After serving time in prison for refusing to join the Party, he served as coadjutor to Bishop Li in Luoyang before retiring to his village in 2011. Some local Catholics spoke to AsiaNews about him: “In China, following the right path by believing in God and maintaining a pure faith inevitably leads to persecution. But even if we suffer a little to bear witness to God, all this is still a blessing,” they remember him saying.

Of the five countries, only Turkmenistan is not a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in keeping with its traditional international neutrality, but President Serdar Berdymukhamedov was nevertheless present at the parade in Beijing. Trade between the region and China grew by 5% last year and will soon exceed 0 billion. Russia is now forced to play a secondary role.

Chinese social media continues to buzz with calls for the removal of the monk, who is accused of scandals. But the temple's accounts remain covered by ‘state secrecy’. The unauthorised meeting with Pope Francis was only the ‘red line’ that was crossed in a clash that had been going on for twenty years over the economic activities of the Shaolin monks. With private vices that emerge only when political support is lost.

In a chat picked up by a hot mic, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping talk about the possibility of organ transplants allowing people to live up to 150 years. China has never adopted a clear and transparent system for organ donation. Despite new regulations, forced organ harvesting reportedly continues, especially from members of minorities.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China refers to the general as the “acting president of Myanmar”, enhancing the military junta’s credentials. For its part, India plans to send a delegation to monitor Myanmar’s December elections, after signing several new economic agreements with its neighbour. Xi Jinping promised to admit Myanmar as a full SCO member, consolidating Myanmar's integration into Chinese-led regional platforms.

Tomorrow's celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the “Victory over Japan”, featuring a display of China's arsenal, is the other side of Beijing's “multilateralism”. In 2024, China spent US$ 314 billion on new weapons, second-highest military spending in the world after the United States. Japan too is also rearming in a dangerous race for the entire Asia-Pacific region.