Category: The Diplomat

The 17th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) Conference, scheduled to be held at Kathmandu University, Nepal, from August 23-29, was cancelled on August 5 and later shifted online. The cancellation was done by the organizers, at the formal request of the Nepali government.  The IATS conference is one of the premier academic forums for Tibetan culture, history, language and religion. The conference was set to bring together scholars from 40 countries, including India, China, and the United States – many of whom had already arranged and…

Mahjong is having a global moment. From designer tile sets and “mahjong parties” to growing numbers of clubs and classes, the centuries-old Chinese tile game is becoming trendy once again. But its resurgence raises questions about cultural exchange, commercialization, and what happens when a tradition rooted in Chinese history becomes a “lifestyle trend.” Mahjong emerged in eastern coastal China in the mid 1800s, towards the end of the Qing Dynasty. Although its exact origins are debated, historians agree the game developed from earlier Chinese tile-based games. In the early 1900s,…

“When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out ‘stop!’ When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible.” German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s observation on the political apathy that engulfed Germany in the 1930s resonates with 21st century survivors of the Chinese state’s war against Uyghurs in its northwestern heartland, known by exiles as East Turkestan.  Germany’s slide into fascism brought book burnings and arrests of “undesirables.” It lead step by step to antisemitism, concentration camps, torture, and death. That brutal history echoes today in Beijing’s campaign against the Turkic…

Amid leadership disruption caused by the purges, the reconstruction of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) high command is underway. Recent reports by the South China Morning Post and Channel News Asia indicate that officers from the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) have recently risen to senior leadership positions, prompting renewed discussions on the significance of this development.  At present, PLAAF officers are in charge of five Central Military Commission (CMC) departments, compared with seven headed by Army officers, making the PLAAF the second-best-represented service at the CMC level. Moreover, of the…

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…

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,…

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force now uses an AI system that draws up plans for large-scale strike operations. Instead of being released with great fanfare, the system appeared in a CCTV documentary released in early August to mark the PLA’s 99th anniversary. The system is described as prioritizing targets from a pool of hundreds, coordinating dozens of formations, and assigning tasks to more than 100 tactical units. According to the documentary, it has already been used in multiple missions. The timing lines up neatly with Xi Jinping’s instruction…

In March, a 21-year-old music student in Beijing arrived at an apartment complex to teach a piano lesson. Waiting for her were her father, her aunt, and two employees of a private disciplinary institution. Her relatives told her the strangers were police officers investigating a family matter. Instead, they forced her into a vehicle, confiscated her phone, and drove her hundreds of miles to an institution in Henan province, where she spent the next 11 days. According to Southern People Weekly, her parents objected to her romantic relationship and believed…

Taiwan’s local elections – often referred to as “nine-in-one elections,” due to voting taking place simultaneously for nine different kinds of positions – will soon be upon us, with voting scheduled for the end of November. Alongside the elections, however, a number of referendum issues will also be voted on nationally.  The referendums are advanced by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), the opposition parties currently in control of the legislature. However, unlike past referendums, the KMT and TPP will not campaign with the general public for…

Xi Jinping, president of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), traveled to Shanghai in mid-July. While the major reason for his trip was to open an international AI conference, he also had another priority: symbolically addressing concerns related to the distressed property market. Xi began his Shanghai visit with an inspection tour in Huangpu District, the traditional heart of the old city of Shanghai. Huangpu is home to the Bund and its 19th century British-built buildings. Xi met local citizens and CCP officials alike, and made…