While US President Joe Biden’s remarks on defending Taiwan militarily have sparked a flurry of commentary, they are consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act. However, given the wide range of potential scenarios in the event of military action by Beijing or a blockade, no one truly knows how the US would respond.
JPMorgan Chase joins other brands forced by Beijing to censor, or self-censor, any political views concerning Taiwan’s de facto independence as a condition for doing business with China
Even as China turns away from coal-fired power domestically, its financial institutions continue to fund coal plants overseas, including in countries like Vietnam, which have great potential for wind and solar power generation.
Taiwan might struggle to turn the tide of allies abandoning it for China, even with help from the US. Beijing is simply making its new friends more generous offers than Taipei and Washington can match.
In an ongoing crackdown on corruption, the Ministry of Public Security recently announced a policy to encourage reporting on "dual citizens" - people who obtain citizenship in another country yet still maintain their Chinese citizenship and benefits.
The results of the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) again reveal Shanghai's 15-year-old students as the smartest in the world in reading, maths and science, coming out ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore.
Long viewed as a "client state" of China, Myanmar's precious resources have for years been auctioned off to the hungry dragon next door. Indeed, China was Myanmar's only significant dance partner, following the trade sanctions imposed on Western firms in response to human rights abuses by Myanmar's junta.
The arrest and eventual repatriation of some 200 Chinese nationals working as illegal gold miners in Ghana has led many people to again question the benefits of China's involvement on the African continent.
