A leak surfaced on the overseas X platform claiming that a threat actor said it had breached Beijing's 301 Hospital and extracted over 400GB of data, including health records such as MRI scans of Xi Jinping's right knee joint.
On August 18, reports emerged that Xi Jinping would not seek a fourth term due to health reasons. On the same day, a batch of medical imaging records suspected to be from Beijing 301 Hospital appeared on the dark web, including a right-knee MRI image bearing Xi Jinping's name and date of birth.
The name of Zhao Xiaozhe, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Navy vice admiral and former director of the Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission, has been erased from the list of academicians, and related biographical records have been scrubbed across the internet.
Zhu Rongji's remains were cremated at Babaoshan in Beijing. Xinwen Lianbo broadcast the farewell ceremony, and the official press release and television footage sparked widespread speculation abroad about which retired senior officials attended.
U.S. publication The Hill carried an article by China expert Gordon Chang, citing a 2025 report that estimates China's homeless population at 47.5 million, more than five times the officially announced pre-pandemic figure from 2020. The report says many of the homeless are young people who lack stable jobs, earn too little to sustain life in the city, and face problems such as low social credit scores.
A farewell ceremony for Zhu Rongji was held at Babaoshan in Beijing. Xi Jinping attended and shook hands with Zhu Rongji's family members, while memorial activities in many places were strictly controlled.
President Trump stated that there are currently no talks or dialogues taking place with Iran, and emphasized that the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports and oil terminals is fully effective.
US national total debt officially crossed the $40 trillion mark on August 18, with the fiscal deficit and debt burden continuing to draw market attention.
Morris, former senior advisor to NIAID, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to violate the law and conspiracy to defraud the United States government. The case directly involves Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance and others, marking a significant judicial breakthrough in the U.S. investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and the internal cover-up.
Following Trump's order to scale back US-South Korea joint military exercises, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has publicly pushed once again to transfer the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the US military to South Korea, while urging accelerated acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, drawing external attention to the security trajectory of the Korean Peninsula.
Xu Yang announced via WeChat Moments that he was resigning due to his family studying abroad and relocating to Los Angeles, United States; at the time of his post, his flight had already taken off.
A farewell ceremony for Zhu Rongji was held at Babaoshan; according to information from outside the Great Firewall, the military used the related events to step up security in Beijing and at the Great Hall of the People.
The Chairpersons' Meeting of the National People's Congress announced the agenda for the NPC Standing Committee meeting on August 25, which includes deliberation of a report on the qualifications of certain deputies.
King Abdullah II of Jordan began an 8-day state visit to China, traveling to Shanghai and Shenzhen before arriving in Beijing on the 20th.
A Chinese netizen at Pudong Airport was asked to fill out an exit-entry registration form containing personal information, outbound itinerary, family members, overseas contacts, online activities, assets and finances, and several people had their phones confiscated for inspection.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te stated that next year's overall defense budget will exceed NT$1 trillion for the first time, reaching NT$1.1225 trillion, continuing to exceed 3% of GDP.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 100th birthday of Jiang Zemin, mentioning reform 16 times.
Israel has been confirmed to have launched eight airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria; the U.S. envoy expressed concern, and Syria strongly condemned the act.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, currently visiting Australia, stated that in the face of a severe security environment, trilateral cooperation between Japan, the U.S., and South Korea is crucial for regional security.
The Taiwan Army's Unmanned Aerial System Training Command recently conducted FPV immersive and drone-dropped live-fire exercises, integrating combat tactics into its asymmetric defense system.
The World Health Organization stated that despite the severe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is expected to be brought under control within the next three months, provided sufficient resources are obtained.
Chinese citizen Lu Jianfei was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina for participating in a transnational drug trafficking and money laundering organization.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Karim Khan, freezing their assets in response to their investigations into officials from non-member states.
Anta brand CEO Xu Yang resigned for family reasons, posting on WeChat Moments at Hong Kong Airport on August 18, with the flight bound for Los Angeles, completing a relocation of his whole family.
Bill Gertz reported that the Pentagon is reviewing low-yield nuclear weapon options in order to give the president more options in a localized conflict.
Xiaomi announced its 2026 interim results: net profit of 14.2 billion yuan in the first half of the year, and net cash flow from operating activities of 2.05 billion yuan; the report also disclosed that revenue in the second quarter exceeded 100 billion yuan.
Xiaomi's interim results show that its auto business posted an operating loss of 5.7 billion yuan in the first half of the year; 104,199 vehicles were delivered in the second quarter, generating revenue of 23.9 billion yuan.
A Chinese female influencer with more than 1.2 million Douyin followers filmed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and randomly asked passengers whether they would surrender to Japan, Africa and Singapore, then took off her shoes, sang and danced barefoot, and was restrained by police.
The US Embassy in the Philippines announced a partnership with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development to establish a reporting center to assist fishermen in reporting illegal fishing activities.
Dhaka launches a women-only pink bus service, with women serving as drivers and conductors, to ensure the travel safety of female passengers.
In the combined futures and options data from the CFTC for August 18, the net long positions of Managed Money increased by 3,986 contracts compared to the previous week.
On August 18, 2026, NTD reported that a Hebei Health Commission staff member said the 522,000 new confirmed cases in July released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention only reflect medical consultation data, and that the real number of infections is higher, with hospital beds in tight supply and long queues for cremation in many places; the claim has not been officially confirmed.
On August 18, 2026, NTD reported that a Mr. Wang, owner of a funeral services company in Dalian, said his company used to transport 7 or 8 bodies a day, but now that number has doubled, with as many as 30 bodies transported in a single day; the claim has not been verified officially.
On the morning of August 18, 2026, the remains of Zhu Rongji, former Premier of China's State Council, were cremated at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, with Xi Jinping and other Chinese Communist Party leaders attending to pay their respects.
On July 26, after dining with a public official in Binjiang District, Hangzhou, a senior executive from the China Merchants Group moved the gathering to a private KTV room, where he forcefully molested a woman, causing her injuries rated as minor injury level two; on August 18, authorities announced that the two had been criminally detained and dismissed from their posts, that the discipline inspection commission had stepped in, and that the venue involved had been shut down.
On August 18, 2026, media reported that Zhao Xiaozhe, a member of the 20th CCP Central Committee and former director of the Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission, was removed from the list of academicians on the official website of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, reducing the total number of official academicians by one.
On August 18, 2026, Nikkei Chinese reported that due to China's export controls on rare earths to Japan, Japan's total rare earth imports from China in the first half of 2026 had already dropped sharply to 20% of the same period in 2024.
On August 18, 2026, the Hangzhou investigation and handling team issued a report confirming that Yu Tingdong, deputy head of Binjiang District, Hangzhou, has been criminally detained by the police in accordance with the law on suspicion of forced indecent assault.
On August 18, 2026, Nikkei Asia reported that Google has informed its supply chain manufacturers of plans to pull the entire capacity for hardware such as Pixel smartphones out of China starting in 2027, shifting it fully to Vietnam and India.
On August 18, 2026, about 2,000 workers at a factory in Kong Pisei District, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia went on strike, accusing a Chinese supervisor of verbally abusing employees and punishing late workers by making them stand under the scorching sun, and demanding that he be replaced.
On August 18, 2026, a commercial dispute over graphics card buyback prices began to fully degenerate into mass personal attacks and gender-based insults. On Tieba, Hupu, NGA and the comment section of Bilibili, some extreme netizens completely ignored the blogger's explanation about the time difference, instead directing their fire at CC's female identity, her appearance and figure, and her image at work wearing black-framed glasses and work clothes, referring to her with the highly mocking and obscene nickname "the mysterious glasses woman." Some rumor-mongers even maliciously drew vulgar comics and memes with obvious sexual innuendo and disparaging intent based on video screenshots, which spread virally in major digital hardware discussion groups, showing online violence sliding toward vulgar pranks and personal humiliation.
A netizen in Henan posted a video showing a huge banner reading “Let’s go, let’s get married and register” hanging on the street, prompting jokes from other netizens.
On August 18, 2026, Rongcheng No. 3 Middle School in Weihai, Shandong was reported by students to the oversight authorities, revealing that the school planned to organize Grade 11 students to return early on August 20 for make-up classes and take measures to evade inspections.
On August 18, 2026, an incident in which a car intercepted a police car occurred on a road in Danzhou, Hainan. A man, apparently upset that the police car had not yielded to let him change lanes, parked his vehicle sideways to block the road, got out and pulled at the police car's door and climbed onto its roof, before being restrained at the scene.
In the early hours of August 18, 2026, an exceptionally heavy rainstorm suddenly hit urban Kunming in Yunnan, causing severe urban flooding. Roads in multiple areas of the main urban district remained severely submerged until that afternoon, and traffic came to a standstill.
On August 18, 2026, in Dongguan, Guangdong, a public welfare organization used loudspeakers to persuade and clear out unemployed people camping in tents by the roadside, offering free meals and bus tickets home, along with an escort to the station.
On August 18, 2026, reports circulated online that a major safety accident occurred when a wall collapsed at a college admission banquet venue in Gong County, Yibin, Sichuan, killing at least six people and seriously injuring several others, with emergency responders rushing to the scene.
On August 18, 2026, it was reported online that in Shining Village, Tangpeng Town, Lianjiang City, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, personnel from the Juxinyuan Mining Company were suspected of violently seizing villagers' mountain and forest land and beating villagers and minors, triggering a fierce physical clash.
On August 18, 2026, affected by the gathering conflict at Chongqing Times Fengjun, the Sina Weibo platform imposed search blocking and traffic throttling on discussion topics related to "Chongqing men gathering to openly insult women."
On August 18, 2026, during the warm-up for the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games held at the National Speed Skating Oval, a humanoid robot lost control while taking a high-speed turn, ran off the track, struck a power distribution box, and caught fire, suffering damage.