The United States and others have strongly criticized the Article 23 law, which Hong Kong was constitutionally required to enact. On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was taking steps to impose new visa restrictions on multiple Hong Kong officials in connection with the intensifying crackdown on dissent.
Hong Kong has experienced a dramatic decline in press freedom in recent years, falling to 140th out of 180 countries and territories in Reporters Without Borders’ 2023 World Press Freedom Index compared with 70th in 2018.
Pro-democracy news outlets such as Apple Daily and Stand News have been forcibly shut down by the government, while others have closed on their own or moved all or part of their operations out of Hong Kong. High-profile trials of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, 76, and two former Stand News editors are expected to have profound implications for press freedom in the city.
Foreign news outlets have been targeted to a lesser degree, with RFA and Voice of America, another U.S. government news service, accused by pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong of being “anti-China.”
Fang said Radio Free Asia was “among the last independent news organizations reporting on events happening in Hong Kong in Cantonese and Mandarin.”
RFA reported last month that Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang had criticized what he called the outlet’s “false” reports that the Article 23 legislation could be used against the media, saying the law targeted only those who threatened national security. Speaking at a news conference, Tang referred to RFA as a “foreign force.”
The news outlet was also criticized by the Hong Kong police in January over an article about alleged police brutality during the 2019 protests that quoted Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong lawmaker now living in Australia. Hui is accused of national security offenses by the Hong Kong authorities, who have offered bounties of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) each for him and 12 other overseas activists.
Cédric Alviani, Asia-Pacific bureau director at Reporters Without Borders, said there had been a trend of media outlets and media-related organizations leaving Hong Kong since 2020, when Beijing’s national security law raised the possibility that journalists could be accused of national security crimes in the course of their work.
Hong Kong’s passage of its own national security legislation “makes the potential threat to locally registered organizations even more credible,” he said, “because the Hong Kong authorities would not appear as going against their own regulations when attacking the media based on national security provisions.”
Though he declined to comment on RFA’s withdrawal, Alviani said the Article 23 law would increase pressure on local journalists and was “obviously aimed at creating self-censorship.”
“There is so much space for interpretation that basically the only way not to fall under the national security provisions would be not to write at all on any of the topics considered by the government as sensitive,” he said.
Jennifer Jett
Jennifer Jett is the Asia Digital Editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.
Seoul — South Korea’s overall birth rate hit a record low of 0.72 in 2023, and with that figure projected to fall even further in 2024, some Korean businesses have started offering remarkably generous incentives to convince their workers to become parents.
“The declining fertility rate leads to a decline in the workforce and purchasing power and slowing economic growth, which in turn directly affects the sustainability of corporate management, meaning companies need to actively address the issue,” Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) president Chul Chung said recently at a Korean-Japanese business seminar dedicated to the topic.
Jin Sung Yoo, a senior research fellow at KERI, said the main reason for South Korea’s worryingly low birth rate was the “effect on career progression” associated with having children.
Many solutions were discussed at the seminar, and some eye-opening incentives have been announced in recent weeks.
The Lotte Group, a massive cross-industry conglomerate, said it had found success through “various in-house family-friendly policies.” The company said the existing program had helped push the internal birth rate among employees up to 2.05 during 2022, no small feat when the national average was 0.81.
Ok-keun Cho, head of corporate culture at the Lotte Group, said starting this year, the company would also be offering employees with three or more children a 7-9 seat family vehicle, free of charge.
The most generous parenthood incentive, however, is likely the one for workers at the construction and housing group Booyoung, which has been offering employees a $75,000 bonus for each new child they parent.
So far, the company says 66 employees have taken advantage — at a cost to Booyoung of about $5 million.
Company chairman Lee Joong Keun said he sees it as an investment in the nation’s future, warning that if the birth rate continues to fall, “Korea will face a crisis of national existence 20 years from now, including a decline in the economically productive population and a shortage of defense personnel to ensure national security and maintain order.”
Why U.S. births are decreasing
04:36
Under South Korea’s rules, $75,000 is the largest handout a parent can receive without having to pay additional tax on the month. But Booyoung’s boss said he wanted to go even further, announcing that he would work to help provide employees who become the parent of a third child with “housing with no tax burden on tenants and no maintenance responsibilities.”
The construction company chief said he was hoping to get the South Korean government to agree to provide the land necessary for his plans.
Meanwhile, city officials have said that Seoul’s local government plans to invest more than $1.3 billion during 2024 in the Birth Encouragement Project, an upgrade to an existing incentive policy.
The project has been largely focused on helping South Korean’s maintain their careers around family planning, but it’s been expanded to make more people eligible for the benefits, and those benefits now include infertility treatment and more childcare services.
(Bloomberg) — China’s No. 3 leader took a veiled swipe at the US at the annual Boao Forum on Thursday as the country seeks to push back against the global influence of the world’s leading power while trying to steady the countries’ ties at the same time.
Most Read from Bloomberg
“Hegemonic and bullying acts are deeply harmful,” Zhao Leji said in his keynote speech attended by Asian leaders and global diplomats. “We must oppose trade protectionism and all forms of erecting barriers, decoupling or severing supply chains.”
The four-day Boao gathering, dubbed by some Asia’s version of the World Economic Forum at Davos, will end on Friday, when senior corporate executives and officials are set to meet to discuss issues including globalization to carbon pricing.
Latest developments (time in Boao, Hainan):
Economy Still ‘Relatively Weak,’ PBOC Adviser Says (5:28 p.m.)
The world’s second-largest economy still faces problems of inadequate demand and weak confidence, Huang Yiping, an adviser to China’s central bank, said.
China’s regulatory tightening has also hurt business confidence, Huang said.
Belt and Road Funding Sought for Green Projects (5 p.m.)
Nations including Colombia and Laos pitched environmentally friendly projects at a round-table discussion that included finance and engineering figures from Chinese companies.
Colombia is seeking support for two massive railway projects designed to connect its remote central region to its ports and borders, to be powered by hydrogen and electric locomotives. The country has historically spent the vast majority of its transport budget on roads but aims to shift that to less than 50% over the next few years as it boosts spending on railways, airports and river travel, said Carlos Eduardo Enriquez Caicedo, the vice minister of transport.
Laos is looking to build on the success of the China-Laos railroad, which connects Kunming and Vientiane and went into operation in 2021. The government is hoping rail access will draw Chinese firms to relocate parts of their supply chain to the Southeast Asian nation, as well as investing in agricultural projects along the route and clean energy programs elsewhere in the country, said Phonevanh Outhavong, vice minister of planning and investment.
Boao’s organizers plan bilateral meetings on Thursday and Friday to see if investment matches can be made.
West Dismisses China’s Initiatives at Their Peril: Author (3:30 p.m.)
After a panel devoted to security, Bill Hayton, an Asia expert at Chatham House and author of The Invention of China, said Western countries have tended to dismiss the Global Security Initiative and other projects as “slogan politics.”
“That’s because policymakers in the industrialized countries think they rule the world, controlling powerful institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank,” he said.
Such an approach is risky, he added. “The European powers, NATO states, Japan and Australia have got to realize there’s a wider game being played here and that China is doing a very good job of talking to Africa, Latin America and other Asian states.”
Read More: Sri Lanka Confident It’ll Meet Conditions for IMF Funding Soon
Consumption Key to China’s Transition: IMF Official (1:45 p.m.)
Consumption is expected to continue to play a pivotal role in China’s transition to a high-quality development model in the coming years, as the world’s second-largest economy cuts its reliance on real estate for growth, according to Steven Barnett, senior resident representative of the International Monetary Fund in China.
In the past year, the economy experienced a “welcome and necessary correction” in the property sector while consumption has emerged as the largest contributor to the country’s economic expansion, he said.
CanSino Will Talk to AstraZeneca About Further Cooperation: CEO (10:30 a.m.)
CanSino’s partnership with AstraZeneca for developing mRNA vaccines is a strategic one that doesn’t focus on just a single product, said CEO Yu Xuefeng in an interview with Bloomberg News.
Yu refused to disclose details of the partnership but said he will have a “fuller discussion” with Astra at Boao about “other potential opportunities”
AIIB Chief Says China, US Can Work Together (8:30 a.m.)
The US and China have “broad scope for cooperation, and in particular, dealing with climate change,” Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun told Bloomberg TV. In dealing with geopolitical issues, “big countries can sit down and talk with each other and lower the temperature,” he said.
Jin also gave his take on China’s “new productive forces,” the phrase used by Beijing officials to describe their latest investment priorities. He said the drive aims to develop capabilities in high tech, AI, bioscience and other “high-level” industries that are different from traditional manufacturing and will allow China’s growth to “move forward on a different kind of level.”
Japan, US, China Speak ‘Same Language’ on Climate (8:10 a.m.)
Japan, the US and China — the three biggest owners of the Asian Development Bank — are united in their desire to see the lender expand its role in green financing, according to Scott Morris, the bank’s vice president for East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
“We don’t see a lot of daylight between their positions on this issue of core mandate, the desire for us to do a lot more on climate, they’re all speaking the same language on this,” Morris told Bloomberg TV.
There is concern that geopolitical conflicts “could slow the pace of deployment or raise costs more than we would like to see,” he said.
–With assistance from Dong Lyu, Jason Rogers, Katia Dmitrieva, Martin Ritchie, Zheng Li, Ocean Hou, Mengchen Lu, Adrian Wong, Ben Westcott, Lucille Liu, Alan Wong and Grace Sihombing.
Insights from the London School of Economics, Thai.News, and The Diplomat
The News
Thailand is close to becoming the first Southeast Asian country to guarantee marriage equality after lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.
Of the 415 lawmakers in the lower house of the parliament, 400 voted in favor of the bill, which now heads to the Senate, where it will likely pass, before the country’s King endorses it.
A new liberal government and youth activism have made LGBTQ+ inclusion a priority in Thailand, where conservative Buddhist values have sometimes posed obstacles to the community. The bill’s passage could also serve as a framework for LGBTQ+ laws in other countries in the region, as polls show growing support for the community.
SIGNALS
Semafor Signals: Global insights on today’s biggest stories.
Youth activism helped to change Thai attitudes around LGBTQ+ issues
Sources: TIME Magazine, London School of Economics, Reuters, Voice of America, Thai.News
Thailand has faced hurdles in passing legal protections for LGBTQ+ people because of its conservative Buddhist culture — despite being known among tourists for its “‘ladyboy’ cabarets, and LGBTQ+ beachfront resorts,” TIME magazine reported. However, a rise in youth activism has led to more liberal attitudes, according to a researcher at the London School of Economics. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s government — elected after months of student-led protests against the previous conservative government — vowed to reform conservative-era laws, such as the censorship of movies considered offensive for depicting LGBTQ+ themes. Prominent Buddhist monks have also become key voices in the movement for equality, breaking tradition by speaking out on gender and sexual politics. The latest bill is “a declaration of Thailand’s ethos” that marries open attitudes with deeply rooted Buddhist values, according to the editorial team of website Thai.News. “It solidifies Thailand’s reputation as a sanctuary for love,” they wrote.
Thailand’s framing of same-sex marriage as strengthening social fabric carries lessons for Southeast Asia
Sources: Pew Research Center, The Diplomat, The Nation, Reuters
Most people in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand support same-sex marriage, yet the issue has in the past gained little momentum because of governmental anxiety over identity politics, often seen as a cultural import of the West, Southeast Asia-based journalist David Hutt wrote for The Diplomat. Former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, for instance, was a vocal LGBTQ+ rights supporter while in opposition, but once in office was silent on introducing any legislation. “Gender issues are not important” in Myanmar, one of her close aides said in a 2016 interview with The Daily Beast.
Thailand’s government has managed to advance the cause of same-sex marriage it by framing it around extending societal rights and family responsibilities to gay couples, rather than as granting equality to a historically oppressed minority. Making the case that marriage equality strengthens the social fabric is likely to be the more persuasive argument in Southeast Asia, Hutt wrote, adding that “Thailand should be an example that you get conservatives and reactionaries on board.”
Muslim-majority Southeast Asian countries are cracking down on LGBTQ+ people
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, CNN
While Thailand moves towards greater equality, Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia are becoming more resistant to LGBTQ+ movements within their borders. In Indonesia, gay rights groups have had to cancel events due to security threats from religious political leaders in the country, and Malaysia’s government has threatened prison time for people wearing pride-themed Swatch watches. Malaysia’s LGBTQ+ organizers, meanwhile, are hesitant to draw on outsiders’ support. In 2023, they slammed musician Matt Healy’s on-stage kiss with his male band-mate during a performance in Kuala Lumpur aimed at protesting Malaysia’s homophobic laws. Activists said the kiss “may have done more harm than good” by provoking the government to crack down further on the community, CNN reported. “He thought he was doing something for us, but it’s giving white savior complex,” one Malaysian drag performer told the outlet.
Tokyo — The Tokyo District Court typically garners headlines for high-profile cases, parsing issues such as whether married couples should be allowed to use separate surnames, privacy battles over the “right to be forgotten,” and gender discrimination in academia. But a bizarre lawsuit this month led the court into more prosaic territory.
It could be dubbed the case of the Freebie-Lover vs. the Angry Store Owner.
As chronicled in Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper, the saga began just before opening hours at a shopping mall in Nagano Prefecture. On his way to work, an unidentified bank branch assistant manager happened to spot a nearby store offering modest giveaways — free packets of laundry detergent displayed in front of the store to lure customers.
Noting the “Help yourself” sign, he did so, and then went on his way.
But it did not sit well with the store’s staff. After checking to make sure the security cameras had captured the suds-lifter red-handed, an employee quickly informed the bank that, as the soap-grab had taken place before business hours, it amounted to theft.
The bank executive, the man’s boss, and even the bank’s area manager offered multiple, profuse apologies. All bank employees were ordered to alter their commute routes to avoid walking in front of the cellphone store — no small feat, as the store is located on the corner just opposite the bank branch.
But the store’s management was not to be placated, despite the fact that the promotional giveaways had been provided free by the manufacturer and were likely worth less than $2 each. The store demanded that the bank employee be transferred to another branch.
Worried about possible fallout, the bank ended up firing the man, who then sued his former employer on grounds of unfair dismissal.
Since the detergent was outside for the taking, he argued, grabbing a packet could not possibly constitute larceny — and besides, as a potential customer, he was entitled to one.
For its part, the bank argued that given the gravity of his job handling customers’ assets, the man’s decision to pocket the soap — while perhaps not filthy lucre — fell outside the bounds of acceptable behavior. It was also noted that the man in question had a history of scooping up freebies from the shop.
In its March 8 verdict, the Tokyo District Court ruled that while such an act could be construed as theft, and in specific instances could justify dismissal, such a harsh penalty was unwarranted in this case. The fact that the man was technically still off-duty when the malfeasance occurred, the court said, obviated the need for any harsh penalty by the bank.
Noting the trivial value of the pilfered item, and the man’s repeated displays of remorse, it ordered the bank to give the man backpay, and his job back.
“The time and money invested in this case by all parties,” an Asahi columnist wrote in a postscript, “could have bought thousands of packets of detergent.”
SAN FRANCISCO – East Oakland students from Castlemont High’s Pacific Bridge Club boarded a flight from SFO on Tuesday afternoon heading to East Asia for the adventure of a lifetime. For some students, this is their first time on a plane.
Fifteen students, along with five mentors and teaching chaperones, are heading abroad to three different East Asian countries as part of a program bridging East Oakland to the rest of the world.
Jonathan Guy, a social sciences teacher at Castlemont, and the leader of the Pacific Bridge Club (PCB) said the kids will spend 14 days traveling through Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
At SFO, while they checked in for their flights and said their goodbyes to their parents, the students were sporting matching jackets for this year’s theme: Stop AAPI hate. They wore the same jackets for the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco in February.
“This was a club that started out of my classroom,” said Guy. “It was students who just really wanted to travel.”
For the last six years, PCB has created a space for Castlemont students to learn about different cultures.
“We’ve been to Turkey, China, Egypt, Thailand, and Costa Rica,” Guy said.
“We start off by helping people in our community, like food banks, and volunteering at other places, and we take what we practice here, all over the world and then we take what we learn there, back here,” said a senior at Castlemont, Genesis Landrum.
Last week, nearly 30 Japanese students visited East Oakland, shadowing Castlemont students.
Landrum said she will be reunited with the teen who shadowed her at Castlemont.
“I’ve never thought I’d make a friend in another country, that’s crazy, but I think I did,” Landrum said with a smile.
Now, it’s time for 15 Castlemont students to return the favor and visit the Japanese school.
Guy said the students will do a number of volunteering activities and cultural sightseeing. He also said they will visit universities and engage in educational experiences.
Many of the students said they have never traveled outside the US before.
“I’ve never been on a plane before, so this is something crazy,” Landrum explained. “I’ve never even been in an airport!”
Another student, Decorea Reed, also a senior, said this is his second year participating in the program. “I’m the first to travel out of the country in my family.”
Students said the club teaches them responsibility, respect for others, and helps them out of their shell.
“I used to be a shy person, scared of everything, now I can just go up to anybody and speak,” said senior Ismael Sencion Zuno.
It’s a trip that cost more than $40,000, but is paid for by fundraising, sponsorships, and donations.
As the students got ready for their adventure, they said they’ll make memories to last a lifetime.
“I’m most looking forward to the Philippines because we’re going to these islands and I’m looking forward to the beaches,” said senior Diego Garcia. “That’s something I’m really excited for because I heard the water is really clear.”
“I’m equally excited for both Japan and the Philippines, to try out the food and see how the culture is out there,” said Sencion Zuno.
Guy said he wants to expand the program to other schools in Oakland.
Breaking down the new Vatican policy on same-sex blessings
05:32
Bangkok — Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives who were in attendance, with 10 voting against it, two abstaining and three not voting.
The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house, and then to the king for royal endorsement. This would make Thailand the first country or region in Southeast Asia to pass such a law and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal.
Same-sex marriage around the world
15 photos
Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party and president of a committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said in Parliament that the amendment is for “everyone in Thailand” regardless of their gender, and would not deprive heterosexual couples of any rights.
“For this law, we would like to return rights to the (LGBTQ+ group). We are not giving them rights. These are the fundamental rights that this group of people … has lost,” he said.
Lawmakers, however, did not approve inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists said would limit the rights of some LGBTQ+ couples to form a family and raise children.
Kan Keaddmeemun, 72, and Pakod-Chakon Wong Supha, 67, take part in a symbolic wedding for LGBTQ+ couples on Valentine’s Day at the Siam Center, Feb. 14, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lauren DeCicca/Getty
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity but has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law.
The new government led by Pheu Thai, which took office last year, has made marriage equality one of its main goals.
Imagine jumping on a train in southwestern China, traveling some 2,000 miles and arriving in Singapore – less than 30 hours later.
That’s the scenario China is envisioning for Southeast Asia as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a vast overseas infrastructure development program that launched more than a decade ago.
In 2021, the semi-high-speed Laos-China Railway opened to passengers, connecting the southwestern Chinese commercial hub of Kunming to the Laotian capital of Vientiane – a roughly 10-hour journey spanning some 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) that officials claim has boosted numbers of overland Chinese travelers while greatly benefiting local vendors and businesses in the tiny land-locked country.
Also with China’s help, Southeast Asia’s first bullet train began operating in Indonesia in October 2023 following years of setbacks and delays, connecting the capital Jakarta with Bandung in West Java, one of the country’s biggest cities and a significant arts and cultural hub.
Meanwhile, a second high-speed rail project is underway in Thailand, which aims to connect the Laos-China Railway with Bangkok – but is now facing further delays and mounting construction costs. Launching in phases, the Thai government currently expects the full line to be operational by 2028. The Chinese government has not detailed a timeline.
The project, seen by some analysts as a ‘fiscal trap’, has been a source of heated debate and scrutiny in Thailand, with the government agreeing to shoulder the full construction cost of $5 billion (179 billion baht) for the first building phase, reported Reuters. The Chinese side will be responsible for installing systems, design, and procurement of trains.
And when that line is finally complete, the plan is to expand into northern Malaysia, where it will connect to the capital Kuala Lumpur before finally ending 350 kilometers (218 miles) down south in Singapore.
In January, bids by local and international consortiums were submitted for the lucrative project. But Japanese firms, including the East Japan Railway Co, reportedly pulled out after deciding that it would be too risky without official financial support from the Malaysian government.
“China already boasts the world’s largest high-speed railway network and Chinese firms have long been looking to sell and export their infrastructure technology to other countries,” says travel and consumer trends analyst Gary Bowerman, founder of Check-in Asia, a tourism-focused research and marketing company.
Southeast Asia is the “obvious” choice because of its “proximity to China,” Bowerman adds.
“Connecting mainland cities by train directly into Laos and other Southeast Asian countries (down the line) will make it easy, and advantageous, for Chinese travelers – many who aren’t looking to travel long distances, for long periods of time.”
Southeast Asia’s appeal
Offering everything from ancient temples in Laos and pristine beaches in Thailand to lush rainforests and eco-tours in Malaysia, Southeast Asia has long been a big draw for Chinese travelers, experts note.
“Many countries share borders and long histories with China,” says political economist Pon Souvannaseng, assistant professor of global studies at Bentley University in the US.
“China of course, sees Southeast Asia as a key market for export as well as a key area for security and I think, ultimately wants to see Southeast Asian countries within its sphere of geopolitical influence.”
Chinese tourists visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. – Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
Interestingly, the region’s large Chinese diaspora is another big draw, experts add.
“Cities like Penang and Malacca in Malaysia and Phuket Old Town, with temples and architecture, were built by Chinese immigrants and are very popular with Chinese tourists because of their historical and cultural links,” says Bowerman.
Adding to this is the rise in popularity of rail travel – especially among younger Chinese tourists, many whom are committed to sustainable travel and looking for a new sense of adventure, Bowerman adds.
Pan Wenbo, a 30-year-old security practitioner from Beijing, tells CNN that taking an epic train journey across Southeast Asia from his country, as opposed to flying, would have to be cheap and offer plenty of scenic views along the way. Pan has visited Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines in the past five years and says he is keen to explore other countries in the region.
Others like university student Mei Wei have taken travel tips and inspiration from popular influencers on Chinese social media apps like Douyin – China’s version of TikTok – and Youku, the Chinese YouTube.
Thanks to several travel videos she has seen in recent months, Wei says she is now planning a summer trip to Laos, Cambodia and possibly Thailand, to visit “unique attractions” like the Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap.
She told CNN that she is particularly excited about traveling by train.
“I’m not a big fan of flying. In China, I love taking trains because you get to see more on the ground (as compared to being on a plane from above) and travel more directly into the heart of cities.”
“It also helps that prices are usually consistent and cheaper than booking flights when you are at the mercy of airlines,” she adds.
Challenges and controversies
China’s Belt and Road Initiative was launched at the beginning of Xi Jinping’s presidency.
In addition to high-speed railways, multi-billion dollar sea bridges and highways, ports, airports, power plants and telecommunication networks are all playing a fundamental part in creating the new “Silk Road” that the ruling Chinese Communist Party desires.
A lot of these projects, like the China-Laos Railway, were designed with economic interests in mind, experts say. According to Chinese state media, the China-Laos Railway cumulatively transported 4.22 million tons of freight in 2023, an increase of 94.91% year-on-year.
Political economist Souvannaseng, who rode the train months after passenger services launched in April 2023, said it was “very clearly, even near the full construction and inauguration” a project for cargo transfer, with China and Thailand being the main nodes for trade and Laos being left footing the bill for the massive project.
“It reminds me a lot of the Orient Express and the way it benefitted the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires while the hinterland Balkan territories were saddled with that debt and it hampered their economies well over a century later.”
Chinese-funded and supported infrastructure projects are also widely viewed with suspicion and have been lambasted as attempts by Beijing to boost influence and gain control over smaller neighboring countries while having massive financial consequences for struggling countries.
“Beijing, I think, ultimately wants to see Southeast Asian countries within its sphere of geopolitical influence. These projects have always been in Beijing’s strategic and geopolitical interests,” says Souvannaseng, who highlights the financial burden placed on Laos following its multi-billion dollar Chinese-funded railway project.
“Money that was loaned to the Lao government through Chinese sovereign lending, has to be re-paid and soon. The immediate impact of that external debt for Laos is evident in the recurrent stress and fiscal crisis, and consequences for Lao society at large is pretty evident.”
In Malaysia, where planning for a high-speed railway with neighboring Singapore is taking place, many experts have continually voiced strong opposition and exercised caution about sovereignty. Some have drawn parallels with the West Kowloon rail station in Hong Kong that opened to much fanfare as well as controversy in 2018.
The $10.75 billion infrastructure investment connects Hong Kong to 44 mainland Chinese destinations, including major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. But it also allows mainland Chinese law to be applied on a section of the Hong Kong terminal station, a contentious arrangement that drew heated public criticism for undermining the city’s autonomy.
Officials, on both sides, defended the station and high-speed railway as a tool to boost economic opportunities and a “convenient means of cross-boundary transport.” But critics – many in Hong Kong – said it was a development neither wanted nor asked for.
“It has to do with fear, resentment and anxiety over China and perceptions of Hong Kong’s diminished standing vis-a-vis China,” experts told CNN at the time of its opening.
A staff member waits for passengers to board the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train during a week-long public trial phase at the Halim station in Jakarta on September 17, 2023. – Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
“Any cross-country infrastructure will certainly involve multiple countries and governments and will concern the issue of sovereignty and laws,” says Wong Muh Rong, managing director and founder of corporate advisory firm Astramina Advisory in Kuala Lumpur. “In addition to costs, that in itself is a ginormous thing and not something that can be addressed easily.”
Wong reiterated that while there were “definite advantages” to high-speed trains, the decision to build and launch one has to be balanced with costs and benefits.
“In the example of a high-speed railway line between Malaysia and Singapore, Singapore would likely have just one stop – Malaysia would have more,” Wong told CNN. “But who will have the ultimate say? And if additional external funding comes from China, it will make things even more complicated.
“For now at least, there is no need for a high-speed rail line between Malaysia and Singapore, especially when there are already efficient rail trains and flights less than three hours. The costs are just way too high and it would be too difficult to do.”
With reporting from Hassan Tayir in Hong Kong.
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Getting from backpacker favourite Phnom Penh to the iconic ruins of Angkor Wat could be about to get easier, with Air Asia Cambodia gearing up for its first flights in May.
The airline, a joint venture between Malaysia-headquartered Air Asia, south-east Asia’s biggest budget carrier, and Cambodian business Sivilai Asia, will connect capital Phnom Penh with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
Siem Reap is a north-western town considered the “gateway” to Angkor Wat, a massive complex of centuries-old Hindu and Buddhist temples that draws millions of visitors each year. Sihanoukville is a beach and resort town on Cambodia’s southern Gulf of Thailand coast.
Air Asia has for decades been operating flights to Cambodia, including to Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, from outside the country.
According to Air Asia Cambodia chief executive Vissoth Nam, the setting up of a local branch “will improve connectivity and encourage travellers to stay in the country longer.”
Ticket sales opened on March 18, with one-way fares starting at $49. The first flights are scheduled to lift off on May 2, using two Airbus aircraft stationed at Phnom Penh International Airport.
The capital is to get a bigger international airport in 2025, with construction taking place around 20 kilometres from the centre of the city. A new Chinese-built airport was opened near Siem Reap in late 2023.
Before the Covid pandemic, tourism contributed around 12-15% of Cambodia’s gross domestic product. Visitor numbers are expected to return to the pre-lockdown level of over 6.5 million by 2025.
The first Air Asia flights are scheduled to lift off on May 2, using two Airbus aircraft stationed at Phnom Penh International Airport. AirAsia Group Berhad/dpa
Asian cities lead the world in air pollution, according to a new report.
Key points:
The report by Swiss air quality firm IQAir says 99 of the world’s 100 most polluted cities in 2023 are in Asia, with Indian cities dominating. The only city outside the continent to make the list was Benoni in South Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the average annual concentration of PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller) should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter to minimize the risk of health problems associated with air pollution.
Only 9% of cities worldwide met the WHO standard, underscoring a global need for transformative clean air policies.
The details:
Of the list’s 100 most polluted cities, 83 come from India. Approximately 1.3 billion people, or 96% of its population, live with air quality seven times above the WHO’s safe limit.
Begusarai, located in northeastern India, is the world’s most polluted city, with PM2.5 levels of 118.9 micrograms per cubic meter, which is 23 times above the WHO guideline. Three other Indian cities — Guwahati, Delhi and Mullanpur — and Lahore, Pakistan, round out the planet’s five most polluted cities.
While India has the world’s most polluted cities, the most polluted country is Bangladesh, having an average PM2.5 concentration of 79.9 micrograms per cubic meter — nearly 16 times higher than the WHO guideline. Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso in West Africa complete the world’s five most polluted countries.
IQAir attributed Asia’s soaring pollution levels to high greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and the impact of climate phenomena likeEl Niño. Efforts to combat these issues are hampered by a lack of improvement in energy infrastructure and agricultural practices.
The report calls for increased monitoring and data collection, particularly in Africa, where a third of the population still lacks access to air quality data.
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