Story 1
Xi Calls Trump, Then Putin — Beijing's Double Diplomacy
Xi held phone calls with both Trump and Putin on the same day. State media frames him as the indispensable statesman; commercial outlets note the careful language on Taiwan arms sales.
STATE MEDIA
CGTN
→ Xi as statesman; 'mutual respect' mantras
STATE MEDIA
Global Times
→ Trump 'respects' Xi; relationship 'manageable'
DIASPORA
VOA Chinese
→ Xi demands US handle Taiwan arms sales 'cautiously'
TAIWAN
Liberty Times
→ Focus on Taiwan arms sales warning
Story 2
Defence Purge Widens: Three More Officials Expelled from Legislature
Following Zhang Youxia's fall, three senior defence executives removed from NPC: the former president of China's nuclear weapons research academy, CNNC's chief engineer, and AVIC's former chairman. The CMC now has just two members.
HONG KONG
SCMP
→ Liu Cangli (nuclear), Luo Qi (CNNC), Zhou Xinmin (AVIC)
HONG KONG
SCMP
→ Analysts question PLA 'battle readiness'
INT'L
Asia Times
→ Loyalty and dissent, not graft, driving purges
DIASPORA
RFA
→ CMC now has only two members; power vacuum
Story 3
Sun Art CEO Vanishes Two Months Into the Job
Li Weiping became 'unreachable' after taking charge of RT-Mart's parent company. She spent seven years at Alibaba's Freshippo before moving to Sun Art. The company says her absence is 'unrelated to its business.'
COMMERCIAL
Caixin
→ Alibaba sold 79% stake to DCP Capital for HK$13.1B; 1.6B yuan loss
Story 4
Two Journalists Detained After Publishing Corruption Report
Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao were detained after exposing a senior Sichuan official. Liu, who was previously arrested in 2013, posted WeChat messages showing disciplinary officials pressuring him to stop publishing. Police claim they're investigating 'false accusations.'
DIASPORA
BBC News
→ RSF: China 'world's biggest jailer of journalists' (120+)
Story 5
KMT-CCP Forum Resumes After Nine Years — Is a Zheng-Xi Meeting Next?
The Forum resumed with KMT Vice Chairman Xiao Xucen meeting CCP officials including Wang Huning. Analysts see this as preparation for KMT Chair Zheng Liwen to meet Xi Jinping, possibly by late March.
DIASPORA
BBC Chinese
→ 15 'common opinions'; DPP criticizes undermining Taiwan-US ties
