Day: November 27, 2025

Beijing has frozen youth exchange programmes with Tokyo amid continuing fallout over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, a diplomatic source said, raising concern that the bilateral rift could affect generations to come. The Japanese side was told about the cancelled programmes in recent weeks after China launched retaliatory measures against Japan over Takaichi’s comments earlier this month, according to the diplomatic source. “Usually, November and December are the season for youth exchanges, but now all are called off,” the source said. Advertisement Beijing has ramped up diplomatic…

With the world’s biggest high-speed rail network already established, China now plans a more balanced, integrated and intelligent transport system over the next five years, prioritising efficiency and smart technology over sheer scale. Beijing will move away from large-scale expansion to optimising new projects and upgrading existing assets, Minister of Transport Liu Wei said at a recent symposium on the 15th five-year plan attended by local transport officials, according to an official statement issued on Thursday. In an earlier article for Qiushi, the ruling Communist Party’s leading theoretical journal, Liu…

Beijing has flagged risks of excessive duplication in China’s rapidly growing humanoid robot sector, vowing to strengthen guidance for an industry that officials have identified as an important engine of future growth. Driven by an influx of new capital, the number of humanoid robot companies in China has climbed to over 150 and is continuing to grow, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spokeswoman Li Chao told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday. “More than half of them are start-ups or cross-industry entrants, which is a good thing for…

A massive fire engulfed the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong on Wednesday, sparking discussions about the potential for new firefighting technologies to boost rescue capabilities. It was Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in recent decades, as fire rapidly spread across seven adjoining residential blocks covered in bamboo scaffolding. Residential high-rises are closely clustered in the densely populated city. Since 2000, China has built almost 1,600 skyscrapers – 60 per cent of the… South China Morning Post

Opposition critics have accused Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of stoking fear on the island with his suggestion that Beijing could be preparing to take Taiwan by force by 2027. The controversy erupted after Lai told a press conference on Wednesday that Beijing was pursuing a goal to “complete unification with Taiwan by force by 2027”, a line later amended on his official platforms to specify preparation for such an option rather than a scheduled assault. Advertisement Karen Kuo, a spokeswoman for Lai’s office, insisted 2027 was not a “confirmed…