HONG KONG — Hong Kong police arrested a bookstore owner and three shopkeepers on Tuesday for allegedly selling “seditious” publications including a biography of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, broadcaster TVB reported.

The owner of the Book Punch store Pong Yat-ming and three staff were accused of selling copies of “The Troublemaker”, a biography of Mr. Lai by one of his former business directors, Mark Clifford, TVB reported.

Mr. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced to a 20-year jail term in February for collusion with foreign forces and sedition in the city’s biggest national security case.

A police spokesperson, asked about the reported arrests, did not comment directly but said in a statement that police “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law”.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Chris Tang did not respond to reporters’ questions. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said it was inappropriate for her to comment as someone has already been arrested.

Asked whether the arrests could impact public reading habits, Ms. Law said “reading will continue to be promoted in Hong Kong”.

A notice outside the door of the bookstore read: “Resting for a day due to emergency, sorry for the inconvenience.”

Reuters could not immediately reach Mr. Pong for comment and could not determine whether Mr. Pong or any of the staff had been charged with any offense.

Mr. Clifford, now based in New York, was a former director of media group Next Digital owned by Mr. Lai. In response to questions from Reuters, Mr. Clifford said he was not aware of the arrests, but “if true, it’s a sad and ironic commentary that selling a book on a man who is in jail for his activities as a journalist, for promoting free expression, would be subject to sedition”.

Under a local national security law, known as Article 23, sedition is punishable up to seven years in jail and a maximum of 10 years if the act involves collusion with an “external force”.

Beijing imposed broader and more sweeping national security legislation on the city in 2020.

Facing criticism by some Western governments and international rights groups, Hong Kong and Chinese officials said new laws were needed to bring stability after months of pro-democracy protests rocked the city in 2019.

Two other independent stores announced temporary closures on Wednesday as word spread of the arrests among readers and supporters who said the booksellers have become vital outlets for civil society by hosting book talks and workshops.

A loose network of stores seeks to offer a broader range of political and social titles than those found in mainstream stores, some of which are controlled by Chinese state-owned Sino United Publishing.

In January, Mr. Pong pleaded not guilty to three charges of operating an unregistered school after he held a Spanish class at the bookstore last year. The case is ongoing.

On Instagram last year, Book Punch said it had canceled several activities due to anonymous complaints.

Another independent shop, Hunter Bookstore, said earlier that it faced regular visits and checks by various government departments as well as tax probes.

Mount Zero, an independent bookstore in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island, closed in 2024, citing visits by authorities after a string of anonymous complaints on its social media.

In a further crackdown on dissent, the city’s government on Monday gazetted new amendments to the implementation rules to the Beijing-imposed law, which would allow customs officers to seize items that are deemed to have “seditious intention”.

The moves also mean police with warrants from a magistrate can now demand that people suspected of breaching the national security law provide phone or computer passwords or face jail and a fine.

Hunter Bookstore on Instagram said it would remain open but it urged the government to maintain an updated public list of publications that are deemed to be seditious.

“Books and publishing are not just independent businesses, it is the cultural foundation of the entire society,” it said. — Reuters

BLACKROCK CEO Larry Fink said oil prices could reach $150 a barrel and cause a “global recession” if Iran “remains a threat” even after the war ends.

“If there is a cessation of war, and yet Iran remains a threat, a threat to trade, a threat to the Strait of Hormuz, a threat to this peaceful coexistence of the GCC region, then I would argue that we could have years of above $100 closer to $150 oil which has profound implications in the economy,” Mr. Fink told BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast published on Wednesday.

“We will have global recession,” he said, when asked if oil stays at $150 a barrel.

Oil prices have remained volatile and risen sharply since the US-Israeli war on Iran began. However, prices sank about 4% on Wednesday after reports the US had sent Iran a 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war, raising prospects of a ceasefire.

The war has all but halted shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s gas and crude supply, causing what the International Energy Agency has called the biggest-ever oil supply disruption. — Reuters

TAIPEI — Taiwan fears China will exploit the distraction of the United States by its war in the Middle East, with state media citing examples from the conflict to cast doubt on the efficiency of US weapons the island would use to repel any invasion.

One of the world’s biggest potential flashpoints, democratically governed Taiwan faces growing military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory, around which Beijing held its latest war games in December.

Taiwan officials say Beijing’s resumption, since March 14 and 15, of large-scale air force incursions near Taiwan after an unusual drop-off, show China wants to take advantage of US forces redeploying from East Asia to bolster the war effort.

“This is a moment for China to exercise influence,” said a senior Taiwan security official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

“What China is trying to create is a sense that when the US shifts forces away and Indo-Pacific strength is redirected to the Middle East, tension and instability should be manufactured.”

Neither China’s Taiwan Affairs Office nor its defenSe ministry responded to Reuters requests for comment.

Taiwan’s defense ministry cited comments this month by DefenSe Minister Wellington Koo that China’s “intention to annex us by force has always existed”.

BALANCED US MILITARY DEPLOYMENT ACROSS REGIONS
Deployment of US military resources across regions has always been balanced, so the move was unlikely to create a gap for China to attack, the Taiwan source added.

In Washington, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters the US military’s capacity to handle simultaneous global threats remains “formidable”, adding that the US is committed to preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

A long war would deplete US stocks of weapons, divert attention from the Asia-Pacific and fuel domestic anti-war sentiment, said Chang Kuo-cheng, a professor of international relations at Taipei Medical University.

“All these factors may lead Xi Jinping to believe that, in exerting greater pressure on Taiwan or even using force against Taiwan, his position would be stronger than before this war began.”

The longer the war lasts, the more lessons it offers for China on US military thinking and response scenarios for a possible Chinese move on Taiwan, he added.

US allies in Asia have also warned the Iran war could sap defenSes against China.

‘COGNITIVE WARFARE’
Taipei is wary of Beijing using the Middle East war in its “cognitive warfare” propaganda against Taiwan, such as AI-generated online videos after the conflict that claimed it faced a “devastating” energy supply crisis, the government said this month in an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

“They want people to think that one day, when Taiwan is again encircled by the Chinese military, the public will lose confidence in energy issues,” another Taiwan security official said.

On Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office touted improved infrastructure as a benefit of “reunification”, with an offer of a “rapid transit link” including a Beijing-Taipei expressway.

That followed a Chinese offer of energy security if the island agreed to be ruled by Beijing, dismissed last week by Deputy Economy Minister Ho Chin-tsang as more cognitive warfare.

Chinese state media view the Iran war as having implications for future conflict with Taiwan, its weapons mainly supplied by the United States, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.

Taiwan’s radar stations could share the fate of similar US equipment reported destroyed in Iranian attacks, said Liu Kuangyu, a researcher at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of government think-tank the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Taiwan’s radars would be “instantly reduced to scrap metal” in “saturation attacks” by the People’s Liberation Army, Liu said in remarks last week to the Riyue Tantian website run by the China Media Group parent of state television.

But the United States has not confirmed such attacks by Iran.

The military channel of China’s state broadcaster has played up the supposed poor performance of some US weaponry, citing a fire on the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier as an example.

“From the outbreak of the war up to now, the real combat performance of US weapons and equipment has differed markedly from the image widely perceived by the outside world,” it said on its WeChat account on March 16.

‘GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE US MILITARY OPERATIONS’
The war affords China a great opportunity to observe US military operations, especially high-end military assets such as the F-35 fighter jet, said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

“They’re also going to be collecting (data) on how well our air and missile defense systems work and how we employ them,” Mr. Harrison said.

Taiwan, which has proposed extra defense spending of $40 billion, is also keenly watching the prospects for a summit of US and Chinese leaders in Beijing, now postponed from early April.

The government expected the talks would cover Taiwan, but had no way to influence them, said Shen Yu-chung, a deputy minister at Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, responsible for policy towards China.

“However, we must … present a clear and consistent message to the outside world, that we are determined to rely on our own national defense to safeguard our sovereignty,” he said. — Reuters

WIN ZAW is among five of a Myanmar family who fan out on motorcycles most nights from their small village in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta to queue at fuel depots that might yield a few jerry cans of diesel for his tractor.

“Some even sleep there overnight,” said the farmer, adding that lines of buyers on motorcycles and tractors formed as early as 3 a.m. “This is a total waste of manpower and time.”

Myanmar’s economy, battered by five years of civil war since a military coup in 2021, is reeling under a fresh blow from the Iran conflict, which has driven up global oil prices and made domestic supplies scarce.

The pump price of diesel in Myanmar stood at 3,800 kyat ($1.80) per liter by mid-March, up from 2,450 kyat ($1.16) in February.

Scarcity has forced farmers such as Moe Win to turn to the black market, despite an exorbitant rate of about 12,000 kyat ($5.71) a liter. But one that he is willing to pay to save his paddy crop.

“Occasionally, after queuing in town for two days, we’ve had instances where we could only buy five or six liters,” said the delta farmer.

“But if we don’t harvest the paddy in time, the crops will be destroyed, so we have to bear any cost.”

A spokesman for Myanmar’s ruling junta did not respond to telephone calls to seek comment, although its chief Min Aung Hlaing told a meeting this week it was working to resolve the fuel shortage problems, state media said on Wednesday.

WORLD’S FIFTH HUNGRIEST COUNTRY
Myanmar is the world’s fifth hungriest country, where 12.4 million, or a quarter of the population, struggle to find food, the United Nations’ World Food Programme says.

“Rising fertilizer costs and restricted fuel access for machinery threaten the upcoming cultivation season,” Michael Dunford, its Myanmar director, told Reuters. “Production costs are expected to double if instability continues.”

Farmers are preparing for the major monsoon paddy season after harvesting dry-season crops, he added.

Over the last three years, Iran has become Myanmar’s primary supplier of the urea used in fertilizer, with annual imports ranging between 400,000 tons and 600,000 tons, some of which the junta also uses to make explosives, Reuters has reported.

This month the WFP warned that global hunger levels could surge to an all-time record, pushing a further 45 million people into acute hunger, as US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28 drive up costs of food, fuel and shipping.

In Myanmar, an immediate intervention is necessary to avert the almost certain risk of a drop in output and significant post-harvest losses, said Maximo Torero, the chief economist of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

“A poor harvest would reduce supply, driving prices even higher and putting basic staples out of reach for millions who have lost their jobs and livelihoods.”

‘WAGING A WAR FOR FUEL’
Anticipating a fuel shortage soon after the war broke out, Myanmar’s junta launched a sweeping rationing system for private vehicles early in March, featuring QR codes to deter multiple daily refills.

But the measure has led to massive congestion at gas stations, so that, despite hours of queuing, some get only a fraction of their needs.

Domestic airlines running low on jet fuel, large quantities of which Myanmar imported from Iran, have suspended routes and adopted strict limits on baggage, with ticket prices tripling on sectors still operational.

Myanmar depends on regional processing hubs of Middle East crude, such as Singapore and Malaysia, for the diesel imports crucial for its struggling economy and farm sector.

To reduce consumption, the junta has ordered state employees to work from home every Wednesday, while saying on Monday that a stockpile sufficient for 50 days of supply remains.

Still, three farmers in towns and villages across the nation said they were struggling to buy fuel ahead of a critical harvest window.

After relying on machinery for so long, it was impossible to immediately turn back to farm animals, they told Reuters.

“Nowadays, we are practically waging a war just to get some fuel,” added the Irrawaddy delta’s Win Zaw. — Reuters