Briefly: Signs hint Beijing shifting on Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG

Signs hint Beijing shifting on Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG | Just days before Hong Kong’s elite choose the southern Chinese financial hub’s next leader, there are signs that Beijing wants to dump its first choice for the winner as it tries to keep pace with public opinion.

On Sunday, a 1,193-person committee will vote on the semiautonomous region’s next chief executive, while the rest of Hong Kong’s 7.1 million residents have no vote. The committee is made up of business leaders and other elites, most of whom are expected to vote according to Beijing’s wishes.

The man seen early on as Beijing’s preferred candidate, Henry Tang, is a former financial secretary who is deeply unpopular because of a series of gaffes.

There have been hints this week that China’s leaders are switching their backing to his rival, Leung Chun-ying, a former Cabinet member.

A top Communist Party figure recently met with Tang supporters to persuade them to switch sides, and other pro-Beijing officials reportedly are working behind the scenes to do the same.

It’s a signal that Beijing thinks it’s important to be on the right side of public opinion even in a race it controls.

INDIA

Car blast kills 1, wounds 20 in Kashmir

SRINAGAR | A bomb exploded Thursday in a car outside the main city of Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing the driver and wounding at least 20 others in what police said may have been an accident involving suspected rebels.

Authorities think a rebel was transporting the bomb when it went off accidentally in Bijbehara town, about 28 miles south of Srinagar, police officer Ramesh Jalla said.

The driver was killed in the blast, which occurred on a busy road. At least 20 others who had been passing by were wounded, including seven who were taken to a special hospital in Srinagar for treatment of multiple injuries.

One victim was in critical condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

VIETNAM

Vietnam, China in new spat over fishermen’s detentions

HANOI | China said Thursday that the detention of two Vietnamese fishing boats and 21 crew members near the disputed Paracel Islands was lawful, after Hanoi demanded their “immediate and unconditional” release.

Hanoi has said the March 3 arrests “seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty” and that China must stop its “hindrance of Vietnamese fishermen.”

Beijing maintained that it holds “indisputable sovereignty” over the islands in the South China Sea.

“The actions of the Vietnamese fishing boats violated China’s sovereignty and maritime rights. The actions taken by Chinese authorities were valid law enforcement actions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

Mr. Hong further urged Hanoi to “manage and educate” its fishermen and end “illegal poaching” in Chinese waters.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi demanded Wednesday the “immediate and unconditional release of the fishermen” and said Hanoi would not pay a $11,000 fee that he said China had requested.

From wire dispatches and staff reports