China in Focus

Asia’s arms race is growing. Aggression has led countries in the area into a deadly game of keeping up with the Joneses. Beijing is nearing an initial capability to invade Taiwan, warns a U.S. congressional advisory body. On the other side, Taiwan is preparing for all possibilities with an advanced model of fighter jet. A record-high number of Americans have died from drug overdose, and chemicals from China are playing a major role in it. Reports emerge of discrimination in China’s education sector. Practicing a spiritual meditation system may lead to teachers losing their jobs. The German chancellor says her country was naive at first—when it comes to dealing with China.

Anger flares after brutal action by Chinese pandemic prevention workers. Their killing of a pet dog was caught on tape. The United States and China engaged in top-level dialog, but without a major breakthrough. President Joe Biden and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping formally met for the first time since Biden took office. But after the meeting, Beijing again sent military aircraft flying over Taiwan, in an apparent threat to the self-ruled island. An elderly mother seeks to visit her only son, imprisoned in China. But she’s faced multiple rejections by authorities, all because of her son’s human rights activism. And, reports say Beijing is again lobbying U.S. business communities—this time, to influence legislation that would boost U.S. competitiveness.

China is fighting the biggest Delta variant outbreak so far. But drastic measures to prevent further outbreaks are sparking complaints. Beijing launches a new stock exchange. Experts say it could present a new way for the Chinese regime to strengthen its financial control and avoid foreign market rules. As the United States and China compete for microchip leadership, some American firms are boosting Beijing’s chip ambitions. A Chinese dissident shares his life-threatening story of how he managed to skirt death threats from China. Will Australia step up to defend Taiwan, in the case of a Chinese invasion? One of the nation’s top leaders says "yes," as long as the United States does, too.

China's real estate sector takes another hit. But this time, it isn’t Evergrande. Developer Kaisa is now making a desperate plea for help. Risk or opportunity? Investment bank Goldman Sachs is weighing those options—and buying up Chinese real estate debt. The United States is working to block American investments from funding China’s military. A ban on investing in nearly 60 Chinese companies gets an extension. Thirteen U.S. officials pay Taiwan a visit. In a meeting there, the delegation discussed Taiwan’s defense capabilities amid China’s growing military pressure.

The United States is opening for fully vaccinated travelers, including those from China. But a Hong Kong government expert raises concerns about the efficacy of some foreign vaccines. Parts of China are getting blasted by a snowstorm—almost a full month earlier than usual. A $200 million Marvel Studios movie wasn’t released in China this weekend, all because of remarks its director made years ago. Mockups of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier have been discovered in a desert. Satellite images suggest they could be part of new Chinese army training exercises. Beijing blacklists three Taiwan politicians. But instead of viewing them as punishment, those on China’s blacklist instead respond with statements of pride. A major meeting of the Chinese Communist Party has begun. Ahead of the event, the regime’s top media mouthpiece published a 12,000-word article, highlighting what it called Xi Jinping’s achievements.

Reports emerge of worsening panic buying in China. Some have even been spotted fighting over goods in stores amid concerns over possible repeat pandemic lockdowns. Donated organs come with official price tags in China. Six provincial departments co-released a price guide for transplants. But critics say it may encourage killing for profit. Fourteen candidates are forced to withdraw from an upcoming election in Beijing. Police threatened them over not being appointed by the communist government. China's nuclear threat level has increased 150 percent over the past year, according to the newest Pentagon report on China. U.S. Customs has detained products from the world’s largest solar cell manufacturer. The Chinese company is accused of involvement in Xinjiang’s human rights violations.

A sexual assault allegation takes the Chinese internet by storm. One of China’s biggest sports players is accusing a former top official of sexual misconduct. Reports say people in China are stocking up on essentials, while Chinese state-owned media outlets are spreading fake news about Taiwan, saying island residents are panic-buying over fear of a war. Combating a pandemic isn’t an easy task, but for residents in one Chinese city, leaving town isn’t either. One young woman tells her story after a 7-month ordeal. Yahoo is leaving China, completely. An expert says U.S. companies like Yahoo cannot afford China's censorship. China’s reported hypersonic missile test surprises the United States. But according to a former Defense Department official, this is not enough to serve as a wake-up call.

Amid high tensions between China and Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen answers a question that no Taiwanese president has in the past 40 years: whether American troops are stationed on Taiwanese soil. A veteran in Taiwan tells how, as a soldier, he shot from an island at Chinese ships. That spot lies just 2 miles from China's coast. U.S. President Joe Biden says America's commitment to Taiwan is "rock solid." In a major stock fall, China’s largest tech company Alibaba has lost nearly $350 billion in the world's biggest wipeout. Flooding, power shortages, and strict pandemic prevention measures are all sending food prices soaring in China. Some vegetables are reportedly twice as expensive as before. A renowned doctor in Australia urges banning all Chinese surgeons from Western hospitals, saying they knowingly help cover up communist China's forced organ harvesting industry.

A letter is adding fuel to one of the most controversial debates in the United States: whether American taxpayers' money was used to fund dangerous research inside the Wuhan lab. An energy initiative is up for discussion at the next G20 summit. It suggests cutting CO2 emissions in half by 2030. But an expert says it could harm Europe, all for China’s benefit. Beijing claims the United States is sending a majorly wrong message to Taiwan. That's after the U.S. Secretary of State urged U.N. members to support Taiwan and its possible participation in the organization. TikTok says it doesn’t hand American user data over to China. But one company executive’s testimony didn’t make the grade, according to one senator. A Chinese language song has become an internet sensation. It’s a satire against the Chinese regime, posed as an innocent romance tune. We dissect the lyrics and examine what its metaphors really mean.

China reports its fourth explosion in just one week—this time, at a chemical plant. China has a new military ambition. Party leader Xi Jinping is calling for new military equipment and weapons, part of his plan to build what he calls a "world-class" army. President Joe Biden is committed to avoiding confrontation with China, according to his top Asia diplomat. He said Washington and Beijing should “build confidence” and be able to communicate in a crisis. An NBA star player is calling out Nike. The player accuses the sports brand of using slave labor in China. A celebrity sex scandal rocks China’s internet. But some suspect Beijing’s propaganda system is fanning the flames, and redirecting the public's attention from other crises.

Several explosions and fires flared up in China over the weekend. From the north to the east, the country saw three separate accidental blasts. Many were killed and wounded. Australia says it will stand with the United States if China attacks Taiwan. The country reiterated it has "been with the United States through every major battle in the 21st century." Taiwan and the Czech Republic are strengthening their diplomatic relations in a move angering Beijing. To mark the talks, a Taiwanese minister made an official visit to Prague. International rights group Amnesty International announces plans to close its Hong Kong offices due to concerns over deteriorating freedom in the city. Beijing appears to push a new pandemic narrative: that the virus origin tracks back to American seafood. The latest claim comes after a series of others, with the regime having blamed at least four other countries in the past.

A big explosion in a northern Chinese city left buildings destroyed. People covered in blood were seen carried away in ambulances. ​​ China turns to the United States for help amid a power crisis. Beijing is set to double its import of natural gas from America through deals with an American energy company. China's coal price tripled at its highest point. Authorities intervened, solving the problem for now. But they might have made another problem worse. The Boston Celtics' Enes Kanter is calling out the Chinese regime's treatment of Tibetans. Celtics games are reportedly already being pulled in China. Japanese companies are in the spotlight. One has been fined $100,000 by China for choosing a wrong date for a new product launch. The other company is investing billions of dollars in the United States.

What’s all the buzz about Beijing’s hypersonic weapons, and why could they pose a nuclear threat to the United States? We break it down in this episode. A 12-year-old girl died after getting a shot of a Chinese-made vaccine. Her mother asked authorities for an investigation into the case, only to be beaten and detained. Chinese journalists must undergo so-called “continuous education” by the state—at least 90 hours every year—to learn how to develop news with a Marxist angle. China has a real-life version of the U.S. crime drama "Prison Break." Footage of an agile North Korean’s jailbreak in China is going viral. Taiwanese businesses are leaving China, and experts say a bigger wave of retreat is on the way.

Chinese hackers hacked the new iPhone 13 Pro in just one second, allowing them access to the phone's system. And they won prize money for it—$300,000. China’s food supply may be at risk. But authorities are responding to the crisis with ease—and changing course within a month. Beijing condemned the United States and Canada after both countries each sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait. An American toymaker is working desperately to get its products in for the holiday season. Boxes of toys are currently stuck in Chinese warehouses. A Canadian publisher is accusing Twitter of censorship. Twitter recently suspended his accounts promoting books critical of Beijing.

America’s defense chief reacts to news of a potential nuclear threat after Beijing reportedly tested a new weapon that can help it avoid the U.S. missile defense system. A Chinese fugitive dies as police close in. Despite allegedly killing two neighbors, his desperate story has won public sympathy. And his death triggered an outrage on social media. Part of hit-series Squid Game may be coming true in China. The blood-soaked organ harvesting scene in the fictitious Netflix success is happening in real life, with mainly Uyghurs and Falun Gong practitioners cast as the victims. "No Genocide Games!” protesters chanted as they broke into the torch-lighting ceremony in Athens, ahead of Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics. A German politician sounds an alert. He said Beijing was using a term the Nazis had used for Jewish people, but adds that this time, Taiwan is the target.

At least 46 are dead after an extremely fierce blaze in Taiwan. Sparked inside a 13-story building, it's the island’s deadliest fire in years. Netizens accuse Chinese authorities of inciting murder. The authorities are offering a higher reward for one criminal suspect's body than for clues about his whereabouts. LinkedIn is leaving China. The social networking platform says it’s getting harder to operate there because of the Chinese regime’s censorship rules. Japan’s ruling party is vowing to double its defense spending to deter the Chinese military’s more aggressive behavior in the region. The European Union plans to depend less on drugs from China after overreliance on China caused trouble for the EU in trying to source medicine amid the pandemic.

An official response from Taiwan over Beijing’s aggressiveness says Taiwan stands on the front lines of what it described as an assault and it won't back down, as ​​China conducted military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Beijing claims Taiwan is "not eligible" to join the United Nations because it claims the island as a part of mainland China. Widespread power shortages are still wreaking havoc across China. Almost two-thirds of the country is now struggling with electricity rationing. And the problem is hitting the global supply chain, too. Hundreds of workers are protesting from one company in South China—and they work for a main supplier to Apple computers. The world is still wondering, where exactly did the pandemic come from? A vital clue could be sitting inside tens of thousands of blood samples in Wuhan.

More companies in the Chinese property sector are now caught up in debt. And the poster child for the sector's woes, Evergrande Group, has missed its third round of bond payments in a matter of weeks. More floods strike northern China. Heavy rain caused one river to overflow, drowning a dozen nearby towns. As for farmers, many are hard at work trying to rescue their harvests and livestock from water damage. Armed with sub-par equipment, some have resorted to manual labor. China limits video game access for children to three hours a week. But some may have already found ways to bypass the rule. In Taiwan, more deaths have been reported in those who got vaccinated than from the pandemic itself.

Over a dozen people are dead in China. Severe flooding in the country caused river overflow and a major bus accident, leading a number of passengers to drown. There's more tension between Taiwan and China. Taiwan's president says the island will keep bolstering its defenses, and won't be forced to bow to the communist regime. Australia's former prime minister makes remarks on China, but Beijing isn’t pleased. It’s issuing its own statement targeting the nation. Over a year into a border standoff, China and India are still in talks to cool the situation down. But their latest conversation didn’t go as planned. NTD hears from a family that Chinese police are forcing to relocate, and how their struggle with the state turned what started as a housing crisis into a health crisis. Beijing has selected a new target for its next clampdown: the private capital. The goal appears to be completely removing it from the media industry.

Floods and landslides continue to plague parts of China. To make the situation worse, authorities are discharging water from local reservoirs, with little to no warning ahead of time. A newly built house is torn down in China. Police reportedly beat up the owner—who’s disabled—and his elderly parents. Some overseas Chinese people are running scams on dating websites. As a consequence, Chinese authorities are destroying their homes to force them to return to China. Controversial Chinese tech giant Huawei is hiring a former BBC news executive to help it brush up its international image. In a blow to China’s nuclear ambitions, the United States blocks China’s largest nuclear company from sourcing crucial materials from the United States.

In China's Shanxi Province, authorities warn of more landslides to come as the region faces continued heavy rains. Another deadly infectious disease has appeared in China. The bacteria was transmitted from birds to humans. For the first time, a Chinese police officer is speaking out about the torture of Uyghur detainees—something he says he was routinely ordered to perform. Beijing might be ready for a "full-scale" invasion of Taiwan by 2025, based on a warning from the Taiwanese defense minister. But how are Taiwanese people responding? And what does President Joe Biden have to say? Japan is taking action to deter Beijing. The country has stayed strictly on the defensive after World War II. But it may soon update that strategy to cope with Beijing's aggression.

A landslide destroys nearly 200 homes in Northwest China, and the situation may be even worse than official reports describe. Northeast China endures similar inclement weather, as the area gets drenched by heavy rain. Another Chinese real estate developer has failed to pay millions of dollars in debt. The company’s financials have triggered fear about the health of the sector. As intermittent power shortages wreak havoc, China loosens its unofficial ban on Australian coal. At the same time, the country is looking to buy even more coal elsewhere—and commits to its first-ever purchase from a small Asian nation. Concerns rise over a new U.S.–China trade plan. After months of planning, some say it doesn’t outline enough specifics.

Former President Donald Trump’s China tariffs will stay in place for now. And the U.S. trade representative says there could be even more ahead, if her upcoming talks with Beijing don’t go well. Within just two months, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized 1.8 million fentanyl-laced pills—most of them made in China. Beijing breaks its own record. It sent a whopping 52 Chinese aircraft toward Taiwan—the highest reported number on record. Freedom in Hong Kong takes another hit. The city’s largest independent trade union has disbanded, citing that "political uncertainty" made it too difficult to continue. Reports say Taiwan’s pandemic numbers are shrinking, with no new virus cases found locally in five days. As the situation improves, officials are tweaking some of the island’s prevention measures.

LinkedIn has blocked the profiles of some American journalists in China. The company says it’s over "prohibited content." The United States stops a Chinese student from entering the country. He was sent back after arriving at an airport in Houston. It’s the fourth time it’s happened this year. Tensions persist between Australia and China. It's been a year and a half since China answered Australia's phone calls. The Australian prime minister says Xi Jinping won't pick up. The organizer of an international sports game took down Taiwan's flag to comply with Beijing’s policy. To show support for the island, nearly a dozen countries asked the organizer to have their national flags removed, too. Power shortages wreak havoc in China. Key industrial regions are struggling with intermittent outages. But it doesn't end there. Cement prices have also tripled.

A new team is formed by the World Health Organization. Its goal is to push forward a new phase of study on the origin of the pandemic. Three pet cats test positive for the virus in China. But authorities quickly stepped in, putting the animals down despite their owner's objections. A rocket launch fails in China. It’s the fourth this year for Beijing. What do China's ugliest buildings look like? An annual competition titled "China's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings" is showing them off. Following fierce accusations, U.S. General Mark Milley defends his phone calls with China. He called them an effort to avoid conflict. Japan will soon have a new leader. The incoming prime minister has pledged to counter Beijing’s growing influence.