After apologizing on behalf of the people of her province — where the worst incident took place — East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa held a gathering with Papuans living in Surabaya at the residence of East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Luki Hermawan on Monday evening.

During the event, Khofifah, alongside deputy governor Emil Dardak, joined the Papuans who participated in the meeting to sing Papuan folk songs, namely “Tanah Papua” (Land of Papua) and “Aku Papua” (I am Papua), news agency Antara reported.

In her Instagram account, Khofifah posted photos of her meeting with the Papuans in a post in which she again conveyed her apology to the Papuans who were hurt by racially-charged statements by “individuals” living in the province, as she called on the people of Indonesia to respect each other.

“We are brothers and sisters sharing the same nation and homeland. Let us not let ourselves be pit against each other and become enemies,” Khofifah wrote in her account @khofifah.ip on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Malang Mayor Sutiaji invited Papuan students living in the city for lunch on Tuesday, during which he also assured the safety of the students and rebuffed circulating information that suggested there would be raids and Papuan students would be forced to leave the city.

“We have to set this straight: There is no discrimination in our policy [against Papuans], because everyone is equal and Papuans […] are all Indonesian citizens,” he said.

Large protests broke out in Papua’s capital of Jayapura as well as the West Papua cities of Manokwari and Sorong on Monday morning as people expressed their anger over racial abuse of Papuan student staying in a dormitory in Surabaya on Sunday.

The Papuan students were subjected to physical and verbal attacks by a number of security personnel and members of mass organizations, who shouted curse words such as “monkeys” and “pigs” against the Papuans after accusing them of refusing to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day over the weekend.

Other regional leaders, including South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, have also responded to the situation, asserting that they would ensure the security of Papuans, including university students, in their respective provinces.

Nurdin immediately visited a Papuan student dormitory on Jl. Lanto Daeng Pasewang in Makassar after reports emerged that an unidentified group had attacked the building on Monday evening, hours after the protests broke out in Papua and West Papua.

The attack broke several windows on the first floor of the dormitory.

After meeting with Papuan students, Nurdin said he deplored the incident and promised to undo the damage, while security personnel would take charge of securing the building to prevent further incidents.

Nurdin apologized for the incident, which affected Papuan students in the dormitory. “[Please] forgive all of us,” he said.

In the capital, Cengkareng Police in West Jakarta also met with dozens of Papuan students studying at the PLN Engineering University Academy (STT) and had a meal together at a restaurant in the area on Monday.

During the meeting, Cengkareng Police chief Comr. H Khoiri reminded security personnel and kamtibmas (resident security officers) to cooperate with students from Papua to keep the peace.

In a separate event, Kramat Jati Police visited a Papuan student dormitory in Batuampar in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

“We advised students from Papua in Kramat Jati not to be provoked by the recent situation,” Kramat Jati Police chief Comr. Nurdin A. Rahman said.

Protests in Sorong continued on Tuesday, with demonstrators reportedly blocking a number of roads and staging a rally in front of the Sorong mayoral office. (ami/gis/afr)

Chheang Vun, the head of the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Propaganda and Information, told reporters on Monday that tense talks had been held with Vietnam and Laos over the weekend at the seventh conference of the three countries’ National Assembly committees for external relations.

The conference, held in Ha Long city in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province on Saturday and Sunday, addressed the national assemblies’ roles in promoting and implementing an agreement on cooperation in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area.

Vun said the three parties discussed topics such as trade and investment, border concerns, drugs, illegal timber trafficking and the issue of Vietnamese people living in Cambodia.

He said Vietnam asked the Kingdom to provide Cambodian nationality to Vietnamese people living in Kratie, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri and Stung Treng provinces but he replied that he could not agree because the Kingdom needed to protect its interests.

“Vietnam asked why we did not provide nationality for Vietnamese people who had been living in those areas for a long time.

“I and our delegates responded clearly on this issue that we have our laws, including the Law on Nationality and the Law on Immigration. We cannot automatically grant nationality for Vietnamese people living illegally in our country.

“It is an issue of territory as well as nationality. If any party concedes ground, our political enemies will accuse us of treason. It’s very important. We cannot allow it to happen. The stance of the government to protect its territory and nationality is not arbitrary,” Vun said.

On May 28-30, National Assembly president Heng Samrin visited Vietnam and met with its National Assembly chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Ngan requested the Cambodian government to pay more attention to the plight of 1,860 ethnic Vietnamese families who were relocated from the Tonle Sap Lake to live on the mainland.

General Department of Immigration deputy director-general Keo Vanthan said on Tuesday that Cambodia has more than 80,000 legal immigrants, around 90 per cent of whom are Vietnamese.

He said if the authorities find immigrants living illegally in Cambodia, they would be immediately deported. “There is no illegal immigration [in Cambodia]. When we find them, we deport them,” Vanthan said.

General Department of Identification deputy director-general Top Neth said that since 1999, nearly 2,000 foreigners had been granted Cambodian nationality, but he was unsure how many were Vietnamese.

He said foreigners can apply for Cambodian nationality as long as they have a Cambodian spouse, with whom they have been living for at least three years, and have been living here for more than 12 months.

Other foreigners who can apply for citizenship are people who have lived here legally for seven consecutive years, those who make a $1 million investment and have resided in Cambodia for at least 12 months, and anyone who donates at least $3 million in cash.

“Our law on nationality is relatively strict and there are restrictions on naturalisation. If foreigners reside here for seven consecutive years, they can have the right to apply. But if they fail to live legally, they will not be considered,” Neth said.

Political analyst Meas Nee said if Vietnam had requested Cambodia to grant nationality to its citizens, it was an attempt to violate Cambodia’s sovereignty.

“If Cambodia follows Vietnam’s request, Cambodia will lose its sovereignty. Cambodia’s rejection is correct,” Nee said.

Only a few days ago, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Momen spoke at Harvard University about the status of Bangladesh’s negotiations with Myanmar over Rohingya repatriation. He was the keynote speaker at the “International Rohingya Awareness Conference” at the Kennedy School of Government. During this presentation, the foreign minister emphasised once again that the Rohingyas will return voluntarily only when they feel that the conditions on the ground in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are appropriate and favourable. It is clear from all independent accounts that the ground conditions are not yet ripe for repatriation.

As I see it, there are three elements essential for what the Vatican News termed as “conducive environment and conditions for repatriation”. First, the Rohingyas must be given some form of reassurance regarding their most fundamental demand, i.e. recognition and citizenship. Secondly, the Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh need to feel a sense of security about the camps set up by the Myanmar authorities. Finally, the Rohingyas require assurance and guarantees that they will be received well by the local communities and provided all the support and material assistance they need to get back to where they had left off two years ago, before being driven out by the marauding armed forces and their henchmen in Myanmar.

It is not difficult to see that every Rohingya who is living temporarily in Bangladesh has one question on their mind: Are we better off in the camps in Bangladesh or at the camps set up by Myanmar in the so-called “Transit Centre”? They want to know if they will have freedom of mobility and equal treatment before the law should they go back. Can they expect citizenship and recognition as an ethnic community like the others?

They also wonder if they can hope to return to their abandoned homes and villages in Northern Rakhine State. And, what about the property they left behind, the homestead, the fruit-bearing trees, means of livelihood, farmland, fishing boats, and all other equipment?

A recently published analysis by an Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) shows that Myanmar has so far initiated minimal preparation for a return of more than half a million refugees, contrary to its proclaimed announcement. During the recent visit to Cox’s Bazar by a 10-member Myanmar delegation, led by Permanent Foreign Secretary Myint Thu, Rohingya leaders articulated the conditions necessary for their return, including the ability to go back to their original villages and lands. The ASPI report backed up by new satellite imagery conclusively shows that the Rohingya settlements in Rakhine, which were burned, damaged or destroyed in 2017, are still uninhabitable and inhospitable. Some of the settlements have been taken over by the armed forces and converted into administrative and military facilities.

The Australian institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre has combined open-source data with the collection and analysis of new satellite imagery to assess the current status of settlements in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State abandoned by the Rohingyas in August 2017. The report also critically assessed the readiness of several “repatriation sites” or “relocation sites” proposed by Myanmar to house the returning Rohingyas.

The research team collaborated with UNOSAT, a UN organisation. UNOSAT is a technology-intensive programme delivering imagery analysis and satellite solutions to relief and development organisations.

The study used that data, and their own satellite imagery collection and analysis, to make an updated assessment of the status of these settlements. The findings are very discouraging and do not bode well for the prospect of Rohingya repatriation and resettlement. If they could read the ASPI report, every Rohingya would have asked: “What do we go back to?”

Three key findings of the ASPI should raise grave concerns and give Bangladesh some issues to discuss in future negotiations with Myanmar.

First, UNOSAT data identified 392 Rohingya settlements that were burned, damaged, or destroyed during the 2017 crisis. Of these, more than 320 show no signs of reconstruction, and least of all, residential construction needed for the returnees to feel “at home” once they go back. At least 40 percent of the affected settlements have been razed. In addition to the UNOSAT data, the study identified at least 58 settlements which have been subject to new demolition in 2018. Separate to these 58 settlements, satellite imagery shows demolition has occurred in other settlements in 2019.

Secondly, the process of repatriation planned by Myanmar, and revealed in an Asean mission report, has raised grave concerns. The returning refugees are expected to stay at Hla Pho Kaung Transit Centre for a maximum of 30 days under draconic conditions. Refugees will have to sign in and out to leave the centre and adhere to a curfew. Camp security will be maintained by the Border Guard Police (BGP), an agency which had previously been accused of torturing Rohingya refugees.

Knowledgeable sources have expressed reservations about the chances of the Rohingyas being successful in this venture within this short time. They may then be sent to Taung Pyo Letwe Repatriation Centre, one of the two identified in the Asean Emergency Response and Action Team (ERAT) report. Satellite imagery of this and other repatriation sites contradict claims by Myanmar that preparations are being made for a “dignified and safe return” of the refugees. Many of these designated repatriation areas appear to be highly securitised camps more akin to detention facilities.

If they cannot return to their original home, which is highly unlikely given the current condition of their homestead, they may be sent to “relocation sites” such as Kyein Chaung. This site is built on the site of a burned Rohingya village, and is a military camp for practical purposes.

Finally, the government in Myanmar has taken many actions—legislative, judicial, and administrative—to make the life of Rohingyas difficult. On June 22, 2019, the central government ordered telecommunications companies to shut down the internet in parts of Rakhine and neighbouring Chin State. UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee said in early July that the “information blackout is imperilling villagers, further obstructing the humanitarian response and shielding the military operations from scrutiny.”

The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law was amended in 2018. In September, the parliament passed amendments requiring anyone occupying land classified as “vacant, fallow, or virgin” to apply for permits or face up to two years in prison. The government issued a March 2019 deadline for permit applications. The purpose of this amendment is to claim control over lands which have been left fallow. This applies most immediately to any land owned by Rohingyas who are either away in Bangladesh or face restrictions in movement in Myanmar. In either case, they will be unable to appeal any adverse decisions against them.

The end result of all these hostile actions against the Rohingyas has diminished the chances that they will return either on August 22 or in the immediate future. The ASPI report appears to be more relevant than the optimistic forecasts coming out of Dhaka. “The ongoing instability, violence, interruptions to communications technologies, and lack of information about the security situation in Rakhine further complicate conditions on the ground for a safe return of the Rohingya refugees.”

Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist and works in information technology. He is Senior Research Fellow, International Sustainable Development Institute (ISDI), a think-tank in Boston, USA.

Nearly six decades have passed since South Korea and Japan signed a treaty to normalize diplomatic ties in 1965, but their relationship has been fraught since then with continued bitterness over the history of Korea’s colonization.

Now, as the relationship of the “frenemies” hits a new low with a budding trade war, Seoul has hinted at scrapping a military intel-sharing pact with Tokyo. But while South Koreans are unified in denouncing Japan’s increased controls on exports to South Korea, opinions are split over whether it is appropriate to use the military information-sharing agreement to hit back at Japan.

While some raise concerns that withdrawing from the bilateral agreement would spread the conflict to the security realm, opponents argue it is not right to share confidential military information with a country that does not trust Korea.

GSOMIA as an option to pressure Japan

The General Security of Military Information Agreement, the military agreement between Seoul and Tokyo, was first signed in November 2016 as part of efforts to bolster military ties.

It was encouraged by the United States, which seeks a strong bond with its Asian allies to guarantee security operations in the region against possible threats and pressure from North Korea and China.

With GSOMIA, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to exchange confidential military information of similar levels at each other’s request, although they are not mandated to provide requested information if they choose not to.

While not much has been revealed about the information the two countries exchange, South Korea is said to provide information including human-source intelligence, signals intelligence and imagery intelligence. Japan’s major intelligence assets are six satellites, six Aegis destroyers and 110 maritime patrol planes.

As of July 31 this year, information has been swapped 26 times since the agreement was forged — once in 2016, 19 times in 2017, twice in 2018 and four times this year. The spike in information exchanges in 2017 is said to be due to the series of North Korean nuclear and missile provocations amid tense relations.But with Japan’s July 4 measures imposing restrictions on exports to South Korea of key industrial materials, Seoul has mulled options to respond. On July 18, presidential director of national security Chung Eui-yong said the government may review renewing the information-sharing pact, “depending on the situations.”

Seoul’s Defense Ministry also said such consideration is needed, for Japan “raises issues of lack of trust with (Korea) and security-related problems.”

The agreement, which is set to automatically renew annually, can be scrapped when one side chooses to end it 90 days before the end of the one-year period.

Japan has said it wants to keep the GSOMIA. With this year’s deadline slated for Saturday, Cheong Wa Dae appears to be taking a “strategically ambiguous” stance, weighing options until the last minute.

“Better late than never: If Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we will gladly join hands,” Moon Jae-in said Thursday, in his Liberation Day address commemorating the end of Japan’s colonial ruling of the Korean Peninsula in 1945.

Moon’s remark appears to indicate a toned down posture, acknowledging the possibilities of resolution as the trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China is scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday in Beijing.

Bilateral trust vs. Regional alliance

While keeping his distance from affirming on any decision, the deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office Kim Hyun-chong stressed that South Korea also needs to strengthen its own power to depend less on other countries, economy- and defense-wise.

“(Boosting national defense) is to bolster the South Korea-US alliance. China has more than 30 reconnaissance satellites and Japan has eight, but we have none,” Kim said in a local radio interview on Aug. 12, adding that Korea should also launch five or 25 reconnaissance satellites. Agreeing to the presidential official, many ruling lawmakers and left-leaning faction support abolishment of GSOMIA, believing that it does not make any sense to share confidential information with Japan, which “threatens“ Korea’s security.

”Japan lays claim to (South Korea’s) Dokdo Islets as its territory and it removes Korea from its trade whitelist, but it wants to keep GSOMIA? I believe that is just contradictory,“ four-term lawmaker Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said in a parliamentary conference on GSOMIA.

Rep. Song also raised concerns that Japan attempts to strengthen US-Japan relations, while weakening US-Korea ties.

The opponents of GSOMIA also question the efficiency of the agreement itself, claiming that there are other kinds of treaties and deals that would allow exchanging of information when needed.

”With the increasing tension, GSOMIA has gotten more attention than it should. While the information exchanged can come as useful for both sides, Korea has other ways to acquire information,“ Kim Young-jun, a professor at the Korea National Defense University said.

South Korea and Japan set the ground to exchange information when they signed the Trilateral Information-Sharing Arrangement separately with the United States in late December 2014. Via TISA, Seoul and Tokyo would have access to each others’ military information on North Korean issues shared with the United States.

But conservatives and experts supporting GSOMIA argue that the bilateral military agreement is a complex issue that involves security alliance with the United States in the region.

”The United States wants to firm up trilateral security cooperation with South Korea and Japan to keep North Korea and China in check,“ Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University said.

”If South Korea breaks GSOMIA, the US would see Seoul taking a move that is expanding the economic conflict (with Japan) to the security realm, harming Washington’s strategic interests,“ Park said.

Park also pointed out that South Korea maintains an intel-sharing agreement with Russia, even though its warplane intruded into Korea’s airspace recently without permission.

Shin Beom-chul, a senior research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, says the South Korean government would risk taking on a heavy burden in many agendas if it chooses to abolish GSOMIA, as the United States backs the deal.

The United States has refrained from actively intervening in the dispute, but has expressed its support for GSOMIA.

“The ROK-Japan GSOMIA is an important tool in our shared efforts to maintain peace and security in the region and achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea,” the US Department of State official told Voice of America after the topic was raised on July 18.

“The United States fully supports the ROK-Japan GSOMIA, which demonstrates the maturity of the bilateral defense relationship and improves our ability to coordinate trilaterally.”

The public sentiment in South Korea, where the movement boycotting Japanese product has set in, appears to be leaning toward abolishing the bilateral pact with Japan.

According to local pollster Realmeter on Aug. 7, 47.7 percent of the 502 respondents supported South Korea withdrawing from GSOMIA, while 39.3 percent opposed, and 13 percent said they did not know.

Keeping away from emotional backlash

The Moon Jae-in administration still has time to make the decision until the deadline on Saturday, calculating the possible consequences and effects. As the National Security Council meeting is to be held Thursday, the final decision is likely to be made there.

Seoul’s Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo also said he was carefully reviewing options on the GSOMIA, as it is more of a matter of a relationship with the allies, than its utility.

”Instead of abolishing GSOMIA, I believe it would be a better plan for South Korea to renew the agreement and declare it will not exchange any more information with Japan,“ Cho Sung-ryul, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy said in a conference held by Rep. Kang Byung-won of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

Cho also raised the possibility of Japan taking military-related actions to fire back, such as banning Seoul from using the seven UN-designated bases located in its territory. The rear bases are to provide logistical support in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said that his country will take the Kashmir issue and Pakistan’s dispute with India over the region to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“We have decided to take Kashmir case to the International Court of Justice. The decision was taken after considering all legal aspects,” Shah Mehmood Qureshi said while talking to ARY News TV.

Pakistan had last week approached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to raise the issue after China had formally asked for closed consultations in the United Nations Security Council to discuss India revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The UNSC had agreed to hold a closed-door meeting to discuss India’s move to revoke Article 370 following which the world body met on August 16 to discuss India’s move to revoke Article 370.

However, India scored a big win over Pakistan as the UNSC, in a closed consultation, acknowledged India’s measures to bring normalcy and development to Kashmir and wanted all countries to follow suit.

The last time there was a full Security Council meeting on Kashmir was in 1965.

The move comes after India revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which granted special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 following which Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were divided into two Union Territories.

Pakistan had strongly condemned the abrogation of Article 370 saying that it will exercise all possible options to counter it. Reaffirming its abiding commitment to the Kashmir cause, Pakistan said, as the party to this international dispute, it will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps.

Before the announcement, former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone were placed under house arrest as restrictions were imposed across the Valley and the state administration had imposed Section 144 in Srinagar, as well as in Jammu while mobile and internet services have been snapped.

Article 370 had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and limited Parliament’s power to make laws concerning the state.

“The e-hailing market should enter into a healthy and stable period between 2019 and 2021 driven mainly by robust demand as consumers still take e-hailing as a cheap and convenient means of transportation,” said Raymond Tsang, a partner at management and consulting firm Bain & Co.

It is forecast that the country’s e-hailing market will grow at an annual compound rate of 10 to 15 per cent in 2021, higher than the forecast of less than 5 per cent year-on-year.

“Further opportunities remain in the lower-tier cities as demand in the top-tier is already saturated. The growth rate of monthly active users in top-tier cities only hit 10 per cent by the third quarter of last year,” Tsang said.

China’s mobility market is expected to hit a bumpy patch because of increased supervision by the government and rising worries over safety after a passenger was killed by a driver while using the “hitch” service on the platform of major ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing.

A Bain & Company report said shared mobility investments in China fell 48 per cent last year, mainly due to a decline of 90 per cent in e-hailing investment.

Three of the four major mobility sectors, including e-hailing, bike sharing and business-to-consumer car sharing, are floundering in the country. Only the instant delivery services are showing signs of growth, with sales rising by 40 per cent in 2018, Bain & Company research showed.

“Despite these challenges, we see a route to profits for the mobility industry, not only in China but throughout Asia’s developing markets, from Indonesia to India,” said Tsang.

He said the essentials of such a recovery lie in restoring customer confidence, and Chinese companies are already responding to safety concerns by implementing functions such as emergency contacts and real-time location sharing.

Didi said it plans to invest more than 2 billion yuan (Bt8.7 billion) this year as part of a broader effort to improve safety mechanisms for passengers and drivers on its platform. It also unveiled a special protection plan for women passengers, who account for 50 per cent of “hitch” service users.

“Safety is the bottom line for all transportation services, and even if the ‘hitch’ service is resumed in the future, the only key performance indicator is whether it is safe enough, not how much profit it brings,” said CEO Cheng Wei, following the suspension of the hitch service.

Beyond restoring consumer confidence, Tsang said that companies should also scramble to get creative on the back end to improve efficiencies and cut operating losses.

“For example, e-hailing companies can reap significant benefits by investing in electric vehicle fleets. This could decrease fuels costs by as much as 65 per cent according to our research,” he added.

Protesters rebuffed Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s offer to start a dialogue as a “trap” yesterday, eclipsing hopes that a return to peaceful protests at the weekend might prove a turning point for the territory after weeks of unrest.

Mrs Lam, who spoke to reporters before the weekly Executive Council meeting yesterday, proposed a “platform for dialogue with people from all walks of life” in a move seen as a bid to capitalise on the calm to heal the huge rift between the protesters and her government.

But she stopped short of agreeing to protesters’ demands for an independent inquiry into police conduct. Instead, she offered to have overseas experts roped into a fact-finding study conducted by the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).

“One is an important fact-finding study in addition to a very robust system to investigate and look at the complaints against police over this prolonged period of confrontation and violence. The other, a more rare arrangement, is for the IPCC, which is statutory and independent, to create a fact-finding study into the causes and the facts of these incidents,” said the leader.

She noted that the study would provide her government with recommendations on how to move forward and also to avoid a repeat of current tensions. The IPCC, a civilian body, can make recommendations to the government but cannot directly investigate complaints or summon witnesses.

Mrs Lam’s offer was instantly rejected by protesters.

Mr Wong Yik-mo, vice-convener for the Civil Human Rights Front – the group behind the biggest marches that have taken place over the past three months – dismissed Mrs Lam’s promised platform for dialogue as a waste of time and money.

Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Corp said they have formed a file exchange alliance, which will allow rapid and secure data transferring among phones from the three brands.

The move came after Huawei acquired 38 per cent of China’s smartphone market in the second quarter of 2019, signifying the highest market share of any vendor in eight years, according to data released by market research company Canalys.

That is more than the combined market shares of Oppo and Vivo, which respectively occupied the second and third spots. Huawei is also the only smartphone vendor in China to register growth, with shipments jumping by as much as 31 per cent.

In comparison, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi which is the fourth-largest smartphone maker in China, posted year-on-year declines from 18 to 20 per cent, data from Canalys showed.

The three companies said the data transfer alliance is open to all Android smartphone makers, but analysts said the move is a possible counteraction toward Huawei.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, a telecom industry association, said the move marks an interesting phenomenon in China where rivals are now seeming to join hands to fight a bigger competitor.

“Though it remains to be seen how such an alliance can really affect consumers’ preference for smartphone brands, it is an important shift,” Xiang said.

As the global smartphone industry shifts from the 4G to 5G era, shipments worldwide are suffering from a decline. But Huawei said earlier it aims to grab a 50-per-cent share in China by the end of this year or next year, as it shifts its global mix back toward China amid US government restrictions.

Jia Mo, an analyst at market research company Canalys, said the US government’s ban on Huawei has caused uncertainty overseas, but “in China, it has kept its foot on the accelerator”.

Huawei was put on an “entity list” by the US government in May, which banned the Chinese company from accessing US technologies, including Google’s Android operating system, without special government approval.

But on Monday, Washington gave Huawei another 90 days to buy from US suppliers, a move expected to allow it to serve its existing telecom customers and smartphone users.

Despite the pressure from Huawei, Xiaomi said on Tuesday that the company posted 52 billion yuan (B226.9 billion) in revenue in the second quarter of 2019, up 14.8 per cent year-on-year.

The documents, which were released on Monday, also showed that the emperor intended to express his remorse over World War II at a ceremony to celebrate Japan’s recovery of independence held in May 1952.

The documents consist of a total of 18 of Tajima’s datebooks and notebooks from February 1949 to December 1953. Public broadcaster NHK disclosed part of the records on Monday, which were provided by Tajima’s family.

According to the documents, Emperor Showa stuck to the idea of including the word “remorse” in his speech at the ceremony.

In January 1952, he said, “I absolutely believe the word ‘remorse’ must be included.” Although a draft speech expressing his regret over the war was created, the word “remorse” was later deleted from the draft due to opposition from then Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, who said there was a risk the emperor might be accused of being responsible for starting the war.

The fact that the expression of apology was removed from the draft had already been revealed in a book by non-fiction writer Kyoko Kato, who studied Tajima’s diaries. However, this is said to be the first time for Emperor Showa’s actual words to be revealed.

The records also show that, against the backdrop of the Cold War, Emperor Showa mentioned the necessity of rearmament and constitutional revision in February 1952, saying, “Because I thought various other issues would be discussed, taking advantage of constitutional revision, I have been negative about the issue. But now, I came to consider that the constitutional provision concerning armament only should be amended openly and squarely without touching upon revisions of other provisions.”

At the same time, the emperor strongly rejected a revival of the prewar military, saying, “I absolutely don’t want to see a resurgence of the former military clique system as a result of rearmament.”

Tajima was born in 1885 and was appointed to the post of grand steward of the Imperial Household Office (now the Imperial Household Agency) in 1948 after serving as managing director of Aichi Bank, as a member of the House of Peers and in other positions. From 1949, when the office was reorganized into the Imperial Household Agency, he served as the first grand steward of the agency until 1953. After resigning from the agency, he served as chairman of Sony Corp. He died in 1968 at age 83.

“All my principal officials and I are committed to listening to what the people have to tell us,” she said. She hoped dialogue would facilitate mutual understanding and respect in a now-divided society and would help the city recover from its protracted chaos.

Starting this week, Lam said, talks would begin with organizations and people who gave practical advice to the government in the past three months.

Speaking to reporters before Tuesday’s regular Executive Council meeting, Lam said she hoped the nonviolent weekend assembly, in which tens of thousands took part, indicated that peace was returning to the city.

Sunday’s protest was the calm­est since demonstrations against a now-shelved extradition amendment bill escalated in mid-June.

Lam said she remained convinced that Hong Kong has unique advantages in attracting overseas companies, and the government had been doing its best to ensure that the rule of law was being upheld and respected.

Earlier, the government commissioned the Independent Police Complaints Council to look into the cause and facts pertaining to the violent protests from June 9 to July 2 and to submit a report within six months.

Lam said the scope of the review would be extended to all mass protests, which began on June 9, as it was unclear when the turmoil was going to end.

As part of an exhaustive review, the independent council has set up a special task force for, among other things, fact finding, assessment of police procedures and making recommendations to prevent any reoccurrence. The report will be made public when ready.

To ensure objectivity, the independent council will also hire experienced foreign experts, including those who dealt with the unrest in United Kingdom in 2011, Lam said.

It will also look into complaints against police, including those pertaining to an incident in Yuen Long on July 21, when white-clad mobs indiscriminately attacked protesters, passengers and journalists in the subway station, Lam said.

Remarks slammed

Also on Tuesday, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region warned against wishful thinking that China would trade on its own territorial sovereignty and national unity.

The statement came after United States Vice-President Mike Pence said on Monday it would be harder for Washington to make a trade deal with Beijing if there was violence in the city.

China firmly opposes any country’s attempt to use Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability — as well as the well-being of over 7 million Hong Kong residents — as a bargaining chip, the office’s spokesman said.

It said some US politicians have stuck to a Cold War mentality and its attendant hegemonic and zero-sum thinking. They are confusing right and wrong, making irresponsible remarks and grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs.

Also, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China is strongly dissatisfied by and firmly opposed to Canada’s “indiscreet remarks”, after Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a statement on Hong Kong on Saturday.

Canada has repeatedly “pointed fingers at” Hong Kong affairs and grossly interfered in China’s domestic affairs, disregarding China’s solemn position, international law and the basic norms of international relations, Geng said in a daily news conference.

Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s domestic affairs, in which no country, organization or individual is allowed to interfere, Geng said. “Canada has no right to make presumptuous comments about Hong Kong affairs,” he said, adding that any attempt to create chaos in Hong Kong will fail.

Canada should act cautiously over issues concerning Hong Kong to avoid further deterioration of its ties with China, already damaged by detaining Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, Geng said.