Turkey signed US-led Artemis Accords. Its moon rovers will hitch a ride with China

South China Morning Post - Nov 2, 2026

Turkey has signed America’s rule book for the moon, but its first ride to the lunar south pole – the icy region both Washington and Beijing are racing to reach – will probably come from China. A team of more than 120 students and professors at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara has built prototypes of two AI-powered rovers for Chang’e-8, a Chinese mission originally planned for 2028. Turkey is not part of the International Lunar Research Station, a base China plans to build on the...

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‘Queen of the Chinese’, drone war fears, cancer drug on sale: 7 US-China relations reads

‘Queen of the Chinese’, drone war fears, cancer drug on sale: 7 US-China relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. The ‘Queen of the Chinese’ and a forgotten history on the US-Mexico border Interest in the history of the Chinese community in the Lone Star State is growing. “There’s a real resurrection in understanding the influence of the Chinese in Texas,” Linda Chew, a retired judge in the US state’s...

Blogger may have revealed how many Z-10ME helicopters Pakistan bought from China

Blogger may have revealed how many Z-10ME helicopters Pakistan bought from China

Pakistan’s contract to buy Chinese Z-10ME attack helicopters covers 30 airframes, according to an image circulating on Chinese social media. The image was shared by a prominent military blogger on Sunday and marks the first time a concrete number for Pakistan’s fleet of the helicopters has surfaced since Islamabad officially inducted them into service in August last year. In the post, the blogger known as Sashoujian said that on July 11 China National Aero-Technology Import and Export...

China’s fifth plenum: cadre promotion rules overhauled, focusing on problem-solving

China’s fifth plenum: cadre promotion rules overhauled, focusing on problem-solving

China’s ruling Communist Party has overhauled its personnel process in its search for clean and battle-tested cadres ahead of next year’s major leadership reshuffle. New rules were included in a resolution adopted at the 20th Central Committee’s fifth plenum last Thursday and published by state news agency Xinhua on Sunday. Analysts said that as provincial and ministerial reshuffles begin ahead of the 21st party congress, the fifth plenum sent a clear message: Beijing wants proven crisis...

3 former Hong Kong leaders head funeral committee for educator Ng Hon-mun

3 former Hong Kong leaders head funeral committee for educator Ng Hon-mun

Funeral proceedings for Ng Hon-mun, an influential pro-Beijing educator and long-serving Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), will begin on Wednesday, with three former city leaders heading the funeral committee. Ng died peacefully on October 18, aged 100. His wake will be held at Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point from 5pm on Wednesday, followed by a memorial gathering at 7pm. A public memorial service will take place at 10am on Thursday, according to an obituary seen by...

Ex-boyfriend planned to kill yoga instructor, Hong Kong murder trial hears

Ex-boyfriend planned to kill yoga instructor, Hong Kong murder trial hears

A 23-year-old yoga instructor was found dead floating in a blood-filled bathtub in a luxury Hong Kong hotel room after sustaining more than 40 wounds, a court heard on the opening day of her former boyfriend’s murder trial. Prosecutors told a High Court jury on Monday that the accused, Alex Lo Chun-ming, planned to kill his ex-girlfriend Chow Wai-yin with a sharp knife at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in West Kowloon on June 29 and 30, 2022. Chow, known as “Aqua”, was popular on social media and had...

Raising the bar: Taiwan trims draft exemptions to add thousands to armed forces

Raising the bar: Taiwan trims draft exemptions to add thousands to armed forces

Taiwan is tightening its military service exemption rules in a sweeping overhaul expected to halve the exemption rate and add thousands of conscripts to the armed forces each year as the island grapples with persistent manpower shortages. Under the revised standards, which took effect last week, men will generally be exempt on weight grounds only if their body mass index (BMI) exceeds 45, while the height threshold for exemption has been lowered to 144cm (4.7 feet). Rules covering hypertension...

Hong Kong’s first national security law convict among 4 released early, sources say

Hong Kong’s first national security law convict among 4 released early, sources say

The first person convicted in Hong Kong under the Beijing-imposed national security law and three others jailed in related high-profile cases have been released early, the South China Morning Post has learned. Sources said on Monday that Leon Tong Ying-kit, 30, who was sentenced in July 2021 to nine years in prison for inciting secession and engaging in terrorist activities, had been granted early release. He drove a motorcycle displaying a flag bearing the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution...

Talks are the only way out, China tells Iran as US threat hangs over Middle East

Talks are the only way out, China tells Iran as US threat hangs over Middle East

China’s top diplomat has again stressed the need for a political settlement to strife in the Middle East, telling a senior Iranian official in Beijing on Monday that armed conflict was not the way out. “As conflicts in the Middle East drag on and risk further spillover, dialogue and negotiation remain the only viable path forward,” Wang Yi told Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. “All parties should … focus on a political settlement in a rational and...

Meta says it met Hong Kong privacy watchdog over AI-enabled glasses concerns

Meta says it met Hong Kong privacy watchdog over AI-enabled glasses concerns

Meta Platforms has confirmed it discussed privacy concerns surrounding smart glasses with the Hong Kong watchdog, as the US tech giant’s AI-enabled eyewear goes on sale in the city amid mounting international scrutiny. The company briefed Hong Kong media on Monday, days after the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) warned that smart glasses could enable covert recording, excessive collection of personal data, and processing of sensitive information through AI. “We take...

Hong Kong police arrest man after hit-and-run at checkpoint sparks 10-hour hunt

Hong Kong police arrest man after hit-and-run at checkpoint sparks 10-hour hunt

Hong Kong police arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of multiple offences after a 10-hour manhunt sparked by a hit-and-run crash at a cross-boundary checkpoint in the early hours of Monday. Police said a car hit a barrier gate at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint at 1.17am. The incident was classified as a damage-only traffic accident and a hit-and-run. Officers located the car near Hoi Wing Road in Tuen Mun’s Castle Peak area at about 10.30am and gave chase, intercepting it on...

Beijing doubles down on Type 071 amphibious warships, signalling a Taiwan focus

Beijing doubles down on Type 071 amphibious warships, signalling a Taiwan focus

Beijing is accelerating production of its Type 071 amphibious transport docks by expanding construction to a second shipyard, potentially strengthening its ability to move troops and military equipment across the Taiwan Strait in a conflict. The expansion comes amid long-standing United States assessments that Beijing lacks enough landing ships and logistical support for a large-scale assault on Taiwan, suggesting the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may be moving to address a significant...

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