Context:

• Recently a Chinese exchange student filmed himself perspective "pinching" Lai Ching Te at a National Taiwan University speech.
• He made it look like he was pinching the president and then posted the video on social media.
• On social media his captions and tags included phrases such as  "cross-strait reunification", "oppose separatist acts seeking Taiwan independence" and "reunification is inevitable".
• Following the vidoe, the Lai Ching Te's government has found his videos unacceptable and Taiwan immigration has since then revoked his entry permit, deporting the student on October 16 with a 5 year ban on returning.
• The official reason the government has given for this ban by the immigration agency was that Taiwan is a "democratic, free, and pluralistic society, respecting different opinions and normal exchanges; however, people from mainland China coming to Taiwan must still comply with our laws and related regulations,"
• Currently reactions are mixed
  • The Taiwanese University has urged that free comes with mutual respect
  • A KMT politician has question whether deportation went too far and if satire should be treated differently from real threats.
  • A DPP Politician and secretary-general of Straits Exchange Foundation backed the decision but hoped it won’t affect future mainland exchange students.

Additional Context:

• ABC's reporting might have been too soft, in Taiwanese media reporting, it is said that the student posted words such as “Take down little Lai Ching-te" which could be seen as more threatening.
• His actions have sparked protests online with DPP Taiwanese demanding for his deportation.
• Overall this fits a broader trend under Lai Ching Te, with Lai toughening his stance against Chinese nationals who advocate reunification. In 2025, Lai's government has increasingly deported Chinese spouses married to Taiwanese citizens for videos that were backing Taiwan's reunification.

Context:

1. Japan is reportedly running out of Yttrium, which is a REE used for heat resistant applications in military technology, chipmaking equipment.
2. According to Financial Times, Japanese officials say that stocks could last until end of this year but this is yet to be confirmed.
3. It is reported, not confirmed, that the Takaichi Admin is issuing an urgent distress call to Washington and Companies to help pressure China to ease its dual use export controls against Japan.
4. Washington has already brought up this issue with China already, mostly because they have a military stake in Japanese components being used in US defense supply chains.
5. Prices of yttrium oxide:
   1. Outside of China is about $1,150/kg
   2. In China is about $9/kg

Further Context:

1. April 2025, China began requiring licenses for seven medium and heavy rare earths, this included yttrium.
2. In October 2025, because of the theft or forced acquisition of Nexperia by NL, China expanded the controls briefly. However after negotiations with Trump, Beijing suspended the October expansion.
   1. However the initial April controls were not part of the negotiations and were left in place.
3. Then in November 2025, Takaichi told Japan's parliament that Japan's military will most likely be involved in a China-Taiwan conflict. Which prompted a reaction of outrage from China.
4. Following the announcement from Japan, China decided it didnt actually need to sell Japan anything that would help their military industry. As a result, China began to further tighten rare earth exports to Japan.
5. Then in Jan 2026, they formally banned all dual use exports to Japan and then in Feb 2026 blacklisting known Japanese conglomerates that service the Japanese military.
6. in May 2026, two Japanese nationals were arrested for trying to illegally export high grade Neodynium magnets out of China by embedding them loosely within finished industrial products with the intention of prying them open and using them later in domestic Japanese manufacturing.
7. In July 2026, China's Yttrium exports to the US had risen however despite this the USA has none to spare for Japan.

I used to think that bypassing the Great Firewall was much more difficult than circumventing the internet censorship found in an average country. In the past, I never saw any Chinese people on Western social media, but now I see them quite often.

I'm an American college student (20 years old) living with 3 roommates, 2 of whom are Chinese international students. I'm putting together goodie bags for all of them for Halloween, with some candy, self-care items, Halloween-themed pencils, etc.

Today I found out it's considered unlucky/inappropriate to give gifts wrapped in black in Chinese culture, but the bags I selected before discovering this are primarily black with an orange spiderweb design on them (picture attached). I'm planning to leave a note with the bags explaining that they are Halloween treats, but would it still be risky? Should I find plain orange bags instead?

I learned about other Chinese gifting taboos and everything else I'm including will not be a problem, but I don't want to accidentally offend my roommates. We are not very close but we live together and are courteous with each other, and I want to give them something so they can experience the holiday.

Hey all, I understand that Beijing has some no-drone rules. And I heard that by only having a drone, the authorities can confiscate it. If I will purchase a drone in Shanghai where I land, and then travel to Beijing without flying it there, would I be in trouble? Thanks!

unfortunately i am still learning chinese and i am below the hsk1 level so i dont know how to find a therapist who speaks English , at first my only problem was homesickness or maybe not integrating well but that wasnt the case and i am on the verge of a mental breakdown
if you know how can i find a therapist who speaks english here in xi’an please help…..

I noticed that a lot of women in China wear pantyhose. In Europe, the number of wearers is declining for decades and even when it was popular it was still considered mostly formal. In China on the other hand, it seems to be much more casual and I noticed many women even wear it at home. Why is it so popular? Or am I getting the wrong impression?

Hey everyone!

I’m an international student on a residence permit studying at a university in Zhuhai. It’s been okay so far, but I feel like I could do better and have been heavily considering reapplying this year to different unis in China, with Tsinghua being among them.

So far I’ve found out online that transferring in China is pretty difficult, so i don’t plan on doing that nor do I wish to. My question is more-so as to how I should approach reapplying - do I mention I’m currently studying at another university? Will my chances be lowered since I’m already studying somewhere else? If I get in, do I simply let my university know that I want to withdraw and ask them to cancel my JW? I can’t really find information online as to how this works.

I’ve already registered for the November 15 CSCA and plan on doing it. Aside from that, I have good grades from high school and good extracurriculars, so I think there’s definitely a chance I could get in. I’m from Uzbekistan if that matters.

Please, if there’s any guidance anyone can give I’d heavily appreciate it! Thank you in advance.

I recently arrived in Hangzhou and had been considering coming back for at least a year to study Chinese. Now I’m having doubts, and I’d appreciate some honest perspective from people who live here.

The biggest problem for me is cigarette smoke. I keep encountering people smoking, including inside my hotel despite the no-smoking signs. My bedding smelled of smoke, and changing rooms didn’t solve the problem. Even shopping mall toilets I’ve used have been smoky. I’ve started noticing the smell on my clothes too. As a non-smoker, this really affects my comfort.

I also noticed lots of what look like dirty shoe marks and scuffs on the walls in my hotel room. That could be an issue with this particular hotel, but the smoking seems much harder to escape.

There’s also the language and social side. I barely speak Chinese and don’t have a circle of friends here yet. Starting a new language from scratch feels like a big commitment when I’m already unsure whether I want to live in the country long term.

To be honest, I’m attracted to Chinese women, and the possibility of dating and building a relationship here was one of the things that drew me to China. I also liked the idea of learning a widely spoken language and getting to know Chinese people. But I’m questioning whether that is enough when the everyday living environment doesn’t seem to suit me.

I’m tired of moving from country to country and would really like a stable base, a routine and people I see regularly. Another option is returning to Bali, where I’ve already spent two months, improving my English and focusing on my projects. I know Bali has its own drawbacks too.

For people living in Hangzhou or elsewhere in China:

• How realistically can you avoid cigarette smoke in your home and daily routine? Are there particular housing options or areas you would recommend?
• Did your experience improve significantly once you had decent housing, classes, a gym and a social circle?
• If you had similar doubts early on, did they fade, or did you eventually decide China wasn’t for you?
• What would you try before committing to a year? Would you give Hangzhou more time, or choose somewhere else based on what I’ve described?

I’d appreciate honest advice about what you would do in my position.

I have a friend in china who plans to bring me cigs, are these ones easy to find? if not than what other flavoured ones are?

I wanna ask about clinical/professional stomatology for international students in fuijian medical university

*According to the acceptance letter , the instruction language is Chinese for clinical stomatology but on the website for university and CSC is English ,I wanna ask who is right

Is it allowed for international students to practice on patients? also how about the quality of education in?