Introduction The Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei (成蕾) was formally arrested by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in early February after having been detained for six months in Beijing. Her arrest was confirmed by the PRC on February 8, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson... MORE

Introduction The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping has taken multiple measures to consolidate his position as “core for life” of the CCP leadership in the run-up to the centenary of the party’s establishment on July 1. Firstly, he has firmed up his... MORE

On April 29, a Long March 5B (长征五号B, Changzheng wuhao B) heavy rocket carrying the Tianhe 1 (天和一号) core module of China’s space station was successfully launched into low earth orbit from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Hainan Province (Xinhua, April 29). It marks the... MORE

Introduction Located at the crossroads of global shipping lanes, Sri Lanka has become a significant recipient of Chinese economic and military influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). For its part, Sri Lanka has largely welcomed China as a major investor and strategic partner in... MORE

Introduction As part of its broader effort to develop a distant seas capability, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) held an annual Southern Theater Command (STC) far seas training exercise from late January to late February 2021. This event is likely the 2021 iteration of... MORE

Introduction On March 8, a Shanghai court awarded $15,000 to a plaintiff in a sexual harassment lawsuit against her colleague in a rare legal win for the #MeToo movement in China (Sixth Tone, March 10; Washington Post, March 20). Although China has enacted a string... MORE

Introduction This is the second of a three-part series describing the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) growing digital presence in Central Asia—part of a larger project commonly referred to as the Digital Silk Road (DSR, 数字丝绸之路, shuzi sichou zhi lu) that supplements the wide-ranging geo-economic... MORE

On April 15, Hong Kong celebrated National Security Education Day (NSE Day) for the first time in the special administrative region (HKSAR)’s history. The mainland has held a National Security Education Day on April 15 each year since the holiday was designated in a July... MORE

Introduction Earlier this month, a Chinese video-gaming industry site revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Propaganda Department had introduced a trial review and scoring system for online games produced in China, effective April 1 (Games Teahouse; April 14). Under the new system, games... MORE

Introduction As U.S.-China tensions have continued into the Presidency of Joseph R. Biden, climate change is seen by some to be a rare area for bilateral collaboration (21st Century, December 22, 2020; The Paper, January 20). However, despite the U.S.’ official return to climate diplomacy... MORE