China is grappling with the largest capital flight in years, raising concerns for authorities as Beijing exerts additional pressure on the yuan, which is already under strain due to a widening Sino-U.S. yield gap and mounting concerns about the Middle East crisis. Goldman Sachs’s preferred gauge of foreign exchange flows report published on Oct. 20 showed capital outflows from China surged to $75 billion in September, the highest monthly amount since 2016, compared to the $42 billion outflows in August. This increase occurred despite smaller outflows by the foreign portfolio investment channel, it added. “Foreign investors’ net selling of equities and bonds slowed, but the current account showed net outflows in September on the back of faster services trade outflows, lower goods trade related inflows and higher income and transfer outflows,” said the Goldman Sachs’s note accessed by The Epoch Times....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/chinas-worst-capital-outflow-in-years-exacerbates-yuan-woes-5515173
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and dozens of Canadian MPs have been targeted by a ‘spamouflage’ campaign from China, said Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The agency’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) detected the campaign in which a bot network left thousands of comments in English and French on the social media accounts of Canadian MPs, the GAC said in a statement issued on Oct. 23. The incident was first detected in early August 2023 and accelerated in scale over the September long weekend, said the GAC. “This campaign targeted dozens of MPs from across the political spectrum and spanning multiple geographic regions of Canada, including the Prime Minister, the leader of the Official Opposition, and several members of Cabinet,” the statement said....
The Philippines on Monday summoned China’s ambassador after a Chinese Coast Guard ship made “dangerous blocking maneuvers” against a Philippine ship that was operating within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, causing a collision. The collision occurred at around 6:04 a.m. local time on Oct. 22, when the Philippine boat attempting to deliver supplies to troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal had its path blocked and collided with a Chinese Coast Guard ship. A Philippine Coast Guard ship escorting the chartered boat was also “bumped” by a Chinese maritime militia vessel in the same incident, the Philippines’ National Task Force said in a statement....
A group of former Hong Kong district councilors now in exile has called on Hong Kong citizens to boycott the upcoming district council elections held by Hong Kong authorities. The Hong Kong government changed the city’s electoral system in July by drastically reducing the number of directly elected seats to 20 percent, explicitly stating that the District Council’s functions include supporting the government’s policies. “Since the forced implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong authorities have been systematically changing the political landscape of Hong Kong in a destructive manner to stifle all voices opposing the Chinese Communist Party,” reads an Oct. 16 statement by Hong Kong District Councilor Diaspora Network....