Monday, 8 July 2013
Sunday, 7 July 2013
Fung shui masters hit out at former colleague Peter Chan
Under fire in the courts, pursued by creditors and the taxman, Peter Chan Chun-chuen is also in trouble with leaders of his former profession.
Peter Chan gets 12 years’ jail for forging late tycoon Nina Wang’s will
Former fung shui master granted individual cell in Stanley Prison after judge describes him as ‘shameless, cruel and extremely greedy’
Peter Chan: reinvention of a nobody with a big smile
He was just married, living in a public housing flat, when he met the woman who made him her HK$2.7b penthouse lover
In Okinawa, Talk of Break From Japan Turns Serious
In a windowless room in a corner of a bustling market where stalls displayed severed pigs’ heads and bolts of kimono silk, Okinawans gathered to learn about a political idea that until recently few had dared to take seriously: declaring their island chain’s political independence from Japan.
Xi Jinping seeks changes in way party cadres are selected
A slew of high-profile scandals involving senior Communist Party officials in recent months prompted President Xi Jinping to call for a fundamental overhaul of the appointment and promotion regime for cadres during a recent national conference on the promotion of meritocracy.
BRICS emerging economies to expand co-operation on internet security
The cyber snooping saga pushes the major emerging economies, including China, to reduce reliance on American technology
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Friday, 5 July 2013
South American leftist leaders rally for Bolivia in Snowden saga
South America's most outspoken leftist leaders demanded an explanation and public apology from four European countries on Thursday after Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane was diverted this week on suspicions that fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was aboard.
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Evo Morales threatens to close Bolivia's US embassy as leaders lend support
Anger at US and EU from Bolivia's left-leaning South American allies at meeting to discuss rerouting of Morales' plane
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Thursday, 4 July 2013
Bolivia complains to UN after Evo Morales' plane 'kidnapped'
US refuses to comment on Morales plane but admits contact with other nations over potential Snowden flights
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France apologises in Bolivia plane row
France has apologised to Bolivia for refusing to allow President Evo Morales' jet into its airspace, blaming "conflicting information".
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Latin America fumes over Bolivia incident in Snowden saga
Latin American leaders slammed European governments on Wednesday for diverting Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane on rumors it was carrying a wanted former U.S. spy agency contractor, adding a new diplomatic twist to the Edward Snowden saga.
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US spy chief apologises over 'erroneous' remark
US National Intelligence Director James Clapper has apologised for telling lawmakers the National Security Agency does not collect data from Americans' phone records and Internet use.
Strong ties bind spy agencies and Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley has tried to distance itself from the controversial US surveillance programmes exposed by Edward Snowden, but there is a long history of close cooperation between technology companies and the intelligence community.
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Hints surface that NSA building massive, pervasive surveillance capability
Despite U.S. intelligence officials’ repeated denials that the National Security Agency is collecting the content of domestic emails and phone calls, evidence is mounting that the agency’s vast surveillance network can and may already be preserving billions of those communications in powerful digital databases.
Edward Snowden given possible lifeline as Bolivia hints it would grant asylum
Evo Morales says his country is keen to 'shield the denounced' as Snowden's father Lon compares son to Paul Revere
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Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Reporter endures painful medical procedures to expose private hospital scam
An undercover reporter subjects himself to prostate examinations and urethra swabbing to unveil the costly diagnoses of three Beijing hospitals
Whistle-blower Snowden seeks asylum in China, among other nations, says Wikileaks
Fugitive whistle-blower also releases a statement, criticising the US and saying he remains ‘unbowed’ in his convictions
US bugged 38 embassies, including allies, latest Snowden leak indicates
US intelligence services spied on at least 38 foreign embassies and missions, including those of allies, according to the latest secret documents leaked by National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
John Kerry on defensive at Brunei conference over spying claims
Allegations that US targeted European and Asian allies put secretary of state in awkward position at security conference
Edward Snowden: Obama guilty of deceit over extradition
US president pledged to avoid 'wheeling and dealing' while bullying countries that might grant asylum, says whistleblower
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Edward Snowden threatens new US leaks, applies for Russian asylum
Former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden broke his silence on Monday for the first time since fleeing to Moscow to say he remains free to make new disclosures about US spying activity.
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Monday, 1 July 2013
New NSA spying allegations rile European allies
The Obama administration faced a breakdown in confidence Sunday from key foreign allies who threatened investigations and sanctions against the U.S. over secret surveillance programs that reportedly installed covert listening devices in European Union offices.
US intelligence targeted Italy and France embassies
France, Italy and Greece were among 38 "targets" of spying operations conducted by US intelligence services, according to documents leaked to the Guardian newspaper by fugitive former CIA operative Edward Snowden.
NSA spying row: bugging friends is unacceptable, warn Germans
The leaders of Germany and France have rounded angrily on the US for the first time over spying claims, signalling that ambitious EU-US trade talks scheduled to open next week could become an early casualty of the burgeoning transatlantic espionage dispute.
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New slides detail how NSA collects data from US internet firms
New slides on spying programme emphasise collection from tech giants, like Google or Yahoo
EU confronts Washington over reports it spies on European allies
The European Union has demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using unusually strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities.
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Sunday, 30 June 2013
Key US-EU trade pact under threat after more NSA spying allegations
Reports in Der Spiegel that US agencies bugged European council building 'reminiscent of cold war', says German minister
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European officials slam US over bugging report
BERLIN (AP) — Senior European lawmakers say they are shocked at reports that U.S. intelligence agents bugged EU offices on both sides of the Atlantic.
The president of the European Parliament said he was "deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of U.S. authorities spying on EU offices" made in a report published Sunday by German news weekly Der Spiegel.
Martin Schulz said if the reports were confirmed "it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-U.S. relations."
Green Party leaders in the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, called for an immediate investigation into reports published by Der Spiegel and suggested that further negotiations on a trans-Atlantic trade treaty be put on hold.
They also called for existing U.S.-EU agreements on the exchange of bank transfer and passenger record information to be cancelled.
The president of the European Parliament said he was "deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of U.S. authorities spying on EU offices" made in a report published Sunday by German news weekly Der Spiegel.
Martin Schulz said if the reports were confirmed "it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-U.S. relations."
Green Party leaders in the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, called for an immediate investigation into reports published by Der Spiegel and suggested that further negotiations on a trans-Atlantic trade treaty be put on hold.
They also called for existing U.S.-EU agreements on the exchange of bank transfer and passenger record information to be cancelled.
Berlin demands US answers over EU 'bugging' claims
Germany's justice minister called Sunday for an immediate explanation from the United States over a media report that Washington bugged European Union offices, saying it was reminiscent of the Cold War.
"It must ultimately be immediately and extensively explained by the American side whether media reports about completely disproportionate tapping measures by the US in the EU are accurate or not," Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement.
"It must ultimately be immediately and extensively explained by the American side whether media reports about completely disproportionate tapping measures by the US in the EU are accurate or not," Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement.
U.S. taps half-billion German phone, internet links in month
The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret U.S. documents quoted by a German newsmagazine.
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EU demands clarification over US spying claims
European parliament president 'deeply worried and shocked' by claims published in Der Spiegel that US bugged EU offices
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US senators demand answers on secret surveillance programme
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle attack intelligence officials over scope of snooping
Snowden saga puts spotlight back on Assange and WikiLeaks
The WikiLeaks founder was back in the news last week, but he has never been off the radar of the US government as it builds its case against him
EU concern over Der Spiegel claim of US spying
The head of the European Parliament has demanded "full clarification" from the US over a report that key EU premises in America have been bugged.
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US spies bugged European Union communications
The United States bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine yesterday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged US spy programmes.
U.S. asked Ecuador not to give Snowden asylum: Correa
Praising Biden's good manners in contrast to "brats" in the U.S. Congress who had threatened to cut Ecuador's trade benefits over the Snowden issue, Correa said during his weekly television broadcast: "He communicated a very courteous request from the United States that we reject the (asylum) request."
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Saturday, 29 June 2013
Ecuador cools on Edward Snowden asylum as Assange frustration grows
President Correa revokes Snowden's temporary travel document amid concerns WikiLeaks founder is 'running the show'
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French hand back plundered bronzes to China
French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault on Friday handed back to China two rare bronzes plundered from Beijing's Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War in 1860.
The Snowden affair: Whatever happened to the blame game?
Edward Snowden's revelations about top-secret U.S. surveillance programs and his globe-trotting flight from prosecution have created an international furore, but there is one place the outcry has been muted: Capitol Hill.
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Is search for Snowden turning into sideshow?
Whisked out of a luxury Hong Kong hotel, vanishing into a mysterious wing of a Moscow airport, Edward Snowden’s continent-jumping, hide-and-seek game seems like the stuff of a pulp thriller — a desperate man’s drama played out before a worldwide audience trying to decide if he’s a hero or a villain.
Friday, 28 June 2013
U.S. request for Snowden arrest was ‘sloppy’
Lawmaker Ip Kwok-him, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the US government was “shameless” for heaping accusations against Hong Kong to dodge questions about cybersnooping in the city and on the mainland. “The US government is talking nonsense,” he said.
China accuses US of cyber security hypocrisy amid Snowden dispute
China accused the United States on Thursday of "double standards" and hypocrisy in the area of cyber security as tension flared between Beijing and Washington over the flight of fugitive former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.
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Wednesday, 26 June 2013
No reply from US on hacking claims disappointing, says security minister
Hong Kong’s security minister on Wednesday repeated calls by the government for the United States to clarify claims made by Edward Snowden that it had been hacking into computers in the city.
Request for Asylum from Edward J. Snowden
I, Edward Snowden, citizen of the United States of America, am writing to request asylum in the Republic of Ecuador because of the risk of being persecuted by the government of the United States and its agents in relation to my decision to make public serious violations on the part of the government of the United States of its Constitution, specifically of its Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and of various treaties of the United Nations that are binding on my country.
As a result of my political opinions, and my desire to exercise my freedom of speech, through which I’ve shown that the government of the United States is intercepting the majority of communications in the world, the government of the United States has publicly announced a criminal investigation against me. Also, prominent members of Congress and others in the media have accused me of being a traitor and have called for me to be jailed or executed as a result of having communicated this information to the public.
Some of the charges that have been presented against me by the Justice Department of the United States are connected to the 1917 Espionage Act, one of which includes life in prison among the possible sentences.
Ecuador granted asylum to the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, in relation to this investigation. My case is also very similar to that of the American soldier Bradley Manning, who made public government information through Wikileaks revealing war crimes, was arrested by the United States government and has been treated inhumanely during his time in prison. He was put in solitary confinement before his trial and the U.N. anti-torture representative judged that Mr. Manning was submitted to cruel and inhumane acts by the United States government.
The trial against Bradley Manning is ongoing now, and secret documents have been presented to the court and secret witnesses have testified.
I believe that, given these circumstances, it is unlikely that I would receive a fair trial or proper treatment prior to that trial, and face the possibility of life in prison or even death.
— Edward J. Snowden
As a result of my political opinions, and my desire to exercise my freedom of speech, through which I’ve shown that the government of the United States is intercepting the majority of communications in the world, the government of the United States has publicly announced a criminal investigation against me. Also, prominent members of Congress and others in the media have accused me of being a traitor and have called for me to be jailed or executed as a result of having communicated this information to the public.
Some of the charges that have been presented against me by the Justice Department of the United States are connected to the 1917 Espionage Act, one of which includes life in prison among the possible sentences.
Ecuador granted asylum to the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, in relation to this investigation. My case is also very similar to that of the American soldier Bradley Manning, who made public government information through Wikileaks revealing war crimes, was arrested by the United States government and has been treated inhumanely during his time in prison. He was put in solitary confinement before his trial and the U.N. anti-torture representative judged that Mr. Manning was submitted to cruel and inhumane acts by the United States government.
The trial against Bradley Manning is ongoing now, and secret documents have been presented to the court and secret witnesses have testified.
I believe that, given these circumstances, it is unlikely that I would receive a fair trial or proper treatment prior to that trial, and face the possibility of life in prison or even death.
— Edward J. Snowden
Hani terraces garner UNESCO status
The rice terraces of Yuanyang (元阳), which have been under continuous cultivation for thirteen centuries, were officially granted World Heritage status on June 22. The mountainous paddy fields in southeast Yunnan became the fifth such area to be recognized in the province.
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Yuanyang's rice terraces
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Yuanyang's rice terraces
In US, Asian immigrants 'better off than whites'
Asian immigrants tend to live in highly segregated enclaves in the United States and their income level is often higher than that of white Americans, said a US study out Wednesday.
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Japan dumbfounded by ex-PM over China island row claim
Japan's top government spokesman on Wednesday declared himself dumbfounded after a recent prime minister said he understood China's claim to islands at the centre of a bitter row between Tokyo and Beijing.
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Hong Kong chief hits back in war of words on Snowden cyberspying claims
Chief executive says US must address Snowden’s hacking claims, as justice chief denies accusation that city stalled over request for fugitive’s arrest
Australian spy bosses brief government on possible Asian fallout over Snowden
Australia's main intelligence and spying agencies have briefed the government on the PRISM internet surveillance program amid fears former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden may release information damaging to Australia's relations with Asian neighbours, local media reported on Wednesday
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Tuesday, 25 June 2013
China Brushes Aside U.S. Warnings on Snowden
She reiterated official Chinese criticism of the United States for public statements that have accused China of cyberattacks against American interests. “I’d like to advise these people to hold up a mirror, reflect and take care of their own situation first,” she said.
For Snowden, a Hasty Exit Started With Pizza Inside a Hong Kong Hideout
For Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has acknowledged leaking numerous documents about American surveillance operations around the world, the path to a sudden departure from Hong Kong late Sunday morning began over a dinner last Tuesday of a large pizza, fried chicken and sausages, washed down with Pepsi.
Snowden’s last 72 hours in Hong Kong: dramatic events prompted whistleblower’s flight
New details have emerged about Edward Snowden’s final days in Hong Kong, including the identity of the man who escorted the whistle-blower to Chep Lap Kok airport on Sunday morning to board a Moscow-bound flight.
Top China paper hits back at U.S. accusations on Snowden
China's top state newspaper praised fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden on Tuesday for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask" and rejected accusations that it had facilitated his departure from Hong Kong.
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China outsmarted US in Snowden chess game
China interceded to allow Edward Snowden’s dramatic flight from Hong Kong, calculating that infuriating the United States for now was necessary to prevent longer-term corrosion to their relationship, analysts and media said on Monday.
Monday, 24 June 2013
Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance
Edward Snowden tells the Post he took a job at NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton to collect proof of surveillance programme.
China Said to Have Made Call to Let Leaker Depart
The Chinese government made the final decision to allow Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, to leave Hong Kong on Sunday, a move that Beijing believed resolved a tough diplomatic problem even as it reaped a publicity windfall from Mr. Snowden’s disclosures, according to people familiar with the situation.
Key questions never asked in graft probe of ex-railways chief Liu Zhijun
Length of probe into Liu Zhijun indicated scale of misdeeds, but murky details of a web of corruption were not clarified in swift trial
Anti-graft campaign in China claims another big fish
A former vice-governor of Sichuan province, who for years was the aide of the Communist Party’s former top security official, has been placed under investigation.
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Snowden leaves Hong Kong on Commercial Flight to Moscow
US whistle-blower Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong and is due to arrive in Moscow by this evening, the South China Morning Post can confirm.
The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who was last known to be hiding in Hong Kong, took off from the city’s airport at 10.55am on Sunday morning and was en route to Moscow’s Shermetyevo International Airport. He is scheduled to arrive at 5.15pm.
The Post was able to confirm that Snowden had been on an Aeroflot SU213 flight and headed to Moscow. Moscow will not be his final destination. Possible final destinations are either Iceland and Ecuador, according to previous media reports.
The Russian embassy in Beijing would neither confirm nor deny Snowden is on a flight to Moscow. The Russian consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment.
The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who was last known to be hiding in Hong Kong, took off from the city’s airport at 10.55am on Sunday morning and was en route to Moscow’s Shermetyevo International Airport. He is scheduled to arrive at 5.15pm.
The Post was able to confirm that Snowden had been on an Aeroflot SU213 flight and headed to Moscow. Moscow will not be his final destination. Possible final destinations are either Iceland and Ecuador, according to previous media reports.
The Russian embassy in Beijing would neither confirm nor deny Snowden is on a flight to Moscow. The Russian consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment.
US hacked Pacnet, Asia Pacific fibre-optic network operator, in 2009
According to information provided by Edward Snowden to the Post, computers owned by Pacnet in Hong Kong were attacked by the US National Security Agency in 2009, but the operation has since been shut down
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NSA targeted China's Tsinghua University in extensive hacking attacks, says Snowden
Tsinghua University, widely regarded as the mainland’s top education and research institute, was the target of extensive hacking by US spies this year
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US spies on Chinese mobile phone companies, steals SMS data: Edward Snowden
The US government is stealing millions of text messages in their hacking attacks on major Chinese mobile phone companies, Edward Snowden has told the Post
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U.S. seeks Snowden's extradition, urges Hong Kong to act quickly
The United States said on Saturday it wants Hong Kong to extradite Edward Snowden and urged it to act quickly, paving the way for what could be a lengthy legal battle to prosecute the former National Security Agency contractor on espionage charges.
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China fury at new Snowden claims as US seeks extradition
China on Sunday attacked the United States as an espionage "villain" after former spy Edward Snowden raised new allegations about the far-reaching extent of US cyber-snooping against Chinese targets.
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US is 'biggest villain' for IT spying
The United States is the world’s “biggest villain” for IT espionage, China’s official media said on Sunday after new allegations of anti-Beijing snooping emerged.
US hacks Chinese mobile phone messages: Snowden
The United States government is hacking Chinese mobile phone companies to gather data from millions of text messages, former intelligence technician Edward Snowden told the South China Morning Post in a report published on Saturday.
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Saturday, 22 June 2013
British spy agency taps cables, shares with U.S. NSA - Guardian
Britain's spy agency GCHQ has tapped fibre-optic cables that carry international phone and internet traffic and is sharing vast quantities of personal information with the U.S. National Security Agency, the Guardian newspaper said on Friday.
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Friday, 21 June 2013
China’s big challenge is social, not financial
China may be a long way from its “Minsky moment”. Rising leverage has prompted many to predict the kind of financial meltdown theorised by economist Hyman Minsky. But China’s closed, state-controlled system is well placed to postpone such market panics. The bigger challenge is managing social tensions arising from slowing growth.
Different kind of clubbing back then
Club Street was named for Chinese clan groups and businessmen’s clubs
Spyware claims emerge in row over Chinese dissident at NYU
When Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States in May last year he was given a fellowship at New York University, use of a Greenwich Village apartment, and a pile of gifts from supporters, including smartphones and an iPad.
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Not act of nature but man-made: NEA chief
The haze triggered by fires raging across Sumatra is not an act of nature, but man-made, National Environment Agency (NEA) chief executive Andrew Tan said yesterday.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Palestinian children tortured, used as shields by Israel - UN
A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces on Thursday of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields.
Palestinian children in the Gaza and the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, are routinely denied registration of their birth and access to health care, decent schools and clean water, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.
"Palestinian children arrested by (Israeli) military and police are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture, are interrogated in Hebrew, a language they did not understand, and sign confessions in Hebrew in order to be released," it said in a report.
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Palestinian children in the Gaza and the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, are routinely denied registration of their birth and access to health care, decent schools and clean water, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.
"Palestinian children arrested by (Israeli) military and police are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture, are interrogated in Hebrew, a language they did not understand, and sign confessions in Hebrew in order to be released," it said in a report.
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Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Officials to get tough on polluters as public anger rises over environmental scandals
Legal interpretation spells out tougher action against polluters in move seen as addressing seething public anger over environmental disasters
Friends fear right-wing connections will hit Chen Guangcheng’s credibility
Friends fear Chen Guangcheng’s credibility will suffer because he has become too politicised
Edward Snowden speaks out on webchat
Edward Snowden uses a webchat to excoriate the Obama administration and Dick Cheney and declare that his message will not be silenced
Snowden vows more disclosures about US surveillance
Defiant and apparently unbowed by threats of prosecution, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden vowed Monday to release more secrets about U.S. intelligence surveillance systems that he described as “nakedly, aggressively criminal.”
Huawei, ZTE see vindication amid US cyber-spying scandal
No Chinese telecoms equipment makers named as co-operating with US surveillance system
New Leak Indicates U.S. and Britain Eavesdropped at ‘09 World Conferences
A new set of classified documents disclosed Sunday suggested that Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has provided a trove of documents to The Guardian newspaper, had obtained a wider range of materials about government surveillance than had been known, including one document revealing how American and British intelligence agencies had eavesdropped on world leaders at conferences in London in 2009.
America’s prying eyes have been focused on China ‘for years’
State media denounce a long-running US campaign of hacking and espionage
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Britain’s spying claims outrage Russia, Turkey and South Africa
Allegations that GCHQ spied on foreign delegates embarrassing for UK as it hosts G8 summit
Guardian: NSA leaker Snowden live chats in hiding
Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency leaker, is defending his disclosure of top-secret U.S. spying programs in an online chat Monday with The Guardian and attacking U.S. officials for calling him a traitor.
Monday, 17 June 2013
GCHQ intercepted foreign politicians' communications at G20 summits
Exclusive: phones were monitored and fake internet cafes set up to gather information from allies in London in 2009
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