Woo Jin Joo’s studio is full of magic. Ceramic green goblin feet line the windowsill, disembodied furry legs jut out of one white wall and, on the table behind where the Korean-Chinese artist sits drinking tea, a headless being dressed in a black coat squats, arms aloft in warning. There are also neat racks of colourful thread next to a freehand embroidery machine, the source of this supernatural hoard. This is where Joo creates much of her art – surface embroideries and sculptural 3D creatures inspired by Korean myth, philosophy…
Tag: China
Nepal-Tibet flood deaths pass 1,000 as police ask relatives for DNA to identify victims
Nepali rescuers have built temporary bridges to reach remote areas and dug through the ruins of hydropower projects in the Himalayas to rescue hundreds of trapped workers, as the death toll passed 1,000 nearly a week after devastating floods left a trail of destruction across the country’s towns and valleys. About 600 people remain stuck in several devastated hydropower stations that have become the focus of rescue efforts. The prime minister, Balendra Shah, said more than 11,000 people had been rescued across the affected region, and power and communication lines…
Nepal-Tibet floods: death toll passes 1,000 as rescue efforts continue at hydropower tunnels – latest updates
From 1h ago Death toll from Nepal-China flood disaster exceeds 1,000, authorities say The death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Nepal and China has passed 1,000 as of Tuesday morning, officials said, with authorities reportedly burying hundreds of unidentified victims after the flood disaster overwhelmed morgues. Nepal’s disaster agency said in an update on Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted there, with 3,916 people missing, including 583 foreigners. Chinese authorities, in their latest update on Sunday, reported 16 deaths and 546 people still missing. Armed police officers stand…
Shein shares slide on fast-fashion retailer’s stock market debut
Shares in the fast-fashion brand Shein slumped by as much as 10% as the China-founded company made its long-anticipated trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The Singapore-headquartered company, once valued at almost $100bn (£74bn), went public on Tuesday pricing shares at HK$48.56, valuing the business at just over $26bn. However, minutes after the flotation, which raised HK$13.6bn, the stock fell as much as 10%, pushing the online retailer’s valuation below $25bn. Shein’s share price recovered most of its early trading plunge, closing at HK$48.50, just 0.12% down on…
China warns of ‘consequences’ over Taiwan presence at Pacific Islands Forum
China said it had serious concerns about Taiwan’s presence at the annual Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, warning of “consequences” after the democratically ruled island attended the group’s opening ceremony on Monday. China views Taiwan as its own territory, and China-Taiwan tensions have featured prominently at the meeting, which is intended to demonstrate regional unity. “There will always be consequences,” Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, said of Taiwan attending the event. “It’s not a threat,” he said, without specifying what the consequences would be. “This is…
Taiwan steps up AI defenses as China election interference fears grow
China is likely to use artificial intelligence to influence Taiwan’s Nov. 28 local elections, analysts told Radio Free Asia. Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, warned this month that Beijing could use AI to target groups of voters, impersonate Taiwanese social media users and circulate fabricated recordings or scandals shortly before election day. The warning comes as Taipei steps up its defenses against AI interference in the election regardless of whether it originates inside or outside of the democratic island, which China considers to be its territory. Taiwan’s government…
Gen Z ‘Chinamaxxers’ fantasise about life in China. This journalist and this artist can never go back there
Drinking Tsingtao beers, eating congee, walking with hands behind their backs: for many young people in western countries, “Chinamaxxing” has become all the rage. Some content creators have even gone beyond the jokes about being in “a very Chinese time in my life” and have followed this passion to the Middle Kingdom: making TikToks in Chongqing’s multi-layered metropolis, bathing in Chengdu’s 24-hour spas, or backflipping on the Great Wall of China. This irreverent, mostly ironic trend is jarring for some, but Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao and Chinese-American journalist Melissa Chan don’t…
China is concealing scale of flood disaster, say Tibet campaigners
A Tibetan advocacy group says hundreds of homes were destroyed on the Tibetan side of the border in last week’s deadly floods, raising questions about Beijing’s official account of the scale of the disaster. Public discussion about the flash floods has been restricted, with security officials in Tibet announcing on Sunday that it had penalised at least 10 people for sharing “false disaster information”. There was no further information on the nature of the penalties. Chinese authorities say 16 people have been confirmed dead and 546 are missing, including 261…
Nepal-Tibet floods: rescuers race to reach 900 people believed trapped in hydropower tunnels
Rescue teams are working to reach more than 900 people thought to be trapped in the tunnels and underground areas of half a dozen hydropower projects in Nepal following the devastating flash floods, the country’s disaster management authority said on Monday. The death toll from the unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris that crashed through valleys of Nepal on Wednesday last week has now risen to 903 people, with 16 more dead reported on the Tibet side of the border. More than 4,000 are missing in Nepal, with…
Fifteen Britons among 261 foreigners missing in China after floods
Fifteen British nationals are reported to be missing in China as the search continues for survivors of the devastating flooding in Nepal and Tibet. Nepali and Chinese authorities confirmed an updated death toll of at least 810 on Sunday. More than 3,000 people are believed missing after flash floods triggered by a massive glacier collapse in the Himalayas on Wednesday engulfed Gyirong port on the Nepal-China border. The 15 missing British people are among 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries missing in China, according to figures released by Chinese authorities,…