“Women hold up half the sky.” This iconic quote attributed to Mao Zedong has been central to Beijing’s messaging about gender equality for decades. It was not just a slogan. After the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, the Communist Party passed a Marriage Law that banned arranged marriages, abolished foot-binding and encouraged women to enter education and the workplace. But the party’s stance on where women belong has shifted over the decades, according to a new study. To gauge the...

Ferry routes have been suspended, construction halted, fishermen evacuated and drones deployed to patrol over the sea as China’s coastal provinces prepare for the landfall of Typhoon Dolphin, the fourth typhoon to hit the country this summer. As of Friday morning, Dolphin was about 820km (510 miles) from China’s east coast, the National Meteorological Centre said. It is forecast to make landfall between Zhejiang and Fujian provinces sometime from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning. The centre...

In just two months, Yale graduate Edward Kuperman went from being praised by Chinese state media to being bombarded by public accusations that he was a spy. It began with a June 18 article from state news agency Xinhua, in which he was described as an eager 24-year-old sinophile who made the unconventional choice of spurning China’s eastern metropolises to live in Dunhuang, an oasis in the country’s northwestern Gansu province. His interest in China started with a Chinese language class in...

International students once saw US colleges as a gateway to a world-class education and career head start but shifting United States immigration policies, tightening visa conditions and high-profile ICE raids are causing them to reconsider. In the first in our series, Phoebe Zhang looks at how Chinese students are preparing for life – and safety – in America. The second instalment in our series is here. Beijing student Lulu Lu was just preparing for bed when she was startled by loud banging at...