In the leafy back blocks of a military cemetery in northern Taiwan, Liu De-wen strides through a room holding rows and rows of shelves. He stops and stoops to the lowest row, opening a small, ornate gold door. He pulls out an urn, bundles it into his lap, and hugs it. “Grandpa Lin, follow me closely,” Liu says. “I am bringing you back home to Fujian as you wished. Stay close.” Inside the jade green urn are the ashes of Lin Ru Min, a former soldier who was 103 when…
Day: December 27, 2025
Why Chinese victims of Unit 731 and Japan’s WWII bio-warfare are still waiting for justice
On August 6 last year, atomic bomb survivors held their annual commemorative lantern-floating ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. Two months later, their group, Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize for decades of campaigning against nuclear weapons. Fifteen years earlier, in Chongshan village in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, Wang Jinti took his last breath. Wang died in near-total obscurity, never having received an apology or compensation for the suffering he endured – not from the atomic bombings but from Japan’s biological warfare that destroyed his village…
Greater Bay Area assets poised to lead surge in China’s expanding C-REIT market
With the first wave of commercial Chinese real estate investment trusts (REITs) set to launch in the next two years, Greater Bay Area assets are likely to be in strong demand, according to Deloitte China. “GBA assets will likely be oversubscribed,” according to Ryan Wu, deputy managing partner for Hong Kong Chinese enterprises services with Deloitte China. He was speaking at the recent APREA GBA Conference on the fast-growing C-Reits market, which has recently expanded to include commercial properties. On December 1, China’s top economic planning agency, the National Development…
What next for Taiwan’s Lai as US$37 billion defence boost frozen by KMT, allies?
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s plan to push through a NT$1.2 trillion (US$37 billion) special military spending package has been thrown into limbo as political clashes escalate over fiscal reform and a controversial court ruling. Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature has blocked the cabinet-proposed “Special Act on Strengthening Defence Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities” from committee review four times since Lai unveiled the plan in late November. The procedural blockade has effectively frozen Lai’s eight-year spending package, described by his administration as “critical to deterring intensifying military pressure” from mainland China. Advertisement…
Myanmar is going to the polls. But it’s not the people who hold the power – it’s China
Myanmar’s military has managed to regain momentum in its battle against a determined patchwork of opposition groups, retaking some territory, and pushing ahead with a widely condemned election that begins on Sunday. It is a turnaround for the military, which had appeared so beleaguered that some dared to question if it could collapse. Analysts point to China, and its shifting support, as one of the most important factors that has changed the dynamics in a five-year conflict that first erupted after the 2021 coup. “This is really all China playing…
Chinese 6G smart surface could allow stealth jets to turn radar into a power source
Chinese scientists have developed a smart surface that could transform electromagnetic waves into usable electricity. The innovation, born from the fusion of communications technology and advanced electromagnetic engineering, could be used to develop intelligent stealth systems and next-generation 6G wireless communication, according to the team from Xidian University. They said this included investigating “electromagnetic cooperative stealth”, where multiple entities work together to reduce their visibility to radar and electromagnetic sensors. Advertisement The self-sustaining electronic system integrates wireless information transfer and energy harvesting and has the potential to upend the dynamics…
Chilean firms partner to form giant company to exploit lithium
Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s leading copper producer, and private miner SQM, which features Chinese capital, announced on Saturday the creation of a giant company to exploit lithium, a lightweight metal used in batteries for electric vehicles. The South American country is the world’s second-largest producer of lithium, a key component of EVs (electric vehicles) and other clean technologies, and has about 40 per cent of the world’s lithium reserves. The partnership between the firms will allow them to jointly ramp up the exploitation of lithium in the Atacama salt…
China-Pakistan warplane deal with Libyan faction ‘may help expand Beijing’s influence’
Pakistan is selling warplanes it jointly developed with China to the Libyan National Army (LNA), a move analysts said could serve as a gateway for Beijing to expand its influence into North Africa. In one of Pakistan’s largest-ever arms deals, 16 of the JF-17 “Thunder” fighters were listed among the over US$4 billion worth of military equipment sold to the force led by Khalifa Hifter, which controls the east of the country. The deal included other land, sea and air equipment, such as 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft for basic…
Chinese nuclear experts believe Japan could build nuclear weapons in less than 3 years
Chinese nuclear experts estimate that Japan has the political motivation but also the technical capacity to develop nuclear weapons in less than three years, echoing Kissinger’s warning that Japan harbours ambitions to revive its pre-war military stature when the opportunity arises. Advertisement Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi touched upon the red line of Japan’s three non-nuclear principles last month, seeking to create a legal opening. Last week, a senior official from the Japanese prime minister’s office responsible for advising Takaichi on security policy told Asahi Shimbun that given the increasingly…
China puts drone rules into law as low-altitude economy takes off
Beijing adopted sweeping revisions to its decades-old Civil Aviation Law on Saturday, formally bringing uncrewed aircraft such as drones under the national legal framework for the first time and signaling state support for the country’s rapidly growing low-altitude economy. The revisions, which will come into effect on July 1, were approved by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and are a critical step in closing long-standing gaps in safety regulation. They will also guide economic development in China’s burgeoning drone industry. According to state news agency Xinhua, the revised law…