TOKYO — As US President Joe Biden visits Japan and South Korea, the three countries are looking for common ground on the world stage. One place they’re finding it is semiconductors. A first stop for Biden on his first swing through Asia as president was a Samsung factory in South Korea. “These little chips, only … Read more
US President Joe Biden, pictured here on Thursday, April 21, 2022, has launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners. Yuri Gripas | abaca | Bloomberg | Getty Images In a move to raise its economic profile and create another counterbalance to China within Asia, the United States announced on … Read more
Michelle Bachelet’s visit marks the first trip to China by a UN human rights commissioner since 2005. The UN human rights chief will travel to China on Monday for a long-awaited visit to the northwestern region of Xinjiang where Beijing has been accused of abuses against the mostly Muslim Uighur minority. High Commissioner for Human … Read more
TORONTO (AP) — Wireless carriers in Canada won’t be allowed to install Huawei equipment in their high-speed 5G networks, the Canadian government said Thursday, joining allies in banning the giant Chinese technology company. Canada had been the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-pooling alliance not to bar or restrict use of equipment from Huawei … Read more
The Chinese city of Shanghai has announced plans to reopen gradually after spending more than six weeks in lockdown and stamping out COVID-19 transmission in 15 of its 16 districts. The opening will be rolled out in phases, state media reported on Monday, with city authorities saying “normal life” will resume on June 1. Shanghai’s … Read more
And so when a Shanghai family refused to be taken from their home into government quarantine during the city’s sixth week of lockdown, a police officer warned them with what he thought would be a powerful threat to bring them to heel — their children’s future. “If you don’t obey the orders from the city … Read more
Zen is among four high-profile pro-democracy activists arrested by police — the other three are Cantopop star Denise Ho, former lawmaker and prominent barrister Margaret Ng and academic Hui Po-keung, according to the US State Department. They were arrested on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces, a charge under the city’s sweeping national security law, … Read more
HONG KONG (AP) — A 90-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal, a singer and at least two others have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China’s national security, in an action widely condemned as a further sign of Beijing’s erosion of rights in the city. The arrests further expand … Read more
BEIJING (AP) — The city of Shanghai is doubling down on pandemic restrictions after a brief period of loosening up, frustrating residents who were hoping for a more than monthlong lockdown was finally easing as the number of new cases falls in China’s financial center. On Tuesday, service was suspended on the last two subway … Read more