Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping. Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary. In one performance, Huang Yi-hao insulted the Chinese leader’s appearance, compared him to Winnie-the-Pooh and tore into his political record. Prosecutors in New Taipei said on Wednesday that an individual from mainland China…
Category: Media Library
China’s Free A.I. Models Are Thrown Into Uncertainty
When the Chinese start-up Moonshot AI in July released Kimi K3, an artificial intelligence model that rivaled some of the best systems made by American companies, it was free for anyone to download. By making advanced A.I. models easily available, Chinese companies have turned open access into one of China’s most powerful advantages in its rivalry with the United States to shape the future of the technology. Now Beijing is moving to tighten its grip on the global spread of the country’s top-tier A.I., proposing rules that could give the…
Afghanistan’s Wakhan Transit Road Is a Long Shot to Connect with China
On October 4, Taliban officials inaugurated the 121-kilometer-long Wakhan Transit Road connecting Afghanistan to China via the Wakhan Corridor after approximately three years of construction work. The road stretches from Afghanistan’s Broghil border area, on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, along Badakhshan province’s Wakhan district, finally reaching the border with China. According to Afghanistan’s de facto government under the Taliban, beyond China, the road will connect the country with third parties like Central Asian countries and global markets. This corridor is expected to play a significant role for Afghanistan’s trade as well…
Foreign diplomats queue for handshake with EU leaders
Also in this newsletter: Canada pushes for more co-operation on AI Financial Times
China-Laos air base could be another Southeast Asian forward outpost for Beijing
A new joint military training facility in Laos could give Beijing a lasting foothold in mainland Southeast Asia even without an immediate boost to its combat power, analysts told Radio Free Asia. Beijing and Vientiane opened a joint support and training center and an aviation academy at Ban Keun, about 50 kilometers north of the Lao capital, on Sept. 29. Beijing says the facility will train Lao air force pilots and it will be maintained by both countries. The airfield, once complete, would be China’s second joint military outpost in…
US bans use of China’s DeepSeek AI tools by government agencies
The US government on Monday ordered its agencies to stop using artificial intelligence (AI) tools from Chinese startup DeepSeek, as the countries race for dominance in the fast-moving sector. A notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the ban on products developed by DeepSeek – and tools created using DeepSeek by third parties – saying they must be removed from IT devices. The DHS can issue direction to civilian agencies but not the military or intelligence services. The US defense department did not respond to an AFP request…
Trial by Social Media? The Boundaries of Feminist Teaching in China
On September 29, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) announced the dismissal of a teacher surnamed Pei, widely identified in reporting as law school assistant professor Pei Yi. The university canceled her eligibility to supervise graduate students, revoked her eligibility to hold a teaching position at BIT, and terminated her employment. The university said a special working group had investigated allegations against Pei and found serious violations of teachers’ professional ethics and codes of conduct. Its public statement did not specify the conduct or disclose the supporting evidence. The announcement followed…
Rare photos of Aung San Suu Kyi spark renewed calls for her release
Myanmar’s military-backed government released images of deposed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi receiving items sent by King Charles III of the United Kingdom, a development that brought on renewed calls for the ousted former leader’s release. Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the 2021 military coup that ousted her and the rest of the country’s democratically elected government from power. She was sentenced to 18 years for a broad range of crimes that include corruption and election fraud, though she maintains that she is innocent. For the…
The Guardian view on Trump and Putin: Ukraine’s future is not theirs to bargain away | Editorial
Does Vladimir Putin know exactly how to play Donald Trump? The history of chummy phone calls, high-profile meetings and attempts to bring Russia in from the cold certainly suggests that Moscow’s thuggish ruler has a hold on this American president. If Mr Trump agrees to negotiate Ukraine’s future with Mr Putin and China’s Xi Jinping without Ukraine at the table, he will have handed the Russian leader a victory before talks begin. The message will be that strongmen are ruling the world and determining the fate of weaker nations. Ukraine has the right to…
Amid Economic Challenges, China Turns to Vulnerable Workforce to Fix Its Social Security Problems
“It is critical that we utilize data to identify individuals who have not contributed to the social security program. Currently, some people have not participated in the program, but we will use different means to identify and find them to encourage them to join.” These are quotes from Li Zhong, deputy minister of the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), on the government’s goal to increase the number of individuals in the Chinese social security program. Li’s remarks at the ministry’s news conference on October 10 quickly…