US diplomats in China face relationship ban, Xiaomi's fatal car crash: SCMP's 7 highlights
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Wang Xiaofeng, who was named a distinguished member by the Association for Computing Machinery in 2021, joined Indiana University Bloomington as an assistant professor in 2004 after receiving his PhD in computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Photo: Handout
Security raids on the homes of a noted Chinese-American cybersecurity researcher have reignited fears of racial profiling in Trump-led America, under what some are calling a de facto 'China Initiative 2.0'.
The US government has imposed a sweeping ban prohibiting American diplomats, their families and security-cleared contractors in China from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, Associated Press has reported.
Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance and China's richest man, has not obtained Singaporean citizenship, according to a statement from Douyin, the Chinese sister app of TikTok.
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When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a 'hanger war' is raging in the city near Florence — turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing centre and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese mafia groups. The situation has become so urgent that Prato's prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, has appealed to Rome for help, calling for an anti-mafia division and reinforcements for judges and police. Tescaroli has warned that the escalation in crime has become a huge business operation and moved beyond Italy, particularly to France and Spain. The gangs are battling to control the production of hundreds of millions of clothes hangers each year — the market is estimated to be worth 100 million euros (US$115 million) — and the bigger prize of transporting apparel. The Chinese mafia also 'promotes the illegal immigration of workers of various nationalities' for Prato, Tescaroli told AFP. The veteran anti-mafia prosecutor said the 'phenomenon has been underestimated', allowing the mafia to expand its reach. With one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, the city of nearly 200,000 people has seen Chinese business owners and factory workers beaten or threatened in recent months, with cars and warehouses burned. The ex-head of Prato's police investigative unit, Francesco Nannucci, said the Chinese mafia run betting dens, prostitution and drugs — and provide their Italian counterparts with under-the-radar money transfers. For mafia leaders, 'to be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe,' Nannucci told AFP. 'Well-oiled system' Chinese groups in the district thrive on the so-called 'Prato system', long rife with corruption and irregularities, particularly in the fast-fashion sector, such as labour and safety violations plus tax and customs fraud. Prato's 5,000-odd apparel and knitwear businesses, mostly small, Chinese-run subcontractors, churn out low-priced items that end up in shops across Europe. They pop up quickly and shut down just as fast, playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to avoid taxes or fines. Fabric is smuggled from China, evading customs duties and taxes, while profits are returned to China via illegal money transfers. To stay competitive, the sector relies on cheap, around-the-clock labour, mostly from China and Pakistan, which Tescaroli told a Senate committee in January was 'essential for its proper functioning'. 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Chinese garment workers, who are in the majority in Prato and often brought to Italy by the mafia, never picket, union activists say — they are too frightened to protest. Trading favours Changes in apparel manufacturing, globalisation and migration have all contributed to the so-called 'Prato system'. So has corruption. In May 2024, the second-in-command within Prato's Carabinieri police was accused of giving Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs — among them a chamber of commerce businessman — access to the police database for information, including on workers. Police complaints from attacked workers 'ended up in a drawer, never reaching the court', Sudd Cobas organiser Francesca Ciuffi told AFP. Prato's mayor resigned in June in a corruption investigation, accused of trading favours with the businessman for votes. In recent months, the union has secured regular contracts under national law for workers at over 70 companies. 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