East Asia

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.

Over the years, Japan has built a figure skating tradition capable of producing champions much loved at home. These successes are rooted in rigorous training and early selection. Since the 1990s, the Japan Skating Federation has built a national team that teaches athletes how to cope with pressure from a young age.

The mass exodus for the holidays that bring Chinese families together is already underway. This year, a record 9.5 billion passenger trips are expected, 540 million by rail. With tickets hard to come by on the busiest routes on key days, the authorities are trying to stem the proliferation of travel agencies that exploit the imbalance between supply and demand.

In all the reports from Beijing's official media on the 20-year prison sentence handed down on 9 February to the Hong Kong entrepreneur, a public interview from 2019 is deliberately misrepresented. To justify the harsh sentence with words that the founder of Apple Daily never said. Instead, they are silent about what he said that day about the link between his Christian faith and the struggle for freedom and justice.

After five years, the landmark trial under the national security law ended. The founder of Apple Daily was charged with conspiracy and sedition. Chief Executive Lee praised the “severe” sentence that brings “relief to all”. Cardinal Zen was in the courtroom with Lay’s wife. Eight other defendants were also sentenced. Attention now turns to the trials of Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho.

With yesterday's landslide victory, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be able to advance her electoral platform, potentially opening the door to constitutional reform. The prime minister has also proposed cutting consumption taxes and boosting the defence forces. Analysts believe that tensions with China in recent months had an impact on results.

On 8 February, Japan will see a snap election for the lower house of parliament, called by the prime minister to capitalise on her popularity. The minimum target (well within reach according to the polls) is 261 seats for the coalition, which would allow it to govern with greater ease. However, the Liberal Democratic Party's individual results will also carry a lot of weight. Takaichi is counting on young people returning to the polls. The unknown factor of the far right Sanseito

Despite the tariff war in 2025, China broke through the $1 trillion mark in its trade surplus, 45% of which is now generated in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. However, this wealth is not driving domestic consumption, because the fall in producer prices in the name of competitiveness is also squeezing wages and incomes. This is an issue that the new five-year plan due in March does not seem likely to address.

At the Winter Olympics that open tomorrow, the Chinese team arrives with a record delegation and the desire to confirm its status as a new power in winter sports, earned in 2022 at Xi Jinping's Games. Among athletes, women outnumber men. The growing popularity of winter sports is also used as a model for the sinicisation of minorities.

A well-known reporter from Chengdu has been deprived of his freedom along with one of his colleagues for reporting on Chinese social media about the abuse of power by a local Communist Party official that led to a professor's suicide. Meanwhile, in Beijing, the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party is touting the ‘fight against corruption’ to justify the purges.

In some counties, local residents are organising campaigns to apply to host new nuclear reactors in an attempt to cope with economic and demographic decline. In return, municipalities receive subsidies and funds for infrastructure development. However, some associations fear that the concentration of power plants will increase the risk of accidents.