Worshippers all over the world attend Easter mass in ceremonies marked by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Queen Elizabeth II turns 95 on Wednesday, just days after burying her late husband Prince Philip, in what will be her first birthday alone in more than seven decades.
Blackstone Group is seeking to invest in more properties in Singapore after buying the Sandcrawler for S$176 million from Lucas Real Estate.
A 90-year-old Hong Kong woman has been conned out of US$32million by fraudsters posing as Chinese officials, police said, in the city's biggest recorded phone scam.
China's President Xi Jinping will attend US President Joe Biden's virtual climate summit this week, Beijing said Wednesday, as the world's top polluting nations seek rare common ground despite wider political tensions.
“The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” has almost reached its halfway mark, and we’ve seen some of the world’s brightest athletes test the physical and mental skills of the global candidates. Those guest athletes have included ONE Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee, “Super” Sage Northcutt, and ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera. Next, … Continue reading "Former ONE World Champ Ben Askren To Make ‘Apprentice’ Guest Appearance"
Former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has published a personal reminiscence about his late mother, saying she taught him to live an honest, thrifty life. Whereas personal memoirs are commonplace among Western politicians, it is unusual for a retired Chinese leader to publish such a personal account because the state maintains rigid controls over all narratives relating to state affairs. In an article originally published in a newspaper in Macau, Wen presented both his mother and himself as people tested by hardship and uncorrupted by power.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Wen, 78, wrote that his mother, Yang Zhiyun, who passed away in her late 90s at the end of last year, had suffered tumultuous days of war and political purges but maintained high moral standards throughout. He said that even after he was promoted to a central government post in 1985, his mother “never asked for anything from the [Communist Party] organisation” and never used his name to seek favours for the family. Wen, whose parents were both primary schoolteachers in the northern city of Tianjin, wrote: “My mother and father dedicated their lives to the revered course of education and always lived on meagre salaries. They left no property or savings behind.” Wen, who was the head of the government between 2003 and 2013, wrote that his mother had been extremely strict and instilled a strong sense of integrity. “One day I found a one cent coin and put it in my pocket, and it was found by mother,” Wen recalled. “She started to beat me and asked where I got the cent, and she beat me so hard that the broom broke. From that moment on, I knew that I can’t take what isn’t mine, not even a cent. Her teaching during my childhood has benefited me throughout my whole life.” The article was originally published in four parts over the past month in the Macau Herald, a weekly Chinese newspaper in the Chinese special administrative region and former Portuguese colony. The full article was republished by a number of accounts on the social media platform WeChat in mainland China on Saturday night. Users have been banned from sharing the article, with the platform’s owner Tencent citing unspecified violations of the site’s rules, but it can still be read. Chinese state media outlets, including the official Xinhua news agency, People’s Daily and Chinese Central Television, did not republish or report on the article. Macau journalists brace for restrictions on press freedom Wen also mentioned an incident when a man hurled a shoe at him during a speech at Britain’s Cambridge University in 2009. He wrote that his mother, then 88, suffered a cerebral embolism while watching the incident live on television and from that time on had problems with her eyesight, speech and mobility. Wen said he had spent most of the time since his retirement in 2013 with his mother. “I retired after I worked in the Zhongnanhai compound for 28 years, including 10 years as premier,” Wen wrote, referring to the place where Chinese state leaders live and work. “For people like me [from a humble background], it is by accident that I became a senior official. I obeyed orders with the utmost prudence and caution as I walked on thin ice or stood on the edge of a cliff.” At the end of the article, Wen made a brief political statement about the country. “China, in my vision, should be a country of justice and fairness. There’s eternal respect for human hearts, human morality and humanity, and there’s always an air of youth, freedom and hard work. I cried over it and I fought for it,” Wen wrote. “This is the truth I learned from my life, and this is also the gift given by my mother.” Wen also described how his father had suffered during the Cultural Revolution, writing: “My father was detained at his school and frequently suffered from brutal interrogations, verbal insults and physical beating. Cultural Revolution was wrong: party mouthpiece breaks Chinese media silence “At one time, a Red Guard punched my father’s face and my father’s face was so swollen that he could barely open his eyes to see things. My father couldn’t withstand any more and shouted back while pointing to his own chest, ‘Lad, you can punch me here!’” Wen recalled how his mother had also suffered during the massive social upheaval during that time, sending a share of her meagre salary to the school where his father was being held to pay for his food. “She always worried that the money wouldn’t reach my father and insisted the guards give receipts as evidence,” he wrote.More from South China Morning Post:Ex China premier Wen Jiabao states innocence in letter to Hong Kong columnistWen family hits back at 'lies' on hidden fortunePremier Wen chides ChongqingThis article Former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao pays tribute to late mother who ‘taught me not to take what isn’t mine’ first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Just because you have money in your savings account doesn’t mean you need to spend it. It’s not about how much you earn, but how much you save and what you do with that money (invest!). You may think that paying a couple of dollars […] The post 5 Habits of Super Frugal People You Should Follow If You Want To Save Money appeared first on SingSaver Blog - We Compare, You Save.
Singapore prosecutors on Tuesday filed five additional charges against businessman Ng Yu Zhi in relation to a scheme that allegedly raised at least S$1 billion ($746 million) from investors to fund bogus nickel trades. The alleged fraud, which would be one of the city-state's biggest, follows a string of scandals involving Singapore trading firms that have shaken investor and banker confidence in the sector over the last year when some commodities, including nickel, have rallied strongly. The new charges of cheating against Ng were read out in Singapore's State Court.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said challenging China in the South China Sea will only lead to violence, and that he will only do so if Beijing drills for oil in the disputed waters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said no nation should dictate global rules or interfere in other countries, as Beijing continued to signal its unhappiness over what it sees as growing international meddling in its affairs. Without naming any country, Xi made his remarks by video link to more than 2,000 officials and business executives attending the annual Boao Forum for Asia in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. “The destiny and future of the world should be decided by all nations, and rules set up just by one or several countries should not be imposed on others,” Xi said. “The whole world should not be led by unilateralism of individual countries.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. “Equality, mutual respect and trust should be at the forefront when countries are dealing with each other. It is unpopular to arrogantly instruct others and interfere in internal affairs.” China has announced record growth of 18.3 per cent for the first quarter as its economy recovers from the damage caused by the coronavirus, but its relationship with the United States has yet to show a similar rebound. Last Friday, US President Joe Biden issued a joint statement with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that indicated China was a geopolitical adversary – which Beijing described as a move to “sow division”. Washington has also begun to consolidate its alliances in Europe and Asia, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing “the need to engage China from a position of strength”. The US, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed coordinated sanctions on China over alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, which Beijing denies. “As we are going through the Covid-19 pandemic, people of all countries have more clearly realised that it is necessary to abandon the cold war mentality and zero-sum game, and oppose any form of new cold war and ideological confrontation,” Xi said. In the audience were prominent business US leaders including Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio. The annual Boao conference is China’s top government-sponsored business forum, sometimes dubbed the Chinese version of the World Economic Forum in Davos. It was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus outbreak. In an apparent indication of decoupling between the US and China, Biden said on Friday the United States and Japan would jointly invest in areas such as 5G technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics and semiconductor supply chains. Washington’s planned investment in domestic chip production, meanwhile, is widely seen as an attempt to attract South Korean and Taiwanese chip makers to the US. China has also been calling for South Korean companies to expand cooperation in technology including semiconductors, in which there is a global shortage. Xi told the forum that China would keep opening up its economy to world business and that there should be integration of supply chains, the digital economy and artificial intelligence. “Any attempts to build walls and decouple are violating economic laws and market rules, which is harming others and detrimental to oneself,” he said. What semiconductors are and why China needs to make them itself Xi promised China would work with other nations to deal with climate change, but did not say whether he would attend a Biden-hosted climate summit on Thursday. The president also defended the Belt and Road Initiative, which has come under scrutiny as it extends Beijing’s geopolitical influence. Xi said the infrastructure investment strategy was open to all nations and was not a “private road for a particular single nation”. Zhu Jiejin, a professor of international relations with Fudan Univiersity in Shanghai, said Xi’s speech at Boao highlighted China’s wish to promote its own agenda. “Boao is an opportunity to highlight China’s role in Asia and China’s voice in a multilateral setting,” Zhu said. “The Asia Pacific region will continue to be an important theatre of competition between China and the US, and the starting point of China’s global governance strategy. “The US has long had a presence in Asia. But China, as a regional country, has a good foundation and should continue to amplify its advantage.” Additional reporting by Catherine Wong and Liu ZhenMore from South China Morning Post:Xinjiang: will the West’s sanctions on China force the issue or unravel?US and China pledge to work together on climate change after John Kerry visitChina accuses US and Japan of sowing division after Biden and Suga vow to counter ‘intimidation’This article Xi Jinping rebukes nations who ‘arrogantly instruct others and interfere’ first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Hong Kong authorities have confiscated HK$358 million (US$46 million) worth of contraband cigarettes so far this year – up 137 per cent from what was seized in the whole of 2019. Nearly 133 million black-market cigarettes were seized between January 1 and April 15 this year. The goods, if legally imported, would have helped the government generate more than HK$250 million in taxes. The haul was about 65 per cent of the 205 million illicit cigarettes confiscated last year. About 56 million contraband cigarettes worth HK$151 million were seized in 2019.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Customs seized contraband cigarettes worth more than HK$560 million this year, up 270 per cent from 2019 A law enforcement source attributed the sharp increase in the seizure volume to enhanced enforcement actions. “We struck whenever intelligence indicated contraband cigarettes were being smuggled into the city or illegal tobacco products were being stored,” he said. He also said seizure numbers rose because illegal tobacco traders had used sea routes to smuggle cigarettes into the city due to the closure of major border checkpoints amid the coronavirus pandemic, and shipping containers could carry larger volumes of the contraband item. The source added that smugglers were using circuitous routes to avoid detection. “Black-market cigarettes are being shipped through various ports in Asian countries before being illegally smuggled to the final destination,” he said, adding that one such shipment might take several months to arrive. He said countries of origin included the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and mainland China. After the Easter break, Hong Kong police and customs officers confiscated about 33 million contraband cigarettes worth HK$88 million from warehouses in the New Territories in three raids between April 10 and 12. Another source said the operations were carried out when illegal tobacco traders resumed underground business after the holiday period. “Intelligence indicates that contraband cigarettes are often stored in tin-sheeted warehouses in secluded areas in the New Territories before being circulated in the city,” he said. In the past, the items were usually stored in industrial complexes in the city’s urban and rural areas. Hong Kong authorities seize HK$46 million worth of illicit cigarettes, arrest five in New Territories raid “We will continue to monitor the trend and take appropriate enforcement actions to combat the illegal trade,” he said. Officers will continue to intercept the entry of such items at source, as well as target the storage, distribution and peddling of illicit cigarettes, according to the Customs and Excise Department. In Hong Kong, importing or exporting unmanifested cargo carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine. Dealing in or possessing illicit cigarettes is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment and a HK$1 million fine. Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activity on the 24-hour hotline 2545 6182.This article HK$358 million worth of contraband cigarettes seized in Hong Kong so far this year – up 137 per cent from whole of 2019 first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
It’s a boy! This article, Malaysian songbird Siti Nurhaliza welcomes baby no. 2, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company.
Five Hong Kong students were among 22 people rounded up following the seizure of HK$34,000 (US$4,376) worth of illegal drugs and liquor in an anti-narcotics operation over the past three days, according to police. The five suspects were believed to be customers in a mini-storage centre that was converted into an unlicensed pub and karaoke lounge on Ng Fong Street in San Po Kong. Detectives from the New Territories North regional crime unit picked up the students and 11 others when they raided the premises on Saturday night.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. “The venue was allegedly used to store and tout illegal narcotics and for abusers to take drugs,” a police spokesman said. Police arrest garage worker in HK$12 million drugs raid in Hung Hom Inside the venue, officers seized HK$17,000 worth of illegal drugs, including cannabis buds and some tablets of Ecstasy, along with HK$12,000 worth of liquor. One of the 16 suspects, a 22-year-old man believed to be in charge of the premises, was held on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug, operating an unlicensed karaoke establishment, selling alcoholic beverages without a liquor licence and violating pandemic-related social-distancing rules banning public gatherings of more than four people. The other 15 suspects, aged 16 to 26, were arrested for possession of illegal drugs, drinking in an establishment without a liquor licence and violating social-distancing rules. On Monday, police arrested another six men aged between 19 and 26 on suspicion of selling cannabis on the internet. Officers seized HK$5,600 worth of cannabis during raids. “The force will continue to crack down on lawbreakers and criminal syndicates who use online platforms to tout illegal drugs,” police said in a statement. In Hong Kong, trafficking in a dangerous drug carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine, according to police. Last month, customs officers arrested two daughters of veteran comedian Richard Ng Yiu-hon and seized marijuana plants and products worth more than HK$1 million in two separate raids on their homes in Sai Kung on March 23 and 26. In 2020, local authorities seized 1,071kg of marijuana in the city, a 186.4 per cent jump from 374kg confiscated in 2019.More from South China Morning Post:Hong Kong police arrest garage worker in HK$12 million drugs raid at industrial building in Hung HomHong Kong police arrest man in HK$1.4 million drugs seizure in Tsim Sha Tsui hotel roomThis article Five students among 22 Hongkongers arrested following seizure of HK$34,000 worth of illegal drugs, liquor over three days first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
China is not likely to shy away from retaliating against Japan over the Taiwan issue but it is expected to take security rather than economic measures, according to analysts. Tensions have escalated after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga discussed China-related issues with US President Joe Biden on Friday during talks at the White House. The two leaders called for “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, the first reference to Taiwan – which Beijing claims as its territory – in a joint statement in over 50 years. They also said they would counter China’s “intimidation” in the Asia-Pacific region. After accusing Japan and the US of sowing division over the weekend, Beijing on Monday said the two countries were inciting “group confrontation”.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. “The US and Japan advertise freedom and openness on the surface, but in fact they gang up to form small groups and incite group confrontation, which is the real threat to regional peace and stability,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. “China demands that the US and Japan stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,” he said, adding that it would “take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, security and development interests”. Li Jiacheng, a research fellow with the Charhar Institute, a foreign policy think tank in Hebei, said any Chinese measures targeting Japan were likely to be in the area of security. “For instance, China could send military aircraft into Japan’s air defence identification zone, or send public service vessels to the Diaoyu Islands … in a bid to exert deterrent pressure on Japan,” Li said. “China may also strengthen its military deployment around Taiwan.” Relations between Beijing and Tokyo were already strained over the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, which Japan controls and calls the Senkakus. Li also said Tokyo could have taken the position on Taiwan to get a security commitment from the US on the Diaoyus. “China is unlikely to take major economic action against Japan at present as China is pushing for the RCEP to come into force – a regional trade agreement that excludes the US,” Li said. “Japan is a RCEP signatory, plus China still wants to join the CPTTP trade agreement led by Japan.” The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was signed in November but still needs to be ratified by at least six Association of Southeast Asian Nations and three non-Asean members to take effect. China is Japan’s largest trading partner, accounting for 22 per cent of Japanese exports and 26 per cent of its imports last year, compared to the United States at 18 per cent of exports and 11 per cent of imports, respectively. Trade data from Japan’s finance ministry shows its overall exports jumped 16.1 per cent in March, thanks to a surge in exports to China worth 1.63 trillion yen (US$15 billion), the highest level since trade records began in 1979. Professor Chen Youjun, head of the regional economics department at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said it was not unusual for Japan and the US to make a joint statement. “The key is whether there will be any substantial follow-up action,” Chen said. Song Luzheng, an international relations researcher at Fudan University in Shanghai, said Japan would only be following the US “on the surface”. “I doubt whether it inwardly wants to confront China with the US, given that China will always be in Asia, but the US presence may not. Japan has neither the guts nor the strength to confront China,” Song said. “But if Japan makes substantive moves, China will definitely take countermeasures and fight back hard.” Li said the strengthening US-Japan alliance signalled the urgency for China to unite with neighbouring countries such as Russia, South Korea and North Korea to put pressure on Japan, while Song held that China still needed to maintain good relations with Japan. Additional reporting by Catherine Wong and Sarah ZhengMore from South China Morning Post:China trade: imports help Japan’s exports post largest monthly gain since late 2017China accuses US and Japan of sowing division after Biden and Suga vow to counter ‘intimidation’Biden, Suga call for ‘peace and stability across Taiwan Strait’This article China may hit back against Japan over Taiwan issue but economic action unlikely, analysts say first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
The South African COVID-19 variant has been detected in Singapore based on unofficial sources but the information has yet to be verified by authorities here, according to the WHO.
An imported case who arrived from India earlier this month was "probably re-infected" when he was in his home country and had been infectious when he came back here, said the Ministry of Health on Tuesday (21 April).
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had hoped a fight over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed would result in an easy win -- placating the ultra-conservative quarters at home while being hailed as a defender of Islam abroad.
A Hong Kong court has passed sentence for a breach of the city’s colonial-era sedition law for the first time in more than two decades, jailing a 26-year-old waitress for three years over a doxxing campaign against police and officials during the 2019 protests. Hui Pui-yee’s last-minute bid to be given a hospital order rather than jail time was rejected in the District Court on Tuesday, with the judge saying the gravity of offences warranted immediate imprisonment despite evidence she had been suffering from depression. Hui earlier admitted liability for some 9,400 offensive messages posted from a Telegram account she managed during the anti-government unrest.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. She pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to commit a seditious act, whereby she admitted spreading hate speech and encouraging doxxing and assault against people supporting the government and police on Telegram, a messaging app popular with protesters. She also confessed to conspiracy to incite others to commit arson by disseminating information about the making of petrol bombs and other weapons on the networking platform in a bid to provoke other users to damage properties by fire. The offences were said to have taken place between August 12 and November 28 in 2019, when Hui and two other unknown Telegram users co-managed a channel called “Boy finds dad and mum”. The court heard the channel, which had 60,068 subscribers and at least 9,407 posts on November 28 that year, had published the personal information of 1,574 people, including mainland Chinese and local government officials, lawmakers and police officers. The group continued the illegal activity despite two injunction orders imposed by the High Court outlawing the doxxing of police officers and incitement of violence on the internet. Former hospital employee arrested for allegedly obtaining patients’ data illegally After her arrest, Hui admitted posting the personal information about government supporters on the platform, as well as calling for people to harass the victims. Further investigation revealed the defendant had discussed spreading information concerning the methods of producing firebombs with the other two administrators. In Tuesday’s mitigation hearing, defence counsel Anthony Lai Ka-kit said his client came from a broken family and, similar to her mother who had left her, had suffered from recurring mental episodes over her adolescence. She was diagnosed with severe depression and mood disorder after her arrest. Lai said Hui’s mental issues had contributed to her poor decision-making and a desire for peers recognition, which she had sought through co-administering the Telegram channel. He asked Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che to consider a lesser sentence – such as a hospital order, under which an offender would be locked up in a psychiatric facility for an indefinite period – saying Hui’s involvement was minor compared to the other two unknown administrators. “The defendant’s role was relatively passive. It can be said she was somewhat an ‘extra’ in the group,” Lai said. But Yiu said the defendant’s acts could have resulted in dire consequences had any attacks materialised as a result of the incitement. “The seriousness of the present offence lies in the fact the defendant made use of open messages on the internet which enabled her to incite more people in a shorter period of time,” the judge noted. Beijing hits back at Western criticism of hefty sentences for opposition figures He set a sentence starting point of four years’ imprisonment for the arson charge and 20 months for the sedition offence, before reducing each by one-fourth to reflect the defendant’s guilty plea. He ordered the sentences to be served concurrently, making a total jail term of three years. The maximum sentence for sedition is two years’ jail and a HK$5,000 fine, while arson draws a prison term of up to seven years when the case is heard at the District Court. Hui is the first person to be found guilty of violating the colonial-era sedition law since Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997. Prosecutors have also invoked the law to prosecute an opposition activist and another for openly calling for the city’s liberation before the commencement of the national security law. Chief Inspector Tai Tze-bun, of the cyber security and technology crime bureau, said the force respected free speech but would not tolerate acts of spreading hatred on the internet.More from South China Morning Post:Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows to introduce amendments combating doxxing, fake news and hate speech at Legco meetingBan on doxxing Hong Kong judicial officers, families extended, as High Court judge says ‘prompt and firm’ response neededThis article Hong Kong protests: woman in doxxing case jailed for three years, becomes first person in two decades sentenced using colonial-era sedition law first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
New Zealand’s foreign minister said the country was “uncomfortable” with expanding the scope of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, following months of joint statements from the Western partnership about human rights concerns in China. Nanaia Mahuta told reporters on Monday that New Zealand had expressed to the rest of the Five Eyes – the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia – that it did not favour the coalition widening beyond intelligence matters. Explainer | Why is the Five Eyes intelligence alliance in Beijing’s cross hairs? “We are uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes,” she said. “We would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities to express our interests.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. “New Zealand has been very clear, certainly in this term and since we’ve held the portfolio, not to invoke the Five Eyes as the first point of contact of messaging out on a range of issues that really exist out of the remit of the Five Eyes,” said Mahuta, who took office as foreign minister in November. The Five Eyes – the world’s oldest intelligence network dating back to the end of World War II – has expanded coordination in recent months beyond intelligence issues, including to raise security issues and human rights concerns over China. Last year, the five nations joined forces to speak out against Beijing’s political crackdown in Hong Kong and to suspend their extradition treaties with the city as a result. But New Zealand had long been seen as the softer link in the Five Eyes when it comes to China. While Wellington welcomed Western sanctions on Beijing’s human rights on Xinjiang, it did not issue sanctions of its own. New Zealand was also the only member to opt out of a joint statement last May before the national security law was enacted in Hong Kong and again in January to condemn mass arrests of opposition figures and activists in Hong Kong, and instead it issued its own statements. Beijing has raised concerns about the coordination among the Five Eyes, including over revelations in 2013 by Edward Snowden that the intelligence-sharing partnership was carrying out mass global surveillance programmes. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned in November that “no matter how many eyes they have”, countries seeking to undermine China should “be careful not to get poked in the eye”. In a separate event on Monday, Mahuta delivered her first speech as foreign minister on New Zealand’s relationship with China to the New Zealand China Council, likening China to a dragon and New Zealand to the taniwha, powerful guardian creatures legendary in the tradition of the indigenous Māori people. “I see the taniwha and the dragon as symbols of the strength of our particular customs, traditions and values that aren’t always the same, but need to be maintained and respected,” she said. “And on that virtue we have together developed the mature relationship we have today.” Australia-New Zealand travel bubble begins, allowing quarantine-free travel When there were tensions between the countries, she said, New Zealand took “a consistent and predictable approach through diplomacy and dialogue”. “Sometimes we will therefore find it necessary to speak out publicly on issues, like we have on developments in Hong Kong, the treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang, and cyber incidents,” Mahuta said. “At times we will do this in association with others that share our views and sometimes we will act alone. In each case we make our decisions independently, informed by our values and our own assessment of New Zealand’s interests.”More from South China Morning Post:For New Zealand-Chinese, global rise in anti-Asian hate a painful reminder of past woundsWhy Australia and New Zealand issued their own statement on US-led China sanctionsBeijing warns United States and ‘Five Eyes’ allies they risk having ‘eyes poked out’ for meddling in ruling on Hong Kong lawmakersUS and Five Eyes allies express ‘serious concern’ over ousting of Hong Kong lawmakersFive Eyes group demands ‘backdoor’ access to WhatsApp and other encrypted appsThis article New Zealand ‘uncomfortable’ with growing scope of Five Eyes as members speak out on China first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
These three businesses will benefit from the expected rise in consumer demand as the world recovers from the pandemic. The post 3 Stocks That Benefit from a Surge in Consumer Spending appeared first on The Smart Investor.
