China

BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.7 percent year on year in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

The growth eased from the 2.4-percent rise registered in August.

The CPI edged up 0.2 percent month on month in September, compared with an increase of 0.4 percent in August.

Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with the NBS, attributed the easing CPI growth to moderating food prices, especially vegetables and pork.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police raided the private offices of media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai on Thursday, according to Lai’s aide.

Lai’s aide Mark Simon wrote in a post on Twitter that 14 police officers visited Lai’s office and confiscated documents.

Lai, 71, is an outspoken pro-democracy figure who regularly criticizes China’s authoritarian rule and Hong Kong’s government. He is also the founder of media company Next Digital, which operates pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

BEIJING (AP) — A hospital president and the director of the health commission in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao have been fired after China’s latest coronavirus outbreak, authorities said Thursday.

A brief notice on the Qingdao city government’s official microblog Thursday said Health Commission Director Sui Zhenhua and Deng Kai, president of Qingdao’s thoracic hospital to which the cases have been linked, were placed under further investigation. No other details were given.

BEIJING, Oct 13 (APP): China does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory, illegally set up by India and the Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

“First, I want to make it clear that China does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory, illegally set up by the Indian side and the Arunachal Pradesh,” he said during his regular briefing.

“We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities, aimed at military contention along the border area, ” he added.

Beijing, Oct 13 (AP/PTI) China's trade growth accelerated in September as the world's second-largest economy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.

Exports rose 9.9% over a year earlier to 239.8 billion, up from August's 9.5% growth, customs data showed Tuesday. Imports gained 13.2% to 202.8 billion, up from the previous month's 2.1% contraction.

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged the United States to immediately stop its planned arms sales to Taiwan and cease military contact with the island.

The U.S. arms sales to Taiwan seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, especially the August 17 Communique, severely interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's sovereignty and security interests, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily news briefing.

"China firmly opposes this," said the spokesperson.

12 Oct 2020; MEMO: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed the formation of a new multilateral forum to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, international news agencies reported yesterday.

His remarks came during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in China’s southwestern city of Tengchong on Saturday.

BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted 77 km southwest of La Esperanza, Mexico at 0413 GMT on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 39.04 km, was initially determined to be at 14.8773 degrees north latitude and 93.5811 degrees west longitude. 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong police said on Saturday they had arrested nine people suspected of helping 12 Hong Kong activists who fled the city in August, heading for Taiwan, only to be intercepted by Chinese authorities and held on the mainland.

The detainees’ plight has grabbed international attention, with human rights groups raising concern as their families said they were denied access to independent lawyers, and aired suspicion that Hong Kong authorities helped in China’s arrests.

Beijing, Oct 10 (AP/PTI) China said it dispatched ships and planes to track the US guided-missile destroyer John S McCain as it passed near Chinese-held islands in the South China Sea.

The People's Liberation Army accused the US warship of trespassing into Chinese territorial waters on Friday near the Paracel Islands called Xisha by China during the latest freedom of navigation missions by the US Navy aimed at defying China's vast claims in the strategic waterway.