Tag: east asia

The world’s tastiest dumplings | CNN

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CNN
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How to define a dumpling? In its most basic sense, it’s a pocket of dough filled with some form of savory or sweet stuffing.

And the easy ideas are surely the best, because dumplings are a popular food across the globe: both simple and complex, local and global, adaptable yet fixed in their home regions as cheap, tasty staples to snack on.

Here are no fewer than 35 of our favorites around the world to get your taste buds flowing.

Served steamed in bamboo baskets, xiaolongbao look different from other types of Chinese dumplings, as the skin is gathered and pinched at the top instead of folded in half.

Xiaolongbao are also unique in that aside from the traditional pork filling, a small piece of aspic is folded into the dumpling, which melts when steamed.

Thanks to the broth, the filling stays moist and flavorful.

Italy is, of course, the global home of filled pasta, and ravioli is one of its most famous offerings – so famous that it has been exported across the world.

Ravioli – as well as other Italian filled pastas – can be packed with anything from meat to cheese to vegetables, or any combination thereof.

If the processed canned or bagged varieties familiar to lazy college students makes up your only impression of ravioli, rectify that as soon as possible. Preferably with a trip to Rome.

The spicy Sichuan wonton, or chao shou, comes to the table drenched in a spicy chili oil flavored with Sichuan peppercorn and a black vinegar sauce.

The chao shou is boiled and the very best specimens are so slippery they’re nearly impossible to pick up with chopsticks.

The combination of savory meat, smooth wonton skin and tongue-numbing sauce, makes for the most pleasant runny nose you’ve ever had.

Manti hail from Central Asia – they’re eaten in places such as Turkey, northwestern China, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan – and are very closely related to East Asian variants of dumplings.

Adopted by Turks who traveled across Central Asia during the Mongol Empire, these dumplings can be filled with lamb, beef, quail or chicken – or be left unfilled.

Turkish manti are served with yogurt and spiced with red pepper and melted butter.

A national dish in Slovakia, bryndzové halušky is a dish of potato dumplings served with bryndza, a Slovakian sheep’s cheese, and sprinkled with bacon or pork fat.

A steamed fish dumpling served with vegetables and peanut sauce, think of siomay as the Indonesian street food equivalent of shumai, traditionally found in Cantonese dim sum restaurants.

Adopted from Chinese Indonesian cuisine, the most popular variant of siomay is found in Bandung. The best way to sample these dumplings is from a street vendor carting a steamer on his bicycle.

The Hong Kong-style shrimp wonton is a thick dumpling holding shrimp and minced pork. It’s commonly served with thin egg noodles or on its own in a seafood broth.

Many a heated debate over the best shrimp wonton has been heard locally, but there’s never any arguing over its prime place in the Hong Kong diet.

Originating in Central and Eastern Europe, pierogi are most commonly thought of as Polish.

These dumplings can be stuffed with potato, minced meat, cheese, fruit or sauerkraut. They’re usually boiled, then pan-fried in butter with onions.

This finishing flourish is the selling point of the dish, adding another layer of flavor.

Modak is a sweet from Maharashtra, offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chathurthi, the festival dedicated to him every year between August and September.

The teardrop-shaped dumpling is kneaded from rice flour and stuffed with coconut and jaggery – an unrefined whole cane sugar.

These Azerbaijani dumplings are filled with lamb or beef, and usually served in broth.

Rather like the most fiddly of Italian pasta dumplings, they’re folded by hand, a process made more difficult by their small size. Vinegar and garlic sauce tops it off with an extra kick.

Found across Germany, kartoffelknoedel, or potato dumplings, usually accompany meat dishes.

The Bavarian variant combines both raw and cooked potato, stuffed with a crouton or bread filling.

This is a popular street food in Brazil: effectively chicken dumplings, made from fried dough with shredded chicken in the middle.

They’re shaped in the form of a teardrop, supposedly to resemble a chicken thigh – the dish was originally made from thigh meat. Some add potato to the dough before frying, for an extra carby oomph.

Pelmeni are Russian dumplings from Siberia, likely introduced to Russian cuisine by the Mongols.

Similar to Chinese jiaozi, Turkish manti and eastern European pierogi, pelmeni are distinguished by the thickness of the dumpling skin.

Pelmeni may be stuffed with anything from meat to mushrooms to cheese, but never with anything sweet.

Some dumpling purists say that the Australian dim sim is merely a bastardized version of Chinese dumplings.

But we say, if a dumpling has fans standing in line, it’s a worthy dumpling.

Dim sim is a combination of meat or fish mixed with cabbage and enclosed in a wrapper. It may be steamed, deep-fried or barbecued, and is usually much larger than a Chinese dumpling.

Dim sims usually taste gingery – a feature of westernized Chinese cuisine found in Australia, North America and Europe.

The word “brik” is thought to derive from Turkish, but this is a thoroughly Tunisian dumpling, a deep-fried triangle of deliciousness, often with an egg popped inside for extra gooey flavor. It can be filled with tuna, harissa and parsley, or anything from capers to cheese and meat.

Banh bot loc are Vietnamese pork and shrimp dumplings, with wrappers made from tapioca flour.

When cooked, tapioca flour becomes clear, giving the dumpling its appearance and the wrapper its chewy texture.

There are two major variants: wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, or boiled.

If you’ve ever been to Argentina (or neighboring Latin American countries) you’ll almost certainly have eaten an empanada: pastry stuffed with meat, fish or other fillings, then baked or fried.

In Argentina, the traditional fillings depend on where you are – olives are often worked into the filling in Mendoza, for example. Usually, though, you’ll have a choice of meat – chicken and beef are classics.

Tangyuan is a Chinese dessert – sticky balls made from glutinous rice flour containing a sweet filling, such as ground peanuts or black sesame paste, and served in a bowl of sweet soup or rolled in ground peanuts.

Some tangyuan are served as smaller, unfilled rice balls in a soup made from cane sugar.

In dessert shop chains all over Hong Kong, tangyuan are served with ice cream, topped with a drizzle of syrup.

Chicken and dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is probably the ultimate in Southern comfort food in the United States.

Chicken soup is a dish found all over the world, but the addition of dumplings gives the soup an extra something.

American dumplings are usually a mix of flour, vegetable shortening and milk – in this case, dropped directly into the chicken broth. The broth may be a clear chicken soup, or thickened with flour or cream.

Kimchi mandu

Mandu, the Korean take on dumplings, are more closely related to manti found in Central Asian cuisine than to Chinese or Japanese dumplings.

Mandu are often folded into circular shapes, a technique rarely found in Chinese cuisine.

As ubiquitous as kimchi is in Korea, it was probably inevitable that somewhere along the way someone would chop up kimchi and stick it in a dumpling.

When winter nights are closing in and the temperatures are dropping, what could be better than a golf ball-sized dumpling made from bread, stuffed with things like speck (a type of cured ham), cheese and onion, washed down with a tanker of beer?

Italians flock to Alto Adige, the autonomous region in the north of the country, which was part of Austrian Tyrol until being annexed to Italy under Fascism, for these traditional Tyrolean dumplings. Eat them in broth, or order a plateful (some restaurants do canederli “flights” of different fillings). Just be warned – these are huge, and you’ll likely find your eyes are far bigger than your stomach.

Bawan is a Taiwanese street snack commonly found in night markets around the island.

A translucent wrapper made from rice flour, corn starch and sweet potato starch holds a stuffing of pork, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Bawan is served with a sweet and savory sauce.

The dumplings are steamed, then deep-fried to keep the wrapper from drying out.

Momo are dumplings found in northern Indian, Nepali and Tibetan cuisine. They may be filled with meat, vegetables or cheese, and are usually served with a tomato-based dipping sauce.

Enterprising Nepali vendors in Kathmandu have also taken to filling momos with Snickers and Mars bars, especially in areas frequented by tourists.

Uszka are similar to Polish pierogi – the word “uszka” means “little ears” in Polish. They’re usually filled with minced meat and mushrooms and put in borscht soup.

Uszka stuffed with bolete mushrooms and chopped onions without meat are served in clear borscht for Christmas Eve meals in Poland.

Related to Chinese pot stickers, Japanese gyoza tend to be made with thinner wrappers and filled with minced pork.

Frozen gyoza are found in most grocery stores all over the world, but the best restaurants for gyoza always turn out to be holes-in-the-wall outside of Tokyo subway stations.

Found on Chinese takeout menus in the United States, crab rangoon are deep-fried dumplings served as a side dish.

They’re stuffed with cream cheese and imitation crab meat made from a fish-based paste.

It may not be an authentic Chinese dish, but love of fried cheese crosses cultures.

Not your typical pork-filled dumpling, the Teochew fun gor is usually packed with peanuts, chives, dried shrimp, pork, radish, mushrooms and cilantro.

The wrapper is made of a combination of wheat flour, tapioca flour, corn starch and potato starch, giving the fun gor its translucent appearance.

Teochew fun gor is most popular in Cantonese dim sum restaurants.

Usually triangular in shape, samosas are a deep-fried snack popular in south and southeast Asia.

They may be filled with a variety of stuffings, including potato, onions, peas, lentils and ground lamb.

Straddling Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, it’s not surprising that Georgia has its own dumpling.

The khinkali resembles the xiaolongbao. It’s formed by gathering the pleats of the wrapper at the top and stuffed with spiced beef and pork.

Khinkali are usually served with coarse ground black pepper.

Gnocchi are small, thick pasta shapes that can be made from semolina flour, potato, flour, eggs, cheese – or a combination of the lot. They originated in northern Italy, though are eaten throughout the country today, with recipes varying from region to region.

Gnocchi are prepared like other pasta dishes, and may be served in tomato-based sauces, pesto sauces or with any other sauce you might find on pasta.

Duty-free shops in Japanese airports are packed with what look like mountains of pre-wrapped boxes of Japanese treats. Many of these boxes actually contain daifuku.

They are a type of mochi (glutinous rice cakes), only they’re stuffed – usually with sticky-sweet red azuki.

Daifuku are popular as gifts in Japan – specialty stores that create a dazzling array of varieties move countless boxes over holiday periods.

The apple dumpling is popular across the United States, and common among the Amish, especially in and around Pennsylvania.

A peeled and cored apple is stuffed with cinnamon and sugar, then wrapped in a piece of dough and baked until the apple becomes tender. The pairing of the apple dumpling, fresh from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top makes for a divine dessert.

Every region of Italy produces its own filled pasta, of course, but these, from southern Piedmont, are particularly prized. Much smaller than regular ravioli – they’re barely bigger than Bolognese tortellini – they’re filled with either a meat mix (which often includes rabbit) and served with a glaze of meaty sauce, or contain a vegetable mix, often cabbage with rice.

As well as being small in size, the pasta is also rolled super thin, so the dumplings seem to melt in the mouth. “Plin” isn’t the place where they came from; the word derives from a local dialect word for “pinch,” as the pockets are pinched together by hand.

This is the ultimate Lebanese comfort food: lamb dumplings, similar to manti, and served drenched in yoghurt – usually goat, rather than cow, to give the flavor a bit more bang.

The lamb is mixed with pine nuts and spices before being wrapped in the dough, and slow-cooked in the yoghurt with water. It’s labor-intensive – requiring constant stirring, to keep the consistency.

These vegetarian dumplings hail from Afghanistan, and are also similar to manti. Recipes vary, but the stalwart is some kind of green vegetable inside – which can be chives, scallions, or celery, as they make it in Venice’s refugee-run Orient Experience restaurant.

Ashak are normally topped with a stewy lentil kind of sauce, and yogurt.

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March 28, 2024
Jon Huntsman Fast Facts | CNN Politics

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CNN
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Here’s a look at the life of Jon Huntsman, former Utah Governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate.

Birth date: March 26, 1960

Birth place: Palo Alto, California

Birth name: Jon Meade Huntsman Jr.

Father: Jon Meade Huntsman Sr., billionaire chemical magnate

Mother: Karen (Haight) Huntsman

Marriage: Mary Kaye Cooper (1983-present)

Children: Asha Bharati, adopted from India; Gracie Mei, adopted from China; William, Jon III, Elizabeth, Abigail and Mary Anne

Education: Attended University of Utah, 1978-1980; University of Pennsylvania, B.A. in Political Science, 1987

Religion: Mormon

Dropped out of high school in his senior year to play piano with local bands. The University of Utah, at the time, allowed completion of high school coursework after admission.

Served a two-year Mormon mission in Taiwan.

Speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.

Worked as legislative intern for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

His father owned the company that invented the McDonald’s Big Mac clamshell box.

The family chemical business, Huntsman Corp., is a global enterprise with subsidiaries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

Huntsman has served on numerous boards, including Caterpillar Inc., the US Naval Academy Foundation, Hilton Worldwide and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

1982-1983 – White House staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan.

1983-1989 – Executive at Huntsman Corp.

1989-1990 – Deputy assistant secretary for the Trade Development Bureau of the Commerce Department.

1990-1991 – Deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for East Asia and the Pacific.

1992-1993 – US ambassador to Singapore.

1995-2001 – President of Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

2001-2003 – Deputy US trade representative.

2001 – Divests of most personal stock upon becoming trade representative, including that held by his wife and held in the trust for his children.

2003-2004 – Chairman and CEO of Huntsman Family Holdings Co.

2004 – Places personal assets, 1.5% of Huntsman Family Holdings Co. in blind trust during gubernatorial campaign.

2005-2009 – 16th Governor of Utah, resigns in 2009 to become US ambassador to China.

2005 – Divests all personal holdings in Huntsman Corp.

July 2006 – Endorses Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in the 2008 presidential race.

2008 – Serves as national co-chairman of McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

August 7, 2009 – Huntsman is confirmed by the US Senate as US ambassador to China.

August 11, 2009-April 30, 2011 – Ambassador to China.

January 2011 – Delivers letter of resignation to President Barack Obama, stating his intention to step down as ambassador on April 30, 2011.

June 21, 2011 – Announces candidacy for 2012 GOP nomination for president at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, the same place Reagan launched his campaign in 1980.

October 18, 2011 – Boycotts the CNN/Western Republican Presidential Debate out of deference to New Hampshire, which is locked in a political scheduling fight with Nevada.

January 16, 2012 – Withdraws from the Republican presidential race and endorses former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

January 26, 2012 – Huntsman is named chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

June 20, 2012 – The Brookings Institution announces that Huntsman will serve as a distinguished fellow.

January 3, 2013 – The bipartisan political group No Labels names Huntsman and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) as leaders of the organization.

January 15, 2014 – The Atlantic Council names Huntsman chairman of its board of directors.

September 3, 2014 – Huntsman tells the Deseret News he feels same-sex marriage across the country is “inevitable,” and rules out another run for president in 2016.

July 18, 2017 – The White House announces that President Donald Trump has chosen Huntsman to be the US ambassador to Russia.

September 28, 2017 – The Senate confirms Huntsman as ambassador to Russia.

November 1, 2018 – The Deseret News publishes an interview in which Huntsman reveals he has stage one skin cancer.

August 6, 2019 – Huntsman submits his resignation letter to President Trump. His resignation is effective October 3.

November 14, 2019 – Announces he is running for governor of Utah in 2020.

February 7, 2020 – Huntsman announces Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi as his running mate in the Utah gubernatorial race.

July 6, 2020 – Hunstman concedes Utah’s GOP gubernatorial primary race to Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.

September 8, 2020 – Chevron announces that Huntsman has been reelected to the board of directors, effective September 15. Huntsman previously served on the board from 2014 to 2017.

October 2020 – Reelected to the board of directors for Ford Motor Company, after serving on the board from 2012 to 2017.

January 21, 2021 – Named chair of World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah), an organization promoting the state’s businesses globally.

March 11, 2024 – Is hired by Mastercard as the vice chairman and president of strategic growth.

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March 13, 2024
Detained Americans Fast Facts | CNN

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CNN
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Here’s a look at some recent cases of foreign governments detaining US citizens. For information about missing Americans, see Robert Levinson Fast Facts or POW/MIA in Iraq and Afghanistan Fast Facts.

Afghanistan

Ryan Corbett
August 2022 – Corbett, a businessman whose family lived in Afghanistan for more than a decade prior to the collapse of the Afghan government, returns to Afghanistan on a 10 day trip. Roughly one week into his visit, he was asked to come in for questioning by the local police. Corbett, his German colleague, and two local staff members were all detained. All but Corbett are eventually released. The Taliban has acknowledged holding Corbett, and he has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department.

China

Mark Swidan
November 13, 2012 – Swidan, a businessman from Texas, is arrested on drug related charges by Chinese Police while in his hotel room in Dongguan.

2013 – Swidan is tried and pleads not guilty.

2019 – Convicted of manufacturing and trafficking drugs by the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in southern Guangdong province and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.

April 13, 2023 – The Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court denies Swidan’s appeal and upholds his death penalty.

Kai Li
September 2016 – Kai Li, a naturalized US citizen born in China, is detained while visiting relatives in Shanghai.

July 2018 – He is sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage following a secret trial held in August 2017.

Iran

Karan Vafadari
December 2016 – Karan Vafadari’s family announces that Karan and his wife, Afarin Niasari, were detained at Tehran airport in July. Vafadari, an Iranian-American, and Niasari, a green-card holder, ran an art gallery in Tehran.

March 2017 – New charges of “attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic and recruiting spies through foreign embassies” are brought against Vafadari and Niasari.

January 2018 – Vafadari is sentenced to 27 years in prison. Niasari is sentenced to 16 years.

July 2018 – Vafadari and Niasari are reportedly released from prison on bail while they await their appeals court rulings.

Russia

Paul Whelan
December 28, 2018 – Paul Whelan, from Michigan, a retired Marine and corporate security director, is arrested on accusations of spying. His family says he was in Moscow to attend a wedding.

January 3, 2019 – His lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, tells CNN Whalen has been formally charged with espionage.

January 22, 2019 – At his pretrial hearing, Whelan is denied bail. Whelan’s attorney Zherebenkov tells CNN that Whelan was found in possession of classified material when he was arrested in Moscow.

June 15, 2020 – Whelan is convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

August 8, 2021 – State news agency TASS reports that Whelan has been released from solitary confinement in the Mordovian penal colony where he is being held.

Evan Gershkovich
March 30, 2023 – Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, is detained by Russian authorities and accused of spying. The Wall Street Journal rejects the spying allegations.

April 3, 2023 – The Russian state news agency TASS reports Gershkovich has filed an appeal against his arrest.

April 7, 2023 – Gershkovich is formally charged with espionage.

April 10, 2023 – The US State Department officially designates Gershkovich as wrongfully detained by Russia.

April 18, 2023 – The Moscow City Court denies his appeal to change the terms of his detention. Gershkovich will continue to be held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison until May 29.

Saudi Arabia

Walid Fitaihi
November 2017 – Dual US-Saudi citizen Dr. Walid Fitaihi is detained at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh along with other prominent Saudis, according to his lawyer Howard Cooper. Fitaihi is then transferred to prison.

July 2019 – Fitaihi is released on bond.

December 8, 2020 – Fitaihi is sentenced to six years in prison for charges including obtaining US citizenship without permission.

January 14, 2021 – A Saudi appeals court upholds Fitaihi’s conviction but reduces his sentence to 3.2 years and suspends his remaining prison term. Fitaihi still faces a travel ban and frozen assets.

Syria

Austin Tice
August 2012 – Tice disappears while reporting near the Syrian capital of Damascus. The Syrian government has never acknowledged that they have Tice in their custody.

September 2012 – A 43-second video emerges online that shows Tice in the captivity of what his family describe as an “unusual group of apparent jihadists.”

Majd Kamalmaz
February 2017 – Kamalmaz is detained at a checkpoint in Damascus. The Syrian government has never acknowledged Kamalmaz is in its custody.

Cuba

Alan Gross
December 2009 – Alan Gross is jailed while working as a subcontractor on a US Agency for International Development project aimed at spreading democracy. His actions are deemed illegal by Cuban authorities. He is accused of trying to set up illegal internet connections on the island. Gross says he was trying to help connect the Jewish community to the internet and was not a threat to the government.

March 12, 2011 – Gross is found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against the Cuban state.

April 11, 2014 – Ends a hunger strike that he launched the previous week in an effort to get the United States and Cuba to resolve his case.

December 17, 2014 – Gross is released as part of a deal with Cuba that paves the way for a major overhaul in US policy toward the island.

Egypt

16 American NGO Employees
December 2011 – Egyptian authorities carry out 17 raids on the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations. The Egyptian general prosecutor’s office claims the raids were part of an investigation into allegations the groups had received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a proper license.

February 5, 2012 – Forty-three people face prosecution in an Egyptian criminal court on charges of illegal foreign funding as part of an ongoing crackdown on NGOs. Among the American defendants is Sam LaHood, International Republican Institute country director and the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

February 15, 2012 – The US State Department confirms there are 16 Americans being held, not 19 as the Egyptian government announced.

February 20, 2012 – South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Arizona Senator John McCain meet with top Egyptian military and political leaders in Cairo.

March 1, 2012 – Some of the 43 detainees including American, Norwegian, German, Serbian and Palestinian activists leave Cairo after each post two-million Egyptian pounds bail.

April 20, 2012 – CNN is told Egyptian officials have filed global arrest notices with Interpol for some of the Americans involved in the NGO trial.

June 4, 2013 – An Egyptian court sentences the NGO workers: 27 workers in absentia to five-year sentences, 11 to one-year suspended jail sentences, and five others to two-year sentences that were not suspended, according to state-run newspaper Al Ahram. Only one American has remained in Egypt to fight the charges, but he also left after the court announced his conviction.

Iran

UC-Berkeley Grads
July 31, 2009 – Three graduates from the University of California at Berkeley, Sarah Shourd of Oakland, California, Shane Bauer, of Emeryville, California, and Joshua Fattal, of Cottage Grove, Oregon, are detained in Iran after hiking along the unmarked Iran-Iraq border in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region.

August 11, 2009 – Iran sends formal notification to the Swiss ambassador that the three American hikers have been detained. Switzerland represents the United States diplomatic interests in Iran since the United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations.

October 2009 – The Iranian government allows a Swiss diplomat to visit the hikers at Evin Prison.

November 9, 2009 – Iran charges the three with espionage.

March 9, 2010 – The families of the three detained hikers speak by phone to the hikers for the first time since they were jailed.

May 20, 2010 – The detainees’ mothers are allowed to visit their children.

May 21, 2010 – The mothers are allowed a second visit, and the detained hikers speak publicly for the first time at a government-controlled news conference.

August 5, 2010 – Reports surface that Shourd is being denied medical treatment.

September 14, 2010 – Shourd is released on humanitarian grounds on $500,000 bail.

September 19, 2010 – Shourd speaks publicly to the press in New York.

November 27, 2010 – Two days after Thanksgiving, Fattal and Bauer are allowed to call home for the second time. Each call lasts about five minutes.

February 6, 2011 – Fattal and Bauer’s trial begins. Shourd has not responded to a court summons to return to stand trial.

May 4, 2011 – Shourd announces she will not return to Tehran to face espionage charges.

August 20, 2011 – Fattal and Bauer each receive five years for spying and three years for illegal entry, according to state-run TV. They have 20 days to appeal.

September 14, 2011 – A Western diplomat tells CNN an Omani official is en route to Tehran to help negotiate the release of Fattal and Bauer. Oman helped secure the release of Shourd in 2010.

September 21, 2011 – Fattal and Bauer are released from prison on bail of $500,000 each and their sentences are commuted. On September 25, they arrive back in the United States.

Saeed Abedini
September 26, 2012 – According to the American Center for Law and Justice, Saeed Abedini, an American Christian pastor who was born in Iran and lives in Idaho, is detained in Iran. The group says that Abedini’s charges stem from his conversion to Christianity from Islam 13 years ago and his activities with home churches in Iran.

January 2013 – Abedini is sentenced to eight years in prison, on charges of attempting to undermine the Iranian government.

January 16, 2016 – Iran releases four US prisoners including Abedini, Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, and Jason Rezaian, in exchange for clemency of seven Iranians imprisoned in the United States for sanctions violations.

Amir Mirzaei Hekmati
August 2011 – Amir Mirzaei Hekmati travels to Iran to visit relatives and gets detained by authorities, according to his family. His arrest isn’t made public for months.

December 17, 2011 – Iran’s Intelligence Ministry claims to have arrested an Iranian-American working as a CIA agent, according to state-run Press TV.

December 18, 2011 – Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency broadcasts a video in which a young man says his name is Hekmati, and that he joined the US Marine Corps and worked with Iraqi officers.

December 19, 2011 – The US State Department confirms the identity of the man detained in Iran and calls for his immediate release.

December 20, 2011 – Hekmati’s family says that he was arrested in August while visiting relatives in Iran. The family asserts that they remained quiet about the arrest at the urging of Iranian officials who promised his release.

December 27, 2011 – Hekmati’s trial begins in Iran. Prosecutors accuse Hekmati of entering Iran with the intention of infiltrating the country’s intelligence system in order to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorist activities, according to the Fars news agency.

January 9, 2012 – An Iranian news agency reports that Hekmati is convicted of “working for an enemy country,” as well as membership in the CIA and “efforts to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorism.” He is sentenced to death.

March 5, 2012 – An Iranian court dismisses a lower court’s death sentence for Hekmati and orders a retrial. He remains in prison.

September 2013 – In a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry, Hekmati says that his confession was obtained under duress.

April 11, 2014 – Hekmati’s sister tells CNN that Hekmati has been convicted in Iran by a secret court of “practical collaboration with the US government” and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

January 16, 2016 – Iran releases four US prisoners including Hekmati, Abedini, and Jason Rezaian, in exchange for clemency of seven Iranians indicted or imprisoned in the United States for sanctions violations.

Jason Rezaian
July 24, 2014 – The Washington Post reports that its Tehran correspondent and Bureau Chief Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and two freelance journalists were detained on July 22, 2014. An Iranian official confirmed to CNN that the group is being held by authorities.

July 29, 2014 – Iran releases one of three people detained alongside Rezaian, a source close to the family of the released detainee tells CNN. The released detainee is the husband of an Iranian-American photojournalist who remains in custody with Rezaian and his wife, according to the source.

August 20, 2014 – The Washington Post reports the photojournalist detained with Rezaian in July has been released. At her family’s request, the Post declines to publish her name.

October 6, 2014 – According to the Washington Post, Rezaian’s wife, Yeganeh Salehi, has been released on bail.

December 6, 2014 – During a 10-hour court session in Tehran, Rezaian is officially charged with unspecified crimes, according to the newspaper.

April 20, 2015 – According the Washington Post, Rezaian is being charged with espionage and other serious crimes including “collaborating with a hostile government” and “propaganda against the establishment.”

October 11, 2015 – Iran’s state media reports that Rezaian has been found guilty, but no details are provided about his conviction or his sentence. His trial reportedly took place between May and August.

November 22, 2015 – An Iranian court sentences Rezaian to prison. The length of the sentence is not specified.

January 16, 2016 – Iran releases four US prisoners including Rezaian, Hekmati, and Abedini, in exchange for the clemency of seven Iranians indicted or imprisoned in the United States for sanctions violations.

May 1, 2018 – Joins CNN as a global affairs analyst.

Reza “Robin” Shahini
July 11, 2016 – San Diego resident Reza “Robin” Shahini is arrested while visiting family in Gorgan, Iran. Shahini is a dual US-Iranian citizen.

October 2016 – Shahini is sentenced to 18 years in prison.

February 15, 2017 – Goes on a hunger strike to protest his sentence.

April 3, 2017 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran says Shahini has been released on bail while he awaits the ruling of the appeals court.

July 2018 – A civil lawsuit filed against the Iranian government on Shahini’s behalf indicates that Shahini has returned to the United States.

Xiyue Wang
July 16, 2017 – The semi-official news agency Fars News, citing a video statement from Iranian judicial spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejheie, reports that a US citizen has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of spying. Princeton University identifies the man as Chinese-born Xiyue Wang, an American citizen and graduate student in history. According to a university statement, Wang was arrested in Iran last summer while doing scholarly research in connection with his Ph.D. dissertation.

December 7, 2019 – The White House announces that Wang has been released and is returning to the United States. Iran released Wang in a prisoner swap, in coordination with the United States freeing an Iranian scientist named Massoud Soleimani.

Michael White
January 8, 2019 – Michael White’s mother, Joanne White, tells CNN she reported him missing when he failed to return to work in California in July, after traveling to Iran to visit his girlfriend.

January 9, 2019 – Bahram Ghasemi, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, says White “was arrested in the city of Mashhad a while ago, and within a few days after his arrest the US government was informed of the arrest through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.” Ghasemi denies allegations that White, a US Navy veteran, has been mistreated in prison.

March 2019 – White is handed a 13-year prison sentence on charges of insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and for publicly posting private images, according to his attorney Mark Zaid.

March 19, 2020 – White is released into the custody of the Swiss Embassy on medical furlough. One condition of his release is that he must stay in Iran.

June 4, 2020 – White is released, according to White’s mother and a person familiar with the negotiations.

Baquer and Siamak Namazi
October 2015 – Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman with dual US and Iranian citizenship, is detained while visiting relatives in Tehran.

February 2016 – Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF official and father of Siamak Namazi, is detained, his wife Effie Namazi says on Facebook. He is an Iranian-American.

October 2016 – The men are sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $4.8 million, according to Iran’s official news channel IRINN. Iran officials say five people were convicted and sentenced for “cooperating with Iran’s enemies,” a government euphemism that usually implies cooperating with the United States.

January 28, 2018 – Baquer Namazi is granted a four-day leave by the Iranian government, after being discharged from an Iranian hospital. Namazi’s family say the 81-year-old was rushed to the hospital on January 15 after a severe drop in his blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat and serious depletion of energy. This was the fourth time Namazi had been transferred to a hospital in the last year. In September, he underwent emergency heart surgery to install a pacemaker.

February 2018 – Baquer Namazi is released on temporary medical furlough.

February 2020 – Iran’s Revolutionary Court commutes Baquer Namazi’s sentence to time served and the travel ban on him is lifted.

May 2020 – According to the family, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) places a new travel ban on Baquer Namazi, preventing him from leaving the country.

October 26, 2021 – Baquer Namazi undergoes surgery to clear a “life-threatening blockage in one of the main arteries to his brain, which was discovered late last month,” his lawyer says in a statement.

October 1, 2022 – Baquer Namazi is released from detention and is permitted to leave Iran “to seek medical treatment abroad,” according to a statement from UN Secretary General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

March 9, 2023 – Siamak Namazi makes a plea to President Joe Biden to put the “liberty of innocent Americans above politics” and ramp up efforts to secure his release, in an interview with CNN from inside Iran’s Evin prison.

September 18, 2023 – Siamak Namazi is freed, along with four other Americans as part of a wider deal that includes the United States unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds.

North Korea

Kenneth Bae
December 11, 2012 – US officials confirm that American citizen Kenneth Bae has been detained in North Korea for over a month.

April 30, 2013 – North Korea’s Supreme Court sentences Bae to 15 years of hard labor for “hostile acts” against the country.

October 11, 2013 – Bae meets with his mother in North Korea.

January 20, 2014 – A statement is released in which Bae says that he had committed a “serious crime” against North Korea. Any statement made by Bae in captivity is sanctioned by the North Korean government. The country has a long history of forcing false confessions.

February 7, 2014 – The State Department announces that Bae has been moved from a hospital to a labor camp.

November 8, 2014 – The State Department announces that Bae and Matthew Miller have been released and are on their way home.

Jeffrey Fowle
June 6, 2014 – North Korea announces it has detained US citizen Jeffrey Edward Fowle, who entered the country as a tourist in April. Fowle was part of a tour group and was detained in mid-May after leaving a bible in a restaurant.

June 30, 2014 – North Korea says that it plans to prosecute Fowle and another detained American tourist, Matthew Miller, accusing them of “perpetrating hostile acts.”

October 21, 2014 – A senior State Department official tells CNN that Fowle has been released and is on his way home.

Aijalon Gomes
January 25, 2010 – Aijalon Mahli Gomes, of Boston, is detained in North Korea after crossing into the country illegally from China.

April 7, 2010 – He is sentenced to eight years of hard labor and ordered to pay a fine of 70 million North Korean won or approximately $600,000.

July 10, 2010 – Gomes is hospitalized after attempting to commit suicide.

August 25-27, 2010 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in North Korea, with hopes of negotiating for Gomes’ release.

August 27, 2010 – Carter and Gomes leave Pyongyang after Gomes is granted amnesty for humanitarian purposes.

Kim Dong Chul
October 2015 – Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized American citizen, is taken into custody after allegedly meeting a source to obtain a USB stick and camera used to gather military secrets. In January 2016, Kim is given permission to speak with CNN by North Korean officials and asks that the United States or South Korea rescue him.

March 25, 2016 – A North Korean official tells CNN that Kim has confessed to espionage charges.

April 29, 2016 – A North Korean official tells CNN that Kim has been sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for subversion and espionage.

May 9, 2018 – Trump announces that Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, appear to be in good health and are returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

May 10, 2018 – The three freed American detainees arrive at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Kim Hak-song
May 7, 2017 – The state-run Korean Central News Agency reports that US citizen Kim Hak-song was detained in North Korea on May 6 on suspicion of “hostile acts” against the regime. The regime describes Kim as “a man who was doing business in relation to the operation of Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.”

May 9, 2018 – Trump announces that Kim Hak-song, Kim Dong Chul and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, appear to be in good health and are returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

May 10, 2018 – The three freed American detainees arrive at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Kim Sang Duk
April 22, 2017 – US citizen Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, is detained by authorities at Pyongyang International Airport for unknown reasons. Kim taught for several weeks at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.

May 3, 2017 – State-run Korean Central News Agency reports that Kim is accused of attempting to overthrow the government.

May 9, 2018 – Trump announces that Tony Kim, Kim Hak-song and Kim Dong Chul appear to be in good health and are returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

May 10, 2018 – The three freed American detainees arrive at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling
March 2009 – Journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling are arrested while reporting from the border between North Korea and China for California-based Current Media.

June 4, 2009 – They are sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

August 4, 2009 – Former US President Bill Clinton travels to Pyongyang on a private humanitarian mission to help secure their release.

August 5, 2009 – Lee and Ling are pardoned and released.

Matthew Miller
April 25, 2014 – North Korea’s news agency reports that Matthew Todd Miller was taken into custody on April 10. According to KCNA, Miller entered North Korea seeking asylum and tour up his tourist visa.

June 30, 2014 – North Korea says that it plans to prosecute Miller and another detained American tourist, Jeffrey Fowle, accusing them of “perpetrating hostile acts.”

September 14, 2014 – According to state-run media, Miller is convicted of committing “acts hostile” to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor.

November 8, 2014 – The State Department announces Miller and Kenneth Bae have been released and are on their way home.

Merrill Newman
October 26, 2013 – Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, California, is detained in North Korea, according to his family. Just minutes before his plane is to depart, Newman is removed from the flight by North Korean authorities, his family says.

November 22, 2013 – The US State Department says North Korea has confirmed to Swedish diplomats that it is holding an American citizen. The State Department has declined to confirm the identity of the citizen, citing privacy issues, but the family of Newman says the Korean War veteran and retired financial consultant has been detained since October.

November 30, 2013 – KCNA reports Newman issued an apology to the people of North Korea, “After I killed so many civilians and (North Korean) soldiers and destroyed strategic objects in the DPRK during the Korean War, I committed indelible offensive acts against the DPRK government and Korean people.” His statement ends: “If I go back to (the) USA, I will tell the true features of the DPRK and the life the Korean people are leading.”

December 7, 2013 – Newman returns to the United States, arriving at San Francisco International Airport. North Korea’s state news agency reports Newman was released for “humanitarian” reasons.

Eddie Yong Su Jun
April 14, 2011 – The KCNA reports that US citizen Eddie Yong Su Jun was arrested in November 2010 and has been under investigation for committing a crime against North Korea. No details are provided on the alleged crime.

May 27, 2011 – Following a visit from the US delegation which includes the special envoy for North Korean human rights, Robert King, and the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, Jon Brause, to North Korea, Yong Su Jun is released.

Otto Frederick Warmbier
January 2, 2016 – Otto Frederick Warmbier, a University of Virginia college student, is detained in North Korea after being accused of a “hostile act” against the government.

February 29, 2016 – The North Korean government releases a video of Warmbier apologizing for committing, in his own words, “the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel.” It is not known if Warmbier was forced to speak.

March 16, 2016 – Warmbier is sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for crimes against the state, a North Korean official tells CNN.

June 13, 2017 – Warmbier is transported back to the United States via medevac flight to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. There, doctors say that he has suffered severe brain damage. Doctors say Warmbier shows no current signs of botulism, which North Korean officials claim he contracted after his trial.

June 19, 2017 – Warmbier’s family issues a statement that he has died.

April 26, 2018 – Warmbier’s parents file a wrongful death lawsuit against the North Korean government charging that the country’s regime tortured and killed their son, according to lawyers for the family.

December 24, 2018 – A federal judge in Washington awards Warmbier’s parents more than half a billion dollars in the wrongful death suit against the North Korean government. North Korea did not respond to the lawsuit – the opinion was rendered as a so-called “default judgment” – and the country has no free assets in the US for which the family could make a claim.

Russia

Trevor Reed
2019 – While visiting a longtime girlfriend, Trevor Reed is taken into custody after a night of heavy drinking according to state-run news agency TASS and Reed’s family. Police tell state-run news agency RIA-Novosti that Reed was involved in an altercation with two women and a police unit that arrived at the scene following complaints of a disturbance. Police allege Reed resisted arrest, attacked the driver, hit another policeman, caused the car to swerve by grabbing the wheel and created a hazardous situation on the road, RIA stated.

July 30, 2020 – Reed is sentenced to nine years in prison for endangering “life and health” of Russian police officers.

April 1, 2021 – The parents of Reed reveal that their son served as a Marine presidential guard under the Obama administration – a fact they believe led Russia to target him.

April 27, 2022 – Reed is released in a prisoner swap.

June 14, 2022 – Reed tells CNN that he has filed a petition with the United Nations (UN), declaring that Russia violated international law with his detention and poor treatment.

Brittney Griner
February 17, 2022 – Two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and WBNA star Brittney Griner is taken into custody following a customs screening at Sheremetyevo Airport. Russian authorities said Griner had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance, an offense the Russian government says is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

July 7, 2022 – Griner pleads guilty to drug charges in a Russian court.

August 4, 2022 – Griner is found guilty of drug smuggling with criminal intent and sentenced by a Russian court to 9 years of jail time with a fine of one million rubles (roughly $16,400).

October 25, 2022 – At an appeal hearing, a Russian judge leaves Griner’s verdict in place, upholding her conviction on drug smuggling charges and reducing only slightly her nine-year prison sentence.

November 9, 2022 – Griner’s attorney tells CNN she is being moved to a Russian penal colony where she is due to serve the remainder of her sentence.

December 8, 2022 – US President Biden announces that Griner has been released from Russian detention and is on her way home.

Turkey

Serkan Golge
July 2016 – While on vacation in Turkey, Serkan Golge is arrested and accused of having links to the Gulenist movement. Golge is a 37-year-old NASA physicist who holds dual Turkish-US citizenship.

February 8, 2018 – Golge is sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.

September 2018 – A Turkish court reduces Golge’s prison sentence to five years.

May 29, 2019 – The State Department announces that Golge has been released.

Andrew Brunson
October 2016 – Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native, is arrested in Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast, where he is pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church. Brunson, an evangelical Presbyterian pastor, is later charged with plotting to overthrow the Turkish government, disrupting the constitutional order and espionage.

March 2018 – A formal indictment charges Brunson with espionage and having links to terrorist organizations.

October 12, 2018 – Brunson is sentenced to three years and one month in prison but is released based on time served.

Venezuela

Timothy Hallett Tracy
April 24, 2013 – Timothy Hallett Tracy, of Los Angeles, is arrested at the Caracas airport, according to Reporters Without Borders. Tracy traveled to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country.

April 25, 2013 – In a televised address, newly elected President Nicolas Maduro says he ordered the arrest of Tracy for “financing violent groups.”

April 27, 2013 – Tracy is formally charged with conspiracy, association for criminal purposes and use of a false document.

June 5, 2013 – Tracy is released from prison and expelled from Venezuela.

Joshua Holt
May 26, 2018 – Joshua Holt and his Venezuelan wife, Thamara Holt, are released by Venezuela. The two had been imprisoned there since 2016. The American traveled to Venezuela to marry Thamara in 2016, and shortly afterward was accused by the Venezuelan government of stockpiling weapons and attempting to destabilize the government. He was held for almost two years with no trial.

“Citgo 6”

November 2017 – After arriving in Caracas, Venezuela, for an impromptu business meeting, Tomeu Vadell and five other Citgo executives – Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano and Jose Angel Pereira – are arrested and detained on embezzlement and corruption charges. Citgo is the US subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil and natural gas company PDVSA. Five of the six men are US citizens; one is a US legal permanent resident.

December 2019 – The “Citgo 6” are transferred from the detention facility, where they have been held without trial for more than two years, to house arrest.

February 5, 2020 – They are moved from house arrest into prison, hours after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido met with US President Donald Trump

July 30, 2020 – Two of the men – Cárdenas and Toledo – are released on house arrest after a humanitarian visit to Caracas by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and a team of non-government negotiators.

November 27, 2020 – The six oil executives are found guilty and are given sentences between 8 to 13 years in prison.

April 30, 2021 – The men are released from prison to house arrest.

October 16, 2021 – The “Citgo 6,” all under house arrest, are picked up by the country’s intelligence service SEBIN, just hours after the extradition of Alex Saab, a Colombian financier close to Maduro.

March 8, 2022 – Cardenas is one of two detainees released from prison. The other, Jorge Alberto Fernandez, a Cuban-US dual citizen detained in Venezuela since February 2021, was accused of terrorism for carrying a small domestic drone. The releases take place after a quiet trip to Caracas by a US government delegation.

October 1, 2022 – US President Biden announces the release and return of Toledo, Vadell, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, and Pereira.

Matthew Heath

September 2020 – Is arrested and charged with terrorism in Venezuela.

June 20, 2022 – Family of Heath state that he has attempted suicide. “We are aware of reports that a US citizen was hospitalized in Venezuela,” a State Department spokesperson says. “Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”

October 1, 2022 – US President Biden announces the release and return of Heath.

Airan Berry and Luke Denman

May 4, 2020 – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says two American “mercenaries” have been apprehended after a failed coup attempt to capture and remove him. Madura identifies the captured Americans as Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41. On state television, Maduro brandishes what he claims are the US passports and driver’s licenses of the two men, along with what he says are their ID cards for Silvercorp, a Florida-based security services company.

May 5, 2020 – Denman appears on Venezuelan state TV. He is shown looking directly at the camera recounting his role in “helping Venezuelans take back control of their country.”

August 7, 2020 – Prosecutors announce that Berry and Denman have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

December 20, 2023 – It is announced that the US has reached an agreement to secure the release of 10 Americans, including Berry and Denman, held in Venezuela.

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March 7, 2024
World’s best spicy foods: 20 dishes to try | CNN

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CNN
—

Some like it hot – and some like it hotter, still.

When it comes to the world’s best spicy dishes, we have some of the world’s hottest peppers to thank, along with incredible layers of flavor and a long, spice-loving human history.

“Spicy food, or at least spiced foods, clearly predates the idea of countries and their cuisine by a very, very long time,” says Indian author Saurav Dutt, who is writing a book about the spiciest foods on the Indian subcontinent.

“Every spicy ingredient has a wild ancestor,” he says. “Ginger, horseradish, mustard, chiles and so on have predecessors which led to their domestication.”

Hunter-gatherer groups historically made use of various wild ingredients to flavor their foods, Dutt says, and there are many ingredients all over the world that can lend a spicy taste to a dish or stand on their own.

Peppers – a headliner for heat – are rated on the Scoville Heat Units scale, which measures capsaicin and other active components of chile peppers. By that measure, the Carolina Reaper is among the hottest in the world, while habaneros, Scotch bonnets and bird’s eye chiles drop down a few rungs on the mop-your-brow scale.

Redolent with ghost peppers, Scotch bonnets, serranos, chiltepin peppers, mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns and more, the following spicy dishes from around the world bring the heat in the most delicious way.

Ata rodo – Scotch bonnet pepper – brings the fire to Nigeria’s famous spicy soup. Egusi is made by pounding the seeds from the egusi melon, an indigenous West African fruit that’s related to the watermelon.

In addition to being protein-packed, the melon’s seeds serve to thicken and add texture and flavor to the soup’s mix of meat, seafood and leafy vegetables. Pounded yams are often served alongside this dish, helping to temper the scorch of the Scotch bonnets.

“The joy of this dish is not only the delightful warming ingredients of cinnamon, cloves, star anise and, of course, the Sichuan peppercorns, but the fact that you can cook exactly what you like in the bubbling spicy broth,” says British-born Chinese chef Kwoklyn Wan, author of “The Complete Chinese Takeout Cookbook.”

Duck, seafood, chicken, pork, lamb and seasonal vegetables are all fair game for tossing into the pot to simmer in a mouth-numbing broth made with Sichuan peppercorns and dried Sichuan peppers for serious kick (the dipping sauce served on the side often has chile paste, too).

Also known as Chongqing hot pot, the dish is said to have originated as a popular food among Yangtze River boatmen. It’s enjoyed by those who can handle its heat all over China, not to mention elsewhere around the world.

Som tam, Thailand

From northeastern Thailand’s spice-loving Isaan province, this fresh and fiery salad is a staple dish at Thai restaurants around the world and is also popular in neighboring Laos.

Som tam turns to green (unripe) papaya for its main ingredient, which is usually julienned or shredded for the salad. The papaya is then tossed with long beans or green beans and a mix of flavorful Asian essentials that include tamarind juice, dried shrimp, fish sauce and sugar cane paste, among other ingredients. Thai chiles, also called bird’s eye chiles, give the salad its requisite kick.

Piri-piri chicken, Mozambique and Angola

The Portuguese introduced this spicy dish also known as peri-peri chicken into Angola and Mozambique as far back as the 15th century, when they mixed African chiles with European ingredients (piri-piri means “pepper pepper” in Swahili). And it’s the perky red pepper of the same name that brings the spiciness to this complex, layered and delicious dish.

Piri-piri chicken’s poultry cuts are marinated in chiles, olive oil, lemon, garlic and herbs such as basil and oregano for a fiery flavor that blends salty, sour and sweet. The dish is also popular in Namibia and South Africa, where it’s often found on the menu in Portuguese restaurants.

The glossy red hues dancing on a plate of this popular pork dish, a version of which hails from Mao Zedong’s home province, give a hint about the mouth experience to come. The dish was apparently a favorite of the communist leader, who requested his chefs in Beijing prepare it for him.

Chairman Mao’s braised pork belly – called Mao shi hong shao rou in China – is often served as the main dish for sharing at a family table and is made by braising chunks of pork belly with soy sauce, dried chiles and spices.

“It is a very delicious and moreish dish due to the caramelized sugar and dark soy sauce being reduced and all the aromatics (that coat the pork belly),” wrote BBC “Best Home Cook” winner Suzie Lee, author of “Simply Chinese,” in an email to CNN Travel.

Jamaica’s favorite pepper is the Scotch bonnet, beloved not just for its spiciness but for its aroma, colors and flavor, too, says Mark Harvey, content creator and podcaster at Two On An Island, who was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

“For Jamaicans, the degree of spiciness starts at medium for children and goes up to purple hot,” he says, explaining that the peppers come in green, orange, red and purple hues, growing increasingly spicy in that order.

Scotch bonnets star in several of the island’s iconic dishes, including escovitch fish, pepper pot soup and curry goat. But you might recognize them most from the ubiquitous jerk chicken and pork smoking roadside everywhere from Montego Bay to Boston Bay, where meat prepared with the peppery marinade is cooked the traditional way, atop coals from pimento tree wood (the tree’s allspice berries are also used in the jerk marinade).

Popular on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok, in particular, this whole chicken dish is stuffed with an intensely aromatic spice paste (betutu) that usually includes a mashup of fresh hot chile peppers, galangal (a root related to ginger), candlenuts, shallots, garlic, turmeric and shrimp paste, among other ingredients.

The chicken is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, bringing the aromatics out all the more and flavoring the chicken to the max. Best shared, ayam betutu is often presented at religious ceremonies in Bali, but you’ll find it at restaurants specializing in it throughout the islands, too.

Beer and buffalo chicken wings are as American as, well, hamburgers. And if you’re not eating them alongside a pile of celery sticks and a ramekin of dunking sauce – traditionally blue cheese dip, but ranch works, too – you’re missing half the picture.

A sports bar staple at chain restaurants such as Buffalo Wild Wings and more refined outposts, too, from Alaska to Maine, “wings” are actually made up of the wing parts called drumettes and wingettes, which have the most meat.

Buffalo wings, said to have been invented in a bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964, are among the spiciest preparations (other popular variations include teriyaki wings and honey garlic wings). Make them as fiery as you like using a sauce that includes cayenne pepper, butter, vinegar, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.

Similar to ceviche but with more bite, this raw marinated shrimp dish from the western Mexican state of Sinaloa (and a staple along the Baja Peninsula, too) tastes as good as it looks.

Tiny but mighty chiltepín peppers (they look like bright little berries), grown throughout the United States and Mexico, make the spicy magic happen in shrimp aguachiles, which means “pepper water.” If you can’t find those, serrano and jalapeño peppers also do the trick.

Marinate the raw shrimp with ingredients including lime juice, cilantro, red onion and cucumber and enjoy with crispy tostadas.

Pad ka prao, Thailand

A go-to dish when you want something satisfying – but with kick – pad ka prao is a mealtime staple in Thailand, where you’ll find it on offer at street-side stalls and restaurants everywhere from Bangkok to the islands.

Considered the Thai equivalent of a sandwich or a burger, the dish is a mix of ground pork, spicy Thai chile peppers and holy basil and can be ordered as spicy as you like. Many locals believe it’s best topped with a fried egg with a runny yolk.

Beef rendang, Indonesia and Malaysia

A fiery favorite that originated in West Sumatra, versions of beef rendang are also enjoyed in Indonesia’s neighboring countries, including Malaysia and Brunei, as well as the Philippines.

This flavorful dry curry dish calls on kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, star anise and red chile, among other spices, to deliver its complexity. It’s often presented to guests and served during festive events.

The fermented cabbage dish kimchi might be the spicy Korean dish that first comes to mind, but when you want some extra kick, dakdoritang does the trick.

Comfort food to the max, the chicken stew doubles down on its spiciness with liberal doses of gochugaru (Korean chile powder) and gochujang (Korean chile paste) mixed with rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil in a braising sauce that packs the bone-in chicken pieces with flavor. It’s often served with carrots, onions and potatoes.

Phaal Curry, Birmingham, England (via Bangladesh)

This tomato-based British-Asian curry invented in Birmingham, England, curry houses by British Bangladeshi restaurateurs is thought to be one of the spiciest curries in the world.

“Typically the sauce has a tomato base with ginger, fennel seeds and copious amounts of chile, habanero or Scotch bonnet, peppers,” says Indian author Saurav Dutt.

As many as 10 pepper types may find their way into phaal curry, he says, including bird’s eye chiles and the bhut jolokia (also known as the ghost pepper, it’s one of the world’s hottest peppers). Even hotter than vindaloo, this dish will absolutely light your mouth up.

This classic Roman pasta dish’s name gives you an idea of what to expect. “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian. And penne all’arrabbiata pairs the relatively plain penne pasta with fiery flavors from the sauce (sugo all’arrabbiata) in which it’s slathered.

“The peperoncino (red chile pepper) is what makes this sauce ‘angry’ (arrabbiata) or spicy,” Chris MacLean of Italy-based Open Tuesday Wines said via email.

To tame the angry peppers in this garlic and tomato-based dish with a good glass of red wine, MacLean says to pair penne all’arrabbiata with a Cesanese, also from Rome’s Lazio region, with its crisp fruit and light tannins.

“A wine that’s heavy in oak or alcohol would turn up the heat (in the dish) in your mouth and render the wine tasteless,” he warns.

“There’s a saying in South India that you are lucky to ‘eat like a Chettiar,’ ” says Dutt, referring to the Tamil-speaking community in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state credited with creating this spicy dish.

“Like this chicken dish, the traditional Chettinad dishes mostly used locally sourced spices like star anise, pepper, kalpasi (stone flower) and marati mokku (dried flower pods),” he says.

The chicken pieces are simmered in a medley of roasted spices and coconut, and it is traditionally served with steamed rice or the thin South Indian pancakes called dosa, fried chapati or naan.

The fiery Ethiopian spice blend called berbere – aromatic with chile peppers, basil, cardamom, garlic and ginger – is instrumental to the flavor chorus that’s doro wat, Ethiopia’s much-loved spicy chicken stew.

Topped with boiled eggs, the dish almost always finds a place at the table during weddings, religious holidays and other special occasions and family gatherings. If you’re invited to try it in Ethiopia at such an event, consider yourself very lucky indeed.

Mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns bring the X-factor to this popular dish from China’s Sichuan province, which mixes chunks of silken tofu with ground meat (pork or beef) and a spicy fermented bean paste called doubanjiang.

Mapo tofu’s fiery red color might as well be a warning to the uninitiated – Sichuan cuisine’s defining flavor, málà, has a numbing effect on the mouth called paresthesia that people tend to love or hate.

A Portuguese-influenced dish from India’s southwestern state of Goa, vindaloo was not originally meant to be spicy, says Dutt. “It originally contained pork, potatoes (aloo) and vinegar (vin), giving you the name,” he says.

But when the dish was exported to curry houses in the United Kingdom that were mostly run by Muslim Bangladeshi chefs, Dutt says, pork was replaced with beef, chicken or lamb and the dish evolved into a spicier hot curry.

Ghost pepper flakes and Scotch bonnet peppers are among the peppers giving the dish its scorching taste. But in Goa, you can still find versions of the dish that swing more on the side of milder spices such as cinnamon and cardamom.

Senegalese cooks are also big fans of Scotch bonnet peppers, named for their resemblance to the Scottish tam o’ shanter hat. And their spice-giving goodness is deployed liberally in one of the West African country’s favorite dishes, the spicy tomato and peanut or groundnut-based stew called mafé.

Usually made with beef, lamb or chicken, the stew is made even heartier with potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables for one filling feed. Mafé is popular in other West African countries, too, including Mali and Gambia, and it can also be prepared without meat.

Synonymous with watching the Super Bowl or hunkering down on a cold night, chili is a spicy American staple where you can opt to ratchet up the heat as much as you like.

There are basically two pure forms of American chili – with or without beans (usually red kidney beans) – says Chef Julian Gonzalez of Sawmill Market in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In Texas, he explains, chili traditionally doesn’t have beans, which puts the focus on the spices and chiles used to flavor it, and he goes with that approach himself.

“Traditionally chili is seasoned with chili powder, cumin and paprika,” Gonzalez says. From there, you can use other ingredients to make your recipe unique. Adding cayenne pepper is one way to turn up the heat.

At his restaurant Red & Green, which serves New Mexican cuisine, Gonzalez’s green chile stew, made with pork and no beans, is seasoned with a mix of roasted green New Mexican hatch chiles (half mild and half with heat), onion and garlic powder.

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March 6, 2024
2011 Japan Earthquake – Tsunami Fast Facts | CNN

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CNN
—

Here’s a look at the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011.

March 11, 2011 – At 2:46 p.m., a 9.1 magnitude earthquake takes place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo at a depth of 15.2 miles.

The earthquake causes a tsunami with 30-foot waves that damage several nuclear reactors in the area.

It is the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan.

Number of people killed and missing

(Source: Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency)

The combined total of confirmed deaths and missing is more than 22,000 (nearly 20,000 deaths and 2,500 missing). Deaths were caused by the initial earthquake and tsunami and by post-disaster health conditions.

At the time of the earthquake, Japan had 54 nuclear reactors, with two under construction, and 17 power plants, which produced about 30% of Japan’s electricity (IAEA 2011).

Material damage from the earthquake and tsunami is estimated at about 25 trillion yen ($300 billion).

There are six reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, located about 65 km (40 miles) south of Sendai.

A microsievert (mSv) is an internationally recognized unit measuring radiation dosage. People are typically exposed to a total of about 1,000 microsieverts in one year.

The Japanese government estimated that the tsunami swept about five million tons of debris offshore, but that 70% sank, leaving 1.5 million tons floating in the Pacific Ocean. The debris was not considered to be radioactive.

READ MORE: Fukushima: Five years after Japan’s worst nuclear disaster

All times and dates are local Japanese time.

March 11, 2011 – At 2:46 p.m., an 8.9 magnitude earthquake takes place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo. (8.9 = original recorded magnitude; later upgraded to 9.0, then 9.1.)
– The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the US. About an hour after the quake, waves up to 30 feet high hit the Japanese coast, sweeping away vehicles, causing buildings to collapse, and severing roads and highways.
– The Japanese government declares a state of emergency for the nuclear power plant near Sendai, 180 miles from Tokyo. Sixty to seventy thousand people living nearby are ordered to evacuate to shelters.

March 12, 2011 – Overnight, a 6.2 magnitude aftershock hits the Nagano and Niigata prefectures (USGS).
– At 5:00 a.m., a nuclear emergency is declared at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Officials report the earthquake and tsunami have cut off the plant’s electrical power, and that backup generators have been disabled by the tsunami.
– Another aftershock hits the west coast of Honshu – 6.3 magnitude. (5:56 a.m.)
– The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announces that radiation near the plant’s main gate is more than eight times the normal level.
– Cooling systems at three of the four units at the Fukushima Daini plant fail prompting state of emergency declarations there.
– At least six million homes – 10% of Japan’s households – are without electricity, and a million are without water.
– The US Geological Survey says the quake appears to have moved Honshu, Japan’s main island, by eight feet and has shifted the earth on its axis.
– About 9,500 people – half the town’s population – are reported to be unaccounted for in Minamisanriku on Japan’s Pacific coast.

March 13, 2011 – People living within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the Fukushima Daini and 20 kilometers of the Fukushima Daiichi power plants begin a government-ordered evacuation. The total evacuated so far is about 185,000.
– 50,000 Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel, 190 aircraft and 25 ships are deployed to help with rescue efforts.
– A government official says a partial meltdown may be occurring at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, sparking fears of a widespread release of radioactive material. So far, three units there have experienced major problems in cooling radioactive material.

March 14, 2011 – The US Geological Survey upgrades its measure of the earthquake to magnitude 9.0 from 8.9.
– An explosion at the Daiichi plant No. 3 reactor causes a building’s wall to collapse, injuring six. The 600 residents remaining within 30 kilometers of the plant, despite an earlier evacuation order, have been ordered to stay indoors.
– The No. 2 reactor at the Daiichi plant loses its cooling capabilities. Officials quickly work to pump seawater into the reactor, as they have been doing with two other reactors at the same plant, and the situation is resolved. Workers scramble to cool down fuel rods at two other reactors at the plant – No. 1 and No. 3.
– Rolling blackouts begin in parts of Tokyo and eight prefectures. Downtown Tokyo is not included. Up to 45 million people will be affected in the rolling outages, which are scheduled to last until April.

March 15, 2011 – The third explosion at the Daiichi plant in four days damages the suppression pool of reactor No. 2. Water continues to be injected into “pressure vessels” in order to cool down radioactive material.

March 16, 2011 – The nuclear safety agency investigates the cause of a white cloud of smoke rising above the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Plans are canceled to use helicopters to pour water onto fuel rods that may have burned after a fire there, causing a spike in radiation levels. The plume is later found to have been vapor from a spent-fuel storage pool.
– In a rare address, Emperor Akihito tells the nation to not give up hope, that “we need to understand and help each other.” A televised address by a sitting emperor is an extraordinarily rare event in Japan, usually reserved for times of extreme crisis or war.
– After hydrogen explosions occur in three of the plant’s reactors (1, 2 and 3), Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says radiation levels “do not pose a direct threat to the human body” between 12 to 18 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) from the plant.

March 17, 2011 – Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tells US Congress that spent fuel rods in the No. 4 reactor have been exposed because there “is no water in the spent fuel pool,” resulting in the emission of “extremely high” levels of radiation.
– Helicopters operated by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces begin dumping tons of seawater from the Pacific Ocean on to the No. 3 reactor to reduce overheating.
– Radiation levels hit 20 millisieverts per hour at an annex building where workers have been trying to re-establish electrical power, “the highest registered (at that building) so far.” (Tokyo Electric Power Co.)

March 18, 2011 – Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency raises the threat level from 4 to 5, putting it on a par with the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The International Nuclear Events Scale says a Level 5 incident means there is a likelihood of a release of radioactive material, several deaths from radiation and severe damage to the reactor core.

April 12, 2011 – Japan’s nuclear agency raises the Fukushima Daiichi crisis from Level 5 to a Level 7 event, the highest level, signifying a “major accident.” It is now on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union, which amounts to a “major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.”

June 6, 2011 – Japan’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters reports reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced a full meltdown.

June 30, 2011 – The Japanese government recommends more evacuations of households 50 to 60 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The government said higher radiation is monitored sporadically in this area.

July 16, 2011 – Kansai Electric announces a reactor at the Ohi nuclear plant will be shut down due to problems with an emergency cooling system. This leaves only 18 of Japan’s 54 nuclear plants producing electricity.

October 31, 2011 – In response to questions about the safety of decontaminated water, Japanese government official Yasuhiro Sonoda drinks a glass of decontaminated water taken from a puddle at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

November 2, 2011 – Kyushu Electric Power Co. announces it restarted the No. 4 reactor, the first to come back online since the March 11 disaster, at the Genkai nuclear power plant in western Japan.

November 17, 2011 – Japanese authorities announce that they have halted the shipment of rice from some farms northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after finding higher-than-allowed levels of radioactive cesium.

December 5, 2011 – Tokyo Electric Power Company announces at least 45 metric tons of radioactive water have leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility and may have reached the Pacific Ocean.

December 16, 2011 – Japan’s Prime Minister says a “cold shutdown” has been achieved at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a symbolic milestone which means the plant’s crippled reactors have stayed at temperatures below the boiling point for some time.

December 26, 2011 – Investigators report poorly trained operators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant misread a key backup system and waited too long to start pumping water into the units, according to an interim report from the government committee probing the nuclear accident.

February 27, 2012 – Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, an independent fact-finding committee, releases a report claiming the Japanese government feared the nuclear disaster could lead to an evacuation of Tokyo while at the same time hiding its most alarming assessments of the nuclear disaster from the public as well as the United States.

May 24, 2012 – TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) estimates about 900,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials were released between March 12 and March 31 in 2011, more radiation than previously estimated.

June 11, 2012 – At least 1,324 Fukushima residents lodge a criminal complaint with the Fukushima prosecutor’s office, naming Tsunehisa Katsumata, the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and 32 others responsible for causing the nuclear disaster which followed the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and exposing the people of Fukushima to radiation.

June 16, 2012 – Despite public objections, the Japanese government approves restarting two nuclear reactors at the Kansai Electric Power Company in Ohi in Fukui prefecture, the first reactors scheduled to resume since all nuclear reactors were shut down in May 2012.

July 1, 2012 – Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd. (KEPCO) restarts the Ohi nuclear plant’s No. 3 reactor, resuming nuclear power production in Japan for the first time in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown following the tsunami.

July 5, 2012 – The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission’s report finds that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis was a “man-made disaster” which unfolded as a result of collusion between the facility’s operator, regulators and the government. The report also attributes the failings at the plant before and after March 11 specifically to Japanese culture.

July 23, 2012 – A Japanese government report is released criticizing TEPCO. The report says the measures taken by TEPCO to prepare for disasters were “insufficient,” and the response to the crisis “inadequate.”

October 12, 2012 – TEPCO acknowledges in a report it played down safety risks at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant out of fear that additional measures would lead to a plant shutdown and further fuel public anxiety and anti-nuclear movements.

July 2013 – TEPCO admits radioactive groundwater is leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi site, bypassing an underground barrier built to seal in the water.

August 28, 2013 – Japan’s nuclear watchdog Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) says a toxic water leak at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant has been classified as a Level 3 “serious incident” on an eight-point International Nuclear Event Scale (lINES) scale.

September 15, 2013 – Japan’s only operating nuclear reactor is shut down for maintenance. All 50 of the country’s reactors are now offline. The government hasn’t said when or if any of them will come back on.

November 18, 2013 – Tokyo Electric Power Co. says operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant have started removing 1,500 fuel rods from damaged reactor No. 4. It is considered a milestone in the estimated $50 billion cleanup operation.

February 20, 2014 – TEPCO says an estimated 100 metric tons of radioactive water has leaked from a holding tank at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

August 11, 2015 – Kyushu Electric Power Company restarts No. 1 reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima prefecture. It is the first nuclear reactor reactivated since the Fukushima disaster.

October 19, 2015 – Japan’s health ministry says a Fukushima worker has been diagnosed with leukemia. It is the first cancer diagnosis linked to the cleanup.

February 29, 2016 – Three former TEPCO executives are indicted on charges of professional negligence related to the disaster at the Fukushiima Daiichi plant.

November 22, 2016 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hits the Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures and is considered an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake. Aftershocks can sometimes occur years after the original quake.

February 2, 2017 – TEPCO reports atmospheric readings from inside nuclear reactor plant No. 2. as high as 530 sieverts per hour. This is the highest since the 2011 meltdown.

February 13, 2021 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Japan is an aftershock of the 2011 quake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

April 13, 2021 – The Japanese government announces it will start releasing more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean in two years – a plan that faces opposition at home and has raised “grave concern” in neighboring countries. The whole process is expected to take decades to complete.

September 9, 2021 – The IAEA and Japan agree on a timeline for the multi-year review of Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

February 18, 2022 – An IAEA task force makes its first visit to Japan for the safety review of its plan to discharge treated radioactive water into the sea.

July 4, 2023 – An IAEA safety review concludes that Japan’s plans to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean are consistent with IAEA Safety Standards.

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February 27, 2024
India set to be world’s third largest economy by 2027, finance ministry says

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A pedestrian speaks on a mobile phone as he watches a digital screen relaying the budget speech by Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai on February 1, 2021.

PUNIT PARANJPE | AFP via Getty Images

India could become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027 with a gross domestic product of $5 trillion, the finance ministry has said.

The projections come ahead of an interim budget due to be released later this week.

In a report released Monday, the finance ministry said the economy is poised to grow at or above 7% in the fiscal year 2024. India’s fiscal year starts on April 1 and ends on March 31.

If it meets this year’s target, it will be the third straight year of 7% GDP growth for India.

The country’s GDP currently stands at $3.7 trillion.

India’s chief economic advisor, V Anantha Nageswaran, said the government’s goal is to become a developed country by 2047.

“The robustness seen in domestic demand, namely, private consumption and investment, traces its origin to the reforms and measures implemented by the government over the last ten years,” Nageswaran said in the report, explaining the key drivers of India’s growth.

He said investment in both physical and digital infrastructure helped boost the supply side and manufacturing. As a result, “real GDP growth will likely be closer to 7 per cent” in fiscal year 2025, he added.

The document released Monday was not the Economic Survey of India, which is prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs ahead of the Union Budget.

The Union Budget will only be released after the general election between April and May this year — the interim budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, and is not likely to include any major changes to spending or tax policies.

According to Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075, leapfrogging not just Japan and Germany, but the U.S. too.

Currently, India is the world’s fifth-largest economy, behind U.S., China, Japan and Germany.

Stock market optimism

India stocks are off to a positive start this year.

The Nifty 50 index rose more than 20% in 2023 after staging record-breaking rallies last year. This month, the index breached 22,000 for the first time.

Growing optimism around the world’s most populous country’s growth prospects as well as higher liquidity and more domestic participation have been key factors in boosting the rally.

Hopes of further policy continuity have also been a driver in the rally, as India gears up for its general election between April and May.

Investors are betting that the Reserve Bank of India will cut interest rates this year, most likely in the second half — which will likely lift stock markets as well as spur higher spending in the economy.

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January 29, 2024
China is weighing measures to prop up its stock markets, could reportedly mobilize $278 billion

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A securities business hall in Fuyang, China, in December 2023.

Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

China is considering a rescue package backed by offshore money to stave off a slump in its struggling stock markets, according to Bloomberg News.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said Chinese authorities are aiming to get about 2 trillion yuan ($278 billion), primarily through offshore accounts of Chinese state-owned companies to help stabilize the market by purchasing stocks onshore through Hong Kong markets.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese policymakers have also put aside 300 billion yuan of local funds that would be used to invest into onshore shares through state-owned financial firms China Securities Finance Corp. or Central Huijin Investment Ltd.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 index slid 11.4% last year, clocking its third straight year of falls. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell nearly 14% in 2023, making it the worst performing major Asian stock market.

The Bloomberg report comes a day after Chinese Premier Li Qiang said during a state council meeting the country will be rolling out measures to stabilize its stock markets.

“We must take more powerful and effective measures to stabilize the market and confidence,” Li said, according to state media.

“It is necessary to enhance the consistency of macro policy orientations, strengthen innovation and coordination of policy tools, consolidate and enhance the positive economic recovery, and promote the stable and healthy development of the capital market.”

No further details were released at the Monday meeting, and there was no indication about how much money will be mobilized or when the measures will kick in.

China previously pointed that it has not relied on to stimulus so far.

“In promoting economic development, we did not resort to massive stimulus. We did not seek short-term growth while accumulating long-term risks,” Li said in a speech last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Rather, we focused on strengthening the internal drivers.”

Li referenced this while noting that China’s economy grew by around 5.2% in 2023. Official figures also showed 5.2% GDP growth in China last year.

Read more on Bloomberg’s report that China is considering a rescue package for its stock markets.

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January 22, 2024
2024 is the ‘year of globetrotting,’ travel expert says. Here are some of the hot spots

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Tokyo, Japan.

Matteo Colombo | DigitalVision | Getty Images

When it comes to travel abroad, popular destinations like London, Paris and Rome always seem to top the wish list for Americans.

But many travelers are looking beyond those mainstay cities for trips in 2024. Interest in major Asian hubs, off-the-beaten-path locales in Europe and other areas has surged, experts said.

“It’s clear that 2024 is shaping up to be the year of globetrotting,” Airbnb wrote last month.

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Broadly, overseas travel is hot: Searches for international flights are up 13% year-over-year, even though prices are about 10% higher, according to Steve Hafner, CEO of Kayak, a travel website.

“Americans are looking to go abroad,” Hafner said. “They’ve done the domestic stuff the last couple years.”

Here are the trending destinations for Americans in 2024.

1. Asia takes the crown again

Hong Kong

Kanchisa Thitisukthanapong | Moment | Getty Images

Americans flocked to the Asia-Pacific region in 2023 — and that love affair is poised to continue in the new year.

Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea, respectively rank as the No. 1 and 2 trending international hot spots next year among U.S.-based travelers, according to travel app Hopper.

Kayak data shows a similar trend. Its top five hot spots are in Asia: Hong Kong; Shanghai; Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan; Tokyo; and Osaka, Japan, respectively.

For example, searches for Hong Kong and Shanghai are up 355% and 216%, respectively, year-over-year, according to Kayak. (The travel site analyzed search traffic among Americans from March 16 to Sept. 15 this year, for travel planned in 2024, and compared it to the same period last year.)

Kyoto, Japan

Sw Photography | Stone | Getty Images

Japan also ranks highly among non-U.S. travelers: Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo are among the top 24 worldwide destinations next year, according to Airbnb data.

Asian nations were among the slowest to ease border closures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that they’re open again, tourists are unleashing a pent-up wanderlust, experts said.

“People couldn’t travel there, and now they are making it up,” said Sofia Markovich, a travel advisor and founder of Sofia’s Travel.

China reopened its borders in January 2023, “one of the last places” to do so, Hafner said.

Japan reopened to tourists starting in June 2022. There are other factors driving increased interest to that nation, like a historically strong U.S. dollar relative to the Japanese yen (and other currencies), which gives Americans additional buying power, and more flights from budget airlines, Hafner said.

Search traffic for Japan has more than tripled for trips during the first nine months of 2024 relative to the same period in 2023 — a larger increase than any other nation, Airbnb said.

Americans are looking to go abroad. They’ve done the domestic stuff the last couple years.

Historically, Tokyo has “hands down” been the most popular city for Americans to visit in Asia, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper. Now, demand is “even greater” than usual, she said.

Tourists may also pay a hefty premium to fly to Asia next year: “Good deal” prices for airfare to the continent is $1,204 for 2024, on average — 45% more than 2019, a much larger increase relative to other continents, according to Hopper.

2. Going off the beaten path in Europe

Stockholm, Sweden.

Leonardo Patrizi | E+ | Getty Images

Overcrowding in the traditional European hubs is driving an influx of tourists to generally less-frequented areas, experts said.

For example, Stockholm, Sweden; Budapest, Hungary; Helsinki, Finland; and Prague, Czech Republic, respectively rank seventh to 10th on Kayak’s list of trending destinations abroad.

Copenhagen, Denmark, is No. 4 on Hopper’s 2024 hot spot ranking. Prague and Edinburgh, Scotland, are No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.

“People are really discovering the off-the-beaten path places,” Markovich said. “Because your Paris and your Rome and London and Barcelona are just too crowded. And experienced travelers want to get away from that.”

She recommends “a lot” of Scandinavian travel since it’s “so unspoiled by overtourism.”

The Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Andrew Merry | Moment | Getty Images

Additionally, Finland became a member of the NATO military alliance in 2023, driving more awareness of the nation among Americans, Kayak’s Hafner said.

Cities like Budapest and Prague have always been popular but not to the extent of some European tourist magnets, Markovich said.

One of those typical magnets — Paris — is poised for an additional burst this year: The City of Light is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Demand for flights to Paris — and for nearby cities — during the Olympics has more than doubled versus this time last year, according to Hopper data.

Lower relative prices for some lesser-known spots in Europe are also likely attracting people, Berg said, especially since average flights to Europe overall are 5% more expensive in 2024 versus 2023, at $717, Hopper data shows.

3. The Atlantic tropics over the Caribbean

Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.

Faba-photograhpy | Moment | Getty Images

Although places like Cancun, Mexico, remain popular as warm-weather beach destinations, Americans are increasingly turning to Atlantic tropical vacations over the Caribbean, said Hopper’s Berg.

“This is something new this year that we started seeing emerge” and the trend “will definitely continue” in 2024, she said.

For example, Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, and Funchal, the capital of Portugal’s Madeira archipelago, ranked No. 9 and 10, respectively, on Hopper’s international trend list. Both are located off the West African coast.

People are really discovering the off-the-beaten path places.

Sofia Markovich

travel advisor

Though not on the Atlantic, Málaga, a Mediterranean port city on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain, ranked sixth on Kayak’s list. The Andalusian city gets about 300 days of sunshine a year, on average, and, according to one recent report, is the No. 1 city in the world for expats.

Search interest there is up 60% year-over-year, Kayak data shows. And that’s following a year in which Málaga was already “overrun,” Hafner said.

“I think that word has gotten out,” he said.

4. Canada’s ski mountains are having a ‘renaissance’

A ski slope at Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, Canada.

Daisuke Kishi | Moment Open | Getty Images

Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal in Canada ranked third, fifth and sixth, respectively, on Hopper’s international trend list for 2024.

Winter tourism likely plays a big role, Berg said.

“We’ve seen a real renaissance of Canadian ski destinations,” she said. “They’re rivaling a lot of European ski destinations.”

Plus, air travel to Canada is generally about a third of the price of a trip to Europe, Berg added.

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December 30, 2023
Five reasons why India stocks are rallying and could keep going

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Beautiful and colorful aerial view of Mumbai skyline during twilight seen from Currey Road, on February 16, 2022 in Mumbai, India.

Pratik Chorge | Hindustan Times | Getty Images

India’s stock markets have staged record-breaking rallies this year, making the country a favorite among its Asia-Pacific counterparts.

The Nifty 50 index has repeatedly notched fresh all-time highs, reaching yet another peak on Tuesday. The index is set for an eighth year of gains, up more than 15% year-to-date.

Optimism about India’s growth prospects, increased liquidity and greater domestic participation have all contributed to the surge in stock markets. In fact, India’s stock market value has overtaken Hong Kong’s to become the seventh largest in the world.

As of the end of November, the total market capitalization of the National Stock Exchange of India was $3.989 trillion versus Hong Kong’s $3.984 trillion, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges.

Numbers from the WFE also showed that India’s NSE saw more new stock listings than the HKEX. India’s stock market had 22 new listings vs. Hong Kong’s seven, as of November.

Here are the five reasons why India’s stock markets have reached new highs this year;

Growth prospects

India has been one of South Asia’s fastest growing economies, with expectations only building up for next year.

The world’s most populous country has grown at a consistently strong pace this year, with the most recent reading on third-quarter GDP showing a much higher-than-expected growth rate of 7.6%.

Bets on India driving growth in Asia have also been rising. S&P Global predicted India’s GDP for the fiscal year ending March 2024 hit 6.4%, more than its earlier forecast of 6%.

Strong earnings

The Indian stock market has also shown sound fundamentals and robust earnings, which are expected to grow through 2024.

HSBC forecasts earnings growth of 17.8% for India in 2024 — among the fastest rates in Asia. Sectors such as banks, health care and energy, which have already done well this year are best positioned for 2024, according to HSBC.

Sectors such as autos, retailers, real estate and telecoms were also relatively well positioned for 2024, while fast-moving consumer goods, utilities and chemicals are among those HSBC said were unfavorable.

Domestic participation

There has also been an uptick in domestic participation in Indian stock markets this year, especially in high-growth areas, according to research by HSBC.

“While foreign investors tend to be active in large caps, it is local investors that dominate the small and mid-cap space, which partly explains the outperformance – fund flows into midcap-small schemes of domestic MFs (i.e. mutual funds with a mandate to invest in small/midcaps) have been disproportionately high,” HSBC noted.

It also expects this trend to continue into the next year.

Rate cuts are coming

The Reserve Bank of India held its main lending rate steady at 6.5% last Friday and said its expects the country to grow at a pace of 7% this year. The central bank did warn that inflation, even as it continues to cool, still remains above its target as underlying price pressures were stubborn.

That, however, does not mean market players aren’t expecting rate cuts next year.

“We expect the policy pause to be extended for now and expect 100bp (basis points) of cumulative rate cuts starting from August 2024,” analysts at Nomura wrote in a client note.

Lower lending rates often boost liquidity and boost more risk-taking sentiment in stock markets.

Policy continuity

As India gears up for a big election year in 2024, markets remain optimistic on further policy continuity.

Analysts predict it could be another victory for the ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, with recent polls and recent state elections showing the right-wing BJP could retain power.

“The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outdid its national and regional rivals at the recently held state elections. This strong run fed expectations of political stability at the upcoming general elections in April/May24, addressing earlier concerns that a weak showing at the state polls might have stoked a fiscally populist agenda in the coming months,” DBS senior economist Radhika Rao said in a client note.

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December 13, 2023
India overtakes Hong Kong to become the world's seventh largest stock market

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Pedestrians walk towards the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station at dusk in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

India’s stock market value has overtaken Hong Kong’s to become the seventh largest in the world as optimism about the country’s economic prospects grow.

As of the end of November, the total market capitalization of the National Stock Exchange of India was $3.989 trillion versus Hong Kong’s $3.984 trillion, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges.

India’s Nifty 50 index reached another record high on Monday. It has jumped nearly 16% so far this year and is headed for its eighth straight year of gains. In contrast, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index has plunged 18% year to date.

India has been a standout market this year in the Asia-Pacific region. Increased liquidity, more domestic participation and improving dynamics in the global macro environment in the form of falling U.S. Treasury yields have all boosted the country’s stock markets.

The world’s most populous country also heads into general elections next year, which analysts predict could be another victory for the ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

“For the general election, opinion polls and recent state elections indicate that the incumbent BJP-led government may secure a decisive win, which could trigger a bull run in the first three to four months of the year on expectations of policy continuity,” HSBC strategists said in a client note.

HSBC said banks, health care and energy are the best positioned sectors for next year.

Sectors such as autos, retailers, real estate and telecoms are also relatively well positioned for 2024, while fast-moving consumer goods, utilities and chemicals are among those HSBC categorized as unfavorable.

Hong Kong lags

In early November, the Hong Kong government said it expects the economy to grow 3.2% in 2023, trimming its GDP growth outlook from the 4% to 5% forecast in August.

The city’s government has warned that increasing geopolitical tensions and tight financial conditions continue to weigh on investments, exports of goods and consumption sentiment. Consumer confidence has also suffered in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong’s economy is poised for a soft landing in 2024 as annual real GDP growth moderates to around 2% from 2023’s 3.5%,” said economists at DBS.

“Central to this recovery is mainland tourism revival, fortifying retail and catering sectors.”

China has set a growth target of 5% for 2023. Its third quarter-GDP came in at 4.9%, lifting hopes that the world’s second-largest economy will meet or even exceed expectations.

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December 11, 2023
China’s Colossal Hidden-Debt Problem Is Coming to a Head

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China’s Colossal Hidden-Debt Problem Is Coming to a Head

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December 5, 2023
Hu Jintao Fast Facts | CNN

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CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of Hu Jintao, former president of the People’s Republic of China.

Birth date: December 21, 1942

Birth place: Jixi, Anhui Province, China

Birth name: Hu Jintao

Father: Hu Jingzhi, a merchant

Mother: Li Wenrui

Marriage: Liu Yongqing

Children: Hu Haifeng; Hu Haiqing

Education: Tsinghua University, 1964

Is the first Chinese leader to start his political career after the 1949 Communist revolution.

1964 – Joins the Communist Party of China (CPC).

1964-1965 – Postgraduate and political instructor at Tsinghua University in the Water Conservancy Engineering Department.

1965-1968 – Works in research and development (R&D) and as a political instructor at Tsinghua University in the Water Conservancy Engineering Department.

1968-1974 – Works for the Ministry of Water Conservancy, post-Cultural Revolution.

1974-1982 – Works for the Gansu Provincial Construction Committee in several positions, eventually becoming vice chairman.

1982-1985 – Works for the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, eventually becoming its leader.

1985-1988 – Rises to Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee.

1987-1992 – Member of the 13th CPC Central Committee.

1988-1992 – Secretary of the Party Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region.

1989 – Uses the Chinese military to stamp out Tibetan protests against China’s rule.

1992-1997 – Member of the 14th CPC Central Committee, the Politburo and the Standing Committee.

1993-2002 – President CPC, Central Committee’s Central Party School.

1997-2002 – Member of the 15th CPC Central Committee, the Politburo, the Standing Committee and later the Secretariat. Also becomes vice chairman of the 15th CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission.

1998-2003 – Vice president of the People’s Republic of China.

1999-2002 – Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

2002 – Becomes a member of the 16th CPC Central Committee, the Politburo and the Standing Committee. Later becomes General Secretary of the 16th CPC Central Committee.

2002-2004 – Vice chairman 16th CPC Central Committee and Central Military Commission.

2002-2005 – Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

November 2002 – Succeeds Jiang Zemin as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

March 15, 2003 – Elected president of the People’s Republic of China.

September 19, 2004 – Chairman of the 16th CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission.

March 13, 2005 – Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

April 2006 – Makes first state visit to the United States; meets with US President George W. Bush to discuss trade and North Korea.

January 30-February 10, 2007 – Makes an eight-nation tour through Africa. During the trip, Hu negotiates more than $1 billion of trade deals, loans and debt cancellations with countries such as Liberia, Sudan and South Africa.

May 7, 2008 – Makes the first visit to Japan by a Chinese leader in 10 years.

November 18-19, 2008 – Hu makes a two-day visit to Cuba. He meets with former President Fidel Castro and promises that China will provide Cuba with $78 million in donations and credit.

April 1, 2009 – Meets US President Barack Obama for the first time during economic summit in London.

January 18-21, 2011 – Travels to the United States for a four-day visit. The visit includes a state dinner at the White House.

November 15, 2012 – Steps down as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

March 14, 2013 – Formally steps down as president of the People’s Republic of China.

October 22, 2022 – At a key Communist Party Congress, Hu is repeatedly prevented from looking at official documents in front of him. Following a series of exchanges between senior party leaders, he is then escorted out. As Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to begin a norm-breaking third term, Chinese state media on Twitter claim that Hu’s removal is due to ill-health.

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December 4, 2023
The Cost of Doing Business With China? A $40,000 Dinner With Xi Jinping Might Be Just the Start

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Updated Nov. 28, 2023 12:54 am ET

Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan shelled out $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinping’s table for the Chinese leader’s recent dinner in San Francisco with the heads of American businesses. Tan had a lot more at stake—a $69 billion deal he was waiting on China to approve.

For months, Chinese regulators wouldn’t clear the U.S. chipmaker’s bid to buy enterprise software developer VMware, leading Broadcom to put off its date for completion of the deal—first announced in May 2022—three times. Beijing had held up previous mergers involving U.S. companies. Intel’s planned acquisition of Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor, for more than $5 billion, was scuttled in August after Chinese regulators failed to approve it.

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November 27, 2023
How Starbucks Lost the Top Spot in China’s Coffee Race

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Starbucks is losing its prime spot among chains racing to meet China’s growing thirst for coffee.

Luckin Coffee has surpassed Starbucks as China’s biggest coffee chain by sales and units, company reports show, a comeback for the Chinese company after an accounting scandal that stalled its growth.

Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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November 18, 2023
China is using the world’s largest known online disinformation operation to harass Americans, a CNN review finds | CNN

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CNN
—

The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found.

The onslaught of attacks – often of a vile and deeply personal nature – is part of a well-organized, increasingly brazen Chinese government intimidation campaign targeting people in the United States, documents show.

The US State Department says the tactics are part of a broader multi-billion-dollar effort to shape the world’s information environment and silence critics of Beijing that has expanded under President Xi Jinping. On Wednesday, President Biden is due to meet Xi at a summit in San Francisco.

Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. They say it’s all part of an effort to drive them into a state of constant fear and paranoia.

Often, these victims don’t know where to turn. Some have spoken to law enforcement, including the FBI – but little has been done. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day.

Known as “Spamouflage” or “Dragonbridge,” the network’s hundreds of thousands of accounts spread across every major social media platform have not only harassed Americans who have criticized the Chinese Communist Party, but have also sought to discredit US politicians, disparage American companies at odds with China’s interests and hijack online conversations around the globe that could portray the CCP in a negative light.

Private researchers have tracked the network since its discovery more than four years ago, but only in recent months have federal prosecutors and Facebook’s parent company Meta publicly concluded that the operation has ties to Chinese police.

Meta announced in August it had taken down a cluster of nearly 8,000 accounts attributed to this group in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Google, which owns YouTube, told CNN it had shut down more than 100,000 associated accounts in recent years, while X, formerly known as Twitter, has blocked hundreds of thousands of China “state-backed” or “state-linked” accounts, according to company blogs.

Still, given the relatively low cost of such operations, experts who monitor disinformation warn the Chinese government will continue to use these tactics to try to bend online discussions closer to the CCP’s preferred narrative, which frequently entails trying to undermine the US and democratic values.

“We might think that this is confined to certain chatrooms, or this platform or that platform, but it’s expanding across the board,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, told CNN. “And it’s only a matter of time before it happens to that average American citizen who doesn’t think it’s their problem right now.”

When trolls disrupted an anti-communism Zoom event organized by New York-based activist Chen Pokong in January 2021, he had little doubt who was responsible. The trolls mocked participants and threatened that one victim would “die miserably.” Their conduct reminded Chen of repression by the government of China, where he spent nearly five years in prison for pro-democracy work.

But his suspicions about who was behind the interruption were solidified when the US Department of Justice charged more than 30 Chinese officials earlier this year with running a sprawling disinformation operation that had targeted dissidents in the US, including those in the Zoom meeting Chen says he hosted in 2021.

It was just one of multiple indictments the Justice Department unsealed in April exposing alleged Chinese government plots to target its perceived critics and enemies, while impugning the sovereignty of the United States. Two alleged Chinese operatives were charged with running an “undeclared police station” in New York City. Last year, another indictment outlined how Chinese agents allegedly tried to derail the congressional campaign of a Chinese dissident.

“They want to deprive my freedom of speech, so I feel like it’s not only an attack on me,” said Chen, who was ejected from his own meeting during the disruption. “They also attack America.”

The DOJ complaint named 34 individual officers with China’s Ministry of Public Security and published photographs of them at computers, allegedly working on the disinformation campaign known as the “912 Special Project Working Group.” The operation, primarily based in Beijing, appears to involve “hundreds” of MPS officers across the country, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

The complaint does not refer to the cluster of fake accounts as “Spamouflage,” but private researchers and a spokesperson for Meta told CNN that the social media activity described by the DOJ is part of that network. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states.

When asked about Spamouflage’s reported links to Chinese law enforcement, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, denied the allegations.

“China always respects the sovereignty of other countries. The US accusation has no factual evidence or legal basis. It is entirely politically motivated. China firmly opposes it,” Liu said in a statement to CNN. He claimed that the US “invented the weaponizing of the global information space.”

A report released by Meta in August illustrates how the posts from the network often align with the workday hours in China. The report described “bursts of activity in the mid-morning and early afternoon, Beijing time, with breaks for lunch and supper, and then a final burst of activity in the evening.”

And while Meta detected posts from various regions in China, the company and other researchers have found centralized coordination that relentlessly pushed identical messages across multiple social media platforms, sometimes repeatedly insulting the same individuals who have questioned the Chinese government.

One of those individuals is Jiayang Fan, a journalist for The New Yorker who told CNN she began facing harassment by the network when she covered pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

Attacks directed at Fan – which ranged from cartoons of her painting her face white as though rejecting her identity to accusations that she killed her mother for profit – carry telltale signs of the Spamouflage network, said Darren Linvill of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University. Linvill’s group found more than 12,000 tweets attacking Fan using the same hashtag, #TraitorJiayangFan.

Although she hasn’t lived in China since she was a child, Fan believes such messages have been levelled against her to spark fear and silence others.

“This is part of a very old Chinese Communist Party playbook to intimidate offenders and aspiring offenders,” said Fan, who questioned what her distant relatives in China may think when they see such content. “It is uncomfortable for me to know that they are seeing these portrayals of me and have no idea what to believe.”

Experts who track online influence campaigns say there are signs of a shift in China’s strategy in recent years. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China. However, more recently, accounts tied to the group have been stoking controversy around global issues, including developments in the United States.

Spamouflage accounts – some of which posed as Texas residents – called for protests of plans to build a rare-earths processing facility in Texas and spread negative messages about a separate US manufacturing company, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Mandiant last year. The report also described how the campaign promoted negative content about the Biden administration’s efforts to hasten mineral production that would curb US reliance on China.

Other posts by the network have referenced how “racism is an indelible shame on American democracy” and how the US committed “cultural genocide against the Indians,” according to a Meta report in August. Another post claimed that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “riddled with scandals.”

Spamouflage is “evolving in tactics. It’s evolving in themes.”

Ben Nimmo, global lead for threat intelligence at Meta

Chinese government-linked accounts have also posted messages that included a call to “kill” President Biden, a cartoon featuring the so-called QAnon Shaman who rioted at the US Capitol as a symbol of “western style democracy,” and a post that suggested US defense contractors profit off the deaths of innocent people, according to a Department of Homeland Security report in April obtained through a records request.

The DOJ complaint filed against Chinese officials alleged that last year they sought to take advantage of the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death and post on social media about his murder to “reveal the law enforcement brutality” in the US. They also received a task to “work on 2022 US midterm elections and criticize American democracy.”

Spamouflage is “evolving in tactics. It’s evolving in themes,” said Ben Nimmo, the global lead for threat intelligence at Meta. “Our job is to keep on raising our defenses and keep on telling people about it, especially as we get closer to the election year.”

Yet as social media companies race to stop disinformation and the US government files complaints against those allegedly responsible, accountability can be elusive.

“This is the rub with a lot of cybercrimes, that it becomes very, very difficult to actually put the perpetrators in jail,” said Lindsay Gorman, the head of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy.

But, Gorman added, that doesn’t mean there are no consequences for China.

“Even if individuals have a degree of impunity because they are never planning on coming to the United States anyway, that doesn’t mean that the party operation has impunity here – certainly not in terms of public opinion, certainly not in terms of US-China relations,” she said.

Meta, Google, and other companies that have published reports outing Spamouflage stress that most of the social media accounts within the network receive little or no engagement, meaning they rarely go viral.

But Linvill of Clemson University argues that the network uses a unique strategy of “flooding” conversations with so many comments that posts from genuine users receive less attention. This includes posting on platforms typically not associated with disinformation, such as Pinterest.

“They are operating thousands of accounts at a time on a given platform, often to drown out conversations, just with sheer volume of messaging,” Linvill said. “When we think of disinformation, we often think of pushing ideas on users and making ideas more salient, whereas what China is doing is the opposite. They are trying to remove conversations from social media.”

When Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, for example, human rights groups began promoting the hashtag #GenocideGames to bring attention to accusations that China has detained more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps.

But then something surprising happened. Accounts that Linvill and his colleagues believed were part of Spamouflage started tweeting the hashtag too.

It might be counterintuitive for a pro-Chinese government group to start spreading a hashtag that brought attention to the Chinese government’s human rights’ abuses, Linvill explained. But by using the hashtag repeatedly in tweets that had nothing to do with the issue itself, Spamouflage was able to reduce views on the legitimate messages.

Jiajun Qiu, whose academic work focused on elections and who fled China in 2016, showed CNN what happens when he types his name into X, formerly known as Twitter. There are sometimes dozens of accounts pretending to be him by using his name and photo.

They are designed by the operators of Spamouflage, Linvill explained, to confuse people and prevent them from finding Qiu’s real account by muddying the waters.

Now living in Virginia, Qiu runs a pro-democracy YouTube channel and has faced an onslaught of homophobic, racist and bizarre insults from social media accounts that Linvill’s team and others have tied to Spamouflage.

Some accounts have posted cartoons that convey Qiu as an insect working on behalf of the US government. Another image depicts him being stomped by a cartoon Jesus. Yet another paints him as a dog on the leash of an American rat.

“I tell people the truth, so they want to do anything possible to insult me,” Qiu said.

Linvill and his team have tracked hundreds of these cartoons across the internet, and said they are a “tell” of Spamouflage. Cartoons, Linvill explained, can be more effective than text because they are “eye-catching” and “you have to stop and look at it.” In addition, these original cartoons can easily be translated into hundreds of languages at a very low cost.

Beyond the online smears, Qiu says he has also faced threats via other online messages and escalatory calls from unidentified sources who he believes have ties to the Chinese government. One anonymous message told him he would be arrested and brought to justice for breaking Chinese law. An email referenced the church he attends in Manassas, Virginia and said, “for his own safety and that of the worshippers, he would do well to find another place to stay.”

Qiu told CNN that the FBI has interviewed him four times regarding these threats, and that he has been instructed to contact local police if he is ever followed.

“Every day I live in a sense of fear,” Qiu said.

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November 13, 2023
China’s consumer prices swing to declines in October

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An employee works on the assembly line of LED lighting products in China.

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

China’s consumer prices fell in October, as the world’s second-largest economy struggled with an uneven post-Covid recovery.

Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed October consumer price index shrank 0.2% year-on-year, more than the 0.1% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters.

This comes after China’s CPI was unexpectedly flat in September, highlighting the need for further policy support.

Producer prices declined 2.6%, slightly smaller than an expected decline of 2.7% and has been in negative territory for the 13th straight month. China’s PPI was at 2.5% in September, showing factory deflationary pressures remained.

“China is still in a deflationary environment. The domestic demand remains sluggish,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.

Beijing has provided targeted policy support even as recent data suggested growth has remained sluggish. Further hurting consumer confidence is an ongoing debt crisis in two of China’s largest real estate developers. China’s property sector makes up about 30% of its economy.

“With the budget deficit rising and the property developers potentially gaining support from the government, domestic demand will likely improve next year,” Zhang said.

Investors will now be tracking this year’s Singles Day shopping festival, which ends on Nov. 11, to gauge the strength of Chinese consumption.

But excitement about the shopping festival has waned.

“I think this year’s Singles Day sale has not been living up to expectations,” Hao Hong, partner and chief economist at Grow Investment Group told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

“Ever since last year, people have stopped spending a lot of money on the Singles Day sale, so it is going to be a muted sales year,” Hong said.

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November 8, 2023
Singapore’s largest bank DBS beats forecast, quarterly profit jumps 17%

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DBS branch in Hong Kong.

Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images, LightRocket | Getty Images

Southeast Asia’s largest lender DBS Group reported a 17% jump in third-quarter profit on Monday, benefiting from a high-interest rate environment.

During the quarter, net profit rose to 2.63 billion Singaporean dollars ($1.94 billion) compared to SG$2.24 billion a year ago.

It was higher that analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG, which predicted a quarterly profit estimate of SG$2.5 billion for the July to September quarter.

The Singapore bank also declared a dividend of 48 Singapore cents for each ordinary share for the third quarter.

Shares of the company rose 0.75%.

Net interest margin, a measure of lending profitability, was at 2.19% in the third quarter, higher than 1.90% during the same period a year ago.

“We achieved record income in the third quarter as net interest margin continued to expand and growth in commercial book non-interest income was sustained,” said Piyush Gupta, chief executive officer of DBS.

“As we enter the coming year, higher-for-longer interest rates will be a net benefit to earnings, while our solid balance sheet with ample liquidity, prudent general allowance reserves and healthy capital ratios will provide us with strong buffers against macro uncertainties,” Gupta added.

DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, was second to report among the country’s top lenders.

Smaller rival United Overseas Bank posted a 1% drop in third-quarter net profit in October, missing analysts’ expectations.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation is set to report quarterly results on Nov. 10.

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November 5, 2023
This city never slept. But with China tightening its grip, is the party over? | CNN Business

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Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world.

Hong Kong
CNN
—

As the scattered patrons hop from one deserted bar to the next, it’s hard to believe the near-empty streets they are zigzagging down were once among the most vibrant in Asia.

It is Thursday evening, a normally busy night, but there are no crowds for them to weave through, no revelers spilling onto the pavements and no need for them to wait to be seated. At some of the stops on this muted bar crawl, they are the only ones in the room.

It wasn’t always this way. It might seem unlikely from this recent snapshot, but Hong Kong was once a leading light in Asia’s nightlife scene, a famously freewheeling neon-lit city that never slept, where East met West and crowds would spill from the bars throughout the night and long into the morning – even on a weekday.

Such images were beamed around the world in 1997, when Britain handed over sovereignty of its prized former colony to China, and locals and visitors alike welcomed in the new era with a 12-hour rave featuring Boy George, Grace Jones, Pete Tong and Paul Oakenfold.

China’s message at the time was that even if change was coming to Hong Kong, its spirit of “anything goes” would be staying put. The city was promised a high degree of autonomy for the next 50 years and assured that its Western ways could continue. Or, as China’s then leader Deng Xiaoping put it: “Horses will still run, stocks will still sizzle and dancers will still dance.”

And for long after the British departed, the dancing did indeed continue. Hong Kong retained not only the spirit of capitalism, but many other freedoms unknown in the rest of China – not just the gambling on horse races that Deng alluded to, but political freedoms of the press, speech and the right to protest. Even calls for greater democracy were tolerated – at least, for a time.

But little more than halfway into those 50 years, Deng’s promise now rings hollow to many. Spasms of mass protests – against “patriotic education” legislation in 2012, the Occupy Central movement in 2014 and pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 – led China to restrict civil liberties with a sweeping National Security Law. Hundreds of pro-democracy figures have since been jailed and tens of thousands of residents have headed for the exits.

That crackdown and Hong Kong’s fading freedoms have been well-documented, but it is only more recently that a less-reported knock-on effect of China’s crackdown has started to emerge: In the streets and the bars, the trendy clubs and Michelin-starred restaurants, the city that never slept has begun to doze.

Nightlife in the city has become a pale shadow of its heyday as a regional rest and relaxation magnet, when its reputation rested on it being easier to navigate than Japan, less boring than Singapore and freer than mainland China.

Now, apparently in tandem with the diminishing political freedoms, business in the city’s once-thriving bars is drying up. And while some argue over whether politics or Covid is at fault, few dispute that something needs to be done.

Bars earned about $88.9 million in the first half of 2023, 18% less than the $108.5 million brought in during the same period in 2019, according to official data.

In an effort to arrest the decline, the Hong Kong government has launched a “Night Vibes” campaign featuring bazaars at three waterfront areas, splurged millions on a recent fireworks show to celebrate China’s National Day and reintroduced a dragon dance, lit by incense sticks, in its neighborhood of Tai Hang.

Those efforts have attracted a mixture of criticism and mockery – with many pointing out the irony of the campaign’s opening ceremony featuring two white lions, a color associated in Chinese culture with funerals. Meanwhile, the bazaars have been interrupted by a mix of typhoons and security concerns over the use of fireworks.

Still, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee insists the events are a success, saying at least 100,000 people have checked out the bazaars and that 460,000 tourists from mainland China visited for National Day. And the white lions? Officials say they were “fluorescent.”

A Hong Kong government spokesman told CNN this week that the activities were “well-received by local residents and tourists”. A recent Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival brought in 140,000 patrons and shopping malls supporting the Night Vibes campaign said they had seen “growth in visitor flow and turnover,” he added.

There are some who point the finger solely at Covid.

“It’s obvious that it’s worse than before. This is the side effect of Covid, which has changed the way of life,” said Gary Ng, an economist with French investment bank Natixis.

And few would dispute that Covid took its toll. During the pandemic, Hong Kong made a virtue of cleaving closely to a mainland Chinese-style zero-tolerance approach that, though not quite as draconian, was still extreme enough to send large numbers of expatriates heading for the exit, with many of them decamping to rival Asian cities like Singapore, Thailand and Japan.

Hong Kong, where incoming travelers faced weeks in quarantine and restaurant tables were limited to two customers, was suddenly the boring one and Singapore – in a telling comparison – the more lively.

Under Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions, live music was all but banned in small venues for more than 650 days.

But others say Hong Kong is in denial and that its nightlife problems go much deeper than the pandemic. Other places have recovered, they say, why not Hong Kong?

These observers note the city’s response to Covid should itself be seen through the lens of the city’s ever disappearing freedoms.

Months before the virus emerged, China had been tightening its grip on Hong Kong in response to pro-democracy protests that had spread throughout the city.

It introduced restrictions on freedoms – such as of expression and of the press – which were supposedly guaranteed at the time of the handover.

Songs and slogans perceived as linked to the protests were outlawed, memories of past protests scrubbed from the internet, sensitive films censored and newspaper editors charged with sedition and colluding with foreign forces.

The government has maintained that legal enforcement is necessary for Hong Kong to restore stability and prosperity and stop what China says is “foreign forces” from meddling in the city.

“We strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected those groundless attacks, slanders and smears against the HKSAR on the protection of such fundamental rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,” a spokesman said, referring to Hong Kong’s official name, in a reply to CNN.

But, the critics hit back, none of that lends itself to an atmosphere where people will want to sit back, relax and shoot the breeze.

“People may feel like they have to self-censor when having a chat at restaurants or bars because, who knows who may be listening. They may as well stay home for the same chat where they feel safe,” said Benson Wong, one of the hundreds of thousands who have left Hong Kong.

Wong, a former associate professor who specialized in local politics, said he used to enjoy eating out at dai pai dongs – open-air stalls selling Cantonese classics and (usually) plenty of beer – where patrons once talked freely about everything from celebrity gossip to politics.

Now though, he said, “one won’t feel happy if they have to watch everything they say.”

Whether it was Covid or the crackdown, or some combination of the two, an exodus of middle-class Hong Kongers and affluent expats has taken place in recent years.

Last year, the city saw a net outflow of 60,000 residents, its third drop in as many years, taking the number of usual residents down to 7.19 million as of the end of 2022 — a drop of almost 144,000 from the end of 2020.

Tens of thousands of them are Hong Kongers who have taken up special visas and pathways to citizenship offered by Western countries such as Britain, Canada and Australia in the wake of China’s crackdown.

But there has also been a steady drip of departures from the expat population that, like a post-colonial hangover, had remained in the city long after Britain’s departure. They were largely professionals in finance and law with a reputation for working hard and partying even harder, regardless of the politics.

Local media is now awash with reports of banking and law firms relocating their offices, in part or full, to rival financial hubs such as the no-longer-boring Singapore.

Unfortunately for bar and restaurant owners, the two demographics leaving are among their biggest customers.

“The expats have relocated, as well as [Hong Kongers] with a higher income. Their departure of course will have an impact,” said Ng, from Natixis.

Increasingly, these two groups are being replaced by people from mainland China, who now account for more than 70% of the 103,000 work or graduate visas granted since 2022, according to the Immigration Department. The newly dominant migrants, economists point out, tend to have very different spending habits.

Yan Wai-hin, an economics lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the city’s previously robust nightlife was propped up largely by a base of expats and middle-class locals steeped in the time-honored drinking culture of enjoying a nice cold one after a long day.

“The makeup of the population is different now,” Yan said. “Now we have more immigrants from the mainland, and they tend to love to go back to mainland China to spend instead.”

At Hong Kong’s most famous nightlife district, Lan Kwai Fong, the music may be fading, but it hasn’t stopped completely.

The area was long synonymous with jam-packed streets of revelers who would spill out from the bars as the air filled with the sounds of boisterous chatter, clinking glasses and dance music blasting away late into the night.

But during a recent visit by CNN, there was little to distinguish the area from any other street.

“It has been very challenging so far and it has not got back to normal by a long shot,” said Richard Feldman, who runs the gay bar Petticoat Lane at the California Tower in Lan Kwai Fong.

The chairman of the Soho Association, who has been running businesses in the city for more than three decades, Feldman said business was slightly better between Friday and Saturday than weekdays and shops with a good reputation have been less affected.

But across the board, he too said the number of Western faces were dwindling in what was once a favored expat haunt.

“It was a mix of expats and local professionals who would go out for drinks and a late night dance. But that demographic has eased quite a bit in the past year,” said another bar owner Becky Lam. “We are getting more mainland customers.”

Lam, joint founder of a number of Hong Kong bars and restaurants, including wine bar Shady Acres in Central, said while mainland Chinese were willing to spend, they tended to gravitate towards restaurants rather than bars and were less likely to stay out late.

On a weekday, she said, the bars she runs have been getting only half of the customers compared to pre-pandemic days.

“They’ll settle for the Happy Hours and that’s it. We are not talking about 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.,” she said.

There are other problems gnawing away at the nightlife sector.

“People’s habits have changed since Covid, as many are so used to staying at home watching TV and Netflix,” Feldman said.

During the pandemic, Hong Kong imposed a lengthy ban on bars and dine-in services to stem social gatherings, in what many saw as a nod to mainland China’s “zero-Covid” strategy.

This affected shops and malls, which shortened their business hours due to the lack of customers. In many cases, those shortened hours have now become the new normal, with some shops now closing as early as 9 p.m. as opposed to the pre-Covid standard of 10:30 p.m.

Also conspiring against the city’s nightlife is a strong Hong Kong dollar compared to the Chinese yuan, which affects how both Hong Kongers and potential tourists spend their money.

“People from the mainland are less likely to come here to shop, while people in Hong Kong are going to Shenzhen to spend their money,” said Marco Chan, head of research at real estate and investment firm CBRE.

While mainland tourists now think twice about coming to Hong Kong, many Hongkongers have been spending their weekends in mainland China, where many services come at a fraction of the price, Chan said.

Known as the “Godfather of Lan Kwai Fong,” Allan Zeman – the entrepreneur who turned the small square in Hong Kong’s Central district into a renowned nightlife hub – cuts a more optimistic figure than most and insists business is not as bad as it appears.

He estimates mainland Chinese customers now account for 35% of the patrons in Lan Kwai Fong and says they are big spenders.

“They’ll go up to a club, like the California Tower on the roof, and they’ll spend like 400,000 to 550,000 Hong Kong dollars ($51,000 to $70,000) just for drinks,” he said.

His take is that it is Hong Kong’s strong currency and a relative lack of incoming flights compared to the pre-Covid era that are stalling the city’s comeback. “I think it’s temporary,” he said.

But bar owner Lam said Hong Kong needs to reexamine its regulatory approach, if it is to thrive at night once more.

Lam pointed to a drive in recent years by the authorities to remove the city’s famous neon lights in the name of safety as an example of the current misguided approach, saying Hong Kong’s most defining nighttime icons were being dismantled one sign at a time.

She also said her bar, Shady Acres, had been told to serve customers only indoors and shut all doors and windows after 9 p.m. as part of its licensing requirement.

“These kinds of hurdles are really big in Hong Kong,” Lam said. “But I look at our neighboring cities like Bangkok, Shanghai and Taipei. These cities have an exciting nightlife as they really make it late night fun with music, street art and late night dining.”

Feldman, of Petticoat Lane, had another suggestion. “Hong Kong used to be a far more international destination. Now it is a domestic destination,” he said.

The city, said Feldman, should “do everything it can to attract people not only from China but from all over the world.”

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November 3, 2023
Why teachers in South Korea are scared of their pupils — and their parents | CNN

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Editor’s Note: Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the 988 Lifeline website.

Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—

When fighting broke out in Kang Hyeon-joo’s elementary school classroom, her heart would beat so fast she could not breathe and her vision would blur.

“They were throwing punches and kicking faces, throwing chairs and tables around,” she recalled, adding she had been hurt trying to intervene.

For two years, Kang struggled to discipline her students – or cope with the parental backlash when she did. She claims her principal did nothing to help and would tell her simply to “just take a week off”.

The strain took a dangerous toll. Kang says she started feeling the urge to jump in front of a bus. “If I just jumped at least, I would feel some relief. If I just jumped off a tall building, that would at least give me some peace.”

Kang is currently on sick leave but is far from alone in her experiences.

Tens of thousands of teachers have been protesting in recent months, calling for more protection from students and parents. At one protest in Seoul last month, 200,000 gathered, according to organizers, forcing the government to take notice and action.

The unified stand by the country’s teaching staff comes after the suicide of a first-grade teacher, in her early 20s, in July. She was found dead in her classroom in Seoul. Police have mentioned a problematic student and parental pressure while discussing her case, but have not given a definitive reason for her suicide.

Several more teachers have taken their own lives since July and some of these cases have reportedly been linked to school stress, according to colleagues of the deceased and bereaved families.

Government data shows 100 public school teachers killed themselves from January 2018 to June 2023, 11 of them in the first six months of this year, but does not specify what factors contributed to their deaths.

Sung Youl-kwan, a professor of education at Kyung Hee University, says the speed and size of the protests took many by surprise. “I think there has been like a shared feeling that this can happen to me too,” he said.

Teachers point to a 2014 child abuse law, intended to protect children, as one of the main reasons they feel unable to discipline students. They say they are fearful of being sued by a small percentage of parents for causing emotional distress to their child and being dragged through the courts.

“School is the last barrier to let students know what is okay in society and what is not. But we couldn’t do anything, if we teach them, we could be accused,” said Ahn Ji-hye, an elementary school teacher who helped organize previous protests.

Ahn says parents have called her mobile phone some days from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., wanting to talk about their child or complain.

South Korea’s education minister Lee Ju-ho initially warned teachers that a mass strike would be an illegal act. That position was swiftly reversed, and a set of legal revisions passed the National Assembly on September 21, a fast piece of legislation.

One of the key changes is providing teachers some protection from being sued for child abuse if their discipline is considered a legitimate educational activity. Also, the responsibility for handling school complaints and lawsuits brought by parents now rests with the principal.

“So far we have a culture where the school principal tended to pass those responsibilities to teachers,” said Professor Sung.

The new law will also protect teachers’ personal information, such as their mobile phone numbers, and require parents to contact the school with concerns or complaints rather than the teacher directly.

In the past, Ahn said, “If I could not give my personal phone number to them, sometimes some parents would come to the parking lot and watch and see and take a note of my phone number from my car, then they would text message me.” It is customary for Koreans to display their phone number in the bottom corner of their windscreen.

Ahn welcomes the legal changes as “meaningful,” but insists higher-level laws like the Child Welfare Act and Child Abuse Punishment Act also need to be revised. “It is still possible to report teachers based on suspicion alone according to these laws,” she said.

She says that, for now at least, the protests will continue.

One is planned for outside the National Assembly on October 28. Ahn says she would like to see penalties for parents who make unfounded accusations against teachers or practical measures put in place so that mandated changes can be adopted in classrooms, such as removing a disruptive student elsewhere to allow teaching to continue.

Professor Sung believes the revisions will help in the short term, but cautions that the law should be seen as a safety net not a solution.

Critics say South Korean society places a disproportionate level of importance on academic success so it should not be surprising that parents put teachers – and the wider education system – under so much pressure.

It is the norm for students to attend a cram school, called hagwon, after their regular school hours, not as an extra but as a basic and expensive requirement to succeed.

On the day of the national college entrance exam, known as Suneung in Korean, airplanes are grounded, and commuting hours are adjusted to ensure that students taking the exams are not disturbed.

“We have a culture in which parents have usually one child and they are ready to pour every financial resource and opportunity into this child,” Sung said.

“This pressure or obsession with education, sometimes with a high score, high achievement (mindset), is not a good environment for teachers (because) they are taking the pressure from the parents.”

Sung says the days of a teacher being automatically respected are long gone, not just in South Korea but elsewhere in the world, and the teacher-parent dynamic is unrecognizable from just a decade or two ago.

“In educational policies, parents are regarded as like a consumer, with consumer sovereignty, and school and teachers are regarded as service providers”, he said, adding parents believe they “have the right to demand many things from schools.”

In a country where education is considered central to success, teacher satisfaction is low. A survey by the Federation of Teachers’ Labor Union in April found 26.5% of teachers polled said they had received counseling or treatment for psychological issues due to their job. Some 87% said they have considered moving job or quitting in the past year.

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October 27, 2023
WSJ News Exclusive | Xi Jinping Is Looking for Someone to Blame for China’s Property Bust

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Updated Oct. 26, 2023 12:05 am ET

With China’s property bust threatening to sink the country’s economic recovery, Xi Jinping is looking for someone to blame.

After putting the billionaire founder of Evergrande, a heavily indebted property firm, under investigation for possible crimes, Beijing is expanding its probes to include bankers and financial institutions that facilitated developers’ risky behavior, people familiar with the matter say.

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October 25, 2023