Day: August 7, 2026

Taiwan’s push to dissolve pro-Beijing party triggers political censorship debate

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The island’s interior ministry is seeking a Constitutional Court order to declare the CUPP unconstitutional and dissolve it, marking the first such action against a political party in Taiwan’s history. “The CUPP has long been linked to organised crime, including cross-border offences,” Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang said at a briefing last week . “Core party members have also repeatedly been implicated in alleged violations of the National Security Act, the Anti-Infiltration Act, election laws, the Organised Crime Prevention Act and other legislation.” Taiwan Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang. Photo: Handout In…

US judge blocks Pentagon’s ‘Chinese military’ label for WuXi AppTec

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A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Pentagon from designating Chinese biotechnology group WuXi AppTec as a “Chinese military company”, finding that defence officials repeatedly misread the evidence used to justify the decision. US District Chief Judge James Boasberg granted WuXi a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Defence from enforcing or otherwise giving effect to the designation while the company’s lawsuit proceeds. “A scarlet letter sends a clear message: keep away,” Boasberg wrote in a 35-page opinion, pointing to customers and suppliers that had cancelled contracts, ended…

US unveils critical minerals deals in latest push to counter China

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The United States on Friday announced several critical minerals agreements with multiple mining companies, marking its latest push to curb China’s dominance over the production and processing of strategic materials. While attending a round table with global mining industry executives at the State Department, US President Donald Trump, without naming China, said that his administration would ensure America is “never again reliant on hostile foreign nations for the resources our country needs to dominate in the future”. “We are putting our miners back to work, and we are reclaiming America’s…

China’s Asian Affairs Reshuffle

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On July 21, President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa awarded Shen Minjuan, China’s ambassador to the country since 2023, Mongolia’s Order of the Polar Star (Altan Gerege), the country’s highest state honor for foreign nationals. Barely a week later, on July 29, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) updated its official organizational roster: Shen had taken office as director-general of the Department of Asian Affairs, succeeding Liu Jinsong.  The speed of the promotion was striking. So was its symbolism. For Mongolian policymakers and analysts who observed Shen’s nearly three-year tenure up close, her…

UnionPay to plug Chinese payment apps into Brazil’s Pix after US tariffs over the system

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China’s UnionPay International plans to connect Chinese payment apps to Pix, the Brazilian payment system at the centre of Washington’s trade case against Brasilia, allowing Chinese tourists to pay by scanning a code. Under the pilot, users of the UnionPay app and of Chinese bank apps linked to its platform would scan a merchant’s code and pay from the account they use at home. Chinese state media reported that access would later extend to other digital wallets in UnionPay’s global network. Pix has become the default way Brazilians move money…

The Murder of a Uyghur in America Spotlights the Dangers for the Diaspora

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At 10:15 p.m. on July 29, Shukur Aikebaer was abducted and murdered outside his residence in Chino County, California, by two individuals, reportedly named Zhengfeng Bo and Jianquan Bo. Aikebaer’s death sent shock waves through Uyghur communities worldwide.  Investigators have not established a motive or released details about the suspects; Zhengfeng Bo was killed by police during the kidnapping. However, the incident mirrors a similar case from Uzbekistan. In July 2024, Ablehet Qahar, an Uyghur historian, was murdered in his Tashkent apartment. The crime was quietly swept under the rug,…

China’s AI ecosystem is not as open as it claims. Nor is any other country’s | Letters

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Ambassador Zheng Zeguang rightly celebrates openly released AI models, and the Chinese labs behind Qwen, DeepSeek and Kimi have led the way – competition that benefits everyone, especially where models can run on modest hardware in the developing world (The future of AI hinges on openness and cooperation. China and Britain can gain much by working together, 30 July). But his claim that openness is a defining feature of China’s AI development deserves scrutiny. Take GeoGPT, the geoscience system from Zhejiang Lab showcased at last month’s World AI Conference as…

Race for UN top job enters final stage: choice may ‘make or break’ organisation

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It is financially strapped, structurally flawed, infamously bureaucratic, reputationally damaged and riven with infighting. So why would anyone want to take on the role of the next secretary general of the United Nations? “I really think there should be some sort of psychiatric test for wanting this position,” said Richard Gowan, global issues and institutions director at the International Crisis Group (ICG). “The stakes are exceptionally high, and there is a strong sense around the UN that the next secretary general may make or break the organisation.” The official start…