China

HONG KONG, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A French biosecurity expert who supervised the construction and accreditation of the biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has dismissed the theory that COVID-19 escaped from the lab, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Friday.

The French expert, Gabriel Gras, put the chance of a leak from the BSL-4 laboratory at "zero percent," according to the South China Morning Post.

HONG KONG, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday strongly objected to the false remarks in Britain's so-called six-monthly report on Hong Kong.

The central government has made it clear that it will unswervingly implement the policy of "one country, two systems" and has repeatedly urged foreign governments to stop intervening in Hong Kong affairs, the HKSAR government said, stressing that foreign interference violates international laws and basic principles of non-intervention.

Beijing, Jun 11 (PTI) China has passed a new legislation that bans defamation of military personnel, adding an array of legal tools to its 2018 law under which a Chinese popular blogger was punished recently for defaming PLA soldiers killed in last year's clash with the Indian Army at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.

BEIJING, June 10 (APP): Experts have said that despite China and India having channels to discuss disengagement in remaining regions, China should beware of nationalistic manipulation in India, following media concerns over the China-India border issue a year after the Galwan Valley clash.

On June 15, last year, the border spat between China and India turned into the first deadly military clash between the two since 1975, resulting in four Chinese deaths and those of at least 20 soldiers from India.

(Reuters) --- China passed a law on Thursday to counter foreign sanctions, as it strives to diffuse U.S. and EU pressure over trade, technology, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

The new law is China's latest and most wide-ranging legal tool to retaliate against foreign sanctions and is intended to give Chinese retaliatory measures more legitimacy and predictability, according to local experts.

Foreign companies, however, worry about the dampening impact it might have on foreign investment.

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- As U.S. President Joe Biden began his visit to Europe, where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, the U.S. and Russian sides have sent tough messages to each other ahead of their summit next week.

Biden arrived in Britain on Wednesday, kicking off the first foreign trip of his presidency. Addressing U.S. troops and their families at Royal Air Force Mildenhall base there, Biden said he would deliver a clear message to Putin.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong will allow children age 12 and above to receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as it seeks to boost immunization rates in the city.

Government officials said Thursday they will offer the vaccine to about 240,000 children from 12 to 15 years old starting Friday, joining other countries that have started vaccinating children.

The move comes as Hong Kong is urging its 7.5 million population to get inoculated. Since its vaccination drive began in late February, just over 15% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

(Reuters) --- The Chinese foreign ministry defended the value of cultural exchanges with Japan on Wednesday after Chinese intellectuals came under heavy attack from nationalists online for attending events sponsored by the Japanese government over many years.

The ministry's mild tone contrasted with the hardline "wolf warrior diplomacy" it has often favoured on international issues, especially those concerning Japan, whose brutal wartime occupation of China is a touchstone for Chinese nationalists.

BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), or China's national legislature, on Wednesday voiced its strong dissatisfaction with and opposition to the U.S. Senate's approval of "the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021."

(Reuters) --- Hong Kong will continue to invite foreign judges to its courts and the city's legal system remains "hard as a rock", Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday amid international concern about the impact of a sweeping national security law.

Worries over the ability of Hong Kong's judicial system to uphold human rights while applying the new law independently intensified last week when the judiciary said British judge Brenda Hale would step down from the top court next month.