Tech Surprises on China's National Day, Tsinghua University ABCF Week 40 Update

Tech brings smiles and surprises to China's National Day holidaymakers - CGTN
This year's bumper eight-day holiday that combines China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival has seen a travel boom with technology playing an increasingly central role in tourism. New activities are emerging, as the deep integration of technology and art offers more choices for travelers and delivers immersive experiences.
As travelers seek to immerse themselves in culture beyond sightseeing, technology is reshaping the tourism landscape, enabling the most interactive experiences to date.

China's railway passenger trips hit record high on National Day - CGTN
China's railways handled a record 23.13 million passenger trips on Wednesday, the first day of the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the national railway operator said on Thursday.
The figure marks a historic single-day high.

China’s Tsinghua University tops multiple global rankings for computer science | South China Morning Post
Its rise in a field once dominated by US institutions reflects years of Chinese government investment and close ties to the tech sector
China’s Tsinghua University has emerged as the world’s top institution in computer science across multiple major global rankings, marking a symbolic shift in a field once dominated by American universities.
For the first time, Tsinghua now leads lists ranging from the widely recognised US News Best Global Universities to CSRankings, a system seen as rigorously academic and historically US-centric within the research community.
In the latest CSRankings results – which weigh institutions by faculty publications in top-tier conferences across artificial intelligence, computer systems, theory and interdisciplinary research – Tsinghua has overtaken long-time leader Carnegie Mellon University to claim the top spot.

Top battery scientist Stefano Passerini relocates from Germany to China | South China Morning Post
Italian researcher, a member of Germany’s National Academy of Sciences, will head a new institute at Nanjing Normal University.
World-leading battery scientist Stefano Passerini has taken up a full-time position at Nanjing Normal University in eastern China.
The 65-year-old Italian researcher – a member of Germany’s National Academy of Sciences – will head the new International Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, the university said in a statement.
At a ceremony at the Xianlin campus on Thursday, Passerini said his decision to move to Nanjing reflected his confidence in the university’s research, talent and potential.

Celebrated mathematician Yuan Yuan returns to China after more than 20 years in US | South China Morning Post
After more than two decades in the United States, internationally recognised mathematician Yuan Yuan has returned to China as a full-time professor at Westlake University in Hangzhou.
He joined Westlake’s Institute for Theoretical Sciences in May, just months after being promoted to full professor at Syracuse University in New York, according to the university’s website.
Yuan is one of four mathematicians recruited by Westlake this summer after long careers in the US. The others are mathematical analysis expert Zhongwei Shen from the University of Kentucky, machine-learning statistician Yiyuan She from Florida State University, and applied and computational mathematician Hai Zhu from the Flatiron Institute in New York.

Top chemist Tiow-Gan Ong leaves Taiwan for Shenzhen | South China Morning Post
Malaysian-born scientist Tiow-Gan Ong, known for his pioneering work on carbon molecules and a long-time advocate of Taiwan’s open academic environment and talent retention, is embarking on a new chapter in Shenzhen.
After nearly two decades of research and teaching in Taiwan, Ong this month joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He was previously a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica in Taiwan.
Ong also held joint appointments as a professor at National Taiwan University, the University of Malaya in Malaysia and the University of Central Florida in the US.

Prof. Jinghan Zeng on Confucius Institute and China’s Soft Power
Palgrave Macmillan has recently published Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director, Volume 1: Challenges, Controversies, and Realities, the first insider memoir from a Confucius Institute director during a time of growing global controversy, by Michael Jinghan ZENG, now Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong.
Prior to joining City University of Hong Kong, Zeng established his academic career in the UK. At 31, he was appointed Professor of China and International Studies at Lancaster University (a top 7 UK University at the time), becoming one of the youngest full professors in Britain. Simultaneously, he served as Director of its Confucius Institute, leading a team of nearly 30 staff in the university….
The following is a conversation at Mapping Global China, founded and led by Maria Adele Carrai, Assistant Professor of Global China Studies, NYU Shanghai, on Confucius Institutes and China’s Soft Power.

The men watching over China’s safest cities
In recent years, one comment I’ve kept hearing from international friends about China is how safe the country feels. Visitors often tell me how surprised they were to see packages from online orders left outside people’s doors without anyone guarding them, or how comfortable it felt to walk alone at night. Yet beyond pointing to the many CCTV cameras lining the streets, few seemed to dig into the deeper reasons behind this sense of safety.
Another big difference, compared with many Western countries, lies in China’s residential communities. Here, many people live in what’s called a xiaoqu “小区” — a cluster of apartment buildings grouped together within a gated compound, with multiple entrances for people and vehicles. Whether it’s a luxury development, a middle-class complex, or what locals half-jokingly call an old , shabby little community (lao po xiao “老破小”), one thing is consistent: there are usually security guards posted at the gates.

Think Twice Before Acting - by Ethan Knecht
As part of the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel met with President Xi and Secretary of the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Li Xi. In the latter meeting, the two sides reportedly “drew a new blueprint for bilateral relations.” At the end of the visit, Diaz-Canel attended a Cuba-China Biotechnology Working Group meeting and announced that 30 cooperation agreements had been signed over the course of the trip. Later, the Cuban trade minister commented that the two sides are renegotiating the island’s government, financial, and business debts in China, as well as Cuba’s accession into China’s Interbank Cross-Border Payment System.
Also at the ceremony were the Venezuelans and the Brazilians.

Join Webinar – Bridging Nations: People-to-People Exchange in U.S.-China Relations – US-China Education Trust
From the ping-pong diplomacy that preceded formal diplomatic ties in the 1970s to the robust educational exchanges that flourished in the reform era in the 1990s, people-to-people connections have provided continuity during periods of political tension in the U.S.-China relationship. Yet in today’s environment of strategic competition, people-to-people engagements, such as academic partnerships, student exchanges, business networks, and diaspora community ties, are increasingly restricted in the name of national security. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, whose families and networks often span both countries, increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs. This webinar will focus on the past, present, and future of people-to-people ties between the United States and China, as well as the implications for AAPI communities and U.S. policy. At a time of strained U.S.-China ties and a concurrent rise in incidents of profiling and violence directed toward the AAPI community in the United States, this discussion will explore how U.S. foreign policy intersects with domestic policy and rights. 
Join the US-China Education Trust, APA Justice, and Committee of 100 on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. ET for an expansive discussion of these topics with two distinguished Asian American ambassadors — Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch and Governor Gary Locke – whose personal journeys and family histories bridge both nations. They will be joined in dialogue by Jessica Chen Weiss, David M. Lampton Professor of China Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS.

Redefining Hong Kong: city remains key beneficiary of China’s continued opening up efforts | South China Morning Post
Hong Kong’s strength as an asset and wealth management hub stems from its role as the gateway to mainland China, according to panellists at a forum on Friday, citing the city’s deep connection to a vast pool of Chinese resources, capital flows and entrepreneurial innovation.
“Most of the world’s wealth will originate from mainland China in this century, and Hong Kong will be a key beneficiary, thanks to its unique position as part of the Greater Bay Area and an offshore centre close to the heart of global wealth creation,” said Zhao Yang, managing director at investment bank China International Capital Corp.
China’s continued opening up efforts are expected to drive more affluent families and individuals to set up family offices in Hong Kong, Zhao added.

Gordon G. Liu: community clinics, rational drug use, and surgical robots could help China achieve accessible healthcare
China's leading health economist says the status quo leaves doctors undervalued, patients underserved, and public budgets overstretched.

China woman falls into old well, circled by snakes, clings to wall for 54 hours before rescue | South China Morning Post
A woman from southeastern China was miraculously rescued after accidentally falling into an abandoned well, where she clung desperately to the side for 54 hours, battling exhaustion, relentless mosquitoes, and even bites from water snakes.
The incident unfolded on September 13, when the 48-year-old woman, surnamed Qin, was out for a leisurely stroll in the woods of Quanzhou, Fujian province, before unexpectedly tumbling into the deep well.

Wealthy, educated Chinese man chooses homelessness, survives on US$14 monthly | South China Morning Post
A young man from China has sparked controversy by abandoning an elite lifestyle to live as a homeless individual, surviving on just 100 yuan (US$14) a month.
Zhao Dian, 32, spent his formative years in Shanghai before relocating to New Zealand at the age of 10. He became an academic powerhouse, earning two bachelor’s degrees and three master’s degrees in finance while living in Sydney, New York, Beijing, and Paris. Despite relentless pressure from his parents to succeed, Zhao was drawn to the pursuit of knowledge….
In 2023, Zhao returned to China, initially taking jobs as a waiter at a local beer festival and in a hotel. Last year, he found his way to Dali, Yunnan, where he made the radical decision to live on the streets.

China comedian inspires many despite disabilities; viewers celebrate his ‘optimistic mindset’ | South China Morning Post
A young man from southern China, who has endured brain haemorrhages three times that led to his partial paralysis, has transformed his disability into comedy and life inspiration through his short videos, winning the hearts of many internet users.
 

This weekly newsletter is put together by DeLisle Worrell, President of the ABCF. Visit us at Association for Barbados China Friendship | (abcf-bb.com).
Thanks to everyone who sent contributions for this week’s Update. Please send items of interest to me via the contact page at ABCF-BB.com or to info@DeLisleWorrell.com