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‘A little light in the dark’: the former Chinese police officer bringing bubble tea to wartorn Ukraine

Par :Amy Hawkins · senior China correspondent

30 décembre 2025 à 13:00

Brother Dong is one of a growing band of Chinese volunteers who are lending their support to Ukraine

Are you looking for a way to stay sane in an environment that has been torn apart by war? Then perhaps what you need is a bubble tea.

That is the philosophy guiding Brother Dong, a Chinese-German volunteer in Ukraine. The 52-year-old former officer in China’s People’s Armed Police drives once a month from his home in Frankfurt to collect a haul of tapioca pearls from a warehouse in Berlin. From there he drives across Poland to reach Ukraine.

‘They want to destroy my career’: Kiwi Chow on life as a dissenting director in Hong Kong

The Guardian

Par :Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent

29 décembre 2025 à 07:00

With his new film rejected by official censors, the award-winning film-maker says he is being punished for his outspoken views

In Hong Kong, where dissent is now characterised by silence, few dare openly criticise the government or the Chinese Communist party (CCP) that controls it. Film-maker Kiwi Chow is one of the few.

“The Chinese Communist party’s practice is to try and destroy history and truth,” the 46-year-old director says from his home in the region. “It’s ridiculous that I can still live in Hong Kong without being in jail.”