China

In Wuhan, a call for teachers to turn up at dawn to inspect vegetables for school canteens sparked a protest. But among the non-teaching tasks assigned to teachers is also the requirement to ‘like’ posts from public accounts on social media. Meanwhile, an increasing number of schools are turning to the ready-meal market, which the Party has identified as one of the key sectors to be promoted in the economy.

Pope Leo XIV yesterday spoke about the great Italian patron saint of migrants, who dreamt of going on a mission to the East like Saint Francis Xavier. After her death, her fellow sisters fulfilled this dream in Zhejiang and Henan until its forced closure under Mao. Nevertheless, it still continues through the Scalabrinian family who chose her as their patron in Asia.

With the People's Republic of China missing from the tournament for 24 years, the "card master" has become a celebrity among fans. He is the only Chinese tasked with refereeing a World Cup match, but also an ambassador for giants like Lenovo and Hinsense. Tomorrow evening, he will referee the Ecuador-Curaçao match, with two Chinese assistants.

In a speech to the foreign press, the Taiwanese leader hailed 30 years of democracy on the island, starting with the 1996 elections. He urged the US to unfreeze the US$ 14 billion arms sale, which has already been approved by Congress. Opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, just back from a visit to the United States, said that Trump’s position on his return from Beijing is “fairly consistent” with that of her party.

While Leo XIV raises the question of freedom in the age of data science, China's National Religious Affairs Administration publishes an article about a new computing centre at Southeast University tasked with using generative artificial intelligence to uncover (and ban) any ideas that diverge from what the Party wants religions to say.

The Middle Corridor is reshaping the region’s geopolitical landscape, offering participating countries a historic opportunity to free themselves once and for all from their role as ‘transit appendages’ to Moscow and become independent players.

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed his Myanmar counterpart, Min Aung Hlaing, to whom he has reiterated China’s support. The visit coincides with the recent arrest of a leading scholar of China-Myanmar relations and the release by an ethnic militia of 200 POWs captured during fighting along the border.

Since the start of the year, a special pastoral team set up by Cardinal Chow has been active, dedicated to ministering to the thousands of Mandarin-speaking people who have arrived in the city in recent years. The team leader, Fr Bruno Lepeu, told the Sunday Examiner: “Friendship and care rooted in God’s love”. Of particular significance are the initiatives for young cross-border students and the parents of children attending Catholic schools.

Once classified by the Communist Party as “spiritual pollution”, this genre now generates billions of yuan in revenue and has become part of the state's cultural promotion strategy, within a clear geopolitical vision. "The Wandering Earth" and "The Three-Body Problem" are the most striking examples of Netflix phenomena. But in the background, tensions have also emerged between artistic forms and the new computing power deployed by propaganda.

The two-day visit came after the reopening of rail and air links between the two countries, interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. China remains North Korea's main economic partner, but now faces Russia’s competition, strengthened by agreements tied to the war in Ukraine. Unlike 2019, the Chinese leader no longer made any reference to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

After years of growth, the number of 18-year-olds taking next Sunday’s National College Entrance Examination is down by more than 3 per cent this year, a sign that an academic education is no longer seen as key to good employment opportunities, even in China. Meanwhile, enrolment in vocational schools is up, encouraged by the government.

The People's Republic of China has announced new regulations targeting Chinese investors who use foreign brokers to operate outside the country. In the name of “national security”, the government will be able to impose changes, order the sale of stakes, and even unwind completed investments. The new rules follow the controversial sale of startup Manus to Meta. They also limit cooperation with foreign legal authorities.