• Gay Games delight Hong Kong amid China’s growing hostility to LGBTQ+ community
• China’s aggression brings Japan and the Philippines closer | Asia
• Has the West overestimated China’s military might? | Podcasts
• Yellen to “intensify communication“ with China“s He, warns on Russia support
• Yellen and China“s He to “intensify communication“ after pre-APEC meetings
• The soft power of China’s pandas

Gay Games delight Hong Kong amid China’s growing hostility to LGBTQ+ community

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/11/gay-games-hong-kong-china-hostility-gay-transgender

After months of pandemic-related delays, Asia’s first Gay Games was held in Hong Kong last week, with nearly 2,400 athletes competing. At the opening ceremony, Regina Ip, the convenor of Hong Kong’s executive council, said the competition represented the city’s commitment to “equal opportunity and non-discrimination”, and praised Hong Kong’s courts for the “numerous judgments” handed down in favour of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade.

This was met with bemusement by activists and lawyers, who pointed out that Ip’s government has opposed each of those judgments, losing in nearly every single case. Since 2018, there have been at least seven cases relating to LGBTQ+ rights heard by Hong Kong’s courts, with many reaching the Court of Final Appeal, the city’s highest bench. “Why are they still wasting taxpayers’ money fighting these tooth-and-nail litigations when they’re recycling the same arguments and losing?” said Mark Daly, a human rights lawyer who has worked on a number of the cases.

Ip told the Observer that “the government had complied with the Court of Final Appeal’s rulings” in all of the cases that made it to the top court.

The Gay Games were hosted in the wake of a string of legal victories for the LGBTQ+ community, whose success in the courts stands in stark contrast to the increasingly hostile environment for gay and transgender people in mainland China.

In February, Hong Kong’s top court ruled that the policy of requiring trans people to undergo sex reassignment surgery to change their legal gender – which is also required by law in mainland China – was unconstitutional. Then in September, the court ruled that the government was obliged to establish an “alternative framework” for the legal recognition of same-sex unions, while stopping short of endorsing gay marriage.

Several recent cases have involved Henry Li, a 37-year-old solicitor who became a reluctant activist in 2019 after he and his late husband, Edgar Ng, realised that they would not be able to legally live together in the government-subsidised flat bought by Ng because Li could not register as a “spouse” or a “family member”. Ng and Li had married in the UK in 2017 but their union was not legally recognised in Hong Kong.

The legal action was “not really to fight for equality, it was a fight to stay together lawfully in our own home,” said Li, who credits Ng with initiating the judicial review to “protect” him. Last month, the Court of Appeal ruled in Li’s favour, although the housing authority is appealing.

Ng also launched a legal bid to demand equal treatment for same-sex couples with regards to inheritance rights. Last month, the Court of Appeal upheld a lower bench’s ruling in Ng’s favour. But Ng died in 2020, having taken his own life, and his assets remain frozen as the government is expected to appeal.

Ng’s death led to yet more litigation after the morgue refused to let Li identify Ng’s body. “It was cruel, inhumane and demeaning. Edgar’s body was literally in the next room when I was told he’s not my husband,” Li recalled.

He filed a judicial review but dropped it in October 2021 after the government clarified that same-sex partners should be treated equally by the coroner’s office.

The government’s resistance to granting LGBTQ+ people equal rights is in line with Beijing but increasingly at odds with public opinion in Hong Kong. A survey published in May found that 60% of people supported the idea of same-sex marriage, up from 38% a decade ago. More than 70% said that Hong Kong should have a law to protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

It is not just in the courts that LGBTQ+ people have clashed with the authorities. In July, Hong Kong’s public broadcaster suspended the city’s only LGBTQ+-related radio show, We Are Family, which had run for 17 years. No official reason was given for the show’s cancellation, but since the passing of a controversial national security law in 2020, imposed by Beijing to quell the months of pro-democracy protests, anything that could be perceived as being critical of the Chinese authorities has become sensitive. The annual Pride march was cancelled in 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions but shows no signs of returning – although a pop-up Pride exhibition is planned.

Evelyn Tsao, a human rights lawyer who focuses on LGBTQ+ issues, says that “more and more” nonprofit organisations are “restricting the scope of their advocacy work to do only public education … and we see less and less of the LGBT rights groups speaking out against public policy or doing any lobbying work in the political sense.”

Daly noted that while the political atmosphere has not directly affected civil rights litigation, there is “probably a little bit more of a chill” for anyone challenging the government in the courts.

There are some in the pro-democracy camp who balk at the idea that gay rights can be separated from the wider crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. In June, a group of activists called for the Gay Games to be cancelled and accused the organisers of aligning themselves with “figures responsible for widespread persecution against the people of Hong Kong”. On the other end of the political spectrum, Junius Ho, a firebrand pro-Beijing legislator, has explicitly said that the games could contravene the national security law.

David Ko, the communications director for the games, said that the event was not aligned “with any political ideologies or figures … Our primary goal is to create a platform where individuals from all walks of life can come together to celebrate diversity, inclusivity and the human spirit.”

But the games have struggled to stay out of politics. Taiwan, the only place in Asia to have legalised gay marriage, did not send a delegation to the event in Hong Kong, citing concerns about athletes’ safety in the context of the national security law.

China’s aggression brings Japan and the Philippines closer | Asia

https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/11/09/chinas-aggression-brings-japan-and-the-philippines-closer

Kishida fumio, Japan’s prime minister, appeared to be brimming with enthusiasm on November 4th as he toured the BRP Teresa Magbanua, the largest vessel in the Philippine coastguard’s fleet. Never mind that the ship is named after a revolutionary leader known in part for resisting Japanese occupiers during the second world war. These days, Japan and the Philippines are increasingly collaborating to resist China. The vessel, which was launched last year, was built by Japanese shipbuilders with loans from Japan’s government.

On his visit to Manila on November 3rd and 4th, Mr Kishida promised more such aid to boost the Philippines’ defences. He and his Philippine counterpart, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, also agreed to start formal talks on a new pact to improve bilateral security co-operation. During an address to the Philippine congress, the first by a Japanese leader, Mr Kishida declared that ties between the two countries had entered a “golden age”.

The Philippines and Japan have long enjoyed warm relations. For decades, Japanese official aid and private investment have helped fuel the Philippines’ growth and upgrade its infrastructure. Yet they are being drawn more tightly together by three factors, starting with their mutual fear of China (see Chaguan), which has brought them much closer on security. Both are on the front line of resistance to Chinese expansionism, as members of the so-called “First Island Chain”, an arc of archipelagoes running from Japan to Malaysia that divides China from the Pacific Ocean. The Philippine coastguard vies with the Chinese coastguard and maritime militia for mastery over disputed parts of the South China Sea. Similarly, Japan faces constant pressure from Chinese ships around disputed islands in the East China Sea. Both are increasingly concerned about Chinese aggression towards Taiwan.

A second factor is Mr Marcos’s rise to power, following an election last year. His predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, was also friendly towards Japan. Yet he had a strong anti-American streak which complicated the countries’ efforts to work together alongside their shared treaty ally. Mr Marcos has taken a different tack, reviving a deal to give America access to bases in his country. That has also opened the way to greater trilateral co-operation with Japan. This June, the three countries’ coastguards held their first joint drills. The same month, their national security advisers met in Tokyo and agreed that their governments would hold regular three-way talks.

Finally, Japan has gradually reformed its defence policies to allow for a greater role in regional security. The Philippines has been the biggest beneficiary. Since 2016 Japan has provided a dozen ships to the Philippine coastguard, including the Teresa Magbanua. On the eve of Mr Kishida’s arrival in Manila, Mitsubishi Electric, a Japanese firm, announced the delivery of the first of four air-surveillance radars to the Philippines. This is Japan’s first overseas arms-sale since it loosened restrictions on defence exports in 2014. The Philippines will also be the first country to receive aid through a new Japanese programme of “Official Security Assistance” announced last December, in the form of $4m-worth of coastal surveillance radars. Such equipment should help the Philippines counter China’s grey-zone activities.

The pact that the leaders began formally negotiating this week, known as a Reciprocal Access Agreement, would cement the countries’ ties by creating a legal framework for their armed forces to operate in and around each others’ territories. While far from sealing a formal alliance, it would facilitate more frequent joint and realistic training, an important step. Japan has similar agreements with Australia and Britain; the Philippines would be its first such partner in south-east Asia.

On the day Mr Kishida and Mr Marcos met in Manila, an opinion article in the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, raged against the budding Japanese-Philippine security co-operation: “It is clear their goal is to suppress China.” It seems the government in Beijing has got the message.■

Has the West overestimated China’s military might? | Podcasts

https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/11/10/has-the-west-overestimated-chinas-military-might

Miscalculating the prowess of the People’s Liberation Army is dangerous. Overestimating it could cause unnecessary confrontation, but underestimating it is risky for Taiwan. We bring you some balance. Can descendants of slave traders be absolved of the sins of their ancestors (09:09)? And a tribute to a man who believed life is best lived dangerously (16:59). Runtime: 24 min

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Yellen to “intensify communication“ with China“s He, warns on Russia support

https://reuters.com/article/usa-china-he/yellen-to-intensify-communication-with-chinas-he-warns-on-russia-support-idUSKBN3251HF

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that she and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to "intensify communication" on economic issues but warned him to crack down on Chinese companies that supply material support to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

The two "had candid, direct, and productive discussions" on issues from U.S export controls to possible areas of cooperation, including climate change and debt relief for low-income countries, Yellen told a press conference after two days of meetings in San Francisco.

The two held talks before the Nov. 15-17 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering of leaders in San Francisco, which will feature a planned meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Yellen said she accepted an invitation from He, referred to by China's state media as the director of a powerful Communist Party economic body, to return to China next year to a "regular cadence of contact" between the economic leaders.

She emphasized that the U.S. has no desire to decouple its economy from China, but wanted a level playing field for U.S. companies and workers.

"During our discussions, we agreed that in-depth and frank discussions matter, particularly when we disagree," Yellen said. "And I emphasized that the current uncertain global landscape makes it particularly crucial that we maintain resilient lines of communication going forward."

Yellen said that the Treasury has seen evidence that Chinese companies and banks may be aiding in the flow of equipment for use in Russia's war in Ukraine despite Western sanctions, and warned He that these firms "will face significant consequences" if they do.

"We would like to see China crack down on this, especially when we're able to provide information," Yellen said. She gave no further details on the names of the companies involved or on He's reaction.

The officials also discussed the Israel-Hamas war, and Yellen spoke about the need "to prevent escalation and expansion of the conflict in the Middle East," the Treasury said in a statement.

Communications with China would "avoid misunderstandings and unintended escalation," between the two countries, helping them to make better policy decisions, Yellen said.

Yellen and China“s He to “intensify communication“ after pre-APEC meetings

https://reuters.com/article/usa-china-he/yellen-and-chinas-he-to-intensify-communication-after-pre-apec-meetings-idUSKBN3251HF

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to "intensify communication" and committed to work together on a range of economic, financial stability and regulatory issues, Treasury said on Friday.

The two "had candid, direct, and productive discussions on the U.S.-China bilateral economic relationship and a wide range of issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of disagreement," a statement from the Treasury said. The two met Nov. 9-10 in San Francisco ahead of the summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) country leaders.

Yellen plans to travel to China next year to continue discussions, the statement said, adding that both sides emphasized they are not seeking to decouple their economies.

The soft power of China’s pandas

https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/the-soft-power-of-chinas-pandas/2023-11-10T22:12:26.260Z

Today, why the United States is saying goodbye to its pandas. And how the bears became a powerful diplomatic symbol of U.S.-China relations.