East Asia

China’s leader visited the region over the weekend extolling its "hard-won social stability”. He called on local officials to “more deeply promote the Sinicisation of Islam”. Meanwhile, people continue to be arrested for their faith or reading the Qurʾān. A delegation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) praised China’s policies during a visit to the region. Tomorrow the pope will fly over it on his way to Mongolia.

For residents and environmental groups, it is illegal and threatens to devastate the area's ecosystem. The facility stands near a protected reserve. Top management claims to have all the necessary permits. The company's goal at first is to export coal to Japan, South Korea and China, and then expand the market to other countries.

Today's headlines: birthrates in South Korea drop again, below 250,000 for first time; Cantonese language targeted in Hong Kong over national security law; India grants Singapore exemption from its freeze on rice exports; More than one million Pakistanis have migrated to Gulf countries since April 2022.

Civil nuclear power in the Mideast is becoming another sore point between China and the United States. Irked by US indecision, Saudi leaders might turn eastward. The Abraham Accords and Israeli resistance hover in the background. Nuclear deals are “deeply political”.

Today's headlines: Putin will not attend the G20 in New Delhi; Japan wants to sue China at WTO over seafood import ban after Fukushima water release; Anti-crime mayoral candidate wounded in attack in Nazareth; Georgian 6th-century monastery buried by a landslide.

In an interview with the Hong Kong weekly Christian Times, the 91-year-old cardinal talks about his friend, the late Rev Yuen Tin-yau of the Methodist Church, a companion in many battles for educational freedom. He also expresses sadness over mobility issues that prevent him from ministering in prisons. “If I manage to heal quickly and walk, I will visit the prisoners again,” he hopes. "The pope has given us an excellent bishop," he says, speaking about Hong Kong’s new cardinal, Bishop Chow, a wise prelate who has to deal with an “uncomfortable situation”.

The import halt on Japanese seafood decided by Beijing after the start of the plant's spillage into the ocean-accompanied by massive propaganda against Tokyo-is generating widespread alarm that is also curbing consumption of local products. Boycotts also on cosmetics and travel to Japan, while the Japanese embassy urges its citizens to be careful.

Today's headlines: Terry Gou to run in upcoming Taiwanese presidential elections; Taliban bans women from entering the most famous and oldest national park for non-compliance with hijab regulations; China still addicted to cigarettes, smokers one-third of world total; At least four killed in Vietnam quarry collapse; Pyongyang approves return of expats unable to return since 2020 Covid closures; in Novosibirsk new anti-migrant raid.

Back from the WYD in Lisbon, the Asian nun chosen by Pope Francis among the president delegates of the October Assembly tells AsiaNews about her expectations for the Synod: "Living in a country where we Christians are a minority has taught me to listen, to try to understand, to pray to understand where the Spirit is guiding our conscience. And to understand that before anything else we must love everyone like Jesus." Archbishop of Tokyo Msgr. Kikuchi: "Proud and grateful for the role assigned to you."

The Justice and Peace Commission reiterates its condemnation of the Kishida government's choice. While TEPCO "reassures" on the absence of significant amounts of tritium in the first seawater samples tested, the prelates of Naha and Sendai retort that "it is not only the concentration that is the relevant parameter: no one knows how much water will be discharged as debris removal is still far away. The objections of local residents and other people at home and abroad should be listened to with humility."

Today's headlines: students arrested for attempted assault on Japanese embassy in Seoul released, further investigation under consideration; Attempts at rapprochement, and border agreement, between Xi and Modi at BRICS summit; Vietnamese youth traffickedin Laos under pretext of jobs; 22-year-old ex-soldier tours Taiwan island for a month warning of imminent risk of war with China; The flight of Russians over war in Ukraine reaches record numbers, more than a million in one year.

A study by the US Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center reveals data concerning the over 30s and records increases in all provinces, with the exception of Tibet. No official comment from the Chinese health authorities, who have always underestimated the numbers. Today the “Eris” variant of Omicron dominates with over 70% of cases.