China

China says Xiaomi removal from U.S. blacklist “beneficial”

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s commerce ministry on Thursday welcomed the removal of Xiaomi Corp. from a U.S. government blacklist, a day after the U.S. reversed a ban on U.S. investments in the smartphone maker that was imposed under former President Donald Trump.

“China has always believed that removing sanctions and restrictions and stopping suppression of Chinese companies will benefit China, the United States, and the world,” Gao Feng, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, said at a news briefing Thursday.

Hong Kong legislators pass 'patriotic' oath law

(Reuters) --- A new law that tightens patriotic loyalty tests for Hong Kong politicians will take effect later this month after being passed by the city's legislature on Wednesday, local media reported.

The law is widely expected to further stifle democratic opposition in the global financial hub, extending oath-taking requirements to community level district councils that are dominated by pro-democracy politicians following a landslide win in November 2019. 

2 plead guilty in case highlighting China’s online control

BEIJING (AP) — Two amateur computer coders pleaded guilty Tuesday to “stirring up trouble and picking quarrels” in a case that highlighted a growing Chinese government crackdown on online activity.

Chen Mei, 28, and Cai Wei, 27, created an online archive that stored articles that had been censored from the Chinese internet, and an accompanying forum that allowed people to discuss them anonymously.

Hong Kong won’t mandate vaccine for foreign domestic workers

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong officials dropped a plan to mandate foreign domestic workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus, after hearing international criticism the move would be discriminatory.

Most of Hong Kong’s approximately 370,000 domestic workers come from Indonesia and the Philippines, both severely impacted by the pandemic.

China adds few babies, loses workers as its 1.4B people age

BEIJING (AP) — The number of working-age people in China fell over the past decade as its aging population barely grew, a census showed Tuesday, adding to economic challenges for Chinese leaders who have ambitious strategic goals.

The total population rose to 1.411 billion people last year, up 72 million from 2010, according to the once-a-decade census. Weak growth fell closer to zero as fewer couples had children.

China foreign ministry says planned U.N. event on Xinjiang an insult

(Reuters) --- China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday that the use of the United Nations as a platform for a virtual event on the repression of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang was an insult to the institution.

China has urged U.N. member states not to attend the virtual event, planned by Germany, the United States and Britain.

China: PIA transports one million doses of Sinovac vaccine to Pakistan

BEIJING, May 9 (APP): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight No.6852 carrying a batch of one million doses of Sinovac vaccine left the Beijing Capital International Airport here on Sunday for Islamabad as the country is battling to control the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

“More flights of the national carrier are expected to airlift more consignments of Sinovac vaccines procured from China between May 13-15 and by the end of May”, Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA Country Manager for China told APP.

China says most rocket debris burned up during reentry

BEIJING (AP) — China’s space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and most of it burned up early Sunday.

Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracked the tumbling rocket part, said on Twitter, “An ocean reentry was always statistically the most likely. It appears China won its gamble… But it was still reckless.”

Chinese PLA provides COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan Army

BEIJING, May 7 (APP): The second batch of COVID-19 vaccines assisted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was delivered to the Pakistani military.

The vaccine was provided with the approval of the Central Military Commission and at the request of Pakistani military and for the implementation of President Xi Jinping’s important declaration on making China’s COVID-19 vaccine a global public good, China Military Online reported on Friday.

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