Why personal secretaries to Chinese leaders are so prone to graft

The job of personal secretary to a senior leader offers ample opportunity to advance in the system and use great influence for corrupt gain

Biography of Emperor Hirohito a whitewash: US historian Herbert Bix

Herbert Bix, the respected US historian and author of Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, has launched a withering criticism of the Imperial Household Agency for attempting to whitewash the emperor’s responsibility for the Second World War.

Hirohito a string-puller, not puppet

Last month, I received a startling e-mail from an employee at one of Japan’s largest newspapers, about a development I’d long awaited.

Precious stones and metals dealers to report cash transactions above S$20,000

A cash transaction reporting regime for precious stones and metals dealers (PSMDs) will be implemented in Singapore from Oct 15.

Court denies woman permission to divorce before completing mandatory 3-year period of marriage

Judge rules that she has insufficient grounds to do so before 3-year mark

Hwa Chong student calls sex-ed booklet by Christian group "bigoted”

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Umbrella Generation: Hong Kong's despairing youth split with old guard

Hong Kong's unprecedented student-led democracy rallies have highlighted a stark divide between a disenfranchised younger generation who say they have little to lose, and an older guard who favour pragmatism over protest.
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The umbrella revolution won’t give Hong Kong democracy. Protesters should stop calling for it.

This is about inequality, not politics, so democracy can't fix the problem.
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Man accused of sexually harassing protester vows to sue Occupy leaders and Apple Daily

A restaurant owner accused of sexually harassing a young female protester may try to sue the organisers of Occupy Central.

Patten aides ‘offered UK passport to Jimmy Lai’

Is Jimmy Lai Britain's MI6 agent?

US Now Admits it is Funding Hong Kong "Occupy Central"

Just as the US admitted shortly after the so-called "Arab Spring" began spreading chaos across the Middle East that it had fully funded, trained, and equipped both mob leaders and heavily armed terrorists years in advance, it is now admitted that the US State Department through a myriad of organizations and NGOs is behind the so-called "Occupy Central" protests in Hong Kong.

US wants to recolonize Hong Kong.

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China ‘unlikely’ to give in to HK protesters: Shanmugam

Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam also pointed out the anti-China bias in Western media reports, and urged the people of Hong Kong to consider the implications of a change from the Basic Law.

Evil US Government behind Hong Kong Protests

Previous cables show links between United States agencies and the Hong Kong protest movement

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Shoppers’ paradise on Hainan Island gives Hong Kong a run for its money

Massive mall on Hainan is drawing away from city mainlanders keen to snap up luxury goods at duty-free prices while enjoying beach holiday

British White Trash James George Palin

James George Palin punched and shattered the window of a Volkswagen, in a road rage incident on Nov 16 2013, was sentenced to three weeks’ jail yesterday. But Briton James George Palin, 33, is appealing against the sentence and is out on $15,000 bail.

Graft crackdown has paralysed China’s energy industry

Battle against corruption has hit the workings of the state energy sector to such an extent that decisions are becoming torturously slow

Chinese internet regulator sacked and expelled from party over graft

Gao Jianyun was official in high-level taskforce chaired by President Xi Jinping

China's CITIC wins interim injunction in Mineralogy dispute

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Clive Palmer's Mineralogy bid to curtail CITIC rights halted by court

But Justice James Edelman said it was a grave concern that Mineralogy had issued notices to CITIC just days after giving an undertaking not to do so. “The spirit of those undertakings were not abided by,” he said.
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China's anti-graft drive puts the squeeze on Macau junkets

Macau's casino junket operators are feeling the squeeze as China's anti-corruption drive has blown a hole in the world's biggest gambling hub. Some are shifting players elsewhere, like the Philippines and Vietnam; others are quitting the business.
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