China this week released the recording of an alleged telephone conversation from January during which a high-ranking Philippine naval officer agrees to make concessions to Chinese officials. Yesterday the Philippines’ national security adviser stressed that such a leak constitutes a violation of Philippine laws.
Among the 18 agreements signed in Budapest with Xi Jinping there is also cooperation on nuclear power plants. In the background are the difficulties of the new Paks II plant project, under construction with the Russian agency Rosatom and at risk of sanctions. For his part, the Chinese president praises Hungarian support for Beijing on "Taiwan, Hong Kong and human rights".
Uzbekistan’s Employment Minister Behzod Musaev was in Seoul to discuss with South Korean officials opening new sectors for Uzbek workers. South Korean businesses have called for the unprofessional worker visa to be extended to more areas. Since President Yoon took office, foreign work permits have jumped considerably.
A journey of 10,000 kilometres extolled by Beijing as an opportunity for development (and revenge on Italy's exit from the Belt and Road Initiative). But cotton and tomatoes from Xinjang are at the heart of the ‘policy of poverty alleviation through the transfer of labour’, which according to numerous reports is a form of forced labour.
A survey by the Methodist Centre reveals the concern of people over 75, indirect victims of the exodus of young families caused by the security crackdown after the 2019 protests. Meanwhile, an appeal court accepts the authorities' request to ban "Glory to Hong Kong", the song that became the protest movement’s anthem.
At the end of the summit in the Pyrenees, France and China issued a joint statement against any Israeli operation in Rafah, calling for “an immediate and sustainable ceasefire” and a “political settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-State solution.” Twenty-five years after NATO bombs hit its embassy in Belgrade, China warned: “we will never allow such tragic history to repeat itself”.
