When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, he pledged to stamp out corruption all through the ranks of the Communist party. More than a decade later, the pace of investigations has not slowed. Last year, China’s disciplinary authorities opened investigations into more than 1 million people, including more than 100 officials at or above ministerial or provincial level. As Chinese Communist party (CCP) officials prepare for an important meeting this week discipline – and party loyalty – is high on the agenda. For those who try to read the…
Category: Media Library
Kim Jong-un crosses over newly opened bridge into China
Kim Jong-un has travelled to China over a newly opened bridge marking the North Korean leader’s first known trip abroad in more than a year, South Korean officials have said. A government source told the Yonhap news agency on Saturday that Kim had arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong, in Liaoning province, after taking a train from Pyongyang to Sinuiju and crossing the New Yalu River Bridge. Yonhap also reported that the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, had travelled to the city. Kim’s trip was not announced in advance…
As Trump’s time runs out, this could be his most dangerous legacy: a world divided into three | Steve Bloomfield
In the final two years of a US presidency, when Congress has been lost, approval ratings have sunk like a stone and their party has started to think about who’s coming next, the person occupying the Oval Office can feel their power draining away. Domestic legislation, particularly in an era where bipartisan cooperation is almost nonexistent, grinds to a halt. But as the days tick by until the end, and as presidents begin to think about their legacy, there is one part of the job where they still have power:…
Typhoon Champi kills one and injures more than 500 in Taiwan as it heads to China
Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday killing one person, injuring more than 500, and uprooting trees and severing power as it weakened and headed north toward the Chinese coast. Earlier classified as a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of about 126km per hour (78 miles per hour) near its centre, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA). The storm was about 150km (93 miles) east of Taiwan, the CWA said, having glanced off the island’s northeast…
North Korea has opened up bridges to Russia and China – in which direction will it go?
For more than a decade, local Chinese residents pilloried it as nothing more than an empty bridge that led to a North Korean vegetable patch on the other side. Fast forward 12 years and dozens of trucks are now traversing the bridge linking China to North Korea, boosting trade for the reclusive regime. But it has also triggered concern that it could intensify a struggle for influence over the North between Beijing and the region’s other major power, Russia. map The New Yalu River Bridge connects the north-eastern Chinese city…
China closes 3 Tibetan schools in 3 months; threatens language, cultural preservation
Chinese authorities have shut down three Tibetan schools in the Golog region of Qinghai province in recent months, leaving the fate of students and teachers unclear, according to sources inside Tibet. The closures of Gangjong Grassland Girls’ School, Jasag Village Primary School and Golog Tadra Orphan School have raised concerns among Tibetans about the future of education that incorporates their language, cultural traditions and community life. Tibetan sources who spoke to Radio Free Asia linked the closures to the Chinese government’s education policies and its promotion of the Ethnic Unity…
Xi Jinping May Have His Own Reasons to Avert a China-Russia-US Summit
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have put Xi Jinping in an unusual position by expressing interest in a trilateral summit with the Chinese leader at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen mid-November. Xi’s cautious response so far – Moscow and Washington have confirmed discussion, while Beijing has yet to commit publicly – could help Europe and Ukraine avoid the worst: major powers making decisions about the region in their absence. The idea for a meeting came from Russia and it’s not hard to see…
The China-Taiwan Diplomatic War Is More About Politics Than Economics
Since the Chinese Civil War concluded in 1949, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) have battled endlessly for diplomatic recognition. Due to Beijing’s “One China” principle, states are forced to either pick one side or pick neither. The ROC, now colloquially better known as Taiwan, initially enjoyed an advantage in international recognition due to U.S. anti-communist messaging and generous economic assistance programs. After U.N. Resolution 2758 admitted the PRC to the United Nations and expelled the ROC, the battle for international recognition has tilted…
China’s sanctions on Taiwan allies project its power, but with limited effect
China’s sanctions against foreign officials over their ties with Taiwan help Beijing project power and warn other governments, even as their financial impact and success in curbing engagement remain limited, analysts told Radio Free Asia. Beijing imposed sanctions on Oct. 12 against Paraguay’s information and communication technologies minister, Gustavo Villate, and Belize’s foreign minister, Francis Fonseca. Both countries maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than China. China claims Taiwan is an integral part of its territory and considers it a rogue province. Beijing has sought to persuade governments to…
The Next Chapter of Africa-China Climate Cooperation
Nearly five years have passed since the adoption of the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change at the Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 8) in 2021. Since then, discussions have often centered on simple indicators to reflect on the progress made – for example, the number of projects announced, the size of new investments, and the scale of renewable energy commitments. At first glance, Development Reimagined’s China-Africa Climate Action Tracker provides just this. The tracker captures 246 publicly announced climate actions across 50 African countries between 2022…