A piece of good news in a horrific week

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Beijing never presented any evidence publicly to back its claims that Cheng was “coaxed by a foreign organization to illegally provide state secrets obtained via her work.”

Cheng’s release is a sign of a thaw in Australia-China ties after several years of deterioration. But another Australian citizen, Yáng Héngjūn 杨恒均, is still behind bars in China on vague espionage charges after a closed-door trial.

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An Israeli embassy worker in Beijing was stabbed earlier today, the Israeli foreign ministry has confirmed, adding that the man is now in a stable condition in hospital and that the incident did not take place at the embassy compound. China’s Foreign Ministry hasn’t commented on the news.

Earlier this week, after Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, made a large-scale surprise attack on Israel on October 7, China called on all parties in the conflict to “remain calm, exercise restraint.” There was, however, not a word of condemnation of the Hamas attack.

Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC is building a new factory in Arizona for advanced chipmaking, but the U.S. is going to need more than just one fab if it wants to revitalize its own semiconductor industry.

Chinese people made a total of 826 million domestic trips during the Golden Week holiday from September 29 to October 6 for China’s National Day and Mid Autumn Festivals. It’s a 71.3% increase compared to last year and a 4.1% increase compared to 2019.

San Francisco police shot and killed a driver who rammed his car into the Chinese consulate on October 9. No other injuries were reported and official details of the investigation are sparse, but a man present at the scene said that the driver emerged from the crash yelling, “Where is the CCP?” The man was later identified as Yáng Zhànyuán 杨占元 , 31, from Shandong Province.

In this incident, rampant theft occurred, which can even be called Chinese-style “zero-yuan shopping.”

这次偷盗事件中，盗贼的行为十分猖獗，甚至堪称中国式”零元购”事件。

Zhècì tōudào shìjiàn zhōng, dàozéi de xíngwéi shífēn chāngjué, shènzhì kānchēng zhōngguóshì “língyuángòu” shìjiàn.

Here are all the language details and links to articles and stories about the Nanyang chaos, and here is the Phrase of the Week’s enormous archive.

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Gold produced in China is mined by Uyghurs working in conditions akin to slavery, according to a report published yesterday by C4ADS, a Washington, D.C. think tank.

The Maldives faces a tricky balancing act between China and India. Some observers believe Mohamed Muizzu’s recent election win will cause the Maldives to shun its traditional ally, India, in favor of China. The reality is a little more complicated, writes Alex Colville in China Ties.

Xiconomics: What China’s Dual Circulation Strategy Means for Global Business is the title of a new book by Andrew Cainey, founding director of the U.K. National Committee. Christopher Marquis asked him all about it in the latest installment of China Book Chats.

By making their resources available for personal use, the companies are hoping to diversify their revenue streams as subsidies from cash-strapped local governments dwindle.

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A heated debate about tax on menstrual products in China is taking place on Chinese social media. A coalition of women is petitioning for what they see as “essential items” to be considered tax-free under China’s soon-to-be-issued law on value-added tax (VAT).

Double 10: The Wuchang Uprising and the end of the Qing. Had an earlier uprising — one of many — against the Qing achieved its goals, 1911 would be just another year. But the 1911 Revolution succeeded, and catalyzed an entire series of events that led to fundamental change in China’s political system, James Carter writes in This Week in China’s History.

What’s the problem with Chinese soccer? Rowan Simons became a household name among Chinese soccer fans for his TV commentary on English football. His efforts to promote grassroots soccer within China proved much more difficult, Paul French writes in his Ultimate China Bookshelf column.

The lecture, titled “Is Our Foreign Policy Good? American Moral Absolutism and the China Challenge,” is a powerful and thought-provoking talk. Sinica host Kaiser Kuo follows up with a long conversation with Daly about the themes raised in the talk.

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China’s economy emerged from the pandemic much weaker than before. These changes in the economy are happening very fast, so quickly that it’s difficult for experts to keep pace with what’s happening, much less among those who don’t closely follow Chinese economic trends — particularly in developing countries. Listen to the China-Global South Podcast.

Only 37% of urban, educated Zimbabweans felt positive about China’s impact on their country, significantly lower than the 63% favorability score that Afrobarometer recorded just a couple of years ago. Find out why China’s approval rating is comparatively low and what’s fueling the skepticism about the Chinese in Zimbabwe in the latest China in Africa Podcast.

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China is one of many countries that implements a “tampon tax,” and Chinese women are taking a stand to change that.