East Asia

| HONG KONG

The territory’s High Court convicted 45 activists for organising primary elections for the opposition in 2020. They include well-known people, like legal scholar Benny Tai and umbrella movement leader Joshua Wong. Many pleaded guilty to obtain a reduction in sentence, but none were sentenced to less than 4 years. Card Zen was in the courtroom for the verdict. Jimmy Lai’s trial resumes tomorrow.


Xi’s tour of the region began yesterday. One stop included the virtual inauguration of Chancay Port, a key trade hub between China and the region. His aim is to boost cooperation and multilateralism. Donald Trump's return to the White House is a challenge for the future.

 

| 14/11/2024
| RED LANTERNS

The 27 years the Spanish religious spent on the  mission between Tokyo and Hiroshima were remembered during the closing ceremony of the diocesan phase of his beatification process. Head of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983, he loved the Japanese people and culture and provided heroic service among the thousands of injured in the atomic bomb blast of 6 August 1945.

| 14/11/2024
| VATICAN – JAPAN

With the tycoon’s return, hundreds of thousands of Asians risk deportation from the United States, along with Latin Americans. The Philippine government is getting ready to assist 370,000 Philippine migrants. Indians are one of the largest groups of asylum seekers, along with the Chinese. Due to a legislative void, many South Koreans adopted as infants until the 1980s are at risk.

| 13/11/2024
| ASIA – UNITED STATES

Yesterday, a 62-year-old man tried to kill himself after driving his car into a group of people who were exercising. Police report that a family-related issue trigger the incident. Party officials stress the need to help “people in hardship”. An airshow opened today in Zhuhai (Guangdong) and next month President Xi Jinping is expected to travel to Macau, near Zhuhai, for the installation of the new local government.

 

| 12/11/2024
| CHINA
by Gianni Criveller

In his speech at Peking University and in his visit to the graves of Intorcetta and Martini in Hangzhou, the Italian leader noted the contribution made by missionaries to dialogue, before and after Marco Polo. Following in their footsteps, the Italian president also spoke in China about human rights.

| 11/11/2024
| CHINA – ITALY
by John Ai

At the start of the month, groups of students begun cycling at night along the road that links Henan’s capital to Kaifeng, a place known for its steamed dumplings. For young people, affected by the crisis, this is a way to travel cheap. However, thousands of people quickly joined the rides with the authorities reacting with a ban starting with the universities.

| 11/11/2024
| CHINA
Editor's choices
 
The territory’s High Court convicted 45 activists for organising primary elections for the opposition in 2020. They include well-known people, like legal scholar Benny Tai and umbrella movement leader Joshua Wong. Many pleaded guilty to obtain ...
| 19/11/2024
| HONG KONG
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
After six bodies were found over the weekend, protesters stormed the homes of local BJP lawmakers. The Union government is sending thousands of special forces, while the Union Home Affairs minister tries to resolve the situation peacefully. For the archbishop ...
| 18/11/2024
| INDIA
 
With the tycoon’s return, hundreds of thousands of Asians risk deportation from the United States, along with Latin Americans. The Philippine government is getting ready to assist 370,000 Philippine migrants. Indians are one of the largest groups ...
| 13/11/2024
| ASIA – UNITED STATES
 
by John Ai
At the start of the month, groups of students begun cycling at night along the road that links Henan’s capital to Kaifeng, a place known for its steamed dumplings. For young people, affected by the crisis, this is a way to travel cheap. However, ...
| 11/11/2024
| CHINA
 
Caritas and the Social Commission of the Bishops' Conference released a statement today denouncing the fact that families are being forced to fend for themselves. Some disabled people have died after the facility where they lived was closed. President ...
| 08/11/2024
| SOUTH KOREA
 
by Mathias Hariyadi
Around midnight, large boulders ejected from Lewotobi Laki-laki, hitting buildings up to 6 kilometres away. The victims - among them Sr Nikolin Padjo, Missionary Servant of the Holy Spirit - were caught in their sleep by the fiery lapilli. In ...
| 04/11/2024
| INDONESIA
 
The government is cutting red tape to boost the economy. Many new Thais have been waiting for their papers for years and now will finally have access to several rights. Without this amnesty, children born to parents from ethnic minorities would have ...
| 31/10/2024
| THAILAND
 
The annual document for Pope Francis on initiatives for the prevention of child abuse was presented today. The Commission calls on local Churches to overcome a “culture of silence, a reluctance to report abuse, and a general lack of education and ...
| 29/10/2024
| VATICAN – ASIA
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”