Independent 10,202 / Morph

PE<e>KING (=slyly looking; “to bin starter – i.e. first letter – of egg, means the letter “e” is dropped) + DUCK (=avoid, not confront, i.e. to duck a problem); Peking duck is served in Chinese (=entry at 5) restaurants

I (=independent) in *(CUT LOSS); “after reorganisation” is anagram indicator; oculists are eye specialists, hence “observer consultants”

LAW (=police, as in to be in trouble with the law) + N S (=directions, i.e. north and south)

CHI (=force, i.e. a person’s life-force in Chinese medicine) + HUA<wei> HUA<wei> (=Chinese tech firm: “50% reduction” means half of letters are dropped; “repeatedly” here means “twice”); a Chihuahua is a breed of dog, hence “that’s barking”!

Cryptically, growths such as carbuncles may be seen on a growth area!

Double definition; the Tang dynasty ruled China from 618-907 AD

INERT (=dead, lifeless); “end having been brought forward” means last letter – i.e. “t” – is moved to an earlier position in the word

E<arwa>X (“case of” means first and last letters only) + OTIC (=ear’s, i.e. pertaining to the ear) + A<ccumulate> (“beginning to” means first letter only)

[I (=island) in ANGUS (=Scotsman)] + H (=hotel)

Hidden (“stored in”) in “scientiFIC HEadquartes”

<playe>R (“back” means last letter only) in *(A LAP + TIMER); “running” is anagram indicator; the “match” of the definition is a marriage

VIOLA (=member of band) + *(INTO); “organised” is anagram indicator

IN (=ruling, in power) + KIN (=family)

R (=Republican) + *(RELATED); “distorted” is anagram indicator

CAN (=toilet) + NOT (NOT; “western” indicates reversal, i.e. turning to the left); Canton is the old name of the Chinese (=entry at 5) city of Guangzhou

WTO (=trade body, i.e. World Trade Organisation) in [KO (=defeat, i.e. knockout, in boxing) + WIN (=victory) + G (=government)]; “kowtowing” is a way of showing deference, originally in an old Chinese (=entry at 5) ceremony

*(LATE NOT SO I); “running” is anagram indicator

*(WHEN ALL ICE’S); “melted” is anagram indicator; a Chinese wall is a strict demarcation barrier between e.g. corporate finance and investment departments of a bank, to prevent conflicts of interest

<mai>L (“ultimately” means last letter only) + OUT (=unfashionable)

C<ruiser> (“port side” means letter on extreme left of word) in *(WASH); “swirling” is anagram indicator; schwa is the unstressed vowel sound ?, as in the word the when not emphasised; hence “sound of the“

Homophone with distortion owing to being drunk (“having had a few audibly”) of SANG (=belted out) HIGH (=at the top of one’s voice); to shanghai is to make drunk and send to sea as a sailor

CLAIRE (=woman); “ending up” means last letter moves to the top of the word

CON (=Tory, i.e. Conservative) + CERT (=safe bet) + IN (=elected, in parliament) + <theres>A (“end” means last letter only)

*(TIED IN) + KIT (=set of tools); “knots” is anagram indicator

HAN (=Chinese, entry at 5, i.e. one of a native Chinese people) + DOVER (=port)

H (=hospital) + <c>ARRIER (=porter; “doffing cap” means first letter is “taken off”); a harrier is a cross-country runner

FU (=e.g. Manchu, the fictional villain) + MING (=dynasty, in China)

PLA (ALP=mountain; “climbing” indicates vertical reversal) + NON (=not central European, the French word for no)

Homophone (“sound produced by”) of “cord (=string)”; a chord is a simultaneous combination of notes produced by different strings