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August
China to drop COVID antigen test requirement for inbound travellers
Written by Nur Yasmin
China's foreign ministry said on Monday that inbound travellers to the country no longer need a pre-departure antigen test for COVID-19 from Aug. 30. (Reuters)
August
Japan complains of harassment calls from China over Fukushima water release
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan said on Monday it had received many "extremely regrettable" harassment phone calls, likely from China, after the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific.
The Chinese embassy in Tokyo said it too had been receiving nuisance calls, from Japan.
Japan started the water discharge on Thursday in a key step towards decommissioning the Fukushima plant, which suffered triple meltdowns after being hit by a tsunami in 2011 in the world's worst nuclear plant disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier.
"A lot of harassment phone calls believed to be originating from China are occurring in Japan ... These developments are extremely regrettable and we are concerned," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief government spokesman, told a regular news conference.
Such calls prompted vice foreign minister Masataka Okano to summon the Chinese ambassador, Japan's foreign ministry said.
A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said it was not aware of the matter when asked about the harassment accusations at a regular briefing on Monday.
But the Chinese embassy in Tokyo released a statement saying it had lodged stern representations with Japan about the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan receiving "a large number of nuisance calls from Japan".
The calls have caused "serious interference in the normal operation of the embassy and consulates", ambassador Wu Jianghao said, according to an embassy statement.
In a statement, Japan's foreign ministry said the harassment calls were also occurring at Japanese facilities in China, and urged the government to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government had "strongly" requested Beijing to urge its citizens to act "calmly and responsibly" after incidents of stone-throwing were also reported at a Japanese school and embassy.
Fukushima city hall started receiving calls with the China country code +86 on Thursday and the number of such calls exceeded 200 the following day, flooding phone lines and disrupting city employees' ordinary work, a city official said.
On the same day, elementary and junior high schools in the city, 60 km (38 miles) northwest of the crippled plant, received 65 similar calls, he said.
He said one caller made a comment to the effect of, "Why are you releasing tainted water into the Pacific Ocean, which is a sea for everyone?".
Other municipalities, hotels and restaurants have also been getting such calls, domestic media said.
An executive at a Japanese restaurant chain operator said branches in central Tokyo were receiving frequent calls from people speaking Chinese from an +86 number. The company had reported the incidents to police, the executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity fearing even more harassment.
In China, a rock was thrown at the Japanese school in the coastal city of Qingdao on Thursday, according to the Consulate-General of Japan in the city.
When asked about the incident in Qingdao and the harassment calls, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin defended China's record of keeping foreigners safe.
"China always safeguards the safety and lawful rights and interests of foreign nationals in China in accordance with law," Wang said.
Fukushima plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (9501.T) (Tepco) has been filtering the contaminated water to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate.
China said Japan had not proved that the water would be safe and issued a blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan. (Reuters)
August
Taliban stopped 100 women flying to Dubai for university scholarships, UAE billionaire says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The head of a Dubai-based conglomerate on Wednesday said Afghanistan's Taliban authorities had stopped around 100 women from travelling to the United Arab Emirates where he was to sponsor their university education.
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, founding chairman of Al Habtoor Group, said in a video posted on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that he had planned to sponsor the female students to attend university and a plane he had paid for had been due to fly them to the UAE on Wednesday morning.
"Taliban government refused to allow the girls who were coming to study here – a hundred girls sponsored by me - they refused them to board the plane and already we have paid for the aircraft, we have organised everything for them here, accommodation, education, transportation security," he said in the video.
Spokespeople for the Taliban administration and Afghan foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Al Habtoor included audio of one of the Afghan students who said that she had been accompanied by a male chaperone but airport authorities in Kabul had stopped her and others from boarding the flight.
The Taliban administration have closed universities and high schools to female students in Afghanistan.
They allow Afghans to leave the country but usually require Afghan women travelling long distances and abroad to be accompanied by a male chaperone, such as their husband, father or brother. (Reuters)
August
Taiwan to allow Chinese tourists, business people to visit again
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan's government on Thursday said it will from this month allow Chinese tourists and business people to visit again as it seeks to resume exchanges halted by the COVID-19 pandemic and extend an olive branch to Beijing.
China, which has been gradually resuming permission for its nationals to visit a host of popular tourist destinations including Japan, has yet to add Taiwan back on its approved list.
In 2019, China halted individual tourism permits for Taiwan amid rising tensions over the democratically governed island that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory.
Taiwan's China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said that business people from China will be allowed from Monday to apply for short term visits such as for attending exhibitions, and will from Sept. 1 allow Chinese who live in third countries to come as tourists.
Tour groups from China will be limited to 2,000 arrivals per day, but the actual date from when this will begin will depend on the reaction of the Chinese government, the council added in a statement.
"We hope the mainland side will also take steps and meet us halfway to facilitate the promotion and implementation of the plans," it said.
There was no immediate reaction from China to the announcement.
Taiwan's government has been trying to improve relations with China starting with less sensitive issues like tourism, but China has instead blamed Taiwan for problems, including a slow resumption of direct flights.
Tourism is not a mainstay of Taiwan's tech-oriented economy, but the island is an increasingly fashionable destination for mainly Asian tourists attracted by its renowned food scene, history and mountains.
Taiwan has set a target of 6 million tourist arrivals this year. (Reuters)
August
North Korea's Kim visits tractor factory amid food crisis
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Kumsong Tractor Factory on Wednesday alongside his powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, amid the ongoing food crisis, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.
The visit, accompanied by senior officials, saw the leader urge the factory to play an important role in solving the food crisis which he described as an important business for the country's future.
Kim also called for goals to be set to modernize the country's agricultural machinery production process and for it to reach the "world-class" level, the report said.
North Korea has been pushing agriculture amid growing concerns over food shortages. Some analysts have said the factory may also manufacture parts for missile launch vehicles.
South Korea's unification minister, charged with handling relations with its neighbour, said earlier this year that the food situation in the North is "still bad" despite a small increase in trade with China.
The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters, and international experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened matters.
Earlier this week, Kim criticized top officials over their response to flood damage including over 270 hectares (667 acres) of rice paddies, news agency KCNA said.
Last week, KCNA also reported that Kim had inspected typhoon-hit farmlands after tropical storm Khanun swept over the Korean Peninsula.
Kim praised the military's efforts to salvage crops and said the troops were mobilised because they cannot lose a patch of farmland "to the natural rampage on the agricultural front directly related with the people's living," the report said. (Reuters)
August
Pandemic, inflation push 68 million more in Asia into extreme poverty, Asian Development Bank says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The coronavirus pandemic and rise in cost of living have pushed close to 70 million more people in developing Asia into extreme poverty as of last year, the Asian Development Bank said, eroding efforts to combat deprivation.
In a new report released on Thursday, the ADB said an estimated 155.2 million people in developing Asia, or 3.9% of the region's population, lived in extreme poverty as of last year, 67.8 million more than would have been the case without the health and cost-of-living crises.
Developing Asia consists of 46 economies in the Asia-Pacific and excludes Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
"Asia and the Pacific is steadily recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the increased cost-of-living crisis is undermining progress toward eliminating poverty," said ADB Chief Economist Albert Park.
Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $2.15 a day, based on 2017 figures.
Inflation in most countries has soared to multi-year highs last year, driven by a rebound in economic activity and a surge in supply chain disruptions.
Price increases affected everyone but poorer people were hit the hardest because they had to spend more on food and fuel, making it difficult for them to save money and pay for essentials including health care and education.
"By strengthening social safety nets for the poor and fostering investment and innovation that creates opportunities for growth and employment, governments in the region can get back on track," Park said.
Developing Asia was on track to grow 4.8% this year from a year earlier, faster than the previous year's 4.2% expansion, the ADB said in July.
But while economies in developing Asia were expected to make progress in addressing poverty, the ADB said 30.3% of the region's population, or about 1.26 billion people, will still be considered economically vulnerable by 2030. (Reuters)
August
Taiwan proposes $3 billion spending on new weapons, gets F-16 boost
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan will spend an extra T$94.3 billion ($2.97 billion) to buy weapons next year including fighter jets to bolster its defences against China, the government said on Thursday, and will get a further boost from new F-16 fighter jet tracking systems.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past three years to assert those claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen already announced on Monday that overall proposed defence spending for 2024 would be set at T$606.8 billion, a 3.5% increase from the previous year.
About half of the T$94.3 billion additional spend would be used to purchase fighter jets, and the remainder will go into bolstering naval defences, the government's statistics department said after a cabinet meeting to discuss the budget.
The United States on Wednesday approved a possible $500 million sale to Taiwan of infrared search and track systems for F-16 fighter jets, as well as other equipment.
Taiwan deputy defence minister Po Horng-huei told reporters the search and tracking systems were the same as those used by F-35 and F-22 fighters, among the most advanced the United States operates.
"These will help to target the J-20 stealth fighter over the Taiwan Strait in the future," Po said, referring to the new generation of Chinese jets.
It will allow Taiwan to more effectively deter Chinese air activity, he added.
China, which routinely denounces any foreign arms sales to Taiwan, urged the United States to immediately cancel the planned sale, its foreign ministry said.
Taiwan's defence budget will have to be approved by parliament, where Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party has a majority. The island's defence spending for next year will amount to 2.5% of its gross domestic product.
Tsai has overseen a military modernisation programme to make the armed forces better able to face China, including upgrading a fleet of F-16 fighter jets and developing submarines.
Tsai said on Monday the first prototype indigenous submarine was expected to be unveiled next month as scheduled.
Taiwan has been converting 141 F-16A/B jets into the F-16V type and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better face down the Chinese air force, including its J-20 stealth fighters. (Reuters)
August
Thai PM Srettha discusses overcoming divisions with former coup leader
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin discussed overcoming political divisions with predecessor Prayuth Chan-ocha on Thursday, in his first meeting as premier as he prepares to form a cabinet from a crowded 11-party alliance that includes fierce rivals.
Srettha sailed through a parliamentary vote to become premier on Tuesday and will head a tricky coalition that includes parties backed by the military, which has repeatedly manoeuvred to topple governments led by his Pheu Thai Party.
Thursday's meeting underscores a fragile detente in Thai politics, with Prayuth the architect of a 2014 coup against the last Pheu Thai government as chief of the ultra-royalist army. Prayuth stayed in charge for the next nine years.
"Existing divisions will be difficult to overcome. One conversation will not finish it off. It will take time," Srettha said of their meeting.
"I understand his intentions, that he wants to overcome divisions and he cares about the country."
Asked by reporters what advice Prayuth gave, he said "for me to be calm, be patient and protect the nation and monarchy."
Real estate tycoon Srettha was thrust into politics just a few months ago and has no experience in government. He sought to temper expectations on Thursday of a cabinet line-up soon.
Speculation has been rife that Srettha's surprisingly smooth ascent to the top job is part of a secret deal between warring elites in Thailand that included Tuesday's dramatic homecoming of Pheu Thai's billionaire figurehead, Thaksin Shinawatra, after 15 years in self-exile.
Thaksin, 74, was hospitalised with high blood pressure on his first night in prison, where he serving an eight-year sentence for abuse of power and conflicts of interest.
He and Pheu Thai have denied the existence of a deal with their rivals in the military and conservative establishment.
Media has also been speculating about who will get the key cabinet posts, some suggesting Srettha himself would take on the additional role of finance minister.
The new government will then have to deliver their policy objectives to a joint session of parliament before they can start work in late September.
The new administration faces the crucial task of reviving Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which the central bank forecast will grow at just under 3.6% this year. (Reuters)
August
Pacific Islands divided over Fukushima water release, says Cook Islands PM
Written by Nur Yasmin
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, chairman of the Pacific Islands bloc, said that science supported Japan's decision to pump treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, but that the region may not agree on the "complex" issue.
Japan said on Tuesday it will start releasing into the sea more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24, going ahead with a plan heavily criticised by China.
Japan has said that the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".
The IAEA travelled to Cook Islands in July to present its findings to the Pacific Islands Forum - a regional bloc of 18 nations, whose combined exclusive economic zones span 40 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, where half the global tuna catch is found.
"I believe that the discharge meets international safety standards," Brown said in a statement on Wednesday. He added the IAEA would continue to monitor the water during the discharge process.
Not all Pacific leaders had the same position and the Pacific Islands Forum may not reach a collective position, he said.
In a region that had suffered from the effects of nuclear weapons testing by outside powers, it was a "complex issue", he said. The United States conducted nuclear tests in the Pacific Islands in the 1940s and 1950s, and France between 1966 and 1996.
"This is a demanding situation for all of us, and we need to assess the science," he said.
A Pacific Nuclear Free Zone was established in 1985 under a treaty that prevents the dumping of radioactive materials.
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said in a speech on Monday that he supported the discharge, based on the IAEA report, and it was "fear mongering" to connect the controlled release of water over 30 years to the nuclear weapons tested in the Pacific.
The Fukushima discharge will be discussed at a meeting of the five-nation Melanesian Spearhead Group - Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia's ruling FLNKS party - on Thursday. (Reuters)
August
Australia to unveil Indigenous referendum voting date next week
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Australian government said it would announce the voting date for a landmark referendum to constitutionally recognise the country's Indigenous people next Wednesday as it battles a dip in support for the proposal in recent months.
Australians will be asked to vote either in October or November on whether they support altering the constitution to include a "Voice to Parliament", an Indigenous committee to advise Parliament on matters affecting them.
"Very soon, our nation will have a once in a generation chance to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our constitution - and make a positive difference to their lives with a Voice," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"I will be campaigning for constitutional recognition. Because if not now, when?," Albanese said in a statement on Wednesday.
Albanese has staked significant political capital on the referendum. Since Australian independence in 1901, only eight of the 44 proposals for constitutional change have been approved.
Opinion polls out early this month showed the referendum would fail if it was held now, adding pressure on the government to improve its messaging. To succeed, a referendum requires a national majority of votes as well as a majority of votes in at least four of the six states.
Making up about 3.2% of Australia's near 26 million population, the Aboriginal people were marginalised by British colonial rulers and are not mentioned in the 122-year-old constitution. They were not granted voting rights until the 1960s and track below national averages on most socio-economic measures.
The referendum debate has divided opinions with supporters arguing the Voice will bring progress for the Aboriginal community, recognise the 65,000 year-old culture and "unite the nation". Opponents say it would hand excessive powers to the body, while others have described it as tokenism and toothless. (Reuters)