China

The holiday season ended with a 40 per cent decline, an eight-year low despite the all-time record of four million screenings. Many theatres were left empty, especially in smaller cities, due to high ticket prices, competition from short videos and online series, and a saturation of patriotic productions. Meanwhile in Japan, the country’s movie industry was experiencing an exceptional boom.

Just as Indian Prime Minister Modi was visiting Israel, a report from the Jewish People Policy Institute highlights the growing hostility toward Jews in the media and universities of the People's Republic of China. It criticises the Netanyahu government for its lack of a coherent, long-term political strategy vis-à-vis Beijing.

The Fujian Police Department has patented an artificial intelligence-based system that seeks to detect “potential mass incidents” at an early stage, based on cross-referencing data from acoustic sensors, surveillance cameras, and official reports. For the China Digital Project, this is the latest technological frontier of the "Fengqiao Experience”, the Maoist model for managing social order.

China has not allowed itself to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Trump's ambitions for Greenland. It is aware that in order to truly realise the “Arctic corridor”, it first needs to organise the logistics, identify viable routes and strengthen relations with Russia.

Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department is boosting Project PATH to monitor former activists after their release from prison. More than half of those arrested in the crackdown against the 2019 protest movement were under the age of 25. Ostensibly “voluntary”, the project is designed to dispel misleading images of the motherland. But as Agnes Chow explained two years ago after she was forced to visit Shenzhen, such visits are just another way of indoctrinating people.

Building a place of worship on Pag-asa (Spratly Islands) is expected to begin in late March. The vicar of Puerto Princesa and a Philippine official met yesterday to discuss the matter. The island’s small Catholic community includes civilians, members of the armed forces, coast guard personnel, navy personnel, and police. The area has long been in China's sights.

Long a thorn in Beijing's side, the broadcaster halted operations in October following cuts imposed by the Trump administration. CEO Bay Fang announced the news on social media, praising RFA's “critical work”. One of its first reports concerned labour exploitation of the children of prisoners in Xinjiang.

The skater who brought the Olympic title in women's singles figure skating back to the United States after 20 years is the daughter of a dissident who fled in 1989. In 2022, her family reported “attention” from Chinese agents before the Beijing Games. A story mirroring that of Eileen Gu, the freestyle star who grew up in a California family and chose the People's Republic of China.

After “lying flat” and cosplay, another trend is spreading among young Chinese, namely the rediscovery of doing things in a “slower” and “old-fashioned” way, as a reaction to the urge to chase after trendy products and the latest technological innovations. According to some sociologists, this countercurrent reflects a desire for interiority.

A Hangzhou court sentenced Zou Wei and Zan Aizong for meeting on the Qiantang River on 13 July 2024, the seventh anniversary of Liu’s death, to commemorate the intellectual, one of the promoters of Charter 08, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his nonviolent commitment to human rights. Despite his death, he continues to inspire fear among China’s rulers today.

Humanoids starred in China's most-watched TV show, bringing New Year's traditions into the digital world, thus showcasing the country’s technological advances. Billions-dollar investments and competition among digital giants are bringing the prospect of robots in factories and offices that much closer.

Geopolitical tensions have put the spotlight on China's large investments in global maritime hubs. Chinese companies hold majority stakes in 17 ports, while they hold minority stakes in most others or have operational management agreements. The cases of Piraeus (Greece) and Ream (Cambodia) are noteworthy. The lack of transparency regarding their conditions is well known.