Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Australia’s statement of concern issued Sunday over the detention of two Canadians in China points to growing global anxiety over Beijing’s seeming willingness to detain foreign nationals as a political tactic, …
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Global anxiety reflected in Australian outcry over Canadians detained in China
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B.C. professor found dead in Colombia under mysterious circumstances remembered as ‘positive’ and ‘dedicated’
Vancouver (The Star) – Ramazan Gençay was a teacher, dancer and lover of the outdoors, according to family and friends. Gençay, known to them as “Ramo,” was found dead in Colombia’s second-largest city on Christmas Day. The …
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The ‘forgotten’ Canadians detained in China
Vancouver (Toronto Star) —The recent arrests of a trio of Canadians in China are part of a trend in recent decades, according to Global Affairs Canada, adding to the current total of around 200 Canadian citizens behind …
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How a red dot kept Chinese-Canadian readers from getting the full story on Huawei
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Users of China’s hugely popular social-media app WeChat know it well: the big red dot. The dot lets them know the news article they want to read is no longer available. …
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Ex-diplomat who worked on Trudeau’s Hong Kong visit detained in China, reports say
Ottawa (Toronto Star) – A respected former Canadian diplomat has been detained in China, a development observers fear is an alarming tit-for-tat move after Canada’s arrest of a Chinese business executive wanted by the U.S. …
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Lawyer for Huawei exec proposes monitoring bracelet, 24-hour surveillance in bid for freedom
Vancouver (The Star) – In an unusual move, a lawyer for the detained executive of a Chinese telecommunications giant brought an electronic monitoring bracelet to a Vancouver court as he argued for his client’s freedom. …
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Bail hearing for Huawei exec reveals fraud allegations at heart of international strife
Vancouver (The Star ) – A five-year-old PowerPoint presentation is at the centre of criminal allegations against the chief financial officer of Chinese-owned tech giant Huawei in a case that has implications for international relations, …
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How animal waste is helping turn China’s lakes green
Kunming (The Guardian) – The farm, located at the end of a narrow dirt path, announces its presence with a piercing stench. At first, the caretaker of the collective facility in Kunming says the farm …
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Wildfire-hit interior B.C. residents contemplate a foggy future
Okanagan (National Observer) – British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, known for its long hot summers and beautiful lakes, wineries and orchards, has long been a popular destination for tourists, wedding parties, and families seeking a healthy …
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Webinar: Managing #MeToo in Newsrooms
The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have placed the problem of sexual harassment firmly in the global spotlight. How can newsrooms ensure that employees know exactly what constitutes “sexual misconduct”? As an employee, what are …
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Sexpat Journalists Are Ruining Asia Coverage
Foreign Policy – Today, I’m known as a strong advocate in my social circles, promoting women’s and minorities’ voices in media. But when I first moved to China seven years ago, as a 23-year-old Canadian reporter of …
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Race for Mexico’s ‘cocaine of the sea’ pushes 2 species toward extinction
Yemeli ORTEGA, with Joanna CHIU in Guangzhou, China (AFP) – The dried fish parts don’t look like much to the novice eye, but the totoaba swim bladders discreetly displayed in this shop in Guangzhou, China …
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Hong Kong shops defy ban on trade in pangolin scales
Hong Kong (AFP) – On a winding Hong Kong street where shops keep a dizzying array of dried produce, one highly valued ingredient is still being sold despite being subject to an international ban: deep-fried …
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French woman, husband incommunicado in China after Liu Xiaobo tribute
Beijing (AFP) – A French citizen and her husband have been incommunicado for a week after the couple travelled to southern China to paint a tribute to the late democracy activist and dissident Liu Xiaobo, …
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Transcript: Dispatch for Democracy Now! on Trump visit to China
Beijing (Democracy Now!) – We go to Beijing for an update on President Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of his five-nation trip to Asia. Trump used the talks to call on …
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Twitter-happy Trump to enter China’s Great Firewall
Beijing (AFP) – US President Donald Trump has tweeted energetically throughout his Asian tour so far, but in China he will likely be one of a select few to skirt the country’s ban on his …
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China rust belt opens door wider to foreign investors
Shenyang (AFP) – Trucks carrying hi-tech car components rumble in and out the gates of an American industrial zone in the heart of China’s rust belt — using roads that the city especially renovated for the …
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At Beijing book fair, publishers admit self-censorship
Beijing (AFP) – Just days after the world’s oldest publisher briefly caved in to Chinese censorship demands, international publishing houses are courting importers at a Beijing book fair, with some admitting they keep sensitive topics …
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China’s solar panel vendors shine a spotlight on North Korea trade
Dandong (AFP) – Traders from North Korea visit Yuan Huan’s shop in the Chinese border city of Dandong several times a month to place orders, bringing their own translators and wads of cash. Yuan, manager …
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China rejects US criticism over Nobel laureate’s treatment
Beijing (AFP) – Terminally-ill Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo wants Chinese authorities to let him get treatment abroad, friends say, as officials said his cancer has spread throughout his body. Prominent Chinese dissident writer Liao Yiwu …
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China’s treatment of sick activist raises fears for others
Beijing (AFP) – China’s treatment of cancer-stricken democracy activist Liu Xiaobo reflects Beijing’s hardening crackdown on political dissent and heightens concern over lesser-known campaigners still languishing in jail, supporters say. Liu, who was awarded the …
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China releases Nobel laureate Liu with terminal cancer
Beijing (AFP) – China’s jailed Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has been granted medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last month, his lawyer said Monday, worrying supporters who pleaded for his …
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China says no mining planned in Antarctica but hints at “peaceful development”
Beijing (AFP) – China sought to dispel concerns about its ambitions in mineral-rich Antarctica on Monday, with an official saying Beijing has no plans to start mining in the vast continent. China’s expanding activities in …
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China tells the world bedtime stories in propaganda drive
Beijing (AFP) – A video of an American father telling his daughter bedtime stories about the Chinese president’s signature project. A music clip with children singing about sharing “the goodness.” A cartoon of a whisky …
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China lawyer’s wife seeks US asylum after brazen escape
Beijing (AFP) – Chen Guiqiu fled China on foot with her two daughters, only to end up in a Thai prison until US officials helped them sneak out dramatically through a back door. Now Chen …
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Unpredictable Donald Trump unsettles China as North Korea policy wobbles
Beijing (AFP) – From Twitter threats to Tomahawk missiles, US president Donald Trump’s unorthodox and seemingly impulsive approach to foreign policy has unsettled China, piling new pressure on its hands-off North Korea policy. As tensions …
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China remains world’s biggest executioner: Amnesty
Beijing (AFP) – China executed more people last year than the rest of the world combined, Amnesty said Tuesday, defying a global decline with thousands of killings that have disproportionately targeted poor citizens. Even as …
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China has an irrational fear of a “black invasion” bringing drugs, crime, and interracial marriage
Beijing (Quartz) – Earlier this month in Beijing, amid the pomp of China’s annual rubber-stamp parliament meetings, a politician proudly shared with reporters his proposal on how to “solve the problem of the black population …
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Column: The Medical Blame Game
Herizons – For the past three years, sleeping soundly through the night, instead of waking up coughing, has been a rare treat. I’m living and working in Beijing, where dark clouds of smog deposit layers of soot …
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180-degree turn? Trump, the US, Taiwan and China: a guide
Beijing (AFP) – US President Donald Trump endorsed the long-standing “One China” policy on Thursday during a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a move analysts interpreted as a change of course for the …
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“The good times are over”: Chinese fear Trump impact on economy
Beijing (dpa) – Many of his fellow citizens still admire Donald Trump, but Chinese exporter Cai Jipeng has been dreading inauguration day. Cai’s business, based in Qingdao, a port city of north-east China, specializes in …
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American business group warns against US trade conflict with China
Beijing (dpa) – The American Chamber of Commerce in China said Wednesday that Beijing will likely respond if US president-elect Donald Trump imposes restrictions on trade or investment between the two countries. “China is not without an arsenal …
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Beijing expresses “serious concern” about Trump’s “One-China” remarks
Beijing (dpa) – China on Monday expressed “serious concern” following US president-elect Donald Trump’s remarks that the US does not have to be bound by its long-standing policy of reserving formal diplomatic ties for Beijing. …
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Chinese citizens warn of China-style Cultural Revolution in US
Beijing (dpa) – Donald Trump’s stunning victory over Hillary Clinton, a veteran politician, is a sign that many underestimated the amount of anger there was directed towards the elite in the United States, China’s state media and citizens are …
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China laughs off US democracy
Beijing (dpa) – On an autumn evening in Beijing, people from the United States, Canada and China gathered at a pub in the city centre to watch the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. While nearly …
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Pokemon Go launch in China given hope with new venture
Beijing (dpa) – A new venture from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba may smooth the path for the launch of Pokemon Go in the world’s most populous country, technology experts have told dpa. Nintendo’s smartphone “augmented reality” …
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Exclusive: G20 leaders to agree to join Paris climate deal as soon as possible
Hangzhou (dpa) – All members of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies are expected to join the first universal action plan to mitigate the impacts of climate change, according to a late draft of the G20 summit communique …
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Exclusive: China blocks major civil society groups from monitoring G20 summit
Hangzhou (dpa) – The host of this year’s G20 summit has “broken precedent” by denying leading civil society organizations the ability to monitor and comment on events inside the venue’s media centre, activists charge. China either ignored or refused …
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G20 host China faces tall order of keeping controversy off the agenda
Beijing (dpa) – This year’s G20 summit in China follows a summer of jolts to the market caused by pendular news events – not least of all Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and an attempted coup …
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Chinese families of MH370 victims protest decision to suspend search
Beijing (dpa) – Chinese families with loved ones who went missing aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 protested in Beijing on Friday after authorities announced the search for the plane would be suspended. Transportation ministers for Malaysia, …
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Why is China getting involved in Afghan peace talks?
Beijing (IRIN) – During German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent visit to China, the two countries agreed to jointly fund a disaster response centre in Afghanistan. It was just the latest sign of China’s increasingly prominent …
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Merkel meets human rights lawyers on visit to China
Beijing (dpa) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel met human rights lawyers, an artist, a writer and other civil society representatives in Beijing late Monday after holding government consultations focused on trade during her three-day visit to …
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When disaster strikes, should China do more?
Beijing (IRIN) – Sixty-two Chinese rescuers and six sniffer dogs were the first global team on the ground in Nepal the day after a massive earthquake devastated the country just over a year ago. The quick deployment …
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Mongolia appeals for aid as “dzud” kills livestock and livelihoods
Nature has been hard on Mongolia. Little rain in summer followed by too much snow and cold in winter is killing off the country’s livestock, leaving the people who depend on them in dire straits. …
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Africa and Latin America admire the Chinese – but majority don’t welcome their customs
China has worked to strengthen its economic presence in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America during the past decade, but while the majority of people in both regions appreciate the influx of Chinese science and technology, …