Global Pulse

标签： Asia

亚洲

  • Thai PM unveils plan to boost economy, stability

    Thai PM unveils plan to boost economy, stability

    BANGKOK — On April 9, 2026, Thailand’s newly inaugurated Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul laid out an ambitious, cross-sector policy framework during an address to the national parliament, framing his administration’s priorities around strengthening domestic economic resilience, improving public welfare, and shoring up national stability in the face of growing global headwinds.

    Delivering a 60-minute policy statement to assembled lawmakers, Anutin emphasized that his government’s core mission centers on elevating the well-being of the Thai people. “I will make consistent efforts to ensure Thailand is strong from within, our people can stand on their own feet, the country’s economy is competitive, and we maintain confidence from the outside world,” he told parliament.

    To deliver on these pledges, the new administration has outlined policy initiatives spanning five core domains: economic growth, foreign relations, national security, social welfare, disaster response, and environmental stewardship. On the economic front, Anutin identified three urgent, immediate priorities: generating new employment opportunities, expanding access to quality work, and implementing systematic solutions to the country’s growing household and business debt burdens.

    Among the key upcoming economic stimulus measures is a revamped version of Thailand’s popular Half-Half Plus program, a government co-payment scheme designed to boost domestic consumer spending. The administration also plans to roll out widespread upskilling programs for Thai workers, with a particular focus on improving financial literacy and building future-ready professional capabilities. To support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of Thailand’s domestic economy, Anutin vowed to ease ongoing cost pressures, devolve greater authority to local governments to drive development, and adjust national tax policies to accelerate balanced growth across all regional economies.

    The plan also calls for expanded investment in science, technology, and innovation to restructure Thailand’s economic profile and attract high-value strategic foreign capital. These technological upgrades will extend to the country’s critical agricultural sector, with the long-term goal of positioning Thailand as a leading global hub for food security.

    To improve public service delivery and government accountability, Anutin announced a strategic administrative shift to an integrated “cluster” governance model, which centers on clear performance-based targets and standardized key performance indicators to measure policy outcomes.

    In trade policy, the administration aims to deepen Thailand’s integration into global supply chains while strengthening the international competitiveness of domestic Thai firms and imposing stricter rules of origin checks to block low-quality, low-value imports. Thailand’s vital tourism sector, a major source of foreign exchange and employment, will receive targeted support to preserve the country’s standing as a premier regional travel destination.

    On foreign policy, Anutin said the government will prioritize rebuilding global investor confidence while maintaining a balanced diplomatic stance amid ongoing global geopolitical realignment. For national security, priorities include strengthening border management, cracking down on transnational criminal networks, and reviewing existing visa-free policies to curb financial crimes including cross-border scams and money laundering.

    Following the prime minister’s address, parliament began deliberations on the policy statement, presided over by House Speaker Sophon Zaram. The debate is scheduled to conclude on April 10, after which the new administration will formally take full executive power to begin implementing its policy agenda.

    The new government takes office at a moment of significant economic uncertainty, with multiple external shocks weighing on Thailand’s growth outlook. The ongoing global energy crisis, driven in large part by regional conflicts including the escalating tensions in the Middle East, has pushed fuel prices sharply higher, raising industrial production costs and raising fears of a looming stagflationary scenario. The World Bank’s Development Research Group director Aaditya Mattoo noted earlier this week that Thailand is one of the most exposed economies in Southeast Asia to rising global energy prices.

    A recent second-quarter business survey released by the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce confirmed that the Middle East conflict is already having both direct and indirect ripple effects on Thailand’s economy. Narongsak Putthapornmongkol, president of the chamber, warned that the conflict has already disrupted global economic activity, and the sector of greatest immediate concern for Thailand is tourism.

    These concerns are echoed in early spending projections for Thailand’s iconic Songkran new year holiday, which runs from April 13 to 15. A nationwide survey conducted by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce projects total holiday spending will reach 130 billion baht (approximately $4 billion), marking the first drop in annual Songkran spending in four years.

    Narongsak added that severe economic shocks are expected to persist through 2026, with energy shortages driving continued price increases that create major uncertainty for Thailand’s full-year growth outlook. “The government must accelerate efforts to address corruption and structural debt problems to ensure the economy can move forward,” he said.

  • Chinese scientists report first clinical success using base editing to treat severe blood disorder

    Chinese scientists report first clinical success using base editing to treat severe blood disorder

    The global field of genetic medicine has reached a landmark milestone, as a team of Chinese scientists has announced the world’s first clinically proven successful application of base editing technology to treat a life-altering severe inherited blood disorder. The groundbreaking research results, which mark the first Chinese thalassemia study ever accepted for publication in the top-tier academic journal *Nature*, offer a potentially curative, safer alternative to existing treatments for thousands of patients living with the condition worldwide.

    The clinical trial focused on five patients diagnosed with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, a genetic condition that leaves patients unable to produce functional adult hemoglobin, requiring regular, lifelong monthly blood transfusions to manage symptoms. After receiving a single one-time infusion of the experimental base-edited therapy CS-101, all five participants were able to stop their regular transfusions entirely, a outcome that has redefined what is possible for the treatment of this disorder.

    Traditional gene editing approaches for beta-thalassemia work by reactivating the gene that produces fetal hemoglobin, which can compensate for the faulty adult hemoglobin that causes the condition. However, older gene editing technologies rely on cutting the DNA double helix to make changes, introducing significant risks of unintended DNA damage, chromosomal abnormalities, and harmful off-target effects. The only curative option available to patients prior to this innovation has been matched bone marrow transplantation, a procedure that requires a genetically compatible donor (a match that is inaccessible to most patients) and carries the life-threatening risk of graft-versus-host disease, where transplanted donor cells attack the recipient’s body.

    To address these long-standing gaps and risks, the research team — led by principal investigator Lai Yongrong, a professor in the Hematology Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, and carried out in collaboration with researchers from ShanghaiTech University, Fudan University, and biotech firm CorrectSequence Therapeutics — deployed a next-generation transformer base editor. Unlike older techniques, this technology can directly rewrite specific genetic bases in a patient’s own hematopoietic stem cells without cutting through the DNA double helix. By eliminating DNA breaks, the approach drastically cuts the risk of unintended collateral genetic damage while producing higher levels of active fetal hemoglobin with far lower systemic toxicity.

    Clinical outcomes from the trial have exceeded initial expectations. On average, the edited stem cells began demonstrating healthy function in all five patients just 16 days after infusion. All participants achieved stable, near-normal hemoglobin levels and discontinued regular blood transfusions within one month of treatment. The trial’s first enrolled patient has remained transfusion-free for more than 28 months, and across a median follow-up period of nearly two years, no serious adverse side effects linked to the therapy have been recorded. Critically, because the therapy uses the patient’s own modified stem cells, it eliminates the need for a matched donor entirely, removing two of the largest barriers to curative treatment for beta-thalassemia.

    Beta-thalassemia disproportionately impacts populations across South China and Southeast Asia, where carrier rates in high-prevalence regions such as Guangxi can exceed 20%, leaving thousands of patients in the region without access to curative care. The research team notes that this breakthrough not only demonstrates that China’s homegrown gene editing technology meets global top-tier standards, but also positions the innovation as a potential best-in-class curative treatment that could expand access to life-changing care for patients with beta-thalassemia around the world.

  • Southeast Asian economies lean toward Beijing

    Southeast Asian economies lean toward Beijing

    The 2026 annual State of Southeast Asia Survey, released this week by Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, has revealed a striking shift in regional sentiment: a slim majority of Southeast Asian respondents now favor China over the United States in a hypothetical choice between the two leading global economic powers, reversing the narrow lead the US held in 2025’s edition of the poll.

    Conducted between January 5 and February 20 of this year among 2,008 respondents across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the survey found 52% of participants picked China when asked to choose between the two powers, compared to 48% who selected the US. Stronger support for China was recorded in six ASEAN member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand and Brunei.

    Beyond the head-to-head preference, the gap in perceived economic influence is far wider. Nearly 56% of ASEAN respondents identified China as the most influential economic power in the Southeast Asian region, a figure that dwarfs the 15.3% who named the US as the leading regional economic force. China also retains its position as the most widely recognized political and strategic power in the region, followed by the US and ASEAN itself.

    The survey highlights deep growing unease among Southeast Asian observers about the direction of US leadership under the second Trump administration. More than half of respondents — 51.9% — ranked current US leadership as their top geopolitical concern. Analysts note that shifting policy from Washington has eroded regional confidence in US reliability, with tangible economic and geopolitical fallout hitting Southeast Asian economies.

    “This year’s survey suggests that the foundations of US influence in Southeast Asia are gradually narrowing,” explained Joanne Lin, senior fellow and coordinator of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s ASEAN Studies Centre and one of the lead authors of the survey. While the result does not signal a total rejection of the US by Southeast Asian nations, it does reflect a growing cautious reevaluation of Washington’s role in the region, Lin noted in commentary published on the institute’s analysis platform Fulcrum.

    Scot Marciel, a former US diplomat and senior adviser at consultancy BowerGroupAsia, told a launch webinar for the report that the rising concern stems from dramatic shifts in US foreign policy that have left regional partners uncertain about Washington’s long-term commitments. Examples of US policy actions, including the imposition of sweeping high tariffs and open flouting of established international norms such as interventions in Venezuela earlier this year, have injected widespread uncertainty and triggered direct economic turbulence across Southeast Asian markets, Marciel said.

    Notably, Marciel added that the survey concluded before the joint US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, a development that has already created new economic shockwaves for the region and deepened questions about US global leadership. “The US started the Iran conflict along with Israel, which obviously is having a major impact economically on Southeast Asia, and also raising concerns about what kind of role the US is playing in the region and in the world,” Marciel added.

    In contrast to the skepticism facing US policy, the survey finds growing optimism about deeper ties with China. More than 55% of respondents expect their country’s bilateral relations with China to improve or improve significantly over the next three years. That figure stands in sharp contrast to the just 32.8% of respondents who forecast an improvement in ASEAN-US relations under the current Trump administration.

    Wang Huiyao, founder and president of Beijing-based independent think tank the Center for China and Globalization, attributes the positive sentiment toward China to decades of consistent economic cooperation that has delivered broad-based prosperity across the region. “China has contributed significantly to prosperity in Southeast Asia and Asia generally, and has become the biggest trading partner for all ASEAN countries. And that boom is still continuing,” Wang said, adding that there remains significant room for both China and ASEAN to deepen collaboration across sectors.

    The survey also identified key sources of negative sentiment toward the US: 43.4% of respondents cited the US’s regular use of sanctions, tariffs, and coercive trade measures against other nations as a top concern that erodes positive views of Washington. This shift marks a notable move toward geoeconomic anxiety becoming the primary source of regional unease about US engagement in Southeast Asia.

    Alongside tracking perceptions of US-China competition, the 2026 survey captured a broad range of other top regional priorities for respondents, including climate change, transnational global scam operations, disputes in the South China Sea, the ongoing political crisis in Myanmar, the Thailand-Cambodia border standoff, and the long-term institutional development of ASEAN itself.

  • Tokyo rally protests arms export plans

    Tokyo rally protests arms export plans

    On Wednesday evening, a massive crowd of Japanese demonstrators assembled outside the National Diet Building in central Tokyo, mounting a public rebuke of the current administration’s sweeping military policy changes that threaten to erode the country’s post-WWII pacifist constitutional framework. The demonstration, organized by a coalition of Japanese civic groups opposed to constitutional revision, drew an estimated 30,000 attendees, who carried hand-painted signs reading “Protect Article 9”, “No War”, and “Takaichi Government Step Down Now”, while chanting unified calls to reject constitutional amendments and avert future conflict.

    The rally in Tokyo was just the centerpiece of a coordinated national action: according to local Japanese outlet Tokyo Shimbun, parallel demonstrations opposing the government’s policy shifts were held at more than 130 locations across the country the same day, uniting activists, concerned citizens, and constitutional scholars behind a shared goal of safeguarding Japan’s 79-year-old pacifist founding document.

    For many protesters, the government’s latest moves directly contradict the core values Japan has embraced since the end of World War II. “As a nation that survived atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan should carry the permanent vow of ‘never waging war again’ as a non-negotiable part of our national identity,” said protester Fujimoto, one of the demonstrators who spoke out against the new policies. Fujimoto noted that the deployment of long-range missiles and the planned rollback of lethal arms export restrictions run directly counter to the pacifist principles codified in the constitution, questioning how offensive weapons can be framed as a legitimate measure of self-defense. “Exporting weapons that will only fuel armed conflicts around the world is simply unacceptable,” she added.

    Another protester, Kin, echoed that frustration, arguing that the series of recent military policy changes not only violate the constitution but also reflect a growing pattern of the administration disregarding Japan’s foundational legal framework. “The government is increasingly acting without respect for the principles that have kept our country at peace for decades,” he said.

    Japan’s post-war constitution, which entered into force in 1947, earned its reputation as a pacifist founding document through its landmark Article 9, which forever renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation and rejects the threat or use of military force as a tool for resolving international disputes. For nearly 80 years, the document has anchored Japan’s “exclusively defense-oriented” national security policy, limiting the country’s military role and banning most exports of lethal weapons.

    But that long-standing framework is now facing unprecedented change under the administration led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. On March 31, the government deployed long-range offensive missiles equipped with “enemy base strike capabilities” to military bases in Kumamoto and Shizuoka prefectures, marking a major break from previous defense policy. Japanese media has also confirmed that the Takaichi administration is on track to revise the country’s “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology” and its associated implementation guidelines by the end of April 2026, a change that would open the door to full exports of lethal weapons to foreign nations.

    The rapid succession of military policy shifts has sparked widespread anger and alarm across Japanese civil society. Critics warn that the changes amount to a quiet abandonment of Japan’s long-held exclusively defense-oriented policy, and represent a direct threat to the pacifist constitution that has guided the country’s peace and security for nearly eight decades.

  • Antarctic voyage ends with crucial findings

    Antarctic voyage ends with crucial findings

    After more than five months traversing the remote, ice-choked waters of the southernmost continent, China’s polar research icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) sailed back to its home berth in Shanghai on Thursday, bringing a successful close to the primary voyage of China’s 42nd Antarctic expedition and delivering a wealth of critical scientific data collected in one of Earth’s most extreme environments.

    A small but official welcoming ceremony was held on the Shanghai docks to greet the returning crew and research team, with senior representatives from both China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the Shanghai municipal government in attendance to mark the expedition’s achievements.

    The 42nd expedition launched in early November 2025, deploying two state-of-the-art icebreaking research vessels, Xuelong and Xuelong 2, to carry a total cohort of 550 scientists and specialists drawn from 125 domestic and international research institutions. Both vessels arrived at their Antarctic research zones by the end of the same month, after a long crossing from Shanghai.

    According to official briefing from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the research team overcame extraordinary environmental challenges to complete their work. Navigating unpredictable, tangled sea ice formations, battering storm swells, persistent gale-force winds, and sub-zero temperatures that tested both equipment and personnel, the team carried out extensive, multi-disciplinary ecological and geological surveys across three key regions: the Antarctic Peninsula, the Cosmonaut Sea, and the Amundsen Sea.

    Beyond pure scientific research, the expedition also fulfilled a number of logistical operational goals: completing scheduled infrastructure upgrades at onshore research stations, delivering critical resupplies to ongoing field missions, and rotating personnel stationed at Antarctic outposts back to civilization.

    By the time Xuelong docked in Shanghai, the vessel had logged a total distance of 63,000 nautical kilometers across its entire voyage. In contrast, after fulfilling its assigned Antarctic research and logistical tasks, the Xuelong 2 icebreaker remained in southern waters to embark on a separate specialized mission focused on studying the unique and understudied marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean.

    This successful expedition marks another major milestone in China’s long-term collaborative polar research program, expanding global scientific understanding of Antarctica’s rapidly changing environment and its role in regulating global climate and ocean systems.

  • Pakistan prepares for US-Iran talks amid heightened security

    Pakistan prepares for US-Iran talks amid heightened security

    As a fragile two-week ceasefire halts weeks of escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, Pakistan has entered the final stretch of rigorous security and logistical preparations to host landmark direct talks between the two rival powers in its capital city of Islamabad, aiming to broker a long-lasting de-escalation of Middle East tensions.

    The negotiations, set to open their first round this Saturday, will bring high-level delegations from both sides to the negotiating table. According to Iran’s Students’ News Agency, Tehran’s delegation will be headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, set to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance. The White House has confirmed that the American delegation will include senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, marking one of the most high-profile direct diplomatic engagements between the two nations in recent years.

    To guarantee complete safety for all visiting foreign delegates, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced Thursday that a comprehensive, layered security plan has been finalized. Islamabad authorities have rolled out sweeping security arrangements ahead of the talks: a public holiday has been declared for the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to streamline logistics, heavily trained police, paramilitary troops, and specialized security agencies have been deployed in line with strict Blue Book VVIP protocol, and dedicated, restricted routes have been mapped out for the delegations’ movement.

    Islamabad Police has issued a formal traffic advisory alerting commuters to route diversions along the major Express Highway, while emergency rescue services and city hospitals have been placed on maximum high alert. The Serena Hotel, a five-star luxury property located in Islamabad’s secure Red Zone diplomatic district, has been reserved exclusively for the visiting delegations, and multiple entry points to the capital will remain closed for the duration of the delegates’ stay.

    Pakistan’s months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic work made the talks possible. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar have held extensive consultations with regional leaders and maintained continuous, open diplomatic channels with both Tehran and Washington to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. Analysts note that Pakistan’s longstanding policy of neutrality, paired with its deep, established ties with both Washington and Tehran, gives the country a unique, unmatched ability to facilitate dialogue between the distrustful powers.

    Retired brigadier and regional security analyst Tughral Yamin called Pakistan’s success in convening the talks a “remarkable achievement”, noting that just months earlier, bringing two powers with decades of deep mutual mistrust to the same table was widely seen as an improbable goal. “It demonstrates ambition and a willingness to take risks in pursuit of regional peace,” Yamin explained.

    While the recently announced ceasefire has created a window for diplomacy, major sticking points remain that will test the negotiators. The future status of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global maritime chokepoint that carries a large share of the world’s total oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, is one of the most contentious topics on the agenda. Sanctions relief is another core demand for Iran, which has seen its economy and international financial activity severely constrained by long-running U.S. and international sanctions. Disagreements also persist over Iran’s uranium enrichment program: Tehran maintains it has the right to maintain the program for peaceful civilian nuclear energy purposes, while Washington continues to insist on strict enforceable limits on the activity.

    Most analysts and diplomatic observers frame the talks with cautious optimism. Both sides have sustained heavy military, political, and economic losses from recent escalating tensions, creating strong mutual pressure to reach a negotiated settlement. Even so, experts warn that the real challenge will be forging a mutually acceptable final agreement, a outcome that will require pragmatism, flexibility, and carefully calibrated concessions from both delegations. Across diplomatic circles, there is widespread hope that these talks will mark a critical turning point toward lasting stability in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

  • Mosquitoes could be breeding on ‘sponge city’ assets

    Mosquitoes could be breeding on ‘sponge city’ assets

    China’s ambitious sponge city initiative, designed to build climate-resilient urban flood control systems, is facing an unforeseen public health challenge: many of its core assets may be acting as unintended breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes, according to a recent perspective piece published in *China CDC Weekly*. The analysis identifies a critical gap in the national standards governing sponge city design, which currently omit public health requirements for standing water management targeted at vector-borne disease control.

    Industry experts broadly agree that the underlying concept of sponge city infrastructure is hydrologically sound. The initiative, which integrates permeable pavements, bioretention basins, rain gardens, constructed wetlands, and sunken green spaces into urban landscapes, has delivered proven results in reducing urban flood risk by absorbing and filtering stormwater. China’s existing national evaluation framework for these projects is highly sophisticated when it comes to hydrological performance, tracking key metrics such as runoff volume control ratios, pollutant removal efficiency, and overall water quality improvement. However, the framework completely overlooks critical biological risk factors. Specifically, it does not mandate a maximum post-storm dry-down time — the critical window within which standing water must drain to prevent mosquito larvae from completing their life cycle — nor does it require a formal linkage between routine infrastructure inspections and coordinated vector control responses, the perspective notes.

    This public health warning arrives amid an unusually early start to China’s 2026 mosquito season, driven by shifting climate conditions that have expanded the range and active period of high-risk mosquito species. *Aedes albopictus*, more commonly known as the tiger mosquito and ranked among the world’s 100 most invasive species, overwinters in egg form with hardened egg shells that can survive months of cold and drought before hatching once temperatures and moisture levels become favorable. China’s National Disease Control and Prevention Administration (NCDCPA) warned this spring that rising average temperatures and increased rainfall across the country have steadily expanded the geographic range of Aedes mosquitoes, extending their active season at both the start and end of the year. In Guangdong province, a particularly warm winter combined with frequent early-spring rainfall created ideal conditions for an unusually early mosquito season onset.

    “The perception that there are far more mosquitoes this year is not imagined,” noted Kang Min, chief expert for infectious disease prevention and control at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Right now, most mosquitoes residents are encountering are common household species, which overwinter as adults and rebound rapidly once temperatures stabilize. But the far more concerning tiger mosquito population, which transmits dengue fever and chikungunya, is still growing.”

    Kang added that local health authorities have already detected tiger mosquitoes in multiple counties and districts across Guangdong, with vector density already reaching extremely high levels in some residential areas. The geographic risk of Aedes-borne disease is also expanding across China: historically, dengue fever was confined to China’s tropical and subtropical southern provinces, but disease ecologists are now tracking a well-documented trend of “southern disease spreading north.”

    “In the past, the cold winter season acted as a natural population reset, interrupting transmission chains and eliminating local endemic cases,” explained Chen Xiaoguang, director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine at Southern Medical University. “If winters become too short and too warm to complete this reset, ongoing outbreaks can simply carry over from one year to the next, creating permanent endemic risk in new regions.”

    Experts from a recent NCDCPA news conference emphasized that the 2026 risk of imported dengue and chikungunya cases triggering local transmission is significantly higher than in previous years, with some regions facing a tangible possibility of large clustered outbreaks. This warning is backed by a recent severe outbreak in Guangdong that health officials link in part to unregulated standing water in urban infrastructure: on July 9 last year, Foshan city reported a cluster of chikungunya cases, and by July 26, the provincial total had climbed to 4,824 confirmed cases across 12 prefecture-level cities. A staggering 98.5% of all cases — 4,754 total — were concentrated in Foshan, with 87.2% of all provincial cases clustered in Foshan’s Shunde district alone.

    Guangdong’s public health authorities have already begun taking proactive steps to address the growing risk: the province has expanded its mosquito monitoring network, deploying small CDC-branded ovitrap devices in high-traffic public areas including parks, hospital grounds, schools, and construction sites. Devices are checked every four days, with density data fed into provincial-level risk modeling systems to target vector control responses.

    To address the root cause of the risk, experts say a full overhaul of governance across the entire sponge city infrastructure life cycle is required. “Entomological risk indicators must be translated into clear engineering specifications and embedded at every stage of a project, from initial planning and design through construction acceptance, to long-term routine operation and maintenance,” said Guan Zhongjun, a professor at the Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University and leading expert in medical management.

    Guan added that clear cross-agency responsibility delineation is critical to closing the current regulatory gap: housing and urban-rural development authorities must update civil engineering codes to mandate regular physical access for inspection and maintenance of all water-holding infrastructure; water resources and municipal maintenance departments must implement routine clearing and drainage of standing water after major storm events; and public health agencies must conduct formal vector impact assessments before new sponge city infrastructure projects break ground. These vector-proofing measures would apply to all existing sponge city assets across China’s urban landscapes, which without proper dry-down standards and routine maintenance can function as efficient mosquito nurseries just as effectively as they function as flood control buffers.

  • Myanmar military chief who led 2021 army takeover takes presidency after criticized election

    Myanmar military chief who led 2021 army takeover takes presidency after criticized election

    BANGKOK – Nearly four years after seizing control of Myanmar from the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s long-time military leader Min Aung Hlaing has been formally inaugurated as the nation’s president, cementing the military’s grip on power behind a veneer of electoral legitimacy. The 69-year-old, who ruled Myanmar with an iron fist as the head of the ruling junta since the 2021 coup, took the oath of office on Friday in Naypyitaw’s newly renovated parliament building, which sustained damage during a 2023 earthquake. He was joined by two vice presidents: Nyo Saw, a retired general and close personal adviser, and Nan Ni Ni Aye, an ethnic Karen politician from the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

    Min Aung Hlaing’s ascent to the presidency follows his April 3 election by the national legislature, where the pro-military bloc controls close to 90 percent of seats across both parliamentary chambers. The government formed after his inauguration reflects the military’s enduring dominance: 28 of the 30 newly sworn-in cabinet members are either active or retired military generals, USDP lawmakers, or holdovers from the previous junta administration. In a post-inauguration address, Min Aung Hlaing claimed Myanmar has “returned to the path of democracy” and pledged to work toward peace with anti-junta armed groups and repair strained relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has isolated the junta over its post-coup political repression and ongoing conflict.

    The inauguration is the final step in the junta’s plan to transition to a nominally civilian government, a move widely dismissed by global observers as a calculated tactic to retain full military control. The December 2024 general election that paved the way for the new government has been universally condemned by United Nations experts, human rights organizations, and independent election monitors as fundamentally unfree and unfair. The popular National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi’s party which won landslide victories in the 2015 and 2020 democratic elections, was barred from participating after being forced to disband in 2023 for refusing to comply with restrictive military-backed electoral rules.

    Independent election monitor the Asian Network for Free Elections, based in Bangkok, released a new assessment Friday noting that voting was only able to proceed in 42 percent of Myanmar’s territory due to the ongoing civil war that broke out immediately after the 2021 coup. The group added that every stage of the electoral process, from the composition of the election management body to the design of electoral rules and party registration requirements, was intentionally structured to guarantee a preordained outcome favorable to military-aligned parties. Ahead of taking office, Min Aung Hlaing stepped down from his post as commander-in-chief of the armed forces to comply with constitutional term limits, handing the powerful role to his close confidant Gen. Ye Win Oo.

    Min Aung Hlaing’s presidency comes as he faces a defining challenge: ending a years-long civil war that has engulfed the country since his 2021 coup ousted Suu Kyi and sparked widespread armed resistance from pro-democracy and ethnic minority groups. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based human rights monitoring group, nearly 8,000 civilians have been killed since the coup, and more than 22,000 political detainees remain imprisoned, including Suu Kyi herself. The 80-year-old former leader is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence on charges that are widely recognized as politically motivated and fabricated.

    Min Aung Hlaing also remains a controversial figure globally for his central role in the 2017 persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority. When he served as military commander under Suu Kyi’s pre-coup government, he oversaw a brutal counterinsurgency campaign that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The campaign has been labeled a genocide by multiple international courts and human rights bodies, though Min Aung Hlaing has never faced accountability for the alleged atrocities. As he begins his five-year presidential term, the international community continues to reject the legitimacy of his government, while the country’s civil war shows no sign of de-escalation.

  • Sino-US ties navigate shifting dynamics amid uncertainties

    Sino-US ties navigate shifting dynamics amid uncertainties

    Against a backdrop of growing global volatility and cross-border uncertainty, relations between the United States and China – the world’s two largest economies – are undergoing a gradual evolution, with geopolitical friction, economic strategic interests, and high-level political timelines emerging as core determinants of the bilateral relationship’s long-term trajectory, experts concluded during a recent high-level discussion. The event, hosted by the New York-based National Committee on United States-China Relations, gathered senior policymakers and seasoned diplomatic veterans to dissect the current state of Sino-US engagement and its far-reaching implications for the entire global order.

    Moderated by committee President Stephen Orlins, the discussion featured contributions from two veteran US diplomats: Stephen Biegun, former US Deputy Secretary of State, and Sarah Beran, the former Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Beijing. The pair explored the shifting global geopolitical landscape and prospects for upcoming high-level exchanges between the two nations.

    One of the most pressing topics on the agenda was the spillover effect of growing Middle East tensions on Sino-US ties, particularly as Washington has ramped up pressure on Iran, including sharp warnings over escalating activity in the critical Strait of Hormuz – a global chokepoint for 20% of the world’s daily oil trade. Beran noted that the widespread regional instability directly conflicts with China’s long-term strategic and economic interests. “This is a conflict that China would never have chosen for the United States to pursue,” she said, explaining that sudden volatility in global energy markets and disruptions to established global supply chains would carry severe cross-border consequences.

    “The volatility coming out of the Middle East – the disruption to energy supplies, petrochemical production, and global trade and investment – does not serve Beijing’s long-term goals,” Beran added. She also acknowledged that China has proactively taken steps in recent years to boost its economic resilience, including diversifying its global energy import partners and building out large strategic energy reserves, to help cushion the impact of sudden external shocks like Middle East supply disruptions.

    Biegun argued that both Washington and Beijing share a common incentive to push for de-escalation of the Middle East conflict before the planned upcoming summit between the two nations’ leaders. “Expectations in Washington are that President Donald Trump wants this conflict resolved before he boards a plane for Beijing,” Biegun said. The planned Sino-US leadership summit is widely viewed by observers on both sides as a critical opportunity to reset and stabilize bilateral relations, even though most analysts remain cautious about expectations of major, transformative breakthroughs at the meeting.

    Beran emphasized that both sides are already dedicating significant resources not only to negotiating the substantive agenda of the summit but also to shaping how the event will be perceived by global audiences. “A summit is a one-of-a-kind moment that can motivate both sides to move stalled initiatives forward,” she said, stressing that ongoing pre-summit working-level channels are critical for addressing complex issues that extend far beyond bilateral trade tensions.

    Beyond the immediate timeline of the summit and Middle East tensions, speakers underscored that Sino-US relations are defined by deep, persistent structural challenges rather than temporary short-term fluctuations. Beran framed the current moment as a period of transition, marked by what she called a “tactical truce” or temporary stalemate, where both sides are actively leveraging strategic and economic choke points to advance their respective interests.

    She explained that the long-term trajectory of the relationship will depend on a web of interconnected variables, including shifts in the global balance of power, domestic economic performance in both countries, and the lasting strategic fallout of ongoing conflicts like the Iran standoff. Beran added that the broader international context – particularly alliances between the US and its global partners – will also shape bilateral dynamics, noting that growing divisions between Washington and its allies in Europe and Asia have raised serious concerns. “Fissures in the trans-Atlantic relationship, and between the US and its allies in Asia, will be extremely difficult to repair,” she said, adding that these internal divisions will weaken coordinated US policy toward China.

    The discussion also turned to bilateral cross-border investment, a sector that remains both a key untapped opportunity and a persistent point of friction in the current political climate. Both speakers agreed that pervasive policy uncertainty is the single largest barrier to expanded bilateral investment. Beran pointed out that Chinese firms are increasingly cautious about committing capital to the US market without ironclad guarantees of long-term policy consistency. “If you are a Chinese enterprise, you want certainty that your investment will remain protected and welcome not just through the next midterm elections, but through the next presidential transition,” she explained.

  • Return of the Yangtze ‘basket ferry’

    Return of the Yangtze ‘basket ferry’

    On a fog-shrouded early morning on March 31, excitement hung thick in the air at Yangdu Wharf, located along the sprawling banks of the Yangtze River in Zhongxian County, Chongqing. Long before the first golden rays of sunrise broke through the gray mist, the crackle of celebratory firecrackers and the deep, resonant blast of a ship’s horn cut through the quiet, marking a momentous occasion for local communities: the maiden voyage of the Yu Zhong Ke 2180, the newly upgraded iteration of the region’s beloved ‘basket ferry’.

    For decades, these small ferries have earned their affectionate nickname from the wicker baskets local farmers stow on board, filled with fresh produce, livestock, and daily supplies bound for markets on the opposite bank of the river. For generations of agricultural producers cut off from cross-river market access by the Yangtze’s wide waters, the basket ferry has been far more than a simple transport service — it is the economic lifeline that connects their crops to paying customers, and allows them to access essential goods and services unavailable on their side of the river.

    The newly launched Yu Zhong Ke 2180 brings a welcome modern update to this longstanding community service. Its bold, bright red hull cuts a striking figure against the river’s misty surface, a vivid contrast to its predecessor, a faded yellow vessel that faithfully served the Zhongxian community for 13 years before being retired. Photographs from January, ahead of the official launch, show lines of local farmers queuing to board the new craft, their own baskets stacked at their sides, ready to use the upgraded service that will continue to support their livelihoods for years to come.

    This upgrade marks the entry of the iconic Yangtze basket ferry into a new era, balancing the deep cultural and practical roots it has in local life with modern safety and comfort improvements that ensure it can continue serving future generations of Zhongxian farmers.