Top Asian News 12:17 a.m. GMT

Hong Kong's Tiananmen museum shuts down amid investigation

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong museum commemorating China's deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests closed Wednesday three days after opening as the ruling Communist Party tries to stamp out the last traces of public discussion of the event. Hong Kong was the last place on Chinese soil where the party's attack on protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square was commemorated with candlelight vigils and other events. But authorities have banned public ceremonies for the second year amid a campaign by Beijing to crush pro-democracy activism in the territory. Organizers of the June 4 Museum said it closed after authorities investigated whether it had licenses to conduct public exhibitions.

AP PHOTOS: Hong Kong's June 4 candlelit vigil over the years

HONG KONG (AP) — For decades, Hong Kong has been one of just two cities in China allowed to mark the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. In 1989, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in the square calling for democracy, less censorship and greater freedom of speech. On June 4 that year, China’s military converged on the square with orders to clear it out, opening fire and arresting protesters. Estimates of the number of people killed range from hundreds to several thousand. China’s official verdict is that the largely peaceful protests aimed to topple the ruling Communist Party and plunge the country into chaos.

Yes. Tokyo Olympics are 'a go' despite opposition, pandemic

TOKYO (AP) — Will the postponed Tokyo Olympics open despite rising opposition and the pandemic? The answer is almost certainly “yes." Senior International Olympic Committee member Richard Pound was emphatic in an interview with a British newspaper. “Barring Armageddon that we can’t see or anticipate, these things are a go,” Pound told the Evening Standard. Tokyo is under a COVID-19 state of emergency, but IOC Vice President John Coates has said the games will open on July 23 — state of emergency, or no state of emergency. As an exclamation point, Australia’s softball team — the first major group of athletes from abroad to set up an Olympic base in Japan — arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Japan gives $800M to UN-backed COVID-19 vaccine program

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's prime minister announced Wednesday an additional $800 million contribution to the U.N.-backed initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries, a four-fold increase of Japanese funding for the COVAX program. The pledge by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga comes as his government attempts to accelerate vaccinations in Japan, one of the world’s least inoculated countries, only about 50 days before it hosts the Olympics amid a continuing surge in infections. He spoke as Japan co-sponsored a fundraising event for COVAX with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps run the program. The program managers are seeking about $2 billion more to reach a target of $8.3 billion for its effort to fund free vaccines for low- and middle-income countries around the world.

Environmental disaster feared as ship sinks off Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Salvage experts failed to tow a fire-stricken container ship carrying chemicals out to sea and it started to sink Wednesday off Sri Lanka's main port, raising fears of a marine environmental disaster, officials said. X-Press Feeders, operators of the container ship MV X-Press Pearl, said the experts were able to board the vessel and attach a tow line, but “efforts to move the ship to deeper waters have failed.” “The ship's aft portion is now touching bottom at a depth of 21 meters (70 feet),” while the forward area remains afloat with smoke coming out of two cargo holds, the company said in a statement.

US seeks freedom for 2 American journalists in Myanmar

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A U.S. State Department official called on Wednesday for the immediate release of two American journalists who were arrested by Myanmar's military junta. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the arrests of Danny Fenster and Nathan Maung were of deep concern, and urged that they be freed and allowed to return home to their families. “A free and independent media is indispensable to build prosperous, resilient and free societies. The detention of Daniel and Nathan, as well as arrests and use of violence by the Burmese military against other journalists, constitutes an unacceptable attack on the freedom of expression in Burma,” Sherman told journalists during a stop in Bangkok, referring to Myanmar by its former name.

Indonesia urges ASEAN to quickly appoint envoy for Myanmar

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s foreign minister on Wednesday urged the Association of Southeast Asia Nations to immediately appoint a special envoy on Myanmar in response to its military coup, and reiterated a call for the safety of civilians as the ruling junta cracks down on opposition. After holding talks with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in Jakarta, Retno Marsudi said Indonesia is continuing to communicate with the ASEAN chair and other member countries following their demand for an immediate end to killings and the release of political detainees in Myanmar. ASEAN leaders met in April in Jakarta with Myanmar's coup leader, Senior Gen.

China trade envoy, US Treasury secretary meet by video

BEIJING (AP) — China’s chief economic envoy and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held their first meeting by video Wednesday, but the two sides gave no indication when negotiations on ending their tariff war might resume. Vice Premier Liu He and Yellen discussed the economic situation, bilateral cooperation and other “issues of mutual concern,” the Commerce Ministry said. Yellen's department said she also discussed “frankly tackling issues of concern.” They gave no details. President Joe Biden, who took office in January, has yet to say how he will handle the conflict launched by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who raised tariffs on imports from China over complaints about its industrial policy and trade surplus.

Hundreds of lakes in U.S., Europe are losing oxygen

Oxygen levels have dropped in hundreds of lakes in the United States and Europe over the last four decades, a new study found. And the authors said declining oxygen could lead to increased fish kills, algal blooms and methane emissions. Researchers examined the temperature and dissolved oxygen — the amount of oxygen in the water — in nearly 400 lakes and found that declines were widespread. Their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found dissolved oxygen fell 5.5 % in surface waters of these lakes and 18.6% in deep waters. The authors said their findings suggest that warming temperatures and decreased water clarity from human activity are causing the oxygen decline.

China showcases Xinjiang's economy to fight rights criticism

BEIJING (AP) — China is showcasing economic development in its northwestern Xinjiang region to fight allegations of human rights abuses there. The region’s government organized an international Zoom call featuring numerous testimonials from Muslim ethnic minorities native to Xinjiang. More than 1 million people have been held in a vast system of prison-like detention centers as part of a drive for cultural and political assimilation that the U.S. and some other Western governments have described as genocide. China says the system is intended to deradicalize those influenced by jihadist ideology and teach job skills, and has fought accusations of human rights abuses by pointing to social stability and economic development in the vast region.