Month: September 2022

China’s Discovery of Lunar Mineral Could Add to Fuller View of the Moon

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Chinese scientists recently announced their discovery of a new lunar mineral among samples collected from the moon during a mission two years ago, adding to the body of knowledge of the Earth’s satellite that had been the focus of earlier space exploration. The scientists found a single crystal of a new phosphate mineral that they have named Changesite-(Y) while analyzing particles of lunar basalt, or hardened fragments of lava, The Global Times, a state-run newspaper and website, reported. The discovery was announced last Friday and was connected to Chang’e-5, a…

‘At the Breaking Point’: Tibetans, Under Lockdown, Make Rare Cries for Help

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BEIJING — Infected patients quarantined alongside those who tested negative. No food for hours, despite repeated requests. Lines of buses, loaded with people, waiting late into the night to drop them off at makeshift isolation centers. These are the scenes described by residents of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, who have been locked down for one month as officials try to contain a coronavirus outbreak. Lockdowns, including of entire cities, have become almost commonplace in China, which remains bent on eliminating the coronavirus even as the rest of the world…

Major fire engulfs skyscraper in Changsha, central China

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A fire engulfed a skyscraper in the central Chinese city of Changsha, with authorities saying that no casualties had yet been found. The blaze broke out in a 42-floor building housing an office of the state-owned telecommunications company China Telecom, according to the state broadcaster CCTV. “Thick smoke billowed from the site, and dozens of floors burned ferociously,” CCTV reported. The provincial fire department said later in a social media post that “at present, the fire has been extinguished, and we have not yet discovered any casualties”. An initial photograph…

Ai Weiwei says mother, 90, warns him against China return

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The Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has said his desire to be reunited with his 90-year-old mother could lead him to return to China, but that she has implored him not to give up his British exile. The sculptor and activist, who divides his time between Cambridge and Portugal, spent 81 days in custody in Beijing in 2011 and fled his home country four years later on the return of his passport. Asked by Chris Patten, the former governor of Hong Kong, at an event in London whether people who…

In Central Asia’s ‘Great Game,’ China Seeks the Advantage

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BEIJING — As Xi Jinping, China’s leader, visited Central Asian countries this week, he stepped off planes to rousing performances by rows of dancers, musicians and ceremonial guards. Uzbekistan’s leader called him “the greatest statesman,” Chinese state media declared, while the leader of Turkmenistan praised his “wise leadership.” They draped him in medals. For Beijing, the pomp and fanfare that greeted Mr. Xi, as well as the effusive rhetoric of his counterparts, served to show that China is not isolated despite coming under pressure from the United States and much…

TikTok’s CEO Navigates the Limits of His Power

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TikTok recently tried to tamp down concerns from U.S. lawmakers that it poses a national security threat because it is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance. The viral video app insisted it had an arm’s-length relationship with ByteDance and that its own executive was in charge. “TikTok is led by its own global C.E.O., Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean based in Singapore,” TikTok wrote in a June letter to U.S. lawmakers. But in fact, Mr. Chew’s decision-making power over TikTok is limited, according to 12 former TikTok and ByteDance…

Putin Nods to Xi’s ‘Concerns’ on Ukraine War

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President Vladimir V. Putin acknowledged on Thursday that China had “questions and concerns” about Russia’s war in Ukraine, a notable, if cryptic, admission that Moscow lacks the full backing of its biggest, most powerful partner on the world stage. Mr. Putin met China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday in their first in-person meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine, and as Mr. Xi traveled abroad for the first time since the start of the pandemic. But rather than put on a show of Eurasian unity against the West as Russia struggled to…

Biden Issues New Order to Block Chinese Investment in Technology in the U.S.

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WASHINGTON — President Biden signed an executive order on Thursday designed to sharpen the federal government’s powers to block Chinese investment in technology in the United States and limit its access to private data on citizens, in a move that is bound to heighten tensions with Beijing. The new order is designed to focus the actions of the secretive Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, created by Congress nearly a half-century ago. For years the committee’s powers were limited largely to blocking the foreign acquisition of American firms…

Anger among MPs as Chinese vice-president to attend Queen’s funeral

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The Chinese vice-president, Wang Qishan, is to attend the Queen’s funeral in a move that has prompted complaints from a group of British Conservative MPs that have been banned from travelling to China due to their campaigns against Chinese repression. Wang will be the most senior Asian political leader to attend the service at Westminster Abbey and among the representatives of authoritarian states, a grouping that also includes Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is expected to lead a delegation to London,…

How China Set Its Response to COVID-19 From Crisis to Opportunity

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Advertisement With only a few weeks left before the 20th National Party Congress, the Chinese leadership still has to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, ranging from the economic to the socio-political. After Shanghai, it is now Chengdu’s turn: a lockdown has been imposed, indefinitely, in pursuit of the so-called “zero-COVID” policy, which is generating discontent among the population. Since the new coronavirus started circulating in China’s Hubei province, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been committed to showing great efficiency in dealing with the health crisis. At the…