During her visit to the People's Republic of China, seen as a sign of the pro-Beijing orientation of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang leader surprisingly paid homage to Sun Yat-sen at his mausoleum, praising his role in the development of the island's “national identity”, in an attempt to reconcile Taiwanese attitudes to Beijing’s outstretched hand.

The ‘Yesterday’ observatory monitored 50 such incidents in a single month. These are fragmented initiatives, most often linked to unpaid wages. They are also fuelled by the obstacles placed in the way of the petition system, with local officials paying teams of men to discourage the submission of complaints to the relevant office in Beijing, which would cast them in a bad light. A reality that the Party prefers to hide and ignore.

After testing the programme in some regions with a series of pilot projects, China is preparing to launch a form of universal plan specifically for long-term disability care. The mutual support will be funded by a 0.3 per cent contribution rate. This will help families in a country where people over 65 are expected to make up 20 per cent of the population by 2033.

The Philippines depends almost entirely on the Persian Gulf for its oil needs. Today's severe crisis is forcing Manila to seek an agreement with Beijing for relief on fuel and fertiliser supplies. Yet both countries are loggerheads over the sovereignty of an area of ​​the South China Sea rich in untapped oil and natural gas.

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.

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.

The Fujian Police Department has patented an artificial intelligence-based system that seeks to detect “potential mass incidents” at an early stage, based on cross-referencing data from acoustic sensors, surveillance cameras, and official reports. For the China Digital Project, this is the latest technological frontier of the "Fengqiao Experience”, the Maoist model for managing social order.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan, lawyer Chow Hang-tung, and former Legislative Council member Albert Ho, who have been in prison for more than four years, appeared in court this morning for the first hearing of one of the trials symbolizing the battle for democracy in Hong Kong. Accused of subversion, they face up to 10 years in prison. The prosecution: “There are no legitimate means to demand an end to the Communist Party's leadership in China.”

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.

The 'Yesterday’ project, which reports from abroad on protests in China, selected the 10 most significant collective initiatives of the past year, offering a snapshot of activism in China. It features “unsung heroes” who together defend the rights of workers, parents, students, and small businesses, often challenging the agents of repression.

In just 40 years since joining UNESCO, the People's Republic already ranks first in terms of the number of “intangible cultural heritage” sites, with 60 recognised sites. Hundreds of new museums open every year across the country, and in 2024 alone, 179,000 new operators were hired. Chinese “confidence in culture” is a cornerstone of Xi Jinping's soft power. And with the United States' withdrawal from UNESCO, its influence on global cultural policies is set to grow even further.

In recent years, Beijing has moved from mass production of generic drugs to investing in advanced biomedical research. Thanks to a growth model very similar to that adopted for electric cars, it now controls 80% of global active ingredients. The Fentanyl case has shown the importance of this card, described as a “nuclear option” in trade wars. But China still needs the West to hold its own in this market.

The devastating fire that destroyed much of a public housing complex in Tai Po has exposed the fragility of Hong Kong's housing system, characterised by overcrowding, negligently managed construction sites, and thousands of senior citizens and domestic workers trapped in hard-to-evacuate high-rise buildings. PIME missionary Fr Franco Mella slams the authorities for the way they manage the real needs of the population. Meanwhile, fears are growing that the tragedy could reignite tensions with Beijing on the eve of the 7 December local elections.

From dolls that have become a global phenomenon to large technology factories and the delivery sector, a system is increasingly spreading in China that relies on the ability to transform individual needs and family obligations into a virtually unlimited willingness to work. Women themselves are being pushed to abandon stable contracts (guaranteed only on paper) in favour of temporary and seasonal employment.

A new, large-scale mining facility, 75 per cent owned by Chinese companies, began operations this week in the hills of southern Guinea. It is expected to have a major impact on the global mining industry, not least because of the quality of the extracted material, which is more suitable for low-carbon steel production.

Over the past five years, Chinese loans and deposits in renminbi abroad have quadrupled, while CIPS (Beijing's alternative to SWIFT) is growing in Central Asia, the Middle East, and other strategic areas. But the plan remains China-centric, because to truly rely on a global currency, Beijing would have to give up control over capital flows, a choice Xi Jinping believes is incompatible with internal stability.

The long-awaited Fourth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ended today in Beijing chaired by Xi Jinping, offering little direction if the final communiqué is to be believed. The emphasis on the “extraordinary” results of the 2020-2025 five-year period was countered by current economic difficulties. In the end, the spotlight was on the new wave of firings from top military command posts.

At a global summit on the status of women, 30 years after the Beijing Conference, the Chinese president pledged funding to UN Women and new, pro-women worldwide cooperation. Yet, since 2022, the Politburo has been entirely male. Meanwhile, discrimination is rising again in the workplace in China after the abrupt shift from the one-child policy to a pro-natalist policy.

Following last year’s historic reconciliation between Palestinian factions in Beijing, "blessed" by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the People's Republic of China did not take part in ceasefire negotiations over Gaza. Even after last night's breakthrough, Beijing appears aloof. Business remains the crux of its involvement in the region.

The Taiwanese government was quick to deny that trade negotiations with the United States include moving to the US half of its microprocessor production for the US market. The opposition Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party attack the government, warning that an agreement would “hollow out” the country’s tech sector. TMSC’s investments in new 1.4-nanometer chips are also at stake.

In his annual address, Chief Executive John Lee announced special legislation to speed up a futuristic project for a new metropolis in the New Territories, the area closest to mainland China. The goal is to bring 2.5 million new residents, centred around a major tech hub. This is also part of a political plan to turn a page in a major Asian crossroads where growth has stalled since the events of 2020.

Friends report that Zhang Yadi, 22, has been missing since 30 July, a few weeks before she was supposed to start an MA in anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London. She had founded “Chinese Youths Stand for Tibet”, a pro-Tibet group based outside of China. In Changsha, lawyer Jiang Tianyong, who was making inquiries about her case, was also arrested. Beijing is increasingly cracking down on criticism, even among Chinese communities abroad.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has examined a new regulatory framework mandating the use of Mandarin in all sectors. This threatens bilingualism, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang, two regions where an increasing number of international influencers are being invited to promote a positive outlook, countering reports from international organisations criticising human rights violations.

In a chat picked up by a hot mic, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping talk about the possibility of organ transplants allowing people to live up to 150 years. China has never adopted a clear and transparent system for organ donation. Despite new regulations, forced organ harvesting reportedly continues, especially from members of minorities.

China continues to violate the rights and abuse Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the western region. Victims' families are silenced and threatened. Those waiting for the return of a relative from detention centres tell their stories. For Brooks, Amnesty’s China Director, “lives have been destroyed, families separated, and communities dismantled by the Chinese authorities’ continuing cruelty.”

Next Saturday Taiwanese voters are set to approve or reject the reactivation of the Maanshan plant in a referendum called by the opposition after the country's last plant shut down in May after 40 years of operation. After Fukushima, environmentalists have achieved a gradual phase-out, but fears that China might stop natural gas supplies are now reviving the issue. For its part, China has 33 plants under construction.