China

According to a report by HRW, China has imposed stricter travel restrictions on members of the Muslim minority, who can travel only to a limited number of countries. Contact and interaction with activists abroad is prohibited. To obtain an exit visa, it is necessary to provide a “guarantor” or family members are held “hostage” to ensure one’s return.

Best known for kung fu, the monks are the custodians of Zen Buddhism in China. The meeting with the pontiff comes a few days after their temple in Henan held a world conference on meditation and its contribution to peace and the development of relations between peoples.

The complex is located about 30 km south-west of the capital and covers at least 1,500 acres (600 hectares). According to US intelligence sources, once completed, it will be the largest in the world. The area is tightly guarded, with a ban on drones and photos. It is said to contain bombproof bunkers for Xi Jinping in the event of a (nuclear) war.

The explosion of "cheap" alternative to ChatGPT is the result of China’s bet on internal competition among large companies and startups to develop the most advanced AI systems. A stinging defeat in a Go tournament is having a greater impact than US sanctions on the advanced microchip exports to China.

The priest died at the age of 75 from health complications. In 2020, he suffered a stroke while preparing for a Senate hearing as part of the fight against the US$ 244-million China-funded Kaliwa Dam project to supply water to the capital, which puts at risk Indigenous people in Dumagat-Remontados.

During the festivities, local authorities predicted a 9.5% increase in flows in and out of the country compared to 2024. Airlines have increased flights, and the fourth runway at Guangzhou airport has been inaugurated. On the domestic tourism front, 9 billion rail journeys are expected.

In Fujian, the auxiliary bishop who quit in 2020 over joining government-controlled bodies, celebrated the anniversary of his priestly ordination under residential segregation. Videos sent to AsiaNews by local sources show him meeting the faithful and administering communion through the bars of a gate while the chapel at his residence is sealed.

The Pime missionary has been on a 24-hour sit-in in front of the government's central offices since yesterday to remember the at least one thousand young people who are still in prison due to the repression of pro-democracy movements. ‘With an amnesty they could restore credibility to this city’. The memory of Siu Ka Chun, one of the leaders of the 2014 ‘umbrella movement’ and later an activist for prisoners' rights, who died in recent days of cancer.

Analyst Syroežkin - freed from prison after being convicted in 2019 of ‘treason’ - analysed the state of Kazakhstan's relations with China in a television interview: ‘The president is one of the few Kazakhs who can understand Chinese policy: he tries to pursue an effective balance with Moscow. But his promises about a new and just country still remain limp’.

Despite a 14.8 per cent rise over the previous 12 months, last year’s figures remain far from the record six billion domestic travellers reached before the pandemic. With upgraded transport infrastructure, more Chinese can discover new sites. The boom in Xinjiang is politically designed to promote sinicisation.

The Russians have been the most decisive in responding to Trump's advances on Greenland, proving that the Arctic is a strategic interest. As of 2019, Moscow has expanded its coastal zones in the direction of the North Pole and is targeting the northern maritime corridor for trade with China. And it may seek a division of the pie with the tycoon's America.

Rev Anthony Ji Weizhong, 51, took office today as head of a diocese with a new name and canonical boundaries, replacing lieu Fenyang, which had been established by Pius XII. Pope Francis approved the appointment on 28 October. Fujian is also in the news this week.