BRIEF-ENN Ecological To Buy 32.8% Stake In ENN Energy For 25.4 Bln Yuan

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Enn Ecological Holdings Co Ltd

* SAYS IT AGREES TO BUY 32.8% STAKE IN ENN ENERGY HOLDINGS LTD FOR 25.8 BILLION YUAN ($3.67 billion) VIA CASH, ASSET SWAP AND SHARE ISSUE

* SAYS ASSET THAT WILL BE SWAPPED IS UNITED FAITH VENTURES LTD WHICH INDIRECTLY HOLDS 9.97% STAKE IN SANTOS LTD Source text in Chinese: https://bit.ly/2rfUyjK ; https://bit.ly/2s5ylpa Further company coverage: ($1 = 7.0285 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)

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  • ‘We’re a Pacific power’: Joe Biden faces pressure to hold hard line of defence against China

    As a Biden administration takes the reins in Washington, the stakes have never been higher for the US relationship with China and the rest of Asia. In the third part of a post-US-election series, Washington correspondent Jacob Fromer explores how the president-elect will deal with a rising and more assertive Beijing on the defence front.On January 20, when President-elect Joe Biden takes his oath of office, he will oversee a US Navy that used to be the biggest in the world.Now, the world’s biggest navy belongs to China – a milestone that the Pentagon disclosed in September, and one that will surely be on Biden’s mind while he and his defence advisers plot how to deal with a rising and assertive Beijing.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.“[China] is a very relentless and ruthless competitor,” said Paul Heer, who spent decades as an intelligence analyst for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and served as the US government’s national intelligence officer for East Asia. “And we have to be very cautious and very much aware of that.”It will be up to Biden to decide how to respond, if at all, to Chinese shows of force along its borders: its sabre-rattling towards Taiwan, its artificial island construction in the South China Sea and its border skirmishes with India, high in the Himalayas.“We’re a Pacific power,” Biden wrote in an essay last month. With US-China tensions soaring, and both countries seeing each other increasingly as adversaries, Beijing may put that to the test.In Washington today, voices calling for warmer ties and more dialogue with Beijing are rare, and both parties routinely condemn China’s rights abuses in places like Hong Kong and Xinjiang. There is widespread distrust of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, viewed in the capital as a dangerous authoritarian leader.Last year, the Trump administration created a new, senior-level position at the Pentagon solely focused on China. It is currently held by Chad Sbragia, a China specialist in the US military. Taiwan starts building submarine fleet amid military threats from BeijingThere is political pressure on Biden to hold a hard line with China, and all of Biden’s defence, intelligence and foreign policy picks will likely face intense scrutiny of their China positions at their Senate confirmation hearings.His incoming national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his choice for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, are both alumni of the Obama administration. Sullivan does not need Senate confirmation for his role.Some Republicans in Congress critical of Beijing have already accused Blinken and Sullivan of being naive about China’s rise. Both have made comments since leaving government suggesting that they now see China as more of a threat to US interests than they did when they last served in government.Biden has not yet named his pick for secretary of defence, but in the Washington rumour mill, Michele Flournoy is widely considered the favourite.In June, Flournoy wrote in Foreign Affairs that if China knew that the US was able to sink every Chinese ship and submarine in the South China Sea within 72 hours, then it might think twice about attacking Taiwan.Amid Beijing’s growing military threats against Taiwan, the Taiwanese military this week also began building its own submarine fleet, and the Trump administration last month moved to complete a US$1.8 billion arms sale to the island.Biden and his advisers will have to decide how far they want to go to help protect it. In Biden’s essay published in October, he committed to “deepening our ties with Taiwan, a leading democracy”. New Chinese engines will allow PLA planes to carry tanks to battlefieldZhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military expert, said Beijing’s resolve to bring Taiwan under its fold “has never gotten enough respect from the US”.“Compared to the past, the [People’s Liberation Army] is more confident, stronger, eager to get world’s recognition, and the last thing the PLA wants is smearing from the outside,” he said.Amid the growing tension, some voices in both countries say that the two governments, including their militaries, should still be able to find ways to cooperate on issues like North Korea, Iran and climate change.“China wants to establish as many communication channels as possible with the US military,” said Zhou.But in Washington, some observers say the US has already tried that kind of military-to-military cooperation with China, and it did not work.Twelve years ago, at the end of the George W Bush administration, China for the first time sent its navy to join global counter-piracy patrols by the Gulf of Aden, on the western edge of the Indian Ocean – thousands of miles from the Chinese coast.The US and its partners welcomed the collaboration as a sign that modern China was emerging as a responsible power.Three months after the celebration, just after Biden and then-president Barack Obama were sworn into office, the mood changed fast: a slew of Chinese vessels were accused of harassing an unarmed American surveillance ship called the USNS Impeccable in the South China Sea. They clashed with water hosepipes and grappling hooks.Obama’s response at the time was to call for more military-to-military dialogue. US actions could raise risk of Taiwan war, says Chinese military researcherIn the years since, China has expanded its naval presence in the Indian Ocean. It opened its first overseas military base in 2017, in Djibouti, on the western edge of the Indian Ocean. The US also has a base in Djibouti.In September, the Pentagon issued its report to Congress that China’s navy, with some 350 ships, is now the biggest in the world, giving Beijing more power and reach around the world.“It just goes to show how quickly China is rising as a serious naval power,” said Toshi Yoshihara, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank and the former chair of the US Naval War College’s Asia-Pacific studies programme.“China is now undoubtedly, in addition to its permanent base in Djibouti, a permanent player in the Indian Ocean,” Yoshihara added. “And who would’ve imagined that 10 years ago?”China has doubled down on its claims over the entire South China Sea by building an array of artificial islands there, rejecting its neighbours’ claims to the same territory and flouting an international tribunal that declared China’s actions there illegal.In July, Trump’s State Department announced that it did not recognise nearly any of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.Beyond the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, Biden’s defence team will also be watching the border between China and India, the world‘s largest democracy.Earlier this year in disputed lands along the Himalayas, Chinese troops clashed with Indian troops, reportedly injuring and killing dozens on both sides, high in the mountains, with rocks and sticks. Firearms are banned at the high-elevation border under a 1996 agreement between the two nations. Joe Biden’s foreign policy team to reject Trump’s ‘America First’ mantraManjari Chatterjee Miller, a professor at Boston University who studies China-India relations, said the clashes at the border had pushed India into a closer relationship with the US, which will remain close under Biden.“During the Trump administration, India signed three defence agreements with the US in three years,” she said.In 2017, the Trump administration also revived a defence partnership with India, along with Australia and Japan, known as the “Quad”.But less clear is whether Washington will be able to translate those closer ties into more aggressive resistance against Beijing.“The idea of using India as a counterweight to China has been floating around for a good two decades,” said Miller. “The question has been more whether India would be willing to be a counterweight to China, and the jury is still out on that.”Biden and his team will also have to respond to China’s growing nuclear arsenal.China is one of the world’s oldest nuclear powers, and one of just five recognised by the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, along with the US. But analysts say China recently has been modernising its nuclear arsenal in ways that lead some to wonder about their motives.China in the past stuck to what analysts call a “second-strike strategy”, said Rose Gottemoeller, who served as the State Department’s top arms control official during the Obama administration. This means hiding or protecting nuclear weapons, so a country can counter-attack if someone else strikes first. How Biden's administration will engage with China on key issues“Now they seem to be wanting to acquire the big hardware pieces like long-range bombers and submarines,” said Gottemoeller, now at Stanford University. “Those are very expensive to build.”“I guess they think they’re the tools of a great power,” she added. “But I think they do lead to questions as to what their plans are, in terms of nuclear doctrine in the future.”The Trump administration has tried to push China to join nuclear negotiations with the US and Russia, but Beijing insists that those are unnecessary because its stockpile of weapons is smaller.Biden has made clear that whatever challenges await him when he takes office, he and his team plan to embrace American allies as vital partners without whom the US cannot succeed – a contrast with Trump and his own team, who tended to see many of the US military alliances through a transactional lens.On Tuesday, Biden said the US was “ready to confront our adversaries, and not reject our allies”.Drew Thompson, a former US Defence Department official responsible for managing bilateral relations with China, Taiwan and Mongolia, said Biden’s challenge now would be to convince allies to act in support of the US. Xi Jinping sends congratulations to US president-elect Joe BidenThat may work against non-state actors such as terrorist groups or “small pariah states”, said Thompson, now a researcher at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. But he added: “US partners and allies will be much more reluctant to support efforts to push back China or Russia, raising questions about the overall efficacy of the strategy.”Yoshihara said that America’s alliances take on new importance now that China possesses the world’s largest navy.“If we’re looking at the naval balance of power, if you’re only counting ships on the Chinese side and counting ships on the US side, you’re actually missing the picture,” he said.“Because if you add the Japanese navy, the South Korean navy, the Taiwanese navy, the Singaporean navy, the Australian navy and the Indian navy, the picture changes quite dramatically.”Additional reporting by Kristin HuangMore from South China Morning Post: * Joe Biden presidency could reopen a window of opportunity for China: analysts * Taiwan starts building submarine fleet amid military threats from Beijing * How Biden’s administration will engage with China on key issues * Xi Jinping sends congratulations to US president-elect Joe Biden * US under Joe Biden must capitalise on, not thwart, China’s successesThis article ‘We’re a Pacific power’: Joe Biden faces pressure to hold hard line of defence against China first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

  • Hong Kong’s fourth coronavirus wave ‘will be more severe’ than the last, authorities warn, as new restaurant cluster emerges

    Hong Kong authorities are warning of an even more severe fourth wave of coronavirus infections after identifying a new group of cases at three restaurants that may be linked to the ever-expanding “super-spreader” dance venue cluster.More than 10 servers, cleaners and patrons at the three restaurants – Stellar House in Wan Chai, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Central, and Chuen Cheung Kui in Sheung Wan – have been confirmed sick, with authorities adding the venues to the mandatory testing list.The city recorded 115 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest daily increase since August 1, when it saw 125 new infections. Of those, 62 were linked to the dance venue cluster, bringing the city's largest coronavirus outbreak so far to 479 cases.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.“We have yet to find any epidemiological links between the cases from the three restaurants, but we won’t rule out the possibility that we have not found infected people who visited these places,” said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch.“We are very concerned, because both staff and customers have been infected,” she added.It was difficult to determine exactly how the virus had spread within the restaurants, but authorities have classified the cases as a cluster because front-of-house servers, chefs, cleaners and patrons had all been infected, indicating an outbreak.It was possible for staff and customers to pass the coronavirus to each other, especially if they had been chatting, Chuang said.Hongkongers face hefty fines for ignoring Covid-19 test note from doctorChuang also did not rule out the possibility that the restaurant infections could be linked to the still-growing dance venue cluster, which is being regarded as a “super-spreader” group.“The dance cluster is so big, it is also likely the [restaurant cases] came from them, but we would still have to wait for the genetic analysis to be sure,” she said.“Looking at the situation now, it seems the fourth wave will be more severe than the previous one.”Chuang noted that people from the dance venue cluster also took part in other activities outside of dancing, such as teaching piano or classes at community centres, meaning they could have spread the virus to a wide range of people in society.Separately, a staff member at the Fong Shu Chuen Day Activity Centre and Hostel, operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, was also among Sunday’s infections, while a resident also tested preliminarily positive, prompting the evacuation of nearly 50 residents.The centre provides day training for people with intellectual disabilities, and Chuang said the situation sometimes made mask-wearing on the premises difficult. Dance off: the niche Hong Kong social scene behind city’s biggest Covid-19 clusterA staff member at another centre run by the Tung Wah Group in Tai Kok Tsui, the Ho Yuk Ching Willow Lodge, which provides care services to the elderly, has also tested preliminary positive for the coronavirus.Health authorities are still unsure if residents at the homes had left the centres at any time.Several schools will also have to shut down, including Saint Clare’s Primary School in Sai Ying Pun, where all staff and students must undergo testing after a 10-year-old student tested positive.St. Paul’s Co-educational College and Cho Yiu Catholic Primary School will also have to be closed temporarily, as they were attended by close contacts of confirmed infections.Sunday’s confirmed infections also included 24 with unknown origins, among them housewives who did not leave home much, and other individuals who had attended many social gatherings, Chuang said.She urged people to reduce any unnecessary gatherings and cancel dining events to minimise the chances of catching or spreading the virus to more people.More from South China Morning Post: * Hong Kong fourth wave: schools to close until after Christmas holidays as city confirms 115 new Covid-19 cases * Coronavirus: infection fears among Hong Kong’s wealthy as cases emerge in private clubs * Covid-19 patients in Hong Kong spreading infection to more people, expert warns, as new cases surge to 92 amid hospital outbreak fearsThis article Hong Kong’s fourth coronavirus wave ‘will be more severe’ than the last, authorities warn, as new restaurant cluster emerges first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

  • COVID-19: 8 new cases including 1 local transmission detected in Singapore

    MOH has confirmed the detection of eight new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, including one local transmission, as of noon on Sunday (29 November).

  • 'Mourning' Napoli honour Maradona as AC Milan pull clear in Serie A

    A "mourning" Napoli honoured their club legend Diego Maradona on Sunday with a 4-0 victory over Roma, as AC Milan extended their lead in Serie A by beating Fiorentina.

  • Mysterious monolith in US desert reportedly disappears

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  • China makes final effort to court Japan and South Korea as Donald Trump heads for the exit

    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi toured Japan and South Korea last week in a bid to court the key US allies, but the prospect of a new president in the White House cast a long shadow over his efforts.The trip also offered an opportunity to gauge the countries’ attitudes towards the incoming Biden administration, and Wang wrapped up his four-day trip on Friday with mixed results.He secured agreements to cooperate on Covid-19 and the economic recovery but an ongoing territorial dispute with Japan over the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, Islands was a major stumbling block to efforts to improve relations.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Japan condemns China’s renewed Diaoyu claim days after Wang Yi’s commentsObservers say Wang’s trip is part of Beijing’s efforts to pre-empt the emergence of a stronger anti-China coalition between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul.Beijing fears that relations with the United States will continue to worsen in the final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, and expects little or no policy shift in the first months after Joe Biden takes office.Wang’s visit, initially scheduled for before the US election, also comes as both Japan and South Korea face a difficult balancing act between China, their top trading partner, and the US, their key security ally.Trump has caused concern among many US allies by questioning the value of these relationships and complaining about the financial burden they impose on Washington. His complaints about the cost of basing troops in South Korea and overtures to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have also strained relations with Seoul.“If anything, China’s desire to [win over] US allies at a time when the alliance is challenged by US policy itself has been ongoing for quite some time,” said Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Stimson Centre, a think tank in Washington.The three countries have been working together to fight Covid-19, something that many in China see as “a great opportunity to advance northeast Asian regional cooperation without US involvement”, she noted.Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, an international affairs expert at Temple University in Tokyo, said it was clear that Beijing wanted to stabilise its relationship with two crucial neighbours and advance its interests before Biden took office in January.“China has a lot to gain from a weaker American footing in East Asia, and attempting to undermine Washington’s alliance system and even to bring American allies and partners into its own geopolitical orbit is a strategic priority it has pursued for a few years,” he said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for stronger ties with South KoreaCompared with his one-day visit to Tokyo, which was largely overshadowed by the maritime dispute, Wang appeared to have had a rather easier time managing relations with Seoul, which some analysts described as lower-hanging fruit.Despite growing anti-China sentiment in the country, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, have managed to steer largely clear of topics such as China’s handling of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea, to avoid offending Beijing.As a result, both sides reached a 10-point consensus, which included upgrading their diplomatic and security dialogue, stepping up coronavirus cooperation and pushing for a political settlement to the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.While China appeared more upbeat about building ties with Seoul under the Beijing-friendly Moon, “China’s engaging with South Korea is clearly aimed at undermining the US alliance system in Northeast Asia”, Sun said.“It’s just that South Korea is inevitably entrenched in the alliance arrangement, so things such as THAAD cannot be reversed according to China’s aspirations,” she said, referring to a US ballistic missile defence system installed in South Korea in 2016 that triggered a furious response from Beijing and an unofficial economic boycott.Lee Seong-hyon, director of the Centre for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, has argued Wang’s visit was more about the United States than his hosts.In an opinion piece in the Korean Times newspaper, he said Wang’s trip to Seoul and Tokyo, was due to fears that the Biden administration would strengthen their trilateral cooperation to increase the pressure on China.China’s ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming said earlier this month that Seoul would be the first destination President Xi Jinping visited once the coronavirus situation stabilises.But Wang’s visit did not appear to have produced any tangible outcome regarding Xi’s trip, which has already been postponed due to the pandemic.When asked about the issue on Thursday – the day when South Korea reported its biggest daily increase in coronavirus infections – Wang said it could only happen when Covid-19 was under “complete control”. Japan calls on China to take ‘positive action’ on Diaoyu maritime dispute in talks as Wang Yi meets Yoshihide SugaCollin Koh, a research fellow from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, said that while Beijing might have pulled Seoul closer economically, South Korea’s formal treaty alliance with the US left it with little wiggle room.“The desire would be to maintain close economic ties with China … while maintaining close security links with the US. On the latter aspect, this would fall short of a security coalition against China – or at least, Seoul wishes to convey the assurance that it isn’t part of such a containment scheme,” he said.But Wang’s attempts to woo Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga appeared to have failed to soothe criticism of Beijing’s handling of Hong Kong and renewed tensions over the Diaoyus.Although China wants to keep the territorial dispute separate from other aspects of the two countries’ relations, Japan has refused to budge.Instead, it was brought up at almost every meeting Wang had with Japanese officials, including his counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi.It also overshadowed his first face-to-face meeting with Suga on Wednesday, which lasted about 20 minutes.Citing Japanese government sources, Kyodo reported that Suga had urged China to take “positive action” on the disputed islands, while voicing concern over the situation in Hong Kong following the imposition of a draconian national security law earlier this year.To Beijing’s dismay, Suga also raised both topics during his first phone conversation with Xi soon after he took office in September.Wang told reporters that both sides had agreed to seek better relations, according to the Japan Times, adding: “We will work to ensure that [the dispute] does not affect the development of China-Japan relations going forward.” American troops could be sent to ‘defend the Senkaku Islands’, US commander saysBut Wang’s suggestions that both sides should allow only government ships to sail near the disputed islands were turned down swiftly by Tokyo.Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato and Suga’s Liberal Democratic Party both lashed out at Wang’s remarks, dismissing them as part of China’s attempt to advance its own territorial claims.They also accused two Chinese ships of entering the disputed waters on the day Suga met Wang, adding that incursions such as this happened on an almost daily basis this year.Chinese state news agency Xinhua and the Chinese foreign ministry made no mention of Suga’s comments on the dispute or Hong Kong, instead focusing on Wang’s statement that repeated China’s stance.Liu Jiangyong, a Japanese affairs specialist at Tsinghua University, said the maritime dispute – which caused a dramatic downturn in relations and furious anti-Japanese protests in China in 2013 – had once again become the main barrier to better relations.Liu warned that both sides should tread carefully to avoid the situation spiralling out of control, adding: “While it is imperative to discuss crisis management mechanisms around the disputed waters, we’ll have to tackle the problem at its root, which is the historical origins of the dispute.”Liu also said relations between the two countries remained strained despite shared interests over issues such as trade and the environment.“Japan has long pinned hopes on its treaty alliance with the US to confront China over the maritime dispute. And [former prime minister Shinzo] Abe’s attempt in recent years to expand the alliance with other countries, such as Australia and India, to form a quadrilateral security bloc targeting China has inevitably exacerbated tensions in the region,” he said.Niu Zhongjun, an academic at the China Foreign Affairs University, an affiliate of the foreign ministry, said it was worrying that both Abe and Suga had tried to alter the status quo by inviting the US to intervene.During his first telephone call with Suga two weeks ago, Biden told him that the US-Japan security treaty covered the disputed islands – a clear message to China.“Wang Yi’s Japan visit was a good start for China’s relations with Suga’s administration … But it’s not realistic to have high expectations because at the end of the day, Sino-Japanese relations largely hinge on China’s great power rivalry with the US,” he said.Analysts generally expect Suga to continue Abe’s pragmatic foreign policy. “If anything, China’s assertive policies to date, not least over the East China Sea issue, provided strong justification to continue with Abe’s policies. Even if Suga wishes to change track, he would likely encounter resistance from within the Japanese policy circle,” Koh said.“Both countries will talk nicely on economic cooperation, yet manoeuvre against each other on the security front.”According to Koh, Wang’s high-level meetings with key Japanese policy elites generated some agreement on economics, which helps with the “optics” of the visit.“Beijing could boast that it’s something accomplished from Wang’s trip in furthering ties with Suga – and it’s something to brandish to the Trump administration and the incoming Biden administration,” he said.Observers also said Wang’s trip provided few clues about whether Beijing would treat its neighbours differently in a post-Trump era, especially considering the international backlash it has faced over its initial handling of the coronavirus and “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy.“Perhaps that will have to wait till the Biden administration’s policy is out,” Sun from the Stimson Institute said. She argued China would “theoretically” want to show more benevolence to its neighbours, but had “no problem turning benevolence into coercive punishment when its neighbours refuse to side with China”.According to a poll by the Pew Research Centre published last month, negative perceptions of China have hit a historical high in Japan and South Korea. Seventy-five per cent of South Koreans and 86 per cent of Japanese held unfavourable views on China, while 73 per cent of Americans see China negatively.More from South China Morning Post: * China’s place in a post-Trump world order is about relationships and good timing * Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for stronger ties with South Korea * Can China, Japan and South Korea follow RCEP with their own free-trade deal? * Japan calls on China to take ‘positive action’ on Diaoyu maritime dispute in talks as Wang Yi meets Yoshihide SugaThis article China makes final effort to court Japan and South Korea as Donald Trump heads for the exit first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

  • Coronavirus fourth wave: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam raises concerns over limitations of mandatory universal screening

    Hong Kong’s leader has again voiced her concerns about the limitations and even adverse consequences of carrying out a citywide mandatory coronavirus screening, amid mounting calls from the pro-establishment camp and mainland public health experts for such a scheme.Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor reiterated her reservations about such a move – seen by pro-establishment politicians as the ultimate step to resume cross-border travel – during a radio show on Saturday, citing differences in the political landscape of the city and mainland China.She also said she had conveyed to mainland authorities why she thought the strategy would not work for Hong Kong.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.“I don’t have the advantage of your system and  I don’t have the relative obedience of your citizens,” she recalled telling Beijing officials.“If we have to forcefully adopt the approach deployed on the mainland, not only will we not achieve the result we want to see, it may even result in an adverse effect,” she told the radio show.The idea of universal Covid-19 screening of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population has been increasingly politicised with critics fearing it would lead to an invasion of privacy.The chief executive has been under growing pressure from key pro-establishment figures and experts from Beijing, who want Hong Kong to get rid of its 14-day quarantine arrangements to facilitate cross-border movement.She was pressed repeatedly by pro-establishment lawmakers on when the border could be reopened during a question-and-answer session on Thursday following her policy address the previous day.The pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions published an online survey on Friday, saying out of 18,740 people it had interviewed over the past week, 97 per cent of respondents supported the mass screening initiative. Though the sample was not randomly selected, the group said its previous surveys attracted hardly 1,000 people, meaning that at least the desire among the group’s supporters to get tested was exceptionally high this time.On the same day, veteran Chinese infectious disease expert Zhong Nanshan also said Hong Kong should conduct citywide testing of all residents, following a voluntary screening scheme that drew about 1.78 million people in September. Covid-19 cases scuppered Carrie Lam’s hopes of restarting cross-border travelFormer chief executive Leung Chun-ying, also recently wrote on his Facebook page that another round of mass testing was a matter of “do or die” for the city.But Lam, who has spoken against the idea multiple times, reiterated on Saturday that such a tactic would only work if accompanied by a lockdown, lasting up to four to five weeks.“Hong Kong will have to pay a very heavy price,” she said, adding that the suggestion lacked a scientific basis.“At the World Health Organization level and even in our country, not all 1.4 billion people took the test. It was done in a precise and rapid way,” she said.She also said the past year of social unrest, triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, had made her work to combat the pandemic even more difficult as some people had lost trust in the government.But pro-establishment lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen, from the Federation of Trade Unions, accused Lam of being unscientific. She said Lam had rejected the idea of universal testing outright, without even studying the possibilities.She also said lockdown arrangements could be discussed further to minimise their impact.Pro-establishment heavyweight Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, said Beijing was treating the matter with care. But he said he had not been involved in discussions in which the mainland authorities gave their views on mandatory testing in Hong Kong.  A government source said testing was all about efficiency, and the administration currently found targeted compulsory testing more effective. Fears over untraceable Covid-19 infections as Hong Kong confirms 84 new casesLam’s current approach is to test high-risk groups, including a recent dance club cluster, after the Executive Council granted health authorities the legal power to commence mandatory testing earlier this month.  “If the city goes for universal testing, the yield will be much lower, but the cost – not just in terms of money but also in terms of lockdown and other intangible measures – will be much higher,” the source said.Another source close to the matter said contractors engaged by the government had not been told about any need to increase their testing measures drastically.More from South China Morning Post: * Coronavirus: debate erupts over how Hong Kong can achieve target of ‘zero infection’ as fourth wave rages with 81 new cases confirmed * Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s fourth wave has arrived, health minister says, as more than 60 new confirmed and preliminary cases emerge * Hong Kong third wave: city’s top officials unite behind universal Covid-19 testing scheme even as some in opposition camp hope to derail itThis article Coronavirus fourth wave: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam raises concerns over limitations of mandatory universal screening first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

  • Karabakh rivals adjust to life along new borders

    Pomegranate harvest is in full swing on a field Zhorik Grigoryan nearly lost in the recent fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed  Nagorno-Karabakh region.

  • Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Jade Seah

    The series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. This week: presenter Jade Seah.

  • Mammoth move: loneliest elephant heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign

    Following years of public outcry and campaigning by American pop star Cher, the "world's loneliest elephant" embarked Sunday on a mammoth move from Pakistan to retirement in a Cambodian sanctuary.

  • Coronavirus: WHO to look at controversial Italian samples in search for origins

    The World Health Organization is looking into controversial research suggesting the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was circulating in Italy months before it was first detected in China, the health body said on Friday, while cautioning against using such data to speculate about the disease’s origins.The WHO plans to run tests with the Italian researchers who made waves earlier this month for their peer-reviewed findings based on tests of blood samples from a cancer screening carried out starting before the pathogen was detected in China.The team found antibodies specific to the coronavirus in over 11 per cent of the 959 subjects. Positive samples dated back to September last year, several months before the world’s first recorded case from early December in China.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.“We’ve reached out to these researchers and they have generously offered to work with us and to collaborate with us on some further studies looking at those samples,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for Covid-19. Where did Coronavirus originate? These virus sleuths are assessing every theoryBut while the WHO was working with scientists around the world to track and examine any detection or “unusual” published results, the investigation it was leading into the origins of the virus would start in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first cases were detected.“We need to be careful with our speculation here,” Mike Ryan, WHO health emergencies programme executive director, said when asked whether signs that the virus was in Europe earlier than previously known could mean it was circulating in humans outside China before it was found in Wuhan.“It’s highly speculative for us to say that the disease did not emerge in China. But we do know that the first clusters of human cases that were detected were in Wuhan.”He said that to understand the origins of the virus, it was crucial to start the investigation in the city where it was first identified.“After that, the evidence should take us where we need to go, but to speculate on where the virus emerged precisely, without starting where the human disease emerged for us doesn’t represent the best way forward,” he said.The comments come as Chinese officials and state media have ramped up rhetoric, saying that just because the virus was first identified in China did not mean it came from the country.Though scientists generally agree that the virus originated in a bat, before passing into humans, perhaps via an intermediary species, where and how this happened is unknown. The novel virus’s closest known relative was detected in southwestern China.Last month, without providing specific evidence, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist for the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suggested that the pathogen could have originally arrived in China via imported seafood.Chinese health officials linked subsequent sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks in major Chinese cities to refrigerated imported food, though other specialists question whether this could be a significant driver of infection. Officials have yet to release comprehensive information about investigations into the early spread of the virus in Wuhan.At a recent academic conference, Zeng Guang, former Chinese CDC chief epidemiologist, noted “suspicious signs” from overseas related to the origins of the coronavirus, including positive tests. WHO names line-up for international team looking into coronavirus originsBut researchers have raised concerns about conclusions drawn from the Italian study. For one, serological testing, which detects antibodies in the blood that indicate if a person has already been infected, is less precise than DNA-based tests that can be done on fresh or frozen samples.Hong Kong University virologist Malik Peiris, who was a key figure in identifying the Sars virus during that outbreak nearly two decades ago, said the data from the Italian study “still needs further clarification”.Due to limitations in how the team extrapolated data from their samples, we “cannot say with confidence this is a genuine result”, he said.The tests could also be picking up other coronaviruses, even an unknown but related virus, according to Gavin Smith, a professor in the emerging infectious diseases programme at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.“It’s really difficult to tell. It is possible that it could be this Sars-CoV-2 virus, specifically, that they are picking up,” he said, referring to the formal name for the new coronavirus.However, Smith said, if that were the case, “the fact that it is picked up in Italy doesn’t necessarily mean that it started in Italy”.“Based on the weight of historical evidence, it’s likely that it emerged in Asia, but it’s impossible to say anything definite about this [at this time],” he said.Infectious diseases specialist Sanjaya Senanayake from the Australian National University said it would be “very interesting to see if things went that far back”.“This would suggest that [the virus] flew under the radar for a long time,” he said, noting there should be “no stone left unturned” when it came to gathering information on Covid-19.He pointed to other signs of an earlier spread, such as the retrospective discovery of a Covid-19 patient in France in late December, nearly a month before the country confirmed its first cases. Scientists in Italy have also found traces of the new coronavirus in wastewater collected that month.The WHO’s Van Kerkhove said on Friday that global efforts were continuing to understand the spread of the virus, including testing of retrospective wastewater samples and analysis of genome sequences.“There are a lot of sources of information, but ... the [origin] studies need to begin where the first cases were detected in Wuhan,” she said. “Then we follow the science.”More from South China Morning Post: * Coronavirus was on many continents before Wuhan outbreak, Chinese team says * Coronavirus: more heat than light in quest for origin of Covid-19 * China’s ‘bat woman’ virologist rules out Covid-19 virus in fresh tests on old cave samples * Coronavirus: WHO and Chinese experts launch origins mission – onlineThis article Coronavirus: WHO to look at controversial Italian samples in search for origins first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

  • Three Hong Kong opposition politicians explain why they turned their backs on Legislative Council – and where they go from here

    Four Hong Kong lawmakers were disqualified from the Legislative Council this month, immediately after Beijing passed a resolution on November 11 stating that legislators could be removed summarily for flouting a number of prohibited acts, including threatening national security and refusing to endorse China’s sovereignty.Their removal prompted all 15 remaining opposition lawmakers to resign. Among those leaving are three prominent lawmakers who have served between eight and 28 years. The Post spoke to James To Kun-sun, Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung and Ip Kin-yuen about their decision to quit, the state of politics in Hong Kong and what lies ahead for them. ‘Pan-dems have not changed, Beijing has lost its tolerance’: James ToOver 28 years in the Legislative Council, Democratic Party veteran James To Kun-sun made a name for himself as a lawmaker who often spoke up on major incidents and difficult cases.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.They included the Hong Kong victims of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis which left nine people dead after an armed man seized a tour bus, the Lamma Island ferry collision two years later that took 39 lives, and most recently, the case of 12 Hongkongers captured at sea by the mainland Chinese coastguard while fleeing to Taiwan.“I was also the first person Edward Snowden approached while he was in Hong Kong,” To revealed, referring to the surveillance whistle-blower who was holed up in the city after fleeing Hawaii in 2013 and before eventually landing in Russia.“I guess my 20-something years’ experience in security affairs, legal background and the fact that I have been careful in my words, prompted people to look for me.”To was a 28-year-old lawyer when he was first elected to Legco in 1991. He held the record as the youngest lawmaker to win a seat until 2016, when 23-year-old pro-democracy activist Nathan Law Kwun-chung was victorious at the polls. Law is now in self-imposed exile in Britain, having left Hong Kong because of the national security law imposed on June 30.Among the old documents, books, thank-you cards and souvenirs unearthed as To prepared to vacate his Legco office was his black schedule book from 1992, documenting his first year as a lawmaker.“I never thought I would serve this long. I was supposed to be in line for retirement, but my colleagues thought I should stay,” said To, now 57. “My biggest regret is that there is not only an absence of universal suffrage in Hong Kong, but also an absence of a real ‘one country, two systems’.”China, which has grown stronger, has lost its toleranceJames To, Democratic Party veteranThe guiding principle put forward by the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping which ensured the freedoms granted to the city would remain unchanged for 50 years after Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China in 1997 was “dead”, To declared.The longest-serving lawmaker before his resignation, To led the opposition’s efforts last year to delay scrutiny of an extradition bill that would end up triggering months of anti-government protests and violence. The bill was later withdrawn, but the repercussions caused an upheaval across Hong Kong’s political landscape.He insisted the pan-democrats had not changed over the decades but had only remained steadfast in pursuing the goal of real universal suffrage for the city.“But China, which has grown stronger, has lost its tolerance,” he said.To likened himself to a “broken cassette”, trying repeatedly for years to persuade Beijing and those who have asked him to explain what the pan-democrat camp wanted, that granting Hong Kong democracy – and even having a pan-democrat as chief executive – would not be the end of the world.“I will still tell them that now they have gone too far and our freedoms have shrunk. I will continue to say it out loud, but it seems a bit naive for me to believe they will listen,” he said.To, who is married with one son, said that for now, he would continue as a member of Yau Tsim Mong District Council to which he was re-elected last year.“If people are still determined to approach me for help despite knowing I’m no longer a lawmaker, I will surely take up their case,” he said.* * * ‘Our sky has fallen apart’: Fernando CheungEntering Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung’s office, one is greeted by the sight of piles of files on welfare and education and more than a dozen charts on the wall, showing the waiting times at various public services.From advocating for job opportunities for the disabled and improved child protection, to assisting those in asylums and prisons, and seeking more places for the elderly in residential care centres, Cheung is well known for his devotion to the vulnerable over 12 years in the Legislative Council.Lately, however, the opposition Labour Party lawmaker has been in the news mainly for political reasons.He was among eight lawmakers and activists arrested earlier this month on charges relating to a chaotic Legco committee meeting in May which descended into shouting and scuffles.Macau-born Cheung, 63, was educated in Hong Kong and the United States, and obtained American citizenship before he returned in 1996 to teach social work at Polytechnic University.He gave up his US citizenship to run for Legco in 2004 representing the social welfare sector, and defeated his rival Peter Cheung Kwok-che by just 64 votes. Mass resignation of opposition lawmakers after Beijing rules on disqualification“The sky was the limit when I first became a legislator,” he said. “I was soon elected panel chairman for welfare services, and could set agendas and bargain with the government.“At that time, I believed I could do a lot for my sector and the government respected legislators. There were unlimited opportunities.”He lost the 2008 election when he switched to contesting in a geographical constituency. He returned to Legco  in 2012, after co-founding the Labour Party with pro-democracy stalwart Lee Cheuk-yan the year before. At its best, the party had four members in the legislature from 2012 to 2016.“Our sky has fallen apart now,” he said. “Things started to change after [former chief executive] Leung Chun-ying got into power, when he targeted and did not respect opposition lawmakers.”Cheung said the situation deteriorated rapidly over the past few months to a year.“Even people like me, regarded as very ‘soft’ protesters, have become Beijing’s target,” he said with a forced smile, recalling how radical protesters during last year’s social unrest criticised him for being too mild and rational.“The way I would describe it is Beijing is purging us.”Cheung announced earlier this year that he would not contest the Legco elections originally scheduled for September.When the polls were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and Beijing approved extending Legco’s term by a year, he chose to carry on in order to continue speaking up for the vulnerable in the city, whereas his friends, opposition lawmakers Eddie Chu Hoi-dick and Ray Chan Chi-chuen, decided to quit.I have thought about teaching again but I wonder if any of the tertiary institutions would hire pan-democratsFernando CheungDisagreements over whether to quit or stay in Legco for the extended term approved by Beijing caused a split in the opposition camp. “That is history now,” Cheung said.But when Beijing passed the resolution that led to the immediate removal of the four lawmakers, he knew it was all over.“The insulting resolution delivered by Beijing made me reach my limit,” he said. “I understand that for the coming year, it might be hard to assist those in need, but we have no choice.”Cheung, who is married with three children, said for now, he hoped to spend more time with his family, especially his disabled daughter.“I have thought about teaching again but, well, with the new red lines, I wonder if any of the tertiary institutions would hire pan-democrats,” he said.* * * ‘The safest way to be a teacher now might be to just stick to the books’: Ip Kin-yuenIp Kin-yuen’s resignation from the Legislative Council brings to an end his eight years of representing Hong Kong’s education sector.Still in the thick of various educational issues, Ip said he was yet to make time to clear his office at the legislature with just two weeks remaining before he left.Among other things, Ip, the vice-president of the Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU), has been helping two primary school teachers, who have been deregistered, to appeal against the authorities’ decision.The Education Bureau acted against the teachers after finding that one used teaching materials that touched on independence for Hong Kong, and the other taught a distorted history of the first opium war in the 19th century.Ip said the education sector had come under unprecedented pressure over the past year, with pro-establishment figures and officials targeting educators and teaching materials following last year’s protests.“The education sector has been continuously suffocated by various attacks. What we hope to do is to defend ourselves and protect our sector’s integrity,” he said. Are Hong Kong’s teachers radicalising youth? Ex-leader and lawmaker clash over accusationIp, 58, was a secondary school teacher for eight years, a principal for three years, and also taught at the tertiary level for 11 years.He was elected as a lawmaker for the sector in 2012, and re-elected in 2016, both times beating pro-establishment candidates by a significant margin.He believed the sector became a scapegoat following last year’s protests. As a result, he said, teachers now felt more uneasy in class, and schools had become more cautious, afraid of being caught out any time.“What you say, what teaching materials you write, might easily be targeted,” he said. “The safest way to teach nowadays might be to just stick to the books. If this goes on, some very dedicated teachers might choose to leave the profession.”In recent months, Ip and his union have been pressing authorities for more transparency and to reform the system of investigating complaints against teachers’ professional conduct.What you say, what teaching materials you write, might easily be targetedIp Kin-yuenAt least 247 protest-related complaints were received by the authorities between June 2019 and August this year, but he pointed out that many complaints were anonymously filed.The current system gave the government sole power to decide on penalties, he said, unlike in the medical or legal sectors where representatives of each profession dealt with complaints.“We hope to help teachers get fair treatment under a sound investigative procedure,” Ip said.With his exit, there will be no opposition voice for the sector in Legco and he expected pro-establishment lawmakers to push the authorities for “more extreme” changes.There have been strong calls from the pro-establishment camp to “weed out bad apples” in the sector. Some have demanded that the names and schools of teachers found guilty of misconduct be revealed, and urged the government to mete out the heaviest penalties possible in such cases.Ip’s union, the PTU, has also been targeted by the bureau, pro-Beijing figures and state media. It has been branded a politicised group, with some accusing it of stirring young people to commit violence.Ip has not yet decided whether to contest the Legco elections next September.Despite being out of Legco, he stressed that he intended using his PTU role to continue providing checks and balances on the pro-establishment camp.“No matter what, our work will go on,” he said.More from South China Morning Post: * In wake of Legco disqualifications, Hong Kong’s opposition mulls an uncertain future * After Legco disqualifications, Hong Kong’s opposition district councillors fear they’ll be next in government’s crosshairs * Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam declares ‘return of peace’ to Legco, restored faith in political system after Beijing’s lawmakers ruling * Echo chamber or sound politics: how will Hong Kong’s legislature function without an opposition?This article Three Hong Kong opposition politicians explain why they turned their backs on Legislative Council – and where they go from here first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

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  • Plan to expand voting for Hong Kong residents living in mainland China may not take shape by next year, Chief Executive Carrie Lam says

    A plan to let Hong Kong voters cast their ballots in mainland China may not come to fruition in time for a major election next year, the city’s leader has revealed, blaming complexities her staff had overlooked.The proposal – which sparked fears among opposition politicians that it would undermine the fairness and integrity of the city’s electoral process – was expected to be unveiled in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng-yuet ngor’s policy address on Wednesday.But Lam told a radio show on Saturday her administration only came to know about the complexities involved in the electoral reform process after floating the idea about two months ago.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau first felt the need for electoral reforms as many Hongkongers were stranded on the mainland because of the coronavirus pandemic. Debate over proposal to allow voting in mainland China, with critics raising fears of fraudBut the Electoral Affairs Commission, a statutory body responsible for ensuring fairness in polls, later started advising the bureau about the legal issues involved, as well as the procedures required to keep electoral malpractice at bay.“Initially, it was thought that it could be done because of the demands from Hong Kong people on the mainland. But after a certain period of time, it turned out to be very complicated,” she said.Lam said the government intended to give it some “leeway”.“We are not saying we will definitely not do it now,” she said.But if it failed to materialise by the Legislative Council elections next year, she said the government would proceed with other plans to improve the electoral process up its sleeve, such as setting aside a separate queue for senior citizens.The city’s pro-establishment camp had campaigned for such a voting arrangement given that 540,000 Hong Kong permanent residents lived in Guangdong province alone.But the opposition camp said it would give rise to manipulation, with political scholars fearing the use of electronic voting, for example, could widen the possibility of electoral fraud, with candidates left unable to scrutinise the process.Political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung, from Chinese University, said the plan touched a nerve with the central government as it would have introduced a democratic voting process on the mainland for Hong Kong elections, while Beijing already had alternative ways to bar opposition candidates from running, including disqualifying them. Carrie Lam expected to lay out plan to expand voting for Hongkongers in mainland China“This doesn’t take the situation [for the opposition camp] any more optimistic,” he said.Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the government’s move simply showed it would like to focus its attention on social and economic issues, as well as combatting the pandemic.He added given the uncertainties of the pandemic, the government might have to postpone the elections once again next year, leaving it with more time to roll out a new voting policy.Pro-establishment lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said she was disappointed. “We always believe that if there’s a will, there’s a way. This is typical bureaucratic lethargy,” she said.But Starry Lee Wai-king, leader of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the biggest pro-establishment party in the city, said the government would have to deal with many technical issues.“I understand why they are doing so,” she said.When asked whether the government was slowing down because almost all opposition lawmakers had either resigned or been disqualified by Beijing, Lee expected other candidates to take part in the coming elections.But the Civic Party, which had three members disqualified by Beijing earlier this month, was undecided about whether to run in the elections next year.“Whether the party will stand in future elections will depend on whether Hong Kong people see a road [for it],” chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said.Leong said he believed the mainland voting plan would have created “ground for rampant election rigging and corrupt practices”.Additional reporting by Rachel YeoMore from South China Morning Post: * Hong Kong elections: debate over proposal to allow voting in mainland China, with critics raising fears of fraud, lack of scrutiny * Carrie Lam expected to lay out plan to expand voting for Hongkongers on mainland China in next week’s policy addressThis article Plan to expand voting for Hong Kong residents living in mainland China may not take shape by next year, Chief Executive Carrie Lam says first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

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