BANGKOK — Vietnam’s president resigned in the latest episode of the ruling Communist Party’s “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named acting president. The appointment is Xuan’s second stint as acting president after she stepped in when Vo Van Thuong’s predecessor resigned in early 2023. The turmoil among top … Read more
BEIJING — One burning issue dominates as the 2024 session of China’s legislature gets underway this week: the economy. The National People’s Congress annual meeting, which opens Tuesday, is being closely watched for any signals on what the ruling Communist Party might do to reenergize an economy that is sagging under the weight of expanded … Read more
PRAGUE — Former Czech populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis lost his final appeal in Slovakia Wednesday in a case concerning allegations that he collaborated with communist-era secret police in what was then Czechoslovakia. Babis, who was born in Slovakia, was suing the Institute for National Memory, which holds parts of his secret police files following … Read more
MANILA, Philippines — The government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to to address human rights abuses in the country, including the killings of journalists and rights activists, a U.N. expert said Friday. However, more needs to be done, she said, including ensuring accountability. The remarks by United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene … Read more
SINGAPORE — After a U.S. senator grilled Singaporean TikTok CEO about his nationality and affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party, Singaporeans are complaining about ignorant — or even racist — views of their country. TikTok CEO Shou Chew, along with executives from technology firms such as Meta, X and Snap, testified before U.S. lawmakers on … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s leading presidential candidate William Lai said Tuesday he hopes for a reopening of dialogue with China following almost eight years of Beijing’s near-complete refusal to communicate with leaders of the self-governing island it considers its own territory. But Lai told reporters he would continue the current administration’s policy of maintaining democratic … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Using military threats, diplomatic pressure, fake news and financial inducements for politicians, China is being accused of deploying a broad strategy to influence voters in Taiwan’s elections to pick candidates who favor unification. China’s ultimate goal is to take control of the self-governing island democracy, whose high-tech economy supplies key components for … Read more
BEIJING — China says it is banning a United States research company and two analysts who have reported extensively on claims of human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups native to the country’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was quoted as announcing late Tuesday night that … Read more
MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian court on Tuesday recorded the first conviction under the nation’s foreign interference laws with a jury finding a Vietnamese refugee guilty of covertly working for the Chinese Communist Party. A Victoria state County Court jury convicted Melbourne businessman and local community leader Di Sanh Duong on a charge of preparing … Read more
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia has welcomed the announcement that New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will return more than a dozen pieces of ancient artwork to Cambodia and Thailand that were tied to an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia. This most recent repatriation … Read more