China

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has asked four U.S. media organisations to submit details about their operations in the country, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, in what it described as retaliation for U.S. measures against Chinese media outlets.

The Associated Press, UPI, CBS, and National Public Radio are required to provide information about their staff, financial operations and real estate in China within seven days, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily news briefing.

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his like are just daydreaming as they attempt to cut the flesh and blood ties between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.

Zhao said this when asked to comment on remarks by Pompeo, who repeatedly attacked the CPC and the Chinese political system and said that the hopes and dreams of the Chinese people should be distinguished from those of the Party.

(AP) --- Federal authorities in New York on Wednesday seized a shipment of weaves and other beauty accessories suspected to be made out of human hair taken from people locked inside a Chinese internment camp.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials told The Associated Press that 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of hair products worth an estimated $800,000 were in the shipment.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police made their first arrests Wednesday under a new national security law imposed a day earlier by China’s central government, as thousands of people defied tear gas and pepper pellets to protest against it.

Police said nine people were arrested under the law, including a man with a Hong Kong independence flag and a woman holding a sign displaying the British flag and calling for Hong Kong’s independence. Others were detained for possessing items advocating independence. Further details were not immediately available.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday demanded Washington stop “oppressing Chinese companies” after U.S. regulators declared telecom equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE to be national security threats.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday blocked the Chinese vendors from receiving subsidies from a government fund, stepping up efforts to limit their access to the U.S. market.

A foreign ministry spokesman accused Washington of “abusing state power” to hurt Chinese companies “without any evidence.”

BEIJING (AP) — China has demanded staff and business information from four U.S. media companies including The Associated Press in what it called a necessary response to similar demands by Washington on Chinese state-controlled news outlets.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced Wednesday that the AP, United Press International, CBS and National Public Radio had seven days to file declarations regarding their staff, financial operations, real estate ownership and other matters.

Hong Kong, Jul 1 (AP/PTI) Hong Kong police made their first arrest under a new national security law imposed by China's central government, arresting a protester on Wednesday for carrying a flag calling for Hong Kong's independence.

The man was arrested after police had issued multiple warnings to the crowd at a protest in the city's Causeway Bay shopping district that they might be in violation of the law, according to a police statement on Twitter.

BEIJING, June 30 (APP): China on Tuesday said it was strongly concerned over Indian decision to block of apps with Chinese links and called upon Indian government to uphold the legitimate and legal rights of the international investors including the Chinese ones.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have released a U.S. pilot for FedEx Corp (FDX.N) who was detained last year on suspicion of smuggling weapons and ammunition, the pilot’s lawyer said.

Todd Hohn, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, was detained in September in the southern city of Guangzhou after he piloted a FedEx freighter aircraft. Chinese authorities said at the time they had found suspected air gun pellets in his luggage.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong media are reporting that China has approved a contentious law that would allow authorities to crack down on subversive and secessionist activity in Hong Kong, sparking fears that it would be used to curb opposition voices in the semi-autonomous territory.

The South China Morning Post newspaper and public broadcaster RTHK, both citing unnamed sources, said that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress voted unanimously to approve a national security law for Hong Kong on Tuesday.