Between Aug. 22, 2023, and Sept. 8, 2023, at least 19 high-ranking officials and celebrities passed away in China in just 18 days. All of them were members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Chinese regime has largely stopped the customary practice of mentioning the cause of death in obituaries, as the actual death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is being kept as a state secret. Meanwhile, the EG.5 variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant strain in most provinces of China. Netizens from across the country have been sharing instances of themselves or people they know are contracting the virus for the third time. CCP’s Continued Coverup Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the CCP has been under fire for withholding information about the outbreak from the public....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/no-cause-given-for-deaths-of-high-ranking-officials-and-celebrities-in-china-5491646
Last week’s G20 summit announced the establishment of the “India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor” (IMEC), which was signed by India, the United States, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the project documents, the IMEC is envisioned to consist of two separate corridors: an eastern corridor connecting India and the Arabian Gulf, and a northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf and Europe. It’s viewed as an alternative to counter China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative (BRI) that has been criticized for setting a debt trap for and exerting the Chinese communist regime’s political influence on participating countries and is dwindling due to China’s economic decline.... 
Due to a weakening domestic economy and declining Yuan value, mainland Chinese citizens are increasingly setting up bank accounts in Hong Kong to seek better interest rates and invest in financial products as a hedge. Following new foreign exchange restrictions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), individuals have engaged in “ant migration,” which involves bypassing official channels through various methods, including informal money exchanges, to funnel money into Hong Kong. Insiders reveal that these unofficial channels often have tacit approval from high-ranking CCP officials. Veteran banker Victor Ng Min-tak asserts that such fund outflows to Hong Kong could not occur without some level of CCP involvement, stating that officials selectively “give the green light” to these transactions....
A neon light exhibit depicting a detained Nobel Peace Prize nominee will be shining in Sydney’s CBD until this year’s prize is announced. Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-shut pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, is facing a trial in December on one charge under the British colonial-era sedition law and three charges under the city’s national security law, including collusion with foreign forces. The 75-year-old media tycoon, one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, including CCP leader Xi Jinping, was arrested in August 2020 for violating the national security law—a law with vaguely defined crimes and often used to stamp out dissent by the Beijing-controlled Hong Kong authorities....