11/02/2026

WEDNESDAY | FEB 11, 2026

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China to support ‘reunification forces’

described this law as a “legal shield” that had “neutralised this major threat” and restored order. The paper said Hong Kong’s practice of safeguarding national security had “consolidated the security foundation” of the city’s “one country, two systems” governance model and “further enriched China’s national security system”. Such white papers on Hong Kong are released periodically by China, outlining Beijing’s latest policy stance towards the China-ruled city that returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997. The previous white paper in 2021 outlined Hong Kong’s democratic development after a revamp of the electoral system to ensure only “patriots” could run for public office – a move criticised by some countries as an erosion of democratic freedoms by marginalising opposition democrats. – Reuters increase the number of female candidates,” said Yuki Tsuji, professor of Tokai University and politics expert, as election campaigning began. Of the 68 women elected to parliament, 39 came from the LDP, just over 12% of their 315 lawmakers. Takaichi’s views on gender place her on the right of an already conservative LDP, and she opposes revising a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname. Yu Uchiyama, political science professor at the University of Tokyo, said that “Takaichi is so famous for her conservative stance that it is unlikely she will devote her energies to policies” like promoting diversity, equality and inclusion. – AFP South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has suggested the drone incursion may have involved government officials still loyal to former hardline leader Yoon. Three civilians have already been charged for their alleged role in the drone scandal. One of them has publicly claimed responsibility, saying he acted to detect radiation levels from North Korea’s Pyongsan uranium processing facility. – AFP after meeting a delegation from Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), who were in Beijing for a meeting of party think tanks. Speaking to reporters earlier yesterday in Taipei, KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen, who led the delegation to Beijing, said there had been no discussion of political topics when they met Wang, as the trip there was to discuss topics like tourism. The KMT has been eyeing a meeting between its new chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Xi. Hsiao said if there was any “confirmed news” about that, the party would announce it. – Reuters

against meddling in Taiwan issue, which it said is its internal affair. In a call with President Donald Trump last week, President Xi Jinping said Taiwan is the most important issue in China-US relations and Washington must handle arms sales to Taiwan with prudence. The Trump administration announced in December the largest ever US weapons package for the island worth US$11.1 billion (RM43.6 billion). China refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te and has rebuffed his repeated offers of talks, saying he is a “separatist” who must accept that Taiwan is part of China. Wang was speaking just a week

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, underscoring how China sees Taiwan as an issue it needs to promote its agenda for on the international stage. Taiwan holds mayoral and county magistrate elections at the end of the year. While they focus mostly on local issues, they are an important sign of party support ahead of the next presidential and parliamentary elections in early 2028. There was no immediate response to Wang Huning’s comments from Taiwan’s government, which says only the island’s people can decide their future. Beijing has repeatedly warned other countries, including the US

Addressing this year’s “Taiwan Work Conference”, the Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader Wang Huning said officials must advance the “great cause of national reunification”, Xinhua news agency reported. It is necessary to “firmly support the patriotic pro-unification forces on the island, resolutely strike against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, oppose interference by external forces, and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”, Xinhua paraphrased him as saying. China has long offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model of autonomy, though no major Taiwanese party supports that.

BEIJING: China will offer firm support for “patriotic pro reunification forces” in Taiwan and strike hard against “separatists”, the top Chinese official in charge of policy towards the island said in comments published yesterday. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory despite the objections of the government in Taipei, has ramped up its military and political pressure against the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims. o Kuomintang steers clear of ‘hot potato’

HK national security paper released HONG KONG: China released yesterday a policy white paper on Hong Kong’s practice of safeguarding national security to ensure stability in a volatile world, emphasising Beijing has “fundamental responsibility” for national security affairs in the city. The white paper said Hong Kong would continue to improve its legal system to safeguard national security. “Hong Kong, enjoying high standard security, is bound to overcome all risks and challenges on the journey forward, and remain as steady as a rock in a turbulent world,” it read.

This white paper was released by China’s State Council, or Cabinet, a day after a Hong Kong court sentenced leading China critic and former media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years imprisonment in a landmark foreign collusion case under the city’s national security law. Lai’s sentence, the heaviest so far under a China-imposed national security law, drew international criticism from the US, Britain, Taiwan, European Union, Japan and rights groups. UN rights chief Volker Turk “deplored” the sentence of the 78 year-old and said it was “incompatible with international law”.

Hong Kong leader John Lee yesterday welcomed the white paper, saying authorities needed to remain vigilant against national security risks. He said Lai’s sentence sent a “solemn warning against malicious plots of collusion with external elements and endangering national security”. Critics say the sweeping national security law has been used to clamp down on dissent and the city’s opposition pro-democracy movement after mass protests in 2019. The white paper, however, lawmaker, securing nearly half the votes in her district. During her campaign in the central province of Nagano, she promised to support young people and women, and was personally endorsed by Takaichi when she announced her pregnancy. In Japan, gender roles are rigid, with women expected to look after the home and family, even if they work. Takaichi named a male-dominated Cabinet when she took the helm in October, despite pledging to boost female representation. “The inauguration of Prime Minister Takaichi doesn’t appear to have sparked a strong movement within the LDP to significantly his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who was accused of using unmanned drones to scatter propaganda leaflets over North Korea in 2024. Lee has vowed to mend ties with North Korea by stamping out provocations, and has even suggested a rare apology may be warranted. “I feel I should apologise, but I hesitate to say it out loud,” he said in December. “I worry that if I do, it could be used as fodder for ideological battles.”

Japan elects fewer women MPs TOKYO: The number of women in Japan’s powerful lower house has fallen after snap elections, dealing a blow to underrepresented women in male-dominated Japanese politics. Sanae Takaichi tightened her grip on power on Sunday but has shown little appetite for framing her leadership around gender.

Women make up 15% of lawmakers, winning 68 of 465 seats in the house of representatives – down from 73 elected in 2024. A record 24% of candidates were women on Sunday, but that figure was just one percentage point up from 2024. Hikaru Fujita stood for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) while pregnant and won against a veteran

UNDERWATER BALLET ... Divers wearing traditional Korean costume hanbok swim with stingrays during an event in celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year at an aquarium in Seoul. – REUTERSPIC

South Korean police raid spy agency over drone flight SEOUL: Investigators raided South Korea’s spy agency yesterday as they probed possible government links to a drone incursion over the North Korean border. would amount to“firing a shot into the North”. A joint military-police task force said it was investigating three soldiers and one spy agency staff to “thoroughly establish the truth”. according to a statement published by the Korean Central News Agency. Photos showed the wreckage of a winged craft scattered across the ground next to a collection of grey and blue components that allegedly included cameras.

Pyongyang says it shot down a surveillance drone near the industrial hub of Kaesong last month, accusing Seoul of dispatching the aircraft to glean intelligence. South Korea initially denied any official involvement, with President Lee Jae Myung saying such an act

Investigators raided 18 locations of interest, including the Defence Intelligence Command and the National Intelligence Service. The North Korean military downed a drone carrying “surveillance equipment” early last month,

The drone had stored footage of “important targets” including border areas, a military spokesman said in the statement. Seoul’s President Lee has taken a softer approach to North Korea than