White flowers at makeshift shrines and messages of support posted in a public square. A rainbow of folded paper cranes. Boxes of donated goods for the those in need. Hongkongers’ responses to the Tai Po fire disaster – in which at least 159 people have died and 31 are still unaccounted for – have, on the surface, resembled similar community expressions of solidarity last seen during the 2019 protests. But beneath the surface, Hong Kong civil society is struggling to respond to this latest collective trauma in a city that…
Tag: Asia Pacific
Japan PM vows ‘resolute’ response after Chinese aircraft accused of locking radar on to Japanese fighter jets
The diplomatic dispute between Japan and China appeared to deepen over the weekend after Chinese military planes were accused of locking their radar on to Japanese fighter jets near the Okinawa islands. Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to “respond calmly and resolutely” to the alleged incident, saying her country would take all possible measures to strengthen maritime and airspace surveillance and closely monitor Chinese military activities. The country’s foreign ministry also summoned China’s ambassador on Sunday. China’s government has roundly rejected Japan’s accusations, instead lodging its own counterprotests. The…
Hostile powers sending spies to west’s universities, says former security chief
Hostile spy agencies are now as focused on infiltrating western universities and companies as they are on doing so to governments, according to the former head of Canada’s intelligence service. David Vigneault warned that a recent “industrial-scale” attempt by China to steal new technologies showed the need for increased vigilance from academics. “The frontline has moved, from being focused on government information to private sector innovation, research innovation and universities,” he told the Guardian in his first interview since leaving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which is part of…
‘Don’t say we didn’t warn you’: Beijing summons journalists in Hong Kong after fire
Beijing’s powerful security agency in Hong Kong has summoned journalists from international media to inform them it will not tolerate “trouble-making”, after critical coverage of the deadly apartment complex fire that has left the territory reeling. Senior reporters from several outlets operating in the city were called to the meeting by the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS), which was set up by Beijing in 2020. In the meeting, which was attended by the New York Times and Agence France-Presse, an official accused journalists of tainting the government. The official…
How three Uyghur brothers fled China – to spend 12 years in an Indian prison
On the evening of 12 June 2013, according to court documents, three “Chinese intruders” were arrested by the Indian army in Sultan Chusku, a remote and uninhabited desert area in the mountainous northern region of Ladakh. The three Thursun brothers – Adil, 23, Abdul Khaliq, 22 and Salamu, 20 – had found themselves in an area of unmarked and disputed borders after a 13-day journey by bus and foot over the rugged Himalayan terrain through China’s Xinjiang province, which borders Ladakh. The men told army officials that they had fled…
Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 159 as officials order citywide scaffolding net removal
The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 159 as officials ordered all scaffolding mesh in the city to be removed by Saturday. The blaze that last week engulfed Wang Fuk Court in the city’s northern Tai Po district has become the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980. Police said the number of dead may still be revised as officers had found “suspected human bones” that required forensic testing. Authorities earlier said the blaze on the estate, which was undergoing major renovations, was likely made…
Handling of China spying case was ‘shambolic’, security committee concludes
Parliament’s security committee has criticised prosecutors for pulling their charges against two men accused of spying for Beijing, in a damning report that concluded the handling of the case was “shambolic”. MPs said that a process “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations” and “inadequate” communication between the government and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had contributed to the collapse of the trial, while several “opportunities to correct course were missed”. The report concludes the committee’s six-week investigation into the collapse of the high-profile trial of Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher…
UK government delays decision on China’s super-embassy until January
The government has delayed its decision on whether to approve China’s super-embassy in London until January, when Keir Starmer is expected to visit Beijing. Ministers are expected to greenlight the controversial plans after formal submissions by the Home Office and Foreign Office raised no objections on security grounds. The Guardian reported last month that the security services had signalled to ministers that they could handle the security risks of the embassy, which would be China’s biggest diplomatic outpost in the world. A government spokesperson said on Tuesday that consolidating China’s…
Hong Kong responds to disaster differently from Beijing – but the gulf is narrowing
As Hong Kong mourns the victims of its worst fire in decades, the response to the disaster reveals the ways in which the semi-autonomous city retains differences from mainland China – and how some of those differences are being eroded. Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, announced on Tuesday the creation of an “independent committee” to investigate the blaze, which killed 151 people at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Hong Kong has a tradition of independent, judge-led inquiries into disasters, something that would never happen…
Hong Kong arrests 13 on suspicion of manslaughter over apartment fires
Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested 13 people on suspicion of manslaughter in relation to last week’s devastating fire, as they face growing criticism from residents over the arrests under national security laws of at least two civilians calling for accountability. Emergency services continued to search through the seven towers of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po on Monday, days after the city’s deadliest fire in 75 years. The death toll rose to 151 and is expected to rise further as the search continues. About 40 people are…