Week in Focus: China Axes Taiwan Games, China's Vaccine Scandal
What you need to know
A weekly roundup of the region's most important news.
Taiwan:
China on Wednesday blamed 'independence activists' for the cancellation of an Olympic event in Taiwan, shrugging off Taipei’s accusation that Beijing’s 'political bullying' was behind the revocation of its right to host the East Asian Youth Games. — Reuters
Bowing to pressure from China, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines began to remove references to Taiwan, of which Taipei is the capital city, as a separate country from their websites Wednesday. — The New York Times
China:
Chinese parents were in uproar on Monday after reports that hundreds of thousands of children might have been injected with faulty vaccines, the latest scandal to hit the nation’s troubled drug industry. — The New York Times
China defended its US$62 billion infrastructure-building programs in Pakistan, saying the initiative isn’t causing a debt crisis in the South Asian country. — The Wall Street Journal
The women recount being forced into sex by bosses and trusted co-workers. They speak of being shunned by friends and discouraged by the authorities from pressing charges. They recall being told their lives would be ruined if they spoke up. — The New York Times
Megvii Inc., the Chinese developer of facial recognition system Face++, is said to be raising at least US$600 million from investors including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Boyu Capital, according to people familiar with the matter. — Bloomberg
Since April, the yuan has fallen by almost 8 percent against the US dollar. This has led many analysts and politicians to speculate that China is intentionally trying to devalue its currency to offset the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It almost certainly isn’t. — Bloomberg
For Facebook, success in China was brief. Very brief. China said to quickly withdraw approval for the new Facebook venture. — The New York Times
Laos:
At least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 are missing in flooding following the collapse of an under-construction dam in south-east Laos. — BBC
For nearly 24 hours, engineers from South Korea and Laos raced to save the Xe-Pian Xe-Nomnoy dam before it cracked on Monday night, unleashing waters that state media says killed at least 19 people and prompting a rescue operation for thousands of stranded villagers. — The Wall Street Journal
Philippines:
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has signed a landmark law aimed at giving expanded autonomy to Muslims in the south of the country, his spokesman said on Thursday, with the legislation expected to bring some measure of peace to a region choked by four decades of separatist violence. — The New York Times
Two years after the dismissal of corruption charges against her, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is back in a new role—speaker of the House of Representatives—where she can boost the political agenda of current President Rodrigo Duterte. — The Wall Street Journal
North Korea:
North Korea’s state-run media released a string of articles Friday that criticized the South Korean government, hinting that planned reunions for families split between the two nations could be canceled. — The Washinton Post
Remains believed to be those of 55 American servicemen were flown out of North Korea on Friday, the first visible result of President Trump’s efforts to bring the American war dead home 65 years after the end of combat in the Korean War. — The New York Times
Japan:
Triple-digit temperatures have hospitalized 23,000 people just in the past week, nearly double the previous record. Some outdoor pools are too hot for swimming. Construction workers wear battery-powered fans to avoid heatstroke, which has killed 86 people since May. — The New York Times
Six members of a Japanese doomsday cult held responsible for the deaths of dozens of people have been executed, according to Japan's justice minister. — CNN
Malaysia:
Malaysia seeks to complete the US$10-billion Exchange 106 tower rocked by scandal. — The New York Times
Top officials at a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund said they would resign en masse Thursday, signaling Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s resolve to shake up senior civil-service ranks following his election in May. — The Wall Street Journal
India:
India has scrapped its 12% tax on all sanitary products following months of campaigning by activists. — BBC
Vietnam:
American citizen William Nguyen will be deported from Vietnam, a court in the country’s largest city ruled Friday, after he was detained and convicted over his participation in a protest last month. — The Wall Street Journal
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Editor: David Green