China
Military drills around Taiwan end + More solar on rooftops + Wavering global economy
Dear reader,
For almost a week, the Chinese People's Liberation Army simulated an attack on Taiwan. On Wednesday, the military exercises came to an end - for the moment. Because the People's Liberation Army announced that military exercises will become a regular occurrence in the future. A new white paper from Beijing also defines how the island should be conquered if necessary. US military experts from various think tanks have played out what this could look like. They simulated a hypothetical invasion by the Chinese for the year 2026. The computer calculations gave a result that, from an American perspective, was both hopeful and shocking, as Fabian Kretschmer writes.
The sun continues to blaze down on Europe non-stop this week - haven't you already toyed with the idea of installing a solar system on the roof of your house or factory? Have you hesitated because it would be too much work? Last summer, China started an innovative pilot program that solves this problem, reports Nico Beckert. Roof areas in districts and cities are equipped with solar systems centrally by only a few project developers. This way, the roof owners have less work to do. Within a very short time, 20 gigawatts of new capacity were connected to the grid. Analysts praise the pilot project as "creative" and a "crucial component" in China's energy transition. We also took a look at its problems.
In today's Profile section, Fabian Peltsch introduces director C.B. Yi. For his film "Moneyboys", the Austrian of Chinese descent has already gained a lot of attention at European festivals. C.B. Yi alias Chen Bo has spent eight years working on his sensitive drama about male prostitutes. Whether his film will ever make it to China is doubtful.
