Asia Briefs: China urges US to fix 'mistake' on Taiwan

China urges US to fix 'mistake' on Taiwan

BEIJING • China has called on the United States to "correct its mistake" after President Donald Trump approved new rules allowing top-level US officials to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taipei counterparts.

U S representatives can already travel to Taiwan while Taiwanese officials occasionally visit the White House, but meetings are usually low-profile to avoid offending China.

The Taiwan Travel Act, which Mr Trump signed last Friday, encourages visits between American and Taiwanese officials "at all levels".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Sri Lanka lifts emergency rule

Colombo • Sri Lanka's President announced yesterday that he is lifting a nationwide state of emergency imposed 12 days ago to quell anti-Muslim riots in which three people died and hundreds of shops were destroyed.

Mr Maithripala Sirisena said improvements in the security situation prompted him to end the emergency, under which security forces and the police had sweeping powers to detain suspects.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Abe responsible in land scandal: Polls

TOKYO • Most Japanese think Premier Shinzo Abe bears some responsibility for altered documents at the centre of suspicions of a cover-up linked to cronyism, according to opinion polls yesterday.

Mr Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso have been under fire since the Finance Ministry said on March 12 that it had altered records tied to a discounted sale of state-owned land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which had ties to Mr Abe's wife Akie.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 19, 2018, with the headline Asia Briefs: China urges US to fix 'mistake' on Taiwan . Subscribe