Chinese education blogger Zhang Xuefeng was direct and damning when a woman asked him during a live stream whether her son should choose to study liberal arts at university. Zhang, who has more than 24 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is a regular source of adviceContinue Reading
Vietnamese durian exports to China went from near zero to a 4.6 per cent share at US$188.1 million in 2022, and soared to 31.8 per cent last year for a total value of US$2.1 billion. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Vietnamese exports of the fruit worldwide reachedContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: Buoyed by the post-pandemic travel boom, Tigerair Taiwan announced an average of 10.8 months’ bonus for its 800 employees for 2023. Chairman of the budget carrier Chen Han-ming on Monday (Jan 15) revealed that the year-end bonuses were approved during a company board meeting. It was agreed that employeesContinue Reading
Given the timing of China’s trade investigation and findings, it is widely seen as an attempt to sway the outcome of Taiwan’s election. But experts say there are also genuine economic reasons.
“China has two objectives. Of course, one is that they want Taiwan’s people to elect a government that will be advantageous to relations between both sides. The other objective is that some of China’s industries need the Taiwan market,” said Dr Du Zhen-hua, adjunct associate professor in global business at Chinese Culture University in Taipei.
China is Taiwan’s top trading partner, with cross-strait trade totalling US$224 billion last year. The island runs a trade surplus with its much larger neighbour, which accounted for about 35 cent of Taiwan’s exports in 2023.
The roughly 2,500 Chinese imports that Taiwan bans cover a wide range of goods including agricultural produce, natural and synthetic fibres, household electronics, steel products and vehicles. The bans are intended to protect domestic industries.
China’s report on its trade investigation contains estimates of the lost value of exports linked to Taiwan’s restrictions. According to relevant business associations, for example, mainland firms have missed out on exporting US$2.5 billion worth of fresh vegetables and US$170 million worth of fruits to the island.
“Taiwan is not a huge market, but it is at least a medium to large one, around the 20th largest economy in the world, and its import restrictions have hurt the development of Chinese businesses,” said Dr Du.
He added that China “has a basis” for its claims that the island violated ECFA, which came into effect in 2010 and committed both sides to gradually reducing or eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as WTO rules on eliminating trade restrictions.
BEIJING: The head of heavily indebted Chinese property developer Evergrande’s electric vehicle (EV) arm has been detained by authorities, the firm said on Monday (Jan 8). Once China’s biggest real estate developer, Evergrande has reported more than US$300 billion in liabilities and its troubles have become a symbol of theContinue Reading
In order to prevent disruption in the upcoming months, Cathay claimed to have reviewed its flight schedule and put more planes on standby. According to Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam Siu- par,” we have taken steps to ensure that Catray Pacific’s flights may work usually for the upcoming Chinese NewContinue Reading
Crew took 18 hours to get everyone off the airplane and carefully accounted for after the incident.
Yet as passengers panicked, telephone systems malfunctioned, and some removal chutes were out of use due to the fire, Japan’s second-largest airline has described how the team in the smoke-filled cabin followed emergency procedures in textbook fashion.
According to a JAL spokesperson, the majority of the passengers on the trip from Hokkaido were Chinese, with at least 43 confirmed foreigners, including Australians, Swedes, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and North Korean nationals.
On Thursday, images from the public broadcaster Newspaper showed some officers surveying the wreckage, some of whom were wearing masks, gloves, and hard caps. On Wednesday, a Coast Guard national announced that they had retrieved the voice recorder from the aircraft.
Since the fall on Tuesday, thousands of flights into and out of Haneda have been canceled or delayed, leaving many disgruntled travelers there.
Teacher Michio Kusunoki, 67 years old, claimed that she had to deal with two delayed flights as she attempted to travel from Haneda to her house of Fukouka in the south of Japan.
She said,” I was supposed to board a plane yesterday evening at 7.30 p.m. ( Singapore time ), but I changed to this morning at 8.30 am, and that flight was also canceled.
” After that, I was unable to obtain whatever until 4.30 p.m., so I must wander around in order to return home.”
At the airport where the flight originated, New Chitose in Hokkaido, roughly 200 people were also left stranded immediately.
BANGKOK: Thailand and China will permanently waive visa requirements for each other’s citizens from March, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday (Jan 2). Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which relies heavily on tourism, in September waived entry requirements for Chinese tourists until February this year. “This will upgrade theContinue Reading
China on Tuesday (Jan 2) urged the Netherlands to “respect market principles” a day after chip machine maker ASML said the Dutch government had revoked an export licence covering the shipment of some of its equipment to China. The Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company said on Monday that the shipments affected includedContinue Reading
BEIJING: A former vice-chairman of China’s banking regulator has been sentenced to life imprisonment, state media reported on Friday (Dec 29), the latest target in a crackdown on corruption in the second-largest economy’s finance sector.
Beijing launched a sprawling campaign to counter graft in 2012, following the ascension of leader Xi Jinping to the top of the governing Communist Party.
Since then, some 4.8 million party officials have been investigated, according to the latest official figures from June 2022.
Such investigations generally result in convictions and are suspected of serving as a tool for sidelining political figures seen as opposing Xi.
Cai Esheng was found guilty of accepting 407 million yuan (US$57.5 million) in bribes while in office, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a decision by a court in Zhenjiang.
He was also said to have taken an additional 110 million yuan in bribes after retiring.
CCTV reported he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, which will be commuted to life in prison.
Born in 1951, Cai spent most of his career in finance and served for eight years as a vice-chairman of the country’s banking regulator.
Now retired, he came under scrutiny in 2021 with the launch of an investigation into “serious violations of discipline and the law” – wording that typically designates acts of corruption or embezzlement.
The former executive also served as a senior Communist Party representative to the banking regulator.
The conviction comes during a particularly active period for the crackdown on China’s finance sector.
On Thursday, a former head of China’s central bank was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for corruption.
A legislative gathering on Friday saw the adoption of an amendment that provides tougher penalties for corruption, according to state news agency Xinhua.