On August 21, 2026, a violent explosion occurred in a residential compound in Linyi, Shandong. The shock wave damaged several surrounding apartment buildings. Officials said it was a gas pipeline explosion, while rumors online linked it to the forced demolition of a holdout household.
On August 21, 2026, the X account "Wall Country WaHaHa" claimed that the 301 Hospital database was leaked, and photos of Xi Jinping's head CT and leg MRI scans are suspected to have been released.
Zhang Dandan, vice dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said on a program that “flexible employment is in itself a form of welfare,” drawing criticism from netizens who called it a “why don’t they eat meat porridge” remark and accused her of confusing it with unemployment.
Less than a week after its release, the AI short film “No Time to Live Anyway” had surpassed 100 million views as of August 21, garnering more than 13 million likes, 130,000 comments, and over 8 million shares.
China's National Health Commission held a press conference to address claims circulating on social media that COVID-19 in August is caused by a new and more severe strain.
Hong Kong's High Court has ruled that the Alliance and its leaders are guilty of "inciting subversion of state power," with the charges relating to the slogan "end one-party rule" in the Alliance's platform.
Evergrande Group founder Xu Jiayin has been sentenced to life imprisonment, sparking widespread discussion about the fate of private entrepreneurs in China and the attitude of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) toward private capital.
A report released by a US congressional commission states that China is a decisive external supporter of Russia and analyzes the limitations and contradictions in the relationship between the two countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects that serious preparations be made to welcome soldiers returning from the war, sparking international attention regarding the post-war trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Ministry of Finance said that more than 2 trillion yuan of bonds will continue to be issued in the second half of the year, a relatively large scale for the same period of previous years; the 2026 quota for new special bonds is 4.4 trillion yuan, and ultra-long-term special treasury bonds total 1.3 trillion yuan.
On August 21, the website of the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection published a list of 12 people being dealt with, including Zeng Sheng, secretary-general of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee, and Liu Huawen, former secretary-general of the Jilin Provincial Government.
The Japanese government has verified that, as of now, no cabbage containing formaldehyde from Zhangjiakou has been confirmed to have entered the Japanese market.
Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada broke down, laying the fuse for the events that followed.
China’s National Health Commission stated at a press conference that flu vaccination will gradually be launched in various regions in September.
The South Korean Hyundai Motor union held its first full-scale strike in 10 years on August 21 due to a deadlock in wage negotiations, demanding an increase in the retirement age and job security for AI-related positions.
The US Department of Justice announced a $400 million settlement agreement with TikTok and ByteDance to resolve a civil lawsuit regarding children's privacy protection.
A Chinese tourist in Paris, whose passport was stolen, contacted the Chinese Embassy in France for help; because the embassy refused to answer calls in French, the tourist left a negative review for the embassy on Google Maps.
It is rumored that former Anta CEO Xu Yang sent a message after the flight to Los Angeles took off, celebrating that he finally fled China and reunited with his family.
At 12:58 PM, Caixin published a long signed article by James Liang titled "A Century of Chinese Population History," with the author still identified as the Executive Chairman of Trip.com Group.
On August 21, 2026, the High Court of Hong Kong ruled that the disbanded Hong Kong Alliance and its former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan and former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung were guilty of the crime of incitement to subvert state power.
On August 21, 2026, the Ministry of Finance released the national fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for January to July. Local governments' income from the transfer of state-owned land use rights was 1.1731 trillion yuan, down 30.8% year-on-year.
On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance agreed to pay a $400 million civil fine to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
On August 21, the High Court of Hong Kong ruled that the disbanded Alliance and its former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan and former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung were guilty of incitement to subvert state power; another former vice-chairman, Albert Ho, had earlier pleaded guilty. The three will attend a mitigation hearing on the 28th, and under the Hong Kong National Security Law the maximum penalty is ten years' imprisonment.
Data released by the Ministry of Finance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) shows that land grant revenue across China fell by 31% from January to July 2026.
China's general public budget revenue rose 5.8% year-on-year in January-July, among which revenue at the central level grew 9.1% and revenue at the local level grew 3.3%; income from the transfer of state-owned land use rights fell 30.8% year-on-year.
On August 21, 2026, the German and French embassies and consulates in China issued a joint statement expressing deep regret over the Hong Kong court's ruling that convicted Andy Lau and other Alliance leaders of incitement to subversion, and calling on the Hong Kong government to immediately release Chow Hang-tung.
On August 21, 2026, the National Development and Reform Commission solicited public comments on the revised Measures for the Administration of Outbound Investment, incorporating for the first time direct overseas investment and reinvestment by individual residents within China into the approval and filing regulatory framework.
On August 21, 2026, media reported that a 60-year-old acupuncturist was sentenced to three years and three months for raping an 18-year-old female nurse. Weibo pushed the story onto the trending list under the headline that the victim had not cried out for help, drawing criticism from netizens of victim-blaming.
On August 21, 2026, netizens photographed sections of the Lianhuo Expressway in Xinjiang between Turpan and Hami, where the original Uyghur markings on some road signs had been covered up or removed, and the newly replaced signs retained only Chinese characters and pinyin.
On August 21, 2026, the Shudao Railway Investment Longhuang Railway project in Luzhou, Sichuan was exposed for withholding construction machinery fees and workers' wages. Several rights defenders went to the lobby of the company involved and lay on the ground in protest to demand their unpaid wages.
In September 2026, demographer Liang Jianzhang's team released the "China Centennial Historical Population Report," estimating that China's births in 2025 fell to 7.92 million, only one quarter of the 1963 peak.
On August 21, 2026, a severe explosion occurred in Yihe New District, Linyi, Shandong. A huge mushroom cloud rose from the scene and the blast affected more than ten buildings. Official statements said there were no deaths, while CCTV News reported 1 death and 2 people missing.
On August 21, 2026, a bulk carrier carrying iron ore bound for China sank in the Bay of Bengal. Of the 20 Chinese crew members aboard, only 2 were rescued, while the remaining 18 Chinese crew members are missing, and search and rescue operations are underway.
On August 21, 2026, multiple users reported that, without their knowledge, their participation in a Baidu Netdisk sharing campaign led the operator to file personal income tax labor compensation declarations of 89.1 yuan on their behalf, raising questions about tax compliance.
In the early hours of August 21, 2026, police in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, carried out a special operation against illegally modified vehicles gathering for races and “street racing and exhaust-popping” in the Qipanshan area, arresting 15 people on site and temporarily impounding 31 vehicles.
On August 21, 2026, a netizen in Xinjiang revealed that the Second Construction Zone of the general contracting project of the China Communications First Highway Engineering Group's Bazhou project has been withholding workers' wages since 2025, and that when workers went to demand their unpaid wages, they were blocked by checkpoints set up by the project side.
On August 21, 2026, laborers reported that the "Lingbao City Secondary Vocational School New Campus Construction Project" in Henan, undertaken by Shanghai Baoye, had not paid migrant workers a single cent of their wages from January to August, causing the project to come to a complete halt.
On August 21, 2026, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court officially ruled that Guangzhou Sport University would serve as the restructuring investor for the Evergrande Football School, and the former Evergrande Qingyuan Football School entered the substantive restructuring and takeover stage.
On August 21, 2026, workers at Beiteer Daily Necessities Co., Ltd. in Wujin District, Changzhou, Jiangsu exposed that the factory had maliciously withheld wages year after year, and some workers owed wages were forced to defend their rights through extreme means yet still could not recover the arrears.
On August 21, 2026, several construction workers at a project site in Xinjiang reported that their wages had been withheld by the China Gezhouba Group; lacking food and accommodation support and the travel money to return home, they remained stranded at the site, gathering to defend their rights and demand payment of unpaid wages.
On August 21, 2026, a horse ranch instructor in Qilian County, Qinghai, who had been placed under administrative detention for 13 days for molesting a female tourist, was found to have returned to work at the original ranch. The ranch said he was allowed to keep working because his wages had been paid in advance.
On August 21, 2026, large numbers of tourists at the Daocheng Yading Scenic Area in Sichuan ignored signs, climbed over fences, and trampled the alpine meadows to take photos; other tourists on site loudly tried to dissuade them, but to no avail.
On August 21, 2026, SWAT police in Yantai, Shandong, conducted drills on multiple emergency scenarios, including knife and axe attacks, mass incidents, and vehicle ramming. After video from the scene was made public, it sparked widespread discussion and mockery.
On August 21, 2026, Huidong Senior High School in Guangdong Province organized collective haircuts as students returned to school at the start of the term. After related videos circulated, they drew criticism and mockery from netizens over the harsh campus management.
On August 21, 2026, netizens captured photos of anti-animal-abuse public service ads that successively appeared on the electronic screen at Yinchuan Railway Station in Ningxia and at a bus stop in Fushun, Liaoning, calling on people to treat living beings with kindness.
On August 21, 2026, netizens reported that when selling Chai Jing's book Seeing on the Xianyu platform, they were blocked by the system; sending the book title directly was intercepted with a prompt about improper information, and both buyer and seller had to rely on coded language to complete the transaction.
On August 21, 2026, netizens in Shiwan, Foshan, Guangzhou Province reported that after dengue fever cases appeared locally, the economic cooperative notified businesses and workers in its jurisdiction to bring their ID cards and go collectively to the senior activity center for blood testing.
On August 21, 2026, a netizen posted that after setting a still from Friends showing the three characters covering their eyes, ears and mouths as their WeChat Moments background, their account was immediately restricted from joining groups and from using a number of other features, including WeCom.
On August 21, someone graffitied near the site of the Chongqing Times Fengjun incident, writing “Times Fengjun, Pedophile Company” to express an accusation against the company over its pedophilia scandal.
On August 21, 2026, residents of Xidui Village, Huxi Town, Dongyang, Zhejiang, clashed physically with personnel wearing red armbands after opposing the routing of a sewage pipeline for a 100,000-head-per-year pig farm through the village and right next to a water source protection zone.