China is putting scales in hotel rooms and promoting healthy recipes tailored to different culinary regions on social media in a bid to stem the nationwide obesity problem, according to health officials and state media.
China’s National Health Commission is hoping the recipes and other advice will “popularize” a healthy lifestyle in a country where more than half the adult population is overweight or obese, experts said.
“The main risk factors for the health of the Chinese people at present come from chronic non-communicable diseases,” National Health Commission Director Lei Haichao told a March 9 news conference in Beijing.
“While our living conditions have improved, we have also seen problems such as higher energy intake and relative lack of exercise,” leading to obesity and overweight, Lei said.
The Commission has hired Olympic athletes and released WeChat emoticons to promote weight management, while hotels have installed scales in their rooms to encourage a weight-conscious attitude among traveling businessmen, he said, calling on more hotels to follow suit.
He said officials will also encourage the setting up of weight clinics in hospitals to help people live healthier lives.
The Commission’s weight-loss manual for 2024 includes recipes tailored to different culinary regions of China, taking into account local tastes, the Global Times reported.
The spring menu for Northeast China includes dishes like iron pot stewed fish and vegetable wraps, complete with detailed energy content, it said.
The government will likely be enlisting the help of neighborhood officials and their “grid” surveillance system, the paper said.
High obesity among children, too
Jennifer Bouey, senior researcher and epidemiologist at the RAND Corporation, said China’s obesity epidemic is a serious one, with more than half of Chinese adults either overweight or obese.
“Data from 2020 shows that the adult overweight rate in China is 34.3%, and the obesity rate is 16.4%, which taken together exceeds 50%,” Bouey said. “The obesity rate among children is also very high.”
Lu Zhihao, 4, eats a roast chicken wing at a market in Foshan, Guangdong province March 29, 2011.(Joe Tan/Reuters)
That compares with just 5-7% of adults being overweight and only 1% obese during the 1980s, she said.
By 2030, more than 65% of Chinese adults are expected to be overweight or obese, bringing a burden of disease that will likely cost 418 billion yuan (US$57.7 billion) in medical expenses, according to government predictions.
China officially defines overweight as a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of 24-28 obese as higher than that.
This means a very high increase in the rate of tumors, heart disease, and metabolic diseases including diabetes, Bouey said, adding that type 2 diabetes is already a major problem in China.
“These are all very expensive diseases that have a very big impact on public health,” she said.
Economic development has allowed over-consumption
Randall S. Stafford, professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and project director of the Center for Preventive Medicine, said East and South Asian people are more likely to have metabolic problems at lower obesity levels, so have a higher risk of chronic disease.
And it’s largely a problem for countries as they emerge from widespread poverty and food insecurity, he said.
“Economic development has made possible the over-consumption of calories and other lifestyle changes that promote the development of chronic disease, particularly heart disease and diabetes,” Stafford said.
“Obesity is particularly problematic in East and South Asia due to genetic differences compared to people of European and African ancestry that induce metabolic problems at lower levels of obesity.”
A woman runs on a treadmill as part of her training during a six-week program at a weight loss campus in Beijing , August 26, 2011.(Soo Hoo Zheyang/Reuters)
He said the United States doesn’t appear to have a “unified strategy” to tackle the problem, with the use of weight-loss drugs now becoming widespread.
“A healthier strategy must emphasize increased physical activity, a predominantly plant-based diet, attention to stress reduction and sleep, and weight maintenance prior to weight loss,” Stafford said. “Combining these strategies with drugs for people most prone to chronic disease development may be the best option.”
Bouey said there is an urgent need to increase public awareness of the problem in China.
“Obesity in China also comes against a specific cultural background where people have a fairly old-fashioned view of food, especially the older generation,” she said, adding that 30 years of the “one-child policy” had led to high levels of obesity, especially among boys.
“Women pay a lot of attention to their weight, but men don’t have such requirements,” she said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jenny Tang for RFA Mandarin.
This week, RFA Insider takes a closer look at cases of illegally exported artifacts and international arrests.
Off Beat
This March, the Manhattan district attorney’s anti-trafficking unit handed over 41 “illegally exported” cultural artifacts to China. However, the handover was not a happy occasion for Tibetan scholars – they’re concerned that the artifacts, which include Tibetan Buddhist relics, will be used by China to promote its historical claims to Tibet.
This isn’t the first time the cataloguing of Tibetan artifacts has stirred controversy. Over the past year, Tibetan diaspora communities have called out the British Museum, the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac and the Musée Guimet for labeling artifacts and exhibitions in a way they say prioritizes Beijing’s wishes over Tibetan history.
This 18th-century Tibetan Buddhist bronze statue of Guru Padmasambhava was among the 38 artifacts handed over by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Anti-Trafficking Unit to China in April 2024.(Xinhua)
Tibetan Service director Tenzin Pema returns to RFA Insider to offer more insight into how these relics ended up in the U.S., why Tibetan advocates are concerned about their handover to China and where the Tibetan diaspora community would rather these artifacts be sent to.
Double Off Beat
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila Airport on Tuesday, a development that surprised his staunch supporters as well as families impacted by his drug crackdown who never expected justice. Anthony Esguerra from BenarNews, RFA’s sister organization reporting on security, politics and human rights in South and Southeast Asia, explains how Duterte’s war on illegal drugs enabled the murders of thousands – while the Philippine government reports that 6,252 suspects were killed during Duterte’s presidency, rights groups estimate the number to be as high as 20,000.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while testifying at a Senate hearing on his administration’s drug war, in Manila, Oct. 28, 2024.(Gerard Carreon/BenarNews)
Despite this bloodshed, how has Duterte amassed so many supporters in the Philippines? How has the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., handled the International Criminal Court’s investigation and arrest of Duterte? And what’s next for Duterte, who awaits arraignment in The Netherlands? Tune in to hear the answers from Anthony on this episode of RFA Insider.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – China appears to be conducting amphibious landing exercises with specially built vessels at a beach on the South China Sea, the sort of practice it would conduct if it was considering an island invasion as tensions over self-ruled Taiwan grow.
Open source investigators analyzing Chinese social media this week detected the presence of a fleet of large ships, which they called “invasion barges” as they can be used to land heavy military vehicles and troops quickly onto beaches.
An analyst who used synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, satellite imaging technology, pinpointed the location of the three barges as Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, home of the Chinese South Sea Fleet.
An SAR sensor uses radar signals to capture images on the surface of the Earth, unlike optical sensors that can be blocked by obstacles such as clouds and vegetation.
Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher at The Intel Lab, told Radio Free Asia that he could confirm that the exercises were held at Zhanjiang between March 4 and March 11.
It is unclear whether they are still going on.
Zhanjiang is 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) west of Taiwan and 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) northwest of the Philippines, territories whose governments have both traded barbs with Beijing as regional tensions rise.
SAR image of Chinese barges taking part in an amphibious landing exercise in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, March 4-11, 2025(X/@detresfa)
In an image captured by Symon, three barges were seen in a long formation next to a beach.
Photos, apparently taken at the location and circulated on Chinese social media, show them lining up, forming a long “bridge” to the beach, over which tanks and other vehicles can land.
RFA was not able to independently verify the images available on WeChat and Weibo.
“By my math, they combine to about 850 meters in length,” said defense analyst Thomas Shugart from the Center for a New American Security.
“Instead of three different-size mobile causeways, they are combined into one long causeway, allowing a much longer reach, and access to deeper water,” Shugart said.
An undated image circulated on China’s social media showing a line-up of special barges at a beach.(WeChat/@观诲长郎)
The barges appear to have some pillars that analysts say could be lowered to make contact with the sea floor to support the vessels, making a stable platform in poor weather.
The rear of the barges is open, allowing other ships to dock and unload onto them.
When combined with roll-on/roll-off ferries that carry military vehicles from bases to target locations, the barges serve as a solution to the challenge of landing tanks and troops at many sites, even those previously considered unsuitable such as soft sandy or rocky beaches, as they can reach further to deliver the assets.
Shugart, who examined the “invasion barges,” said that China was building more of them.
There is no consensus among military strategists about if and when China would invade Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province that needs to be ‘reunified’ with the mainland.
Taipei has rejected China’s overtures and threats, saying Taiwan has never been part of China.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh sparked an online uproar with a reference in an Instagram post to the capital of self-ruled Taiwan suggesting it was part of China.
Taiwan, or the Republic of China, has been at odds with the mainland since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 and the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan, while Mao Zedong’s communist forces established the People’s Republic of China.
The island is not diplomatically recognized by most countries despite being a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people with its own borders, currency and government.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought into the fold, sentiment that the Malaysian actress appeared to endorse with her online comment.
“Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China,” Yeoh said in the Instagram post, referring to the jeweler Tiffany & Co after attending the opening of one of its stores in a Taipei mall.
The post was “liked” nearly 33,000 times as of Friday morning but it also got nearly 7,000 comments, many of them critical of her choice of words.
“Never heard of a city called Taipei in China, only in Taiwan,” said an Instagram user called “amidsummernightdrean.” “I’m surprised Michelle.”
“You can just say ‘Taipei’, no need to mention China,” said another user “You messed it up.”
“If you want to be Chinese you can do it yourself. Why drag others down with you?” Instagram user “sychcc” posted to the ethnic Chinese actress. “What is your purpose in saying Taipei China?’
“Michelle, don’t do this. Taipei is in Taiwan, not China,” said user “wangtw.”
But not all comments were negative.
“Applause to you for being brave and using the most appropriate way to address Taipei, part of China,” said user “lordjingjing”
Even though the island operates as a de facto independent country with its own political and economic systems and military, it is excluded from the U.N. and major global organizations due to China’s insistence that it not be recognized as a country.
Taiwan’s athletes are usually represented at major sporting events as being from “Chinese Taipei.”
Yeoh is not the first celebrity to find themselves in hot water over comments related to China and Taiwan.
Hollywood actor and former WWE star John Cena faced a backlash in 2021 for calling Taiwan a “country” during an interview promoting the ninth installment of the “Fast and Furious” series of movies. He apologized in Mandarin to appease Chinese audiences.
Former NBA player Dwight Howard also stirred controversy in 2023 after referring to Taiwan as a “country” in a promotional video. He too apologized after criticism from China.
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan sparked outrage in Taiwan in 2004 when he called the island’s presidential election “the biggest joke in the world,” leading to protests during a visit to Taipei.
China has dialed up diplomatic and economic pressure on the island since former president Tsai Ing-wen’s administration came to power in 2016, as Tsai and her party refused to acknowledge that Taiwan and the mainland belonged to “One China.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who came to power after winning a January 2024 election despite Beijing’s fierce opposition to his bid, ran on a platform of promoting peace in the Taiwan Strait while not compromising on claims of Taiwanese sovereignty.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh sparked an online uproar with a reference in an Instagram post to the capital of self-ruled Taiwan suggesting it was part of China.
Taiwan, or the Republic of China, has been at odds with the mainland since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 and the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan, while Mao Zedong’s communist forces established the People’s Republic of China.
The island is not diplomatically recognized by most countries despite being a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people with its own borders, currency and government.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought into the fold, sentiment that the Malaysian actress appeared to endorse with her online comment.
“Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China,” Yeoh said in the Instagram post, referring to the jeweler Tiffany & Co after attending the opening of one of its stores in a Taipei mall.
The post was “liked” nearly 33,000 times as of Friday morning but it also got nearly 7,000 comments, many of them critical of her choice of words.
“Never heard of a city called Taipei in China, only in Taiwan,” said an Instagram user called “amidsummernightdrean.” “I’m surprised Michelle.”
“You can just say ‘Taipei’, no need to mention China,” said another user “You messed it up.”
“If you want to be Chinese you can do it yourself. Why drag others down with you?” Instagram user “sychcc” posted to the ethnic Chinese actress. “What is your purpose in saying Taipei China?’
“Michelle, don’t do this. Taipei is in Taiwan, not China,” said user “wangtw.”
But not all comments were negative.
“Applause to you for being brave and using the most appropriate way to address Taipei, part of China,” said user “lordjingjing”
Even though the island operates as a de facto independent country with its own political and economic systems and military, it is excluded from the U.N. and major global organizations due to China’s insistence that it not be recognized as a country.
Taiwan’s athletes are usually represented at major sporting events as being from “Chinese Taipei.”
Yeoh is not the first celebrity to find themselves in hot water over comments related to China and Taiwan.
Hollywood actor and former WWE star John Cena faced a backlash in 2021 for calling Taiwan a “country” during an interview promoting the ninth installment of the “Fast and Furious” series of movies. He apologized in Mandarin to appease Chinese audiences.
Former NBA player Dwight Howard also stirred controversy in 2023 after referring to Taiwan as a “country” in a promotional video. He too apologized after criticism from China.
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan sparked outrage in Taiwan in 2004 when he called the island’s presidential election “the biggest joke in the world,” leading to protests during a visit to Taipei.
China has dialed up diplomatic and economic pressure on the island since former president Tsai Ing-wen’s administration came to power in 2016, as Tsai and her party refused to acknowledge that Taiwan and the mainland belonged to “One China.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who came to power after winning a January 2024 election despite Beijing’s fierce opposition to his bid, ran on a platform of promoting peace in the Taiwan Strait while not compromising on claims of Taiwanese sovereignty.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.
Vietnam has ordered officials to confiscate a Chinese-made doll with an image printed on its cheek resembling a map used by Beijing to demarcate its claims over disputed areas of the South China Sea, state media reported.
State media photos circulating on Vietnamese social media show an image resembling the “nine-dash line” – also referred to as the “cow-tongue line” – on the stuffed doll called “Baby Three.”
The doll has been sold in Vietnam at sidewalk stores and online shops like TikTok Shop, Shopee and Facebook since May 2024, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
But the Ministry of Industry and Trade only recently received reports that the doll and several other children’s toys included images of the nine-dash line, the agency said.
The ministry’s Domestic Markets Department recently sent a letter to agencies in provinces and cities requesting an increase in inspections of toys containing the images, according to the state-run Tuoi Tre news site.
Vietnam, China and the Philippines all have overlapping claims on waters in the South China Sea. Chinese maps often show a set of nine or 11 dashes encircling up to 90% of the sea — but such claims have infuriated Hanoi.
The sale and distribution of any products featuring the nine-dash line in Vietnam is illegal, and anyone selling the toys could face penalties, the department’s director general, Tran Huu Linh, told the site.
Because it affects Vietnam’s national security and territorial sovereignty, officials should confiscate any toys that have the image, he said.
‘Another wake-up call’
“This is the latest evidence showing China’s unwavering ambition to dominate the South China Sea entirely – a scheme it has been quietly and persistently pursuing for decades,” former political prisoner Le Anh Hung told Radio Free Asia.
“This is another wake-up call for our country regarding the danger of China’s expansionism in the South China Sea, which seriously threatens the vital space of the Vietnamese people in the 21st century,” he said.
There have been several other incidents of foreign-made goods and cultural products entering Vietnam that contain images of the nine-dash line, particularly in films.
Last year, the movie “Barbie” was banned in Vietnam because authorities said it included a cartoonish map showing China’s territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.
An international arbitration tribunal in a case brought by the Philippines in 2016 ruled that China’s claim to “historic rights” is unlawful, but Beijing declared the ruling “null and void” and refused to recognize it.
China has continued with efforts to reinforce the nine-dash line, especially with the presence of its large coast guard and maritime militia fleets.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on reports of the Baby Three doll.
Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Vietnamese.
The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Thailand for repatriating 40 Uyghurs to China, saying the move violated international law.
Wednesday’s resolution said the Uyghurs, who were deported at night on Feb. 27, are at risk of “arbitrary detention, torture and serious human rights violations,” and noted that other countries had offered to resettle the refugees.
The 40 Uyghurs had been in the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok for over a decade. They had entered Thailand in 2014 as part of a larger group of Uyghurs escaping China.
Thai immigration department trucks, with windows covered, leave the main immigration detention center in Bangkok on Feb. 27. 2025.(Natthaphon Meksophon via BenarNews)
Over the past few weeks, Chinese and Thai authorities have been publishing videos of the deported Uyghurs, purportedly showing that they were happily reunited with their families and were not being punished.
There is virtually no way to confirm their state given the lack of access to these men from outside the country. Based accounts from Uyghurs who have attempted to escape China in the past, it is highly likely that the deportees were punished.
Radio Free Asia recently confirmed with police that two Uyghurs who had plans to flee China in 2014 — but then later abandoned those plans and returned to Xinjiang — were arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison.
The two men, Memet Awut and Turdi Abla, from Aksu in the western part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, had traveled to China’s southern province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, with plans to flee the country. But they returned after realizing that doing so would have put their lives in danger.
Three of the four members of the “Hijrat” organization arrested by the Taiwan Railway Police identified themselves as Uyghurs, November 2015, Shaanxi, China.(RFA)
According to Aksu police, the two were among eight Uyghurs arrested at that time for trying to escape.
Six others were actually caught trying to cross the border, but Awut and Abla had no connection to this group, had never crossed the border, and returned to Xinjiang on their own. They were arrested around eight months after their return, police said.
“They were in the detention center for 22 days and later transferred to Urumqi,” a police officer in Aksu told RFA Uyghur over the phone. “It’s written in their verdict that it was because they went to Yunnan. They came back from Yunnan themselves.”
The officer was not sure how long they stayed in Yunnan.
“The verdict mentions that they couldn’t find a viable way out after moving to Yunnan and came back,” the officer said. “Their crime is attempting to escape.”
A member of the neighborhood committee in their hometown said that Awut and Abla’s sentences should have ended last year, but they are still being held in a prison in Urumqi. Their fate suggests that the treatment currently faced by the 40 deportees may not be as rosy as depicted in Chinese media.
A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok said that after being reunited with their families, the 40 Uyghur deportees would undergo a period of “vocational skills training.”
The Chinese government has detained nearly 2 million Uyghurs in conscentration camps in Xinjiang, where they were subjected to forced labor. Beijing has claimed the camps are vocational centers where “students” voluntarily learn new skills.
Though the EU resolution condemning the return did not mention the camps directly, it did call on China to respect the rights of those returned and to “ensure transparency about their whereabouts.”
It also acknowledged that Thailand was an important partner of the EU, and encouraged Bangkok to “strengthen its institutions in line with democratic principles and international human rights standards.”
Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Eugene Whong for RFA and Shöhrét Hoshür for RFA Uyghur.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry revealed on 12 March that Beijing will host high-level talks with Russia and Iran this week for negotiations on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will chair the tripartite summit scheduled for Friday. Joining him will be Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi to “exchange views on Iran’s nuclear activities and regional security issues,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated on Wednesday.
A spokesman from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the talks in Beijing would focus on “developments related to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on Thursday called for a tougher response to Beijing, describing China as an “foreign hostile force” intent on “absorbing” the democratic island — the toughest rhetoric yet toward Beijing from a Taiwanese leader.
“[China is] carrying out activities such as division, destruction, and subversion from within us,” Lai said in remarks that were broadcast live from the presidential office following a press briefing with senior security officials.
“China’s acts are the definition of a foreign hostile force under our Anti-Infiltration Act. We have no choice but to take more active measures,” he said.
Lai’s comments mark the first time a Taiwanese leader has characterized China as a “foreign adversary.”
When asked whether his statement could escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Lai responded by pointing to Beijing’s ongoing pressure campaign against Taiwan, Channel News Asia said in a report.
“The political and military intimidation, United Front tactics, and infiltration operations launched by China against Taiwan” had already met the definition of a foreign adversary, the report quoted Lai as saying.
Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, says China is deepening its influence campaign and infiltration against Taiwan.
“Taiwan is never the one that escalates tensions,” he claimed, adding that the island remains committed to the security and stability of the Asian region.
Military helicopters fly over with Taiwan national flag during the inauguration celebration of Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te in Taipei, Taiwan, May 20, 2024.(Chiang Ying-ying/AP)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed Lai’s comments during a regular press briefing, reiterating Beijing’s stance that “Taiwan is part of China” and that “there is no so-called president in Taiwan.”
But the official China Daily quoted Chen Binhua, the spokesperson for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, denouncing Lai as a “destroyer of cross-Strait peace.”
He added that “if the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces dare to cross the red line, the mainland will have to take resolute measures.‘”
Chen did not elaborate on what would constitute “crossing the red line” or what measures Beijing would take in response.
Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Mandarin.
Chinese exports look set to take a battering from an escalating tariff war with the United States, business executives and economists say.
The United States has imposed tariffs of 20% on Chinese goods since President Donald Trump took office –- 10% last month and a further 10% coming into effect on March 4.
“Export volume has shrunk, and business has been snatched away by competitors from other countries,” according to the head of an electronics trading company in Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong, who gave only the surname Ge for fear of reprisals.
China’s exports grew 2.3% year-on-year in January and February, lower than the expected 5% rate, according to the latest government figures. That’s down from the 5.4% growth rate for all of last year.
Previous tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration from 2017-2021 have already prompted many businesses to move production to other countries such as Vietnam.
‘Workshop of the world’ is quieter
Once the “workshop of the world,” Guangdong province in the south has become quieter and is now home to fewer factories and more trading companies, which handle orders but don’t actually make anything, Ge said.
“There are no factories in Guangdong hiring workers right now, and many factories have moved to Vietnam, Thailand and other places,” she said.
E-commerce platform Shopee at the Guangzhou International E-Commerce Expo, March 22, 2019.(Reuters)
“Trading companies mainly receive orders and place them with factories, which then fulfill them, so the operating costs aren’t too high, but the factories are in the most trouble,” she said.
“It’s hard for them to keep going with no orders, because they have so many fixed costs like their premises, equipment, wages and materials.”
The United States is still the biggest market. “There are orders from Europe, but demand isn’t as high as from the United States,” Ge said.
Zhu Zhiqiang, an exporter based in the eastern city of Jiangsu, said China’s manufacturing industry relies on exports, particularly from the United States, he said. “If we don’t resolve this problem, we are doomed.”
Guizhou-based economist Wang Ting said manufacturers are still reeling from the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods during the first Trump administration.
“The increase in tariffs in his second term has made things worse, accelerating the relocation of manufacturing outside of China,” Wang said.
“China’s economy is now in recession, the unemployment rate remains high, and all sectors are in a state of internal competition,” he said.
Meanwhile, business confidence remains at a low ebb.
“Most Chinese people are waiting and watching,” Wang said.
The impact of tariffs is two-fold, according to Wang, with manufacturers of furniture, electronics and clothing likely to raise prices to cover the cost of tariffs, reducing their appeal for consumers in the United States.
E-commerce companies could also seek to reduce their reliance on the American market and expand into Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America via platforms like Lazada and Shopee.
“This trend could accelerate in future,” Wang said.
A container truck near Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung Container Terminal, March 6, 2025.(Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
Even in e-commerce, former business owners are staying on the sidelines in the hope that things improve.
“This year, a friend of mine stopped doing [e-commerce] and is now just staying home,” Zhu said. “Some e-commerce operators can no longer sell their products overseas because of the increase in tariffs.”
He said part of the problems is that Chinese exporters have typically competed on price rather than quality.
“Increasing tariffs eliminates that advantage, making us unable to compete,” he said.
Financial commentator Cai Shenkun said the tariffs come amid a boom in cross-border e-commerce from China.
“Once a trade war breaks out, including the cancellation of the tax-free quota for small packages in the future, this will have a huge impact, and mid- and low-end manufacturing will be affected,” Cai said.
He said e-commerce businesses typically run on profit margins of less than 10%.
“If tariffs rise to 25%, e-commerce will no longer be profitable,” he said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Qian Lang for RFA Mandarin.
The lack of transparency over the death of a teenage student from a prestigious Hong Kong secondary school while on a study trip to mainland China has sparked concerns among parents.
Such trips to the mainland are increasing seen as compulsory by the city government, but the standards regarding access to information in mainland China are far lower than in Hong Kong.
St. Paul’s College, a HK$44,000 (US$5,700)-a-year Christian secondary school, was informed on Feb. 28 that one of its Form 5 students had “passed away,” the school said in a press release dated March 1.
“Our teachers and students are very much saddened by the news,” the statement said, adding that the incident is “currently under investigation and it is inappropriate to speculate.”
The school has deployed a School Crisis Management Team, with educational psychologists, school social workers and guidance personnel offering emotional support to students and teachers, it said.
Students at St. Paul’s College, Hong Kong, undated photo.(St. Paul’s College/Facebook via Facebook)
The Hong Kong government’s Education Bureau said the boy’s death was an “unfortunate accident,” but denied it was linked to the study trip activities, which had gone smoothly.
An online petition calling for more information about the incident was deleted after a day, a former education official told RFA Cantonese.
No photos of the trip had been uploaded to the school’s Facebook page as of March 11.
Shift to patriotic education
Mainland study trips are increasingly seen as compulsory by Hong Kong’s Education Bureau as part of the shift from the former Liberal Studies civic education program to the patriotic Moral, Civic and National Education program in primary and secondary schools favored by Beijing, a former government examinations official told RFA Cantonese.
While the government has sent a delegation to Hangzhou following the incident, it hasn’t commented publicly on how the boy died, prompting concerns among parents.
“As for the unfortunate accident in Hangzhou earlier, we are very sad and extend our deepest condolences to the family,” Secretary for Education Christine Choi told reporters on March 7.
“At present, the investigation has come to an end, and we clearly understand that the incident has nothing to do with the exchange activities or the inspection trip,” she said. “We respect the family’s wishes … and will not disclose the details of the case.”
‘Everything is compulsory’
The lack of transparency around the boy’s death has prompted widespread speculation on social media over the reason for it, including unconfirmed reports that he died in a “schoolyard bullying” incident.
But the government and school have declined to comment.
Hans Yeung, a former government examinations official who runs the Edulancet Instagram account, said the boy’s death comes as the government is urging Hong Kong schools to send students on more and more study trips to mainland China as part of its “sister schools” initiative.
St. Paul’s has sister schools in Xi’an and Shenzhen, with another possible connection to a school in Wuhan, according to its Facebook page.
Under the new approach, a Beijing-backed subject titled “Citizenship and Social Development” has been made a compulsory part of the high school diploma.
Yeung said Hong Kong — once a target for the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s United Front outreach and influence program — is now expected to engage in compulsory patriotic education.
“When it’s United Front, they show you the fun stuff, give you some nice food to make you feel good [about China], but now they are under its rule, so everything is compulsory,” he said.
“Now, the food they get will be very ordinary, and everything will be rushed,” Yeung said, adding that the Education Bureau has made attendance on a mainland China study trip a prerequisite for applicants to take the social studies paper in the high school diploma.
That in turn will affect their eligibility to go to college, he said.
“Citizenship and Social Development … is a compulsory subject, and a small thing like a study trip can affect eligibility to sit the exam,” Yeung said. “If they are ineligible for this exam … they can’t apply to university.”
He said there is little parents can do about this.
“Parents will kick up more of a fuss and ask more questions but … there is no room for protest in the education sector any more,” Yeung said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Matthew Leung for RFA Cantonese.
As Tibetan students return to school for the spring term, they are being subjected to propaganda movies about heroic Chinese soldiers and storytelling contests extolling the greatness of the Communist Party, according to sources inside Tibet and state media reports.
Students and teachers across Tibet are also being told to abandon “superstitious” thinking in a bid to eliminate Tibetan Buddhism, two sources from the region said.
The renewed push for patriotic education is the latest example of Beijing seeking to eradicate Tibetan culture and assimilate all ethnic groups into the majority Han Chinese culture.
State-run media reports say the campaign is aimed at promoting “ethnic unity” and cultivating the “red gene” in Tibetan children — a term that refers to the Communist Party’s revolutionary spirit and history. They include images of teachers showing propaganda movies to children.
According to the two sources, teachers must provide in-depth explanations on “Chinese national spirit and warmth” and guide students about China’s socialist system under something called the “First Lesson of the Year.”
Teachers must also boost students’ understanding of the “four consciousnesses” and achieve the “two safeguards” –- both of which refer to efforts to modernize Chinese society and upholding party rule with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the core, the two sources said on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Students are shown videos of the Dingri earthquake relief work, to combine ideological and political education using examples of quake aid, at a school in Nyingtri county, Tibet, March 8, 2025.(Citizen Photo)
“We will certainly see more and more of education being used for propaganda purposes,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation and a professor of international relations at King’s College London.
“This will manifest both in terms of official government policy, as well as in terms of how gradually the younger generation will be indoctrinated with certain ideas about China and its role in Tibet,” he told Radio Free Asia.
‘Red stories’
Last month, the County Education Bureau of Pelbar (or Banbar in Chinese) County at Chamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region launched an online storytelling competition for primary and secondary school children to narrate “red stories” about the greatness of the party.
The competition resulted in 44 video submissions, with more than 100 students and parents taking part in the activity, county level announcements said.
Students across the region have also been shown videos about the recent relief work conducted in Dingri County, where an earthquake struck in January, killing at least 126 people.
Officials in the video said the work has “closely combined ideological and political education with vivid examples” from earthquake relief.
The Public Security Bureau of Suo County carries out publicity activity at the county’s middle school in Nyingtri county, Tibet,on March 8, 2025.(Citizen Photo)
The recent push in Tibetan schools stems from the October 2023 Patriotic Education Law, which put central and regional departments in charge of patriotic education efforts.
“The government’s work report specifically highlighted political and ideological education as a priority alongside skills training, so the emphasis on the spread of propaganda in schools is likely to be higher,” said Anushka Saxena, a research analyst at Bengaluru, India-based Takshashila Institution.
Abandon ‘superstitious’ thinking
Authorities are also telling teachers and students to abandon religious and “superstitious” thinking in schools in a bid to eliminate Tibetan Buddhism and language study, the two sources said.
The Chinese government issued directives on Feb. 25 entitled “Two Absolute Prohibitions” and “Five Absolute Restrictions” which includes strict bans on religious propagation in schools, the use of religious elements in the education system and the participation of teachers and students in religious activities.
The directives also prohibit the wearing or carrying of religious symbols or clothing in schools.
“Teachers are instructed to report to authorities every month, confirming that they are not teaching any religious course to their students while many Tibetan teachers are being dismissed citing lack of proficiency in Chinese as the reason,” the second source said.
These policies are designed to strip children of their Tibetan identity and nature, said Tsewang Dorji, a research fellow at the Dharamsala, North India-based Tibet Policy Institute.
“Xi Jinping’s emphasis on making education a priority will intensify these efforts,” he said. “And if such policies about political and ideological education continue to persist in the next 10 to 20 years, Tibetan language, culture, identity and Buddhism is under huge threat.”
Translated by Tenzin Palmo. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tenzin Norzom and Tenzin Tenkyong for RFA Tibetan.
After weeks of Donald Trump’s threats to “take back” the Panama Canal, the White House has ordered the military to come up with an assortment of plans to make the president’s imperial fantasy a reality. According to NBC News, which first reported on the directive, the plans range from increasing military partnership with Panama to forcefully seizing the canal. This news came just days after…
The recent transfer of cultural artifacts, including several Tibetan Buddhist relics, from the U.S. to China may help advance the Chinese government’s efforts to distort Tibet’s history and appropriate its religion and culture, Tibetan scholars and other critics of the transfer told RFA.
On March 3, the Manhattan district attorney’s anti-trafficking unit handed over to officials from China 41 “illegally exported” cultural artifacts, including a bronze money tree, pottery, jade pieces, Buddha statues and Tibetan Buddhist cultural relics, Chinese state-run media reports said.
The transfer was conducted as part of an agreement between the two countries to protect cultural heritage and identity and prevent Chinese cultural relics from illegally entering the U.S. Since the pact was first agreed to on Jan. 14, 2009, the U.S. has sent 594 pieces or sets of cultural relics and artworks to China.
The transfers have come as greater focus is paid to artifacts and other cultural items in Western museums and private collections obtained during colonization or other periods when the countries of origin were too weak to prevent the widespread pilfering of cultural items.
But sending Tibetan artifacts to China has raised concern that Beijing will use them to justify its rule in Tibet, which the country annexed in 1950.
“The Chinese government will certainly misuse these returned artifacts, and will use them to further promote their false historical narrative that Tibet has always been a part of China,” Vijay Kranti, director of the Center for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement, based in New Delhi, told RFA.
The U.S. handed over 38 artifacts to China, including Tibetan Buddhist mural fragments seen here, in New York in April 2024.(Xinhua)
In January, Li Qun, the director of China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage, said the country will work toward advancing “the return of key cultural relics to the motherland” and to use archaeology to “better explain Chinese civilization.”
Critics say China has already misused ancient finds to back territorial claims over both Tibet and Xinjiang, a western region that is home to Uyghurs and other Muslim communities seeking greater autonomy from Beijing.
“It is an outrageous act to return Tibetan objects in the diaspora to the People’s Republic of China, which is deliberately destroying Tibetan cultural heritage,” said Kate Fitz Gibbon, executive director of the Committee for Cultural Policy, a U.S. think tank that was established in 2011 to strengthen the public dialogue on arts policy.
“Since China occupied Tibet, U.S. authorities have accepted that Tibetan artifacts belong to the Tibetan people, not China’s government,” Fitz Gibbon said in an email. “The turnover by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit directly challenges that policy.”
An event that included Chinese and American officials was held March 3 in New York to mark the latest handover.
Chinese state-run media said the items were seized in November 2024. China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Consulate General in New York verified that the artworks were Chinese in origin.
This 18th-century Tibetan Buddhist bronze statue of Guru Padmasambhava was among the 38 artifacts handed over by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Anti-Trafficking Unit to China in April 2024.(Xinhua)
The Manhattan district attorney’s antiquities trafficking unit previously handed over 38 antiquities – the majority of them identified as Buddhist religious objects from Tibet – during a ceremony at the Chinese Consulate General in New York on April 17, 2024.
But there’s little information about the transfers on the antiquities unit’s website, which does publicize materials that have been transferred to other countries.
The antiquities unit did not respond to at least three separate requests from Radio Free Asia for comments. The U.S. State Department and its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Department also did not immediately respond to RFA.
According to China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage, the latest 41 cultural artifacts include relics and artworks from the Neolithic Age (around 10,000 B.C. – 1,700 B.C.) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
The U.S. handed over 38 items to China, many of which were Tibetan Buddhist artifacts, in April 2024. Seen here are Tibetan wood carvings, Buddhist statues and a bronze pagoda.(Xinhua)
China had signed agreements similar to the one with the U.S. with governments of 25 other countries to promote the return of what it considers to be stolen property.
‘Lost Opportunities’
Tibetans have expressed their disappointment over the U.S.’s handover of Tibetan artifacts and relics to China.
Such handovers take away the chance for Tibetans to tell their own stories, said Dawa Tsering, director of the Tibet Policy Institute in Dharamsala, home to Tibet’s exile government.
“With every Tibetan Buddhism relic that goes to the hands of Communist China in such handovers, we Tibetans lose the opportunity to present the truth of our identity and our country to the world,” Dawa Tsering said.
Additional reporting by Youdon. Edited by Jim Snyder.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tenzin Pema and Tenzin Norzom for RFA Tibetan.
The Hong Kong Journalists’ Association is appealing to journalists to preserve Facebook live video footage of 2019 protests after Meta said it will start deleting archived videos from its servers.
There are concerns that much of the online footage of those protests, most of which is banned in the city amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent, will no longer be available to the general public.
That will make it easier for the authorities to impose their own narrative on events in the city’s recent history.
Facebook notified users last month that it will be deleting archived live video streams from June 5, while newly streamed live video will be deleted after 30 days from Feb. 19, 2025.
“Since the Hong Kong news media have relied heavily on Facebook Live for reporting in the past, the Journalists Association now calls on the heads of mainstream, independent and citizen media and online editors to back up their videos as soon as possible,” the Hong Kong Journalists Association said.
“If necessary, you can follow the platform’s instructions to apply for an extension to up to six months before deletion,” it said.
Capturing history
In one livestream still available on YouTube from Oct. 1, 2019, an out-of-breath protester collates video feeds from several sources on the ground, commenting on what is unfolding while sounding out of breath from “running” at a protest a minute earlier.
Meta’s webpage outlining their process to update Facebook Live videos.(Meta)
While one feed is run by protesters and the other by a professional journalist, both offer a sense of boots-on-the-ground immediacy that would be crucial for anyone seeking to learn what the protests were about many years later.
A reporter for an online media outlet who gave only the pseudonym Ken for fear of reprisals said a very large proportion of the public record of the 2019 protests was streamed live on Facebook, with more than 100 videos stored there.
While current media organizations have made backups, the footage will no longer be there for anyone to browse, making the record of that year less publicly available, Ken said.
“It’s like we’ve lost an online library,” he said. “Unless someone is willing to back it up and put it all online, there’ll be no way of finding that history any more, should you want to.”
Ken and his colleagues are concerned that online records of the 2019 could disappear entirely in a few years’ time, especially as republishing them from Hong Kong could render the user vulnerable to accusations of “glorifying” the protests, and prosecution under two national security laws.
Photographers document pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, left, as he speaks at the police headquarters in Hong Kong, June 21, 2019.(VIncent Yu/AP)
“This is a very serious problem, because certain events or people may be completely forgotten about in a few years, maybe 10 years,” Ken said.
But there are risks attached to republishing video content — especially for residents of Hong Kong.
“You don’t know whether you will be accused of incitement if you post it again,” Ken said. “You never know what your live broadcast captured and whether there was issue … under the two national security laws.”
Permanent loss of historical material
A fellow journalist who gave only the pseudonym Mr. G for fear of reprisals said his media organization still has access to its own live streamed footage of the 2019 protests from both Facebook and YouTube.
But he said the planned deletions could lead to “the permanent loss of some historical material.”
Facebook said that the owners of the videos will receive an email or notification in advance “and can choose to download the videos, transfer them to the cloud, or convert them into reels short videos within 90 days.”
“If users need more time to process old videos, they can apply to postpone the deadline by 6 months,” it said, adding that most live video is viewed in the first few weeks after being uploaded.
Veteran media commentator To Yiu-ming said social media platforms aren’t suited for use as a historical archive.
“There’s no point criticizing them,” To said. “Users may well encounter similar practices even … if they move to another social media platform.”
“If you want to preserve the historical record, you have to use less convenient methods, and spend a bit of time and money,” he said.
The concerns over the deletion of live video come after a report claimed that Meta was willing to go to “extreme lengths” to censor content and shut down political dissent in a failed attempt to win the approval of the Chinese Communist Party and bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China.
Citing a whistleblower complaint by Sarah Wynn-Williams from the company’s China policy team, the Washington Post reported that Meta “so desperately wanted to enter the lucrative China market that it was willing to allow the ruling party to oversee all social media content appearing in the country and quash dissenting opinions.”
The notice in Chinese from Facebook warning users that archived live video will be deleted, Feb. 19, 2025.(Meta)
So it developed a censorship system for China in 2015 and planned to install a “chief editor” who would decide what content to remove and could shut down the entire site during times of “social unrest,” according to a copy of the 78-page complaint exclusively seen by The Washington Post.
Meta executives also “stonewalled and provided nonresponsive or misleading information” to investors and American regulators, the complaint said.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone told the paper that it was “no secret” the company was interested in operating in China.
“This was widely reported beginning a decade ago,” Stone was quoted as saying. “We ultimately opted not to go through with the ideas we’d explored, which Mark Zuckerberg announced in 2019.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alice Yam for RFA Cantonese.
Indonesia is expected to ratify an agreement with Vietnam on the demarcation of their exclusive economic zones next month, settling a decade-long dispute in overlapping waters, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said.
Jakarta and Hanoi reached an agreement on the boundaries of the zones, called EEZs, in December 2022 after 12 years of negotiations. They had been locked in disputes over overlapping claims in waters surrounding the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.
For the agreement to take effect, it needs to be ratified by both of their parliaments.
“We hope that our parliament will ratify it in April, after Eid al-Fitr, and their legislature is also expected to ratify it soon,” Prabowo told Vietnamese leader To Lam, who visited Jakarta this week.
Vietnam and Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country by population, elevated bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Lam’s visit, reflecting their closer cooperation.
Prabowo also said that he planned a reciprocal state visit to Vietnam soon, when he would sign an implementing agreement with his Vietnamese hosts, adding that he was confident that the deal would “bring prosperity to both our peoples.”
Fishing boats and houses at Baruk Bay port on Natuna island, in Riau Islands province, on Sept. 22, 2023.(BAY ISMOYO/AFP)
The shared waters north and east of Natuna Islands saw intense confrontations between the law enforcement agencies of both Vietnam and Indonesia over the activities of Vietnamese fishermen. Indonesia accused them of unlawful encroachment and illegal fishing, and it detained and destroyed dozens of Vietnam’s fishing boats.
The two countries began negotiating on EEZ delimitation in 2010 and were engaged in more than a dozen rounds of talks before reaching an agreement.
An EEZ gives a state exclusive access to the natural resources in the waters and seabed, and a clear demarcation would help avoid misunderstanding and mismanagement, said Vietnamese South China Sea researcher Dinh Kim Phuc.
“The promised ratification of the agreement on EEZs sends a positive signal from both security and economic perspectives,” Phuc said. “Among the latest achievements in the bilateral relations, this in my opinion is the most important one.”
“It will also serve as a valuable precedent for ASEAN countries to settle maritime disputes between them via peaceful means,” the researcher added.
I Made Andi Arsana, a maritime law specialist at Gadjah Mada University, said the agreement clarifies fishing rights in the South China Sea.
“With a clear EEZ boundary, cross-border management and law enforcement become more straightforward,” Arsana said. “Before this, both countries had their own claims, making it hard to determine whether a fishing vessel had crossed the line. Now, with a legally recognized boundary, it’s easier to enforce regulations and address violations.”
He likened the situation to dealing with a neighbor without a fence.
“It’s difficult to say whether they’ve trespassed or taken something from your property,” he said.
“But once the boundary is set, we can confidently determine whether someone is fishing illegally in our waters.”
China has yet to comment on the Indonesian president’s statement. Both Vietnam’s and Indonesia’s EEZs lie within the “nine-dash line” that Beijing prints on its maps to demarcate its “historical rights” over almost 90% of the South China Sea.
Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to this article.
Edited by Mike Firn.
BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA and BenarNews Staff.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, said his successor would be born in the “free world,” which he described as outside China. However, Beijing insisted that the selection of his successor must follow Chinese law, asserting its authority over Tibetan Buddhism and rejecting any succession outside its control.
Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. The current Dalai Lama, who was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was two, had previously said the line of spiritual leaders might end with him.
China took control of Tibet in 1950, leading to tensions and resistance.
Nine years later, at the age of 23, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso fled to India with thousands of other Tibetans after a failed uprising against the rule of Mao Zedong’s Communists.
China calls the Dalai Lama a “separatist” and insists it will choose his successor, but the 89-year-old has said any successor named by China would not be respected.
“Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama – that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people – will continue,” the Dalai Lama said in his new book “Voice for the Voiceless” published on Tuesday, according to a review of it by Reuters news agency.
He added he had received numerous petitions for more than a decade from a wide spectrum of Tibetan people, asking him to ensure that the Dalai Lama lineage be continued.
He also wrote that his homeland remained “in the grip of repressive Communist Chinese rule” and that the campaign for the freedom of the Tibetan people would continue “no matter what,” even after his death.
Human rights organizations and media outlets report that China suppresses Tibetan culture, religion, and freedom through strict surveillance, forced assimilation, and crackdowns on dissent.
Tibetan children are placed in state-run boarding schools to weaken their cultural identity, while monasteries face heavy restrictions. Beijing denies these allegations, claiming it is promoting economic development, stability, and modernization in Tibet while combating separatism.
When asked about the book, China’s foreign ministry said that the Dalai Lama was a “political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion” and he “had no right to represent the people in Tibet.”
“The Dalai Lama’s lineage, formed in Xizang, China, and religious standing and title which were affirmed by the central government, date back several hundred years,” said ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday.
Xizang is the official Chinese name for Tibet, used by the Chinese government to refer to the Tibet Autonomous Region.
“The reincarnation of Living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations as well as religious rituals and historical conventions, and follow the process that consists of search and identification in China, lot-drawing from a golden urn, and central government approval,” Mao said.
China said last month it hoped the Dalai Lama would “return to the right path” and that it was open to discussing his future if he met such conditions as recognizing that Tibet is an inalienable part of China, whose sole legal government is that of the People’s Republic of China.
That proposal has been rejected by the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in India.
China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives have held several rounds of talks, with key discussions occurring between 2002 and 2010, but they failed to reach an agreement.
No formal dialogue has taken place since 2010, as China insists Tibet has always been part of China, while the Dalai Lama continues advocating for Tibetan rights.
China has appointed its own Panchen Lama, a significant Tibetan Buddhist figure, to control religious affairs in Tibet. The Panchen Lama traditionally plays a key role in recognizing the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama recognized Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, but China abducted him and replaced him with Gyaltsen Norbu, their state-approved Panchen Lama. Many Tibetans do not recognize China’s choice, and the fate of the real Panchen Lama remains unknown.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
The British government says Hong Kongers holding a British National Overseas, or BNO, passport will soon be allowed to travel to the country without completing an advance travel authorization form, allowing people to flee a political crackdown in the city more easily.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra confirmed that holders of the passport issued to eligible Hong Kongers since the 1997 handovers will no longer need to complete an Electronic Travel Authorization before traveling to the U.K.
“Having listened to evidence, we have decided that BN(O) passport holders will no longer need an ETA to travel to the UK,” Malhotra wrote in a March 5 letter to Lord Alton of Liverpool, Patron of the London-based rights group Hong Kong Watch.
“This decision has been made on the basis of the close ties that the BN(O) community has with the UK, the historical commitments made to them and, critically, the fact that just like for British citizens with passports, it is the UK issuing their travel documents,” Malhotra said.
More than 220,000 Hong Kongers have relocated to the United Kingdom so far under its British National Overseas lifeboat visa program, launched in January 2021.
A person holds up a British National overseas passport in Hong Kong, Jan. 29, 2021.(Anthony Wallace/AFP)
Others have made their homes anew in the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany.
BNO passport holders without citizenship or a valid visa have needed to complete the authorization since Jan. 8, according to campaigners for the change.
The Electronic Travel Authorization isn’t generally available to people with a criminal record, meaning that thousands of people jailed for taking part in the 2019 protests or the 2014 Umbrella Movement would be effectively barred from traveling to the U.K.
In Hong Kong, more than 10,000 people have been arrested and at least 2,800 prosecuted in a citywide crackdown in the wake of the 2019 protest movement, mostly under public order charges or colonial-era sedition laws.
According to the overseas-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, 1,920 of those defendants are classed as political prisoners, or peaceful critics of the government.
‘Relieved’
A Hong Kong resident who gave only the pseudonym C for fear of reprisals said she was released from prison a year ago after serving more than 12 months’ imprisonment for “illegal assembly,” a charge used to jail thousands of participants in the 2019 protest movement.
Under the original rules, she would have been unable to board a flight to the U.K., she told RFA Cantonese in a recent interview, something she found “deeply worrying.”
C said while she felt “relieved” at the policy change, there are still plenty of young released prisoners in Hong Kong who don’t qualify for a BNO passport, and who will still need to complete an ETA to travel to the United Kingdom.
Another Hong Konger, who gave only the pseudonym Ji for fear of reprisals, said she has also served more than 12 months in jail for “illegal assembly.”
She now plans to head to the U.K. very soon, and thanked rights groups and advocacy groups for campaigning for the change, although citing concerns for those who aren’t BNO passport holders.
A Hong Konger who gave the pseudonym Ah Tit said he also plans to leave the city with his family soon, after serving 27 months in jail in connection with the protest movement.
“[This way], if anything happens, we can go back [to Hong Kong] if we really want to,” he said. “If we take other routes, especially political asylum, the chances of ever coming back get very small.”
‘Step in the right direction’
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Policy, described the rule change as “a step in the right direction,” and came after a number of organizations lobbied the government on behalf of Hong Kongers.
U.K.-based former pro-democracy councilor Daniel Kwok, who co-founded the advocacy group Hong Kong Scots, said the change showed that a democratic government could be pressured into changing its policies.
“It shows that, in a democratic society, as long as we make an effort to speak out and petition, we can actually push the government to change its policies,” Kwok said. “We would like to thank everyone for their efforts in this matter.”
“We will continue to monitor when it will be implemented, and pay attention to whether our fellow Hong Kongers are able to enter the U.K smoothly in future, without being hindered by more technical or administrative problems.”
Hong Kong Watch Research and Policy Advisor Thomas Benson said the group had received “many calls” from Hong Kongers concerned about the ETA requirement.
“We are glad to see the Home Office listening to these concerns and honoring the UK government’s commitment to British National (Overseas) passport holders, and look forward to this change being imminently implemented,” Benson said in a statement on the group’s website.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jasmine Man and Matthew Leung for RFA Cantonese.
A social worker and rights activist was convicted on Tuesday of participating in a riot during Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Jackie Chen was one of several social workers who tried to mediate between police and demonstrators. She carried a loudspeaker and urged police to use restraint and to refrain from firing non-lethal bullets during a protest that took place on Aug. 31, 2019.
Police made more than 10,000 arrests during and after the 2019 protests, which began as a show of mass public anger at plans to allow the extradition of alleged criminal suspects to mainland China.
They broadened to include demands for fully democratic elections and greater official accountability.
Chen was acquitted in 2020, but prosecutors appealed and won a retrial in another example of the harsh stance that Hong Kong authorities have taken with political cases.
Before heading to Hong Kong district court for the verdict, Chen told Radio Free Asia that she felt “peaceful.”
“As long as my body is healthy, there are still a lot of things I can do,” she said. “So why not face it calmly?”
Later, she gathered with supporters in front of the court building while wearing a backpack, a sweatshirt with colorful drawings and a cheerful expression.
Judge May Chung wrote in her verdict that Chen used her position as a social worker to support the protesters and used the loudspeaker to shout unfounded accusations against the police.
Chen was taken into custody and is scheduled to be sentenced next month. She could face up to seven years in prison.
Edited by Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Cantonese.
China’s 10-day National People Congress ended in Beijing on Tuesday amid sweeping promises from the country’s leaders to boost economic growth, support AI and to take control over democratic Taiwan.
Delegates also shed light on Beijing’s intentions for Tibet and revealed for the first time that U.S. sanctions on companies in Xinjiang using Uyghur forced labor are hurting business.
Here are five takeaways:
China aims to spur consumer spending amid looming trade war with US
In his March 5 work report, Premier Li Qiang pledged to boost domestic consumption as the driving force for economic growth, which he set at 5% for the coming year — a target experts say is highly questionable and likely concocted for political reasons.
For years, exports have driven China’s growth. But leaders have tried to shift the focus to consumer spending after three years of COVID-19 restrictions and a slew of U.S. tariffs prompted manufacturers to move away from China and spooked foreign investors. And now President Donald Trump has imposed additional tariffs on Chinese exports to America.
To shore up the economy, the government plans to boost fiscal spending by 1.2 trillion yuan (US$165 billion) to 29.7 trillion yuan (US$4.16 billion), Li said — but gave few details of how that money would be spent.
He also pledged to implement “an appropriately accommodative monetary policy” in the coming year.
“The impact of this National People’s Congress on the Chinese people is that their economy is now moving from strength to weakness, and this weakness will be long term,” social economist Ji Rong told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview.
China’s president Xi Jinping arrives for the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, March 11, 2025.(Pedro Pardo/AFP)
One proposal discussed by delegates to the 10-day National People’s Congress in Beijing was shortening the working week to four-and-a-half days to give people more leisure time.
The government will also further cut the personal income tax rate in a bid to boost purchasing power among middle- and low-earners.
An economic commentator who gave only the surname Hong for fear of reprisals said changes to the working week could prove effective, but that Li’s work report contained few other practical measures.
AI and high-tech seen as key sources of growth
Li Qiang also vowed to “unleash the creativity of the digital economy,” particularly through the use of AI.
“We will support the extensive application of large-scale AI models and vigorously develop new-generation intelligent terminals and smart manufacturing equipment, including intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, AI-enabled phones and computers, and intelligent robots,” he told delegates.
Attendants hold Chinese flags in Tiananmen Square following the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, March 11, 2025.(Wang Zhao/AFP)
Li was speaking weeks after China’s launched its DeepSeek AI model, in what some called a “Sputnik moment” for the country.
Li also promised increased funding for AI, biomanufacturing, quantum technology and 6G, without giving further details.
But experts said China will continue to be hampered by U.S. export and high-tech bans, including for cutting-edge semiconductors.
China’s increasingly powerful AI surveillance systems use facial recognition and combine data streams to create sophisticated “city brains” that can track events in real time, and are increasingly being exported around the world, according to a recent report.
Tibetan officials vow to expand ideological education and Sinicize Tibetan Buddhism
The Tibet Autonomous Region delegation vowed to strengthen efforts to fight “separatism” and prioritize “long-term stability” by expanding ideological education, as well as accelerate the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism, which they said was key to “changing the face of Tibet.”
The delegates emphasized their commitment to ideological education guided by the “Three Consciousnesses,” a phrase used in Chinese propaganda to refer to national — or Han Chinese — consciousness, civic duties and the rule of law.
Wu Yingjie, left, Party Secretary of Tibet, talks with Losang Gyaltsen, president of Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Congress Standing Committee, during a meeting of the Tibet delegation at the National People’s Congress in Beijing, March 6, 2019.(Greg Baker/AFP)
“I believe this kind of education is highly effective,” said Karma Tseten, deputy head of the delegation and Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, or TAR. “Despite its value, it is constantly smeared and disrupted by the Dalai Lama and his group. But we will not be swayed.”
The rhetoric was a clear sign, experts said, that Beijing intends to continue to impose its repressive policies in Tibet under the guise of maintaining stability and combating separatism.
“Regardless of what policies China implements in Tibet, their stated goal of ‘maintaining stability’ fundamentally reveals that Tibetans do not trust the Chinese government,” Dawa Tsering, director at the Tibet Policy Institute, told Radio Free Asia.
Delegates said at a media briefing on Thursday that more than 90 percent of community leaders in Tibet now had basic knowledge of Mandarin.
They also emphasized that they will continue to focus on promoting in Tibet what China calls the “four major events” -– border security, environment, stability and economic and social development.
Top official from Uyghur region admits US sanctions are hurting businesses
During the congress, the Chinese government acknowledged for the first time that U.S. sanctions over the use of Uyghur forced labor have affected more than 100 companies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region, or XUAR, proving that international sanctions do have bite.
Ma Xingrui, the XUAR party secretary, told delegates that “the United States, relying on fabricated evidence, has imposed sanctions on Xinjiang businesses based on allegations of genocide and forced labor, affected more than 144 companies,“ according to the China Daily.
Sanctions “over accusations of ‘forced labor’ have become one of the biggest challenges in the region’s development,” Ma said during a panel discussion Friday at the NPC, according to the report.
While Ma didn’t elaborate on which companies were affected, this marks the first time the region’s highest party official admitted the sanctions were hurting businesses.
The United States and nearly a dozen Western parliaments have accused China of committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the 13 million Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples living in Xinjiang.
In 2021, the U.S. government has passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans U.S. companies from doing business with Chinese businesses judged to be using Uyghur forced labor. Since then, some 144 companies have been blacklisted.
These sanctions are undermining the economic development of Xinjiang, which is a chief way that Beijing “wants to extend the legitimacy of its rule,” said Raymond Kuo, a China expert at Rand Corporation, a Washington think tank.
“Ultimately, the economic benefits that come from [Beijing’s] rule are going to be the key thing to increase the legitimacy of its rule as well as win over the population,” he said. “Western sanctions inhibit that.”
The sanctions are “particularly politically important for Xinjiang,” Kuo added. “They’re clearly having some impact, right?”
China to boost military spending by 7.2%
China is increasing its 2025 defense budget by 7.2% to US$246 billion amid growing rivalry with the United States and tensions over Taiwan, marking the fourth consecutive year of more than 7% growth in defense spending.
Li said Beijing would continue to “resolutely oppose separatist activities” in democratic Taiwan, as well as what he termed “external interference.”
China has ramped up military activities around Taiwan, conducting frequent air and naval incursions into the island’s air defense identification zone and staging large-scale drills near its waters. Beijing views Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory and insists on eventual unification, by force if necessary.
China’s President Xi Jinping applauds during the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, March 11, 2025.(Pedro Pardo/AFP)
Yet Li also vowed a soft power charm offensive to push for what Beijing calls “peaceful unification.”
“We will improve institutions and policies for promoting economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait and advance integrated cross-Strait development,” he said. “We will firmly advance the cause of China’s unification.”
Military expert Pang Xinhua said China’s neighbors in the region are also worried about escalating military tensions.
“As China increases its military activities in the South China Sea, East China Sea and other regions, neighboring countries may worry about rising regional tensions leading to an escalating arms race,” Pang told RFA Mandarin.
“That could in turn lead to an escalation of the situation in the Taiwan Strait, as China’s continued strengthening of its military capabilities is interpreted as pressure on Taiwan,” he said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Qian Lang for RFA Mandarin, Yitong Wu and Ha Syut for RFA Cantonese.
Alan Lu for RFA on 5 March 2025 refers to a a new report which shows the extent of Beijing’s arbitrary detentions, with severe sentences for prisoners of conscience.
Chinese authorities have arbitrarily detained thousands of people for peacefully defending or exercising their rights over the past six years and convicted 1,545 prisoners of conscience, a rights group said on Wednesday.
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, or CHRD, a non-government organization of domestic and overseas Chinese rights activists, said the scope and scale of wrongful detention by Chinese authorities may constitute crimes against humanity.
“They were sentenced and imprisoned on charges that stem from laws that are not in conformity with the Chinese government’s domestic and international human rights obligations,” the group said in a report.
“Their cases proceeded through the full criminal justice system, with police, prosecutors, and courts arbitrarily depriving them of their liberty in violation of their human rights.”
Prisoners of conscience have faced severe penalties, with an average sentence of six years, increasing to seven for national security charges.
Three people, identified as Tashpolat Tiyip, Sattar Sawut and Yang Hengjun, were sentenced to death, while two, Rahile Dawut and Abdurazaq Sayim, received life sentences, the group said, adding that 48 were jailed for at least a decade.
Map of sentenced prisoners of conscience in mainland China, excluding Hong Kong and Macao. (CHRD)
Among the convicted, women activists and marginalized groups, including ethnic Tibetans and Uyghurs, were disproportionately represented among those wrongfully detained, the group said.
Out of all the prisoners of conscience aged 60 or older, two-thirds were women, it added.
“Human rights experts and international experts have raised that people over the age of 60 should generally not be held in custody due to the effects on their physical and mental health,” Angeli Datt, research consultant with CHRD, told journalists in a press briefing Wednesday.
“That two-thirds of them are women was really shocking to me,” she said.
“Worse still, the impunity Chinese government officials enjoy at home emboldens them to commit abuses abroad,” the group said.
China dismissed a Swiss report last month alleging that it pressures Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland to spy on their communities.
‘Endangering national security’
The CHRD said that under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the scope and scale of the use of arbitrary detention to silence critics and punish human rights personnel had grown.
The organization documented a total of 58 individuals known to have been convicted of “endangering national security.”
“The overall average prison sentence for a national security crime is 6.72 years, though this figure excludes those sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve or life imprisonment,” it said.
In Hong Kong, more people were convicted of “subversion” and “inciting subversion” — terms that the U.N. describes as “broad and imprecise, making them prone to misapplication and misuse.”
In one 2024 case, authorities convicted 45 people for participating in a primary election, an act fully protected under both domestic and international law. Subversion charges accounted for 37% of all prisoners of conscience sentenced in Hong Kong during this period.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – The size of Taiwan’s military has been at the center of a public debate in recent months, with reports emerging of plans to recruit women and foreigners while extending military training.
Meanwhile, politicians from the island’s two major parties and members of the public are debating the defense budget, as the U.S. is reportedly pressuring Taiwan to strengthen its military capabilities.
What is happening with Taiwan’s military?
Chieh Chung, a research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the island is experiencing “a rapid decline” in the number of military personnel, which is affecting front-line combat units.
Taiwan’s armed forces saw a drop in the number of active-duty personnel to 152,885 in June 2024 from 164,884 in 2021, and Chieh believes the trend will continue mainly due to Taiwan’s low birth rate.
This is a problem for Taiwan, according to Michael Hunzeker, associate director of the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University, as the island is facing mounting threats from one of the world’s largest militaries: China with more than 2 million active-duty military personnel.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and has increased military pressure through drills and incursions. Taiwan, meanwhile, views itself as a sovereign state and strengthens its defenses. Beijing has increased military pressure on the island in recent years through air and naval incursions, military drills and diplomatic isolation efforts.
“Besides having more troops and weapons, China’s military leadership has also put more time, energy, and resources into modernizing its military,” said Hunzeker.
“None of these trends bodes well for Taiwan. There is no question that if we compare China and Taiwan in isolation, Beijing holds all of the cards militarily,” he added.
Taiwanese soldiers hold firearms in a military training as Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, not in photo, inspects the Taiwanese military in Taichung, Central Taiwan, Friday, June 28, 2024.(Chiang Ying-ying/AP)
What is being done to address the shortage?
Taiwan has responded with plans to increase military salaries and benefits, but the proposal has been met with skepticism.
Arthur Kuo, a Taiwanese retired major general, is among those who believe that military recruitment is influenced by more than just wages.
“Societal values, the image of military personnel, working conditions, and career development opportunities,” he said as he listed factors that affect Taiwanese people’s willingness to join the military.
“One worthwhile lesson to keep in mind is that most Americans take a great deal of pride in their military,” Hunzeker said. “You don’t see the same thing in Taiwan.”
A 2024 survey found that more than 50% of respondents were not confident in the Taiwanese military’s self-defense capabilities.
“I would therefore imagine that if Taiwanese society held their servicemen and women in higher regard that it would probably do more for recruiting than any financial bonus ever could,” Kuo said.
Some defense officials and analysts have proposed recruiting foreign military personnel.
“The U.S. offers a fast-track naturalization process for green-card holders who join the military, which Taiwan could consider,” Kuo said.
However, some analysts believe that might be “counterproductive.”
Taiwanese soldiers take part in a drill while Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te inspects its military at a military base in Taitung County, eastern Taiwan, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.(Chiang Ying-ying/AP)
Chieh from the Institute for National Defense and Security Research said Taiwan’s financial systems could collapse in a war, making salary payments for foreigners uncertain.
He warned that foreign troops, often motivated by pay, might lose commitment if payments stopped.
Managing and training mercenaries from diverse backgrounds would also require significant resources, potentially outweighing the benefits, he added.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defense ministry dismissed reports last week about a plan for the conscription of female troops.
Does military modernization really require more troops?
Some commentators question whether increasing troop numbers is the right answer. They argue that the Russia-Ukraine war has shown the impact of military modernization, with drones, long-range artillery and missiles giving a force greater advantage than mere troop numbers.
But Kuo believes addressing the manpower shortage issue is still crucial for Taiwan.
“If Taiwan’s military capability declines, it will struggle to counter gray-zone threats from China, maintain strategic deterrence, uphold regional stability, and sustain foreign investment and economic growth – posing a serious national security risk,” he said.
A military honor guard attends National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.(Chiang Ying-ying/AP)
Chieh shares similar views, saying that regardless of how advanced Taiwan’s weapons are, it must be prepared to defend the homeland with a sufficient number of ground forces, given China’s naval and air forces continue to grow.
“The key is that while we may maintain a smaller standing force in peacetime, we must be able to rapidly expand our troop numbers through mobilization when necessary,” he said.
China doesn’t just aim to defeat Taiwan’s military, according to Chieh. The authoritarian regime also assumes that U.S. intervention is inevitable.
Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is committed to assisting Taiwan to defend itself, but it has long maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
“So, its strategy revolves around establishing a dominant position around Taiwan before the U.S. can effectively intervene, and this is why Taiwan should maintain strong troops itself – to send signals to Washington that we’re a reliable ally and it is worthy for them to fight together with us,” Chieh said.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alan Lu for RFA.
Pakistan is one of the largest countries in South Asia. Ever since its formation in 1947, it has been politically dominated by a coalition of landed and military elites who rule over millions of impoverished citizens mainly by force. Attempts to break this dominance and establish a truly popular government independent of the military establishment have mostly failed. Meanwhile, the ruling classes in Pakistan have been unable to industrialize and democratize the state. Their deep dependence on rent and the interests of the imperialists are in complete opposition to the popular aspirations and sentiments of the people.
