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates have announced that they have been granted asylum: former lawmaker Ted Hui in Australia and activist Tony Chung in the U.K. Both men were convicted of violating Hong Kong’s restrictive national security law, which has quashed dissent after being imposed by Beijing in 2020 in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests. They are among dozens of activists who have fled Hong Kong authorities. Hui, a former member of the Legislative Council who left Hong Kong while he was out on bail in 2020, was tried…