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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
China mulls economy-boosting measures to counter ‘severe situation'
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Official data shows that China's economic growth hit 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2025. BEIJING - China has a 'plentiful' toolbox to avoid an economic slump in the second half of the year, its commerce minister said on July 18 as he admitted it faced a 'very severe and complex situation'. Growth hit 5.2 per cent in the second quarter, official data showed on July 15, but analysts have warned that more must be done to boost sluggish domestic consumption as exports face the knock-on effects of global trade turmoil. Retail sales rose far less than expected in June and were much weaker than May, suggesting efforts to kickstart consumption have fallen flat. 'We are still facing a very severe and complex situation. Global changes are unstable and uncertain. Some of our policies will provide some new responses according to the times and circumstances,' Mr Wang Wentao told journalists at a news briefing. 'Our toolbox is plentiful, and we will be fully prepared.' Asked specifically about China's reliance on exports, Mr Wang suggested the government was preparing policies to 'further stimulate the momentum of our consumption development'. 'China's economy is improving, and the long-term fundamentals have not changed, the consumption market's characteristics of great potential, strong resilience and vitality have not changed,' he said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Asia Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India Wang also namechecked Beijing-based toymaker Pop Mart, whose Labubu monster dolls have become a must-have item internationally, adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa. 'We are also promoting new forms of consumption ... for example Pop Mart, these kinds of new trends, new fashions and styles ... the Labubu phenomenon has swept the world,' he said. US decoupling 'impossible' Beijing is battling to shift towards a growth model propelled more by domestic demand than the traditional key drivers of infrastructure investment, manufacturing and exports. That desired transformation has become more urgent since Mr Donald Trump came to office. The US president has imposed tolls on China and most other major trading partners, upending trade norms and endangering Beijing's exports at a time it needs them more than ever to stimulate economic activity. The two superpowers have sought to de-escalate their row after reaching a framework for a deal at talks in London in June, but observers warn of lingering uncertainty. Mr Wang said on July 18 that despite 'storms and rain', Washington remained an important trading partner. Even though China-US trade has declined proportionally for each country, overall bilateral trade has remained stable, Mr Wang said. In a sign of progress, US tech giant Nvidia said this week that it would resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports. China's commerce ministry acknowledged the US decision in a statement on the afternoon of July 18, even as it called for Washington to 'abandon its zero-sum mentality'. 'China believes that the United States should ... continue to cancel a series of unreasonable economic and trade restrictive measures,' the statement read. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has met with Chinese leaders this week in Beijing, telling journalists on July 16 that his firm was 'doing our best' to serve the country's vast semiconductor market. Mr Wang praised recent visits by Huang and other US executives on July 18, noting that the solid economic and popular basis for US-China cooperation 'makes artificial decoupling and severing supply chains impossible', he said. Yet an inconsistent tune has 'severely impacted and disrupted normal trade cooperation between China and the United States', said Mr Wang. Since Mr Trump's first term, 'the trend of the trade frictions provoked by the United States has had ups and downs', he said. AFP
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
HK's same-sex union Bill marks first big split between govt and legislature
The contention is over the government's proposal to recognise a limited set of legal rights for same-sex couples who are married abroad. – The first major clash of views between Hong Kong leader John Lee's administration and the usually biddable legislature is centred on an issue that affects just 6 per cent of the city's population. The contention is over the government's proposal to recognise a limited set of legal rights for same-sex couples who are married abroad. This move would affect the roughly 450,000 people who identify as non-heterosexual in the population of 7.4 million in the Asian financial hub. The divergence of views, while a healthy sign of diversity, is proving a headache for the government. The Bill to recognise these rights – which is the government's bid to comply with a landmark court ruling in 2023 obliging it to do so – was formally introduced to the Legislative Council (LegCo) on July 16. Lawmakers were set to debate the proposal, but that has for now been adjourned. A date for the debate, which precedes a vote on the Bill, has yet to be announced. The delay comes after strong opposition to the Bill from nearly half the 89-member LegCo. For the Bill to be passed into law, a majority vote is required. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Asia Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India But with 41 lawmakers having already said they will either reject the Bill or abstain from the vote and only eight publicly expressing their support for it so far, a veto looks almost certain. It is an unusual situation in Hong Kong's 'patriots only' legislature, which has, since an electoral overhaul in 2021, been largely aligned with the government's objectives, resulting in the uneventful passage of most Bills – until now. Over the past week, top officials have repeatedly articulated the government's stance on the matter and urged lawmakers to back the same-sex partnerships Bill. On July 15, a day ahead of the Bill's scheduled readings in LegCo, Chief Executive Lee stressed that the government was obliged to set up a framework to recognise the core legal rights of married same-sex couples, or risk violating the rule of law. 'The rule of law is the cornerstone of Hong Kong's economy, investors' confidence and its long-established success,' Mr Lee said. 'Violating it will mean serious consequences.' He added, however, that he would 'respect the LegCo's final decision' on the matter. Hong Kong's top court had in September 2023 ruled that the government had failed in its Constitutional duty to provide means for the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships, and gave it two years to do so. The deadline falls on Oct 27. The Court of Final Appeal's ruling came after gay activist Jimmy Sham's legal challenge to the city to recognise such marriages registered abroad. Same-sex marriages are not permitted in Hong Kong. On July 16, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang told LegCo that the government's proposal was a 'reasonable balance' between fulfilling same-sex couples' basic societal needs and preserving the heterosexual marriage system. 'The government understands that the Bill is controversial, but… we hope lawmakers will be pragmatic, rational and impartial in scrutinising it,' he said. LegCo rules stipulate that the scrutiny of a Bill should 'be completed within three months of its commencement', or an extension be requested if necessary. The proposed framework grants to same-sex couples who have entered into marriage overseas, and of whom at least one is a Hong Kong resident, legal rights in matters relating to healthcare, such as making medical decisions, hospital visits and after-death arrangements. But many lawmakers in the city's heavyweight political parties see it as an attack on the institution of marriage. Legislator Holden Chow of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the Bill, if passed, would in effect recognise same-sex marriage. Legislator Stanley Ng of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions warned that the Bill would 'completely turn our values and foundations upside down'. Independent lawmaker Junius Ho called on the government to ask Beijing to overturn the court ruling, arguing that the proposed law would 'hurt tens of thousands of Hong Kong's future generations'. 'Diversity, inclusiveness, equality. Together, they are D-I-E. Die. A dead end,' he told a forum in December 2024. Among the few legislators publicly supporting the Bill is Mrs Regina Ip of the New People's Party, who described it as a 'very practical' proposal that allows the government to do merely 'the minimum' to fulfil the court's order. According to Professor John Burns, emeritus professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, the discord over the Bill raises some broader issues. 'It demonstrates to the world that Hong Kong continues to have its own autonomy as its courts and the government remain independent (from the Chinese central government),' Prof Burns said. 'But Junius Ho's call to have Beijing step in to overturn the Hong Kong court ruling serves to undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and 'one country, two systems',' he added. 'One country, two systems' refers to the framework under which Beijing promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy that lets it retain its own economic, legal and administrative systems that are different from those of mainland China after returning to the mainland's fold in 1997. 'It also raises the issue of the extent to which this Legislative Council actually represents the people of Hong Kong, as the lawmakers' overwhelming opposition to the Bill is out of step with public opinion in the city,' said Prof Burns. A 2023 survey showed 85 per cent of Hong Kongers favour granting some legal rights to same-sex couples. Sixty per cent of the more than 1,500 respondents said they agreed with same-sex marriage; 23 per cent were neutral; while 17 per cent were against it. Prof Burns suggested that the lawmakers' opposition could also be in part to pander to their ultra-conservative supporters ahead of the upcoming LegCo elections on Dec 7. Until now, the current LegCo had been closely aligned with the government's goals, helping it push through legislation that in a previous era would have been endlessly stalled by dissenting lawmakers and their filibustering. In 2024, for example, it took just 12 days to approve a domestic national security law that had been delayed for over two decades. Mr Jerome Yau, co-founder of the advocacy group Hong Kong Marriage Equality, said the same-sex partnerships Bill 'represents a small but important step forward in acknowledging same-sex relationships in Hong Kong'. The diverse views on the issue 'show that Hong Kong is a pluralistic society', Mr Yau said, adding that it was in Hong Kong's best interests to maintain this aspect of the city 'as global talent and investors increasingly value openness, diversity and inclusivity'. 'Any protection is better than none,' his non-governmental organisation said in a separate statement. 'But the proposal, as it stands, falls well short of providing the full and equal recognition that all couples and families deserve.' Even so, Hong Kong-based Singaporean lawyer Tan Loke Khoon, who is openly gay, is 'grateful' that the government is pushing to pass the Bill. Hong Kong-based Singaporean lawyer Tan Loke Khoon (left) with his partner Peter Leong on their wedding day in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec 22, 2022. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MR TAN LOKE KHOON Mr Tan, who wed his partner Peter Leong in Vancouver, Canada, in 2022, said he had been disappointed he could not get married in Hong Kong or Singapore, both of which he calls home. 'It means so much to be able to celebrate your union with your partner in the place you love. But the reality is that things take time,' said the lawyer who leads LGBT initiatives, including Pink Dot, in Hong Kong and the region for his law firm. Having legal rights from his marriage recognised in Hong Kong would be an 'extremely important and necessary' development for the city. 'Just as Singapore made a small step forward in repealing 377A, Hong Kong would be moving in the right direction if the same-sex partnerships Bill is passed here,' he added. Mr Tan was referring to a colonial-era law under Section 377A of Singapore's penal code that had criminalised sex between men for nearly a century until it was abolished in 2022 . Singapore also amended the Constitution at the same time to protect the heterosexual definition of marriage – a union between a man and a woman – from legal challenge. Prof Burns expects the Bill to 'die at the stage of debate', given the lack of lawmaker support for the Hong Kong government's proposed legislation. 'The government can then request an extension of the Oct 27 deadline from the court, and push the matter to the new LegCo after the election in December,' he said. Hong Kong's situation is already better than that in other jurisdictions, the academic said, explaining that the city has judges who can adjudicate independently on such matters of contention, a government that is obliged to heed the courts' orders, and lawmakers who can vote on these matters. But the legislature's strong opposition to the Bill that affects only the small group of non-heterosexual people is a reflection of the 'small-mindedness and lack of cosmopolitanism' that exists within Hong Kong society, Prof Burns said. 'It suggests that Hong Kong is still not a global city and that it is not actually interested in attracting the best talents, wherever and whomever they may be,' he added.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Georgia's tea growers work to revive an industry that collapsed with the Soviet Union
Find out what's new on ST website and app. ANASEULI, Georgia - When Lika Megreladze was a child, life in her native western Georgian region of Guria revolved around tea. Her mother worked for decades as a scientist at the Soviet Union's Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops in the village of Anaseuli, perfecting cultivation methods for a Georgian tea industry that supplied the bulk of the vast communist state's brews. 'When I was a child, this was only my mum's workplace. Only later I realised that it was something big,' she said. Now the institute lies abandoned. Yellowed papers are strewn around its decaying corridors, and a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin lies toppled and overgrown in the courtyard. Throughout Guria's verdant subtropical hills, sprawling plantations have relapsed into jungly thickets interspersed with wild forests of tea. Dozens of cavernous old tea factories now stand empty and deserted. Introduced to Georgia in the early 20th century by a Chinese expert invited by the Imperial Russian authorities, tea plants flourished in the hot, humid climate of Guria, which stretches down from the Caucasus mountains to the Black Sea coast. But for the tea industry, the restoration of Georgia's independence in 1991, after two centuries of rule from Moscow, came almost as a death blow. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Asia Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India The collapse of the Soviet Union opened its market to cheaper Asian imports, while the disintegration of the Georgian economy amid a brief civil war in the early 1990s saw electricity cut off, and tea factories plundered for spare parts and scrap metal. By 2016, according to official figures, Georgian tea production had declined 99% from its 1985 peak. 'The institute collapsed because the Soviet Union collapsed,' said Megreladze, who now owns a guesthouse and cultivates her own small tea plantation for visitors. 'Georgia, a young country, could not save this huge industry,' she said. Now, over three decades since the Soviet collapse, some locals are trying to revive the tea industry. Ten years ago, Nika Sioridze and Baaka Babunashvili began rehabilitating derelict tea plantations, financed partly by a grant from the Georgian government. Their GreenGold Tea is one of several new companies that brought tea fields in and around Ozurgeti, Guria's regional capital, back to life. Processing their tea in one wing of an abandoned Soviet silk factory in the town, they aim to reintroduce Georgian tea to local and European buyers. 'For 40 years nothing was happening here. Here was a jungle,' said founder Sioridze. Under the Soviet Union, which prioritised quantity of production above all, Georgian tea mainly acquired a poor reputation for quality. Guria's fields grew mostly simple black teas, with bushes harvested by machines, seeing older leaves and even stems thrown into the mix. Now, they say, their task is to reinvent Georgian tea as a high quality, distinctive product for a new era. 'We must be different from Chinese tea makers, Taiwanese tea makers,' said Sioridze. 'Because Georgia is Georgia and we need some niche to make our own tea.' REUTERS
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Me And My Car: The taxi-driving YouTuber
Vlogger and taxi driver Edward Jui said he is still a newbie compared with senior cabbies with at least a decade's worth of experience. SINGAPORE – The person behind the YouTube channel @LazyCabbie is anything but idle, because Mr Eddie Jui, 48, works day and night. In between his daily 10-plus hours on the road looking for fares, he devotes time to film and edit videos, and respond to online comments. LazyCabbie has more than 6,000 subscribers and 36 videos as at July 17, and has clocked over 360,000 views since launching in mid-April. There is a certain cinematic quality to Mr Jui's videos. Each episode typically starts with a stylish introduction, such as a scene off the streets or a stroll through a garden. He then walks into the frame to give insights on the taxi trade, share his reactions to recent news or offer food recommendations. His style is casual and relatable, much like a friendly cabby talking to a passenger during a ride. Mr Jui stresses that the filming is never done when he is ferrying passengers and 'only during my lull period'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Business Global fintech firms expanding in Singapore with larger offices, APAC hubs Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Asia Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India In the 2½ years he has driven his Toyota Prius taxi, he has covered more than 120,000km. This is the equivalent of nearly 10 years of mileage for a private car in Singapore. The Prius has never missed a beat, other than on two occasions when it was rear-ended and had to be sent to the workshop. The taxi still seemed to be in decent shape when Mr Jui drove to the interview with The Straits Times. He made the switch to be a driver when he needed money urgently to settle business debts after winding down his intellectual property rights agency, which provides trademark services. He drove a private-hire car for about a year before becoming a part-time taxi driver, renting a cab from other drivers. After that, he got his own taxi. Mr Jui said he is still a newbie compared with senior cabbies with at least a decade's worth of experience. He intends to rent another Prius when the current contract with transport company ComfortDelGro expires in February 2026. He will take out a new taxi instead of paying less for a used one, to avoid having to deal with breakdowns. Hardworking: Mr Eddie Jui's Prius has covered more than 120,000km in 2½ years without breaking down. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Taxis are charged a daily rental, and Mr Jui said he is usually able to cover the rent with five to six hours of driving a day. He mainly uses two ride-hailing platforms: Zig, which is owned by ComfortDelGro, and Grab, to get jobs. His workday starts at 5am, and he stays on the road until 9am. The downtime away from driving the taxi is spent on filming and being with his nine-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. He is back on the road again from 4 to 9pm. He keeps his lunch break short to carve out time for creating video content. It used to take him up to six hours to film and edit a video lasting no longer than eight minutes. The filming alone takes two to three hours, for him to get the right angles. He has managed to cut editing time down to around an hour, and he edits a couple of videos at one go, spending five hours or so in one sitting. Mr Jui's 45-year-old wife, who is a clinic manager, came up with the name for the channel. She was also the one who encouraged him to make videos, instead of gaming, which he said he was addicted to before he started the channel to 'escape reality'. He does what he can to involve his family, from discussing story ideas with his wife to roping in their children to look at the channel's analytics data and respond to comments on his YouTube channel. Sieving through the comments and responding to negative ones with the kids are opportunities for them to learn about dealing with cyberbullies, he figured. He reads every comment and replies to them. His channel is gaining popularity quickly, enough for YouTube to pay him for the views a month after LazyCabbie was launched. He declined to disclose exactly how much he has received from the streaming platform, but said it was an encouraging start. Calling his perspective as a taxi driver the 'special sauce' for his channel, Mr Jui does not see himself giving up the car keys to be a full-time content creator. Instead, he is thinking of ways to make the content more unique, while broadening its appeal, so it speaks not just to fellow drivers or those who may be curious about the life of a taxi driver. Besides casual viewers who post encouraging messages, thanking him for making the videos, Mr Jui also gets thoughtful comments from other taxi drivers, who see the channel as a platform to pour their hearts out with lengthy messages. One of the most memorable comments he got was being called 'a bridge between the drivers and the people outside who see us differently'. 'We (taxi drivers) meet many passengers, but a lot of the time, we are just lonely people because there are no peers or colleagues to talk to.' Listen to the podcast here: What's in the boot? Under the boot floor: An air pump, a folding chair, a vacuum cleaner and a tyre jack. PHOTO: EDDIE JUI
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The Bihar government announced compensation of 4 million rupees to the families of those killed by lightning. PATNA, India – Lightning strikes during monsoon storms in eastern India this week killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, officials said on July 18 . The deaths in Bihar occurred during fierce storms between July 16 and 17 , a state disaster management department statement said, with the victims mostly farmers and labourers working in the open. More heavy rain and lightning are forecast for parts of the state. Bihar state's disaster management minister, Mr Vijay Kumar Mandal, told AFP that officials in vulnerable districts had been directed to 'create awareness to take precautionary steps following an alert on lightning'. The state government announced compensation of 4 million rupees (S$59,630) to the families of those killed by lightning. At least 243 died by lightning in 2024 and 275 in 2023 , according to the state government. India's eastern region, including Bihar, is prone to annual floods that kill dozens and displace hundreds of thousands of people during peak monsoon season. AFP Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Business Global fintech firms expanding in Singapore with larger offices, APAC hubs Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Life F1 Singapore Grand Prix: Music acts Lewis Capaldi, Clean Bandit, Spice Girls' Melanie C added
