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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 overseas activists
Hong Kong's national security police announced arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet. They are accused of organising or participating in the "Hong Kong Parliament", a group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say aimed to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. The activists are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial "Hong Kong Parliament" group, which authorities say aims at achieving self-determination and drafting a "Hong Kong constitution". Police, who said the organisation sought to overthrow the governments of China and Hong Kong by unlawful means, said they are still investigating and further arrests may follow. Among those named are businessman Elmer Yuen, commentator Victor Ho, and activists Johnny Fok and Tony Choi. Four of them are subject to previous arrest warrants, each carrying a bounty of HK$1 million (NZ$211,000). Among the remaining 15, for each of whom police are offering a bounty of HK$200,000, are those said to have organised or run in the election and sworn in as its councillors. None of the accused could be reached for comment. The UK's Foreign and Home Secretaries condemned the move in a joint statement, calling the arrests "another example of transnational repression" and saying it damages Hong Kong's international reputation. "(The UK) will not tolerate attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas," it said in a statement on Friday. In response, the Chinese embassy in the UK said the British government's remarks "constitute a gross interference" in China's internal affairs and the rule of law in Hong Kong. "China urges the UK to abandon its colonial mentality, stop interfering in Hong Kong shielding criminals," it said. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a "one country, two systems" formula. Critics of the national security law say authorities are using it to stifle dissent. Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly said the law was vital to restore stability after the city was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019. Police reiterated that national security offenses were serious crimes with extraterritorial reach and urged the wanted individuals to return to Hong Kong and surrender. "If offenders voluntarily give up continuing to violate the crime, turn themselves in, truthfully confess their crimes, or provide key information that helps solve other cases, they may be eligible for reduced punishment," they said in a statement. Police also warned that aiding, abetting, or funding others to participate in the "Hong Kong Parliament" could be a criminal offense.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
A deepening embrace since Russia's invasion of Ukraine signals a turnaround in the two countries' ties
Trade between the two countries exceeded US$240 billion ($396b) last year, up by two-thirds since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. China has supplied many of the drones and drone components used by Russia in the conflict. China's staunch support for Russia's economy has helped Moscow survive: Dozens of countries have barred Russia from much of the global financial system, upending its economy at home. China has had the opposite reaction to Russia's war on Ukraine. 'China-Russia relations represent the most stable, mature and strategically significant major-country relationship in the world today,' Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, said this month after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. By backing Russia so enthusiastically, China's leaders have put new strain on their country's relationship with the European Union. If Beijing had distanced itself from Moscow, Europe might have turned towards China as United States President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on European goods this year. European Union leaders met Chinese officials last night NZT at a summit in Beijing. They were expected to ask again that Xi Jinping, China's top leader, reduce China's economic and industrial support for Russia's war in Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said this month that China's stance on the war in Ukraine would be 'a determining factor' for the bloc's relations with Beijing. 'China's unyielding support for Russia is creating heightened instability and insecurity here in Europe,' she said. 'We can say that China is de facto enabling Russia's war economy — we cannot accept this.' Shoppers take photos outside of a Russian-themed store in the border town of Manzhouli, in China's Inner Mongolia. China now makes 32% of the world's manufactured goods - more than the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Britain combined. Photo / Andrea Verdelli, the New York Times Much of the trade between China and Russia has long run through Manzhouli. Russia built a rail line through the city into northeastern China in 1900. Today, trains and trucks from Russia cross into China, many of them carrying timber or freshly cut boards: pine for construction and furniture, white birch for chopsticks, aspen for framing concrete and sturdy elm for coal mine supports. The flow underscores Russia's diminished economic position. It is now functionally an economic satellite of China, dependent on Beijing for manufactured goods while selling raw materials that China could, if it wanted to, buy elsewhere. Almost 6% of the entire Russian economy now consists of exports to China. That is a proportion equalled by Iran, another country under international sanctions. As part of pressure on Russia to accept a ceasefire, Trump threatened last week to impose high tariffs or other sanctions on countries trading with Russia, although he did not name China. Manzhouli's official economic strategy — 'Russian supply, Chinese processing' — underlines Russia's evolution into a supplier of raw materials to China's vast manufacturing sector, which dwarfs Russia's own. Russia depends on China for clothing, electronics, even cars. China's northbound exports have risen 71% since the start of the Ukraine war. Visitors at Matryoshka Square, a theme park in the border town of Manzhouli. Much of the trade between China and Russia has long run through Manzhouli. Photo / Andrea Verdelli, the New York Times The trade alliance shows up in other contexts, too. State media in China has tilted strongly towards Russia in the Ukraine war. Russian television channels have been gradually squeezing out American channels in Chinese hotels. China's sympathies show up on store shelves in Manzhouli: Stalin-brand vodka and ground coffee are on sale, and one store even specialises in busts of past Soviet leaders and matryoshka dolls that resemble President Vladimir Putin. The new embrace signals a turnaround in the two countries' relationship. During the 1950s, Soviet advisers helped a mostly rural, underdeveloped China build many of its early steel mills, railroads and weapons factories. Now, China produces 32% of the world's manufactured goods — more than the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Britain combined. Russia's share of global manufacturing? It's just 1.33%, even including Russia's weapons production, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. Trucks made in China parked at the border in Manzhouli. By late last summer, Chinese cars made up 60% of Russia's auto market, according to GlobalData Automotive. Photo / Andrea Verdelli, the New York Times China is also benefitting from the imports. By buying timber and other goods from Russia, through Manzhouli, Beijing has been able to avoid buying imports from the US and its allies. China used to buy raw materials such as rapeseed from Canada, for example, but has shifted to purchasing more of these goods from Russia after Canada mostly sided with President Joe Biden last year and then with Trump in imposing higher tariffs on Chinese goods. China retaliated against Canada by imposing tariffs of 100% on imports of canola oil and canola meal from Canada. China also began a trade case against Canadian rapeseed, targeting some of Canada's largest exports to China. At the Manzhouli Xinfeng Grain and Oil Industry Limited Company, bright red forklift trucks move sacks of supplies. The highly automated factory, less than 1.5km from the border, removes the hulls from Russian rapeseed and presses them to make canola oil. Huang Baoqiang, the managing director of a nearby lumber mill, said his company bought large quantities of timber from neighbouring Siberia and turned them into bed slats and other furniture components. The US Treasury Department has tried to block the use of dollars for transactions with Russia, but Huang said he was able to pay with Chinese renminbi or Russian roubles through VTB Bank. The bank, one of Russia's largest financial institutions, faced sanctions by the US and the EU soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. But while Russia and China increasingly trade with each other, there are a few signs of tension. The rail yard in Manzhouli. Soviet advisers helped build steel mills, railways and arms factories in China in the 1950s, but now Russia supplies raw materials in exchange for manufactured goods. Photo / Andrea Verdelli, the New York Times Russia has banned the shipment of freshly cut pines to China. So the bark is removed from pines, and the logs are cut into boards at sawmills in Siberia, to the annoyance of businesspeople such as Huang. China, in turn, imposed tariffs on imports of Russian coal at the start of last year after state-owned Chinese coal mines expanded output and complained of Russian competition. The biggest stress in the trade relationship involves cars. In 2021, Chinese cars weren't very popular in Russia. But after the invasion of Ukraine, Western automakers withdrew from the country, and Chinese automakers slashed prices. Chinese cars captured 60% of the Russian market by late summer last year, according to GlobalData Automotive, a research firm. Russia's own automakers had initially been expected to benefit from the retreat of their Western competitors and were disappointed by China's success. They persuaded Moscow to start collecting a US$7500 fee on imported cars. The fee, which started on October 1, has an exemption: It does not apply to used cars purchased by Russian citizens for their personal use. China's car exports to Russia in the first five months of this year plunged 58% from a year earlier. 'It's a big bucket of cold water on what Chinese automakers expected to be their top market for years to come,' said Stephen Dyer, head of the Asia automotive practice at AlixPartners, a consulting firm. Chinese entrepreneurs in Manzhouli are already exploiting the used car loophole in Russia's rules. A block from the Russian border, a year-old palace of a used car showroom in Manzhouli has towering bronze doors that open up to a 25m-high hall, all designed to lure Russian shoppers who want to beat the US$7500 fee. On sale are barely used BMWs, Land Rovers, Volkswagens and other popular brands no longer sold in Russia, as well as Chinese brands such as Zeekr and Hongqi. The staff explained that new cars were not available — but that used cars only a month old could be purchased and shipped. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Keith Bradsher Photographs by: Andrea Verdelli ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
New Zealand not part of 'trifecta' with Cook Islands and China, Winston Peters says
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, left, and Cook Islands Prime MinisterMark Brown. Photo: RNZ/Pacific Islands Forum/123RF Winston Peters says the Cook Islands has described its relationship with New Zealand as "part of a trifecta" when dealing with China. The comment from the New Zealand foreign minister comes at a time of increased tension between Cook Islands and New Zealand. At the heart of that tension is four agreements Cook Islands signed with China in February. Peters told Pacific Waves "there are things going wrong". He also rejected Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown's position that the two nations had a reciprocal relationship , therefore neither had to consult one another on foreign trade arrangements. "They were required under our arrangement and agreement to consult with us when these matters might affect more widely themselves but also other countries and our relationship," Peters said. "To describe us as part of a trifecta when we've got the special relationship for 60 years is utterly wrong." A spokesman for Peters clarified Peters was referring to the way New Zealand had effectively been described as a third-party by the Cook Islands in its agreements with China. Cook Islands is in free association with New Zealand. Under that arrangement, implemented in 1965, the country governed its own affairs, but New Zealand provided assistance with foreign affairs (upon request), disaster relief and defence. Despite that, the current diplomatic rift has resulted in a pause in funding of $18.2 million by the New Zealand government. That occurred last month. And while there have been ongoing discussions between the two nations, this week Prime Minister Mark Brown told a Cook Islands audience that if New Zealand could not afford to fund the country's national infrastructure investment plan - funding the development needs of the Cook Islands was a major motivator in signing the agreements with China. Peters' responded by challenging Brown to call a referendum - a position he doubled-down on when he spoke to Pacific Waves . "They can let us know whether they want the relationship or whether they want independence," he said. "Because if you behave like you want independence, then above all, that, should be up to the Cook Islands people to decide, not just a temporarily-empowered politician or government." The whole population of the Cook Islands should have a say, he said. "Politicians come and go, governments come and go, ministers come and go. But our purpose is to ensure the long-term, enduring relationship between the New Zealand people and the Cook Islands people." Peters also touched on previous disagreements with the Cook Islands over its sovereignty and foreign policy arrangements. "There were times in the past when this issue arose and we had agreements and pacts, declarations or statements … to give us the parameters of our future relationship, as we last did in [2001] under Helen Clark and [Terepai] Moate, who was then the prime minister of the Cook Islands. "And here we are, 24 years … on and that has been called into question. So we are saying… if it's going to change, then we are accountable to the Cook Islands people. Next month, the Cook Islands celebrates its 60th constitution anniversary. Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro was due to attend as the New Zealand government's representative. Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon have said they would not attend - a move that has been labelled a snub amidst the break-down in bilateral relations. Peters said Kiro was the appropriate representative from New Zealand. "We're sending the highest person constitutionally in our country to go… this is very fitting."
