Every day, Epoch Times compiles a list of must-read articles for readers who scale the Great Firewall.
1. A traffic accident in Shandong province, China, resulted in 11 deaths and 13 injuries at a school gate in Dongping County on the morning of September 3. A bus lost control and rammed into a crowd, causing the tragic incident. The company operating the vehicle had recently expanded its school bus services in March, with several executives hailing from Shandong Dongping Transportation Co., Ltd.
2. As China’s A-share listed companies released their semi-annual reports, data revealed a negative growth in average monthly salaries across 42 banks, with over 30,000 employees being laid off collectively.
3. A controversy arose when a nucleic acid testing company diversified into the field of property inspection. Shares related to “property inspection” gained attention as a subsidiary of Huacai Testing and Certification Group Co., Ltd. operated house safety assessments in Guangzhou, prompting investor scrutiny due to the company’s history in nucleic acid testing services.
4. In Henan province, a girl was allegedly subjected to corporal punishment and remains unconscious. The father accused a female instructor at the school of forcing his 14-year-old daughter, known as Xiaoling, to strip naked and crawl on the ground, leading to her current comatose state.
5. Due to continuous heavy rainfall in various regions of Mainland China over the past two months, causing flooding in farmlands and significant losses for farmers and agriculture, vegetable prices have skyrocketed. Market supply disruptions, coupled with human factors, have led to a surge in vegetable prices, with some experiencing a 40% increase.
6. Indonesia announced the deportation of former Filipino-Chinese mayor Alice Guo back to the Philippines. The Indonesian Minister of Justice confirmed Guo’s arrest in Indonesia, following which Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged the help provided by the Indonesian government.
7. On the 79th anniversary of China’s victory in the Anti-Japanese War on Tuesday (September 3), the Chinese Communist Party publicly disclosed a list of 2590 American war heroes for the first time. Experts analyze this move as part of a delicate strategy aimed at easing Sino-U.S. relations before the impending U.S. elections, potentially using historical anti-Japanese struggles to reshape alliances.
8. Wall Street’s prevailing pessimism towards China’s economic growth trajectory has led to successive downgrades in expectations for China’s economic performance over the next year. Most global banks now anticipate that China’s economic growth in 2024 will fall below the stated target rate.
9. Recent financial irregularities within the Chinese Communist Party have raised alarms, such as the decision by the Shandong Provincial Government to approve toll collection stations on the Jinan Yellow River Bridge for a 25-year period, sparking public outcry. The announcement reversed the trend of eliminating tolls on non-express highways since the 2009 “fuel tax reform.”
10. Amid an ongoing crisis in China’s real estate sector, developers are facing financial constraints, prompting many to halt construction projects as consumer demand for presale properties dwindles. This shift has reduced the ratio of presale properties in total new home sales to the lowest level in 18 years, further complicating developers’ ability to recoup investments.
11. Prior to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, recent research suggests that the Chinese Communist Party is leveraging social media platforms to wage online warfare against the U.S. by deploying fake accounts posing as American voters to discredit U.S. presidential candidates, potentially sowing social discord. This evolving tactic has raised concerns about China’s influence operations in the U.S.
12. The mystery of why former Chinese Minister of Culture Yu Huiyong committed suicide in 1977 remains unresolved. After eight months and 22 days since the arrest of Jiang Qing and the “Gang of Four,” Yu Huiyong, the Minister of Culture, left a suicide note for his family before ingesting poison. Despite emergency medical efforts, he passed away on August 31 at the age of 52.
13. Former Deputy Chief of Staff for the New York Governor and former Deputy Commissioner of Labor, Linda Sun, along with her husband Chris Hu, were arrested by the FBI at their Long Island home on Tuesday, with Sun being accused of acting as a secret agent for the Chinese Communist government.
14. Following the upcoming Beijing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September, China has initiated a new round of stability measures targeting petitioners across the country. In Shanghai, some petitioners who were detained during the Third Plenum period are still yet to regain their freedom, possibly remaining in custody until the conclusion of the summit or beyond.
15. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped below the 2800-point mark on September 4, hitting a new low level for the period, with both Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets experiencing a consecutive two-day trading volume below 600 billion RMB.