05/03/2026

THURSDAY | MAR 5, 2026

8

China willing to work with US

Woman who falsely reported rape convicted of blackmail

BEIJING: China is willing to work with the United States to promote communication on all levels, while upholding its “red lines” and principles, Lou Qinjian, a spokesperson for its parliament, said yesterday. China began the first of its “Two Sessions” political meetings yesterday, in which it will unveil this year’s economic targets and policy priorities. The meeting comes at a sensitive moment for China-US relations, as both sides look to stabilise ties ahead of an expected summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March. China and the United States should respect each other and coexist peacefully, Lou said. “China has its own principles and red lines, and as always, will resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests,” he told a press conference. Diplomacy between heads of state has an “irreplaceable strategic role” in guiding the two countries’ ties, Lou said, urging them to “expand the list of cooperation (areas) while reducing the list of problems”. He called on the US Congress to view China “objectively”, and do more to benefit ties. A White House official has confirmed Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, although Beijing has made no official announcement. President Xi Jinping is overseeing a week of political meetings in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People that will effectively rubber-stamp decisions already made by the Chinese leader and the Communist Party. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan will be the showpiece of the annual gathering. Premier Li Qiang will open the second of the two meetings, the National People’s Congress (NPC), today, during which he will outline key growth targets for the world’s second-largest economy. There are pressing issues that need to be addressed, not least among them sluggish domestic consumption and a shrinking and

HONG KONG: A British woman faces jail in Hong Kong after being convicted of blackmail and perverting justice for untruthfully reporting she had been raped by a banker. Isabel Rose, 25, met the British man involved in the case in Thailand before linking up with him again in Hong Kong in January 2024, according to court documents. She filed a rape report in February that year, days after an encounter with the banker, who was subsequently arrested. But he was reportedly released without charge, and instead Rose was charged with one count of blackmail and another of perverting the course of justice. Prosecutors accused her of threatening to “make a false report to the police” to extort up to £100,000 (RM525,918) from the man. District Court Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching said the prosecution had “proved both charges beyond all reasonable doubt”. “The demands were unwarranted. The alleged rape was false. The defendant knew that her allegation was false,”Tse said. Rose was remanded in custody pending sentencing on July 22. Under Hong Kong law, both crimes can result in prison time. Rose burst into tears as the verdict came through. Rose and the man stayed in the same bed in a Hong Kong flat on Jan 31, 2024, according to the court documents. On Feb 2, the man transferred £5,000 to her and said more cash was coming. But Rose began asking for “escalating amounts of money”, and later filed a police report. Tse ruled they had “engaged in consensual intimate acts”. Rose’s mother Aysha Bell told reporters after the verdict she was concerned for her daughter’s physical and mental health. – AFP Britain restricts study and work visas LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday the government would end study visas from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, and work visas for Afghans, in a major crackdown as anti-immigration sentiment rises. “An ‘emergency brake’ on visas has been imposed for the first time on nationals from four countries following a surge in asylum claims from legal routes,” the Home Office said. Britain had previously said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up deportations of those who arrive illegally, in an overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the system. Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused”. “That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity,” she said. The Home Office said Shabana will introduce new legislation this week to restore order and control to the country’s borders. According to the government, asylum claims made after entering on legal visas have more than trebled since 2021 and accounted for 39% of the 100,000 people who applied last year. It said nearly 16,000 nationals from the four listed countries werey being supported at public expense, including more than 6,000 in hotels, adding to pressure over the cost of asylum accommodation, which it put at £4 billion (RM21 billion) a year. – Reuters

o Beijing pledges to uphold ‘red line’ principles

ageing population. China’s leaders have vowed to “create new demand through new supply and provide strong innovative measures”. The NPC will also enact laws on childcare services, social assistance and medical insurance, a spokesperson told a press conference. “The thrust of it is to double down on the direction of travel Xi had already set,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute. Nowhere is that approach more obvious than in Xi’s signature campaign against corruption, which has concentrated on the military in recent weeks and toppled some of its most senior generals. Analysts will also be watching to see if China adjusts its military planning in response to the war in the Middle East. China’s leaders say the economic model must shift towards consumption-based growth, rather than traditional drivers such as production and exports. Beijing has poured billions into robotics and has also witnessed a rapid growth in artificial intelligence companies, spurred by the success of DeepSeek. – Reuters/AFP

Xi and China Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the opening session yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Sri Lanka rescues 32 Iranian sailors COLOMBO: Sri Lanka rescued 32 “critically wounded” sailors aboard the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena , which sank yesterday just outside the island’s territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. The ministry said it was searching for the other crew of the IRIS Dena , which went down about 40km south of the island. “We are keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew,” said an official, dimming prospects for finding any more survivors. An ambulance enters Sri Lanka’s southern naval headquarters in Galle to pick up the rescued Iranian sailors. – AFPPIC

Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said their operation was in line with Sri Lanka’s maritime obligations and that 32 Iranian sailors were evacuated to the main hospital in Galle, 115km south of the capital Colombo. “We responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this is within our search and rescue area in the Indian Ocean,” Sampath said. The navy and air force said they were not releasing footage of the rescue because it involved the military of another state. Police stepped up security outside the Galle hospital as the wounded Iranians were taken there by the navy. – AFP

No information was immediately available on the cause of the explosion that sank the vessel, but Herath told parliament that the injured sailors were taken to a hospital in the island’s south. Sources in Sri Lanka’s navy and Defence Ministry told Reuters a submarine had attacked the ship. The 180-crew frigate had issued a distress call at dawn.

Herath said two Sri Lankan navy vessels and an aircraft were deployed for the rescue operation, but did not say what caused the Iranian warship to sink. An legislator asked in parliament whether the vessel had been bombed as part of the attacks against Iran but there was no immediate response from the government.