Tag: East Asia

Radio Free Asia Leaves Hong Kong, Citing Security Law

Media Library

The United States-funded news service Radio Free Asia said on Friday that it has closed its office in Hong Kong because of concerns about the city’s recently enacted national security law that targets so-called foreign interference. Hong Kong’s new national security law, which was passed with unusual speed earlier this month, raised “serious questions about our ability to operate in safety,” the broadcaster’s president and chief executive, Bay Fang, said in a statement. Radio Free Asia said that it had relocated some employees from Hong Kong to Taiwan, the United…

How Taiwan Breaches Censors’ Barriers

Media Library

Breaking the barriers of censorship in China, Myanmar and North Korea is a daunting task, as these countries have built almost impenetrable firewalls against outside news and information. But Radio Taiwan International is successfully using shortwave radio to break through. “We potentially have 70 million to 1.2 billion listeners who rely on shortwave to get information [from] outside of their country,” said Isis Lee, RTI’s vice president. On the air since 1928, RTI say their mission is to bring listeners stories they won’t or can’t hear or see on television,…

China to Drive World Economic Recovery, Says a Top Communist Official

Media Library

Brushing off domestic economic headwinds, a top Communist Party official said Thursday that China aims to drive the world’s recovery this year by pushing forward reforms and making tech innovation a new point of growth. The remarks from Zhao Leji, who chairs the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, come as foreign investment in the country is falling and it grapples with issues that include high youth unemployment, ballooning debt and a crisis in the property market. Speaking to businesspeople and other leaders at the Boao Forum for Asia,…

Chinese Diplomat Liu Jianchao Meets With Singapore’s Leaders

Media Library

singapore —  Liu Jianchao, the senior diplomat widely expected to become China’s next foreign minister, said “the world needs connectivity, not decoupling,” during a four-day visit to Singapore. Liu, who heads the international department of the Communist Party, was in the city-state to meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the country’s incoming leader, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During a speech at the FutureChina Dialogue on Wednesday, local media reported that Liu warned of the need for “civilizations to engage, not to clash,” in the context of multiple…

Philippines President Condemns Chinese ‘Attacks,’ Vows ‘Proportionate’ Countermeasures    

Media Library

The Philippines said it will take retaliatory measures against what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Thursday called “dangerous attacks” by China on its vessels in the South China Sea, the latest instance of escalating tensions between the two nations. While the Philippines views its disputes with China as an encroachment on its sovereignty, Beijing has accused Philippine vessels of intruding into Chinese waters and has warned Manila that it will defend its own sovereignty. In a statement on X, Marcos added that recent “attacks” in the South China Sea were “illegal,…

Analysts: Former Taiwan President’s China Trip Could Shed Light on Xi’s Intentions

Media Library

WASHINGTON —  Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou is scheduled to make an 11-day trip to China in early April. The trip will include stops in the southern city of Guangdong, the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and the capital Beijing, where Ma, according to reports, may meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Some experts say that if the meeting happens, not only can Xi use it to send signals to Taiwan and the United States, but it could help Washington learn more about Xi’s intentions toward the island. Earlier this week,…

Chinese President Xi Meets With US Executives as Investment Wanes

Media Library

BEIJING —  China’s President Xi Jinping met American business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, as the government tries to woo back foreign investors and international firms seeking reassurance about the impact of new regulations. Beijing wants to boost growth of the world’s second-largest economy after foreign direct investment shrank 8% in 2023 amid heightened investor concern over an anti-espionage law, exit bans, and raids on consultancies and due diligence firms. Xi’s increasing focus on national security has left many companies uncertain where they…

US, China at Odds Over Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

Media Library

The United States and China, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, disagree on the status of Monday’s resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza during the final two weeks of Ramadan. The U.S. abstained from voting, while all other UNSC members supported Resolution 2728, which also calls for the immediate release of hostages and the removal of obstacles hindering humanitarian access. “It’s nonbinding,” Mathew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, told reporters on Tuesday. Miller said the resolution “does not impose any new obligations on…

China Files WTO Dispute Against US Over ‘Discriminatory’ EV Subsidies    

Media Library

China began dispute settlement proceedings against the United States at the World Trade Organization on Tuesday, accusing Washington of “discriminatory” electric vehicle subsidies. The subsidies, starting this year under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, render U.S. car buyers ineligible for tax credits ranging from $3,750 to $7,500 if certain battery components were made by Chinese, Russian, North Korean or Iranian manufacturers. China’s permanent mission to the WTO said the policies are “under the disguise of responding to climate change,” but are “in fact contingent upon the purchase and use of…

New Zealand Links Parliament Hacking to China State-Backed Group

Media Library

New Zealand said Tuesday a Chinese state-sponsored hacking operation targeted New Zealand’s parliament in 2021, an allegation that came a day after the United States and Britain took actions in response to their own attacks by China-backed hacking groups. New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) said it linked malicious cyber activity against the country’s parliament to the group Advanced Persistent Threat 40, which the GCSB said is linked to China’s Ministry of State Security. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is…