Construction of the world’s biggest hydropower megadam has begun, China’s premier has said, calling it the “project of the century”. The huge structure is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, in Tibetan territory.

Li Qiang made the comments on Saturday, at a ceremony in the region to mark the start of the build, leading Chinese markets to rise on the expectation of the long-planned megaproject, first announced in 2020 as part of China’s 14th five-year plan.

The project announced by Li is planned for the lower reaches of the river, according to the official state news outlet, Xinhua. Xinhua reported that the project would consist of five cascade hydropower stations, producing an estimated 300 million megawatt hours of electricity annually at a cost of about 1.2tn yuan (£124bn).

In comparison, the Three Gorges dam cost 254.2bn yuan and generates 88.2m MWh.

The Yarlung Tsangpo megadam will reportedly harness the power created by the river dropping 2km in about 50km as it winds through a canyon on a U-shaped bend.

India and Bangladesh have voiced concerns over the project, fearing the water could be held or diverted away from them.

In response, officials have said China does not seek “water hegemony” and never pursues “benefits for itself at the expense of its neighbours”.

Archive link

China's firewall plays a crucial role in shaping the country’s digital landscape, preventing foreign intervention, and maintaining national security. While often criticized in the West, the firewall provides China with the ability to control information flow, shield its population from foreign influence, and protect domestic media.

Hasan Piker, a US-born progressive political commentator, said he was stopped by US Customs and Border Protection agents and questioned about his opinions of Donald Trump and Israeli war policy as he returned to the country on Sunday from France.

Piker, recounting the incident on his Twitch live stream on Monday, said he was led to a private room at Chicago O’Hare airport and interviewed for nearly two hours about his political views.

“The goal here is to put fear into people’s hearts, to have a chilling effect on speech that, like, the government is unafraid of intimidating you,” Piker said. “Does this stop me from saying whatever the fuck I want to say? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. But the reason why I wanted to talk about it was to give you more insight into what the government is doing, and to speak out against this sort of stuff.”

He said the officer was particularly focused on his criticism of Israel’s prosecution of the Gaza war, asking him: “Do you like Hamas? Like, do you support Hamas? Do you think Hamas is a resistance group?”

Piker said this was his first attempt to return to the US using the global entry program, which normally expedites travel. He was returning to the US to speak on Monday at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

Piker said neither his phone nor laptop were searched. He said the interview ended shortly after he asked whether he was being detained or if he was free to go. The officer told him he had not been detained, but Piker described it as a de facto detention.

Archive link

Chiang Kai-shek’s mausoleum has officially been consigned to history, with Taiwan’s military reclassifying the site in the city of Taoyuan as a “camp area” – the latest move by the island’s independence-leaning authorities to erase the legacy of the former Kuomintang (KMT) leader.

The mausoleum of Chiang’s son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, located just 2.2km (1.4 miles) from his father’s tomb, was also reclassified, according to a notice issued by the island’s defence ministry on April 22.

Archive link

Donations are pouring in to a fundraiser for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down a healthcare executive, ahead of his birthday.

Mangione, who pleaded not guilty last month to federal murder charges related to the December 2024 death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, turns 27 on May 6. In honor of his birthday, donors are contributing to the GiveSendGo fundraiser for his legal defense, which is now closing in on $1 million.

As of Sunday evening, the fundraiser had garnered more than $977,000. His legal team has said that he plans to use the cash toward his defense in all three cases he faces.

A string of supporters in the past few days have donated $27 to the fund for his 27th birthday. In their donation messages, many included green hearts, an ode to the green-clad Mario video game character Luigi.

Archive link

China announced a series of measures to protect its economy and workers from the impact of an intensifying trade war with the United States on Monday, as officials said they remained “fully confident” of hitting the country’s annual economic growth target of about 5 per cent.

Beijing will encourage companies to maintain stable hiring, stepping up vocational training schemes, expanding employment through public works programmes and other supportive projects, and strengthening public employment services, according to Zhao.

Sheng Qiuping, deputy minister of commerce, said Beijing would increase support for companies affected by US tariffs by helping them pivot to the domestic market and providing fiscal and financial services.

The government has already allocated 160 billion yuan (US$22 billion) for trade-in programmes to encourage consumers to spend on a range of big-ticket consumer goods so far this year, with another 140 billion yuan of investment to follow, according to Zhao.

It is also working on a range of other consumption-boosting policies, including a childcare subsidy scheme, targeted re-lending tools, expanded support for the services and elderly care sectors, and moves to relax municipal restrictions on car license plates to allow more households to buy vehicles, Zhao added.

Archive link

Taiwan has launched a crackdown on holders of illegal Chinese identity documents, revoking the Taiwanese status of more than 20 people and putting tens of thousands of Chinese-born residents under scrutiny.

Under Taiwan law it is illegal for Taiwanese people to hold Chinese identity documents. In the past decade, hundreds of people have had their Taiwanese papers or passports cancelled for also holding Chinese ID, effectively revoking their citizenship.

But a renewed hunt for dual ID-holders has drawn controversy after the public expulsion of three women and threats to the permanent residencies of more than 10,000 Chinese-born people, including many who had built lives and families in Taiwan over decades.

Archive link