Kinaforum

tirsdag 25. november 2025

A Tibetan monk set himself ablaze at his monastery in China’s northwestern Qinghai

A Tibetan monk set himself ablaze Wednesday at his monastery in China’s northwestern Qinghai province following protests by several thousand Tibetan students calling for education reforms, sources said. The self-immolation occurred at a monastery in Qinghai’s Rebkong (in Chinese, Tongren) county in Malho (in Chinese, Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, triggering protests by hundreds against Chinese rule in Tibetan-populated areas, exile sources said.

The burning came a day after nearly 4,000 middle school students held protests demanding Tibetan language and other rights in Rebkong and in neighboring Tsekhog (in Chinese, Zeku) county, sources inside Tibet said. The students had been prevented from leaving their schools, the sources said, with one source adding, “The authorities have detained all the students inside the schools.”

Rebkong was the scene of constant student protests in October 2010 against a proposed change in the language of instruction in schools from Tibetan to Chinese.

The self-immolation on Wednesday was the 28th by Tibetans since they began a wave of fiery protests in February 2009 to challenge Beijing’s rule and call for the return of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Japan to deploy missiles on island of Yonaguni

Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.”

Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress has been made so far. The truck-launched missiles are designed to counter air threats up to 48km away.

Trump says he will visit Beijing in April and host China’s Xi for a state visit later next year

President Donald Trump said Monday that he has accepted an invitation from Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Beijing in April and that he reciprocated by inviting Xi for a state visit to the U.S. later next year.

Trump made the announcement after he spoke with Xi by phone nearly a month after the two leaders met in person in South Korea, saying they discussed issues including Ukraine, fentanyl and purchases of American soybeans.

“Our relationship with China is extremely strong!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Beijing, which announced the phone call first, said nothing about the state visits but noted that the two leaders discussed trade, Taiwan and Ukraine. Xi told Trump that Taiwan’s return to mainland China is “an integral part of the postwar international order,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said — a crucial issue to Beijing that Trump did not mention in his post.

Can Taiwan keep the talent it invites?

The government’s Gold Card was designed to ease the country’s labor shortage. But many foreign professionals discover that once they arrive, the jobs and support they were promised don’t materialize

Seven hundred job applications. One interview. Marco Mascaro arrived in Taiwan last year with a PhD in engineering physics and years of experience at a European research center. He thought his Gold Card would guarantee him a foothold in Taiwan’s job market. "It's marketed as if Taiwan really needs you,” the 33-year-old Italian says. “The reality is that companies here don’t really need us.”

The Employment Gold Card was designed to fix Taiwan’s labor shortage by offering foreign professionals a combined resident visa and open work permit valid for three years. But for many, like Mascaro, the welcome mat ends at the door.

Japan ‘crossed a red line’ with Taiwan military intervention remarks, Chinese foreign minister says

Japan “crossed a red line” with comments by its new leader suggesting a potential military intervention over Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday. Remarks earlier this month by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that a Chinese naval blockade or other action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response were “shocking,” Wang said in a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.

“It is shocking that Japan’s current leaders have publicly sent the wrong signal of attempting military intervention in the Taiwan issue, said things they shouldn’t have said, and crossed a red line that should not have been touched,” Wang said.

The most senior Chinese official to address the tensions so far, Wang added that China must “resolutely respond” to Japan’s actions and that all countries have the responsibility to “prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism.”

The Chinese Global Brain Turning Back to Home

In recent decades, China has emerged as a global powerhouse in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), driven not only by domestic investment but also by the strategic return of its brightest minds from abroad. This investigative report examines the phenomenon of Chinese tech and STEM professionals repatriating from countries across the world, a trend that has bolstered China’s ambitions to lead in fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Quantum Physics, and Aerospace. Drawing on verified data from credible sources we have documented many notable individuals who left prestigious positions in nations including the United States, Japan, Austria, Australia and France etc and beyond to contribute to China’s scientific and technological ascent.

This exodus of talent, often facilitated by initiatives like the Thousand Talents Plan launched in 2008, reflects a confluence of factors: China’s growing economic and academic opportunities, geopolitical tensions prompting scrutiny of Chinese researchers abroad, and a national call to build a self-reliant innovation ecosystem. From pioneers like Qian Xuesen, who returned from the U.S. in 1955 to spearhead China’s missile program, to modern trailblazers like Pan Jianwei, who left Austria in 2001 to revolutionize quantum communication, these returnees span diverse fields and eras.

Our analysis reveals a concentration in AI and computer science, mathematics and physics, and emerging areas like robotics and biotechnology, underscoring China’s strategic priorities.

China Will Help Rebuild Ukraine – But That Comes With Risks

This September, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced a $75 million equity commitment to the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Pursuant to the U.S.-Ukraine Minerals Deal signed in April, the joint fund will use the revenue from natural resource extraction to finance Ukraine’s economic recovery.

However, the total cost of reconstruction and recovery over the next decade in Ukraine is estimated to be $524 billion, which is almost 2.8 times the country’s nominal GDP for 2024. The demise of USAID, disagreements over U.S. involvement in Ukraine, and constant bickering between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy all suggest that Kyiv cannot expect any Marshall Plan-like support to aid its recovery.

China is stepping up its legal narratives targeting the Philippines

In recent months, China has been doubling down on the narrative that the Philippines is the regional “troublemaker” that repeatedly engages in unlawful behavior and provokes conflict and confrontation. This labelling is part of China’s systematic efforts to promote legal counterfactuals that undermine established international law in order to complement and support its South China Sea agenda.

This is an act of “lawfare,” a term that Charles Dunlap famously defined in 2008 as “the strategy of using – or misusing – law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective.” Over time, the meaning of lawfare has broadened to go beyond simple equivalence to kinetic war. Zakhar Tropin argued in 2021 that the term should also apply to “the use of law aimed at delegitimizing the actions of an opponent (or legitimizing one’s own) and to tie up the time and resources of the opponent and achieve advances in military activity or in any sphere of social relations.”

The Class Anxieties Behind China’s Millions of Security Guards

One morning in the fall of 2016, a young man dressed in black was wandering around the Dadi residential community in central Shanghai. For several hours, he anxiously talked on his phone as he observed the people passing by. He knew that his ex-girlfriend was renting an apartment there. Security guard Liu Yong, who was on patrol that morning, noticed him.

Around noon, a young woman and a man came out of a building. The man dressed in black headed directly toward them and pulled a knife out of his pocket. Recognizing the menacing face, the woman started screaming and ran to a nearby grocery store. While she pleaded with a shop worker for help, the man in black had already killed her companion.

Liu was the first person to arrive on the scene, quickly followed by other security guards. The victim was lying on the ground covered in blood, while the murderer was attempting to pry open the shutters that the grocery store had rolled down to protect the woman. Liu was terrified and could only recall calling the police and an ambulance. The murderer was caught later that day at a railway station.

Video Shows Chinese Ships Confronted in Disputed Waters

Video released by Taiwan shows the island's Coast Guard challenging a Chinese Coast Guard vessel in the Taiwan Strait after it entered what Taipei considers restricted waters. The encounter took place in waters around the Taipei-administered island county of Kinmen, which sits just off the Chinese coast. China has stepped up patrols in the area since a February 2024 accident that saw Chinese fishermen drowned near Kinmen while being pursued by Taiwan’s Coast Guard.

China insists the deployments are regular law enforcement inspections, while Taiwanese analysts have suggested they aim to normalize Beijing's presence in the area.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, though the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing has never governed there. Beijing has repeatedly vowed to bring the island democracy under its control, by force if necessary, and has increased military activities around Taiwan, prompting the island to ramp up defense spending and drills on countering an invasion.

Lethal smog is back in the world’s most polluted capital. Residents have had enough

It’s easy to tell when it’s smog season in New Delhi; the air gets darker, heavier and starts scratching the throats and testing the lungs of the city’s 34 million residents. Pollution been an issue for so long in the Indian capital that the city’s famous Red Fort is turning black, an outward sign of a growing health and political crisis that’s now bringing angry residents onto the streets.

“I just want to be able to breathe again,” said Sofie, 33, at a protest near Delhi’s India Gate earlier this month. “There seems to be no political will to fix the issue,” she added, surrounded by dozens of protesters wearing face masks and carrying nebulizers.

Successive Delhi governments have had air pollution plans dating back to 1996, but decades on, the air remains dangerously unhealthy, especially at this time of year when colder air traps smoke and fumes from fireworks, crop-burning and heavy city traffic.

Chinese consumer brands flood into Africa as old investment model fades and exports jump 28%

Chinese business dealings in Africa, once dominated by state-owned enterprises, are now increasingly shifting toward consumer products from the private sector. While Africa’s faster-growing economies, such as Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, see annual growth rates of 4.8%, 6.4% and 5.8%, respectively, the GDP of the overall continent’s 50-plus countries is 4.1%. That is according to IMF’s economic outlook report last month.

Chinese investments in Africa’s resource-intensive sectors have declined by roughly 40% since their 2015 peak, amid weaker returns and falling construction revenues in traditional commodity industries, according to Rhodium Group China Cross-Border Monitor released on Nov. 18 this year.

JD Vance expressed hope his Hindu wife will become a Christian. That’s ruffled feathers in India

When JD Vance told a stadium of thousands he hoped his wife would one day be moved “by the Christian gospel” the same way he was, he inadvertently stepped into a contentious dialogue in India and among the diaspora about religious freedom and, for some, evoked memories of the country’s complicated past with Christian proselytizing.

Speaking at an event last month with Turning Point USA at the University of Mississippi, Vance was asked by an audience member about Christianity and American patriotism.

“Why are we making Christianity one of the major things that you have to have in common to be one of you guys? To show that I love America just as much as you do?” the audience member asked.

The self-defeating tariffs killing Trump’s presidency

Americans are not very happy with Donald Trump’s second term in office. Trump’s approval has trended downward since he returned to power and has recently fallen again.

Unhappy with the economy. Pain with prices. Unsure about Trump administration policies. It adds up to high disapproval among the president’s loyal constituencies…

Some 76% of voters view the economy negatively. That’s worse than the 67% who felt that way in July and the 70% who said the same at the end of former President Biden’s term…Large numbers, overall and among Republicans, say their costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare and housing have gone up this year…Voters blame the president.

About twice as many say President Donald Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy. And three times as many say Trump’s economic policies have hurt them (they said the same about Biden’s last year). Plus, approval of how Trump is handling the economy hit a new low, and disapproval of his overall job performance hit record highs among core supporters.

Economic coercion risk in ASEAN’s growing China dependence

The geoeconomic shock from the United States’ “Liberation Day” tariffs has pushed members of ASEAN closer to China’s economic orbit. While deeper economic integration helps mitigate the growing uncertainty of international trade, it also makes ASEAN an increasingly vulnerable target for Beijing’s economic coercion.

Countries in the region must actively maintain open and diversified economic partnerships, while improving their management of diplomatic crises to mitigate the weaponization of their economic dependence.

Southeast Asia remains among the regions hardest hit by US tariffs. Despite concessions during negotiations, the latest agreements on reciprocal tariffs that US President Donald Trump signed with Malaysia and Cambodia on October 26 failed to reduce the 19% tariff rate imposed on both countries.

Alliance condemns Beijing repression

The Liberal International, a global alliance of liberal and progressive democratic political parties, yesterday unanimously passed a resolution proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun to condemn China’s transnational repression against Taiwanese. The motion was passed on the first day of the Liberal International’s 209th Executive Committee Meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.

Fan, who is the Liberal International’s vice president and attending on behalf of the DPP, proposed an emergency resolution to support DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and counter transnational repression.China’s Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” for crimes of “separatism” for promoting “Taiwanese independence.”

On Nov. 9, the state-run China Central Television aired a segment which suggested that Interpol should pursue Shen. The meeting in The Hague gathered nearly 170 representatives of liberal parties and democracy advocates from 48 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia, Fan said.

China reclaims spot as top German trade partner from US

China has again overtaken the US to become Germany's top trading partner, thanks to a rise in imports to Germany in the first three quarters of 2025. This comes amid tariff tensions with both countries, albeit with Donald Trump's trade policies probably getting the most attention, and as German exports to both the core markets falter. Car sales suffered in particular.

The government's statistics office, Destatis, published corrected data on Wednesday showing a total trade volume with China of €185.9 billion (roughly $215 billion) between January and September. That's an increase of 0.6% compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, trade with the US was down 3.9% compared to the first nine months of 2024, standing at €184.7 billion. China had usurped the US as Germany's largest trade partner in 2016 and then stayed there consistently, until it lost the top spot last year.

China tightens grip on independent films at home and abroad

Photos of empty cinemas have been circulating online in recent weeks — a form of protest staged by Zhu Rikun, curator of the New York–based IndieChina Film Festival, against what he called the Chinese government's crackdown on independent films. The festival was canceled on November 6, just days before it was due to start, due to pressure from the Chinese government.

"I didn't notice any warning signs… In the festival statement, I even expressed hope that the festival could soon return to China. I didn't want it to become an event in exile," Zhu told DW. He recounted that the pressure began with a call from his father who urged him "not to do anything harmful to the country." Soon after, almost all Chinese filmmakers withdrew their films and foreign guests faced harassment from unidentified individuals.

Back in China, the Wuhan Berlin Film Week also unexpectedly announced its cancelation, prompting speculation it, too, had faced pressure from authorities. International human rights groups warned of Beijing's growing repression both internally and abroad.