Day: July 26, 2025

China’s booming low-altitude economy spurs demand for ‘drone flight planners’

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China has officially recognised “drone flight planner” as a profession amid a talent crunch in the low-altitude economy – a sector the government sees as a new engine of growth. Advertisement The role is among 17 newly designated occupations announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, alongside positions such as cross-border e-commerce operation manager and elderly care service worker. “The newly designated profession of a drone flight planner primarily involves planning multi-drone flight paths, developing flight plans and missions, and managing operations on-site,” said Wang Xiaojun, deputy…

Myth or history? Chinese scientists seek to recreate ancient quake sensor

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Earthquakes have haunted humanity for millennia – their sudden violence leaving civilisations scrambling for early warning. Even today, when a Japanese manga implausibly predicted “The Big One” hitting the country on July 5, it sparked widespread panic. Advertisement Scientists today rely on satellites, supercomputers and artificial intelligence to monitor seismic activity. But nearly 2,000 years ago, a Chinese polymath named Zhang Heng is said to have invented a device that not only detected faraway earthquakes but also indicated the direction of their epicentre. However, despite being mentioned in historical records,…

Taiwan votes to keep all 24 KMT lawmakers facing mass recall in ‘failure for Lai’

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Voters in Taiwan on Saturday resoundingly rejected a mass recall campaign targeting opposition lawmakers, dealing a major setback to Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) while handing the Kuomintang (KMT) a surprise reprieve. Advertisement All 24 lawmakers from the Beijing-friendly KMT who faced recall votes survived, in what analysts described as a serious political miscalculation by the DPP and its affiliated civil society groups. The backfiring of the DPP’s high octane campaign, which was championed as a way to root out “pro-China forces” and…

Trump eyes autumn China trip, but September visit off the table: sources

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US President Donald Trump is keen to visit China but a September visit is not happening, according to sources, who said Beijing and Washington were working to secure a trip in October or November. Advertisement Hurdles remain, but high-level officials “share a consensus”, sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post. Media reports earlier said that China planned to invite Trump to the Victory Parade in Beijing on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. With September now off the…

Cambodia confirms first deaths in cross-border conflict with Thailand

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Cambodia has for the first time officially confirmed fatalities in its conflict with Thailand, taking the death toll to more than 30 as the two countries’ worst fighting in years expanded to include new areas along their border and Phnom Penh accused Bangkok of a naval incursion. A spokesperson for Cambodia’s military said on Saturday that 13 people, including eight civilians, had been killed since the clashes began three days…

Cambodia reports first deaths in cross-border conflict with Thailand

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Cambodia has for the first time reported fatalities in its conflict with Thailand, taking the death toll to more than 30 as the two countries’ worst fighting in years expanded to include new areas along their shared border and Phnom Penh accused Bangkok of a naval incursion. A spokesperson for Cambodia’s military said on Saturday that 13 people, including eight civilians, had been killed since the clashes began three days…

Taiwanese voters reject motion to recall opposition lawmakers

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Taiwanese voters rejected an attempt to unseat nearly half of the opposition Kuomintang’s lawmakers in mass recall elections on Saturday. The result threatens to deepen political paralysis in a country striving to strengthen its defences against China. None of the unprecedented recall petitions against 24 of the KMT’s 52 legislators gained a majority, according to preliminary election commission figures. The results marked a stark defeat for an activist movement that…

Attempt to unseat 24 ‘pro-China’ opposition politicians in Taiwan appears to fail

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An unprecedented attempt in Taiwan to unseat 24 “pro-China” opposition politicians and give a parliamentary majority to the ruling party appears to have failed, with early results indicating voters in every seat had rejected the notion. Polls opened on Saturday morning for the first 24 of 31 targeted seats, with voters asked to agree or disagree with a proposal to recall the local legislator and hold a byelection. Polls closed at 4pm local time and within a couple of hours the early results emerged. By 7pm the central election commission…

China’s navy submarine academy recruits first female students in 72-year history

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For the first time in 72 years, China’s top training institution for navy submarine personnel recruited 10 women for its bachelor’s degree programme. Advertisement The 10 students, who achieved top scores on this year’s university entrance exams, were accepted by the PLA Naval Submarine Academy, according to a social media post by the institution on Thursday. Among the students were Wang Chenyue, from the village of Qianhe in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, who scored 647 out of 750 on her exam. As the academy delivered her acceptance letter, she said…

Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas

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Hong Kong’s national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet. They are accused of organising or participating in the Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say intended to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 after months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. The activists are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial Hong Kong…