10/02/2026

TUESDAY | FEB 10, 2026

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CHINA WARNS JAPAN OF ‘RESOLUTE RESPONSE’ BEIJING: China warned Japan yesterday that reckless actions would be met with a “resolute response”, a day after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is viewed as critical of China, won a landslide election. China and Japan have been locked in a spat over comments by Takaichi in November. A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry urged Japan to retract the comments and warned of consequences for rash actions. “If the far right forces in Japan misjudge the situation and act recklessly, they will face resistance from the Japanese people and a resolute response from the international community,” spokesman Lin Jian said. “We once again urge the Japanese side to retract the erroneous remarks and demonstrate basic sincerity in safeguarding the political foundation of China-Japan relations, through concrete actions.” – AFP PROVINCE SORRY FOR ‘IMPORT WOMEN’ REMARK SEOUL: A provincial government in South Korea has apologised after a mayor suggested importing young women from Southeast Asia to boost the nation’s birth rate. Jindo County Mayor Kim Hee soo said last week that rural hamlets could address shrinking populations by pairing bachelors with women enticed from Vietnam or Sri Lanka. “We should import young women from Vietnam or Sri Lanka so that young men in rural areas can marry them,” he told a town hall meeting. The South Jeolla provincial government, which oversees Kim’s county, said: “We deeply apologise for the inappropriate remark made by the Jindo mayor, which has caused deep pain to Vietnamese people and to women.” The word “import” “violates human dignity and objectifies women”, its spokesperson said. Kim also apologised. – AFP SOUTH KOREA GROUNDS AGEING CHOPPERS SEOUL: South Korea grounded an ageing fleet of military helicopters yesterday after a chopper crashed during a training exercise and killed two people on board. The AH-1S Cobra was training for emergency landings when it “crashed due to an unidentified cause” in Gapyeong county west of Seoul, the army said in a statement. Two service members were taken to hospital and later pronounced dead. Photos in local media showed the helicopter’s crumpled fuselage lying on a rocky river bank. Some of those used by South Korea’s military are more than 30 years old. It is not clear how many are in service. The country’s defence acquisition agency said in 2022 that the Army’s Cobra helicopters were “scheduled to be retired” as domestically developed light-armed choppers started flying. – AFP JAPAN RESTARTS BIGGEST NUCLEAR PLANT TOKYO: Japan switched on the world’s biggest nuclear power plant again yesterday, its operator said, after an earlier attempt was suspended due to a minor glitch. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in the Niigata region restarted at 2pm (1pm in Malaysia), the Tokyo Electric Power Company said in a statement. A glitch with an alarm in January forced the suspension of its first restart since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The facility had been offline since Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown. But now Japan is turning to atomic energy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing energy needs from artificial intelligence. – AFP

BR I E F S

Teresa (right), Lai’s wife, and Zen (front), retired cardinal of the Catholic Church, leaving the West Kowloon Magistrates Court yesterday. – AFPPIC

Media mogul jailed 20 years

o Punishment amounts to grave injustice, say groups

“The harsh 20-year sentence against 78-year-old Jimmy Lai is effectively a death sentence. A sentence of this magnitude is cruel and profoundly unjust,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International called the case “another grim

sat impassively in the dock as his sentence was read out. As he was led away, he waved solemnly to people in the public gallery, including his wife Teresa, former Hong Kong bishop Cardinal Joseph Zen and former Apple Daily reporters. His defence lawyer Robert Pang declined to comment on whether Lai would lodge an appeal, which can be done in the next 28 days. Asked if the sentence was in line with expectations, Pang said: “In these times, I don’t know what to expect.”

HONG KONG: A court here sentenced pro democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai (pic) to 20 years in prison yesterday for national security crimes, a punishment rights groups condemned as “effectively a death sentence” and a symbol of the city’s shrivelling press freedoms. Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December of urging foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and for publishing “seditious” articles in his paper. The 78-year-old’s sentence is by far the harshest handed out under the Beijing imposed national security law, surpassing the previous record of 10 years given to legal scholar Benny Tai in 2024. A summary document from the judges said they had settled on 20 years’ imprisonment “after considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai”. Two of those years will overlap with Lai’s existing prison term, meaning that he will serve an additional 18 years, the judges wrote. Lai, who has been behind bars since 2020,

becoming Japan’s fifth premier in as many years in October, Takaichi called the snap election last month. The gamble paid off, with local media reporting that her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won around 316 of the 465 seats contested, citing partial results. That takes the party past the 310-seat threshold needed for a two-thirds majority for the first time in its history. US President Donald Trump, who is due to host Takaichi next month, congratulated her after an earlier endorsement. “I wish you Great Success in passing your Conservative, Peace Through Strength Agenda,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The president of South Korea, whose relations with Japan have long been dogged by historical issues, congratulated Takaichi and said he hopes “that we will continue to build trust”. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said he hoped the victory would provide“a secure future to Japan and its regional partners”. – AFP milestone in Hong Kong’s transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear”. Jodie Ginsberg, the CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said “today’s egregious decision is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong”. Following Lai’s sentencing, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called on Hong Kong to “end his appalling ordeal” and pledged to “rapidly engage further” with Beijing. Taiwan said Lai’s sentencing created a “chilling effect” across borders and “tramples on freedom of speech”. Beijing again dismissed critics yesterday as smearing Hong Kong’s judicial system, calling the sentence “reasonable, legitimate and legal”. Hong Kong chief executive John Lee lauded the lengthy prison term as “deeply gratifying”. – AFP

Teresa Lai was grim-faced during the hearing and made no comment as she left the court, but their children, who live abroad, condemned the sentence in a statement. “Sentencing my father to this draconian prison sentence is devastating for our family and life-threatening for my father,” Lai’s son Sebastien said. The mogul’s daughter Claire called it “a heartbreakingly cruel sentence” given his declining health in prison, and if carried out, “he will die a martyr behind bars”. Rights groups also said Lai’s punishment amounted to a grave injustice.

Takaichi basks in historic electoral triumph TOKYO: Japanese shares rose to record highs yesterday after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s conservatives won a historic election landslide with a projected two-thirds majority.

If confirmed by official results, the outcome puts Japan’s first female premier in a powerful position to stamp her mark on the country of 123 million people over the next four years. Her agenda includes higher defence spending, potentially changing the constitution, and tougher immigration rules despite a falling population. The first two make China nervous, and the region will be watching closely to see if she ups or lowers the temperature after enraging Beijing in November with comments about Taiwan. “I think she is showing strong leadership, but I hope things don’t escalate into a conflict or even war with China,”said voter Yoshiko Hide, 52. “The thought that a single statement can change the global situation makes me feel a little uneasy,” the medical industry employee said. Capitalising on her honeymoon start after

Takaichi arrives at the Prime Minister’s office. – REUTERSPIC