Global Pulse

标签： Asia

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  • China rolls out guideline to build youth-friendly cities

    China rolls out guideline to build youth-friendly cities

    China has launched a landmark new policy framework to advance the construction of youth-friendly cities, with the core goal of systematically cultivating an enabling environment that makes it easier for young people to establish roots, build careers and thrive in urban areas across the country.

    Jointly released by 15 central-level government departments — including the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the National Development and Reform Commission — the guideline lays out 18 targeted measures designed to make cities more inclusive and supportive of young residents. These initiatives span a wide range of critical areas, from industrial development and innovation support to urban planning, affordable housing, childcare access and employment assistance.

    The policy sets out two clear phased targets for implementation. By 2030, the concept of youth-centered urban development is expected to gain widespread adoption across China, with tangible progress achieved in innovation support, quality of life for young people, green urban development and youth-inclusive governance. By 2035, a complete, mature institutional system for youth development will be fully established, aligned with China’s broader goal of basically completing the construction of modern, people-centered cities.

    Among the key measures outlined, the guideline prioritizes strengthening industrial foundations to support youth innovation, upgrading support systems for young innovators, and expanding skills training opportunities for young people. It also puts a spotlight on youth-oriented urban planning, calling for the integration of young people’s needs into urban spatial design, the construction of compact, affordable dormitory-style apartments near major employment centers and public transit routes, and the promotion of “youth-friendly businesses” within 15-minute community living circles.

    Additional policy focus is placed on addressing young people’s top practical concerns: marriage, childcare, housing and employment. Specific support measures include government-subsidized childcare services and after-school care programs, guaranteed access to compulsory education for children of migrant workers, and the expansion of “youth hostels” that offer free or low-cost short-term accommodation for new graduates seeking employment.

    Central-southern China’s Hunan province has emerged as a pioneer in this national initiative. Back in April 2024, Shen Xiaoming, Party Secretary of Hunan, stated at a provincial work meeting that building a youth-friendly province is a strategic move that matters deeply to Hunan’s long-term development prospects. Since then, Shen has repeatedly extended open invitations to young talent from across the country, and provincial leading officials have led recruitment delegations to multiple regions across China to attract young skilled workers. A series of targeted policies have also been rolled out to support college students’ entrepreneurship and accelerate the aggregation of young talent in the province.

    During this year’s annual Two Sessions, Shen highlighted Changsha, Hunan’s capital, as a model for youth-friendly development. He noted that Changsha boasts among the lowest housing prices and living costs of all provincial capitals in China, while its education and healthcare systems rank among the country’s highest. “Changsha is a unique presence in the world,” Shen said, adding that the city is ideally positioned to build a global R&D hub centered on young innovators.

    Local government data shows that Changsha has already constructed 115,000 units of government-subsidized rental housing, of which more than 34,000 units have been specifically allocated to young talent, covering all urban districts and counties under the city’s administration.

    One early beneficiary of the local youth support policies is He Xu, a computer science master’s graduate from Hunan University and founder of a technology startup based in Changsha. He credits his entrepreneurial success to the robust support system the province has built for young founders. His company received nearly 1 million yuan (approximately $146,500) in cloud computing subsidies, as well as one year of rent-free office space. This support allowed his team to claim 30 domestic awards in artificial intelligence competitions. By 2025, the company earned national high-tech enterprise certification, and participated in a provincial youth talent program that brought additional financial rewards.

    Expressing gratitude for the support he has received, He has committed to giving back to Hunan’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. He has launched a national AIGC competition to connect young emerging entrepreneurs with high-quality collaboration opportunities, and serves as an entrepreneurship mentor at Hunan University and other local higher education institutions, sharing his practical experience with aspiring young founders.

    “In Hunan, as long as you dare to try, you will get a response,” He said, calling on young entrepreneurs across the country to pursue their career goals in the province. “We have incubators with real market orders, competition-driven business opportunities and mentors who never leave.”

  • US to host Hungary in Billie Jean King Cup playoffs and France draws Australia

    US to host Hungary in Billie Jean King Cup playoffs and France draws Australia

    LONDON – International women’s team tennis competition the Billie Jean King Cup has unveiled the full lineup for its upcoming November playoffs, with the 18-time title-winning United States set to take on Hungary on home soil as it works to rebuild its momentum in the tournament.

    The U.S. squad, which advanced to the tournament’s final in 2024 for the first time in six years, suffered a surprising 3-1 defeat to Belgium in this year’s qualifying round earlier this month, knocking it out of contention for the 2025 finals and sending it to the playoff round.

    Hungary is expected to field rising star Anna Bondár, a consistent Billie Jean King Cup competitor who notched a career-defining victory at the Madrid Open on Thursday. Bondár defeated world No. 7 Elina Svitolina, marking the first time a Hungarian female player has beaten a top-10 ranked opponent since Timea Babos’ 2018 win over Coco Vandeweghe.

    Thursday’s official draw ceremony confirmed the full slate of November playoff matchups. France will host Australia in a rematch of the 2019 Billie Jean King Cup final, which France claimed on Australian soil in Perth; it will be the first time the two nations have faced off since that 2019 title clash. 2023 tournament champion Canada will travel to South America to face Brazil. Other pairings include Poland against Sweden, Japan clashing with Argentina, Thailand hosting Switzerland, and Slovenia taking on Indonesia.

    The stakes for the playoffs are clear: all winning squads will secure a spot in the 2027 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, while losing teams will be relegated to regional competition for the 2026 season.

    Seven nations have already secured their spots in the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup finals, including qualifying victor Belgium, defending champion Italy, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. China, as the host nation for this year’s finals, qualified for the event automatically.

  • SPP releases first bilingual white paper on IP prosecution work

    SPP releases first bilingual white paper on IP prosecution work

    On April 21, 2026, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) made a landmark move in intellectual property (IP) governance by publishing the *White Paper on Intellectual Property Prosecution Work (2025)*, marking the first time the document has been released in both Chinese and English, with the full English version hosted on the SPP’s official English website for global access.

    This comprehensive report combines empirical data, visual charts, and on-the-ground case studies to paint a full picture of the progress China’s national procuratorial system has achieved over the past year in advancing the country’s innovation-driven development strategy and cultivating a world-class, market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment.

    The white paper outlines how procuratorial organs at all levels carried out their statutory duties across all four litigation domains—criminal, civil, administrative, and public interest litigation—related to intellectual property rights (IPR) throughout 2025. Adhering to the criminal justice policy of tempering strict punishment with lenient mercy, procuratorial bodies cracked down on IPR infringement offenses in full compliance with Chinese law. In total, procuratorates accepted and reviewed 11,341 criminal IPR infringement cases involving 25,160 suspects, ultimately prosecuted 9,135 cases encompassing 19,102 individuals, and issued non-prosecution decisions for 5,105 people in line with the principle of proportional justice.

    Beyond criminal enforcement, the national procuratorial system also expanded its work in other litigation domains: it handled 1,251 civil IPR procuratorial supervision cases and 1,795 administrative IPR procuratorial cases. For public interest litigation in the IPR space, procuratorial organs received 741 case clues and formally opened investigations into 612 of those leads.

    The report structures its key achievements across three core thematic sections: “Focusing on the Core Mission, Serving High-Quality Economic and Social Development”, “Coordinating Efforts to Build an Overall IPR Protection Framework”, and “Consolidating and Further Deepening Comprehensive Procuratorial Performance”. It places particular emphasis on consistent improvements to the quality and efficiency of procuratorial supervision, which have strengthened safeguards for judicial fairness in IPR cases.

    A standout priority highlighted in the white paper is the procuratorial system’s targeted efforts to support the development of China’s new quality productive forces. Procuratorial organs have prioritized enhanced legal protection for IPR in high-growth emerging and future-focused industries, including next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, new energy, high-end manufacturing equipment, and biomedicine. They have strengthened criminal judicial safeguards for IPR tied to independent corporate innovation and key core technologies. At the same time, they have expanded civil and administrative procuratorial supervision for technology-related IPR cases covering patents, integrated circuit layout designs, new plant varieties, and computer software.

    As 2026 marks the opening year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), it is a critical juncture for IPR procuratorial work to advance national development goals and achieve new breakthrough progress, according to the head of the SPP’s Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department. Moving forward, centered on the core national goal of building China into a global leader in IPR protection, procuratorial organs will continue to strengthen specialized case-handling institutions and professional talent teams, while refining working mechanisms for full-scope comprehensive procuratorial performance. The goal of these efforts is to better support and incentivize innovation and creativity, drive cultural prosperity, uphold fair market competition, and protect public well-being through high-quality, efficient IPR prosecutorial work.

  • Hormuz blockades show how everything is now about leverage

    Hormuz blockades show how everything is now about leverage

    Against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel, conventional military strength has never been Iran’s strong suit. Instead, Tehran has turned to its most potent strategic asset: a critical piece of geography that holds the global economy hostage. The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that carries roughly 20 percent of the world’s total oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has emerged as Tehran’s game-changing bargaining chip after its closure sent shockwaves through international energy markets.

    The disruption has already doubled global crude oil prices, triggering cascading cost increases across nearly every sector of the global economy, from ground transportation and residential heating to global food supply chains and international travel. The crisis has even forced a policy reassessment from former U.S. President Donald Trump, leaving the entire world holding its breath for the next development in this strategically vital chokepoint.

    For Iran, the Strait of Hormuz is far more than just a body of water—it is an irreplaceable geopolitical asset that has granted Tehran a far stronger negotiating position than many analysts predicted. This unexpected advantage perfectly illustrates a core principle of game theory, the mathematical study of strategic decision-making during conflicts, known as Rubinstein bargaining. The framework holds that in any standoff, each party’s relative strength depends on two key factors: how severe the consequences of an unresolved conflict are for that party, and how impatient the party is to reach a final resolution.

    There is no question that an extended conflict would cause severe harm to Iran: the country would drain its stockpiles of missiles and drones, while sustained bombing would destroy critical civilian and military infrastructure. But as an authoritarian regime, Iran can afford to outwait its adversaries, crushing any domestic dissent that arises from economic hardship or war fatigue. The calculus looks very different for the United States. Continuing the standoff would force Washington to spend billions more in taxpayer funds on military operations, while a closed Strait of Hormuz would push fuel prices even higher for American consumers. With midterm elections scheduled for November, political pressure could erode the White House’s patience far faster than Tehran’s.

    This dynamic leaves the U.S. in a far weaker position than initial military assessments suggested, all because of a narrow waterway that the global economy cannot function without. Beyond the immediate Iran crisis, this case study offers a broader lesson for nations seeking to strengthen their own global negotiating power, according to game theory: every region or country needs to develop its own equivalent of the Strait of Hormuz—a critical asset that the rest of the world cannot function without, which can be leveraged to gain strategic advantage.

    This asset does not need to be a critical shipping lane. For China, that unique leverage comes from its unrivaled dominance of global manufacturing; most developed and developing economies would struggle to meet core demand for consumer and industrial goods without Chinese production. For sub-Saharan Africa, power comes from its unmatched natural resource reserves—most of the world’s cobalt, a critical mineral for electric vehicle battery production, is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and its demographic advantage: it is the only major continent with a young, rapidly growing population at a time when much of the rest of the world faces rapid aging.

    For the European Union, leverage has historically come from the size of its integrated single market. This large, unified consumer bloc has allowed the EU to negotiate preferential trade terms, protect domestic agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and export its regulatory standards for food and products to markets across the globe. But that advantage is not permanent: as most global economic growth shifts to emerging economies such as China, India, and Indonesia, the EU’s negotiating clout has weakened. Research indicates the bloc can only regain that edge through deeper market integration and further expansion of the union. This dynamic also explains why the United Kingdom will likely eventually rejoin the European single market in one form or another, after Brexit significantly weakened the global negotiating positions of both the UK and the EU.

    The importance of holding this type of unique leverage has grown in recent years, as traditional Cold War-era alliances have grown increasingly fluid and lost much of their old meaning. Old security pacts and long-standing diplomatic promises no longer carry the weight they once did: the U.S. has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NATO, and has even floated claims to annex Canada and Greenland, while both the U.S. and Russia have jointly interfered in Hungarian elections to support the illiberal incumbent Viktor Orban’s re-election bid.

    In this new world of uncertain alliances, all nations are deeply interdependent. Global supply chains are so tightly interconnected that even a minor disruption in one corner of the world can ripple across to the opposite side of the globe. Grounded oil tankers off the coast of Iran could ultimately lead to empty shelves and higher prices for pork products in British grocery stores by summer, for example.

    In this new geopolitical climate, game theory suggests success depends on two core pillars: avoiding overreliance on any single strategic partner, and holding a critical resource or capability that other nations cannot do without. In an era defined by strategic leverage, power comes from being impossible for the global community to ignore. Over the coming decades, the nations that will thrive are those that can build their own version of the Strait of Hormuz, and ensure they never become dependent on others’ critical assets.

  • China makes major strides in fight against desertification, shares lessons with world

    China makes major strides in fight against desertification, shares lessons with world

    Across the sun-baked southeastern fringe of the Tengger Desert in northwest China, land management teams work systematically to press braided straw rope bundles into shifting sand dunes, forming an immense, interconnected grid that anchors the moving terrain and halts its advance. This innovative grass grid barrier technique represents a modern evolution of decades of Chinese sand control expertise, bringing new efficiency to one of the world’s largest ongoing ecosystem restoration campaigns.

    Tang Ximing, a veteran forestry engineer based in Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, explained that the upgraded barrier system addresses key shortcomings of traditional sand control methods. “It requires less manual labor than older straw grid variants, can be deployed far more quickly, and boasts an extended service life of five to six years,” Tang said. For Zhongwei, a city long on the front lines of China’s battle against desert expansion, this new technology is the latest step in a generations-long fight to reclaim land from encroaching dunes.

    Ningxia’s geographic position has made it a natural front for this struggle: surrounded by deserts on three sides, Zhongwei sits directly in the historic pathway the Tengger Desert used to push southeast toward populated and developed areas. As far back as the 1950s, local researchers and land managers pioneered the iconic straw checkerboard method, a low-cost, high-impact technique designed to protect the newly built Baotou-Lanzhou Railway — China’s first rail corridor carved through a major desert — from being buried by shifting dunes.

    After more than 70 years of sustained, incremental effort, that early innovation laid the groundwork for a historic milestone: Ningxia became the first provincial-level administrative region in China to successfully reverse the spread of desertification across its territory. This local victory is mirrored by large-scale progress across the country.

    China is among the nations globally most severely impacted by desertification, with its most vulnerable arid and semi-arid lands concentrated in the northwest, north and northeast of the country — a vast swathe collectively referred to as the “Three Norths.” For decades, the Chinese government has prioritized large-scale afforestation, sustainable land management, and technological innovation to combat desert expansion, turning local trials into national policy that has restored millions of hectares of degraded land. Beyond its domestic environmental gains, China now increasingly shares its decades of accumulated sand control experience with other nations facing similar desertification challenges, offering actionable lessons for global ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation.

  • Trump not viewing Iran’s ships seizure near Hormuz Strait as breach of ceasefire: White House

    Trump not viewing Iran’s ships seizure near Hormuz Strait as breach of ceasefire: White House

    On Wednesday, the White House made clear that former U.S. President Donald Trump does not classify Iran’s forced seizure of two commercial vessels near the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a violation of the extended bilateral ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laid out the administration’s position during an interview on Fox News, emphasizing the targeted ships were neither U.S.-flagged nor Israeli-owned, but rather two commercial vessels operating under international registration.

    Leavitt launched sharp criticism of Iran’s actions in the incident, framing the operation as outright maritime piracy. She claimed that Iran’s once-dominant regional naval force has devolved into acting like organized pirate gangs, adding that Iran has no legitimate claim to exclusive control over the busy international waterway that carries nearly a fifth of the world’s annual oil trade.

    The confrontation developed after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced earlier the same day that it had detained the two ships, justifying the action by stating the vessels were operating without valid navigational authorization, had repeatedly violated local maritime regulations, and were tampering with their official positioning systems to avoid detection.

    According to Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency, the IRGC conducted a third interdiction operation the same day, targeting a Greek-owned bulk carrier named the Euphoria that the force labeled another rule-breaking vessel transiting the strait. The Euphoria was disabled in the operation and has since run aground along Iran’s coastline, leaving the ship and its crew stranded in Iranian territorial waters.

    The Strait of Hormuz has long been one of the world’s most geopolitically tense chokepoints, with repeated encounters between Iranian security forces and commercial shipping dating back to heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and regional rivalries. The incident comes amid a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that had been extended in recent weeks to de-escalate tensions across the Persian Gulf region.

  • Praying to same goddess: Mazu belief tightens cross-Strait bond

    Praying to same goddess: Mazu belief tightens cross-Strait bond

    Every year, when the third lunar month arrives, tens of thousands of worshippers across Taiwan launch into a centuries-old devotional tradition: a days-long procession to celebrate the birth of Mazu, the revered Chinese sea goddess. The event, affectionately nicknamed “March Madness for Mazu”, draws participants of all ages, bound together by shared faith and cultural heritage that stretches across the Taiwan Strait.

    The most iconic of these annual gatherings is the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, centered on a sacred statue of the goddess housed at Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in central Taiwan’s Taichung. For 2026, the pilgrimage kicked off on the evening of April 17, with a nine-day, eight-night journey that will cover more than 300 kilometers. The procession winds through four counties and cities—Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, and Chiayi—paying respects at nearly 100 local temples before returning to its starting point on April 26.

    One of the pilgrimage’s most anticipated milestones took place on Tuesday morning, when a grand birthday ritual was held at Hsin Kang Feng Tian Temple in Chiayi. Starting promptly at 8 a.m., the solemn ceremony unfolded at an outdoor altar, drawing tens of thousands of devotees who had traveled from across the island to take part. The formal observance ran for roughly two hours, capping a week of steady travel for the procession.

    While the largest celebration unfolds across Taiwan, devotional events are also held simultaneously at Mazu’s ancestral temple on China’s Meizhou Island, Fujian Province—the origin point of Mazu belief. This year, representatives from 77 Taiwanese Mazu temples traveled to Meizhou to join the cross-Strait celebrations, reinforcing the deep shared roots of the faith on both sides of the water.

    Scholars and devotees alike emphasize that Mazu worship is far more than a religious tradition: it is a living testament to the centuries-old cultural and historical ties that bind the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The figure of Mazu is rooted in the story of Lin Mo, a 10th-century woman from Meizhou Island who was revered for her work rescuing imperiled seafarers, and eventually deified as a patron of those who travel the seas. A core element of shared Minnan culture, which unites Fujian and Taiwan, the belief was brought to Taiwan by early migrants from the Chinese mainland, and has grown to become one of the most widespread faiths on the island. Today, Taiwan counts more than 10 million Mazu followers and more than 800 temples dedicated to the goddess.

    For many participants, the pilgrimage is a demanding but deeply meaningful personal commitment. Many devotees have walked the entire route since the procession launched on April 17, and even unseasonably warm weather did little to dampen turnout or enthusiasm. Pilgrims travel light but prepared, carrying tents, folding stools, and extra clothing, while communities along the route open public facilities—including local schools—to offer free accommodation and rest stops for participants.

    Hung Chien-chieh, a 50-something devotee from central Taiwan, has joined the pilgrimage every year for a decade. A foot injury means he alternates between walking and cycling the route, but he has no plans to stop. For Hung, the faith also opens a desire for deeper cross-Strait connection: “I hope to attend Mazu-related events on the mainland and eventually invite a Mazu statue back home for worship,” he explained.

    Volunteers are the backbone of the event, with hundreds of community members turning out each year to offer free services to pilgrims. Ms. Gong, a long-time volunteer who has distributed cold watermelons to passing procession participants for years, describes Mazu as a timeless symbol of core values that unite the community. “Mazu represents compassion, kindness, and perseverance—those are values that bind all of us here,” she said. Other volunteers note that the number of people offering free support grows each year, building a powerful sense of shared community along the route.

    The tradition is also successfully passing to younger generations, with many young Taiwanese people taking on key roles in the procession. Lin Chin-cheng, a 27-year-old from Taichung, has participated every year since he was 21, and he plans to keep taking part long into the future. His team handles ceremonial items including processional parasols, sacred flags, and ritual gongs, carrying these symbolic objects the full length of the route.

    Following Tuesday’s birthday ceremony at Hsin Kang Feng Tian Temple, the procession departed for the final leg of its journey, heading back to Dajia Jenn Lann Temple. In recent years, modern technology has made the beloved tradition more accessible to people who cannot attend in person: dedicated mobile apps offer real-time route tracking, and official and community livestreams bring the procession to followers around the world.

    Mazu belief has long served as a powerful bridge for cross-Strait exchange, even during periods of political tension. In 1987, after decades of limited contact across the Strait, a delegation from Dajia Jenn Lann Temple made a landmark journey to Meizhou Island via Japan, becoming one of the first major Taiwanese groups to pay tribute at the ancestral Mazu temple after years of separation. Just a few months before this year’s pilgrimage, in March 2026, a new delegation of Mazu temple representatives from Taichung and Changhua traveled to Meizhou to worship, reaffirming the shared cultural heritage that unites people across the Strait.

    In 2009, Mazu belief and customs were officially inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing its global cultural significance. Lee Fong-mao, a retired religious studies professor from Taipei’s Chengchi University and a leading expert on Taiwanese folk belief, notes that traditions like Mazu worship offer a clear reflection of the deep ancestral connections that bind Taiwan to the Chinese mainland. “These folk beliefs are living proof of the shared cultural ties shaped by shared geography and common lineage, connecting people in Taiwan to their ancestral roots on the mainland,” Lee explained.

  • HK financial secretary calls for closer Asia-Oceania market alignment to draw global capital

    HK financial secretary calls for closer Asia-Oceania market alignment to draw global capital

    At the 40th General Assembly of the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (AOSEF), hosted this week by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), top financial leaders from Hong Kong have called for deeper cross-market coordination across the Asia-Oceania region to unlock greater access to international capital. The three-day gathering, which concluded this week, brought more than 100 delegates from 18 regional stock exchanges together to address pressing industry priorities: expanding cross-border connectivity, improving market liquidity, and strengthening the resilience of regional capital markets amid shifting global investment flows.

    Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, laid out the core case for alignment in his opening keynote address on Wednesday. He noted that AOSEF’s 17 member exchanges collectively account for roughly one-third of total global stock market capitalization and are home to more than half of the world’s publicly listed companies. Despite this massive scale and economic significance, Chan pointed out that global institutional investors still face unnecessary complexity navigating fragmented regional markets when engaging with individual jurisdictions separately. “Our diversity is our strength, but only if we build the bridges that turn complexity into seamless accessibility,” Chan told assembled delegates.

    Carlson Tong, Chairman of HKEX, echoed this vision, emphasizing that the ongoing global reallocation of capital toward Asian markets creates a one-of-a-kind window for regional collaboration. “By working together, we can create richer product ecosystems, advance market access and develop efficient infrastructure that helps build liquidity within Asia,” Tong said. Bonnie Y Chan, Chief Executive Officer of HKEX, added that the Hong Kong bourse is prioritizing the development of tailored products, integrated platforms, and strategic cross-border partnerships designed to simplify two-way market access for both investors and issuers across the region. These efforts, she noted, are aligned with the collective goal of advancing the overall development and global standing of Asia’s financial markets.

    Founded to facilitate information sharing and collaborative action among member exchanges, AOSEF’s core mission is to drive sustainable growth of regional securities markets. In a closing announcement, delegates confirmed that the federation’s 41st General Assembly will be hosted in Beijing in 2027 by the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, marking another milestone in coordinated regional capital market development.

  • Macao to help China-Portugal cooperation reach new level, says Macao SAR chief executive

    Macao to help China-Portugal cooperation reach new level, says Macao SAR chief executive

    During an official visit to Portugal in late April 2026, Sam Hou-fai, Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), has announced that both sides have agreed to leverage Macao’s unique positioning as a cross-regional platform to advance bilateral economic cooperation between China and Portugal to new heights. The visit, which launched in Lisbon on April 19, marked a key diplomatic engagement focused on strengthening historical ties and expanding multi-dimensional collaboration.

    Over the course of his trip, Sam held one-on-one strategic meetings with top Portuguese leadership, including President Antonio Jose Seguro, Speaker of Parliament Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, and Supreme Court of Justice President Joao Cura Mariano. In these closed-door discussions, Sam delivered a detailed update on the successful implementation of the “one country, two systems” framework in Macao, highlighting how the policy has sustained the region’s social stability and long-term economic vitality over more than two decades since its handover.

    In a press briefing concluding the visit, Sam emphasized the productive outcomes of the diplomatic trip, noting that it met core objectives of deepening mutual political understanding, reinforcing centuries-old traditional friendship between the two peoples, and laying the groundwork for expanded all-round cooperation across sectors. He expressed firm confidence that Macao’s distinct advantages as a bridging hub between Chinese-speaking markets and Portuguese-speaking countries will allow the region to make new, greater contributions to the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership.

    For his part, President Seguro reaffirmed the solid foundation of bilateral ties between China and Portugal, noting the two nations established formal diplomatic relations in 1979 and upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2005. Over the decades, Seguro noted, the two countries have built consistently close, friendly relations marked by growing political mutual trust, regular high-level exchange, and productive collaboration across a broad spectrum of sectors. He also reaffirmed Portugal’s unwavering commitment to the one-China principle, adding that the country is eager to expand all-round cooperation with China in the coming years.

    Beyond meetings with top national leaders, Sam’s schedule also included working discussions with multiple Portuguese cabinet ministers and a public presentation showcasing Macao’s decades of successful development under the “one country, two systems” framework. The engagement comes as Macao continues to expand its role as an official platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, opening new channels for trade, investment, and cultural exchange between the two sides.

  • Philippine ex-president Duterte to stand trial as ICC confirms crimes against humanity charges

    Philippine ex-president Duterte to stand trial as ICC confirms crimes against humanity charges

    In a landmark ruling that has sent ripples across global human rights circles, pre-trial judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have officially confirmed charges of crimes against humanity against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, greenlighting a full trial for the 81-year-old over accusations of mass extrajudicial killings linked to his controversial war on drugs.

    The charges center on thousands of unlawful deaths that occurred between 2011 and 2019, at the height of Duterte’s harsh anti-drug crackdown. In an official statement released Thursday, the ICC announced that pre-trial judges had unanimously backed the charges, concluding there were substantial grounds to believe Duterte bears responsibility for the alleged atrocities. This confirmation comes more than a year after Duterte was taken into ICC custody, and follows multiple failed appeals from his legal team seeking his release.

    Duterte has long rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction over his case, arguing that the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute — the ICC’s foundational governing treaty — strips the court of authority to prosecute him. However, in a ruling issued Wednesday, the Pre-Trial Chamber rejected this position, noting that all of the alleged crimes took place before the country’s withdrawal, when the Philippines remained a full member state bound by the court’s jurisdiction. The court also granted participation rights to more than 500 victims of the crackdown, allowing them to contribute to the upcoming proceedings.

    Human rights organizations have long criticized Duterte’s war on drugs for its disproportionate targeting of low-level street dealers and users, while major drug kingpins largely avoided prosecution. Duterte has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing, dismissing the charges against him as a baseless, outrageous smear. Philippine police have similarly defended their actions during the campaign, claiming all fatal operations were carried out in self-defense.

    Duterte’s legal team had also pushed to dismiss the proceedings on health grounds, claiming the former leader suffers from cognitive impairment that leaves him unfit to stand trial. ICC judges rejected this claim, citing independent assessments from medical experts that confirmed Duterte is mentally capable of participating in the trial and exercising all his legal procedural rights.

    Duterte’s arrest at Manila International Airport last year, which led to his transfer to The Hague, came amid a well-documented political rift between his daughter, current Vice President Sara Duterte, and incumbent Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The upcoming trial has been celebrated as a historic milestone for global accountability by critics of the former president’s deadly crackdown. At the same time, Duterte retains a deeply loyal popular base in the Philippines, and his supporters have held widespread public protests decrying his detention and the ICC proceedings against him.