China

Just as the row over tariffs with the US and the EU intensifies, China is preparing to lift the last retaliatory measure still in place against Australia, Australian Prime Minister Albanese announced. In two years in office, the Australian leader has mended ties, keeping trade with China distinct from geopolitical issues.

Fighters of the Belucistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack in which three people died, two of whom were Chinese citizens. Yesterday, the government also banned a Pashtun organisation, an ethnic group, like the Beluchis, marginalised and abused by the army because of its proximity to the Taliban. There are growing protests from those calling for the release of former premier Imran Khan.

With space exploration needing more coordination among multiple partners, imposing one's own time in outer space is the goal of both Washington and Beijing. For the White House, the Artemis Accords are “the basis of US leadership in space." The Asian superpower aims to establish time zones and lunar Internet by 2028.

In a letter, Beijing called upon Kuala Lumpur to stop oil and gas activities in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, which China challenges. In addition to the Philippines and Vietnam, tensions are bound to rise with Malaysia as well, with Chinese coast guard vessels permanently patrolling the Luconia Shoals.

In villages still dominated by householders, women who marry an ‘outsider’ lose access to local services and compensation for expropriated collective land. With increasing levels of education and greater social connections, more and more of them are taking these kinds of disputes to court. But the road to their protection remains an uphill one.

A copy of the report (never officially released in full) was sent to an NGO confirming the unreliability of an audit conducted last December exonerating Volkswagen from charges of the exploiting Uyghurs. For China Brief , “Volkswagen used an inexperienced and little-known PRC law firm” and “failed to assess the compliance” with real conditions.

A conference in the hometown of the friar martyred in India in 1321 while he was on his way to Beijing focused on the contribution to evangelisation of the Franciscan spiritualist current linked to the theology of Joachim of Fiore. For Father Criveller, these movements “were the most attentive to missionary openings because they believed that history is guided by God” and “had anticipated what the magisterium and theologians teach today”.

For the first time, guidelines are drafted to provide industry-specific rules for companies and content creators. Videos must contain an "explicit" label. Experts foresee difficulties in application.

Priests from Fujian travelled to the province of repressions against the Uyghurs to ‘educate the patriotic spirit’ and ‘grow in the path of Sinicisation’. They were led by Bishop Vincenzo Zhan Silu, one of the two Chinese bishops who will participate in the Synod. Tourism promoted as the Party's preferred path to cover up the detention of figures like Ilham Tothi and other human rights violations.

A petition filed by 37 death row inmates was rejected, but with a call to apply it only in ‘exceptional’ cases. The last execution dates back to 2020. Criticism from the Kuomintang, which calls the judges' verdict a “de facto abolition”. Amnesty International Taiwan speaks of a ‘step forward’ and asks the government to declare an official moratorium.

A ban was imposed a year ago when Japan began to release Fukushima's waters. After months of negotiations, a deal was reached on monitoring, in addition to that by the IAEA (while no one can monitor the discharges of Chinese nuclear power plants). The turning point comes in the aftermath of a deadly attack against a 10-year-old Japanese boy in Shenzhen, tragic proof of the danger posed by anti-Japanese nationalist propaganda.

Sultan Ibrahim arrived in Beijing to mark 50 years of bilateral relations. Kuala Lumpur is looking to Chinese investments to build connectivity with neighbouring Singapore. Malaysian oil exploration in the South China Sea is a bone of contention between the two countries.