Day: August 28, 2026

Footage of Tibet floods is being heavily censored in China – and we know little about victims there

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Just hours after the disaster struck, the Communist Party machine tried to rally its grassroots to stem any signs of discontent of its handling of the landslide. A notice came from the local party office urging members to step up and help in disaster relief efforts in their area and provide emotional guidance or psychological support to affected residents. The key line instructs them to “make every effort to maintain social order and ensure stability and public confidence in the disaster areas”. Those who perform well would be rewarded –…

Chinese rescuers find ‘nothing but ruins’ at border crossing as Nepal seeks help to ID and store the dead

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A Chinese rescue team has reached the all-but-obliterated Gyirong border crossing complex for the first time and found “nothing but ruins” as Nepal and China continue their arduous rescue operations in the flood-hit Himalayas. Surveillance camera footage from the worst-hit Gyirong border crossing complex showed huge torrents of water and debris on Wednesday engulfing buildings and people trying to flee. Only ⁠on Friday were rescuers able to reach that area. State media reported that the Chinese team of 21 rescuers and a search-and-rescue dog crossed mountains and valleys and used…

Taipei’s debt hardball carries a clear warning for its remaining allies

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In contemporary discourse, the bogeyman of “debt traps” is almost exclusively tied to Beijing. Western media, think tanks, NGOs and policymakers from Washington to Brussels frequently warn developing nations of the perils of bilateral loans from China. Yet, Grenada’s debt dispute from a decade ago and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ (SVG) current troubles offer a starkly different, and often ignored, counter-narrative: the weaponisation of debt by Taiwan. For years, Grenada has grappled with profound economic troubles. Following Hurricane Ivan in 2004, which decimated the country, the Grenadian government made…

US Treasury sanctions Hong Kong-based firm over Iran money laundering ties

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The United States announced sanctions on a Hong Kong company on Friday for allegedly helping launder funds for a sanctioned Iranian exchange house, the latest Chinese entity to be targeted as part of Washington’s expanded efforts to squeeze Iran’s financial sector. Hong Kong-based Kameng Trading Ltd acted as a front company to help the Iranian entity Pedram Pirouzan Exchange House, also known as Opal Exchange, access the international financial system, the US Department of the Treasury said. “Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left and finally end…

Footage of Tibet floods isn’t being shown in China – and we know little about victims there

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The dramatic footage was almost impossible to miss. A torrent of water tearing through Gyirong Port, one of the main border crossings between Nepal and Tibet, sweeping away all in its path as hundreds of people fled for their lives. The scenes, captured by CCTV cameras, quickly spread on social media and onto screens around the world. Except here, in China. Only a single still-frame shot has been broadcast so far by the country’s state-run flagship news bulletin. It has also been difficult to find the video on China’s heavily…

Can Beijing’s gateway plan for Tibet survive geopolitics and natural disasters?

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On the windswept plains just south of Tibet’s second-largest city, the towering smart inspection systems and automated cargo gantries of a brand-new international land port gleam under the plateau’s high-altitude sun. Official road maps predict the multibillion-yuan project in Shigatse will process up to 300 trucks daily by the end of 2030 – loading cargo off trains and onto the trucks that will take goods to their final destination. It will also allow the authorities to carry out customs checks away from the region’s international borders, which straddle the Himalayas.…

US-China AI rivalry needn’t preclude cooperation

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Artificial intelligence (AI) poses risks that do not respect national borders, from cyberattacks and misinformation to system malfunction and potentially dangerous misuse. In a geopolitically charged world, does greater incompatibility between countries make AI safer? UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered a clear answer at the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance: “When countries align on how to test systems, measure risk and assign responsibility, safety travels with the technology.” By contrast, “a patchwork of incompatible rules raises costs, divides the world – and protects no one”. Yet just…

China Offers Condolences to Nepal While Emphasizing Disaster Began There

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China’s leader, Xi Jinping, extended his condolences to Nepal’s president on Friday over the hundreds of deaths caused by the landslide on the countries’ border and pledged China’s support in Nepal’s aid efforts. “I am confident that the people of both countries will be able to join hands to overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes,” Mr. Xi said in a message to Nepal’s president, Ram Chandra Paudel, reported by Chinese state media. The message, his first addressed to Nepal’s government since the disaster on Wednesday, noted that the countries…