https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/510333/feed Joining the Post in 2021, Xinlu Liang covers China politics with a special interest in China's governance philosophy, social justice, and ethnic minorities issues. Previously, she interned at the Los Angeles Times and Reuters in Shenzhen. She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in English from Sun Yat-sen University. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China’s Communist Party convened an early monthly Politburo meeting on Friday to review a key internal inspection report, doubling down on its high-pressure anti-corruption campaign ahead of a major party conclave next week. Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the now 21-member Politburo met on Friday – earlier than its traditional end-of-month schedule – to discuss a comprehensive report on the seventh round of inspections by the 20th Central Committee. The latest inspection is a major internal... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3371960/xi-jinping-leads-early-politburo-meeting-signal-anti-corruption-drive-ahead-plenum https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3371960/xi-jinping-leads-early-politburo-meeting-signal-anti-corruption-drive-ahead-plenum Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:26:49 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A strong and united party leadership is vital to victory, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a keynote speech on Thursday marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March. Speaking days before an important Communist Party meeting known as the fifth plenum, Xi said the party managed to turn the tide of defeat into a path to victory 90 years ago because it rallied around the leadership of Mao Zedong. By linking the Red Army’s historic endurance with today’s geopolitical struggles,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3371796/ahead-communist-party-plenum-xi-jinping-warns-china-faces-new-long-march https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3371796/ahead-communist-party-plenum-xi-jinping-warns-china-faces-new-long-march Thu, 22 Oct 2026 10:18:11 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang The director of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), Song Tao, has held a rare meeting with a delegation of US scholars, pledging to push for the peaceful development of cross-strait ties. During the meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with a delegation from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) led by its president and CEO, Susan Elliott, Song spoke of a broader diplomatic context following summit meetings between Chinese and US leadership. “President Xi Jinping elaborated on... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3371662/beijings-top-taiwan-official-meets-us-think-tank-reaffirm-red-lines https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3371662/beijings-top-taiwan-official-meets-us-think-tank-reaffirm-red-lines Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:00:11 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Courts in China have sentenced three key figures of a notorious Myanmar crime syndicate to death for operating large-scale cross-border telecoms fraud networks and causing the deaths of four Chinese nationals. The Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court and the Nanan City People’s Court in southeastern Fujian province handed down the rulings against syndicate head Wei Huairen, his nephew Chen Dawei and accomplice Liao Jingfang on Tuesday, following a trial held in May, state broadcaster CCTV... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3370757/china-sentences-3-more-myanmar-crime-bosses-death-scam-centre-crackdown https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3370757/china-sentences-3-more-myanmar-crime-bosses-death-scam-centre-crackdown Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:26:07 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang For anyone who has visited the Chinese galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, there is one work that stops them in their tracks. Stepping into Gallery 206, home to Chinese Buddhist art, visitors are met by a monumental wall – over 15 metres wide and 7.5 metres tall (nearly 50 feet by 25 feet) – covered in a Buddhist assembly so vast and majestic that it momentarily erases the Manhattan bustle outside. Here stands the Medicine Buddha, a 14th century Yuan dynasty (1279-1368)... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3370434/how-museum-masterpieces-life-size-replica-sparked-rare-us-china-collaboration https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3370434/how-museum-masterpieces-life-size-replica-sparked-rare-us-china-collaboration Sat, 10 Oct 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang The fields in Xinjiang’s Awati county – a cotton hub hit by US sanctions – were nearly ready for the October harvest. Yusup Molamaiti, a 36-year-old technician, recalled what it was like manually planting and harvesting 37 mu (about 2.5 hectares or 6 acres) of scattered plots of land. “Planting a single mu took up to three hours with two people laying plastic film by hand,” he said. Harvesting would lock his family into year-round labour, yielding just 250-300kg (551-661lbs) per mu. Today, his... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3369294/us-sanctions-forced-xinjiang-cotton-adapt-survival-comes-cost https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3369294/us-sanctions-forced-xinjiang-cotton-adapt-survival-comes-cost Wed, 30 Sep 2026 22:00:13 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China’s new draft law on combating cross-border corruption is as much a weapon against foreign interference as it is a tool against illicit financial flows, analysts say. The draft sets out ways to block extraterritorial investigations and to retaliate against foreign anti-corruption enforcement, drawing a firm legal boundary against foreign jurisdictions while establishing its own mechanism to police overseas assets. In doing so, legal specialists warn, Beijing is also creating a double-edged... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3367286/chinas-anti-corruption-law-going-global-what-does-it-mean-overseas-firms https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3367286/chinas-anti-corruption-law-going-global-what-does-it-mean-overseas-firms Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:16 +0000 Xinlu Liang,Shi Huang Xinlu Liang,Shi Huang China said on Sunday that 261 foreign citizens were missing after last week’s deadly floods along the border between its Tibet autonomous region and Nepal. The missing foreigners were from 23 different countries and included 104 Nepalese citizens, authorities in Tibet’s Gyirong county told reporters. Also unaccounted for are 49 people from India; 33 Latvians; 18 from the United States; 15 from Britain; six each from Canada and Australia; four from South Africa; three each from Malaysia, Germany... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365730/china-nepal-floods-hundreds-foreigners-missing-tibet-after-disaster https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365730/china-nepal-floods-hundreds-foreigners-missing-tibet-after-disaster Sun, 30 Aug 2026 04:31:37 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang 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... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365622/can-beijings-gateway-plan-tibet-survive-geopolitics-and-natural-disasters https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365622/can-beijings-gateway-plan-tibet-survive-geopolitics-and-natural-disasters Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:00:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang This week’s devastating floods on the China-Nepal border could be a catalyst for joint early-warning systems, particularly in relation to a proposed rail link between the countries. Rescuers were still struggling on Thursday to reach Gyirong Port in the Tibet autonomous region where a mudslide struck a day earlier, following flash floods from Nepal. The port is the region’s main foreign trade gateway, which handles a third of China’s trade with its neighbour. Gyirong is also one end of a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365587/could-china-nepal-disaster-spur-safety-rethink-flagship-rail-project https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365587/could-china-nepal-disaster-spur-safety-rethink-flagship-rail-project Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:00:08 +0000 Xinlu Liang,Fan Chen,Alyssa Chen Xinlu Liang,Fan Chen,Alyssa Chen Rescue teams struggled to reach the site of a massive Himalayan mudslide and flash flood on the China-Nepal border as the toll from the disaster rose to 392 dead, with more than 1,000 missing. As of Friday morning, three people were confirmed dead and 558 missing on the Chinese side, with 389 dead and at least 644 missing in Nepal. “Nearly 100” Chinese nationals were missing on the Nepalese side, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing on Thursday. The Chinese embassy in Nepal was... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365394/china-nepal-border-disaster-1000-plus-missing-beijing-sends-rescue-teams https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365394/china-nepal-border-disaster-1000-plus-missing-beijing-sends-rescue-teams Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:34:35 +0000 Fan Chen,Xinlu Liang Fan Chen,Xinlu Liang Dozens of people were dead and hundreds of others – many of them foreign tourists – were missing on Wednesday night, hours after massive flash floods and landslides engulfed a border area between China and Nepal. Chinese state media reported that the disaster struck Nepal at around 9am, spilling over into Gyirong county in the Tibet autonomous region, causing “major casualties and missing persons” at a border checkpoint in the county, which is administered by the city of Shigatse. Footage... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365346/landslide-china-nepal-border-engulfs-checkpoint-causing-major-casualties https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365346/landslide-china-nepal-border-engulfs-checkpoint-causing-major-casualties Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:30:19 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Airports in China’s Zhejiang and Fujian provinces remained on high alert for potential delays and cancellations as Typhoon Saudel approached landfall on Wednesday, after multiple flights were cancelled in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Saudel, which entered the East China Sea early on Wednesday morning, prompted the cancellation of 16 flights at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. Affected carriers included Peach, China Airlines, EVA Air, Starlux and Thai Lion Air. Hong Kong Airlines fully cancelled... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3365279/chinas-coastal-regions-high-alert-typhoon-saudel-cancels-flights-ferries https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3365279/chinas-coastal-regions-high-alert-typhoon-saudel-cancels-flights-ferries Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:39:33 +0000 Xinlu Liang,Phoebe Zhang Xinlu Liang,Phoebe Zhang China’s top legislature has reviewed a draft law aimed at combating cross-border corruption as part of Beijing’s latest efforts to expand its anti-graft legal framework beyond its borders. On Tuesday, the draft Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law was submitted for its first reading during the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), which runs until Friday. The text of the bill is not yet available to the public. Enacting the law is a vital initiative to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365160/chinas-anti-corruption-legal-framework-about-extend-beyond-its-borders https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3365160/chinas-anti-corruption-legal-framework-about-extend-beyond-its-borders Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:53:17 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China-based Korean independence leader Sin Kyu-sik was the real mastermind behind his country’s provisional government in exile, according to new research that promotes him to a main player in the resistance against Japan’s occupation. The research was presented at a symposium in Seoul co-hosted by Gwangbokhoe, the official association for those who fought against Japan’s occupation. The academic exchange, which was backed by South Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, underscored... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3364805/research-boosts-south-korean-chinese-links-wwii-resistance-against-japan https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3364805/research-boosts-south-korean-chinese-links-wwii-resistance-against-japan Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:00:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China’s most senior general Zhang Shengmin has invoked the late former president Jiang Zemin’s response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and first Gulf war in an article emphasising the importance of party unity and military reform in the face of external threats. This month has seen a series of commemorative events to mark the centenary of Jiang’s birth, including a grand ceremony in Beijing on Monday, where President Xi Jinping gave a 40-minute speech highlighting his predecessor’s... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/military/article/3364444/top-chinese-general-draws-jiangs-legacy-highlight-importance-loyalty-military https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/military/article/3364444/top-chinese-general-draws-jiangs-legacy-highlight-importance-loyalty-military Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:47:20 +0000 Alcott Wei,Xinlu Liang Alcott Wei,Xinlu Liang President Xi Jinping led commemorations for the birth centenary of late state leader Jiang Zemin at a grand ceremony in Beijing on Monday, in a show of political continuity and party unity ahead of next year’s major power reshuffle. Addressing thousands of officials and delegates at the Great Hall of the People, Xi delivered a 40-minute speech that highlighted Jiang’s contributions to the Communist Party and the country. A large portrait of Jiang was displayed above the rostrum – a practice... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3364226/xi-jinping-speaks-event-commemorate-former-president-jiang-zemin-centenary https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3364226/xi-jinping-speaks-event-commemorate-former-president-jiang-zemin-centenary Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:59:50 +0000 William Zheng,Xinlu Liang William Zheng,Xinlu Liang Known for his sharp intellect, no-nonsense demeanour and relentless drive for reform, China’s former premier Zhu Rongji was the primary architect of the country’s transition from an isolated, rigidly planned economy to a market-driven titan connected to the rest of the world. During his tenure from 1998 to 2003, he engineered an economic “soft landing”, steered the nation through the Asian Financial Crisis and secured entry into the WTO, laying the groundwork for the country’s historic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3363913/11-key-achievements-chinas-iron-premier-zhu-rongji-his-own-words https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3363913/11-key-achievements-chinas-iron-premier-zhu-rongji-his-own-words Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:22:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Southern and eastern China are bracing for another round of severe weather after twin typhoons and widespread flooding this month. China’s top flood control and drought relief body held an emergency inter-agency meeting on Wednesday to coordinate disaster prevention ahead of the expected 12th named storm of the season. Meanwhile, rainfall remains widespread and intense nationwide, including regions still recovering from recent storms. Rivers and lakes are still swollen in some areas and the soil... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3361590/china-braces-3-typhoons-devastating-wake-bavi-maysak https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3361590/china-braces-3-typhoons-devastating-wake-bavi-maysak Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:26:26 +0000 Xinlu Liang,Lawrence Chung,Albee Zhang Xinlu Liang,Lawrence Chung,Albee Zhang Shanghai raised its local typhoon warning on Saturday afternoon as eastern China braced for the arrival of Typhoon Bavi, cancelling flights and ferry services and evacuating thousands of people. As of 6pm, Shanghai transport authorities had limited the speed on the overground sections of four subway lines, and warned they might impose further limits or partially suspend services on the rest of the network on Sunday and Monday. The city government has also imposed a 60km/h (35mph) speed limit on... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3360201/typhoon-bavi-flights-and-trains-cancelled-china-steps-emergency-preparations https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3360201/typhoon-bavi-flights-and-trains-cancelled-china-steps-emergency-preparations Sat, 11 Jul 2026 02:39:36 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Twenty-eight people died following a massive fire in a shoe factory in China’s eastern Fujian province on Thursday, state news agency Xinhua reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out effort to rescue and treat the victims, and investigate. The blaze was reported at 12.04pm at the Huiteng Shoes factory on Kaituo Road East in the village of Jiangtou in Chendai township, Jinjiang. Fire authorities in the city of Quanzhou sent emergency crews, including 35 fire engines, to the scene,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3360024/28-killed-factory-blaze-heart-chinese-shoe-manufacturing-hub https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3360024/28-killed-factory-blaze-heart-chinese-shoe-manufacturing-hub Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:47:32 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song will arrive in China on Friday for a three-day trip to mark the anniversary of a friendship treaty between the two countries, in another sign of improving ties between the two traditional allies. This year is the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, Beijing’s only formal defence pact, and Pak will be at the head of a party and government delegation. “China and North Korea are... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359990/north-koreas-premier-heads-china-defence-treaty-anniversary-allies-extend-thaw https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359990/north-koreas-premier-heads-china-defence-treaty-anniversary-allies-extend-thaw Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:22:28 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang President Xi Jinping has called for stronger efforts to draw overseas talent and address flaws in China’s innovation ecosystem, as intensifying tech rivalry pushes Beijing to bolster its global competitiveness. Xi underscored these priorities on Wednesday as he presented China’s highest scientific honour – the State Pre-eminent Science and Technology Award – to solid-state lithium battery pioneer Chen Liquan and military airborne radar expert Ben De. Each 2025 laureate received 5 million yuan... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3359886/chinas-xi-jinping-calls-innovation-system-overhaul-beat-global-tech-rivals https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3359886/chinas-xi-jinping-calls-innovation-system-overhaul-beat-global-tech-rivals Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:00:17 +0000 Xinlu Liang,Seong Hyeon Choi,Teresa Elena Frontado Xinlu Liang,Seong Hyeon Choi,Teresa Elena Frontado US President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that the ceasefire with Iran was “over”, hours after American forces launched fresh strikes on the Islamic Republic and as Beijing called for both nations to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table. “I think it’s over,” Trump said on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Ankara when asked whether the ceasefire was “done”. “I don’t want to deal with them any more.” The US president also warned that attacks on Iran would continue on Wednesday... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359842/trump-declares-ceasefire-iran-over https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359842/trump-declares-ceasefire-iran-over Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:53:06 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A court in eastern China has handed down a rare death sentence to a former municipal official convicted of taking more than 2.2 billion yuan (US$323.8 million) in bribes, marking one of the harshest punishments for economic crimes in recent years. Yang Youlin, who once served as executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone management committee, was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement, misappropriating public funds, abuse of power and money laundering.... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3359625/former-chinese-official-sentenced-death-us323-million-bribery-case https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3359625/former-chinese-official-sentenced-death-us323-million-bribery-case Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:20:52 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang In a departure from convention, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the United States on Independence Day. “This year marks the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States. President Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, has already sent a congratulatory message to US President Trump,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing on Monday. Beijing does not usually publicise presidential greetings on July 4... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359616/chinas-xi-jinping-sets-new-precedent-july-4-message-trump-and-us https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359616/chinas-xi-jinping-sets-new-precedent-july-4-message-trump-and-us Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:40:26 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A new Chinese law that pledges to hold overseas individuals and organisations responsible for undermining ethnic unity is mainly intended to have a “deterrent effect”, according to analysts. The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress was passed in March and is set to take effect next month, with Article 63 at the heart of the controversy about targeting people outside China. The law provides a new framework which analysts said was designed to counter Western ideological influence and provide... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3358603/what-beijing-hopes-achieve-new-ethnic-unity-law-targets-people-overseas https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3358603/what-beijing-hopes-achieve-new-ethnic-unity-law-targets-people-overseas Sun, 28 Jun 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang In late April, China’s top intelligence agency claimed that foreign forces were weaponising the concept of “lying flat” to dispel young people’s “belief in striving” and undermine social values. Once a niche subculture, “lying flat” has evolved into a mainstream phenomenon over the past five years. “Lying flat” became a buzzword on Chinese social media around 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the phrase was usually applied to people who had completely dropped out of the rat... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3357771/how-lying-flat-went-niche-subculture-mainstream-phenomenon https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3357771/how-lying-flat-went-niche-subculture-mainstream-phenomenon Sat, 20 Jun 2026 22:00:15 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang To win the global war of words over Tibet, China’s western autonomous region that repeatedly makes international headlines, Beijing must stop fighting the West’s algorithms and start adapting to them. That was the blunt assessment of Zachary Lundquist, an American media professional with the state-run China International Communications Group (CICG), speaking in Lhasa, capital of China’s Tibetan autonomous region, on Tuesday. Lundquist – better known by his Chinese name, Huang Hao – was... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3357395/could-ai-algorithms-hold-chinas-solution-global-narrative-tibet https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3357395/could-ai-algorithms-hold-chinas-solution-global-narrative-tibet Wed, 17 Jun 2026 07:57:08 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang In less than two months, the indie film Dear You has become an unlikely mass hit. Shot in the Teochew language from the Chaoshan region of southern China’s Guangdong province, the movie follows a man uncovering his family’s past by tracing remittance letters sent home from Thailand. As he pieces together his grandfather’s life story, the movie also explores Chinese migration to the region and the diaspora’s struggle to preserve its heritage. In one scene, an elderly schoolmaster risks arrest in... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356953/dear-you-chinese-migration-film-igniting-propaganda-debate-southeast-asia https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356953/dear-you-chinese-migration-film-igniting-propaganda-debate-southeast-asia Sat, 13 Jun 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A series of emergency management and local government officials in central China’s Hunan province have come under investigation following a catastrophic fireworks factory explosion that killed 37 people last month. The provincial discipline inspection commission announced on Thursday that three senior figures within the emergency management system were under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law”. The officials are Lei Min, deputy director of the safety production emergency... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356875/china-investigates-3-more-officials-over-hunan-fireworks-factory-explosion-killed-37 https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356875/china-investigates-3-more-officials-over-hunan-fireworks-factory-explosion-killed-37 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:21:42 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang met Trump ally Steve Daines and other US lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday. In those talks, KMT chairwoman Cheng Li-wun outlined the party’s position on defence and energy, saying her party did not oppose American arms sales to the island, according to Taiwan’s United Daily News. Her meetings on Wednesday also included talks with Republican representatives John Rose and Chuck Fleischmann, and Democratic Representative Thomas Suozzi. According... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356785/kmt-chief-cheng-li-wun-meets-trump-ally-steve-daines-washington https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356785/kmt-chief-cheng-li-wun-meets-trump-ally-steve-daines-washington Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:03:04 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A high-ranking workplace safety official in central China’s Shanxi province has been placed under investigation over a massive coal mine explosion that killed 82. Zhang Heping, deputy director of the provincial department of emergency management, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law”, according to a statement released by the provincial discipline inspection and supervisory commission late on Wednesday. The provincial anti-corruption watchdog explicitly linked Zhang to the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356725/chinese-safety-official-investigated-over-liushenyu-coal-mine-blast-killed-82 https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3356725/chinese-safety-official-investigated-over-liushenyu-coal-mine-blast-killed-82 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:00:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A US prosecutor’s newly revealed diaries from World War II have laid bare the gruelling effort to document Japanese wartime atrocities in China and the unlikely bond forged between him and the people he helped. The diaries belonged to David Nelson Sutton, an American assistant prosecutor at the Tokyo Trial, or the International Military Tribunal for the Far East – a landmark international judicial effort. The tribunal drew upon a vast “evidence wall” comprising nearly 50,000 pages of trial... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3356535/what-us-lawyers-diaries-show-about-prosecuting-japanese-atrocities-nanking-massacre https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3356535/what-us-lawyers-diaries-show-about-prosecuting-japanese-atrocities-nanking-massacre Tue, 09 Jun 2026 22:00:07 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan,Xinlu Liang Cao Jiaxuan,Xinlu Liang Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised the shared sacrifices and deep historical ties between China and North Korea during a visit to a historic mountainside in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Xi and first lady Peng Liyuan paid tribute at the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower in Moran Hill, accompanied by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju. Honour guards placed a floral basket at the monument with a ribbon inscribed with the words “The martyrs of the Chinese People’s Volunteer (CPV) Army... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3356485/xi-jinpings-visit-north-korean-war-monument-evokes-eternal-historical-memory https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3356485/xi-jinpings-visit-north-korean-war-monument-evokes-eternal-historical-memory Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:44:23 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Chinese academics specialising in Tibet must find more creative ways to shape the global conversation about the region while remaining strictly aligned with the Communist Party’s ideology. That was the message Li Ganjie, head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, had for researchers who gathered to mark the 40th anniversary of the China Tibetology Research Centre on Wednesday. According to state news agency Xinhua, Li said that the international situation was “volatile” and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3355946/tibetology-key-china-shaping-global-views-region-top-official-says https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3355946/tibetology-key-china-shaping-global-views-region-top-official-says Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:41:24 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang An alleged Myanmar crime boss and members of his syndicate were put on trial this week in the latest stage of Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on cross-border scam networks. Wei Huairen, also known as Wai San, faces charges including fraud, murder, extortion and organising illegal border crossings, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday. Prosecutors allege that from 2019 onwards, the syndicate used the Wei family’s military and political influence in Myanmar’s Kokang region to operate... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3354555/myanmars-wei-family-put-trial-latest-phase-chinas-crackdown-scam-compounds https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3354555/myanmars-wei-family-put-trial-latest-phase-chinas-crackdown-scam-compounds Fri, 22 May 2026 10:36:57 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday evening for a two-day state visit, he once again returned to his “second home” at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a royal garden that has hosted dignitaries including Richard Nixon, Boris Yeltsin and Kim Jong-un. Diaoyutai is a familiar setting for Putin, who has visited China more than 20 times and personally met President Xi Jinping on more than 40 occasions since 2013, according to state news agency Xinhua. He usually resides... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3354201/what-political-weight-diaoyutai-guesthouse-where-putin-staying https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3354201/what-political-weight-diaoyutai-guesthouse-where-putin-staying Wed, 20 May 2026 07:00:51 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Tech billionaire Elon Musk is once again using his massive social media megaphone to trumpet Chinese infrastructure to an international audience. On Monday, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla reposted on X, which he owns, a nearly six-minute video of Chongqing East Railway Station in southwestern China, drawing millions of views within hours. It is unclear whether Musk is currently in Chongqing, China’s “mountain city” known for its spicy hotpot and one of the country’s most popular tourist... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3354066/why-elon-musks-post-spotlighting-chinese-infrastructure-has-reignited-debate https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3354066/why-elon-musks-post-spotlighting-chinese-infrastructure-has-reignited-debate Tue, 19 May 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Beijing has strongly criticised Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te for paying tribute to a figure from Japan’s colonial era in Taiwan. In a commentary published on Sunday, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily accused Lai, from Taiwan’s independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party, of “forgetting his ancestors” and reaching a new low in “ingratiating himself with Japan”. The denunciation followed Lai’s attendance at a memorial service on May 8 in the city of Tainan,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3353961/why-beijing-outraged-over-taiwans-lai-honouring-wwii-era-japanese-engineer https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3353961/why-beijing-outraged-over-taiwans-lai-honouring-wwii-era-japanese-engineer Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:14 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang In November 1861, during his self-imposed political exile, French writer Victor Hugo penned a blistering condemnation of his country. The author of Les Misérables described two “bandits” – France and Britain – who had attacked the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, in Beijing the previous year. “One plundered, the other burned.” “All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient,” he said. “The French empire has pocketed half... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3353871/france-passes-law-returning-loot-should-china-pop-champagne https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3353871/france-passes-law-returning-loot-should-china-pop-champagne Sun, 17 May 2026 10:00:12 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang As the US delegation met with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing, some hugely important topics were on the agenda. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also found the time to admire the meeting room’s interior design. Footage of Rubio checking out the ceiling of one of the grand reception rooms in which President Xi Jinping hosted his US counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday went viral online. The candid footage catches Rubio in the East Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3353589/trump-revamps-white-house-rubio-floored-beijing-halls-fancy-ceiling https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3353589/trump-revamps-white-house-rubio-floored-beijing-halls-fancy-ceiling Thu, 14 May 2026 11:43:21 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang US President Donald Trump’s US$500 billion Stargate AI project is being undermined by the war with Iran, a conflict that is accelerating the decline of the United States, according to Chinese analysts. The project, designed to cement US dominance in the field of artificial intelligence, was announced in January last year, shortly after Trump’s return to power, and involves leading companies such as OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle. A critical component of this plan was building the world’s largest AI... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353040/why-trumps-war-iran-may-be-accelerating-end-us-hegemony-and-undermining-stargate https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353040/why-trumps-war-iran-may-be-accelerating-end-us-hegemony-and-undermining-stargate Sun, 10 May 2026 10:01:04 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang The Communist Party chief of Hefei – a growing tech hub and capital of China’s central Anhui province – has been placed under investigation, the country’s top corruption watchdog announced on Wednesday. Fei Gaoyun, once widely recognised as a rising star in the “seventh-generation” of future national leaders, is the latest senior official to be snared in President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign. The 54-year-old’s career trajectory was typical of China’s emerging generation of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352648/party-boss-chinas-emerging-tech-hub-under-investigation-corruption https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352648/party-boss-chinas-emerging-tech-hub-under-investigation-corruption Wed, 06 May 2026 12:44:31 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang As the closest mainland Chinese province to Taiwan, Fujian is a key site for Beijing’s messaging towards the island. In the second of a two-part series (read part one here), Xinlu Liang looks at how the ancestral home village of William Lai Ching-te has become a focus for efforts to promote closer ties based on kinship and religion. The village of Xintian in Fujian province is usually a quiet rural backwater but that changed in November when popular Taiwanese YouTuber and bodybuilder Holger Chen... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352228/faith-hope-and-ancestry-william-lais-clan-village-beijings-push-cross-strait-ties https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352228/faith-hope-and-ancestry-william-lais-clan-village-beijings-push-cross-strait-ties Sat, 02 May 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang A top US medical anthropologist believes the United States and China must transcend geopolitical tensions and spur a global revolution in “social technology” to survive the looming ageing crisis. Arthur Kleinman, a physician-anthropologist with joint appointments at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, proposed that the US learn from China’s recent efforts to build a long-term care insurance system, while in return China can take lessons from the US nursing home model. “We have never... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352222/ageing-dilemma-why-robots-cant-save-us-china-us-cooperation-might https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352222/ageing-dilemma-why-robots-cant-save-us-china-us-cooperation-might Sat, 02 May 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Fujian province, the closest mainland Chinese province to Taiwan, is an important site for Beijing’s messaging towards the island. In the first of a two-part series (read part two here), Xinlu Liang examines how Beijing is framing the executions of Communist Party spies in Taiwan within a reunification narrative. A courtyard house in an old quarter of Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, has become the unlikeliest of national pilgrimage sites. For decades, the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352156/why-beijing-now-wants-its-spies-executed-taiwan-come-decades-cold https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3352156/why-beijing-now-wants-its-spies-executed-taiwan-come-decades-cold Fri, 01 May 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Alcott Wei,Xinlu Liang Alcott Wei,Xinlu Liang A senior Chinese official who oversees religious and ethnic minority affairs has called for China to “strengthen” the education, training and management of Tibetan Buddhist personnel. Li Ganjie, head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department and a member of the now 22-man Politburo, made the call during a trip to Tibetan areas in western China, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. He visited several religious organisations and study institutions in the Tibetan autonomous... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3351181/china-must-strengthen-education-tibetan-buddhists-beijing-official-says-after-tour https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3351181/china-must-strengthen-education-tibetan-buddhists-beijing-official-says-after-tour Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:11 +0000 Lawrence Chung,Xinlu Liang Lawrence Chung,Xinlu Liang Beijing has praised the decision by three African countries to deny overflight clearance for Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, whose trip to eSwatini was cancelled a day before his scheduled departure. Lai had been due to leave on Wednesday for a five-day trip to eSwatini, the only African country that maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of King Mswati’s accession and his 58th birthday. But Lai’s office announced late on Tuesday that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3351028/does-william-lais-cancelled-eswatini-trip-show-beijings-reach-africa https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3351028/does-william-lais-cancelled-eswatini-trip-show-beijings-reach-africa Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:01:10 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China has released new regulations that aim to counter the “unjustified” extraterritorial use of foreign laws, the latest move to protect its interests from external threats. Analysts view the move as a shift from diplomatic protests to legal warfare, and some warn it could have wide-ranging applications. The European Chamber of Commerce in China raised concern that the “broad scope, vague language and wide discretion” of the rules went far beyond similar statutes in the West. Amid the US... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3350743/how-china-reinforcing-its-legal-shield-against-foreign-pressure https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3350743/how-china-reinforcing-its-legal-shield-against-foreign-pressure Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:00:12 +0000