China

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Friday rejected a bid by prominent activist publisher Jimmy Lai to throw out a sedition charge against him, delivering the ruling on the third day of his landmark national security trial.

Lai, 76, was arrested during the city’s crackdown on dissidents following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the country will maintain military pressure on the Philippines amid a dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea that could involve U.S. forces defending their treaty partner.

HONG KONG (AP) — China released draft guidelines Friday aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming in the latest move by the ruling Communist Party to keep control of the virtual economy.

The proposal caused shares in the biggest Chinese gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase, to plunge in Hong Kong.

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (APP): As 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a report titled Perceptions on CPEC in Pakistan, was revealed in the 8th CPEC Media Forum, hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and organized by China Economic Net and Pakistan-China Institute.

Data from the report indicate that there is widespread agreement among Pakistanis that CPEC will help revive economic activity in Pakistan.

SHANGHAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - China's financial hub Shanghai was set to record its chilliest period in December in four decades, spurring authorities to issue warnings for low temperatures and wind, while northern cities battled icy conditions forecast to ease only next week.

The city's lowest temperatures on Thursday will be minus 4 to minus 6 degrees Celsius (21 to 24 degrees Fahrenheit) in Shanghai's suburbs, and temperatures will remain below zero all day throughout the city, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said in a post on its Weibo social media account.

HONG KONG (AP) — A landmark national security trial opened Monday in Hong Kong for prominent activist publisher Jimmy Lai, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a law imposed by Beijing to crush dissidents.

Lai, 76, was arrested in August 2020 during a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement under the sweeping national security law enacted following huge protests four years ago. He is charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to put out seditious publications.

BEIJING (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. is expanding its research ties with a leading Chinese university as it and other foreign car companies try to claw back market share in the important Chinese market.

The Japanese automaker announced Sunday that it would launch joint research next year with Tsinghua University on reaching Generation Z — defined for this project as those born between 1995 and 2009 — and on the social responsibility of automakers in battery recycling, charging stations and other electric vehicle-related issues.

BEIJING, Dec 16 (APP): Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has put forward three suggestions for continuing to advance the process of improving relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

HONG KONG, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.

As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Thursday said that the U.S. government has continuously expanded its scope of surveillance, meddled in other countries' internal affairs, and interfered in international affairs, which runs counter to international law and the basic norms of international relations. The United States should have a better sense of boundary and less obsession for control.