And this is largely driven by government mandates and incentives, says Mr Hsieh. For more than a decade, the Chinese government has subsidised EV purchases. The value of these subsidies has fallen over time, and they are due to end by 2023, but there are still plenty of reasons why buying an electric car is a financial no-brainer. BBC
Caught up in one of the purges of the Mao era, Mr. Xi’s father was under house arrest for years, politically rehabilitated only after Mao died. During the Cultural Revolution, Maoist student militants ransacked the family’s home; one of Mr. Xi’s sisters died in the mayhem. Paraded publicly as an enemy of the people, his own mother was forced to denounce him. Mr. Xi eventually spent seven years exiled to the countryside as part of Mao’s exhortation to “learn from the peasants.” Although hardened by the experience, Mr. Xi kept…
The maths teacher who said “Every time I breathe, somebody dies in China” is correct (Letters, 4 October). The death rate in China is over seven per thousand people, and with a population of more than 1.4 billion people this means more than 9.8 million people die in China each year. The normal breathing rate for adults is around 16 breaths per minute. This leads to 16 x 60 x 24 x 365.25 = 8,415,360 breaths per year. Even taking a higher rate of 18 breaths per minute leads to…
NEW DELHI — India and China, two powers that have offered Russia some relief in the face of Western sanctions, expressed concern after the deadly missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday and renewed calls for de-escalation and dialogue. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, told a press briefing that “all countries deserve respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that “support should be given to all efforts that are conducive to peacefully resolving the crisis.” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said New…
It is not clear when the meeting took place, but the video started to be shared widely on Sunday. The woman is believed to be a postdoctoral researcher, but her identity has not been independently verified by the South China Morning Post. Advertisement The official site of BIT’s Institute of Advanced Structure Technology, where Fang is an honorary president and chair scientist, was taken offline on Monday. Fang could not be contacted for comment. BIT is one of a number of Chinese universities sanctioned by the United States for involvement…
Taiwan’s president has called for domestic political unity to combat Chinese disinformation and cyberwarfare destabilising society ahead of next month’s local elections. Addressing crowds at Taiwan’s de facto national day on Monday, Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan had to grow its resilience and international standing in the face of China’s growing authoritarianism. She warned Beijing that Taiwan would not give up its democracy or sovereignty, but she remained willing to restart communications – which China cut off after her election in 2016. “Only by respecting the commitment of the Taiwanese people…