https://www.scmp.com/rss/323715/feed John Power was a reporter for Asia Desk and This Week in Asia from 2018-2021. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Australia’s journey to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow was so rocky that until recently, there were question marks over whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison would even attend. Despite intense international lobbying, including from allies such as the United States and Britain, Morrison defied pressure to increase the country’s target of reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Morrison’s compromise of pledging to sign on to net zero emissions by 2050 was itself a tough... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3154189/australias-morrison-cut-climate-deal-ahead-cop26?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3154189/australias-morrison-cut-climate-deal-ahead-cop26?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Oct 2021 23:00:29 +0000 When Moon Jae-in gave his first address as the president of South Korea, he promised not to rest until he had secured a permanent peace between the divided Koreas. “I will fly to Washington, Beijing and Tokyo, if needed, and I will also go to Pyongyang, if conditions are met,” Moon said during his 2017 inaugural speech. “I will do everything in my power to bring peace to the peninsula.” Nearly five years on, the South Korean leader is in a race against time to make good on his word and leave... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3153363/sun-setting-moon-jae-ins-promise-inter-korean-peace-and-biden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3153363/sun-setting-moon-jae-ins-promise-inter-korean-peace-and-biden?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Oct 2021 23:00:23 +0000 When the premier of Australia’s New South Wales held a press conference to mark the end of more than 100 days of lockdown, he chose a pub as the venue and a roster of officials focused on the economy rather than public health. “It’s not just a health crisis, it’s an economic crisis too,” said Premier Dominic Perrottet on Monday last week, flanked by his treasurer and the head of the state’s top business body. “New South Wales is leading the nation out of this pandemic.” In a surprise... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3152368/australias-new-south-wales-shift-messaging-has-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3152368/australias-new-south-wales-shift-messaging-has-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Oct 2021 22:00:25 +0000 Australian and US military forces should integrate further under a “collective deterrence strategy” aimed at China’s rise, giving Canberra access to American operations in the Philippines, Singapore and Guam, a new report argues. The allies should look at new “combined access arrangements” among a number of ways to strengthen “integrated deterrence” against Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region, according to the report released by the Sydney-based United States Studies Centre on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3152504/us-should-give-australia-access-operations-singapore-guam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3152504/us-should-give-australia-access-operations-singapore-guam?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Oct 2021 09:52:31 +0000 When Sovia Gill saw the news this month that Australia would reopen its international borders from November, she was so overwhelmed with relief that she burst into tears. But when the international student from India’s Punjab state read the fine print, her mood quickly turned to dismay as she realised the reopening would prioritise citizens and permanent residents. “It was so heartbreaking,” said Gill, whose coursework for a masters in engineering at the University of Southern Queensland,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3152248/australia-reopening-pandemic-limbo-remains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3152248/australia-reopening-pandemic-limbo-remains?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Oct 2021 21:00:30 +0000 After 17 months stranded overseas, Allison Bradwell is not getting her hopes up about Australia’s plans to reopen its international borders as vaccination rates hit key thresholds next month. The Sydney native, who lives in Kuala Lumpur with her husband, is wary of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s pledge to ease strict controls on overseas citizens returning home within weeks. She has already missed Christmas, her daughter’s graduation and her in-laws’ 90th birthdays. “There are no details behind... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3151525/coronavirus-australia-plans-border-reopening-stranded?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3151525/coronavirus-australia-plans-border-reopening-stranded?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Oct 2021 23:00:17 +0000 US President Joe Biden just got his Pfizer booster shot amid efforts to institute vaccination mandates in the United States to improve the inoculation rate. In Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong got his Pfizer booster shot last week. The city state of 5.7 million residents, which has also relied on Moderna for its national vaccination programme, is now offering booster jabs to seniors and will soon open bookings for those aged above 50. Other wealthy nations such as Britain and Israel... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3150418/coronavirus-rich-countries-turn-big-name-booster-shots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3150418/coronavirus-rich-countries-turn-big-name-booster-shots?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Sep 2021 23:00:14 +0000 In late January 2020, as a new virus infected hundreds of people each day in the Chinese city of Wuhan, scientists at the Galveston National Laboratory in Texas urgently sought access to the pathogen to start their own research. They turned to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), whose scientists they had helped to train, hoping they could execute a swift “material transfer agreement” to get the coronavirus to their labs. The US government-affiliated lab would wait days as a WIV scientist... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3150225/revealed-wuhan-lab-and-web-chinese-red-tape-delayed-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3150225/revealed-wuhan-lab-and-web-chinese-red-tape-delayed-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Sep 2021 04:00:57 +0000 Carlos Ghosn may no longer sit atop the corporate hierarchy, but he hasn’t taken his eye off the world of business – including China’s meteoric economic rise. In an interview with This Week in Asia, the legendary Nissan CEO-turned-international fugitive predicted China’s economy would go from strength to strength, and that Chinese carmakers would someday be seen in a similar light as prestigious brands such as BMW. “I have no doubt about this,” said Ghosn, who caused an international sensation... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3150054/carlos-ghosn-bets-china-economy-calls-japan-fix-outdated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3150054/carlos-ghosn-bets-china-economy-calls-japan-fix-outdated?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Sep 2021 04:00:10 +0000 The release of two Canadians after nearly three years in what was widely seen as “arbitrary detention” in China was greeted with relief and celebration on Saturday. Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were freed after Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou was cleared by a Canadian court to leave the country, where she had been in legal limbo since her 2018 arrest at the request of the United States. The two men, accompanied by Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, flew from Beijing to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3150119/supporters-canadas-two-michaels-spavor-and-kovrig-express?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3150119/supporters-canadas-two-michaels-spavor-and-kovrig-express?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Sep 2021 13:45:35 +0000 South Korea’s foreign minister and his US counterpart have discussed “creative” ways to engage with North Korea, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, as the South’s President Moon Jae-in repeated calls for a declaration to officially end the Korean war. Foreign minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York amid a renewed focus on Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear weapons activities. The North... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149805/south-korea-us-discuss-creative-ways-engage-pyongyang-does-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149805/south-korea-us-discuss-creative-ways-engage-pyongyang-does-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:45:26 +0000 Australia’s bid to acquire nuclear submarines under a new security pact with the United States and Britain has sparked unease in Pacific Island nations, whose strategic location has placed them at the forefront of the growing geopolitical rivalry between China and the West. The launch of the partnership, dubbed Aukus, has raised concerns among politicians, the media and civil society in the Pacific about the risk of conflict and nuclear proliferation in their backyard. Although... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149716/pacific-island-nations-uneasy-over-aukus-deal-amid-nuclear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149716/pacific-island-nations-uneasy-over-aukus-deal-amid-nuclear?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Sep 2021 21:00:26 +0000 Since the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines, a crucial but largely unspoken question has loomed large for countries looking towards returning to pre-pandemic life: how much sickness and death will occur even after nearly everybody has been jabbed? Possible answers to that question are coming into view as a growing number of territories get close to their maximum vaccination rates. Although varying considerably, the emerging picture points to a post-vaccinated future in which societies may have to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3149474/hong-kong-australia-how-much-death-and-sickness-lie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3149474/hong-kong-australia-how-much-death-and-sickness-lie?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 23:00:28 +0000 Australia’s plan to build eight nuclear-powered submarines under an Indo-Pacific security pact with the United States and Britain has delivered a jolt to the regional security status quo, analysts said, reinforcing hard power capabilities missing from existing agreements. It is also likely to prompt calls to give greater force to existing defence alliances and security groupings that critics have described as having ambiguous functions and aims that do not reflect the changing balance of power... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149034/us-allies-move-nuclear-submarines-australia-boost-regions-hard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149034/us-allies-move-nuclear-submarines-australia-boost-regions-hard?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:00:23 +0000 EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit research group based in New York that studies the spread of viruses from animals to humans, has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Much of this has been due to its long-time collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is located in the central Chinese city where Covid-19 was first reported in December 2019. Both organisations had collected and modified bat viruses to explore the threat of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3148834/wuhan-labs-us-partner-embroiled-research-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3148834/wuhan-labs-us-partner-embroiled-research-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Sep 2021 02:00:22 +0000 North Korea’s second round of missile launches in several days has brought into sharp relief the limited policy options for reining in weapons programmes that are considered among the region’s most pressing security concerns. Pyongyang on Wednesday fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, in a potent reminder of the regime’s determination to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks. North Korea fires two ballistic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3148875/few-options-rein-north-korea-missile-launches-wont-stop-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3148875/few-options-rein-north-korea-missile-launches-wont-stop-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Sep 2021 21:00:10 +0000 For North Korea, the threat posed by Covid-19 could hardly be more stark. The impoverished country’s health care system is dilapidated and overstretched, while its 26 million people are especially vulnerable to disease due to chronic undernourishment that the UN estimates affects more than 40 per cent of the population. Still, the isolated state ruled by Kim Jong-un, which claims to be Covid-free, has been loath to accept help from the outside world, repeatedly shunning offers of life-saving... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3147456/coronavirus-why-did-north-korea-turn-down-3-million-sinovac?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3147456/coronavirus-why-did-north-korea-turn-down-3-million-sinovac?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Sep 2021 07:15:49 +0000 A planned revision of guidelines for Australian universities to guard against interference by foreign actors including China has sparked controversy within the tertiary sector, with some academics fearing the arrival of “Red Scare” paranoia on campuses. The Australian government and universities are working to update anti-foreign interference guidelines that were introduced in 2019 amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese influence on university campuses. Although the updated guidelines have not been... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3147148/update-australias-foreign-interference-guidelines-universities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3147148/update-australias-foreign-interference-guidelines-universities?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Sep 2021 21:00:16 +0000 When a 54-year-old Hong Kong resident serving hotel quarantine experienced severe abdominal pain earlier this month, she called the Department of Health’s designated hotline for medical attention. The woman’s call marked the start of a 44-hour ordeal to receive treatment, she said, during which she feared she could die. She believes her experience raises serious questions about the impact of Hong Kong’s strict Covid-19 rules on residents requiring medical care. After arriving at Queen Elizabeth... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3146626/hong-kong-hotel-quarantine-womans-ordeal-casts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3146626/hong-kong-hotel-quarantine-womans-ordeal-casts?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Aug 2021 00:15:08 +0000 Rabia Samet, a computer science major at a university in Seoul, fears the day the South Korean government will say she must return to Afghanistan. “Taliban kill women like me,” said Samet, who came to South Korea to study in 2017. As a woman who chose to study abroad alone, without a husband or male family member to watch over her, Samet has no doubt she would be marked out as a sinner by Afghanistan’s new Islamist rulers, who took complete control a fortnight ago while the United States was in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3146580/taliban-kill-women-me-afghans-south-korea-say-they-dont-want-go?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3146580/taliban-kill-women-me-afghans-south-korea-say-they-dont-want-go?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Aug 2021 04:30:22 +0000 The Delta variant is fuelling doubt over the sustainability of the Asia-Pacific’s “zero-Covid” strategies, as growing Covid-19 outbreaks push the limits of elimination tools such as lockdowns and border closures. Political leaders and public health experts in zero-Covid economies such as Australia and New Zealand have in recent days begun shifting discussions towards learning to live with the virus once vaccination rates rise, although Hong Kong is maintaining its bid to stamp out... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3146081/does-game-changer-delta-signal-game-over-asia-pacifics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3146081/does-game-changer-delta-signal-game-over-asia-pacifics?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Aug 2021 23:00:43 +0000 When Hong Kong announced in June that vaccinated residents would be able to shorten hotel quarantine with a positive antibodies test that would remain valid for three months, frequent business traveller David Granger did not bother contacting his nearest clinic. The Hong Kong-based brand strategist, who has racked up no fewer than seven stays in quarantine during the pandemic, did not want to waste his money on a test he was certain would soon become worthless. Granger’s suspicions proved... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3145642/how-does-zero-covid-end-hong-kong-australia-and-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3145642/how-does-zero-covid-end-hong-kong-australia-and-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Aug 2021 00:30:15 +0000 As the highly infectious Delta variant challenges pandemic control efforts around the world, a great unknown looms large: what might the virus behind Covid-19 do next? Scientists widely agree that new mutations of Sars-CoV-2 are likely to emerge as time goes on, bolstering a roster of Greek letters that already includes Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Lambda. The question is whether the virus behind the worst pandemic in a century will evolve to become more or less threatening in terms of its harmfulness... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3144722/delta-variants-global-spread-raises-question-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3144722/delta-variants-global-spread-raises-question-will?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Aug 2021 01:00:19 +0000 New Zealand on Thursday laid out its plan for reopening its borders, the latest “zero-Covid” economy to confront the difficult task of charting a path out of international isolation during the pandemic. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would speed up its vaccine roll out this year and begin a phased reopening of the border in early 2022. Vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries will eventually be able to enter New Zealand without going into quarantine, she said. Like other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3144672/zero-covid-new-zealand-outline-plans-reopening-borders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3144672/zero-covid-new-zealand-outline-plans-reopening-borders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Aug 2021 20:00:20 +0000 Australia’s former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd have attributed a dramatic deterioration in Sino-Australian relations to an aggressive foreign policy pursued under Chinese President Xi Jinping, while also criticising senior Australian government figures for needlessly inflaming tensions with Beijing. Speaking at a webinar on Tuesday, Turnbull and Rudd said Xi’s adoption of an increasingly nationalistic and strident foreign policy was the primary driver of worsening ties... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3144561/xi-jinping-blame-worsening-china-australia-ties-say-former-pms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3144561/xi-jinping-blame-worsening-china-australia-ties-say-former-pms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Aug 2021 12:00:38 +0000 They have predicted Covid-19 case numbers and deaths, advocated lockdowns and border closures, and proposed timetables and vaccination rates for lifting restrictions on everyday life. Throughout the pandemic, public health experts have loomed large in debates and government policymaking about how to manage the once-a-century global crisis. Yet the dominance of a relatively small group of experts from a limited number of scientific fields – in particular epidemiology and virology – has also... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3144115/asias-covid-19-reopening-debate-are-scientists-having?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3144115/asias-covid-19-reopening-debate-are-scientists-having?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Aug 2021 00:00:17 +0000 Australia will introduce new powers to sanction alleged perpetrators of “egregious acts of international concern,” a move likely to put China in the crosshairs and further strain Sino-Australian relations. Under the proposals, Canberra would be able to impose targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on individuals or entities accused of gross human rights violations and other activities such as weapons proliferation, cyberattacks and corruption. Foreign Marise Payne said on Thursday the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3144066/australias-proposed-magnitsky-style-sanctions-law-could-target?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3144066/australias-proposed-magnitsky-style-sanctions-law-could-target?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Aug 2021 05:48:48 +0000 China’s embassy in Australia has claimed its top envoy “excoriated” his Japanese counterpart for downplaying imperial Japan’s wartime atrocities at a diplomatic event, prompting protests from the Japanese consulate – along with confusion about whether the alleged confrontation actually took place. In a statement published on its website last month, the Chinese embassy accused Japanese ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami of making “nasty remarks” about China at an unspecified function and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3143669/australias-china-japan-embassies-dispute-over-alleged-wartime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3143669/australias-china-japan-embassies-dispute-over-alleged-wartime?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Aug 2021 10:31:36 +0000 North Korea’s autocratic leadership is not known for drawing attention to problems within the country, where a popular children’s song proclaims “we have nothing to envy in the world”. So when Kim Jong-un used a recent commemoration of the 1950-1953 Korean war to acknowledge the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns had sparked a “crisis of hardships” to rival the conflict, aid groups took notice. Kim’s acknowledgement of growing deprivation late last month was the third such public acknowledgement... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3143300/kim-jong-un-hints-hardships-stoking-fears-famines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3143300/kim-jong-un-hints-hardships-stoking-fears-famines?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Aug 2021 01:30:23 +0000 In an Australia increasingly wary of China’s influence in its backyard, claims a Chinese state-run firm was angling to purchase the South Pacific’s No. 1 phone carrier set off immediate alarm bells. In Australian media, unnamed government sources expressed fears that China Mobile’s purchase of Digicel’s Pacific network would give Beijing free rein to spy on Pacific neighbours such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Chinese ownership of the telecommunications... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3142414/did-china-mobile-rumours-lead-australia-make-wrong-call-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3142414/did-china-mobile-rumours-lead-australia-make-wrong-call-over?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jul 2021 21:00:22 +0000 “Zero Covid” economies in the Asia-Pacific region risk being left behind as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, with years of potential border closures threatening their future prosperity, a report has warned. Hong Kong and Singapore face permanent damage to their status as international business hubs, while Australia and New Zealand risk missing out on the return of international tourism and students, according to the report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Asia-Pacific’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3142187/zero-covid-economies-hong-kong-singapore-australia-risk-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3142187/zero-covid-economies-hong-kong-singapore-australia-risk-being?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jul 2021 06:00:17 +0000 Throughout Southeast Asia, from Jakarta to Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, authorities are racing to secure desperately needed coronavirus vaccines as hospitals overflow, new infections surge and daily death tolls reach new heights. The challenge for developing countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam has been compounded as global vaccine production struggles to meet demand and wealthy nations hoard the lion’s share of shots. The crisis has drawn attention to a contentious remedy employed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3142087/southeast-asia-doesnt-have-enough-covid-19-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3142087/southeast-asia-doesnt-have-enough-covid-19-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jul 2021 09:00:10 +0000 In its latest press freedom rankings, Reporters Without Borders described South Korean President Moon Jae-in as “a breath of fresh air” after a decade of conservative rule that saw his predecessors, centre-right leaders Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, draw fire for launching criminal defamation suits against critics and stacking broadcast networks with political allies. But Moon, a former human rights lawyer, now faces questions about his own commitment to press freedom as his centre-left... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3141992/south-korea-moons-proposed-fake-news-law-real-worry-press?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3141992/south-korea-moons-proposed-fake-news-law-real-worry-press?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jul 2021 23:00:18 +0000 Each time Covid-19 has flared up, Australia’s major cities have used strict lockdowns to battle cases back down to zero. As the pandemic wreaked havoc elsewhere, the country’s “zero Covid” approach prevented deaths and major disruption to everyday life for much of the past 18 months. The Delta variant is now challenging the effectiveness of that approach like never before, as outbreaks linked to the mutant strain in three state capitals have some experts deliberating whether elimination is no... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3141863/has-delta-variant-curbed-effectiveness-lockdowns-zero?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3141863/has-delta-variant-curbed-effectiveness-lockdowns-zero?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jul 2021 21:00:19 +0000 Health authorities paused vaccine roll-outs and told younger people to avoid certain jabs over extremely rare side effects. Experts warned of soaring Covid-19 cases in even highly vaccinated countries such as Britain and Israel. Studies sounded the alarm about the jabs being less effective against virus variants, and vaccine makers raised the need for boosters to ensure people remained protected. A year ago, many experts thought the arrival of a Covid-19 vaccine could take years – if it happened... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3141216/why-are-coronavirus-vaccines-success-story-human?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3141216/why-are-coronavirus-vaccines-success-story-human?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jul 2021 01:30:19 +0000 Australia’s military is monitoring a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship that is sailing towards the Australian coast, a development the country’s prime minister admitted being “wary” of despite its legality under international maritime rules. Tianwangxing, a Chinese intelligence-gathering vessel, is believed to be en route to waters off Australia to monitor the country’s biannual Talisman Sabre joint exercise involving the United States and a number of US allies. The exercise... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3141070/australia-wary-chinese-spy-ship-it-hosts-military-drills-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3141070/australia-wary-chinese-spy-ship-it-hosts-military-drills-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jul 2021 08:05:00 +0000 From London to Tokyo to Sydney, the speed and intensity of the Covid-19 Delta variant’s spread has magnified the immense challenge of returning to a semblance of normal life, even with vaccinations and containment efforts. The spread of the highly transmissible variant, which was first identified in India, is at once exposing the vulnerability of countries with low vaccination rates and the pitfalls of viewing the jabs as a panacea for lifting Covid-19 restrictions wholesale. In the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3140572/coronavirus-deltas-spread-london-tokyo-shows-easing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3140572/coronavirus-deltas-spread-london-tokyo-shows-easing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jul 2021 13:24:05 +0000 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged borders would stay closed until it was “safe”. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern linked the resumption of international travel to “enough” people getting vaccinated. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the “coverage of the jabs” would be key to easing border restrictions. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, governments have resisted being drawn on specifics when discussing the circumstances for doing away with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3140207/how-can-australia-new-zealand-and-hong-kong-return-pre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3140207/how-can-australia-new-zealand-and-hong-kong-return-pre?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jul 2021 11:18:37 +0000 As much of the world went into lockdown last year during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, South Korea bucked the trend with a strategy aimed at keeping as much of its economy open as possible. More than 18 months into the global health crisis, it is once again blazing a trail as a rare example of an Asia-Pacific economy now taking concrete steps to reopen its borders. Since Thursday, fully vaccinated visitors have been able to skip an otherwise compulsory two week-quarantine if they are... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3139607/south-korea-offers-quarantine-free-travel-asias-zero?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3139607/south-korea-offers-quarantine-free-travel-asias-zero?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jul 2021 09:09:36 +0000 Chinese students living in Australia have faced surveillance and intimidation by Beijing for advocating for democracy, with universities failing to uphold their academic freedom, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Wednesday. An “atmosphere of fear” has grown on Australian university campuses in recent years, with pro-democracy Hongkongers and mainland students self-censoring to avoid harassment and being reported to Chinese authorities by their pro-Beijing classmates, the non-profit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139289/chinese-students-australia-face-surveillance-intimidation-views?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139289/chinese-students-australia-face-surveillance-intimidation-views?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jun 2021 06:41:11 +0000 From Australia to Hong Kong, the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is exposing the vulnerability of zero-Covid economies with low vaccination rates. While many Asia-Pacific economies have controlled the pandemic with strict border controls, the rapid spread of the variant has provided a stark reminder that temporary restrictions are no substitute to mass immunisation. At the same time, the experiences of highly-vaccinated countries such as Britain and Israel, where deaths from the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3139223/delta-covid-19-variant-keeps-hong-kong-australia-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3139223/delta-covid-19-variant-keeps-hong-kong-australia-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jun 2021 01:00:17 +0000 From London to New York and Hong Kong, the Delta coronavirus variant has emerged as a potential wild card that threatens to upend plans for returning to pre-pandemic normality.   In Europe and North America, the rapid spread of the highly transmissible variant first identified in India has placed a question mark over hopes for a normal summer, even as climbing vaccination rates spur the rolling back of restrictions and resumption of tourism and travel.   In the Asia-Pacific region, the variant... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138641/delta-variant-sweeps-west-asia-faces-choice-stick-zero?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138641/delta-variant-sweeps-west-asia-faces-choice-stick-zero?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jun 2021 00:30:20 +0000 Australians’ trust in China has plummeted to record lows, new polling shows, with nearly two out of three people now viewing Beijing as more of a security threat than an economic partner. In the latest sign of deteriorating Sino-Australian ties, 63 per cent of Australians now see China as a threat, up from 41 per cent last year and 12 per cent in 2018, according to the latest annual opinion survey carried out by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute. The study, released on Tuesday night, found that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3138432/australians-trust-china-has-fallen-record-lows-according-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3138432/australians-trust-china-has-fallen-record-lows-according-new?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2021 06:52:21 +0000 When software entrepreneur Tom Coyne moved to Malta from Hong Kong with his family last summer, he imagined he’d be taking a temporary break from pandemic life in the city. But after spending nearly a year in the small European country with his wife and three children, the 47-year-old Irishman is almost certain he will not return. Before Covid-19, Coyne – who asked for his real name not to be used due to privacy concerns – would typically make several international trips for business each week.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3137905/should-hong-kong-and-singapore-act-appease-expats-chafing-tight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3137905/should-hong-kong-and-singapore-act-appease-expats-chafing-tight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000 As the Asia-Pacific’s “zero-Covid-19” economies pick up the pace of their sluggish vaccination drives, a difficult question looms on the post-pandemic horizon: how many deaths should a society accept? Even if they can achieve high vaccination rates, low-Covid-19 bubbles such as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam – which saved countless lives with border closures, sporadic lockdowns, and social distancing measures – will likely have to confront unprecedented coronavirus... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3137543/how-many-deaths-are-acceptable-zero-covid-19-economies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3137543/how-many-deaths-are-acceptable-zero-covid-19-economies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 A former French government official who oversaw safety standards at the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s maximum security laboratory ahead of its opening has dismissed the theory that Covid-19 escaped from the institute, as a growing clamour of voices lends credence to the previously fringe hypothesis. In his first interview with English-language media, Gabriel Gras, a virology researcher and biosecurity expert who was employed as a technical expert at the French embassy in China, said he did not... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136833/0-cent-chance-french-official-who-oversaw-safety?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136833/0-cent-chance-french-official-who-oversaw-safety?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:00:00 +0000 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an overhaul of global trade rules to better punish economic coercion, in a veiled reference to the bitter trade dispute with China that has disrupted Australian exports such as beef and wine. Speaking on Wednesday, ahead of his attendance at the “G7-plus” meeting in Britain this weekend, Morrison said he would rally international support to buttress the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and “modernise its rule book where... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3136658/australian-pm-morrison-calls-wto-reform-punish-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3136658/australian-pm-morrison-calls-wto-reform-punish-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jun 2021 10:13:39 +0000 Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader and the bearer of a dizzying array of military and party titles, is learning the value of delegating a busy workload. In recent months, Kim has signed off on the creation of a number of high-ranking positions for trusted figures, while state media have begun to portray meetings of the ruling Workers’ Party as a collaborative affair where decisions are made as a group. In January, Kim, who took power following the death of his father Kim Jong-il in 2011,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3136584/north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-learning-delegate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3136584/north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-learning-delegate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jun 2021 04:00:00 +0000 Asia-Pacific economies are racing to develop home-grown Covid-19 vaccines as supply shortages threaten to upend containment efforts and prolong the pandemic. Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are all betting on multiple locally developed vaccine candidates after struggling to secure adequate supplies of shots from overseas. Although locally developed vaccines are unlikely to arrive in time to save sluggish vaccine roll-outs, authorities and scientific experts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136021/wary-covid-19-vaccine-shortages-several-asian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136021/wary-covid-19-vaccine-shortages-several-asian?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jun 2021 04:00:10 +0000 Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said Australia’s national interests are the sole guide of his government’s policy on China. To help decide where those interests lie, Morrison and his cabinet have relied on a roster of key advisers and appointees – a coterie known for a strong focus on national security and hawkish views on Beijing. The tough approach of Morrison’s inner circle has coincided with a serious deterioration in Sino-Australian relations. While they have been strained in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3135930/china-australia-ties-fray-who-shaping-canberras-increasingly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3135930/china-australia-ties-fray-who-shaping-canberras-increasingly?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jun 2021 21:00:10 +0000