A woman who became a symbol for the groundswell of opposition to China’s labour camp system scored a rare victory in an appeal for compensation in a case that generated a huge public outcry.

A Chinese court today rejected artist Ai Weiwei’s lawsuit over a 15 million yuan (€1.9m) fine imposed on his company for tax evasion.

Taiwan and China reached agreement today on temporarily lifting the island’s five-decade ban on direct flights between the two rivals during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.