Top Asian News 10:52 p.m. GMT

Secret documents reveal how China mass detention camps work

The watch towers, double-locked doors and video surveillance in the Chinese camps are there “to prevent escapes.” Uighurs and other minorities held inside are scored on how well they speak the dominant Mandarin language and follow strict rules on everything down to bathing and using the toilet, scores that determine if they can leave. “Manner education” is mandatory, but “vocational skills improvement” is offered only after a year in the camps. Voluntary job training is the reason the Chinese government has given for detaining more than a million ethnic minorities, most of them Muslims. But a classified blueprint leaked to a consortium of news organizations shows the camps are instead precisely what former detainees have described: Forced ideological and behavioral re-education centers run in secret.

Hong Kong leader vows to ‘seriously reflect’ on election

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she would “seriously reflect” on a stunning landslide victory by pro-democracy candidates in the city’s local election that was a clear rebuke of how she has handled violent protests that divided the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Pro-democracy candidates swept nearly 90% of 452 district council seats, which will help it take unprecedented control of 17 out of 18 district councils, said Wu Chi-wai, head of the biggest pro-democracy bloc. Sunday’s results could force the central government in Beijing to rethink how to handle the unrest, which is now in its sixth month.

Analysis: Hong Kong election shows desire for change

HONG KONG (AP) — The people of Hong Kong have said in no uncertain terms that they want change. The question is whether they will get it — or a return to the violent protests that have plagued the city for nearly six months. Voters came as close as they can, in what is a semi-autonomous Chinese territory, to voting out the government. They can’t directly select the city’s leader and elect only half the legislature. So they turned out in record numbers Sunday for the only fully democratic elections in town, kicking out the pro-government and pro-Beijing forces that dominated the city’s 18 district councils.

Pope in Japan voices concern over nuke power, meets victims

TOKYO (AP) — Pope Francis voiced concern about nuclear power Monday after meeting with victims of Japan’s 2011 nuclear disaster, saying the development of future energy sources must take environmental considerations into account. Francis didn’t explicitly back a ban on nuclear energy during his emotional encounter with victims. But he recalled that Japan’s Catholic bishops called for the abolition of nuclear power plants in the aftermath of the “triple disaster,” in which three reactors at a nuclear plant in Fukushima melted down after an earthquake triggered a tsunami. The meltdown coated the area in radioactive fallout and at one point forced the displacement of 160,000 people.

Japanese boxer formerly on death row attends pope’s Mass

TOKYO (AP) — A former Japanese professional boxer who spent 48 years in prison for murders he says he did not commit was among some 50,000 people greeting Pope Francis as he entered Tokyo Dome stadium to celebrate Mass on Monday. Iwao Hakamada, who converted to Catholicism during his decades on death row, was invited to the Mass and was there with his sister, organizers said. Hakamada, 83, was released from prison in 2014 because of new DNA evidence. He has become a symbol of a movement to oppose the death penalty in Japan. Francis decreed the death penalty “inadmissible” last year, in a change to the Catholic teachings called Catechism.

Migrant truck deaths suspect pleads guilty to lesser charges

LONDON (AP) — A truck driver charged with manslaughter over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found in the back of a vehicle he had allegedly been driving pleaded guilty Monday to lesser charges, as police made a new arrest in the case. Northern Irish trucker Maurice Robinson, who is accused of being part of an international people-smuggling ring, admitted plotting with others to assist illegal immigration and acquiring criminal property. Robinson, 25, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court by video link from prison. He wasn’t asked to enter pleas to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people, and he faces another court hearing Dec.

Rights group: Afghans jailed after exposing pedophile ring

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Amnesty International is calling on Afghanistan’s intelligence agency to release two Afghan activists who were detained after exposing an alleged pedophile ring. The London-based rights group released a statement Monday saying Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi were detained last week. They had been traveling to meet with the European Union ambassador in the capital, Kabul. Amnesty says Mahmudi and Hamidi discovered more than 100 videos of alleged abuse that took place in eastern Afghanistan’s Logar province. Amnesty says some of the alleged victims were killed. Afghan officials did not respond to requests for comment on the detentions.

Kim orders N. Korea artillery firing, drawing Seoul rebuke

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to practice firing artillery near a disputed sea boundary with rival South Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, drawing a quick rebuke from Seoul. It was the latest sign of impatience from Kim amid worries that nearly two years of U.S.-North Korean diplomacy will fall apart if Washington doesn't meet Pyongyang’s year-end deadline to offer a new initiative to settle their long-running standoff over the North's nuclear weapons program. The coastal artillery company's actions during Kim’s visit to the west coast’s Changrin Islet “fully showed their gun firing skills” and “delighted the supreme leader,” according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency.

Australia investigates China plot to plant spy in Parliament

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday that allegations of a Chinese plot to plant an agent into Australia’s Parliament are “deeply disturbing and troubling.” The Nine Network on Sunday aired explosive accusations that suspected Chinese operatives had offered Melbourne luxury car dealer Bo “Nick” Zhao 1 million Australian dollars ($679,000) to run as a candidate for a parliamentary seat in Melbourne. The 32-year-old was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in March after reportedly approaching ASIO, Australia’s counterespionage agency. Police have been unable to determine how he died. “The government has never been more determined to keep Australians free and safe from foreign interference,” Morrison told reporters.

Chinese woman sentenced to 8 months for Mar-a-Lago trespass

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Chinese businesswoman to eight months in prison for trespassing at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and lying to Secret Service agents. Judge Roy Altman also ordered that 33-year-old Yujing Zhang be turned over to immigration officials for deportation upon her release. Because she received nearly eight months’ credit for being jailed since her arrest March 30, she has about a week more to serve. Altman said trespassing on a government property, particularly one where the president is staying, is a "serious offense." Assistant U.S. Attorney Rolando Garcia argued for an 18-month sentence, saying Zhang "lied to everybody" to get into Mar-a-Lago, including Secret Service agents, the club's receptionist and even her taxi driver.