Former Chinese justice minister Fu Zhenghua, who had headed several high-profile investigations into corruption, has been jailed for life for accepting bribes, state media says, as a purge of officials intensified ahead of a key Communist party congress. Fu, 67, was handed a suspended death sentence that will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, with no possibility of parole, according to state media on Thursday. Fu was deputy head of the ministry of public security before becoming justice minister in 2018, and had led many high-profile investigations and…
Day: September 22, 2022
Top Chinese and Indian envoys meet for BRICS at UN, but hold no bilateral talks to ease border issues
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left), Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, and Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco França during a BRICS gathering in New York on Thursday. Photo: Courtesy of @DrSJaishankar via Twitter South China Morning Post
How China’s Extreme Weather Summer Is Affecting Its Security
Advertisement This summer has been China’s driest and hottest since consistent records began being kept in 1961. The severe heatwave resulted in and continues to exacerbate a drought. Even as the heatwave eases, water levels continue to drop in China’s biggest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake, and other parts of the Yangtze River Basin (YRB). Estimates from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) suggest that the current heatwave has affected over 900 million people in more than 17 provinces and an estimated 2.2 million hectares of agricultural land in China. Aside…
Some progress in the border dispute between China and India
Xi jinping seemed anxious to make up for lost time on his first trip abroad since the pandemic began. At a two-day summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in Uzbekistan this month, the Chinese president’s schedule featured a dozen meetings with national leaders. Yet there was one notable omission: India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. Not only did the two not meet, they did not appear to exchange greetings when they stood next to each other at a group photo. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or…
How Xi Jinping might change the Communist Party’s constitution
When it comes to the top job, don’t expect any surprises at the Communist Party congress in October. There is little doubt that Xi Jinping will secure a third five-year term as party chief. But there will at least be some drama surrounding the party’s constitution. Observers will be watching to see how Mr Xi changes it. Even seemingly arcane revisions may signal that he sees himself on a par with communist China’s founder, Mao Zedong. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser…
Reforms to China’s hukou system will not help migrants much
China’s netizens are usually cheerleaders for nationalist causes. So the recent showering of praise on Vietnam by some of them has been striking. A bout of it occurred last month when exaggerated news circulated on Chinese social media that Vietnam was preparing to abolish its ho khau system of household registration, which makes it difficult for people from the countryside to obtain social benefits in cities. “Vietnam has completely surpassed China,” wrote one commenter on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. “The future star of Asia”, enthused another. China’s equivalent of ho…
Chinese police detain ‘godfather of film industry’ over abuse claims
Chinese police have detained a man over the alleged abuse of at least 19 former students at a prestigious tutoring academy, after a viral article outlined one of the country’s most shocking #MeToo cases in years. Du Yingzhe, 40, was a well-known tutor at Shadow Road, which assists high school students to get into the country’s best art and film schools. On Monday Du was accused by a former student of harassing, grooming and raping students, including some who were underage and a 17-year-old girl who fell pregnant. In a…
Fu Zhenghua: China’s ex-justice minister jailed for corruption
From a certain perspective, it should be no surprise that we’re seeing dramatic courtroom announcements just ahead of a key political season in China. Xi Jinping is expected to stay in power, past his original 10-year term, and like any politician he’s probably eager to shore up his power and popularity. BBC
China’s Lipstick King reappears, months after Tiananmen ‘tank cake’ row
China’s leading shopping livestreamer, Li Jiaqi, has returned to online commerce platforms almost four months after his feed was suddenly cut, which viewers suspected was linked to the errant appearance of a tank-shaped cake. Li, also known as the Lipstick King for his ability to move huge amounts of product on his sales channels, briefly appeared on Alibaba Group’s Taobao marketplace on Tuesday evening. The two-hour appearance was unannounced but word quickly spread online about his return. From 7pm to 9pm the audience reportedly grew from about 100,000 to more…