Nagoya Mayor Attends Japan-Taiwan Summit Despite Reported Chinese Pressure
The 12th Japan-Taiwan Exchange Summit was held in Nagoya, Japan, with approximately 300 people in attendance. Despite reports that Chinese officials had urged Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirozawa not to attend, Hirozawa appeared in person and delivered remarks underscoring the longstanding friendship between Japan and Taiwan. He pledged to continue promoting exchanges between the two sides and shared that he had visited Taiwan six times, praising the warmth and friendliness Taiwanese people have consistently shown toward Japanese visitors.
Keiji Furuya, chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Diet Members’ Consultative Council, said the cross-party group now has 325 members of Japan’s National Diet, which has 713 seats in total. Furuya highlighted the group’s efforts to address the longstanding issue of Japanese official documents identifying Taiwanese people’s nationality as “China” rather than “Taiwan.” The group has helped secure changes allowing “Taiwan” to be listed on family registries and, more recently, national professional licenses.
The summit carried particular significance following several incidents involving Taiwan at the recent 2026 Asian Games hosted in Nagoya, including the reported mistreatment of Taiwan’s Sports Minister, Li Yang, during a visit to Japan, as well as incidents in which Taiwanese spectators were reportedly treated improperly while displaying flags and using towels to cheer for their athletes.
At the summit’s opening, Nagoya City Council member Kazuhide Fujita publicly apologized for the Asian Games treatment of Taiwan. Kobe City Council member Hiromasa Uehata criticized the event organizers for yielding to Chinese pressure, saying their actions had undermined the dignity and identity of the Taiwanese people. He called the incidents “a disgrace to Japan.”
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 2, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202611020278.aspx
Satellite Images Show Five New Zubr Hovercraft Under Construction at Chinese Shipyard
Recent commercial satellite imagery reportedly shows five large Zubr-class air-cushion landing craft under construction simultaneously at an outfitting basin at a shipyard in southern China.
If completed and delivered, the five vessels would join the six Zubr-class craft already in service with the Chinese Navy, potentially bringing the fleet to more than 10. The expansion would enhance the Navy’s ability to transport heavy armored vehicles by sea and deploy them directly onto shore.
Originally developed by the Soviet Union, the Zubr is a large amphibious assault hovercraft. Subsequent production involved Russia and Ukraine before China imported the vessels and began domestic production. The craft has a full-load displacement of approximately 555 tons and a payload capacity of 150 tons. It can carry three main battle tanks, eight infantry fighting vehicles, or a large number of landing troops, making it one of the largest military hovercraft currently in service worldwide.
The Zubr has a cruising speed of approximately 55 knots and a range of about 550 kilometers. Its air-cushion design enables it to travel through shallow waters and approach shorelines at high speed, reducing its dependence on water depth and coastal terrain. It can also cross obstacles and difficult terrain, including reefs, shallows, and mudflats, allowing heavy equipment to be delivered rapidly ashore.
Source: Newtalk (Taiwan), November 4, 2026
https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2026-11-04/1069285
People’s Daily Promotes China’s Open-Source AI Approach in Push for Global Technology Leadership
The People’s Daily is using the 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit to promote China’s open-source approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI), presenting it as an alternative to the concentration of advanced computing resources and AI capabilities in developed countries, particularly the United States.
Held from November 2 to 5 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, this year’s summit adopted the theme “Open Source and Openness, Joint Development and Shared Benefits.” Access to computing power and digital infrastructure remains highly unequal worldwide. It cites a World Bank report showing that high-income countries dominate the global TOP500 supercomputer rankings, while a report by the UN Economic Commission for Africa found that the continent accounts for less than 1 percent of global data center capacity.
Chinese open-source models, such as DeepSeek, have lowered the cost of adopting AI and made the technology more accessible to smaller businesses and developers.
According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese open-source AI models have recorded more than 10 billion cumulative downloads worldwide, while a national open-source AI community has attracted over 11 million users. A spring 2026 report by Hugging Face found that Chinese-developed models accounted for 41 percent of global downloads on its platform between February 2025 and February 2026, making China the largest single source of open-source models.
The growing international participation also shows the appeal of China’s vision for global digital cooperation. The summit received 360 submissions from 80 countries and regions for its “Outstanding Cases of Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace” collection.
Source: People’s Daily, November 4, 2026
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2026/1104/c1004-40827473.html
China’s 2027 Civil-Service Recruitment Continues to Exclude Overseas Graduates
Although sending children to study at overseas universities has long been popular among wealthy Chinese families, authorities are increasingly closing off pathways for these graduates to advance within the government system.
More than a dozen Chinese provincial-level regions, including Beijing and Shanghai, began recruiting candidates for their 2027 targeted graduate selection programs in September and October. The programs largely exclude graduates of overseas universities, continuing a trend that has narrowed opportunities for Chinese students returning from abroad.
The programs recruit outstanding graduates from designated universities as a talent pool for future government and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership positions. Successful candidates enter the civil service and typically must serve in grassroots positions, such as township and subdistrict offices, for several years before becoming eligible for advancement. Applicants generally must be CCP members or outstanding student leaders.
The exclusion marks a shift from earlier policies. For the 2023 and 2024 graduating classes, at least 10 provincial-level regions, including Beijing and Guangdong, accepted degrees from selected internationally ranked universities. Since 2025, however, overseas graduates have largely disappeared from eligibility lists. Some regions, including Heilongjiang, have explicitly excluded graduates of foreign universities.
One possible explanation for the policy shift is growing official concern over foreign influence. In 2025, Xinhua cited Chinese state security authorities warning that overseas students could be vulnerable to recruitment by foreign intelligence agencies.
Source: Epoch Times, November 1, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/10/31/n14880659.htm
Chinese County Uses AI-Assisted System to Improve Military Recruitment and Personnel Selection
Guangrao County in Shandong Province has introduced a digital system to assist military recruitment, shifting the selection process from subjective assessments to data-driven decisions and more precise matching of recruits to military needs.
According to a local report, the system evaluates applicants based on their education, physical condition, fitness, psychological qualities, and suitability for military service. It assigns scores, automatically ranks candidates, and maintains tamper-proof records of all operations.
Previously, recruitment decisions often placed heavy emphasis on educational qualifications, sometimes overlooking applicants’ physical abilities or specialized skills. As a result, highly educated recruits might be assigned to physically demanding roles for which they were poorly suited, while technically skilled candidates could miss opportunities to serve in positions that matched their expertise.
The new system categorizes applicants into four groups—physical fitness-oriented, technical skills-oriented, general-purpose, and specialized—and matches their abilities, potential, and service preferences with military requirements.
The system also aims to improve transparency and curb corruption. Data from every stage of recruitment, including initial screening, physical examinations, political background checks, pre-service training, and final selection, are recorded and traceable, reducing opportunities for discretionary human intervention.
Source: People’s Daily, November 3, 2026
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2026/1103/c1011-40826743.html
People’s Daily: Plans to Meet China’s Growing Data Center Electricity Demand
China’s electricity consumption for computing infrastructure is expected to increase by more than 100 billion kilowatt-hours annually from 2026 to 2030, reaching 800 billion kWh by 2030, or approximately 6 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption, which exceeds 10 trillion kWh. The projection was announced by Tan Hongjiang, deputy director of the National Energy Administration’s Electricity Department, at an October 30 press briefing.
In 2025, China’s data centers consumed 170 billion kWh, accounting for 1.6 percent of national electricity use. Electricity consumption at the country’s eight national computing hubs has grown by an average of 39.5 percent annually over the past three years. Meanwhile, China’s intelligent computing capacity reached 2,592 EFLOPS by the end of September, up 146 percent year over year, reflecting surging demand driven by artificial intelligence.
To address the growing demand, Beijing is promoting “computing-power and electricity coordination,” integrating computing infrastructure with power systems to optimize resource allocation and match computing workloads with electricity availability.
The initiative was included in the 2026 government work report and the 15th Five-Year Plan. Pilot projects are underway in Guizhou, Guangdong, and Jiangsu. On October 28, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, launched the country’s first city-level coordination platform, linking computing demand with renewable energy supply and electricity prices to encourage companies to shift flexible workloads to periods when green power is more abundant and cheaper.
The National Energy Administration plans to expand such coordination, including through direct connections between computing facilities and renewable energy sources.
Source: People’s Daily, November 3, 2026
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2026/1103/c1004-40826671.html
People’s Daily: China Reports 3,196 Sister-City Partnerships With 153 Countries
Critics have pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses sister-province and sister-city partnerships as a cover for its united front work, seeking to expand its reach and influence within foreign countries and their local governments.
People’s Daily reported that China has established 3,196 sister-city relationships with 153 countries, citing figures announced by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries at the 2026 China International Friendship Cities Conference, which concluded on October 22 in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.
At the closing ceremony, the conference presented Outstanding Contribution Awards for International Friendship Cities to 20 Chinese provinces and municipalities, and Outstanding Partner Awards for Friendship with China to 40 foreign provinces and cities. Participants also signed 12 agreements establishing sister-city ties and promoting practical cooperation in trade and investment, urban governance, cultural exchanges, and public services.
The conference also issued the Xi’an Initiative, expressing support for China’s four Global Initiatives and describing international friendship cities as important bridges connecting people across countries. It called for stronger solidarity and cooperation and for advancing the building of a “community with a shared future for humanity,” a concept promoted by the CCP.
Source: People’s Daily, October 23, 2026
https://world.people.com.cn/n1/2026/1023/c1002-40819853.html
Australian Shipyard May Be Sold to Hong Kong-Linked Buyer, Raising Security Concerns
Victoria’s last shipyard capable of building and repairing large naval vessels is set to be sold to an Australian company with ties to Hong Kong capital, raising concerns about national security and the potential loss of strategic shipbuilding infrastructure.
According to Defense Blog, citing Australian Defence Magazine, Williamstown Shipyard is located near the entrance to the Port of Melbourne, one of Australia’s busiest container ports. The facility is currently owned by BAE Systems’ Australian subsidiary. The prospective buyer, EMKC³, an Australian property fund manager, has Hong Kong-based EMKC Group among its shareholders. The extent of the Hong Kong company’s ownership stake remains unclear.
EMKC³ representative Felicity Richardson confirmed that the company had signed a purchase agreement and was consulting key stakeholders on the facility’s future use. The transaction price has not been disclosed. The shipyard was listed for sale in 2024, with an estimated value of up to A$200 million.
The proposed sale has also raised questions about whether the transaction will be subject to review by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
Established in 1858, Williamstown Shipyard built all 10 ANZAC-class frigates for the Australian and New Zealand navies. It also carried out construction work on the superstructures and interior fit-outs of the Royal Australian Navy’s two Canberra-class amphibious assault ships. Although shipbuilding operations ended in 2016, the facility’s strategic location and infrastructure retain potential value. Australian defense observers warn that the sale could jeopardize the country’s access to an important naval construction and maintenance facility.
Source: China Times (Taiwan), November 1, 2026
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20261101003158-260408?chdtv