The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) boasts 92 million members from all walks of life, drawn by ideology, ambition, and the pragmatic knowledge of how to get ahead in the world's second-largest economy.But little is known about the inner workings of the secretive organisation, where open criticism is still taboo.As China prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding in Shanghai, we speak to six members to ask why they joined.The VeteranSu Xiaodong was born five ye

In January 2020, when most of the world slept soundly in ignorance of the pandemic coming its way, a group of scientists at Oxford University got to work on a vaccine to save the planet. They wanted it to be highly effective, cheap, and easy to use in even the poorest countries.Prof Sarah Gilbert, Prof Andrew Pollard and others pulled it off. With speed crucial, they designed it and launched into trials before bringing in a business partner.

For over a year they have whipped up outrage against the West, but as China's "wolf warrior" diplomats are told to tone down the fury, they face an unexpected source of opposition: nationalists at home.Under fire in recent years over issues ranging from human rights abuses to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing unleashed a new breed of diplomat that became known as "wolf warriors" – a popular term for belligerent nationalism inspired by a Chinese blockbuster film

In their latest communiqué, NATO leaders declared that China presents “systemic challenges to the rules-based international order.” The response from China’s mission to the European Union (EU) was clear: “We will not present a ‘systemic challenge’ to anyone, but if someone wants to pose a ‘systemic challenge’ to us, we will not remain indifferent.” Such a tit-for-tat rhetoric is unnecessary, and most of the world’s population probably does not want it to escalate.

In a recent essay on Samantha Power, President Joe Biden’s new administrator of the United States (US) Agency for International Development, Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times writes – correctly – that Power’s “first big test … lies in what America does to help vaccinate the rest of the world against COVID-19.” And Power herself is quoted as saying that, “It’s about a very, very tangible, results-oriented agenda.” Results seemed to follow.

This month’s G7 summit seemed to confirm what has long been apparent: The United States (US) and China are entering into a cold war similar to the one between the US and the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century. The West no longer views China just as a competitor and rival but as a civilisational alternative.

Authorities last week froze HK$18 million (US$2.3 million) of assets owned by three companies linked to Apple Daily.Mark Simon told the BBC that the paper could "do nothing while none of its bank accounts are functioning".Apple Daily, a well-read tabloid, is frequently critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership."If you don't have money, you can't order services.

China on Sunday announced it had administered its one-billionth shot in the world's biggest coronavirus inoculation drive as Brazil's death toll from the pandemic passed 500,000.The global death toll from COVID-19 is now more than 3.8 million and many nations are still battling outbreaks, but vaccine drives in some countries are allowing activities that were unthinkable a few months ago.China's vaccine milestone comes after the number of shots administered globally passed 2.5 b

The 2021 G7 summit took place in the United Kingdom (UK) at Carbis Bay in Cornwall. Since the 1970s, the G7 has met each year. The G7 is an informal bloc of industrialised democracies consisting of the United States (US), Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom (UK). The group meets annually to discuss global economic issues, health emergencies, international security, energy policy, climate crisis, and the like.

While the United States (US) and Europe waged a 17-year trade battle over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus, China poured money into its own commercial aircraft to take on the Western aviation duopoly.It took a common threat for the US and Europe to finally put an end to their dispute this past week, as the two sides signed a five-year truce suspending tit-for-tat tariffs.US President Joe Biden made it clear during his visit to Brussels on Tuesday: Washington and Brussels must "work togethe