Qin Gang’s exit as China’s foreign minister, The 1975’s onstage kiss, Singapore’s scandals: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week
- From Qin Gang’s highly unusual exit as China’s foreign minister to Singapore’s spate of scandals, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues.
1. Exit Qin Gang, enter Wang Yi — what is behind China’s foreign minister switch?
The abrupt ousting of China’s former foreign minister Qin Gang after only seven months might be highly unusual, but is the response in line with Beijing’s typical playbook? The Communist Party has a history of turning to senior figures to steady the ship in emergencies and Wang Yi’s return may be in keeping with this precedent.
2. UK band The 1975 faces lawsuit as LGBTQ Malaysians slam onstage kiss
“I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” lead singer Matty Healy said before kissing fellow bandmate Ross Macdonald while performing at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival. This prompted organisers to pull their performance and Malaysia’s communications minister to end the festival two days early. The band was applauded abroad by fans but members of the gay community were less impressed by what some described as “performative activism”.