Good evening, dear listeners. Welcome to “Gospel Moment” with me, Jia Yin. What are the major events to pay attention to today? Let’s take a look together.
Today’s Focus: A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar, devastating Southeast Asia with nearly a thousand casualties in Myanmar, China, and Thailand. A 30-story building collapses due to Chinese construction; Filipino authorities arrest 6 Chinese nationals engaged in spy activities disguised as fishermen; The nightmare of down payments and monthly payments wipes out love and credit for homebuyers in Shanghai.
On March 28 at 12:50 p.m. local time, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, with the epicenter located in the Sagaing region at a depth of about 10 kilometers. Within 10 minutes of the main quake, a 6.4-magnitude aftershock occurred, followed by several more aftershocks. This earthquake has had severe impacts on Myanmar, China, and Thailand. As of now, casualty figures are still being tallied.
Following the earthquake, numerous buildings collapsed in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. The Myanmar military government declared a state of emergency in six regions including Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Sagaing, Bago, Magway, and eastern Shan State.
On the evening of the 28th, the Myanmar state television announced that the earthquake had resulted in at least 144 deaths and 732 injuries.
In Yangon, Myanmar, many people took to the streets for shelter, while in Naypyidaw, residents captured images of damaged buildings. An eyewitness reported seeing a five-story building collapse before their eyes, with local residents too afraid to return indoors.
Videos circulating online show severe damage in many areas, with temples, homes collapsing or leaning, bridges bending, and people helplessly staring at their ruined homes, a heartbreaking scene.
Neighboring Thailand was also affected by the earthquake. The Thai Meteorological Department reported varying degrees of tremors nationwide, with the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai experiencing the strongest effects, and tremors also felt in the central and capital Bangkok area. Given Thailand’s rarity of earthquakes, people were extremely frightened, prompting an official declaration of an emergency.
In Bangkok, a 30-story skyscraper under construction collapsed. According to Thai officials, initial reports indicated three fatalities at the collapse site, with 81 others trapped.
German media claimed that the building was originally planned to be the new office building for Thailand’s Audit Office, located in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok and constructed with the participation of a Chinese company.
An eyewitness stated that an office building in downtown Bangkok swayed for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking. Hundreds of employees evacuated through emergency staircases. As the building continued to sway, panicked screams of employees could be heard.
In a video, during the earthquake, water from a rooftop pool in a building cascaded like a waterfall, tossing swimmers out, creating a scene of terror.
In China, multiple regions in Yunnan Province experienced strong tremors, including Xishuangbanna, Dehong, Kunming, Lijiang, Baoshan, and Dali, with Guizhou and Guangxi also impacted.
Numerous houses in Yunnan were damaged, and many people injured. Officials are currently assessing the specific extent of the disaster and issuing tsunami alerts.
A video circulating online showed the water from a rooftop pool at Ruili Fortune Plaza in Yunnan gushing out like a waterfall from a tall building top, accompanied by falling bricks. Another video showed severe shaking of some buildings in Yunnan, raising huge dust clouds, terrifying residents who screamed and fled.
A resident in Kunming, Yunnan, mentioned experiencing the earthquake in his 24th-floor home. The entire building shook violently for an extended time, causing his lights to almost fall and water in his fish tank to splash out. He said, “I hid in the bathroom at the time, only coming out when the shaking subsided.”
Senior researcher Wei Shengji from the Singapore Astronomy Institute, in an interview with CNN, pointed out that the earthquake occurred on a segment of the Sagaing Fault, a major geological fault line that has experienced major earthquakes in history.
China’s Tsunami Warning Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources stated that the earthquake could trigger localized tsunamis around the epicenter but as it was located outside the Pacific range, it would not affect China’s coasts.
As of now, the losses caused by the earthquake to various countries are still being calculated. We will continue to monitor this situation. Next, we shift our focus to espionage activities related to the Chinese Communist Party.
Recently, authorities in the Philippines uncovered a case involving espionage activities, with 6 out of 7 individuals arrested being Chinese citizens. They were suspected of conducting intelligence gathering activities in Subic Bay.
According to reports from agencies such as AFP, on March 19, the Philippine authorities conducted a raid on Grande Island at the entrance of Subic Bay and discovered six Chinese citizens behaving suspiciously.
Investigations revealed that these individuals had been posing as leisure fishermen on the island, often lingering at the docks until late at night. They used drones delivering bait as a pretext to mask their filming of activities related to the American and Philippine naval ships. Numerous electronic devices, photos, and documents were found on-site. One document detailed ship entries and exits at the Subic Bay port, further confirming their espionage activities.
In addition to the six Chinese nationals, there was also a Filipino collaborator. Currently, all seven individuals have been detained.
Angelo Ben, an official from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division, stated on March 17, that the department received intelligence from the Philippine Armed Forces, indicating that a group of foreigners was conducting a secret operation on an island in Subic Bay.
Subic Bay was previously the largest overseas naval base for the United States and Grande Island at the entrance of the Subic Bay holds significant strategic importance. The island can monitor movements of all naval vessels entering and exiting the Subic Bay, including for joint military exercises.
The Philippine government mentioned that due to escalating tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Chinese Communist Party has intensified its espionage efforts. Simultaneously, Philippine authorities have increased monitoring of suspicious activities.
In January of this year, the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation arrested another group of Chinese nationals suspected of espionage, with one accused of driving vehicles to collect intelligence at critical locations in Manila and five others frequently seen on Palawan Island, suspected of reconnaissance of the Philippine Navy military intelligence.
Within less than three months into 2025, the Philippines has arrested 12 Chinese nationals suspected of engaging in espionage activities.
The Filipino government stated that it will continue to strengthen monitoring of sensitive areas to safeguard national security.
As of now, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and the Chinese Foreign Ministry have yet to respond to this matter.
Regarding the spy cases, let’s leave it here. Now let’s turn our attention to the real estate market in China.
In 2025, the Chinese property market continues to plummet, coupled with a surge in unemployment, causing much anguish for the middle class, especially in the high-priced market of Shanghai. The pressure they are currently under is unimaginable for many. An anguished homeowner expressed, “What did I do wrong? Just buying a house, putting down millions for down payments, paying off the monthly installments, I’ve lost my love and personal credit.”
Recently, a 30-year-old homeowner in Shanghai’s complaint video went viral on the internet. In the video, the homeowner, working in the IT industry in Shanghai, revealed his struggles. He purchased a 95-square-meter three-bedroom apartment in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, at a unit price of 58,000 RMB per square meter, totalling 5.5 million RMB. He gathered 2 million RMB from his parents, added to his savings to meet the 2 million RMB down payment, took out a 3.5 million RMB loan to be repaid over 30 years with a monthly installment of 19,631 RMB.
However, in 2020, the Internet industry began cutting salaries and staff. He was among the first to be “optimized” by the company. After three months, he hadn’t found a job that paid over 20,000 RMB monthly. The almost 20,000 RMB monthly installment along with living expenses left him breathless. Unable to cope, he discussed selling the house and returning to his hometown with his girlfriend. However, his girlfriend didn’t want to leave Shanghai or burden him, leading to a breakup.
After losing love, he decided to sell the house through an agent. Initially listing it for 6 million RMB, they received no inquiries. The agent mentioned the location was remote, and if he wanted a quick sale, he should list it for 3.5 million RMB, otherwise, it would be challenging to sell. Hearing this shocked him – halving the price meant losing all the down payment and already paid installments. Unable to accept the situation but also struggling with the monthly installments, he ultimately defaulted on payments.
Three months later, he received a court summons indicating the bank had sued him. When he received the judgment notice, he was dumbfounded. The court classified him as maliciously defaulting, violating the contract, and subjecting him to a total of 120,867 RMB in related expenses and penalties. It also stipulated that he must repay the bank within a specified time or face interest and be listed as a defaulter by the court.
At that moment, he couldn’t help but cry. He questioned why this had happened when all he did was purchase a house. Could he not just forfeit the loss of 2.47 million RMB? Did he have no choice but to default – a dead-end road?
Many netizens commented under the video, expressing deep sympathy for his predicament but unsure of how to comfort him.
A netizen named Cai Ge from Hubei shared a similar experience. In 2017, he bought a house in Shanghai for 2.2 million RMB. With business tough in Shanghai this year, wanting to sell, he went to an agent on the 26th, listing it for 2.2 million total, around 26,000 RMB per square meter. Quickly, a customer viewed the house and found it satisfactory but only offered 1.6 million RMB. He was stunned but disagreed. The buyer left without further negotiation.
Cai Ge mentioned that his house was in a favorable environment with good location, near schools, public transport facilities, and convenience. During the housing market’s decline, similar homes could still sell for over 30,000 RMB per square meter.
Helplessly, he said that negotiating a reduction of 200,000 RMB was possible, but with the price now below 18,000 RMB per square meter, how could he sell it?
Blogger Wu Ge stated that in 2016, China saw a property-buying frenzy, with prices soaring and buyers rushing in anxiously. However, by 2023, the real estate market had plunged into a bear market, with Shanghai’s prices continuing to drop for two consecutive years, especially old homes and those in the outskirts experiencing significant declines. Even now, many homeowners hold onto unrealistic price expectations, unwilling to sell, resulting in difficulties even after offering significant discounts.
Wu Ge mentioned envy of Heilongjiang Hegang’s outrageously low property prices. Some individuals bought 70-square-meter homes in Hegang for a mere 40,000 RMB. These seemingly bargain-priced homes are often traps. With severe population outflows, unfavorable climate, singular industries, and an aging population, the value of such homes in contracting cities will eventually diminish. Similarly, in Shanghai, some properties face similar prospects, especially on the outskirts such as Baihe, Yuepu, and Fengxian Bay, where lack of planning, industries, population, and poor transportation make even cheap prices unattractive for buyers. He advised that even if you can’t afford a good home, avoid falling into the trap of cheap property prices.
“Jia Yin Moment” Production Team