China

Beijing, Jul 21 (AP/PTI) Engorged with more heavy rains, China's mighty Yangtze River is cresting again, bringing fears of further destruction as seasonal floods that already have left more than 140 people dead or missing have grown in force since last month.

The rains are putting renewed pressure on the massive Three Gorges Dam that straddles the river upstream of the city of Wuhan in Hubei province.

HONG KONG (AP) — It was one of the first protests in Hong Kong after a feared national security law came into effect.

Among a dozen or so lunchtime demonstrators at a luxury mall in the Central business district, a man raised a poster that — when viewed from afar — read in Chinese, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

The government had just banned the slogan, saying it had separatist connotations and so ran afoul of the new security law’s prohibition of secessionist acts.

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The signing of the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" into law by the United States blatantly interferes in China's internal affairs, and seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations, experts have said.

The move attempts to sow chaos in Hong Kong, reflecting the U.S. Cold War mentality and zero-sum game ideology, and is a play of double standards worldwide, Humphrey Moshi, a professor of economics at Tanzania's leading state-run University of Dar es Salaam, said.

HONG KONG (AP) — Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong filed candidacy papers Monday for upcoming legislative elections in Hong Kong, where the new national security law could prevent opposition candidates from taking seats.

Wong was one of the top candidates emerging from unofficial primaries held by the pro-democracy camp as it aims to win a majority of seats in the 70-seat legislature in the September elections.

“We hope to let the world to know how we choose not to surrender, how we choose not to kowtow to China,” Wong told reporters.

BEIJING, July 19 (APP): The recently signed agreements in Pakistan for hydropower projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) marked the beginning of a mature new phase for the program, which is under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to Chinese experts.

The concessional agreement for the 700.7-MW Azad Pattan Hydropower Project was signed last week, a breakthrough for the implementation of the project, according to China Gezhouba Group, the Chinese investor in the project.

(Reuters) - China’s embassy in Myanmar on Sunday accused the United States of “outrageously smearing” the country and driving a wedge with its Southeast Asian neighbors over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount between the superpowers.

Responding to U.S. claims Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbors, the Chinese embassy said U.S. agencies abroad were doing “disgusting things” to contain China and had showed a “selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face”.

HONG KONG, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The national security law for Hong Kong will not affect the normal operation of financial markets and legitimate business of financial institutions and market participants, a senior official of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Sunday.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in an online article that the law clearly stipulates four offenses endangering national security and the financial sector can continue their normal operation under Hong Kong's existing legal framework.

BEIJING, July 18 (APP): China-Pakistan Fiber Optic Project (CPFOP), the major project of digital connectivity between China and Pakistan, has started and for the first time fiber optic cable has become operational between the two countries.

This project is considered to be the backbone of digital connectivity and is important for the information technology exchange between China and Pakistan. The digital connectivity technology of China can now be transferred to Pakistan through fiber optics, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Saturday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong formally kicked off a two-week registration period for candidates to run in a key legislative election in September, amid fears authorities might try to disqualify an assertive young generation of democrats.

The citywide poll will be a crucial battleground for the city’s democratic opposition to try to reclaim some political influence in the wake of tough national security laws China imposed on June 30.

These laws have been decried by critics, including the United States, as a death knell for the city’s freedoms and autonomy from China.

BEIJING (AP) — China isn’t seeking to confront or replace the United States as the world’s top technological power, but will fight back against “malicious slander” and attacks from Washington, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday, responding to a litany of recent accusations from the Trump administration.