According to popular tradition in China, the year of the two opposing fire elements heralds great social upheavals. The last time this occurred was in 1966, the start of the Cultural Revolution. Two incidents during the New Year period, the sudden interruption of the Henan TV Gala and the messages about the "Red Moon" during the Lantern Festival, confirm how deeply rooted the idea of a connection between heaven and earth remains in times of intense social pressure.
Iran is blocking with missiles and mines the strait through which 20 per cent of global crude oil transits. After China, India and Bangladesh are trying to get Iran’s approval for their ships to avert a crisis. According to EIA data, up to 82 per cent of oil going through Hormuz reach Asian markets. Starting 16 March, Tokyo intends to release part of its oil reserves on its own.
Approved today by the National People's Congress, the legislation turns the president's views on the "sinicisation" of the 56 officially recognised groups into law. Han identity is defined as the "trunk”, while other cultures are compared to "branches and leaves." Putonghua, standard Chinese, will be taught starting in preschool. Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongolians fear that their identity will be further repressed.
Presented as a "tax measure”, the requirement further tightens digital surveillance in a country torn by civil war for more than five years following a military coup. By tracking devices, the regime is not only repressing dissent, but also undermining people’s daily survival thanks to high-tech tools made available by Chinese firms.
Behind the lowest GDP target since 1991 lies the recognition that the growth model on which China built its rise has lost most of its momentum. Technology is replacing real estate as the driving sector. Behind the new Five-Year Plan lies a geopolitical map, with military spending still growing by 7 per cent. Xi Jinping's purges have left many empty seats among the delegates.
No statement has come from Xi Jinping yet, while the condemnation of the attack on Iran has been entrusted to Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who spoke today with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar. The evacuation of Chinese citizens from Tehran has been completed, with 200 choosing to stay. Trump's trip to China (31 March-2 April) is still on the agenda, for now, matching the "four weeks" the US leader gave yesterday as the timeframe for war.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Despite the tariff war in 2025, China broke through the 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.
Prescribed by doctors for anxiety disorders, the drug use is raising questions among doctors due to its increasing abuse. Advertised in forums and private chats, it is presented as a "safer" alternative to other, more controlled, substances. The problem of limited responses to young people's psychological distress is compounded by the stigma that still discourages many of them from seeking help.
A complex system of corruption disguised as educational trips and remedial courses that never took place has come to light after complaints from the families of some students at the Technology and Business College. Faced with the nationwide outcry over the case, local authorities are shifting the blame. There are currently around 800 private universities operating in the country, with popularity levels now on a par with public universities.
Established by Pope Gregory XIII on 23 January 1576, it was the first in East Asia in the modern era and played a key role in the region’s evangelisation. St. Joseph's Seminary Church has been designated as a place of pilgrimage due to a special indulgence granted by the pope for this occasion. “Let the memory of the past become a compass for” today’s mission, writes Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang.
Three issues dominated online discussions in China at the end of last year, as do discussions about the crises in Venezuela and Iran today, reflecting an awakening in Chinese public opinion and a renewed thirst for the truth, beyond government propaganda about phoney prosperity.
The agreement, the result of lengthy negotiations with the Trump administration, has been announced. Taiwan will receive the same treatment as Japan, South Korea and the European Union, but its companies are committed to building plants in the United States: TSMC is expected to open at least five factories. Beijing: ‘Taipei is like a turtle in a jar to us.’
Construction has been completed on a 145,000-square-metre area in the Yizhuang District. The goal is to create a full-industrial chain that includes launch vehicles, satellite production, new materials, and space technology applications, making the race for the commercial exploitation of aerospace a new strategic sector for China’s economy.
An app that suddenly shot to the top of the download charts has lifted the veil on the anxiety of many Chinese people, not just the elderly, who find themselves living alone in large cities. If no one responds within 48 hours, their smartphone sends a notification to a contact. By 2030, China will have 200 million single-person households.
The South Korean president's trip to China marked a significant diplomatic rapprochement between Seoul and Beijing after years of frostiness, but leaves fundamental strategic issues unresolved. Despite attempts to engage on the Pyongyang dossier, the Chinese government avoids any reference to denuclearisation. Economic agreements signed by Korean conglomerates on rare earths and strategic minerals
On Tuesday, the authorities began cracking down on the leaders of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, an underground Evangelical community founded by Rev Wang Yi, who has been in prison since 2018. In October, the Zion Church suffered the same fate.
This strategic move is designed to counter China's dominance in the sector at a time of crisis in bilateral relations. The Chikyu drilling vessel is set to leave on Sunday for the Pacific island of Minami Torishima. Experts believe the seabed around it could contain the world's third-largest deposit.
