Jun Mai

Jun Mai is an award-winning journalist covering China's political and social news. He writes about China's elite politics, general policies and social activism. He is currently based in Beijing.

Pope Francis ‘hopes the wounds of the past can be overcome’, the Vatican said in a statement on its new deal with China on the appointment of bishops. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Vatican signs historic deal with China on bishop appointments

22 Sep 2018 - 11:24pm 38

Chinese foreign ministry says United States will have to bear the consequences of violating basic norms of international relations

Diplomacy

China hits back at US sanctions over Russian fighter jet purchases

21 Sep 2018 - 4:19pm 116

Energy chief – one of few high-ranking Uygur officials and once seen as a rising star – was in the Chinese delegation at meeting with Vladimir Putin this week

Politics

China’s former Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri facing corruption probe

21 Sep 2018 - 10:14pm 3

Yang Weimin, former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, says the public want more than economic development. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Former top Chinese officials call for better protection of human rights

19 Sep 2018 - 4:45am 16

China has released draft rules to tighten up on online religious activities in China. Photo: AFP

Politics

China to ban foreigners from preaching religion online

13 Sep 2018 - 2:41am 30

Surplus that drove US president to wage trade war rises in China’s favour as he repeats threat of tariffs on further US$200 billion of goods

Diplomacy

China’s trade surplus with US grows 10 per cent to US$31 billion

8 Sep 2018 - 11:25pm 64

China’s ability to innovate in science and technology will be key in determining its global competitiveness, government steering group said. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

China to 'seriously evaluate' old ways of science and tech development

11 Sep 2018 - 10:37am 13

One in 10 of the respondents to an international survey had been “invited to have tea” with Chinese police or security personnel to discuss or for warning about their area of study in the last 10 years. Photo: Reuters/AFP/AP/Shutterstock

Politics

Overseas social scientists ‘face real repression’ in China research

5 Sep 2018 - 11:34pm 19

At least four children died and more than 10,000 sickened in the 2008 melamine milk powder scandal. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Chinese officials who rise from the ashes of public crises

26 Jul 2018 - 12:48am 4

China’s anti-corruption campaign has had problems of legitimacy, as a number of investigations are widely seen as tools to punish political opponents and the legal system used to authorise a flawed process. Illustration: Perry Tse

Politics

Caught in China’s anti-corruption web, and forsaken by a suspect legal system

25 Jul 2018 - 8:53am 5

Chinese students work on the Ares, a humanoid bipedal robot designed during the 2016 World Robot Conference in Beijing. Beijing continued to play down its industrial and technological upgrading plan known as Made in China 2025 at a briefing on Tuesday. Photo: Thomas Yau

China

Beijing says world should be objective about ‘Made in China 2025’

5 Sep 2018 - 3:58pm 7

Peng Zhuying, 90, was taken to a military brothel in 1944, six years after being blinded. Photo: Handout

Society

Chinese former ‘comfort women’ tell of brutal treatment by Japanese

23 Jul 2018 - 6:52pm 46

The motorcyclist was unconvinced that a man wearing swimming trunks was a police officer. Photo: News.163.com

Society

Chinese motorcyclist refuses to believe man in trunks is an officer

22 Jul 2018 - 7:48pm 4

Flight CA1639, bound for Harbin, turned back at about 8.30pm after crew and passengers noticed the smoke. Photo: news.sina.com.cn

Society

Air China flight turns back to Beijing because of smoke in cabin

22 Jul 2018 - 6:06pm 8

Qu Shezai, 61, has been jailed for four years for his repeated breakouts and the time he had yet to serve from his previous convictions. Photo: Shutterstock

Society

Fugitive who can’t afford medical bills turns himself in after 26 years

22 Jul 2018 - 5:17pm

The man was filmed pretending to beat up a dummy officer. Photo: News.163.com

Society

Chinese man’s ‘fight’ with dummy police officer lands him in trouble

22 Jul 2018 - 7:18pm 1

The annual gathering of the party’s retired and serving elite could see some shifts in domestic direction but don’t expect a challenge to Xi’s agenda, observers say

Politics

Trade war fallout to lead agenda as Xi gathers elite for strategy session

20 Jul 2018 - 11:30pm 85

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China, last year. The summit will be held in South Africa this year. Photo: reuters

Diplomacy

China seeks emerging economies’ support for pushback on US tariffs

13 Jul 2018 - 10:37pm 4

Chinese President Xi Jinping has scored many personal victories since coming to power, but a trade conflict with the US may be harder to win. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Will trade row with US be Chinese President Xi Jinping’s biggest challenge?

7 Jul 2018 - 11:15pm 88

China is also extensively involved in the infrastructure boom in Qatar, playing an integral part in the construction of the Lusail Iconic Stadium for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Photo: Handout

Diplomacy

Top-level China forum to bring Qatar back to Arab League table

6 Jul 2018 - 11:04pm

People’s Daily warned that reports trying to stir nationalistic sentiment by inflating the country’s achievements were doing the most damage and would ultimately hold China back. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

US ‘so scared’ of China’s progress? Party mouthpiece doesn’t think so

2 Jul 2018 - 11:10pm 44

Douyin is one of five firms that have voluntarily suspended their advertising services following an investigation by the cyberspace watchdog into allegations they insulted a Chinese war hero. Photo: Handout

Politics

China’s video app Douyin halts advertising over war hero insults

1 Jul 2018 - 11:15pm 4

Chinese tourists travelling to the United States have been advised not to argue with border checkpoint officials. Photo: Reuters

Diplomacy

Chinese visitors to US told to beware of shootings, costly medical care

2 Jul 2018 - 5:22pm 62

Payment for the purchase of the house in Nanjing was completed on Wednesday. Photo: news.sina.com.cn

Society

Chinese axe murder house sells at auction for US$1.2 million

29 Jun 2018 - 2:52am

Vice-Premier Liu is Beijing’s point man at the trade talks with the United States. Photo: AFP

Politics

Why Liu He won't leave US trade war talks despite his impossible job

27 Jun 2018 - 3:44pm 17

European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen gestures to Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He as they arrive for a joint press conference in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

China, EU plan working group to revamp WTO and counter US unilateralism

1 Aug 2018 - 4:04pm 9

The Hainan government plans to hire 50,000 English-speaking foreign workers under its plan to become an international tourism resort. Photo: Bloomberg

Politics

Chinese holiday island to unlock Facebook, Twitter for foreigners

22 Jun 2018 - 11:17pm 40

Petitioners kneel before a car, blocking its way, as they beg to display their letters near a government office supposed to receive complaints in Beijing. Chinese take their grievances to the leadership as a last resort. Photo: AP

Politics

Elderly woman exonerated after being jailed for petitioning over land dispute

12 Jun 2018 - 10:27pm 3

Wang Yang applauds Taiwan for preserving aspects of the past in rare reference to party’s dark past

Politics

Top Chinese cadre criticises Cultural Revolution for harm to tradition

7 Jun 2018 - 10:24pm 27

One lane has been set aside for women at a public swimming pool in Guangzhou. Photo: 163.com

Society

Chinese swimming pool stirs debate with women-only lane

1 Jun 2018 - 11:13am 2

Cracks found in window of Capital Airlines aircraft bound for Vietnam, forcing its return to Hangzhou an hour into journey

Society

Second plane in cockpit window drama makes ‘Turbo Drop’ landing

1 Jun 2018 - 11:25am 5

Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of Anbang, was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in May. Photo: Reuters

Companies

Anbang’s jailed chairman appeals against fraud conviction

30 May 2018 - 11:14pm

The health of detained activist Huang Qi is worsening rapidly, according to his mother. Photo: AFP

Politics

Jailed founder of China’s human rights site in poor health as trial looms

25 May 2018 - 5:14pm 1

Maoists take part in a march in Hong Kong organised by Hong Kong’s Mao Zedong Thought Society to mark the 52nd anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution. Photo: Weibo

Politics

The last Maoists in China find refuge in Hong Kong

25 May 2018 - 1:00pm 27

Chinese President Xi Jinping at the podium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 4. In his speech marking the bicentennial of Karl Marx's birth, Xi praised Marx’s role in the founding of modern China. “Writing Marxism onto the flag of the Chinese Communist Party was totally correct,” he said. Photo: AP

Politics

Why Beijing isn’t Marxist enough for China’s radical millennials

25 May 2018 - 2:53pm 23

Donald Trump claimed the deal would benefit US farmers, but no details of the agreement have emerged. Photo: AP

Diplomacy

Trump claims China ‘will buy as much food as we can produce’

21 May 2018 - 11:37pm 39

More than a dozen fans of Chinese K-pop band Nine Percent barged through a boarding gate at Beijing Capital Airport earlier this month in a bid to see their heroes. Photo: Handout

Society

Are Chinese K-pop fans becoming a threat to airport security?

21 May 2018 - 10:54am 6

Hunan Agricultural University students say they were stopped from going into the library by security guards because of what they were wearing, and many complained. Photo: Alamy

Society

Chinese university library lifts short skirt ban after student outcry

21 May 2018 - 10:20am 10

A young Chinese woman got a nasty surprise when a king rat snake slithered out of the toilet as she was about to take a shower. Photo: Shutterstock

Society

It’s grandad to the rescue as woman finds giant snake in toilet

5 Jun 2018 - 1:10pm 1

Fan Liqin, in his 70s, was educated at prestigious Peking University. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Chinese intellectual who criticised move to end term limits speaks out

18 May 2018 - 12:23pm 20

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He is charged with overseeing China’s economy, and hopes to promote the nation’s high-tech sector even as he must deal with a simmering trade war with the US. Photo: Kyodo

Politics

Liu He must build China’s high-tech sector, even as a trade war with US looms

15 May 2018 - 10:32pm 11

In an image taken from undated video footage run by China's CCTV, Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of the Anbang Insurance Group, speaks during a court session in the Shanghai. He went on trial on March 28 on charges that he fraudulently raised $10 billion from investors and misused his position to enrich himself. Photo: CCTV via AP Video

China

The unanswered questions in the case of Anbang’s disgraced Wu Xiaohui

12 May 2018 - 3:28am 12

The National Supervisory Commission is supposed to be subject to greater scrutiny than the party’s corruption watchdpg. Photo: Handout

Politics

Dead detainee in Chinese anti-graft probe ‘was disfigured before dying’

11 May 2018 - 5:18pm 31

Former chairman of Anbang Insurance Group, Wu Xiaohui, who is starting an 18-year prison sentence after being convicted of fraud and embezzlement. Photo: Reuters

Companies

Chinese tycoon who bought Waldorf Astoria jailed for 18 years

10 May 2018 - 11:31pm 18

WeChat is China’s most popular instant messaging app and has nearly one billion users worldwide. Photo: Alamy

Politics

Privacy fears after cadres punished over ‘deleted’ WeChat messages

30 Apr 2018 - 8:49am 20

Detained in January, lawyer Yu Wensheng has been a persistent voice for reform in China. Photo: AFP

Politics

Detained rights lawyer: ‘I will never accept’ government attorney

26 Apr 2018 - 11:01pm 10

Fugitive Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui claims to have a wealth of evidence of corruption among China’s state leaders. Photo: Reuters

Politics

China accuses fugitive tycoon of commissioning forged documents

23 Apr 2018 - 11:30pm 13