https://www.scmp.com/rss/508672/feed Pei-Hua Yu is a journalist covering energy transition and Chinese investment and infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia. She writes for publications around the world. She was previously based in Beijing, Hong Kong and Yangon. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Until mid-2021, the number of proposed coal-fired power plants in Vietnam and Indonesia was second only to those in China and India. Vietnam was also considering increasing coal power capacity by 2030 in a draft development plan released in September. Yet at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made a surprise pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. All eyes are now on how this pledge to adopt a more extensive... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3176844/after-cop26-pledge-can-vietnam-revive-flagging-wind-solar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3176844/after-cop26-pledge-can-vietnam-revive-flagging-wind-solar?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 May 2022 07:00:25 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge to the United Nations that China will no longer build coal-fired power plants overseas will leave many projects awaiting financial closure at risk of cancellation. Countries that have included significant new coal capacity in their near-term national power supply plans are likely to be hit hardest. Among these countries are Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Vietnam Although Vietnam has shelved around half of its planned coal power plants... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3151497/vietnam-indonesia-asian-countries-hit-hardest-chinas-clampdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3151497/vietnam-indonesia-asian-countries-hit-hardest-chinas-clampdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Oct 2021 05:30:13 +0000 When President Xi Jinping pledged at the United Nations General Assembly last month that China would no longer build new coal-fired power plants abroad, the announcement was hailed as a significant step amid increasing climate concerns. But it has also cast doubt on the fate of Chinese-funded coal plant projects already in the pipeline, and what it means for the power-supply plans of various countries. According to data collected by This Week In Asia, nearly 70 coal-fired power plants across... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3151555/chinas-pledge-stop-building-overseas-coal-plants-leaves-asian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3151555/chinas-pledge-stop-building-overseas-coal-plants-leaves-asian?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Oct 2021 03:30:14 +0000 At a hotel in Wa State, near the Myanmar-China border, Chinese national Li Jiajie is growing increasingly desperate by the day. The 24-year-old has been surviving on his savings since last month when he quit his job as an assistant chef after Chinese security officials instructed all citizens to leave northeast Myanmar. But Li is uncertain how long he might have to wait before he can enter quarantine in Pangkham, the main city in the state, before crossing the border to reach his homeland. “Only... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3141474/beijings-crackdown-online-fraud-forces-citizens-leave-myanmars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3141474/beijings-crackdown-online-fraud-forces-citizens-leave-myanmars?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jul 2021 01:30:14 +0000 Recent formal interactions between Myanmar’s junta and officials from China have raised questions about whether the generals who staged February’s coup are garnering international recognition as the Southeast Asian nation’s legitimate executive authority.  More than 420 civil society organisations on Thursday condemned the actions taken by China since June 5 to acknowledge Senior General Min Aung Hlaing – the architect of the coup – and the military regime as the “leaders” of Myanmar.  The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3136832/are-formal-interactions-china-helping-legitimise-myanmars-junta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3136832/are-formal-interactions-china-helping-legitimise-myanmars-junta?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jun 2021 14:02:44 +0000 As soon as he heard that the army had seized power on February 1, Myanmar entrepreneur Samuel, who owns a construction material company with 10 employees, rushed to Yangon bank to withdraw most of the money in his business account and convert the kyats to US dollars. “I never trust the military. We took the risk,” the 36-year-old said. “We actually lost some money because of the currency exchange policy set by the bank. But that’s OK. It’s better to keep the USD.” The move proved prescient. Over... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3130750/myanmar-coup-entrepreneurs-struggle-internet-blackouts-cash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3130750/myanmar-coup-entrepreneurs-struggle-internet-blackouts-cash?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Apr 2021 03:36:29 +0000 Taiwanese entrepreneur Andy Chen and his family have packed their belongings to leave Myanmar. The 35-year-old first visited the country in 2013 as a volunteer and now owns an engineering service firm, but life in Yangon has become too difficult since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government on February 1. In the early weeks of the protests, Chen took photographs from his flat and posted videos on Facebook but he stopped after security forces began firing into people’s homes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3128993/myanmar-crisis-leave-or-stay-taiwan-hong-kong-expats-among?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3128993/myanmar-crisis-leave-or-stay-taiwan-hong-kong-expats-among?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Apr 2021 04:30:05 +0000 Seven days after Myanmar’s military staged a coup to bring down its elected government, street protests opposing the junta began in earnest across most parts of the country including Myitkyina, capital of the resource-rich Kachin state that borders China. Indigenous residents of Kachin state are from seven tribes and believe in three religions, but the area is also home to members of the Shan ethnic minority, migrant workers from the rest of Myanmar, and those of Indian and Chinese heritage. It... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3123947/myanmar-coup-chinese-christian-buddhist-most-people-different?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3123947/myanmar-coup-chinese-christian-buddhist-most-people-different?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Mar 2021 04:30:20 +0000 From protest placards poking fun at army chief Min Aung Hlaing to emblazoning pro-democracy slogans on roads and part of a riverbed – at a scale meant to be large enough to appear in satellite photos – Myanmar’s civil disobedience movement against the generals who took power in a February 1 coup is composed of eye-catching measures that swiftly went viral on social media, as well as inspiration from demonstrators in Hong Kong and Thailand. The movement is largely being led by youngsters in the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3122677/myanmar-people-vs-junta-generation-z-leads-charge-inspiration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3122677/myanmar-people-vs-junta-generation-z-leads-charge-inspiration?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Feb 2021 00:30:15 +0000 When Myanmar embarked on its democratic transition almost a decade ago, Erina Oo, now 31, was among the numerous youngsters who benefited. With a scholarship offered by a Western charity, she completed her undergraduate degree at a top university in Hong Kong, then worked for academic institutes and NGOs focused on reforms and governance in Myanmar before completing a graduate degree in Europe, also on a scholarship. In 2018, Oo, who now works as a government affairs officer, bought a flat with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3120917/every-day-nightmare-inside-myanmar-fears-and-shattered-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3120917/every-day-nightmare-inside-myanmar-fears-and-shattered-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Feb 2021 14:30:18 +0000 Denia Isetianti has long suffered from climate anxiety – the mix of depression and affliction arising from confronting the facts that the globe is heading towards a climate catastrophe. The feelings grew stronger after she became a parent. “What’s going to happen to my kids?”, the 34-year-old mother of two asked. She and her family live in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, one of the most polluted cities in the world. Parts of the city are expected to be submerged by 2050 as a result of rising... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3118905/indonesias-clean-energy-dream-victim-coronavirus-or?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3118905/indonesias-clean-energy-dream-victim-coronavirus-or?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Jan 2021 05:00:05 +0000