
New Zealand PM Luxon meets China's Xi Jinping
June 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Friday he and China's President Xi Jinping discussed the role of business, education and science to help boost relations between the two countries.
"I raised the importance to New Zealand of the international rules-based system, as well as the key role that China can play in helping to resolve global challenges," Luxon said in a statement after meeting Xi Jinping in Beijing.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
China and Britain clash after UK warship patrols disputed waters
China 's military has sharply criticised the passage of a British warship through the Taiwan Strait, labelling it a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble", as Taiwan's president ordered heightened surveillance in response to Beijing's military activities. The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army condemned the HMS Spey's Wednesday sailing as "public hyping", stating that its forces closely followed and monitored the patrol vessel. Beijing asserts that the narrow waterway, which separates mainland China from Taiwan, constitutes Chinese waters. In contrast, Britain's Royal Navy maintained that the HMS Spey's transit was a "routine navigation" conducted as part of a "long-planned deployment" and "in full compliance with international law". This stance aligns with Taiwan, the United States, and many of their allies, who contend that the strait is an international waterway. China, however, views Taiwan as its own territory, further complicating the legal and political status of the strait. "The British side's remarks distort legal principles and mislead the public; its actions deliberately cause trouble and disrupt things, undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," it said in a statement. "Troops in the theatre are on high alert at all times and will resolutely counter all threats and provocations." Taiwan's government welcomed the sailing. "The foreign ministry welcomes and affirms the British side once again taking concrete actions to defend the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating its firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters," the ministry said in a statement. China has over the past five years stepped up its drills around Taiwan, including staging war games that have alarmed Taipei, Washington and Tokyo. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Thursday ordered defence and security units to step up their monitoring and intelligence efforts in response to China's military activities, which he said have not abated even as tensions rise in the Middle East. On Friday morning, Taiwan's defence ministry reported another spike in Chinese movements close to the island over the previous 24 hours, involving 50 aircraft, concentrated in the strait and the top part of the South China Sea. The last time a British warship sailed through the strait was in 2021, when HMS Richmond was deployed in the East China Sea en route to Vietnam. Chinese military followed it at the time and warned it away. The latest passage comes at a time when Britain and China are seeking to mend their relations, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to visit Beijing later this year - the first trip to the country by a British leader since 2018. U.S. Navy ships sail through the strait around once every two months, sometimes accompanied by allied nations.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Barnsley bar's hours extended despite 'breast jiggling' incident
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Taiwan to hold recall election for lawmakers that could reshape parliament
TAIPEI, June 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan will hold a recall vote for around one quarter of parliament's lawmakers - all from the main opposition party - next month, the election commission said on Friday, a move which could see the ruling party take back control of the legislature. While Lai Ching-te won the presidency last year, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority, leaving the Kuomintang (KMT) and the much smaller Taiwan People's Party with the most seats. The KMT and the TPP have passed a series of measures, including swingeing budget cuts, angering the DPP, though the campaigns to gather enough signatures for the recalls were led by civic groups. The opposition has 62 of parliament's 113 seats and the DPP holds the remaining 51. The recall votes for 24 KMT lawmakers will take place on July 26, the election commission said. The DPP has given full support for the recalls, releasing a video this week calling on people to vote yes and "oppose the communists" - a direct reference to China and what the party says is the opposition's dangerous cosying up to Beijing. The KMT has vowed to fight what it calls a "malicious recall" that comes so soon after the last parliamentary election in January 2024. "The KMT calls on the people of Taiwan to oppose the green communists and fight against dictatorship, and vote 'no'," the party said in a statement after the recall vote was announced, referring to the DPP's party colours. The KMT says its engagement with China, which views separately-governed Taiwan as its own territory, is needed to keep channels of communication open and reduce tensions. China has rejected multiple offers of talks from Lai, branding him a "separatist", and has increased military pressure against the island. Recall campaigns against DPP lawmakers failed to gather enough valid signatures. For the recalls to be successful, the number of votes approving the measure must be more than those opposing it, and also exceed one-quarter of the number of registered voters in the constituency, so turnout will be important. If the recall votes are successful, there will be by-elections later this year to select new lawmakers. Taiwan's next parliamentary and presidential elections are not scheduled until early 2028.