When asked to comment on the arrest of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Guo Jiakun, Chinese FM spokesperson, said "We don't comment on the ROK's (Republic of Korea) domestic affairs. China and the ROK are important neighbors and cooperation partners. China stands ready to work with the ROK for the sound and steady growth of bilateral relations." 

Yoon was arrested at the presidential residence on Wednesday, becoming the country's first sitting president to be kept in custody over his short-lived martial law imposition, media reported. 

A joint investigation unit, composed of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the National Office of Investigation (NOI) and the defense ministry's investigative headquarters, said in a short notice that Yoon was arrested at 10:33 am local time on Wednesday, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

According to Yonhap News, Yoon said Wednesday he decided to appear for investigation in order to prevent "bloodshed" between law enforcement and his security team, even though he believes it is an "illegal" investigation.

Yoon issued the statement before heading to the headquarters of the CIO, as the CIO and the police executed a warrant to detain the besieged president over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

"To prevent an unfortunate and violent incident, I decided to appear before the CIO even though I believe the investigation is illegal," Yoon said in a video message recorded at his residence.

Just before dawn on Wednesday, a team of investigators arrived at Yoon's residence, armed with ladders to climb over buses blocking its entrance and bolt croppers to cut through the barbed wire, BBC reported.

Other officers in the arrest team, which numbered around 1,000, scaled walls and hiked up nearby trails to reach the presidential residence. After several hours, authorities announced that Yoon had been arrested. 

On Tuesday, a military unit guarding the presidential residence approved the entry of police and CIO officials into the presidential residence, according to Yonhap.

The second attempt to arrest the president, led by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) for High-ranking Officials, faced virtually no resistance from the Presidential Security Service, according to the CIO officials leading the probe, said the Korea Herald.

Wednesday's raid marked several changes from their first attempt that took place on January 3, in which some 150 investigators and police had to turn back after an over five hour-long standoff with approximately 200 presidential bodyguards and military personnel forming a human barricade to block their entry, said the Korea Herald.

The CIO and police had made sufficient preparations for the second arrest operation, however, Yoon will probably deny all the accusations against him, thus the future judicial investigation into him will face significant difficulties, Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Yoon also claimed on Wednesday "Martial law is not a crime. Martial law is an exercise of presidential authority to overcome a national crisis," Yoon wrote, posting a photo of his handwritten letter, Korean Times reported. 

Uncertainties ahead 

The CIO said it began questioning Yoon at its office in Seoul at 11 am Wednesday, but that he has refused to testify.

The anti-corruption body has 48 hours to decide whether to request a court to issue an arrest warrant for Yoon, according to Yonhap.  

The interrogation, with over 200 pages of questions prepared, is expected to focus on substantiating key allegations surrounding the failed martial law imposition, ranging from the planning stages leading up to the event to its execution on the day, Yonhap reported. 

In a parallel probe, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday launched a trial to rule on parliament's impeachment of Yoon. If the court endorses the impeachment, Yoon will finally lose the presidency and fresh elections will have to be held within 60 days, according to AFP. 

Yoon's impeachment trial is currently pending ruling by the Constitutional Court. However, many uncertainties remain due to factors such as the court's trial procedures, the judges' political stances, and the intense political struggle among domestic factions, Dong Xiangrong, a senior research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

A decision of the Constitutional Court requires more than six votes for the impeachment, Dong explained, noting that considering various factors such as the stances of political parties and personal positions of the judges, there is both a possibility that this case could either be rejected or recognized by the Constitutional Court.

Xiang said Yoon's arrest may also further intensify conflicts between different political forces in South Korea, leading this round of political turmoil to new developments, potentially triggering greater instability in the political landscape in South Korea.

Following Yoon's detention, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) vowed to hold the CIO accountable for what it called the "illegal" execution of the detention warrant, echoing Yoon's assertions of its illegality, according to the Korea Times. 

However, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the detention is a significant step toward upholding the rule of law. The DPK is now pressing the ruling party to pass a special counsel bill to investigate the treason charges against Yoon, the Korea Times reported. 

South Korea's ruling People Power Party may seek to defend its ruling status by protecting the president, trying to delay judicial investigations into Yoon as long as possible, and postponing the timeline for his stepping down to avoid holding a new presidential election in South Korea too soon, said Xiang. 

In the future, the opposition parties are also likely to engage in disputes with the ruling party over topics such as the impeachment trial of Yoon and the scandal involving first lady. These disputes may also provoke division among the public, said Xiang. 

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in Shigatse of Xizang Autonomous Region at 9:05 a.m. Tuesday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 28.5 degrees north latitude and 87.45 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km, said a report issued by the CENC.

The China National Narcotics Control Committee, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration jointly issued a guideline to intensify the crackdown on illegal activities related to drug-laced e-cigarettes amid rising abuse among the country's youth, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.

The move aims to strengthen efforts against drug-laced and prohibited substance-containing e-cigarettes and bolster inter-agency cooperation for a systematic resolution of the issue, the CCTV report said. 

Currently, the abuse of "getting high e-cigarettes," which contain new drugs and substitute substances such as etonitazene and synthetic cannabinoids, is rapidly spreading among teenagers, posing severe risks to public health, particularly to young people, according to the report. 

The guideline outlines the necessity to clearly define responsibilities across narcotics control offices, public security agencies, and tobacco monopoly departments at all levels in combating related illegal activities and crimes, establish liaison mechanisms, enhance inter-departmental coordination, and foster a unified crackdown. 

Measures will target illegal production and sale of e-cigarettes, the addition of drugs and substitute substances in the vaping liquid, the illegal manufacturing of new drugs and substitute substances, the use of drug-laced e-cigarettes, and online activities facilitating such practices.

The guideline emphasizes that public security agencies and tobacco monopoly departments should enhance information sharing and law enforcement collaboration, with a focus on tracking and dismantling dens illegally producing e-cigarettes and drug-laced e-cigarettes. They should enhance early warning and monitoring of substitute substances added to the e-cigarettes and review the situation regularly.

It also stressed that relevant authorities should increase public awareness efforts, utilizing diverse media platforms to educate youth on the dangers of drug-laced e-cigarettes and relevant drug control laws, leverage the expertise of national drug laboratories and their branches and provide technological support for law enforcement efforts.

China on Thursday reported an outbreak of monkeypox virus, specifically the Ib sub-branch, with four associated cases. The outbreak has been effectively controlled.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) announced on Thursday that China has recently discovered a monkeypox virus outbreak, caused by the Ib sub-branch, with the source traced to a foreign individual with a travel history in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Following the outbreak, a joint prevention and control mechanism was activated.

Four related cases were identified among close contacts, all of whom were infected after intimate contact. No infections have been found among the general population, and all affected individuals are receiving medical treatment and are under observation. The relevant cases primarily exhibit symptoms such as rashes and herpes, which are relatively mild.

The outbreak has been effectively controlled.

The CDC on Thursday also published a notice on its WeChat account, remind people to avoid close contact with monkeypox patients or individuals showing suspicious symptoms of monkeypox. The center said it is also important not to come into contact with wild or unknown rodents, as well as primates such as monkeys and apes.

The center said individuals from countries (or regions) where monkeypox is prevalent, who have been in contact with monkeypox patients or exhibit symptoms such as fever, rash, or lymphadenopathy, should report their status to customs upon entry into China.

Close contacts of individuals diagnosed with monkeypox should undergo health monitoring for 21 days under the guidance of disease control agencies, warned the center, advising that they should avoid close contact with others during this period and avoid donating blood.

The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) has officially confirmed that a magnitude-4.6 earthquake occurred at 16:43 on Thursday in Jinfeng district of Yinchuan, the capital city of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in Northwest China (latitude 38.41°N, longitude 106.26°E).

After the earthquake in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Earthquake Disaster Relief Headquarters of the State Council and China's Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) activated an emergency response, dispatching a working group to the affected area to assist with relief efforts, according to CCTV news. Local fire and rescue teams deployed 105 personnel and 20 vehicles to assess conditions near the epicenter. Additionally, 440 personnel, 86 vehicles, and 13 rescue dogs from heavy and light rescue teams are on standby. So far, no casualties have been reported.

This is the second earthquake reported in the same day in Ningxia, with the first one occurring at 10:01 in the morning, located at 38.4 degrees north latitude and 106.22 degrees east longitude, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The public security bureau of Dujiangyan, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, said on Friday that two netizens have been legally transferred for prosecution for widely spreading rumors about giant pandas for profit, inciting netizens to resist international cooperation in giant panda conservation, defaming organizations and slandering relevant experts and professionals, according to a release on its official WeChat account.

According to the release, in March 2024, the local authorities received public reports about netizens who had widely disseminated rumors regarding giant pandas through short videos and livestreaming.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that since June 2023, the two suspects - a 56-year-old woman surnamed Bai from Xianyang, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and a 40-year-old man surnamed Xu from the same region - had repeatedly fabricated and disseminated false information online, alleging that the Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, that returned to China from the US in November 2023, were being abused.

Bai and Xu had generated over 30,000 yuan ($4,110) in earnings from live broadcasts and raised more than 140,000 yuan from their followers, resulting in a total profit exceeding 170,000 yuan, said the release.

At the same time, they tarnished the reputations of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center, and other organizations, defaming relevant experts and professionals while inciting netizens to oppose international cooperation in giant panda conservation, according to the local authorities.

Under the instigation of Bai and Xu, some individuals engaged in illegal activities frequently harassed several experts in the relevant fields through phone calls, abusive text messages, and offline disturbances. This severely impacted the experts' normal work and lives and significantly disrupted the working order of the relevant organizations, the release said.

The release also said some individuals conducted illegal activities such as repeatedly calling the government service hotline and the emergency hotline to file false complaints and reports, maliciously occupying public resources and severely disrupting the normal operations of emergency assistance by the relevant organizations.

The actions of Bai and Xu are suspected of violating relevant provisions of China's criminal law and they have been legally transferred for prosecution. The case is currently under further investigation, the local police said.

A prototype of the CR450 bullet train that will run at 400 kilometers per hour debuted in Beijing on Sunday, said the country's railway operator.

The train is capable of running at 450 kilometers per hour in test.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said Macao will surely open up new horizons for development and keep creating new glories, as long as the policy of "one country, two systems" is comprehensively, accurately and unwaveringly implemented.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering celebrating the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland.

The US House of Representatives failed on Thursday to pass a new Republican spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump sank a bipartisan stopgap bill. A Chinese expert said the latest development again highlighted the confusion in US political parties, and the rising US debt, which is at the center of the bill, is the result of irresponsibility on the part of successive governments, which has also cast a shadow of uncertainty over the world economy.

The package failed by a vote of 174-235, leaving lawmakers just one day to approve new funding to avert a government shutdown. A prior bipartisan deal was scuttled after Trump and Elon Musk came out against it on Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.

Thursday's unsuccessful bill largely resembled the earlier version that Musk and Trump had blasted. It would have extended government funding into March and provided $100 billion in disaster relief and suspended the debt. At Trump's urging, the new version would have suspended limits on the national debt for two years - a maneuver that would make it easier to pass the dramatic tax cuts he has promised, according to the report.

"The bill's failure again highlighted the confusion in US political parties. If the US government shuts down, Americans' daily lives and work may be affected, which is an irresponsible move," Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Friday.

Government funding is due to expire at midnight on Friday. If lawmakers fail to extend that deadline, the US government will begin a partial shutdown that would interrupt funding for everything from border enforcement to national parks and cut off paychecks for more than 2 million federal workers. The US Transportation Security Administration warned that travelers during the busy holiday season could face long lines at airports, according to Reuters.

After the bill failed, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that "Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal."

The debt limit - commonly called the debt ceiling - is the maximum amount of debt that the US Department of the Treasury can issue to the public or to other federal agencies. On December 16, 2021, lawmakers raised the debt limit by $2.5 trillion to a total of $31.4 trillion. On January 19, 2023, that limit was reached, and the US debt currently amounts to $36.17 trillion.

"Suspending US debt limits is at the center of the revised bill, and the debt issue has been politicized by factors such as the conflict between the Democratic and Republican parties," Zhou said. 

The continually rising US debt has become a persistent problem for the US government, Zhou said, attributing it to successive US governments' irresponsibility, including a chronic inability to make ends meet.

The high cost of goods in the US due to tariffs has also affected people's purchasing willingness, resulting in more obvious constraints on the country's economy, he noted.

"The political incapacity of the US government in resolving huge debts is seriously eroding the country's credibility, which not only undermines the market's confidence in the US government and the dollar, but also drags down the development of the global economy," Zhou noted.

"In addition to affecting US debt holders, the exchange rate and financial market shocks for other countries are also of concern," the expert said.

The Philippine side, with US support and solicitation, has been stirring up troubles on many spots in the SouthChina Sea. From Ren'ai Jiao to Xianbin Jiao and from Houteng Jiao to Huangyan Dao, such repeated provocations have allowed the international community to see clearly who is undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea, and who is fabricating and spreading lies,Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said on Friday.

Wu made the remarks in response to a question on the Philippine Coast Guard claiming that the Chinese side recently took "aggressive actions" toward Philippine fishing boats heading toward Houteng Jiao. It is also reported that several Philippine government vessels were stopped while trying to intrude into Huangyan Dao. The commander of the Philippine Navy said that they had formulated "Gray Zone" tactics to cope with the activities of Chinese boats operating in the South China Sea.

Wu said that wherever they go, whether transiting or re-supplying, the Philippine ships always have a full deck of reporters. The real issue, however, is never about who has more reporters, but who has more legitimacy.

The territories of the Philippines are defined by a series of international treaties, which do not include the Nansha Islands and Huangyan Dao. The Philippine side knows this fact very well. China's position is clear and consistent: more provocations lead to stronger countermeasures; should the Philippine side stubbornly follow the wrong path, China will never back down, Wu said.