【Epoch Times News on August 20, 2026】Epoch Times sorts out must-read articles for readers every day:
1.
Communist Party’s army tightens control over military industrial core, insider reveals corruption in military industry system
Zhao Xiaozhe, former director of the Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission, was removed from the list of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Previously, Liu Guozhi, former director of the military technology committee, had also disappeared from the list of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Insiders close to the military industry system disclosed that the Communist Party’s military industry research system has long engaged in opaque operations, widespread transmission of benefits, and rampant power rent-seeking. Some major research projects also involve hidden transactions of buying and selling official positions. He said, “Whether one is investigated does not depend solely on corruption issues; political stance and alignment are also important factors.”
2.
Price of “king of fruits” durian plummets in mainland China this summer
Recently, news of the sharp drop in durian prices has sparked a frenzy online, with headlines such as “Durian prices plunge drastically,” “Durian prices collapse completely,” “Durian prices snowball this summer.” The former “king of fruits” Gold Pillow Durian, which used to retail for 30 to 40 yuan per jin and typically cost 150 to 200 yuan for 4 to 5 jin, with premium fruits even exceeding 300 yuan; now many supermarkets have reduced prices to 19.9 yuan per jin, with some wholesale market prices dropping below 15 yuan.
3.
Mainland company makes over 200 million profits from selling silver bars early in the year, then gets trapped by new purchases
Hong Kong-listed physical enterprise Qifu Life Service (HK.03686), which previously earned substantial profits from “gold and silver” investments, sold silver at a high price at the beginning of 2026 and quickly re-entered the market to buy gold and silver. As gold and silver prices fell back, the company incurred approximately 83.4 million yuan in fair value losses from precious metal investments in the first half of the year, shifting from profit to loss.
4.
Australian man pleads guilty to assaulting TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport
On Monday (August 17th), a 35-year-old Australian man pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor for assaulting a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer at Los Angeles International Airport in March this year.
5.
Closure of 30-year-old Hong Kong-funded factory in Shenzhen deepens chill in Chinese manufacturing industry
Guangdong-based Hong Kong-funded electronics manufacturer Wilheng Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., in operation for over 30 years, recently announced its closure. The company stated in its closure announcement that continuing shrinking orders, rising operational costs, and sustained operational losses led to this decision. This old factory, which experienced the expansion of Shenzhen’s manufacturing industry, is finally shutting down. Interviewees believe that China’s economic downturn, declining orders, and the Chinese Communist Party’s policies favoring state-owned enterprises and so-called high-tech industries are squeezing the survival space of traditional private manufacturing enterprises.
6.
Chinese men rob ill-gotten gains from a scammer in Japan
Recently, three Chinese men robbed approximately 2 million yen in cash in a residential area of Toyama City, Japan, money that the self-proclaimed victim obtained from a unique fraud case as an “offline money collector.” The police are investigating whether there is a possibility of internal conflict or uneven distribution of gains between the two sides.
7.
Emotional outburst of Chinese female internet celebrity at Malaysian airport due to forgetting medication
In recent days, a Chinese woman at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia had a sudden emotional outburst, disturbing the order. Some netizens pointed out that the woman may be the Douyin internet celebrity “Your Princess.”
8.
Chinese man falsely votes under someone else’s name and reports, nearly causing Chinese couple to lose green card status
News of a Chinese citizen in Massachusetts being accused of voter fraud quickly spread online, with a plot more chilling than a story. A conflict between a Chinese landlord and tenant led to enmity between the two parties, as the tenant, unhappy with the landlord calling the police, leading to his detention and a record, repeatedly sought revenge. In addition to pretending to be a 70-year-old landlord couple to voluntarily abandon their green card, almost resulting in their deportation at the airport, the tenant also illegally voted under the landlord’s name in the U.S. and made false complaints.
9.
Qingfeng: Understanding the robbery logic of the Chinese Communist Party from the case of Guo Degang being investigated
Both Peking opera and cross-talk have a rule in common: not following the script entirely. The stage is live. Where the audience laughs, whether it rains outside, whose child is crying upstairs, can all be incorporated into the lines on the spot. The old man calls this “present hanging.” The meaning of hanging is that no one knows what the next line is in advance, including the speaker himself.
10.
Xiaolu Mountain: Chinese Communist Party shifts battlefield to space, U.S. forms alliance for countermeasures
During a space and missile defense symposium in August, high-ranking officials from the U.S. military publicly stated the need for strengthening space-directed capabilities, network defense, and other countermeasures, indicating that the U.S. is preparing to counter space-based armed conflicts with non-kinetic weapons. The strong response from the U.S. military is closely related to China’s rapid development of space weapons. This trend towards space militarization will permanently change the space defense system.
11.
Exposed record of Huludao hit-and-run case: Suspect recounts why he sought revenge on society
In a tragic hit-and-run case in Liaoning in 2018 that resulted in the deaths of six children, years later, a record purportedly of the interrogation of the suspect was exposed online. The suspect narrated the motive behind the heinous act – the children died accidentally due to police checking vehicles, he sought justice for his son but failed to do so, leading him to make the police taste the pain of losing a child. However, at the time, the authorities attributed the motive to marital discord and suicidal tendencies of the suspect. Currently, there is no independent verification of the authenticity of this interrogation record.
12.
Weitu: The atrocities of Jiang Zemin’s “live organ harvesting” that the Chinese Communist Party cannot cover up
The Xi Jinping regime of the Chinese Communist Party, before and after the centenary anniversary of Jiang Zemin on August 17, unexpectedly paid homage to this executioner whose hands are stained with the blood of the Chinese people and has been extinguished for nearly four years, contrary to the expectations of good people.
13.
Love also has risks, Chinese Communist Party strictly controls private lives of public servants
During the era of China’s leader Xi Jinping, Chinese public servants are said to face risks even in love affairs. However, not only that, individuals within the entire Chinese Communist Party system have faced stricter controls on their private lives in recent years, leading to private complaints and resistance.
14.
Overall decline in prices of luxury cars in mainland China, BMW 5 series drops to 280,000 yuan
Prices of BMW cars in China have once again been adjusted overall, with the price of the BMW 5 series dropping to 280,000 yuan. Meanwhile, prices of luxury car models such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi are also declining.
15.
Mainland company “You Family” recalls 1500 kitchen papers due to excessive carcinogens
Shanghai Youjia Technology’s batch of kitchen papers were found to contain excessive acrylamide levels, leading to the recall of 1500 products; the substance is classified as a class 2A carcinogen. Customer service from the brand mentioned that only exchanges and refunds are available, with no additional compensation offered.