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普京抵达天津出席峰会，俄中两国结成“统一战线”抗衡西方

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Sep 1

RFI: #China 's state-run CCTV: Sino-Russian relations are at their "best period in history" & have become "the most stable, mature & strategically significant relationship between major powers" "building a more equitable multipolar world order" 普京抵达天津出席峰会，俄中两国结成“统一战线”抗衡西方 www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD...

据路透社援引中俄官方媒体报道，俄罗斯总统普京周日抵达中国北方港口城市天津，出席一场旨在抗衡西方全球影响力的区域安全峰会。

www.rfi.fr

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 26

China tests GFW: On Aug 20, 2025, the Great Firewall of #China (GFW) unconditionally injected forged TCP RST+ACK packets to disrupt all connections on TCP port 443. This incident caused massive disruption of the Internet connections between China & the rest of the world gfw.report/blog/gfw_unc...

Analysis of the GFW's Unconditional Port 443 Block on August 20, 2025

The Great Firewall of China (GFW) conducted a large-scale, unconditional block targeting TCP port 443 on August 20, 2025. This report documents the measurements and analysis we conducted of that event...

gfw.report

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 10

SCMP: #Trump ’s overhaul of State Dept may play into Beijing’s hands for decades
US foreign service lost more than 3,000 employees & dozens of bureaus, leaving #China w/largest diplomatic corps
“We just gutted [development programmes] ourselves, a huge win for China.”
www.scmp.com/news/us/dipl...

Trump’s overhaul of State Department may play into Beijing’s hands for decades

US foreign service has lost more than 3,000 employees and dozens of bureaus, leaving China with largest diplomatic corps.

www.scmp.com

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Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 10

SCMP: #China aired a documentary last week showing how the Qing dynasty took back #Xinjiang from foreign forces in the late 19th century – Beijing’s latest effort to counter Western narratives and strengthen Chinese national identity in ethnic minority border areas.
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China airs Xinjiang history documentary to counter Western narratives

It tells the story of Qing dynasty general Zuo Zongtang, who led army to recover the western region from foreign forces in the 19th century.

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Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 9

Looks amazing!

Chinese scientists create meteorite diamond in laboratory breakthrough

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 9

SCMP: #China’s consumer prices flat in July, while producer deflation persists
CPI reading beats market expectations-- Wind had forecast a 0.12% decline for July-- but data suggests demand remains weak amid trade turbulence buff.ly/QQBdFOX

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 9

SCMP: Scientists in #China create meteorite diamond in laboratory breakthrough
Unusual variant has previously been confirmed only within the cosmic debris that hit Arizona’s Canyon Diablo 49,000 years ago
sc.mp/v54nf?utm_so...

Unusual variant has previously been confirmed only within the cosmic debris that hit Arizona’s Canyon Diablo 49,000 years ago.

Taiwan detains TSMC staff for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets | CNN

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 8

CNN: #Taiwan detains three current & former employees of #TSMC for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets
TSMC produces more than 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductor chips needed smartphones & artificial intelligence ( #AI ) applications to weapons #台灣
edition.cnn.com/2025/08/06/a...

Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of the world’s largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for allegedly stealing trade secrets...

Joking about her abusive husband launched this Chinese comedian to stardom. The authorities aren’t laughing | CNN

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Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 8

CNN: Joking about her abusive husband launched Fan Chunli to stardom. But authorities in #China are warning against "simplifying gender issues & repeatedly making a fuss about the ‘opposition between men & women," & that discussion of gender issues must be “rational.”
edition.cnn.com/2025/07/27/c...

With her short, permed hair and unshowy clothing, Fan Chunli looks every bit the middle-aged woman from rural China. Among a crowd of youngsters vying to become the next breakout star in one of China’...

Protests in China over viral school bullying case

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Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 6

BBC: Massive protests in #Sichuan' s #Jiangyou #江油 city after violent video capturing school bullying incident goes viral on social media in #China
More than 1,000 people gathered on the streets on 4 Aug & confronted local riot police in bloody clashes www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

One protester in Sichuan province said “things got bloody” after police used batons and electric prods.

www.bbc.co.uk

Trump’s tariffs are sending African countries into China’s hands | CNN

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 2

CNN: #Trump ’s tariffs drive African countries into #China ’s hands
Four African nations - #Libya, #SouthAfrica, #Algeria & #Tunisia - face charges on exports ranging from 25% to 30%. America’s failure to negotiate a deal with Africa is “an open goal for China.” edition.cnn.com/2025/08/02/a...

Africa is adjusting to the new reality of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with countries on the continent facing some of the highest export charges.

China proposes global body to govern artificial intelligence

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Aug 1

FT: #China has unveiled a sweeping plan to expand its role in #AI governance, inc. the creation of a global co-operation organisation, as Beijing vies with Washington for technological leadership.
www.ft.com/content/de06...

Premier Li Qiang warns ‘bottlenecks’ in chip supplies are hindering innovation

www.ft.com

Trump’s order to end ‘de minimis’ tariff break expands from China to the world

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 31

SCMP": #Trump’s order to end ‘de minimis’ tariff break expands from #China to rest of the world
Duty-free exemption on small packages worth $800 or less fuelled China’s dominance in the industry – but the model is now under threat
sc.mp/akxmu?utm_so...

Duty-free exemption on small packages worth $800 or less fuelled China’s dominance in the industry – but the model is now under threat.

University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 30

Great new must-read from The China Journal: Disappearing Research: Academic Control & Self- #Censorship in #China
Self-censorship restricts #academicfreedom w/in China & hinders Beijing's access to information, impacting effectiveness of its policymaking. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

www.journals.uchicago.edu

Donald Trump blocks Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te from New York stopover

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 29

FT: #Trump blocks Taiwan’s democratically elected President Lai Ching-te from New York stopover
Move comes as US & #China hold trade talks and seek to stabilise relations #台灣 www.ft.com/content/2157...

Move comes as US and China hold trade talks and seek to stabilise relations

www.ft.com

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 27

CNN: An emboldened #China eyes more concessions from US at Stockholm trade talks. Beijing's grip on #rareearths has #Trump rolling back export curbs, inc. a stunning reversal of the ban on sales of key #Nvidia #AI chip. edition.cnn.com/2025/07/27/b...

An emboldened China eyes more concessions from US at Stockholm trade talks | CNN Business

For the third time in as many months, US and Chinese officials will meet in Europe for trade talks — and this time, Beijing is arriving at the negotiating table more emboldened than ever.

China, EU need to make the right choice as ‘2 big guys’ on world stage: Xi

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Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 24

SCMP: Xi tells visiting #EU leaders that Europe should make “the right strategic choice” & enhance cooperation w/ #China for global “stability,” during mtg with European Council President Antonio Costa & European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing sc.mp/p784l?utm_so...

Relationship is at an ‘inflection point’, von der Leyen tells Chinese leader as 25th China-EU summit begins in Beijing.

Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall vote could break the statemate | CNN

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 24

CNN: #Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall of ‘pro-#China’ KMT lawmakers could break that #台灣 edition.cnn.com/2025/07/23/a...

A democratic check or an abuse of power? Mass recall vote in Taiwan polarizes island after months of paralysis.

How open-source AI is helping China win hearts and market share

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 19

SCMP: On July 9, 2024, US's #OpenAI blocked developers in #China from using its closed-source #ChatGPT models. But w/the launch of #DeepSeek’s #OpenAI, the #open-source mvmt started by Chinese firms sent shock waves through Silicon Valley & Wall St, winning hearts & minds sc.mp/p11mt?utm_so...

China’s free-for-all AI models, developed by firms like DeepSeek and Alibaba, present a viable alternative to US closed-source systems.

Chinese scientists develop low-cost cell therapy for cancer, asthma

Patricia M. Thornton @pm-thornton.bsky.social · Jul 19

SCMP: Scientists in #China develop low-cost cell therapy for cancer, asthma
A team of Chinese medical experts say they can produce anti-cancer cells directly inside the human body using gene therapy tools.
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A team of Chinese medical experts say they can produce anti-cancer cells directly inside the human body using gene therapy tools.