In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Immigration
Why Chinese Flight Attendants Love Africa Routes
The most coveted international route among China Southern Airlines crew isn’t to glamorous destinations in Europe or the United States, but to Africa, a flight attendant recently revealed on Chinese video platform Bilibili. Back in 2015, during China Southern’s peak ...
Chinese Social Media Mocks Japan’s Plan to Welcome African Migrants
When Tokyo announced it would welcome African migrants to revive depopulated towns, many Chinese online reacted with scorn. Japan announced plans to bring in African migrants through a “special talent visa program” unveiled at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African ...
Direct Flights Between India and China Set to Resume as Part of Broader Rapprochement
A nearly five-year freeze in relations between India and China is quickly thawing ahead of a landmark visit to Tianjin later this month by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi's upcoming trip would mark his first visit to China in ...
A Crocodile Feast in Congo Brazzaville Sparks a Cultural Reckoning on Chinese Social Media
On the bustling streets of Brazzaville’s so-called “Ghost Market,” a Chinese food vlogger nicknamed Bing Shu captured what he called the “national dish of Congo”: a fresh-killed crocodile feast, right off the street-side chopping block. His wide-eyed reactions to grilled monkeys, with teeth still intact, and bubbling ...
China Eases Transit Rules for Indonesians. Jakarta Should Push for More.
China’s recent inclusion of Indonesia in its 240-hour visa-free transit program is a notable, if not entirely surprising, development. While Indonesia is now among the 55 countries benefiting from this arrangement, the move signals a step forward in the broader relationship between the two nations. For ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
A Chinese Scholar Uncovers Cuba’s Chinese Migrant Past
When the U.S. Prohibition Act (1920–1933) banned alcohol, it unexpectedly turned Cuba into a vice paradise—and reshaped the destiny of Chinese migrants fleeing America’s anti-Chinese racism. As thirsty Americans flooded Havana’s bars and casinos, the island’s economy boomed. Meanwhile, the Chinese ...
Hong Kong Tycoon’s Panama Port Deal Sparks Chinese Immigration Marketing Frenzy
As China moves to block a high-profile international deal, the controversy has unexpectedly fueled a new wave of immigration marketing. On March 4, 2025, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing announced the $22.8 billion sale of his Panama Canal ports and 43 ...
Vanishing Brides, Troubled Desire: The Legal Grey Zone of China-Vietnam Wife Tours
A rural Chinese farmer paid over 200,000 yuan (around $28,000) to join a marriage tour in Vietnam—three months later, his new wife vanished. This is not a rare case: stories like his have circulated on Chinese social media for over a ...
China’s C919 Ramps Up Production, Aims to Break Boeing-Airbus Duopoly on Global Market
China’s homegrown C919 passenger jet is accelerating production in a bold challenge to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, ramping up capacity amid Beijing’s broader push for aviation self-sufficiency. However, while the jet is proving reliable in domestic operations, global expansion ...
Living Between Worlds With One Homeland in Heart: The Story of South African Chinese
Chinese communities in South Africa are generally divided into three distinct groups. LaoQiao (老侨), are South African-born Chinese (SABC) whose families have been in the country for generations, with ancestors arriving as early as the 1870s amid war and disaster in China. The second group, often termed ...
Jakarta Main Airport Scandal: 30 Immigration Officers Under Investigation for Extorting Chinese Visitors
Indonesia’s Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Affairs (Imipas) has removed 30 immigration officers from their posts and conducting investigation at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport following allegations of extortion targeting Chinese nationals. Minister of Immigration Agus Andrianto confirmed the action after receiving ...
What’s on WeChat: Stop Misleading People About What It’s Like For Chinese Entrepreneurs in Africa
A post by longtime Africa WeChat commentator Xiao Nie (小聂说事儿) is sparking a lot of discussion in Chinese development circles about the current conditions facing Chinese expatriates in Africa. Xiao Nie is well-known for his blunt "tell it like it is" writing style, which he's picked up ...