Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, who was indicted by the US on fraud and money-laundering charges for running a multibillion-dollar online scam network from Cambodia, has been arrested there and extradited to China, Phnom Penh said. Chen allegedly directed operations of forced labour compounds across Cambodia, where trafficked workers were held in prison-like facilities surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, according to US prosecutors. Since the US indictment and sanctions by Washington and London in October, authorities in Europe, the US and Asia have targeted Chen’s firm, Prince Holding Group,…
Tag: Asia Pacific
‘Hard to say who’s winning’: China and Australia battle for influence in Solomon Islands policing
At a church hall on the outskirts of Honiara, dozens of community leaders gathered for a training session organised by the Chinese police, alongside local Solomon Islands officers. Among them is Ben Angoa, who has enthusiastically embraced the training, as well as other things China has provided: solar lighting, sewing machines, soccer balls, and even noodle-making lessons. “We really love China,” he says. The sessions – along with the provision of blue uniforms, flashlights and fleets of police cars – are among the many ways Beijing supports Solomon Islands policing.…
Back to the Past review – everybody’s still gun-fu fighting in time-travel sequel
Time-travel stories were briefly in the crosshairs of the Chinese censors in the early 2010s, because of how they potentially subverted “official” history. It’s not clear if the hit 2001 Hong Kong TV series A Step Into the Past – about a modern-day cop transported to the third-century BC “warring states” period – was seen as an offender. But it is evidently all go for Chinese time-travel movies now, and hence this glossy cinematic reprise of A Step Into the Past that picks up the main characters 20 years on.…
Russia’s war in Ukraine carries a warning for Australia: prepare for possible conflict in the Asia-Pacific
Military experts and diplomats agree new strategies and tactics – drone-based or otherwise – playing out in Ukraine’s theatre of war may be replicated closer to home Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast It’s early morning at the sprawling 32 Tactical air base in Łask, a couple of hours outside the Polish capital of Warsaw, and the late autumn wind is sharp. Nearby, a crew of Australians are wrapping up the deployment of an E-7 Wedgetail surveillance plane, sent to the country to assist Nato’s…
‘Mad fishing’: the super-size fleet of squid catchers plundering the high seas
In a monitoring room in Buenos Aires, a dozen members of the Argentinian coast guard watch giant industrial-fishing ships moving in real time across a set of screens. “Every year, for five or six months, the foreign fleet comes from across the Indian Ocean, from Asian countries, and from the North Atlantic,” says Cdr Mauricio López, of the monitoring department. “It’s creating a serious environmental problem.” Just beyond Argentina’s maritime frontier, hundreds of foreign vessels – known as the distant-water fishing fleet – are descending on Mile 201, a largely…
‘It ought to provide a deterrent’: what US action in Venezuela means for Taiwan
Perception that Chinese-made weapons could not stop a ‘decapitation strike’ may give Beijing pause for thought The sight of a hostile regional superpower launching an overnight raid to depose the leader of a smaller neighbouring country could easily have sent pulses in Taiwan racing. The US on Saturday revealed the details of a surprise raid to capture Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, who was whisked away to the US, where he was frogmarched into a court in New York on Monday. Continue reading… The Guardian
Trump’s attack leaves China worried about its interests in Venezuela | Amy Hawkins
Hours before his life and the fate of his country was changed dramatically, Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, was exchanging smiles and handshakes with a Chinese delegation in the presidential palace in Caracas. On Friday evening, shortly before he was seized by US forces, Maduro wrote on Telegram of his meeting with China’s special envoy for Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi: “A fraternal meeting that reaffirms the strong bonds of brotherhood and friendship between China and Venezuela. Through thick and thin!” Those bonds will be put to the test now that…
Xi Jinping vows to reunify China and Taiwan in New Year’s Eve speech
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to reunify China and Taiwan in his annual New Year’s Eve speech in Beijing. Speaking the day after the conclusion of intense Chinese military drills around Taiwan, Xi said: “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.” China claims Taiwan, a self-governing island, as part of its territory and has long vowed to annex it, using force if necessary. US intelligence is increasingly concerned about the advancing capabilities of China’s armed forces to launch such an attack if Xi decides…
China forecast to have sold one in every 10 new cars in UK in 2025
Chinese brands are on course to account for one in every 10 new cars sold in Britain during 2025, a marked increase on last year as sales increase across Europe. Manufacturers led by MG, BYD, and Chery are on track to break the 200,000 mark in UK new car sales in 2025, meaning they are very likely to account for 10% of the market, according to Matthias Schmidt, an analyst tracking electric cars across Europe. Spain and Norway also get a tenth of their new cars from Chinese brands, with…
Australia says ‘deeply concerning, destabilising’ Chinese exercises near Taiwan risk inflaming regional tension
Australia says it is deeply concerned about Chinese military exercises near Taiwan, and has raised the issue with Chinese officials. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said the large-scale simulations risked destabilising the region and could result in an accident or escalation. The People’s Liberation Army launched the expansive surprise attack simulation on Monday, calling the war games “Justice Mission 2025”. Dfat said the exercises were “deeply concerning, destabilising and risk inflaming regional tensions”. “Australia strongly opposes any actions that increase the…