Politics – Page 19 – The Singapore Post

Hong Kong tycoon gets 14-month jail term over 2019 protest

1Jun

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Hong Kong tycoon gets 14-month jail term over 2019 protest

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was sentenced to more jail time Friday over his role in an anti-government protest in 2019, as authorities step up a crackdown on dissent in the city. Lai and nine others were charged with incitement to take part in an unauthorized assembly when they walked down a road with thousands of residents on Oct. 1, 2019, to protest against dwindling political freedoms in Hong Kong. All 10 pleaded guilty to organizing an unauthorized assembly. Lai, 73, was sentenced to 14 months in prison. He is currently serving a separate 14-month jail term for other convictions earlier this year also related to unauthorized rallies in 2019, when hundreds of thousands repeatedly took to the streets in the biggest challenge to

31May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

No duopoly in Thai jab procurement

No duopoly in Thai jab procurement A woman is injected with a Covid-19 vaccine at the Chulabhorn Royal Academy in Bangkok. His Majesty the King's sister has approved coronavirus vaccine imports by an institution she sponsors, bypassing the government as it deals with surging infections and growing public anger over a slow and chaotic rollout. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb) Just as Thailand's murky vaccine plan has gone from bad to worse, the plot keeps thickening. The latest development centres on the May 25 publication in the Royal Gazette of the Chulabhorn Royal Academy's authority to procure Covid-19 vaccines within the country and from abroad as needed for public health benefits. As has been promptly noted elsewhere, this vaccine bombshell could be perceived as a snub to the government ...

Japan, EU leaders talked about peace and stability: Taiwan Strait

31May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

China, Politics

Japan, EU leaders talked about peace and stability: Taiwan Strait

Tokyo, Japan: The two sides, Japan and the European Union have spoken about the Taiwan strait and came up with a peace and stability-oriented solution.The statement came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held an online summit with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.Citing Japanese Foreign Ministry official, Kyodo News reported that it was the first-ever reference to Taiwan in a Japan-EU joint statement, using identical language to the statement issued after Suga's meeting with US President Joe Biden last month.Suga and the EU leaders voiced serious concerns about the situation in waters surrounding China and said they "strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions....

Hundreds arrested after anti-government protests in Chad

31May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Hundreds arrested after anti-government protests in Chad

N’DJAMENA, Chad - More than 700 people have been arrested in Chad following this week’s demonstrations against the new military government led by the son of slain President Idriss Deby Itno, the United Nations said Friday. Civil society groups are renewing calls for more protests over the weekend in the Central African country, where tensions have mounted in the aftermath of Deby’s killing that was blamed on a rebel group now threatening to overthrow the interim government. U.N. human rights office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said it was not known how many of the people arrested after Tuesday’s demonstrations are still being detained. “As further protests and general strikes have been called to take place in the coming days, we stress that Chad remains bound by its obligations under inter

Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on

30May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on

Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on The last 100 days has seen Myanmar plunge into chaos as the army struggles to control widespread opposition to its rule. YANGON: One hundred days after the military seized power in Myanmar, the nun who pleaded for protesters on her knees in the street says the coup has cast a pall of fear and depression over the country. The image of Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng kneeling in the dust, arms spread, begging police not to shoot "the children" went viral in March as an uprising swelled in Myanmar. Today, the 45-year-old nun works in a clinic in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin state, tending to patients injured by security forces, sickened from stress, and even those who try to kill themselves. "With the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and brutal act...

30May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

UN is failing the Uighurs in China

UN is failing the Uighurs in China In file photo dated October 1 last year, Ethnic Uighur demonstrators take part in a protest against China, in Istanbul. REUTERS/Murad Sezer Of the 11 million Uighur Muslims living in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, up to two million of them, including ethnic Uzbeks and Kazakhs have been detained inside camps, while those remaining on the outside facing a crackdown for a number of years. Human rights organizations and many foreign governments have described the many human rights abuses inflicted on the Uighur people as genocide. A recent report by a US think tank -- New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy -- claimed the Chinese government has violated the 1948 United Nations Convention for the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genoc...

General: China’s Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic

30May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

General: China’s Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic

WASHINGTON - The top U.S general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific but from the Atlantic as well. U.S. Gen. Stephen Townsend, in an interview with The Associated Press, said Beijing is looking to establish a large navy port capable of hosting submarines or aircraft carriers on Africa’s western coast. Townsend said China has approached countries stretching from Mauritania to south of Namibia, intent on establishing a naval facility. If realized, that prospect would enable China to base warships in its expanding Navy in the Atlantic as well as Pacific oceans. “They’re looking for a place where they can rearm and repair warships. That becomes militarily useful in conflict,” said Townsend, who heads U.S. Africa Command. “T

26May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Conflict, Politics, World

Coup is seven years old

Soldiers stand guard blocking potential anti-coup protesters at Democracy Monument after the coup on May 22, 2014. (Photo by Patipat Janthong) Questions remain whether Thailand has made any progress or stepped backwards in the past seven years since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) staged a coup in 2014. Saturday marked seven years since the coup. The Bangkok Post asked academics, politicians and government representatives to share their views on the matter. Academics and opposition politicians say many problems remain unsolved but those from the government insist the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration has made progress in reforms. No reconciliation, new conflict Wanwichit Boonprong, a political science lecturer at Rangsit University, said people were tired of Prime Minist...

What Iceland can teach us about making democracy more inclusive

25May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, Politics, World

What Iceland can teach us about making democracy more inclusive

The Democracy Agenda is a joint TVO/Toronto Star initiative exploring Western society’s commitment to the democratic process. Half a century ago, Ontarians held an election and sent 117 of their fellow citizens to Queen’s Park to represent them. Yes, being the premier or a cabinet minister was very much a full-time job. But for the other 90-plus MPPs, being a politician was only a part-time gig. For most of the year, farmers farmed, lawyers lawyered, and businesspeople ran their businesses. But for part of the year, they also went to the legislature to do the people’s business. They didn’t have teams of assistants. Heck, back then — believe it or not — most of them didn’t even have offices or phones. I’d argue that, as a result, these politicians were grounded in the everyday concerns o

Israel slams China for broadcasting ‘blatant anti-Semitism’.

21May

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

China, Politics

Israel slams China for broadcasting ‘blatant anti-Semitism’.

Beijing, China: Israeli embassy has expressed stong opposition against the prejudice behaviour of Chinese state media houses discussing the ongoing violence between Israel and Gaza.In the program on CGTN, a Chinese state-affiliated media, host Zheng Junfeng questioned whether US support for Israel was truly based on shared democratic values.The 3.36-minute clip of the program was also shared on the CGTN Twitter handle.The host said: "some people believe that US pro-Israeli policy is traceable to the influence of wealthy Jews in the US and the Jewish lobby on US foreign policy makers.""Jews dominate finance and internet sectors," Zheng said, speaking in English. "So do they have the powerful lobbies some say? Possible."Replying to the clip, the embassy said: "We are appalled to see blatant...

Subscribe to our newsletter