The Secret Life of Monks: Shi Yongxin’s Shaolin Scandal Casts a Shadow on Monastic Integrity

A controversy that has been brewing recently has completely taken over the Chinese internet over the past week, becoming the biggest public scandal on Chinese social media in 2025 so far. At... Read more »

Tracking Trump’s Tariffs: Rates for China, the E.U. and More

Baseline or paused “reciprocal” rate MapSize by 2024 imports Since returning to office, President Trump has waged a global trade war without parallel in modern history. With steep and sometimes punishing tariffs... Read more »

Attempt to unseat 24 ‘pro-China’ opposition politicians in Taiwan fails | Taiwan

An unprecedented attempt in Taiwan to unseat 24 “pro-China” opposition politicians and give a parliamentary majority to the ruling party has failed, with voters in every seat rejecting the notion. Polls opened... Read more »

Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas | Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet. They are... Read more »

Something In the Water: How Yuhang’s Smelly Water Went from Odor Incident to Trust Crisis

A controversy that has been brewing recently has completely taken over the Chinese internet over the past week, becoming the biggest public scandal on Chinese social media in 2025 so far. At... Read more »

China Sets Sights on Global Diffusion in AI Race

By many accounts, China’s AI industry is closing the gap with the U.S. American export controls have supercharged Chinese domestic innovation, and Chinese AI chatbot models such as DeepSeek now equal or... Read more »

Six Chinese Students Dead After Falling Into Flotation Tank During Mine Visit

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 18This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in... Read more »

Local Governments Scapegoat Residents Over Potemkin Toilets and Smelly Water

Two incidents this month highlight the ways in which local governments’ action on public health and safety measures are often geared more toward shielding authorities from accountability or financial costs rather than... Read more »

Badiucao and Melissa Chan on Their Graphic Novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution

You Must Take Part in Revolution is a graphic novel by Badiucao, political cartoonist and former CDT contributor, and Melissa Chan, a journalist who in 2012 became the first reporter to be... Read more »

Thailand reports 14 people killed in clashes at border with Cambodia | Thailand

Thailand and Cambodia fought in their most deadly border clashes in more than a decade on Thursday, with Thai officials reporting 13 civilians and a Thai soldier were killed in rocket and... Read more »