Visa exemption for Chinese visitors extended 5 years
He said the decision to extend was part of a series of memoranda of understanding and documents signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to Malaysia, covering various sectors of cooperation.
Among them was a joint visa exemption agreement for...
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
ASEAN security agendas for September meeting in Melaka
SEMPORNA: A total of 10 security agendas will form the consensus and focus of discussions at the ASEAN Ministers' Meeting on Security in Melaka in September. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who will chair the meeting, said among the topics to be discussed are tackling cross-border crimes, intelligence sharing, capacity building and joint operations. 'To tackle cross-border crimes, we will leverage our ASEAN Chairmanship this year as the best platform to exchange information and ideas that can be developed into strategies for effectively addressing security issues,' he said. He told reporters this after the Security Briefing and Monitoring Programme with the Home Minister and Foreign Delegates here today. According to Saifuddin, the three-day meeting would be fully utilised at the ASEAN ministerial level to present and discuss ASEAN security issues for the common interest. 'We can see certain things, but there are also some things we can't see, but our neighbours (neighbouring countries) can. These are among the matters that can be presented at the ASEAN meeting,' he said. - Bernama
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
National security offenders to be disqualified from Hong Kong's Legco elections
Hong Kong authorities have proposed disqualifying anyone convicted of offences endangering national security from being nominated to run in a Legislative Council election or serving as a lawmaker. The Electoral Affairs Commission said a public consultation for the proposed guidelines, which include several changes related to national security, was launched on Thursday and would wrap up on August 1. The proposals were shared months before the next Legco election on December 7, the second to be held since the process was overhauled to follow a 'patriots only' system. The changes include the disqualification of anyone convicted of offences that endanger national security from being nominated or elected as a lawmaker, in adherence to the city's existing national security legislation. Members of the Election Committee who are convicted of the same offences are also barred from voting in the polls for the Election Committee constituency. Election candidates will also be prohibited from sending by mail any publications that constitute a national security risk. 'In relation to national security, we only reflect what has been reflected in the relevant legislation,' commission chairman David Lok Kai-hong said. 'So, if there is any amendment because of a change in the national security [laws], it also has corresponding changes in our election law as well as in relation to the qualification of a person running for the seat or [being] qualified to be a councillor. 'So in such a case, I don't think we have made any substantial changes.' Asked if the proposed guidelines covered national security offenders who had completed their sentences, Lok only said that the laws had been written very clearly and urged the public to look at the terms of the relevant legislation. The Registration and Electoral Office, meanwhile, discussed promotional efforts for the coming election and said they would be widespread and take reference from the 2023 district council poll. 'We hope to be able to raise the election atmosphere; we are currently going through the preparation work,' said Natalie Chan, the body's chief electoral officer. In a paper submitted to Legco's Finance Committee in April, the government said it planned to spend HK$1.28 billion (US$163 million) on the coming election. Authorities aimed to allocate HK$177 million for promotional efforts, HK$814 million for technological appliances and voting venues' rents and HK$289 million for paying an expected 37,000 personnel, according to the paper. The planned budget represents a 52 per cent increase from the HK$841 million spent on the 2021 Legco election, which had a turnout of only 30.2 per cent – the lowest since the city's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Chan added that authorities had completed their purchase of electronic vote-counting machines for the Legco functional constituency election, with the cost expected to be about HK$160 million. She said the high cost accounted for hiring service contractors to design the system, software, hardware and support services. Authorities also needed a large amount of vote-counting equipment, as the poll would involve about 200,000 voters, while the sum included expenses for on-site support staff to tackle any potential equipment issues during the vote count, she said. But Lok said authorities had yet to decide on whether they would use the machines for the constituency poll, noting the decision would depend on further testing. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Malaysian Reserve
4 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Trump: Deal to buy TikTok almost done, US to start talks with China in next few days
WASHINGTON — United States (US) President Donald Trump announced that the deal to acquire the social media platform TikTok from the Chinese company ByteDance is nearly finalised, Russian News Agency (TASS) reported. Trump said that discussions on this matter with Beijing are scheduled for Monday or Tuesday (July 7 or 8). 'We pretty much have a deal now. I think we are going to start talking to China on Monday or Tuesday, perhaps with President Xi Jinping or one of his representatives. 'We think we probably have to get it approved by China. Not definitely, but probably,' the US leader told reporters aboard his plane. On June 29, Trump told Fox News that a 'group of very wealthy people' was ready to buy TikTok from ByteDance. He then noted that he would be ready to name these buyers in about two weeks. In turn, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the US, Liu Pengyu, told TASS that Beijing would follow its laws and regulations in matters concerning TikTok. — BERNAMA-TASS
