Tag: china

China quake survivors recover in hospitals as toll rises to 135

By Sébastien RICCI JISHISHAN, China, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese earthquake survivors recovered in hospital as rescue teams rushed to deliver supplies on Thursday, the third day since the country’s deadliest quake in years killed 135 people. The toll rose from the previous day’s 134, state news agency Xinhua said, as rescuers continued to search for victims buried as the soil liquified in northwestern Qinghai Province. Almost 1,000 were injured across Qinghai and neighbouring […]

Hong Kong unionist jailed for taking sister’s phone, laptop before search

HONG KONG, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – A veteran unionist in Hong Kong was jailed Thursday for six months for “perverting the course of justice” by removing a phone and laptop from her sister’s residence before a police search to investigate a national security offence. The defendant Marilyn Tang, 63, and her elder sister Elizabeth, were both pioneers in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy union movement and active since the 1980s. Elizabeth was arrested in March over […]

Extreme weather year ends with coldest December ever in China

BEIJING, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – More low temperature records tumbled across China on Thursday, as the country endures a persistent cold snap that has crowned a year of extreme weather. The national weather office said in a social media post that more than 20 stations posted all-time December lows in the early hours of Thursday. They included Hohhot, capital of the northern Inner Mongolia region, where a reading of -29.1 degrees Celsius (-20.4 Fahrenheit) […]

China warns Manila to ‘act with caution’ after maritime clashes

BEIJING, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – China has warned the Philippines that it “must act with caution”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said, following a string of incidents in the disputed South China Sea as Manila increasingly stands up to Chinese assertiveness in the region. Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships blasting water cannon at Philippine boats this month and there was also a collision between vessels from the two countries during tense […]

Record-breaking cold hits northern China

Temperatures in cities across northern China hit record lows on Wednesday, as authorities issued an alert for extreme cold across swathes of the country. The national weather office said subzero temperatures smashed records at five stations in the provinces and regions of Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia in the early hours of Wednesday. That included a drop to minus 33.2 degrees Celsius (minus 27.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Shanxi’s historic city of Datong and -27C in […]

Rescuers dig in freezing cold after China quake kills 131

DAHEJIA, China, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Rescuers dug through rubble for a second freezing day on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll in China’s deadliest earthquake in years rising to 131. State broadcaster CCTV said at least 113 people were killed in northwestern Gansu province and 18 more in neighbouring Qinghai after a shallow tremor on Monday night damaged thousands of buildings. The quake was China’s deadliest since […]

At least 127 dead in northwest China earthquake

By Sébastien RICCI DAHEJIA, China, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Rescuers in remote villages of northwest China dug through the rubble of collapsed homes in freezing conditions on Tuesday after the country’s deadliest earthquake in years killed at least 127 people. State media said the shallow tremor just before midnight had caused the deaths of at least 113 and injured more than 530 in impoverished Gansu province, as of Tuesday afternoon. A further 14 died […]

Devastating earthquake claims over 100 lives in China, rescue efforts underway

BEIJING, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – At least 111 people were killed when an earthquake collapsed buildings in northwest China, state media reported Tuesday, as rescue workers raced to start digging through rubble. About 100 were killed and scores more injured in Gansu province after the strong, shallow tremor struck, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the provincial earthquake relief headquarters. According to CCTV, 11 others were killed and 100 injured in the city of Haidong […]

Outcry as Hong Kong puts tycoon Jimmy Lai on trial: US, UK demand release

By Xinqi SU and Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai went on trial in Hong Kong Monday on national security charges that could see him jailed for life, with the United States and Britain demanding his release. Lai, 76, is accused of “collusion” with foreign forces under a sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on the finance hub in 2020. He is the founder of the now-shuttered […]

Taiwan detects 2 Chinese balloons crossing median line

TAIPEI, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Two Chinese balloons flew across the sensitive median line separating Taiwan from China, the self-ruled island’s Defence Ministry said on Monday, the second time it has reported a sighting this month. Chinese balloons became a politically fraught topic in February when the United States shot down what it called a spy balloon, but that Beijing said was a civilian airship blown off course. While China has in recent years […]

Japan, ASEAN agree to boost maritime security cooperation

  TOKYO, Dec 17, 2023 (AFP) – Southeast Asian and Japanese leaders agreed on Sunday to boost dialogue and cooperation in “maritime security” in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital trade corridor, and its increased deployment of vessels and other methods to assert its claims in disputed areas have riled nations across the region as well as Washington. Japan and the Association […]