China

BEIJING (AP) — China is pledging to harshly punish anyone responsible for major industrial accidents or outbreaks of violence in coming days as the ruling Communist Party prepares lavish celebrations for its centenary on July 1.

At a meeting Thursday, Vice Premier Liu He ordered safety checks be carried out to forestall such incidents.

“Resolutely contain the frequent occurrence of various types of accidents and create a safe and stable environment for celebrating the centenary of the founding of the party,” an official statement released after the meeting said.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily on Friday increased its print run to 500,000 copies as residents showed support for the beleaguered press freedom a day after police arrested five top editors and executives and froze $2.3 million worth of assets on national security charges.

BEIJING, June 17 (APP): Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Vladimir Norov said that with the accession of Pakistan and India in 2017, the scope of SCO activities has been significantly expanded, and cooperation in ensuring regional security, while expanding and deepening economic and cultural cooperation, has also increased.

Beijing/Jiuquan, Jun 17 (PTI) China successfully launched its longest crewed space mission to date on Thursday, sending three astronauts to its new orbiting station, in a major milestone for the Communist giant's ambitious space exploration plans and establishing it as a leading space power.

In a textbook launch, telecast live by the official television channels, spacecraft Shenzhou-12 sent three astronauts into the same orbit of the core module of the space station Tianhe launched in April.

HONG KONG (AP) — Five editors and executives at pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper were arrested Thursday under Hong Kong’s national security law, its stock was halted and police were searching its offices in moves raising concerns about the media’s future in the city.

Apple Daily is known for its strong pro-democracy stance and often criticizes and condemns the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for tightening control over the city.

Hong Kong authorities have been intensifying a crackdown on dissent following months of mass anti-government protests in 2019.

HONG KONG, June 16. /TASS/: Moscow and Beijing, both facing confrontation from the West, see no other choice but to continue enhancing their alliance regardless of the outcome of the Russian-US summit in Geneva, Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, told South China Morning Post. 

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday that there had been no leak at the Taishan nuclear power station and it had not raised the allowed radiation levels near the plant, responding to a CNN report earlier this week. 

CNN reported on Monday that Framatome, the French company that designed the reactors, had said that China's nuclear safety regulator had raised limits on permissible levels of radiation outside the plant in the southeastern province of Guangdong to avoid having to shut it down. 

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - China has tripled its daily COVID-19 vaccine rollout in June, inoculating 44% of its population with at least one dose, but its health experts warn against a quick border reopening, citing an uneven rollout and the low rate of full vaccinations.

China rolled out 17.3 million doses per day in June on average, up sharply from 4.8 million in April, as it expanded the list of approved vaccines to seven by adding three more locally-developed shots, and continued to boost production.

But the rollout has been uneven.

JIUQUAN, China (AP) — China is set to send the first three crew members to its new space station Thursday morning and envisions growing international cooperation on the ambitious project, a space agency official said Wednesday.

Two of the astronauts flew in previous missions while the third is going to space for the first time, China Manned Space Agency Assistant Director Ji Qiming told reporters at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday her government is closely watching a nearby Chinese nuclear power plant following a news report of a possible leak.

The operators have released few details, but nuclear experts say based on their brief statement, gas might be leaking from fuel rods inside a reactor in Taishan, 135 kilometers (85 miles) west of Hong Kong.

Radiation levels in Hong Kong were normal on Tuesday, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.