International labour organisations

SYDNEY: Australia has named China in a court document as the foreign state under investigation by police in its first foreign interference investigation, though Beijing dismissed the allegation as an anti-China smear. Ties between Australia and its biggest trading partner have been plagued over recent years by Australian complaints of Chinese interference in its politics. China has consistently denied the accusations. A document lodged in the High Court on Sep 1 by the Australian Government Solicitor is the first official acknowledgement that the investigation into an alleged plot to influence an Australian politician centred on China. READ: Australia faces down China in high-stakes strategy The Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation have declined to comment on whether a raid on the offices of a New South Wales state politician and his staffer on Jun 26 was related to China. But the court filing stated the search warrant used … [Read more...] about Australian government lawyer names China in interference investigation

BEIJING: Beijing on Wednesday (Sep 23) hit back at a US move to ban imports from China's northwestern Xinjiang region over claims of forced labour, bemoaning a "fabricated lie" it says is intended to hurt Chinese business. The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday in favour of the ban over claims of systematic forced labour in Xinjiang, where activists say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking people have been incarcerated in camps. READ: US House votes to ban Xinjiang imports over forced labour Beijing reacted angrily over the move, saying that it was "maliciously slandering the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang". "China expresses strong indignation and firm opposition, and had already made stern representations to the US," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a regular press briefing. "Xinjiang affairs are purely China's internal affairs. The US had no right to interfere. The so-called forced labour … [Read more...] about China makes ‘stern representations’ to US over move to ban Xinjiang imports

SINGAPORE: Polytechnic graduate Andrew Lee was initially sceptical when he was offered a government-backed traineeship with a logistics firm in June. With the Government co-funding 80 per cent of his training allowance, and the company footing the remainder of the bill, he was afraid that the firm might have hired him out of convenience. “Even if you’re not very well-versed in what you’re doing, (the company) wouldn’t mind because they don’t pay much, so that’s my concern,” the 24-year-old said. However, almost two months into his year-long stint, his fears have proven unfounded, by his own admission. The firm has been guiding him closely and helping him learn new skills, and it also intends to convert him to a full-timer should he continue to perform well, he said. Applications for the inaugural SGUnited Traineeships Programme started on Jun 1. As of Aug 17, over 2,100 host organisations across both public and private sectors have been approved to offer more than 16,500 … [Read more...] about The Big Read: Overcoming their scepticism, jobseekers find ray of hope in traineeships amid gloomy job market