East Asia

China is bucking the trend of the rest of the world where smoking is falling. Sales reached 2.44 trillion in 2023. In 2022, smokers represented 24.1 per cent of the adult population, a figure well above the world average of 17 per cent. For experts, countrywide legislation is needed to control tobacco.

Five years now since the pro-democracy protests out of 10,279 people arrested only 28.8% have been remanded for trial. But for Justice Secretary Chris Tang, ‘the authorities must be given time to gather evidence’. Chow Hang-tung's request to call people living abroad to testify on video at the trial was rejected.

The Holy See’s logo at the universal exhibition that will open on 13 April was unveiled. At the Vatican’s section, visitors will be able to admire "The Entombment of Christ" by Caravaggio, brought to Japan from the Vatican Museums. Manga artist Kan Takahama will be one of the "ambassadors" of the Vatican presence at the Expo. For the first time, the Holy Year in Rome will also have a manga-styled mascot.

For the first time in 15 years, the Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in parliament in Tokyo. The new premier paid the price for the party's slush fund scandals, which had already caused Kishida's popularity to plummet. Excluding an enlargement of the coalition, the opposition led by Yoshihiko Noda is trying to put up a united front with the centrists. For the first time, the Conservative Party, a xenophobic and revisionist force, will also enter the Diet.

Over the weekend, police were deployed at sensitive sites across the big city, detaining people wearing masks. Despite the absence of any formal ban, anyone caught with a mask or make-up is at risk. Last year the celebration provided an opportunity to criticise and attack the leadership and policies of the Communist Party of China.

Tomorrow Japanese voters will pick members of the House of Representatives in an early election. The ruling majority is at risk after months of corruption scandals and poor showing in public opinion polls. Inside the LDP, a new leadership contest is developing. Opposition parties are not likely to back a coalition government with the LDP.

According to international observers, this is a pragmatic truce among long-term rivals. Diplomats from the two countries will resume meetings to manage the border dispute in Ladakh. For India’s Modi, talks with everyone is an opportunity to show himself as a credible leader of the global South.

Trump shows a more aggressive and isolationist approach, Harris is more prudent and inclined to stability. Towards Beijing, a desire to protect national interests prevails on the US side. Over the years, China has softened the tone of ‘wolf-warrior diplomacy’. And it is looking ahead to the 5 November vote without officially exposing itself, although it seems to be betting on the Democratic candidate.

The agreement has been officially extended until October 2028, ten years since the first signing. The duration is extended but the text remains provisional and secret, while a third of China’s dioceses are still vacant. As AsiaNews reported, the ordination of a coadjutor bishop for the diocese of Beijing is set for 25 October.

This follows previous announcements and could lead to a bilateral summit between Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit underway in Kazan, Russia, which, for the first, includes Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Negotiations between New Delhi and Beijing over the past four years have ended in an impasse and experts say disputes between the two are far from being resolved.

Set for Friday, 25 October, the ordination in the Chinese capital becomes the first appointment (in agreement with Rome) after the renewal of the Agreement on episcopal appointments, expected in the coming days. The new prelate is 54 years old, just five years younger than Archbishop Li Shan, who has led the Church in Beijing since 2007. As a seminarian, Zhen Xuebin trained at St. John's University in the United States, where he studied Vatican II.

Using satellite images, a recent report shows 20 new Chinese settlements with about 7,000 residents in Bhutanese territory. For experts, China’s strategy began in the 1990s and is aimed at India, becoming more aggressive in recent years. In the last year alone, seven new villages have been built in strategically important areas at around 4,000 metres above sea level.