Joseph Popper 
“The computing power gap between the east and west has narrowed in recent years, but there are still problems to be addressed,” state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday quoted an unnamed NDA official as saying. The problems centre on imbalances in the distribution of general computing, intelligent computing and supercomputing power across national computing hubs. … Read more
The president’s chief of staff has urged propaganda officials to talk up China’s economic prospects, part of efforts to boost public confidence amid a slowdown. Cai Qi made the remarks at an annual gathering of the nation’s propaganda chiefs in Beijing on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua reported. “[We should] continue to strengthen positive publicity … Read more
Journalists of non-mainland background from the same organisation, however, were not affected. The rule also does not affect mainland reporters currently based in Taiwan, who are allowed to cover the election. The reporting restriction, which appears to specifically target mainland citizens, comes against the backdrop of a spike in distrust and hostility between Taipei and … Read more
Moscow said its economy rose by 5.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 year on year, and Russia is expected to see full-year growth of 3.5 per cent. The European Commission also upgraded its forecast to a rise of 2 per cent from the previous estimate of a contraction of 0.9 per cent. … Read more
A Chinese TV host in the southern island province of Hainan has been suspended after his comments about a deadly earthquake in central Japan on New Year’s Day. On Monday, the day the earthquake struck, Xiao Chenghao, an anchor with the regional Hainan Broadcasting Group, posted a video titled “A comeuppance arrived? A 7.4-magnitude earthquake … Read more
Unlike their subordinates who are managed and supervised by the local branches of the party’s organisation and disciplinary agency, the group of senior officials are under direct management of the Communist Party’s Central Organisation Department, its top personnel body. If any wrongdoing is found, they would face top level investigations from the CCDI. Twenty-seven of … Read more
Over a week ago, China’s Supreme People’s Court said it had substantially reduced the number of court judgments uploaded to a public archive in recent years. It also said courts must store rulings in a new internal archive only accessible to court officials and police. The confirmation came days after top mainland legal scholars raised … Read more
Taiwan’s people have been urged to “stand on the right side of history” by opposing independence in a new year’s message from the head of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office delivered less than two weeks before its presidential election. Song Tao said Taiwanese people should get cross-strait relations back on the “correct path of peaceful development” … Read more
It sees both the DPP’s candidate, Vice-President William Lai Ching-te, the front runner in the presidential race, and his running mate Hsiao Bi-Khim, as dangerous “separatists” and “troublemakers”. Taiwan is also the “most dangerous” issue in China’s relationship with the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Joe Biden in November. Who … Read more
To mark the anniversary of the practice, Xi’s teachings have been promoted as part of an education campaign for cadres. In late December, hundreds of officials gathered in Beijing to attend a forum chaired by Politburo member Li Ganjie, with similar events held around the country. However, while cadres are studying and imitating Xi’s ideas … Read more
