The Epoch Times, US China Watch

A Shanxi lady in her 70s has dedicated 46 years of her life to caring for abandoned children. Recently, local officials removed the children currently in her care without explanation and despite the fact that she had legally adopted the majority of them. Kong Zhenlan from Jiuji, a village in Shanxi Province, has adopted more than […]

Lack of media coverage, institutional silence, self-censorship, and fear of Beijing's retribution are among the reasons that many people, including those in the medical sector, are unaware of China's ongoing state-sanctioned practice of killing innocents for their organs. Those reasons were presented during a roundtable discussion on June 9, in an online event titled “Forced […]

Beijing says citizens who report breaches of the  national security law may win a certificate of recognition or a monetary reward ranging from 10,000 yuan (about $1,500) to over 100,000 yuan (about $15,000), depending on the value of the tip-off. On June 6, the Ministry of State Security announced in an official paper its new rules […]

The U.S. Embassy to China accused the Chinese communist regime on June 7 of putting two diplomats in danger by attributing fake quotes to them about the human rights abuses of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang. On June 5, a social media user named Buyidao, who is associated with Chinese state media Global Times, posted that […]

China’s defense minister threatened war over the issue of Taiwan during an intensely heated exchange between top Chinese and American defense officials. “If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,” said China’s defense spokesman Wu Qian, quoting Chinese Defense Minister […]

The Taiwanese government on Thursday welcomed its third arms deal this year with the United States. Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang said the deal involves the purchase of naval equipment and related technical assistance worth $120 million. Chang's statement was in response to the U.S. government on Wednesday announcing that it had notified Congress of […]

Commentary The sinking of Hong Kong officially started with the enactment of the National Security Law (NSL) at 11:00 p.m. on June 30, 2020. Hong Kong has lost its glory, and the defenders of our old core values have either fled, have been detained or are in prison. Hongkongers have mostly used peaceful ways to […]

Commentary The most important economic question to date is still the old one: whether inflation has peaked or still has some months to go. The U.S. official tone on inflation has always been on the supply side such as the logistic blockage due to Covid-19 lockdowns or the Ukraine-Russian war. The demand side of ridiculous […]

U.S. solar manufacturers are considering legal action after President Joe Biden moved to put off new tariffs on solar imports from Southeast Asian countries. According to the White House's announcement on June 6, the tariff suspension applied to these imports from  Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, that supply about 80 percent of photovoltaic cells and […]

Commentary China’s COVID-19 lockdowns and rate cuts are driving down the yuan and exacerbating foreign capital outflow. “Uncertainty is really the keyword, because there's no view, no outlook about how long this could last, and what will be next after Shanghai,” Massimo Bagnasco, vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told […]

Individual bankruptcy filings jumped to nearly 1,000 in April, a new high in Hong Kong since May 2020. At the same time, the Hong Kong dollar suffered the largest sell order, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) again intervened to buy nearly HK$5.9 billion (about $750 million). Analysts believe that the interest rate spread […]

Four months after winning two gold medals for China, freestyle skier Eileen Gu once again became a hot topic on the country's social media after she announced her decision to support Salt Lake City's bid to host the Winter Olympics. At the Time100 Summit on June 7, Gu said she would serve as an ambassador […]

When Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) rolled out a promotion in China that included a Psyduck toy in its kids meals, the cartoon figure quickly became immensely popular as people started using it in memes making fun of the COVID restrictions. June 1st is Children’s Day in China. KFC and the Pokémon Company launched a children’s […]

A senior Chinese economist at a U.S.-China forum proposed that Beijing take over Taiwan and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) if Washington sanctions Beijing as it has Moscow. “If the United States and the West impose destructive sanctions on China as they treat Russia, we must recover Taiwan,” said China’s economist Chen Wenling on May […]

Commentary The Chinese regime's increasingly aggressive and militarily-backed behavior has, unsurprisingly, sparked a backlash of counter-arming on the part of much of Southeast Asia. China has increasingly used its growing military power to dominate the environs around the South China Sea. It has, for example, built up its naval forces on Hainan Island, deploying nuclear […]

Apparently, the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre is such a sore spot for the Chinese regime that the sale of a tank-shaped cake has to be censored. A top livestream salesman in China was shut down after presenting a cake shaped like a mini tank. The authorities deemed it to be a reminder of […]

News Analysis China's involvement in the U.S. agricultural sector is under greater scrutiny, with politicians sounding the alarm about economic and national security risks stemming from Chinese purchases of prized American farmland. Late last month, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) introduced legislation that would ban the purchase of agricultural land, including ranches, in the United States […]

A Chinese military jet crashed in a residential area in central China on June 9, killing at least one person, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported. The plane involved was a People's Liberation Army Air Force's J-7 fighter jet, which was on a training mission, CCTV's military channel said. The pilot parachuted successfully and suffered minor injuries, […]

The Commerce of Business has issued a temporary denial order (TDO) for 180 days to three U.S. companies for the illegal export of data relating to satellite, rocket, and defense technology to China. On June 7, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) accused three U.S.-based companies of unauthorized export of technical drawings […]

June 4 marked the 33rd anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s Tiananmen Square massacre. In Hong Kong as in mainland China, any commemoration of the atrocity faced a crackdown by authorities. Many foreign consulates in Hong Kong lit candlelights and posted messages on social media to mourn the victims of the massacre, while expressing concern […]

The former defence minister and now-opposition leader Peter Dutton has revealed that the previous Australian government was close to approaching the United States to purchase two Virginia-class nuclear submarines as a stopgap measure before it could build its own vessels. Dutton urged the current Defence Minister Richard Marles to stay the course on AUKUS and […]

A well-known IT professional in China recently suggested on social media that job applicants could pay employers to get work, and address the nation's youth unemployment issue. The suggestion attracted significant attention and criticism, as similar practices already exist in China's IT industry— where graduates pay companies off the books to intern. The IT professional, […]

Officials from China and Cambodia said that they had officially begun work on a major expansion to Cambodia’s largest naval base June 8. The project is being funded by China, and one official from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) described it as evidence of the two nations’ “iron-clad partnership.” The announcement is likely to ruffle […]

The United States’ nuclear and hypersonic weapons development is behind that of China’s ruling communist regime, according to Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). “They’ve been on a building spree,” Lamborn said of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “They’ve doubled their nuclear arsenal in the last two years and they’re showing no sign of relenting.” “We are […]

Canada has been naive about communist China its continued espionage and foreign interference campaigns, and as politicians willfully turn a blind eye to the threat, the country is also losing credibility among its democratic allies, an expert said at a panel discussion on June 7. Sam Cooper, also an award-winning investigative journalist, said he was […]

U.S. lawmakers are calling out the Biden administration for its move not to enforce a divestment obligation for federal government entities on blacklisted Chinese military firms, a decision that according to one of them is “foolish and naive.” Under an executive order President Joe Biden issued last June, U.S. investors had 365 days to divest […]

As Americans try out the newest Starlink dishes on their R.V.s, a space expert says Elon Musk’s Starlink makes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “nervous” as the “only” player in the field now when it comes to the U.S.’s strategic space race with China. “It is important to understand that Elon Musk’s SpaceX company is […]

State treasurers spoke out against the imposition of environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring on public money in a June 8 press conference, with one official comparing it to the social justice-driven push for universal homeownership that helped trigger the Great Recession. “I would be very concerned about investing in green energy right now,” said […]

Commentary Later this month, the People's Liberation Army Navy is expected to launch its third aircraft carrier, its first “flattop” capable of conventional takeoff or landing operations. With this new carrier, and the many to follow, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will begin using combined aircraft carrier battle groups and amphibious warfare battle groups to […]

China's rubber-stamp legislature is scheduled to hold its once every five-year meeting this fall. The re-election of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping is the main focus of this year’s meeting. As the meeting approaches, Chinese social platforms and media have been releasing various signals that show Xi's political opponents have continued to […]

News Analysis Despite several public slip-ups by the president, the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity remains in place while the United States increases economic ties and weapons sales to Taiwan. On May 23, President Joe Biden stated publicly that the United States would fight for Taiwan, the third such comment in recent months. In all […]

Beijing has defended a PLA pilot’s dangerous air maneuvers made against an Australian military plane that was conducting maritime surveillance in international airspace in the South China Sea, stating the actions were “reasonable, and legitimate.” A spokesperson for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Ministry of Defence claimed that the Australian P-8A aircraft entered its sovereign […]

As of today, at least 10 Chinese metropolises, each with a population of over 10 million people, have required regular nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 of their citizens. The public is now questioning the cost incurred as well as who should pay those costs. Nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 are also known as PCR tests. […]

The U.S. Treasury Department has issued new guidance regarding the Chinese Military-Industrial Complex (CMIC) sanctions in response to frequently asked questions, just two days before the deadline for U.S. investors to fully divest their holdings of securities of designated Chinese military companies. The new guidance, published on June 1, states that “U.S. persons are not […]

It was late February 2020, as the pandemic was heating up in the United States, when a request from China caught Wisconsin state senator Roger Roth's attention. It was an email from Wu Ting, wife of the Chinese consul general in Chicago. Wu wanted Roth to help pass a resolution “in support of China’s fight […]

One of the most renowned tourist attractions in Hong Kong, the 46-year-old Jumbo Floating Restaurant, will be leaving Aberdeen Harbor in June due to financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The luxurious, imperial-style, floating restaurant, which has hosted numerous notable figures and celebrities, including Queen Elizabeth II and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, was […]

Curbing inflation, particularly fuel prices that have soared above $5 per gallon in a number of states, and bolstering America's position in the face of geopolitical rivals such as China and Russia requires changes to domestic energy production, refining, and transportation, according to Kelly Sloan, a senior fellow in energy and environment at the Centennial […]

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is exploiting weaknesses in the United States’ patent protection laws to gain the upper hand in technological innovation, according to an upcoming film, and big tech companies are helping it in the effort. “In the innovation race with China, there is no prize for second place,” said Luke Livingston, director […]

Two House Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for what they view as an unlawful expansion of Obamacare subsidies. “The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would unlawfully expand eligibility for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance under ObamaCare,” Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a letter (pdf) dated […]

A Shanghai resident and his neighbors were locked in their compound on March 13, and the local authorities told them that lockdown measures would be for “several days.” Seventy-eight days passed before he was able to leave his compound. It was “like a nightmare,” he said. “I just can’t believe that I can now take […]

As Shanghai reopens following two months of lockdowns, a resident and rights activist told The Epoch Times that his first wish is to unearth the cause of death for his wife at a local hospital during the outbreak. A native of Shanghai, Yu Zhonghuan, said that his wife, Shi Ping, who had been under the […]

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has travelled to the Pacific region twice in two weeks as the new federal government pushes its Pacific engagement strategy which it hopes can bolster Australia’s presence in the region to counter Beijing. Wong, sworn in as new foreign minister on May 22, said during bilateral talks with Samoa and Tonga […]

We revisit the ideologies behind the 2020 riots. Will the summer of violence return in the near future? I discuss this with Dr. Douglas Groothuis at the Western Conservative Summit. China's COVID-19 theatrics continue, as Shanghai's so-called reopening met with roadblocks and even more problems. Seniors are barred from restrooms, and people can't leave their […]

Large western corporations that are making money in China are contributing to democratic governments’ neglect of the communist regime’s continued human rights violations, Sen. Leo Housakos said on June 6. Housakos called on the Liberal government to ban imports of goods made with forced labour by Uyghur Muslims in China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang. He […]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggests that China could soon be facing a “population collapse” in the aftermath of Beijing's decades-long population control program that until recently had restricted most families in China to a single offspring. “Most people still think China has a one-child policy,” he wrote in a June 6 tweet that was pinned […]

The lack of a clear and consistent foreign policy with well-defined and achievable goals has weakened America's position vis à vis geostrategic rivals and states with a destabilizing role in the world, according to syndicated columnist and commentator Cal Thomas. “I'm just not sure that the Biden administration has a discernible foreign policy, whether it […]

A wave of emigration from Hong Kong has surged since the National Security Law was passed in June 2020. As shown in the data from the UK Home Office on May 26, 19,500 BNO visa applications were received, a 25 percent increase from 15,600 in the 2021 fourth quarter. This is a first big quarterly […]

As the U.S. military rolls out its new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), which imposes different physical standards and requirements for men and women, longtime defense analysts and observers say that the military's push for diversity and inclusion—a trend that accelerated under President Barack Obama and that the Biden administration aggressively carries forward—undermines combat training […]

Britain’s Home Office launched a new visa scheme on May 30, hoping to attract the “brightest and best” from abroad who have just started their careers. The High Potential Individual scheme, one of three new routes for obtaining a visa, is open to graduates from the world's top 50 universities, allowing eligible individuals to enter […]

China has called on Bangladesh to “uphold independence” and reject “bloc politics,” particularly those led by the United States that Beijing characterized as U.S. “centrism and exceptionalism.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on June 2 following a meeting between Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong and Bangladesh’s Ambassador to China […]

Commentary In late May, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a virtual summit with the leaders of several Pacific Island republics to entice them into joining a Beijing-led mutual security and economic agreement. It did not end well. During the summit, Beijing proposed that the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, […]