A plan to build road links to Taiwan from the southern Chinese province of Fujian by 2035 was included in China’s nationwide highway network plan, which was released earlier this month.
Amid ongoing military tensions between China and Taiwan, the plan is believed to be part of Beijing’s psychological campaign against the island, with an eye on its future unification, which Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to fulfil.
According to the plan unveiled on July 12, the highway will extend from Beijing to Taiwan’s largest city, Taipei, via Fuzhou in Fujian Province. Two roads connecting Taiwan’s Kinmen island to the Fujian cities of Quanzhou and Xiamen were also included in the plan.
The document did not state whether the road spanning the Taiwan Strait would be undersea tunnels or bridges.
In a road network plan released in February 2021, the Xi administration outlined a project to connect Fuzhou and Taipei by road and high-speed train. An additional two roads to Kinmen were included in the latest plan.
Taiwan has not agreed to the development of road links, which it believes would be security risks.
Some in Taiwan think the plan is linked to Beijing’s goal of unification, which the majority of Taiwan residents reject.
“They’re trying to make a mockery of Taiwan again,” stated an article published in the digital edition of Taiwan newspaper United Daily News on July 14.
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Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan President who secretly fled the country on July 13 amid violent protests in the wake of the island nation’s ongoing economic crisis, is set to return, a Minister said on Tuesday.
When asked by reporters about Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka, Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena refuted that the former leader was hiding in Singapore and said that he would return.
“I don’t agree that the former President is in hiding in Singapore because he had followed the official procedure and gone to Singapore obtaining a legitimate visa,” the Minister said.
“I was aware that he would return and the authorities in our country would take necessary precautions to prevent any harm to the former President.”
Meanwhile, G.L. Peiris, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party formed by the Rajapaksas to win the 2019 Presidential election, also said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will return to the country and would be entitled to all the perks and privileges that are due for any former head of state.
In Sri Lanka, former Presidents and their families are entitled to a residence in Colombo, vehicles and security, including military and police, in addition to other perks and privileges.
According to media reports, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s escape had been brokered by the Maldivian Parliament Speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed.
Amid the unprecedented economic crisis, the worst since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, triggered severe shortages of food, fuel, medicines and other essentials.
In response, the public first took to the streets on March 31 and surrounding the former President’s private residence.
On April 2, the protesters occupied the entrance to the President’s office
And on July 9 despite heavy security presence in Colombo, anti-government protesters took over the President’s official house, his office and later the rime Minister’s residence, triggering Gotabaya Rajapaksa to go into hiding and finally announced his resignation on July 14.
From the Maldives, he fled to Singapore.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was named acting President.
The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), a South Africa-based rights group, has filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Singapore demanding the arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa for war crimes allegedly committed during the final days of the over two-decades long Civil War.
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A magnitude 7 earthquake struck inland in the northern province of Abra Wednesday morning, badly damaging homes, public and private buildings and roads and sending strong tremors through Metro Manila.
The strong quake centred two kilometres northeast of Langilang, Abra, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.. It struck at 8:43 a.m. at a depth of 25 kilometres.
Its magnitude was initially placed at 7.3.
A hospital in Abra was evacuated after the building partially collapsed following the quake, but there were no casualties reported, said officials.
“We are still experiencing aftershocks. We have received reports of damages to houses. But so far no casualties,” said Mayor Rovelyn Villamor in the town of Lagangilang in Abra province.
“We don’t have power supply because that’s automatically cut off due to danger,” Villamor told DZRH radio.
The public information office of Abra province posted photographs on its Facebook page showing buildings badly damaged, with walls with huge cracks crumbling.
“The focus of attention is on Abra and nearby provinces. This is a major earthquake. We expect strong aftershocks,” Renato Solidum, director of the state seismology agency, told DZMM radio station.
Representative Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur told DZMM radio station the quake had been felt strongly.
“The earthquake lasted 30 seconds or more. I thought my house would fall,” said Singson.
“Now, we are trying to reach people …. Right now there are aftershocks so we are outside our home.”
The quake was also felt in Metro Manila and the city’s metro rail systems was halted at rush hour after the quake, the transport ministry said.
The Senate building in the capital was also evacuated, media reported.
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The Delhi Police on Tuesday detained Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he sat in protest with other parliamentarians against the Central government in between Parliament House and the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The MPs and Gandhi were protesting over no discussion of important issues in Parliament.
Earlier, the Congress MPs began their protest march from Parliament house to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in wake of the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Congress had planned for ‘Sansad to Sadak’ protest where all Congress Lok Sabha MPs were scheduled to meet at the party office in Parliament House.
Later, the other Congress MPs were also protesting against the Central government near Rashtrapati Bhavan who were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday.
According to Congress leaders, the MPs moved forward to give a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu, the Delhi Police stopped them midway near Vijay Chowk.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who was among other protesting leaders, said that they wished to meet President Murmu and apprise her of many issues including the misuse of probe agencies especially to target the Opposition members.
Rajya Sabha member KC Venugopal said the government is not allowing any discussion on price rise and the issue of vendetta politics of the ED.
“This government is making the Parliament a mockery. We want to give a memorandum to the President of India,” Venugopal said.
Subsequently, the Congress parliamentarians, including Rahul Gandhi, sat in protest in front of Vijay Chowk.
The protesting Congress leaders, holding placards, were raising slogans against the ED and Central government.
“What is the problem? We want to go there to meet the President and hand over the memorandum. Why are we not allowed?” Rahul Gandhi could be heard while he was talking to a Delhi Police official.
Initially, the police began detaining other leaders, including women MPs, and at last Deepender Singh Hooda and Rahul Gandhi were left at the spot.
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A series of monkey attacks in a residential area of Yamaguchi City, particularly against children and elderly women, have left dozens injured and officials scrambling for a solution.
Between July 8 and 24, some 38 people have either been bitten or scratched by a monkey in the area near JR Shin-Yamaguchi Station. After city officials failed to capture this elusive monkey, who seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere, they decided to turn to tranquiliser guns.
According to Yamaguchi police, a Japanese macaque about 50 centimetres tall was sighted. All attacks were concentrated within a 1-kilometre radius and mostly targeted at children below age 12 or women 60 or older.
Initial attacks came from the monkey entering a house through an open window, but more recently the attacks have been outdoors.
On the morning of July 17, a 75-year-old woman living on the second floor of an apartment building in the city was doing laundry on her balcony when a monkey suddenly grabbed her right leg. She shook the animal off, but it went around to her back and scratched her.
“I never imagined a monkey would come here,” the woman said. “I hope it is caught quickly.”
The city has sent more than a dozen officials in search of the simian and set traps to capture it. In almost all cases when word of a sighting comes in, the chance of capture is already lost by the time they arrive on the scene.
With signs that the monkey is becoming more violent, the city has posted bird and animal-control specialists with tranquiliser guns in areas where the monkey often appears.
“We want to catch it as soon as possible,” said the head of the city’s agricultural policy department.
Similar monkey attacks occurred in Wakamatsu Ward of Kitakyushu from August to October last year. According to the city’s bird and animal damage control department, there were as many as 25 people injured, mostly children and women, and the animal went uncaptured.
“It is highly likely that it is a male monkey that left his troop and is on its own,” said Hiroshi Tanaka, 64, a curator at the Yamaguchi Museum and an expert on primate ecology. “It may have come to the city by mistake and, perceiving children and women as weaker, proceeded to attack them.”
Tanaka said the first step in capturing such a monkey is to gather more information on sightings and identify where it will appear.
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Sundays are often a day for family shopping, but supermarkets in South Korea don’t operate every second and fourth Sunday of each month.
Under the mandatory shutdown rules, which are meant to protect mom-and-pop stores from losing sales to discount store chains, supermarkets have closed twice a month for the last 10 years.
But the ability to shop every Sunday may become possible again with tens of thousands of consumers asking the presidential office to scrap the rule.
According to the presidential office, of the top 10 proposals, “Lifting the big supermarket’s mandatory shutdown rule” ranked top on Monday, hitting more than 422,000 likes from the public.
The office will select the top three proposals with the most votes and put them into effect. The vote is open until Sunday.
Lee Seong-ah, a 32-year-old white-collar employee, said: “Even if supermarket chains are closed, I almost never go to traditional markets or small markets. Instead, I order groceries online from Coupang or Market Kurly.”
The Distribution Industry Development Act mandates big supermarkets to temporarily shut down their businesses twice a month and limit operating hours from midnight to 10 am.
The law was revised to protect small local markets from retail giants with an upper hand to lure customers to frequent their supermarket chains, which happen to be more convenient and organized.
According to the Korea Chain stores Association, which is made up of Homeplus, Emart, Lotte Mart, Costco and other supermarket chains, the 10-year-old law has failed to reflect change in the retail industry.
“Research shows the mandated shutdown has little effect in boosting local markets. But with the rules, e-commerce giants have exceeded supermarket chains in sales, while snatching customers who can’t go to supermarkets on Sundays or enjoy early-morning online deliveries,” said a supermarket chain source.
The law also means online shopping malls operated by big supermarkets cannot provide early-morning deliveries during weekdays and deliveries on shutdown weekends to customers. On the other hand, e-commerce platforms are free from those rules.
According to a report by Kyobo Securities, lifting the shutdown rules would see annual sales revenue of Emart and Lotte Shopping surge to 1 trillion won ($762.8 million/27.9 billion baht) and 400 billion won, respectively.
But small vendors remain opposed to the idea of revoking the law.
“[T]he new government is trying to stop protecting small stores and play in favour of big companies,” the Korea Federation of Midsized and Small Merchants said in a statement on Thursday.
Experts say shutting down big supermarkets is not the best way to boost healthy competition in the market.
“In order to restrain e-commerce behemoths from taking over the industry, it is important to revise the law,” said Kim Dae-jong, business professor at Sejong University. “Also, if supermarket chains close business after losing the competition from online platforms, local residents might suffer from a low quality of life.”
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Employers should take the minimum wage requirements seriously, said the Prime Minister as he expressed his disappointment over the salary range offered to local employees.
The RM1,500 ( 12,332 baht ) minimum wage policy was implemented in Malaysia on May 1.
“As of July 1, statistics from the government’s MyFutureJobs portal showed that the monthly salary range of most job offers nationwide was between RM1,200 and RM2,000.
“The government is developing a talent pool towards high skills, productivity and potential.
“However, I am somewhat disappointed as the salaries offered by the employers are not commensurate with the qualifications and job scope of the local workforce,” Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
Calling workers “the core of any organisation”, he said they could make or break a business.
“I ask all employers to be serious about this,” he said at the launch of the Keluarga Malaysia Jamin Kerja job fair at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
To overcome any shortcomings, Ismail Sabri called on the Human Resources Ministry to engage with employers and workers’ representatives to find the best approaches and solutions.
“Also, a tripartite consultative approach through the National Labour Advisory Council can be sought to reach a consensus for the well-being of all Malaysian Families.
“I urge employers, including government agencies, government-linked companies and the private sector to provide the best job opportunities and incentives for job seekers,” he added.
Under the government’s JaminKerja-Wage Incentive (JKIP) job placement initiative, Ismail Sabri said more than 113,000 people had secured jobs as of July 18.
With JKIP extended to Dec 31, the initiative would focus on employment for vulnerable job seekers such as people with disabilities (OKU), individuals who had lost their jobs, workers in the tourism sector and former prisoners, he said.“To date, a total of 36,281 OKU have obtained job placements through the initiative implemented by Socso (Social Security Organisation),” he said.
Also present at the event were Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Socso chairman Prof Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Haniffa Abdullah and its CEO Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed.
China’s drone industry is gaining momentum thanks to strong demand from low-attitude economy, and the output value of domestic drone market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan ( 542 billion baht ) this year, experts said.
China, a key civil drones industrial base in the world, witnessed rapid growth last year, financial media outlet Yicai reported. Data showed there were more than 12,000 drone enterprises, with total output value topping 87 billion yuan.
In Shenzhen alone, there are over 1,500 drone makers, and the output value reached nearly 60 billion yuan. Consumption-type drones accounted for 70 per cent of the global total, while industrial-type drones grasped a 50 per cent market share.
Since 2020, despite the COVID-19 outbreak, China’s drone market bucked the trend and maintained a 30 per cent growth thanks to contactless delivery and smart applications, Yang Jincai, director of the Shenzhen Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry Association, said at the 6th Drone World Congress, which was held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on July 23-24.
This year, domestic drone market value is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan, Yang said.
Low-attitude public airway network is a key part of China’s multi-dimensional transportation system, and it is an inevitable trend to further opening up of the low-attitude airspace in order to achieve better development of the low-attitude economy.
Compared with the highway network, there is no ready-made low-attitude airway network. Drone operators have to complete airspace application, airway plan and risk assessment by themselves, keeping a lid on low-attitude development and low-attitude economy.
At present, Sichuan, Hunan, Hainan and Jiangxi provinces are pushing forward the reform of low-attitude airspace management, giving support to the large-scale utilization and commercialization of drone applications.
Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that by the end of 2021, there are 781,000 registered drone users, and the number of registered drones totalled 832,000.
The world congress predicted that by 2024 domestic drone market is expected to be worth 160 billion yuan, including 45 billion yuan in geographical mapping, 36 billion yuan in agriculture, forestry and plant protection, 30 billion yuan in logistics and express delivery services, 26 billion yuan in powerline inspection and 23 billion yuan in security guard.
Among these, logistics is a key sector for drone applications.
The government is putting more effort to support a batch of leading companies to develop drone logistics, and release more low-attitude airspace resources, said Li Jian, former deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Among the 13 national pilot zones in developing drones, there are two focusing on drone logistics, and three on drone delivery in cities. Furthermore, companies like JD.com, SF Express, Meituan, ZT Express, Cainiao and China Post all put more effort into developing large-scale logistics drones, and building airway logistics networks.
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China and South Korea have made substantial progress in the second phase of their free trade agreement negotiations, and China hopes for a win-win outcome quickly, Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, said in a video conference on Thursday.
“The two sides have reached consensus on speeding up follow-up negotiations, and China is willing to keep up the negotiation momentum together with South Korea to reach a mutually beneficial agreement early, and thereby improve the openness and cooperation of the two nations on trade in services and investment,” she said.
China and South Korea signed a bilateral FTA in 2014, which came into effect the following year.
Since then, eight rounds of tariff slashes have been rolled out between the two nations, and China has waived more than 40 per cent of tariffs on imports from South Korea.
The current negotiations mainly focus on negative list-based high-level trade in services and investment liberalisation.
Analysts said the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, which took effect in China and South Korea on January 1 and February 1, respectively, has provided more impetus and room for the two to strengthen trade and economic cooperation.
Data from the MOC showed trade between the two Asian countries had reached $184.25 billion in the first half of the year, up 9.4 per cent year-on-year.
In 2021, their bilateral trade exceeded $360 billion, or 72 times that 30 years ago when they first established diplomatic relations.
“Against the fragile global economic recovery, the fast growth in China-South Korea trade indicated the two countries have strong economic complementarity and has also demonstrated the resilience and potential of their economic and trade cooperation,” Shu said.
The two countries have been effectively aligning development strategies and smoothly implementing the FTA.
They have also been steadily promoting cooperation for the establishment of the China-South Korea industrial parks and continuously deepening cooperation in overseas markets.
Shu said China and South Korea have formed deeply integrated, stable and smooth industrial and supply chains.
Shu also said the stability of industrial and supply chains is a global issue that has attracted wide attention.
China always believes any framework and arrangement to ensure such stability should be open and inclusive, instead of being discriminatory and exclusive, which would damage and divide global markets, she added.
She made the remarks when asked about some news reports that the United States has urged South Korea to decide whether or not to join the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue before August. Reports indicated South Korea said it is discussing with the US ways to strengthen cooperation on chip production.
“Reinforcing the openness and cooperation of industrial chains to avoid their breaking up will benefit all stakeholders and the whole world,” she said.
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said China and South Korea are expected to have stable economic and trade cooperation, given their strong industrial coordination, complementarity and the two governments’ willingness and commitment to promote such cooperation.
Zhou also said China and South Korea have a strong connection in technology sectors like semiconductors, which therefore creates ample investment opportunities and a solid foundation for the two sides to expand economic cooperation.
China is always inclusive on cooperation and welcomes others, including the US, to jointly tap development opportunities, because different economies have different advantages in production, design, markets, services and other links across the industrial chain, and only market-oriented cooperation can lead to win-win outcomes, he said.
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