China Society

SHANGHAI— It’s now possible to check in automatically at Shanghai’s Hongqiao airport using facial recognition technology, part of an ambitious rollout of facial recognition systems in China that has raised privacy concerns as Beijing pushes to become a global leader in the field. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport unveiled self-service kiosks for flight and baggage check-in, […]

BEIJING—A Chinese maker of rabies vaccine was fined 9.1 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) on Oct. 16 for falsifying production records in a scandal that prompted a nationwide crackdown on the industry. Disclosure of the case, and the failure of authorities to act immediately after finding inconsistencies in the company’s records in late 2017, triggered a […]

Tips for Chinese tourists in Russia include not cutting in line and going bare-chested in public.

The U.S.-China trade war has compounded a food shortage already in the making inside China, due to water pollution, industrial development, and more.

WASHINGTON—Author Sulmaan Khan unveiled his new book “Haunted by Chaos: China’s Grand Strategy from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping” at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24. He said that the changing of leaders in communist China hasn’t brought about fundamental changes because of a sense of insecurity, which […]

Local security forces in 17 cities across China sprang into action on Oct. 1, when large numbers of people gathered to protest the recent crash of the peer-to-peer (P2P) online investment industry that began this spring and left millions bereft of their savings. Demonstrators staged their protests at 3 p.m. in the cities of Beijing, […]

Two air pollutants, PM2.5 and ground-level ozone, are responsible for the annual deaths of 1.1 million people and billions in economic damage in China.

HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s leading Catholic cleric said on Oct. 3 that he feared continued suppression of Catholics in mainland China despite a landmark accord struck last month between the Vatican and Beijing’s Communist Party leadership. Michael Yeung, the Bishop of Hong Kong, said it would take time to address issues beyond the appointment of bishops […]

BEIJING—China has ordered A-list movie star Fan Bingbing to pay about 884 million yuan ($129 million) in overdue taxes and fines, state-run media Xinhua said on Oct. 3, as a crackdown on tax evasion in the entertainment industry gathers momentum. The 37-year-old actor, whose June disappearance touched off speculation about her whereabouts, has appeared in […]

HIV and AIDS are on the rise in China, where authorities have reported over 40,000 new cases in the second quarter of 2018 alone.

The Chinese authorities have lowered standards for pollution control across the northern China region.

HONG KONG/VATICAN CITY—A landmark deal between China’s leaders and the Vatican over the appointment of bishops has been struck without Beijing taking action on long-held Church concerns over clerics in detention, Catholic Church sources familiar with the matter say. The agreement, which gives the Vatican a long-desired say in the appointment of bishops in China, […]

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Police said on Sept. 28 that 93 Chinese citizens and six Malaysians have been detained on suspicion of being involved in swindling money from people in China through a telephone scam. The arrests, the largest in recent months, were made on Sept. 26 during a police raid at a call center in a […]

BEIJING—A former Chinese stock market regulator who was detained after a collapse in share prices in 2015 was sentenced on Sept. 28 to 18 years in prison on charges of taking bribes and insider trading. Yao Gang, a former deputy chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was one of a series of prominent figures […]

BEIJING—The Vatican’s breakthrough agreement to give China some say over bishop appointments has critics accusing the church of caving in to the ruling Communist Party just as it is waging a sweeping crackdown on religion. The agreement is a step toward addressing the long-cherished hope of bringing together China’s 12 million Catholics who are divided […]

BEIJING—When a former intern at China’s state broadcaster wrote in July about being groped and forcibly kissed by one of the country’s most recognizable television stars, her story ignited a social media firestorm in a country where a backlash against sexual harassment was growing. Now her case is set to go before the Chinese legal […]

TAIPEI—Taiwan said on Sept. 27 its relationship with the Vatican is stable, although it will closely watch what it described as “suppression” by China following a landmark deal between Beijing and the Vatican on the appointment of bishops on the mainland. The Vatican has signed an agreement giving it a long-desired say in the appointment […]

China has implemented tight control over its foreign exchange reserves due to the depreciating value of the yuan and to prevent rapid capital outflow. However, the Chinese people who want to withdraw cash (in foreign currency) from their banks are finding it difficult to do so. So they use different channels to get their money […]

The Chinese regime on Sept. 20 published new regulations for TV and radio stations to limit foreign content and the presence of foreign actors onscreen. On the same day, the official media reported that school textbooks must be inspected and any self-written or foreign textbooks must be removed from schools. China’s National Radio and Television […]

Wang Dong, a freshman at Hunan City University in southern China, was expelled by the school because he posted liberal and anti-communist statements online. He had been at the university only 13 days.