China

  • Homeless man arrested in China to reunite his family in Thailand

    A homeless man arrested in China four years ago is believed to be a Thai citizen. A family in Lamphun province in the northern part of Thailand believe he is their long-lost brother who went missing 29 years ago. Chinese immigration police detained the man, who was later identified as 45 year old Prakob Chuasaeng, in 2019 in Tianshui City, Gansu…

  • China eases visa restrictions coming out of Covid

    China is relaxing some of its pandemic travel restrictions again. On Wednesday, the mainland will begin issuing a range of visas to foreign nationals, according to the country’s foreign ministry. The move inches China closer to full reopening, marking a departure from the zero-Covid strategy they had held tightly to up until a few months ago. A social media account…

  • Hong Kong publisher behind President Xi book released from prison after 10 years

    A controversial Hong Kong-based publisher and writer has been released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence in a south China prison. He was released on Sunday, February 26. Yao Wentian was arrested in October 2013 while preparing to release an unauthorized biography of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, reported KaoSod. The 83 year old publisher was repeatedly denied appeals for…

  • China responds to Thailand’s crackdown on grey businesses by reaffirming support

    China is responding to Thailand’s crackdown on grey businesses by reaffirming its support. The two countries say they have been cooperating closely in suppressing transnational crimes. The Chinese Embassy pledged to help bring such businesses to justice on its Facebook page today. Online gambling and call centre scams are among the Chinese businesses that were found to be illegally operating…

  • Thai AirAsia resumes Bangkok – Macau flights

    Budget airline Thai AirAsia has resumed direct flights between Bangkok and Macau in China, operating the route four times per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Thai police may have busted the macau888 gambling website, but never mind, Thais can now gamble legally by flying direct to Macau on Thai AirAsia. Thai AirAsia is the only airline servicing the…

  • Fly direct from Bangkok to the ‘Hawaii of China’

    After a three-year pandemic hiatus, passengers can now fly direct from Bangkok, Thailand to Haikou – “The Hawaii of China” – thanks to resumed services by Hainan Airlines. Hainan Airlines flight HU7939 took off from Haikou Meilan International Airport in China’s Hainan province yesterday at 9.19am local time, bound for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The resumed route’s inaugural flight was on…

  • China’s home-grown cruise ship close to launch

    China plans to make a big splash with the launch of its first home-grown cruise ship later this year. It will be the nation’s first voyage into a sector dominated by European shipyards, and a critical step in reducing reliance on external sources. Lavish, unsinkable and afloat by May Known as the H1508, construction began in October 2019 and she…

  • Warrior Zhuo and the Fish Farmer, a TikTok love story

    As women all over the world struggle to avoid nuptial nonsense if they can, the ancient institution has lost none of its lustre in China, where love and marriage blossom beside the street, and Warrior Zhuo met her match. Chinese media loves a love story. Zero-to-hero narratives with fairy-tale endings are not hard to find in the world’s most populous…

  • Independent Chinese travellers demand freedom

    Independent Chinese travellers are set to shake up expectations in Thailand and across all of Southeast Asia. More than 10 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019. Almost all of them were on a strict schedule overseen by a terrifying tour guide. Almost all spent most of their money on Chinese-owned operations. Many were riding around in buses provided by…

  • Taiwan’s turn as military says weather balloon discovery most likely from China

    It’s Taiwan’s turn to take on a crashed weather balloon as the military claims it most likely came from China. The country’s military found the balloon on a remote and strategically located island near the Chinese coast. Taiwan’s army says it observed an unknown object falling from the sky over Dongyin island. The object fell with remnants appearing to be…

  • Great Wall Motor targets 50% growth in Thailand this year

    China‘s Great Wall will target 50% growth in Thailand this year. Great Wall Motor’s Ora Good Cat is already the top-selling electric vehicle in the kingdom. Great Wall Motor aims to increase sales in Thailand by 50% this year, the privately owned automaker said on Friday, while also planning to launch production of electric vehicles in Thailand in 2024. GWM…

  • Thai tourists don’t need Covid proof to visit India from next week

    Thai tourists don’t need to show a pre-departure Covid-19 test report or upload a self-health declaration form to visit India from next week. From February 13, tourists from Thailand, along with those from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, will no longer have to provide any proof of a pre-departure Covid test or complete a self-health declaration form…

  • US military shoots down Chinese spy balloon

    The US military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States yesterday according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. President Joe Biden approved the operation, which resulted in a diplomatic fallout between Washington and Beijing. The balloon was first spotted in the sky over Montana earlier in the week and…

  • US to form military alliance with Philippines to check China

    The United States is set to announce details of a new alliance with the Philippines and four new military bases on the island nation as it attempts to curb China’s expansion in the South China Sea. The US is keen to rekindle a former friendship with the Philippines, 30 years after they were told to leave, and plug a gap…

  • Chinese province to allow all citizens to have unlimited children

    Amid China’s spiralling crisis with an ageing population and shrinking workforce, one province is making some drastic policy changes. Starting on Wednesday, February 15, the western Chinese province of Sichuan will allow all citizens, including unmarried couples, to register as many children as they want. The province has over 83 million people. While current policies don’t explicitly ban unmarried women…

  • End of the World (of Warcraft) for China’s gamers

    The land of Azeroth has been a dreamland of freedom for millions of locked-down Chinese gamers since Covid-19 struck. But just as the lockdown ends at home, fans of the roleplaying epic World of Warcraft (WoW) are being locked out of their fantasies. It’s the end of the world (of Warcraft) as they know it. The game is set to…

  • China reports 70% drop in severe Covid cases and fatalities

    China’s government says the number of severe Covid-19 cases and coronavirus-related deaths has dropped by over 70% since peaking earlier this month. More specifically, the government says critically ill cases have dropped by 72%, while covid-related fatalities have dropped by 79% from their respective peaks. According to Reuters, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the figures on…

  • Russia to join navy exercises with China and South African next month

    Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency revealed today that a Russian warship equipped with hypersonic cruise missiles will join in exercises with the navies of China and South Africa next month. This marks the first official confirmation of the involvement of the Russian frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov. The frigate is armed with Zircon missiles, capable of…