Organizers of an annual vigil to commemorate the Chinese Communist government's bloody crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 said on Saturday they had lost an appeal to hold this year's rally.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China planned to hold a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park next Friday.

This marks the second year that Hong Kong police have banned the vigil, citing coronavirus restrictions.

"We have to apologize to the public

HO CHI MINH CITY/TAIPEI -- Two of Asia's most important tech manufacturing hubs are grappling with sudden spikes in COVID-19 infections, casting a shadow over a global supply chain already struggling with an unprecedented chip and component shortage.

Taiwan is home to the world's most important source of advanced chips that power everything from cars and smartphones to servers and game consoles. Vietnam, meanwhile, has become an electronics manufacturing powerhouse, churning out half of Samsung's smartphones as well as AirPods and other

SEOUL -- When South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait alongside U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in Washington, it may have come across as an unexpected lurch toward the American position.

Yet their May 21 summit statement drew relatively little pushback from China for touching on a topic that Beijing considers a non-negotiable core interest.

The result was an apparent victory for Moon's middle-power democracy -- a delicate balancing act between the U.S. and

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK -- While the competition with China has been one of the few priorities boasting bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, some Republican lawmakers seem to have experienced sticker shock at the enormous funding required to implement the comprehensive legislation that promises to keep the U.S. a superpower.

The Senate agreed to delay a vote on the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act until at least early June, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday, after a heated session on the legislation Thursday and as opposing lawmakers demanded

KHAO SOK, Thailand -- "I often ask myself why a kid raised in New York City became a jungle fanatic," says Richard Sandler, a pioneer of ecotourism in Thailand who has been offering benign alternatives to the destructive travel industry for more than half a century.

It is a long way from the concrete and high-rises of Sandler's youth to the sites of some of his Thai projects: the sands of Golden Buddha Beach on Phra Thong Island in the Andaman Sea, the languorous River Kwai in

NEW YORK -- America needs to be at least one technical generation ahead of any adversary when it comes to satellite-based navigation, U.S. President Joe Biden's first defense budget request notes, asking for $1.8 billion to bolster the Global Positioning System.

A portion of that funding will go toward hardening GPS signals against jamming so that fighters, ships and missiles can position, navigate and time their activities even when the enemy tries to disrupt them.

"Adversaries have long recognized our dependence on

TOKYO -- Japan's push for a bigger voice at the United Nations and other global organizations has contributed to a double-digit increase in positions held by Japanese nationals, but rising Asian power China has logged even faster growth.

Japanese nationals held 912 specialist positions or higher-ranking posts at international organizations as of the end of 2019, a gain of 23% from 2015 and nearly double the 2001 figure, U.N. data shows. This

JAKARTA -- Indonesian state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara is aiming to phase out coal-fired power as the country brings forward its carbon neutrality ambitions to 2060.

The expedited schedule comes on the heels of a decision earlier in the month to stop the construction of new coal-burning plants as well as government plans to introduce a carbon tax.

It also follows criticism President Joko Widodo received from local media for failing to make a stronger commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions at the Leaders Summit on Climate, hosted by

HONG KONG -- Tencent Holding-backed Full Truck Alliance -- sometimes referred to as China's "Uber for trucks" -- is gearing up for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, filings show.

The offering could raise between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, two people familiar with the transaction said, and could become the second largest Chinese IPO in the U.S. this year, after that of e-cigarette maker RLX Technology.

Full Truck Alliance's