China

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39002052

Archived

China plays a key role in Russia's war against Ukraine, supporting Russia while also being interested in preserving the semi-destroyed Russian economy. This allows Beijing to control the Russian economy and influence political processes in Moscow, according to Volodymyr Ohryzko, Director of the Centre for Russian Studies in Ukraine [and Ukraine's former Minister of Foreign Affairs].

"China, through the words of its foreign minister, has said that it will not allow Russia to lose. Therefore, this means that China has been helping and will continue to help Russia wage war against Ukraine. It's obvious and clear whose side China is on. On the other hand, will China help Russia too much? Here, I have huge doubts," Ohryzko noted [on Espreso TV].

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Today China controls practically everything that happens in the Russian economy. It dictates the prices at which it buys or will buy goods from Russia now or in the future. Therefore, China needs a half-dead Russian economy that it can manage as it pleases and accordingly influence what happens in Moscow, according to Ohryzko.

"Thus, in this triangle of Beijing–Washington–Moscow, the last one (Russia, ed.) is a zero without a stick. It's the third wheel, which will be invited to the table only when the key issues between the two serious players are resolved. That is, this is already obvious and clear to everyone," Ohryzko remarked.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38969776

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Students for a Free Tibet (SfT) raised concerns over Labour’s early years minister, Stephen Morgan MP, following his trip in May to Wuhan, where he represented the UK at the World Digital Education Conference.

SfT is a global chapter-based organisation that campaigns in solidarity with Tibetans seeking freedom and independence after China’s invasion in 1950.

According to various media sources and the United Nations, around 80 per cent of Tibetan children aged between four and eighteen - around one million pupils - have been placed in state-run boarding schools. These schools reportedly remove children from their families and replace Tibetan with Chinese as the primary language of education.

As a result, some children return home unable to speak their mother tongue, making communication with their families difficult. SfT describes this as a form of “cultural erasure” that can result in long-term emotional trauma.

In 2022, the UK government told the United Nations that Tibet remained an issue of “deep international concern, including new reports of boarding schools being used to further erode cultural, linguistic and religious identity.”

The following year, UN experts expressed alarm at what they described as the “forced assimilation” of Tibetan children and "erosion of their identity".

Following Mr Morgan’s visit, SfT wrote to the MP seeking clarification. The group said it received only a vague reply in which Mr Morgan asserted that a Labour government would “challenge where we must, to protect UK values,” and highlighted that there is no record of him raising the Tibet issue during the conference.

In a statement, SfT said:

“The fact that Stephen Morgan, as the individual entrusted with overseeing Early Childhood Education and representing the United Kingdom abroad, is publicly contradicting an established, major foreign policy position held by the UK and echoed in consensus by many like-minded countries and allies cannot be ignored, as the potential political consequences are significant.”

The group has called on the UK government to release a statement detailing the purpose of the visit, including who funded it and what was discussed at the conference roundtable.

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Chinese authorities have begun constructing what will be the world's largest hydropower dam in Tibetan territory, in a project that has sparked concerns from India and Bangladesh.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a ceremony marking the start of construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo river on Saturday, according to local media.

The river flows through the Tibetan plateau. The project has attracted criticism for its potential impact on millions of Indians and Bangladeshis living downriver, as well as the surrounding environment and local Tibetans.

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Experts and officials have flagged concerns that the new dam would empower China to control or divert the trans-border Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows south into India's Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states as well as Bangladesh, where it feeds into the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers.

A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian-based think tank, noted that "control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India's economy".

In an interview with news agency PTI earlier this month, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu expressed concern that the Siang and Brahmaputra could "dry up considerably" once the dam was completed.

He added that the dam was "going to cause an existential threat to our tribes and our livelihoods. It is quite serious because China could even use this as a sort of 'water bomb'".

"Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed," he said. "In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups... would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects."

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China has been eyeing the steep valleys and mighty rivers in the rural west - where Tibetan territories are located - to build mega-dams and hydropower stations that can sustain the country's electricity-hungry eastern metropolises. President Xi Jinping has personally pushed for this in a policy called "xidiandongsong", or "sending western electricity eastwards".

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Activists say the dams are the latest example of Beijing's exploitation of Tibetans and their land - and past protests have been crushed.

Last year, the Chinese government rounded up hundreds of Tibetans who had been protesting against another hydropower dam. It ended in arrests and beatings, with some people seriously injured, the BBC learned through sources and verified footage.

There are also environmental concerns over the flooding of Tibetan valleys renowned for their biodiversity, and the possible dangers of building dams in a region rife with earthquake fault lines.

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[Alternative news on the issue are to be found across the web, e.g., Wells Fargo exit ban revives fears about doing business in China.]

The Chinese government is preventing a Chinese American banker for Wells Fargo and, separately, an employee of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from leaving the country, reports said Sunday.

The identity of the detained U.S. government employee was not known to the Washington Post, which first reported the news. Mao Chenyue, the managing director of Wells Fargo Credit Solutions, was confirmed as the bank employee facing the exit ban by the company in statements to The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

People familiar with the Patent and Trademark Office employee's case told the Washington Post that he traveled to China to visit family but allegedly failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the government.

Wells Fargo has since reportedly suspended travel by its executives to China, noting in its statement to The New York Times that the company is tracking the situation and working "through the appropriate channels" to ensure their employee is returned.

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crosspostato da: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38898325

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Several human rights and civil society organizations published an open letter urging the European Union to prioritize human rights in the forthcoming European Union (EU)-China Summit to be held in China on July 24-25.

"At the recent G7 meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a “new China shock,” and urged that G7 members respond with greater cooperation, resilience and alternative approaches. We believe similar ambition should apply to the approach of the EU and its member states regarding the deepening human rights crisis in China," the letter reads.

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Despite the "EU’s longtime support to independent civil society and human rights defenders across China", the groups say that the "wholesale assault on human rights" has been continuing since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012.

"He [Xi Jinping] and other officials are confident in their impunity for widespread arbitrary detention, forced assimilation, forced labour and torture in China; and transnational repression, including in Europe. Chinese authorities not only refuse to comply with the vast majority of their international human rights obligations, they also seek to rewrite global human rights norms and weaken key international institutions."

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crosspostato da: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38844541

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Op-ed by Marcus Kolga, founder of DisinfoWatch and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Almost every night since May, Russian missiles and drones – powered by Iranian designs and packed with Chinese components – have torn through Ukrainian schools, hospitals and homes, killing or maiming thousands in a ruthless campaign of terror. Those drones are now reaching further into Ukraine, striking apartment buildings in Lviv over the weekend.

In June alone, 5,429 Russian drones and ballistic missiles struck Ukrainian targets. According to the UN, they have caused more than 3,000 civilian casualties since the start of the war, with 232 civilians killed in June. Analysts warn that Russia could soon develop the capacity to launch up to 1,000 drones in a single night against Ukrainian civilian targets.

Russia’s weapon of choice in its war of terror is the Iranian-designed Shahed drone – now mass-produced in Russia and rebranded as the “Geran.” Day after day, waves of these drones hover over Ukrainian cities, with their operators safe inside Russia, actively targeting civilian infrastructure and hunting civilians.

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What is less known, but deeply disturbing, is the extent to which China is supplying components and technology to enable Russia’s growing ability to build these drones. The collaboration of Chinese companies and the Chinese regime in building these weapons makes them directly complicit in facilitating and enabling the war crimes being committed against the Ukrainian people.

The evidence of Chinese involvement is clear. Ukrainian security services have identified Chinese-origin components in Russian drones recovered after attacks on Kyiv. A recent Bloomberg investigation revealed a direct partnership between Russian firm Aero-HIT and Chinese suppliers and engineers to help Russia mass-produce drones. A growing list of Chinese companies have been exposed for supplying critical components: engines, carbon fibre airframes, electronics, navigation systems and antennas – all essential parts integrated into drones now rolling off Russian assembly lines.

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While Canada was among the first to sanction Iranian drone manufacturers in 2022, Ottawa added just 20 Chinese entities to our sanctions list last February, far fewer than our allies and nowhere near sufficient given the growing scale of China’s support for Russia’s drone program.

Even here in Canada, there is disturbing evidence of complicity. In June, the RCMP charged Anton Trofimov – a Russian national living in Canada – for allegedly exporting restricted technologies to Russia via Hong Kong for the purpose of manufacturing weapons, underscoring how Canada itself has been exploited as a platform for Russian sanctions evasion.

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Canada should designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism under the State Immunity Act – an action that would allow victims to pursue civil cases in Canadian courts, including against Chinese entities that enable Russia’s war.

The need to act is dire and undeniable: thousands of lives are at stake. As innocent Ukrainian civilians endure relentless nightly bombardments from Russian drones powered by Chinese-made components, we cannot afford to hesitate. Disrupting the supply lines that fuel Russia’s campaign of terror and holding the Chinese private and government entities enabling this deadly collaboration to account will help save innocent Ukrainian lives.

A provocative argument. Tibet has nothing to show for its well-intentioned pacifism, says the author.

Tibet today has the distinction of being the world’s largest colony. In official Chinese documents, it is classified as “Water Tower Number One”— a source of prized minerals and hydropower. Since annexing Tibet, Beijing has relentlessly disfigured it. It has mined and carted away its mineral wealth, dammed and diverted waters from its bountiful rivers, herded innumerable Tibetans into communes, stamped out the expression of Tibetan identity, and annihilated whole ways of life.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38772752

There is no question about Taiwan’s status today. Only an authoritarian regime’s denial of a reality its ideology finds inconvenient.

[Op-ed by Roy Chun Lee, Taiwan's Ambassador to the EU and Belgium.]

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Over the past 130 years, the people of Taiwan have cultivated a unique identity with a multicultural heritage, drawing not only from Chinese influences but also from the Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, and Taiwan's indigenous peoples, who are widely regarded to be the origin of all Austronesian cultures. Like the identity-building process of most European countries, Taiwan's journey has been a mixture of darkness and light, suffering and joy, struggle and triumph.

Yet these elements are exactly what make the Taiwanese identity unique and render it a special, like-minded partner to Europe and the world, with or without formal diplomatic recognition.

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Unfortunately, instead of applauding Taiwan, the PRC has continually employed every available method to deny the existence of Taiwan. One of the most frequently used tools is to distort the meaning of UN Resolution 2758, arguing that the Resolution reflects a global consensus that Taiwan is part of the PRC.

This is fake news. The following is a direct quotation from a speech delivered by European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, on behalf of EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell in October 2024: “United Nations Resolution 2758 is very short - only 150 words. And among those 150 words, the word ‘Taiwan’ does not appear. The resolution switched representation in the United Nations from the ‘representatives of Chiang Kai-shek’ to the ‘representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China’”.

In short, Resolution 2758 provides no legal basis for the PRC to claim ownership of Taiwan or to deny the fact that Taiwan has existed as a sovereign, independent, and meaningful country for the last 75 years.

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Europe can help deter coercion in the Taiwan Strait.

• First, face the facts: Taiwan is a democracy whose sovereignty is exercised and enjoyed every day by its 23 million people. No amount of propaganda can erase that reality.

• Second, expose and resist coercion: Call out and reject the PRC’s disinformation campaigns, economic blackmail, and military intimidation whenever and wherever they appear.

• And third, invest in partnership: Expand trade, technology, security dialogues, and cultural exchanges with Taiwan, so that shared values can become shared resilience.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38720871

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Russian companies are facing a wave of unexplained account blockages at state-owned banking giant VTB and its Shanghai branch, complicating one of the few remaining channels for trade with China, the independent business outlet Vpost reported.

Employees at five importing firms reported that VTB blocked their accounts between mid-May and July, noting that these incidents have become significantly more frequent since early summer.

“There’s been a recent influx of clients seeking help, partly because of frequent and unexplained account freezes at VTB Shanghai,” the head of a payment agency that supports Russian importers with international transactions told Vpost.

The situation has strained foreign trade operations already hampered by Western sanctions and restricted access to international payment systems.

VTB’s Shanghai office represents Russia’s only direct banking presence in China, offering one of the cheapest and most straightforward ways to transfer funds between the two countries.

Now, with accounts frozen, many importers have been forced to reroute payments through other Russian banks.

“Firms must now process payments through other Russian banks, which charge a commission of 4.5 to 4.9% of the transfer amount,” one business owner told Vpost.

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Affected importers said that neither VTB’s Moscow headquarters nor its Shanghai branch could explain the blockages or assist in unfreezing accounts.

Several reported that even bank employees were unable to contact their own financial monitoring departments, making it impossible to resolve the issue.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38711471

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Here is the original report (pdf).

Security researchers say Chinese authorities are using a new type of malware to extract data from seized phones, allowing them to obtain text messages — including from chat apps such as Signal — images, location histories, audio recordings, contacts, and more.

In a report [...] mobile cybersecurity company Lookout detailed the hacking tool called Massistant, which the company said was developed by Chinese tech giant Xiamen Meiya Pico.

Massistant, according to Lookout, is Android software used for the forensic extraction of data from mobile phones, meaning the authorities using it need to have physical access to those devices. While Lookout doesn’t know for sure which Chinese police agencies are using the tool, its use is assumed widespread, which means Chinese residents, as well as travelers to China, should be aware of the tool’s existence and the risks it poses.

“It’s a big concern. I think anybody who’s traveling in the region needs to be aware that the device that they bring into the country could very well be confiscated and anything that’s on it could be collected,” Kristina Balaam, a researcher at Lookout who analyzed the malware, told TechCrunch ahead of the report’s release. “I think it’s something everybody should be aware of if they’re traveling in the region.”

Balaam found several posts on local Chinese forums where people complained about finding the malware installed on their devices after interactions with the police.

“It seems to be pretty broadly used, especially from what I’ve seen in the rumblings on these Chinese forums,” said Balaam.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38711310

Oxford University Press (OUP) will no longer publish a controversial academic journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Justice after years of concerns that several papers in the publication did not meet ethical standards about DNA collection.

A statement published on the website of Forensic Sciences Research (FSR) states that OUP will stop publishing the quarterly journal after this year.

FSR is a journal that comes from China’s Academy of Forensic Science, an agency that sits under the Ministry of Justice. The academy describes FSR as “the only English quarterly journal in the field of forensic science in China that focuses on forensic medicine”. It has been published by OUP since 2023.

Several papers published in FSR have attracted criticism because they study genetic data from Uyghurs and other heavily surveilled ethnic minorities in China. Critics say subjects in the studies may not have freely consented to their DNA samples being used in the research and that the studies could help to enhance the mass surveillance of those populations.

One study, published in 2020, analysed blood samples from 264 Uyghurs in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region in north-west China. The paper states that the people giving the samples consented to the research and that their data was anonymised.

The lead author on the study is affiliated with China’s state security apparatus via the Xinjiang Police College, which provided a research grant.

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Yves Moreau, a professor of engineering at the University of Leuven in Belgium who focuses on DNA analysis, first raised concerns about OUP’s relationship with FSR and about several studies. He said he was grateful for OUP’s decision but that the brief public statement on the matter “fails to address the important issues at stake”.

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In recent years there has been increasing scrutiny about the ethical standards of genetic research papers from China. Last year, a genetics journal from a leading scientific publisher retracted 18 papers from China due to concerns about human rights.

The concerns centre on whether or not vulnerable populations in China can freely refuse to participate, especially when researchers come from organisations, such as the police, affiliated with state security. There are also concerns that this kind of forensic DNA sampling could produce research that enhances the mass surveillance of those populations.

Moreau said: “Forensic genetics is an area where specific caution is needed because this is the research that powers police DNA identification and databases. While DNA identification is a valuable technique to help solve crimes, it can raise privacy and ethical issues.” He added that the mass surveillance of minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet made China a particularly challenging country to enforce international norms about ethical research and human rights.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38646952

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China’s unfair trade measures against Australia have indeed ceased, but its broader strategy of compulsion is unchanged. It is still applying pressure through implicit coercive threats, military intimidation and exploitation of political and economic vulnerabilities.

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Since taking office in 2022, the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has restored diplomatic dialogue with China. In doing so, it has aimed for the goal of ‘stabilisation’ and been guided by the principle of cooperating with China where possible and disagreeing where necessary. Communication between national leaders and their teams is indeed vital, so the repairing of ties has been a clear positive.

But structural asymmetry in the relationship persists. China still pursues its objectives through coercion. The cessation of tariffs on Australian wine and the lifting of import bans on beef and lobster during the government’s first term in office has been welcome, but they distract from Beijing’s strategic use of implied threats to influence Australian decision-making.

In the first two decades or so after the Cold War, European countries mistakenly thought deeper economic ties with Russia would reduce its propensity towards tension and conflict. Globally, most countries made just the same miscalculation in regard to China, thinking that bringing it into the multilateral international system would promote its political liberalisation and stifle any latent aggression. Later they saw that China had begun changing the multilateral system to suit itself—and that its territorial ambitions had become ever more obvious.

Now Australia is obdurately making the same mistake again.

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Because the government isn’t candid, there’s little public understanding of China’s coercive behaviour. Canberra gives the impression that punishment is coercion only when it’s in effect—so, now that Beijing has restored trade rights and ministerial communications, coercion has ended.

Wrong. The threat of future punishment is a potent and ongoing form of coercion. Beijing relies on implicit threats to influence foreign decision-making, and it knows that the tactic works. It punished South Korea in 2017 for accepting deployment of a US THAAD missile-defence battery. Seoul stood its ground. But years later, South Korean law enforcement cited fears of renewal of the 2017 economic sanctions as one justification for punishing a South Korean company for helping Taiwan to build submarines.

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This form of latent coercion is subtle but potent. Australia’s decision to suspend two cases in the World Trade Organization against China just before expected rulings in its favour allowed Beijing to avoid international censure and save face. Australia missed a chance to learn from both Japan and the Philippines, which not only began international cases against China but had the courage to see them through. In doing so they defied China’s pressure and achieved rulings that identified behaviour in breach of international rules.

China itself pursued, and won, a WTO case against Australia on steel. So Australian obsequiousness achieved not reciprocal goodwill but a reputational win for Beijing. Australia also lost an opportunity to reinforce global rules in its WTO case.

Relationships depend on a willingness of all sides to compromise. But why should China compromise with Australia when it can stand its ground and wait for Australia to retreat?

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Beijing’s coercion of Australia has not ended; it has evolved. Pressure through trade measures has been replaced with implied threats, military intimidation and the systematic use of narratives that portray Australia, not China, as the party whose exercise of sovereign decisions puts the future of the relationship at risk. Australia cannot afford to misread this moment. Strategic clarity, not diplomatic comfort, must guide the next phase of Australia’s China policy.

The era of seeing China through the narrow lens of economic opportunity ended long ago. We must not return to it.

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Australian politicians and officials need to show long-term resolve, make the necessary commitments to strengthen national resilience and prioritise the national interest. By doing so, Australia can weather Beijing’s pressure. The short-term costs of occasionally upsetting Beijing and risking some economic pain are small compared with incrementally losing our strategic freedom in a region in which power and influence will be heavily contested for many years to come.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38617849

The odds of a breakthrough to resolve trade frictions at next week’s EU-China summit in Beijing appear slim after China cut the planned two-day talks to a single day.

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The European Union's €400 billion ($467 billion) trade deficit with China is driving the dispute, fueled by restricted access to the Chinese market for EU producers. China's industrial policies favor domestic suppliers, who benefit from huge subsidies, access to government contracts and favorable regulations.

EU officials say these policies have caused significant overproduction, leading to the "dumping" of cheap Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) onto the EU market, harming the domestic auto sector.

"The scale of China's economy — the scale of subsidies, overcapacity and government intervention — is immense," Bachulska said, adding that, without "serious action" to protect Europe's auto industry, the EU risks "partial deindustrialization" within a few years.

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In April, the concerns about China's trade practices led the European Union to create an Import Surveillance Task Force to help protect the bloc's internal market, which could trigger EU anti-dumping duties or other safeguards.

The task force promptly noted an 8.2% increase in China's exports to the European Union in April, compared with the same month in 2024, which it attributed to Chinese exporters diverting US exports to the EU to avoid Trump's higher tariffs.

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Some EU observers see US President Donald Trump's tariffs, which helped upend decades of close trans-Atlantic relations, as an opportunity for the European Union to reset ties with the world's second-largest economy. Faced with major disruption to its US trade, they say China needs Europe more than ever and can be pushed to offer concessions during next week's summit.

"I think these voices are very naive," Bachulska said. "China has won the first round of the trade war with the US, and there is a strong feeling in Beijing that time is on their side" in negotiations with the EU.

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Some analysts say the European Union continues to underestimate the economic threat from China and has failed to adopt a tougher approach to counter some of the country's unfair trade practices.

"There's a tendency to sideline China-related issues in Europe because we just have so many things on our plates," Bachulska said, referring to the Ukraine war and the EU's trade dispute with Trump. "China seems just to be a geographically distant challenge ... [but] many of the impacts of Chinese policies are going to be felt in Europe very soon."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38609043

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European Commission vice-president Teresa Ribera has warned China that the EU will not tolerate “dumping” of low-cost Chinese electric vehicles in Europe. And she rejected the idea that the EU should accept “cheap equipment” to help member-states to reach their decarbonisation goals.

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“There is this assumption that counting on cheap equipment could be good to boost the potential of new developments and new decarbonisation pathways in the European market that could be beneficial. And there may be truth on one side, but as you also know, it may be difficult in terms of how it could impact on the capacity to ensure a level playing field. So we cannot accept any type of dumping practices.”

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Trade figures on Monday showed that China’s exports continued to grow in June, jumping by 5.8 per cent compared to a year earlier, despite US tariffs of about 55 per cent on Chinese goods. China ended the first half of 2025 with a record trade surplus of about USD586 billion.

Analysts suggest that Chinese manufacturers have been front-loading exports to the US in case tariffs rise higher in the coming months. But exports to other parts of the world, including the EU, have also continued to rise.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38593555

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China is stepping up its scientific and technological partnership with Russia. In June 2025, a delegation of highly qualified Chinese experts of Luzhou North Chemical Industries Co., Ltd. (carries out a full cycle of development, production, testing and adaption of explosive materials) visited powder plant in Perm, Russian Federation. This plant is one of the most important elements of Russian Military Industrial Complex producing powder for the Russian Army.

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The Chinese delegation was comprised of five senior engineers from Luzhou North Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.: Dai Jiushuang, Guo Xiaobing, Qi Chenyong, Chen Shimin, and Xu Hai. Russian side expressed considerable interest in the practical experience of some members of the delegation.

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Moscow attempts to use Beijing’s scientific and industrial potential for the development of the Russian defense industry capabilities.

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Such a “cooperation” contradicts official position of the PRC regarding its neutrality and diplomatic attempts to end the unjust war of Russia against Ukraine.

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China has been supplying:Tooling machines, special chemicals, gunpowder, and defense components to 20 Russian military production.

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Although China denies involvement, multiple credible sources—from Ukrainian intelligence to US officials and historical customs records—indicate that Chinese-origin gunpowder and related components have flowed into Russian defense factories. This has likely helped sustain Russian munitions output.

These dual-use exports align closely with Russia’s military strategy and enable Putin’s war machine to circumvent Western sanctions.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38586936

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Specifically, the Khone Phapheng Falls, a thunderous cascade on the Mekong River near the southern edge of Laos, where the water drops not just in altitude but in strategic opportunity. These aren't just any rapids—they are nature's way of telling Laos: "You shall not pass."

For over a century, these falls have served as a brutal reminder of how geography can hardwire economic fate. The Mekong River flows from China to the South China Sea, touching nearly every major mainland ASEAN state. In theory, that should offer Laos a lifeline to the ocean. But Khone Phapheng breaks that dream. Its turbulent, impassable waters sever Laos from maritime connectivity, leaving it a landlocked nation that's not just geographically cut off—but economically constrained.

And in today's global economy, being landlocked is like running a marathon in flip-flops. It's not impossible, but it's exhausting and inefficient. Without deepwater port access, Laos must move its goods through neighboring countries like Thailand or Vietnam—paying tolls in the form of tariffs, logistics delays, and foreign goodwill. Over time, this has made Laos overly dependent, underconnected, and structurally sidelined from the global value chain. In short, Khone Phapheng didn't just block boats—it blocked a nation's trajectory.

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When Beijing unveiled its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it wasn't just laying down tracks or cables—it was laying down a new economic map. And Laos, the lonely landlocked neighbor with a dream of being land-linked, was more than willing to redraw its coordinates. The crown jewel of this effort is the China–Laos Railway, a sleek, electrified high-speed line connecting Kunming in China's Yunnan province to Vientiane, the Laotian capital. At over 1,000 kilometers, this railway is a steel artery pulsing with promise: faster trade, more tourists, lower logistics costs, and a new economic spine for a country historically bent over by geography.

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But let's not confuse motion with direction. The China–Laos Railway doesn't take Laos to the sea. It takes it deeper into China's economic orbit. That's not necessarily a bad thing—until you realise what it replaces: genuine strategic autonomy. Laos still can't reach a seaport without transiting through Thailand or Vietnam. The railway might reduce its isolation, but it doesn't rewrite its geography. It's a bypass, not a breakthrough.

Worse, it may be a bypass that comes with strings—debt strings. The railway cost over $6 billion, a staggering figure for a country whose GDP is only slightly higher. Laos holds a 30% stake in the project but had to borrow heavily from Chinese state-owned banks to finance it. The result: a mounting debt burden that now exceeds 100% of GDP. That's not just unsustainable—it's politically and economically destabilising.

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Some might call this a "debt trap." Others might call it strategic generosity. The truth, as always, lies somewhere between a spreadsheet and a power map. Yes, Laos gets high-speed infrastructure. Yes, its farmers and exporters gain a new lease on logistics life. But at what price? If the only way to pay for the train is to sell off the station, then the long-term math starts to look less like development and more like foreclosure.

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In the end, this is more than a story about Laos. It's about how 21st-century power is being negotiated not through warships or treaties, but through rail gauges and interest rates.

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Op-ed by Tom Harper, Lecturer in International Relations, University of East London.

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Traditionally, Tibetan leaders and aides seek a young boy who is seen as the chosen reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. It is possible that after they do this, this time Beijing will try to appoint a rival figure.

However, the current Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, insists that the process of succession will be led by the Swiss-based Gaden Phodrang Trust, which manages his affairs. He said no one else had authority “to interfere in this matter” and that statement is being seen as a strong signal to China.

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Beijing sees having more power over the selection of the Dalai Lama as an opportunity to stamp more authority on Tibet. Tibet’s strategic position and its resources are extremely valuable to China, and play a part in Beijing’s wider plans for regional dominance, and in its aim of pushing back against India, its powerful rival in south Asia.

Tibet provides China with a naturally defensive border with the rest of southern Asia, with its mountainous terrain providing a buffer against India. The brief Sino-Indian war of 1962 when the two countries battled for control of the region, still has implications for India and China today, where they continue to dispute border lands.

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Tibet’s importance to Beijing also comes from its vast water resources. Access to more water is seen as increasingly important for China’s wider push towards self-sufficiency which has become imperative in the face of climate change. This also provides China with a significant geopolitical tool.

For instance, the Mekong River rises in Tibet and flows through China and along the borders of Myanamar and Laos and onward into Thailand and Cambodia. It is the third longest river in Asia, and is crucial for many of the economies of south-east Asia. It is estimated to sustain 60 million people.

China’s attempts to control water supplies, particularly through the building of huge dams in Tibet, has added to regional tensions. Around 50% of the flow to the Mekong was cut off for part of 2021, after a Chinese mega dam was built. This caused a lot of resentment from other countries which depended on the water.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38525433

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38525431

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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Tuesday claimed that Russia has already more than tripled its planned overall drone production volumes for 2025.

Mishustin credited the ramped-up manufacturing to greater state financial support for producers and innovators, including civilian companies.

Analysts from the Washington-based think tank, Institute for the Study of War, assessed that increased Russian long-range drone production is enabling Russia’s growing nightly strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine. It has also enabled Russian forces to integrate Shahed-like drones into strikes against frontline Ukrainian positions, ISW reported.

The think tank specified that Russian forces are “continuing to integrate drones into frontline combat operations to strike frontline and rear Ukrainian positions, and to interdict Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in tandem with Russian MLRS and artillery systems.”

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Ukraine-based open-source intelligence organization Frontelligence Insight said on Tuesday that Russian forces have launched 28,743 total Shahed variant drones (Shahed-136/131 and Geran 2) since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that Russian forces launched 10 percent of this total (2,736 drones) in June 2025 alone.

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One electronic and radio warfare expert cited by ISW, Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had observed a new type of Chinese wi-fi router on radio modems installed on Russian “Gerber” drones.

As Beijing prepares for its grand September 3rd military parade, a pageant meant to project might across the Taiwan Strait, troubling cracks are appearing beneath the polished boots and synchronized salutes. A rising wave of defiance among China’s youth is testing not only the mettle of its armed forces but also the ideological grip of the Communist Party itself.

The announcement of the parade, made by the State Council Information Office on June 28th, was meant to remind the world of China’s growing military prowess. But just days later, that carefully curated image was shaken by a bold act of resistance. In early July, Chinese state media reported that a young man from Guilin had been severely punished for refusing compulsory military service after enlisting in March 2025.

A 2004-born college student nearing graduation reportedly struggled to adapt to the military’s rigid conditions and sought to withdraw from service multiple times. Authorities, however, responded with severe penalties—expelling him and imposing restrictions on employment, financial access, and overseas travel. He also faces a hefty fine of over ¥37,000, signalling zero tolerance for voluntary exit.

Recent conscription refusals in China appear far from isolated. A former legislative official now in exile claims over 200 similar cases occurred in Inner Mongolia alone, along with provinces like Shandong, Hubei, and Fujian recording widespread resistance. Analysts link this trend to a deeper disillusionment: a clash between rigid military expectations and a generation nurtured in comfort and digital independence, increasingly skeptical of the state’s legitimacy and unwilling to endure harsh regimentation for questionable nationalist aims.

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Yet the most unsettling revelation for Beijing may not be the acts of defiance themselves, but the ideological shift they represent. A growing segment of Chinese youth no longer sees military service as patriotic duty. Instead, they see it as complicity in a regime they no longer trust.

This is a generation refusing to be cannon fodder for a party agenda they didn’t vote for. Metaphors of exploited “chives”cut down over and overreflect a rising cynicism about state authority. Increasingly, the refusal to serve is not just an act of fear, but a form of protest.

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Faced with growing dissent, China is turning to pre-emptive indoctrination. The South China Morning Post reports expanded military education initiatives targeting university students and even kindergarteners. Drone piloting, combat simulations, and battlefield immersion experiences are becoming routine tools to engineer loyalty early. The People’s Liberation Army, rather than inspiring voluntary service, appears bent on manufacturing obedience.

Parallel legal efforts are underway too. A director of the National People’s Congress Legal Affairs Commission, has been spearheading reforms to deepen national defense education, an apparent euphemism for embedding patriotism under the skin.

In his closing remarks, the whistle blower offered a stark warning. In the event of war over Taiwan, he predicted, those conscripted unwillingly would not fight with loyalty but with survival instinct. A disengaged soldier, he says, doesn’t charge into fire, he looks for the nearest exit.

He urges parents across China to act while there is still time. “Do not let your children die for a dictator,” he pleaded. He paints a grim picture of what conscription might soon resemble: youth rounded up in the streets, punished mercilessly, even executed if they resist. His advice is chillingly pragmatic — secure passports, plan exits. Prepare for a future where refusal may be the greatest act of courage.

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Taped doors and quiet rooms tell a story about what happened at Heshi Peixin kindergarten.

A huge scandal in a tiny town, a barely believable failing, in a place where children should have been safe.

As soon as we arrive in the northwestern Chinese town of Maiji, it is clear that almost everyone knows someone who has been impacted.

After multiple children were found to have high levels of lead in their blood, police say staff at the private kindergarten had been adding paint powder to food in an apparent bid to make it look more appealing.

A total of 233 of the 251 children had unhealthy levels and 201 needed to be hospitalised, say local authorities.