[US Hot Search] Typhoon Hongxia On Site | Fang Xinghai Tragedy | Offshore Trusts Fall | Chairman Xi "Mysteriously" Reveals Truth of Reform and Opening Up | Pengshui Missing Bus Found | Taiwan Edible Oil Reversal | Buyi Villagers' Bamboo Raft Defense Battle
The video first introduces the disaster situation in many parts of Guangdong caused by Typhoon Hongxia, the plight of suspended basket workers, and the discovery of a missing minibus in Pengshui, Chongqing. It then recounts the conflict between Buyi villagers in Guizhou and government officials over bamboo raft operating rights. The program also discusses Xi Jinping's "inexplicable" comments on Yiwu, official anti-corruption data, the Taiwan edible oil controversy, the investigation of Fang Xinghai, new regulations on offshore trust taxation, and the fine imposed on Futu Securities.
Video Link:
Full Text:
First, let's move to the "Watching China on Mobile" segment.
At 3:50 AM on July 26th, the strongest typhoon of 2026, "Hongxia," made landfall in Huizhou, Guangdong, with maximum winds of 14级 (level 14). Shenzhen was battered by wind and rain, with maximum winds also reaching level 14.
Despite the typhoon warning for Hongxia, some developers still risked high-altitude operations. Around 4 PM on July 25th, a suspended basket at the Gemdale development in Dongguan lost control in the wind, trapping 4 workers in mid-air. On July 26th, on the exterior of a tall building in Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, another suspended basket was trapped in mid-air due to the typhoon, with two workers inside. In the heavy rain in Foshan, workers cleaning windows were also trapped in a suspended basket.
Netizens complained: "A society without human rights is like this. Who cares about typhoons or safety? As long as you don't do it, there are plenty of others who will. Life is the cheapest thing here. If something happens, the company can claim it was the employee's personal behavior, or that they were temporary workers, with no compensation and no legal protection."
Speaking of life being cheap, the CCP has started releasing floodwaters again. On July 26th, the release of water from Hengjiang Reservoir in Liangtian Township, Jieyang, Guangdong, turned downstream villages and streets into a vast ocean. On July 27th, Typhoon "Hongxia" had already caused severe urban flooding in Puning, Chaoshan, and other areas of Guangdong.
Meanwhile, many other parts of China are also suffering from floods. In the afternoon of July 26th, a flash flood occurred in the Shuangshimen scenic area of Weiyuan, Gansu, resulting in 10 deaths and 23 injuries. Jinan, Shandong experienced torrential rain, causing severe waterlogging in some areas.
Netizens pointed out: There were no donations from mainlanders, nor from foreigners. Ordinary people in mainland China have been hijacked by the authorities.
It has been 10 days since the landslide in Pengshui, Chongqing, and the blue minibus swallowed by the landslide has been a constant concern. Around 11:52 PM on July 26th, the missing vehicle was finally found. The vehicle was almost completely flattened, and rescue personnel found suspected human remains inside and around the vehicle. DNA testing is currently underway to confirm identities.
Then why are you unwilling to let me know, and even more unwilling to touch me, but instead make my life difficult? I, I, I, I, I still have my own image, and I have text on one side, with a large amount of text.
Previously, a netizen posted a video claiming that his home surveillance footage had recorded his father boarding a blue minibus. He said he never expected it to be his father's last photograph. The surveillance video circulating online shows two passengers getting off the bus 20 seconds before the landslide, narrowly escaping disaster.
The netizen said: There are high-risk buildings all around the mountain, why such high-density housing? Which developed country in Europe or America allows such high-density housing to be built next to mountains? This is another preventable natural and man-made disaster.
In the Daxiao Jing scenic area of Moyang Town, Luodian County, Guizhou, Buyi ethnic villagers have long relied on bamboo rafts to ferry tourists for income. However, the government has recently been competing with the people for profit, handing over the scenic area to an enterprise called "Minsheng Company." After taking over, the company set up checkpoints nearby, forcing tourists to take paid shuttle buses and prohibiting villagers from ferrying passengers with bamboo rafts.
Starting from July 18, villagers protested near the pier. On July 24, the villagers could no longer bear it and clashed with government personnel, police, and company staff who were expelling them.
Netizen comment: During economic downturns, the CCP cannot afford the government, so the government robs the people.
On July 24, the top news on Weibo platform,
It is worth noting that after Fang Xinghai was investigated, Caixin and The Wall Street Journal quickly disclosed a large amount of inside information, full of details, which is not common in major anti-corruption cases in China. Obviously, someone leaked information. These reports had a clear public opinion effect: before the specific charges were announced, Fang Xinghai's professional image was damaged.
Looking back at Fang Xinghai's resume, in 1993, he obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University and then worked at the World Bank in Washington. Following this path, he could have had a good development in international financial institutions.
In 1998, at the invitation of Zhou Xiaochuan, then president of China Construction Bank, Fang Xinghai chose to return to China. Since then, he has served in China Construction Bank, Galaxy Securities, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Shanghai Financial Affairs Office.
In 2013, he joined the office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission; in 2015, he became vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), mainly in charge of important businesses such as international cooperation and issuance review.
Fang Xinghai is a representative returned scholar technocrat in China's financial system. He is fluent in English, familiar with international capital markets, and has long been regarded by foreign investors as an important communicator between Beijing and Wall Street. However, his professional philosophy has been in constant friction with the Chinese bureaucratic system.
According to Caixin, Fang Xinghai had a tense relationship with then CSRC Chairman Yi Huiman, and the two were described as "one foreign and one native": Fang Xinghai was a Stanford Ph.D. and from the World Bank; Yi Huiman had worked in the domestic banking system in China for a long time.
According to a participant's recollection, after an industry conference, attendees dined with senior CSRC officials in the cafeteria. Fang Xinghai took the initiative to discuss his travel arrangements with Yi Huiman, hoping to communicate. Yi Huiman did not respond and continued to chat with others. Fang Xinghai could only leave with his tray, dejected.
During his tenure in charge of issuance review, Fang Xinghai believed that some review standards were too rigid, so he began to personally participate in project reviews. In one internal discussion, he questioned the relevant standards, saying: "Even I, a Stanford Ph.D., have never heard of these standards." This remark exacerbated the conflict between him and Guo Xudong, then deputy director of the Department of Issuance Supervision.
Guo Xudong had worked in the issuance review system for a long time and insisted on his professional judgment, even not replying to Fang Xinghai's related messages. In October 2025, Guo Xudong, who had already retired, voluntarily surrendered. In July 2026, Fang Xinghai was also investigated.
Another important project promoted by Fang Xinghai during his tenure was the listing of Ant Group. In 2020, Ant Group planned to list simultaneously in Shanghai and Hong Kong, raising about $30 billion, expected to be the largest IPO in the world at that time.
Caixin reported that Fang Xinghai was determined to make this project a success, "more concerned than investment banks," and had personally led the Ant team to communicate everywhere. In the end, Fang Xinghai did not wait for his "world's largest IPO." On November 3, 2020, with only two days left before Ant Group's listing, the Shanghai Stock Exchange suddenly announced the suspension of the listing. This project, approved by the CSRC system and attracting global capital, was ultimately halted by a higher-level political decision.
In July 2024, Fang Xinghai retired due to age. According to The Wall Street Journal, after retirement, he applied for a senior position at the World Bank in Washington, but this application was rejected by the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee in 2025. Subsequently, he was also asked to submit materials detailing his professional experience.
On July 24, 2026, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that Fang Xinghai was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and was undergoing disciplinary review and supervision and investigation. The authorities have not yet announced specific charges, so it is still unknown to the outside world what cases he is involved in.
Fang Xinghai is not a simple victim of the system. He voluntarily entered the power structure and publicly defended it. In 2013, during the National People's Congress, he handed a letter to Xi Jinping saying: "I want to contribute to the development of the national financial industry!" Xi Jinping then forwarded the letter to the department responsible for financial and economic affairs, and Liu He, director of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office, immediately invited Fang Xinghai to help draft the financial reform plan. Later, Fang Xinghai was promoted to vice chairman of the CSRC.
On international occasions, Fang Xinghai has also defended China's political system on multiple occasions. He once criticized the serious problems of Western democracy in Davos, claiming that China is "more democratic than the West." Some people laughed at the time; Fang Xinghai emphasized that he was serious.
These remarks now, in turn, weaken external sympathy for him. Fang Xinghai was originally a professional official who could communicate with the international community. He tried to gain recognition from both worlds: obtaining positions and power in Beijing, and retaining professional reputation and a fallback in the international community.
But this kind of “eating from both ends” carries extremely high risks. When Fang Xinghai began to endorse the CCP system with his professional reputation, he gradually lost his identity as an independent scholar and technical expert. He collaborated with the system for over twenty years, thinking that he could go his separate ways after retirement in exchange for a career platform. However, once one enters the CCP's power structure, when one can withdraw and whether one can go abroad may no longer be up to oneself.
A few days ago, Shing-Tung Yau was still calling for Fields Medalists Wang Hong and Deng Yu to return to China. Fang Xinghai's experience, however, serves as a reminder to overseas technical elites who still harbor illusions about the CCP: it's time for their dreams to end.
On July 24, China's Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation quietly issued an announcement stating that income generated from residents' assets transferred to offshore trusts, as well as income generated during the trust's existence, will be subject to a 20% individual income tax. A transition period of 90 days is given, after which self-declaration and supplementary payments will be required for any overdue amounts.
With just a few words, no interpretation, and no prior public opinion preparation, these sentences carry more weight for China's wealthiest individuals than any
At the end of the program, we enter the netizen interaction session. When I commented that the Chinese Ambassador to Africa said that misfortune has nothing to do with the government, and everyone knows that every symbol in Chinese media is controlled by the CCP, let alone official media. Free to say, the ambassador speaks broken English, with typos like a primary school student. They say that a good system makes bad people not dare to do bad things, and a bad system makes good people not dare to do good things. Today's American Reading
ends here. Thank you for watching.
Dear audience friends,
If you like our program,
Please help us like and subscribe.
Let these ideas be heard further.
Also, for more friends who support our channel,
You can consider joining the China-US Comparison membership. We will see you next time.
Don't leave without saying goodbye.