Tag: china

PHL hails 2016 arbitral award as a “milestone in corpus of int’l law” in 5th anniversary of its issuance

(Eagle News) — The Philippines hailed the award on the South China Sea arbitration as a “milestone in the corpus of international law,” as it celebrates the fifth anniversary of its issuance in favor of the Southeast Asian country. In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the award issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, after all, “settled the status of historic rights and maritime entitlements” in the South China […]

China gives one-billionth Covid shot as Brazil toll hits milestone

by AFP bureaus BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Sunday announced it had administered its one-billionth shot in the world’s biggest coronavirus inoculation drive as Brazil’s death toll from the pandemic passed 500,000. The global death toll from Covid-19 is now more than 3.8 million and many nations are still battling outbreaks, but vaccine drives in some countries are allowing activities that were unthinkable a few months ago. China’s vaccine milestone comes after the number […]

Bitcoin dives as China widens crackdown on crypto mining

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Bitcoin tumbled more than 10 per cent Monday after China broadened a crackdown on its massive cryptocurrency mining industry with a ban on mines in a key southwestern province. Chinese mines power nearly 80 percent of the global trade in cryptocurrencies despite a domestic trading ban since 2017, but in recent months several provinces have ordered mines to close as Beijing turns a sharp eye to the industry. Authorities in the […]

China vaccine doses pass one billion mark, as world reaches total of 2.5 billion shots administered

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — The number of Covid-19 jabs administered in China has passed the one billion mark, health officials said Sunday, more than a third of the doses given worldwide. The announcement by the National Health Commission comes after the number of shots administered globally surpassed 2.5 billion on Friday, according to an AFP count from official sources. It is unclear what percentage of China’s population has now been inoculated but its vaccination […]

Eight detained over deadly China gas blast

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese police have detained eight suspects over a gas blast that killed 25 people and reduced several buildings to rubble in the central city of Shiyan, authorities said Friday. Over a hundred people were injured in the explosion, which struck a busy two-storey building packed with shoppers and people eating breakfast in the Hubei province city on Sunday morning. Eight suspects, including the general manager of the company that owned the […]

Biden sees pushback on China but ready to see Xi: aide

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A top aide said Thursday that US President Joe Biden’s first foreign trip showed G7 and NATO unity in pushing back on Beijing but that Biden was also ready to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping. Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, said Biden showed an alternative to China by leading the Group of Seven in a new infrastructure initiative and that a NATO summit for the first time succeeded in […]

Rocket blasts off carrying first Chinese crew to new space station

by Ludovic EHRET JIUQUAN, China (AFP) — The first astronauts for China’s new space station blasted off Thursday for the country’s longest crewed mission to date, a landmark step in establishing Beijing as a major space power. The trio launched on a Long March-2F rocket for the Tiangong station, where they will spend three months, in a much-anticipated blast-off broadcast live on state TV. Lift-off happened at 9:22 am (0122 GMT) from the Jiuquan launch […]

Taiwan reports new record Chinese jet incursion

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan said a record 28 Chinese military aircraft including fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers flew into its defence zone on Tuesday, as Beijing hit out at international criticism of its military posturing. The incursion came a day after NATO said China’s increasingly aggressive military goals threatened international order — and after G7 leaders issued a landmark statement urging peace in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it scrambled its own […]

Masks off, mortarboards on: Wuhan sheds Covid for mass graduation

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A huge red banner welcomed nearly 9,000 students in Wuhan for a massive graduation ceremony over a year after the city was battered by the first global outbreak of Covid-19. Students in navy gowns and mortarboards sat in crowded rows, without social distancing or face masks, beneath the sign that read: “Welcoming the graduates of 2020 back home. We wish you all a great future.” Covid-19 first emerged in late 2019 […]

China ready to launch first crew to new space station

by Ludovic EHRET and Poornima WEERASEKARA BEIJING, China (AFP) — The first crew for China’s new space station prepared to blast off this week for the latest step in Beijing’s ambitious programme to establish itself as a space power. The mission is China’s first crewed spaceflight in nearly five years, and a matter of prestige for the government as it prepares to mark the 100th birthday of the ruling Communist Party on July 1 with […]

Biden hopes to advance more open Indo-Pacific region as he sends greetings on PHL Independence

Stresses importance of both nations working together to defeat pandemic and ensure freedom of navigation in disputed seas   (Eagle News) – US President Joe Biden sent his greetings to all Filipinos on the occasion of the 123rd independence day of the Philippines, and hoped for a stronger and more vigorous relations between the two nations. Biden, in his video message, also said that it is important for both nations to look into working on […]

Biden drops plan to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok, WeChat

  by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) President Joe Biden has revoked executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump seeking to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat from US markets on national security concerns, a move receiving a cautious welcome from Beijing. Trump had claimed the apps posed national security risks and sought to force a sale to US investors of TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance and remains one […]