Shirley Shi has received three offers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 - through her hometown, her Beijing residential area and her office area - but the human resources manager is in no rush."I'd like to keep an eye out for any adverse effects first," said Shi, who like many Chinese seems happy to take a wait-and-see approach.Through aggressive lockdowns and mass testing of millions, China has had success controlling the virus that first surfaced on its soil in late 2019.But

Today, estimates for global poverty are approximately 8.6 percent of the world as reported by the World Population Review (WPR). This means that 736 million people live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than US$1.90 per day.

One month ago, in Myanmar, protesters against the military coup gathered around the United States (US) embassy in Yangon. They called on President Joe Biden to make the generals go back to their barracks and free Aung San Suu Kyi from detention. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won a big victory in the 2020 general election, which is why the generals, afraid of losing their privileges, seized power. But is the US embassy the best place to protest?

China moved Friday to grant itself veto powers over selecting Hong Kong's lawmakers, part of a campaign to eliminate dissent and ensure a "patriotic" government in the city following huge democracy rallies in 2019.Legislation to allow China's communist rulers to vet all election candidates in Hong Kong was tabled at the opening of the nation's rubber-stamp parliament in Beijing.It came a day after dozens of democracy campaigners in the financial hub – including former

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will address his nation on Friday, kicking off an annual legislative session that is expected to further tighten Beijing's grip on Hong Kong.China has ushered in a sweeping crackdown against critics in the semi-autonomous financial hub after huge and often violent pro-democracy protests rocked the city in 2019.As thousands of delegates gathered for China's week-long National People's Congress (NPC), official news agency Xinhua said late Thursday the a

When China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, recently called for a reset of bilateral relations with the United States (US), a White House spokesperson replied that the US saw the relationship as one of strong competition that required a position of strength.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We tend to envisage a future much the same as the past, so we cling to familiar tools, approaches, and perspectives, even as the world changes.

It is often in times of hardships, crisis, and difficulties, that one learns who one’s real friends are. Tough times have a way of revealing who you can count on for support.

The United Nations (UN) Security Council gave unanimous approval Friday to a resolution calling for improved access to COVID-19 vaccines in conflict-hit or impoverished countries, diplomats said.It was the second resolution on the pandemic passed by the council since it began a year ago.In a rare gesture, it was co-sponsored by all 15 members of the council, diplomats said."We are all facing the same threat, the same pandemic and international cooperation and multilateral action is neede

China is a tough country to comprehend – even for most Chinese. But much of what makes China enigmatic – its long history, vast and varied territory, huge and diverse population, complex politics, and massive, dynamic economy – also makes understanding the country important. For better or worse, what happens in China affects everyone. Western observers tend to struggle the most in deciphering China.