Xi Jinping, the paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), toured eastern Xinjiang on a four-day ‘investigative tour’ in mid-July—his first visit to the Uyghur Region since 2014. On the surface, the trip and its public messaging do not appear to differ much from those of his predecessors. However, the ideological focus of Xi's remarks made there was one promoting a historical narrative of primordial Zhonghuaness in which Uyghurs, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and other indigenes of X...| The China Story
The iron and steel industry is the second largest carbon emitter in China and accounts for about 17 percent of its total emissions. ‘Green steel’, made from a carbon-free reductant such as hydrogen (a source of renewable energy) instead of coal, is hailed by scientists and policy makers as a global solution for reducing carbon emissions. China’s push towards greener steel production, even though this cannot happen overnight and requires costly changes within the industry, will have a pr...| The China Story
The launch of the Fujian, China's third and most advanced aircraft carrier, was a defining moment for People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), marking its rise as a world-class navy. The story of how the PLAN acquired its first aircraft carrier — a second-hand Soviet ship bought from Ukraine — is filled with plot twists worthy of a good spy novel.| The China Story
In 2019, Zhejiang province had reported that 99 percent of all its villages had access to tap water, thus placing itself as a national leader in the provision of secure drinking water to its rural residents. However, in Wood-Stone Village, a small hamlet nestled in the mountains of Zhejiang province about 350 km from the capital city of Hangzhou, villagers have had to resort to insufficiently-treated river water due to a shortage of potable tap water fuelled by drought and unusually cold weat...| The China Story
The year 2021 saw a string of high-profile celebrity cancellations, including actor Zhang Zhehan, star of the popular danmei 耽美 (Boys' Love) series Word of Honor, pop star Kris Wu 吴亦凡 who was arrested on suspicion of rape, and actress Zheng Shuang 郑爽 who was fined for tax evasion. The driving force behind this growing culture of extreme celebrity cancellation within China is not always genuine social sentiment, nor the tightening grip of the Party-State; but rather an increasing...| The China Story
The China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement generated dire predictions of a future Chinese naval base and permanent deployment of Chinese troops in the Solomons, seriously affecting Australia’s national security. Alarmist voices predicted the Solomon Islands was becoming another ‘Cuba’ off our coast, and the then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, gave ominous warnings about ‘red lines’ that must not be crossed. This politically-driven rhetoric shifted attention away from very real co...| The China Story
Before the Lunar New Year of 2022, a video began circulating on Chinese social media of a woman shackled to the wall by a chain around her neck. The case of Little Plum Blossom has reverberated throughout China in a way that previous cases of human trafficking have not.| The China Story
The former Red Guard leader turned literary editor Ngan Shun-kau decodes the meaning behind the two Chinese proverbs used by Xi Jinping and MFA when commenting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.| The China Story
Despite setbacks such as the arrest of the ‘Feminist Five’ in 2015 for campaigning against sexual harassment on public transport, feminist voices have grown stronger in China in recent years.| The China Story
