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Graeme Kearns, chief executive of Foundation Theatres, says: ‘Our job in theatre is to absolutely defend the right to tell stories about culture’

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The head of the theatre hosting the Shen Yun dance troupe in Sydney says the company would not be intimidated to pull the shows by any “outrageous” anonymous threats and that the publicity had increased interest in the show.
On Monday, the Gold Coast venue for the Shen Yun performances was forced to evacuate after a bomb threat, with a similar threat forcing the evacuation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official residence, The Lodge, in Canberra the next day.

Germany’s chancellor seeks to reduce Europe’s reliance on China and the United States. He speaks with a bluntness that few business leaders share.

Amid trade disputes with President Trump, leaders of major U.S. allies have been visiting China. Our foreign correspondent David Pierson describes what’s going on.

While some who have lived their entire lives under democracy seem willing to forsake it, many who have experienced life under autocracy want out
There is plenty to worry about in the global contest between democracy and autocracy. Iran’s violent of antigovernment protests in January crushed the latest effort to challenge a ruthless regime. In many European countries, including , and , far-right parties seem ascendant. And Donald Trump is doing what he can to in the United States.
Yet a closer analysis shows that autocrats are often running scared of their people. And surprisingly, democracy these days seems sometimes to be held in higher esteem in the global south than in the democratic heartland of the west.

China’s play for U.S. allies has a problem: As Germany’s leader showed, Europe’s grievances with Beijing may run deeper than its frustration with Trump.

Some on the right portray this TikTok phenomenon as tantamount to treason. That says more about them than the fans of Chinese culture
As it’s , it would not be surprising if you’ve found yourself scrolling through some China-inspired content. But before you click the heart on a TikTok of paper lanterns or mouthwatering noodles, think twice. As an unsuspecting citizen, you may well be participating in a geopolitical battle where western civilisation itself is on the line.
This isn’t the plot of a mediocre action thriller on Amazon Prime – this is “Chinamaxxing”, an internet trend that has got some commentators worrying that gen Z are about to topple the west from the inside.
Coco Khan is a writer and co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK

Kwok Yin-sang is the first family member of an activist to be convicted of a national security offence.

Appellate court quashes convictions linked to lease violations but Lai may still spend rest of his life in prison
A Hong Kong appellate court on Thursday overturned fraud convictions against the media mogul Jimmy Lai, a rare victory in the prominent pro-democracy activist’s legal battles.
Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist party who founded the now defunct Apple Daily, will stay in prison because weeks ago he was after being convicted in another case brought under a China-imposed national security law.

The 78-year-old Lai, however, remains detained for a separate national security case.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz laid out his complaints in a frank message to his hosts on a trip to Beijing that China had designed to showcase their relationship.

A warning was emailed to Shen Yun threatening to detonate explosives if their Australian performances proceeded
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Yesterday’s evacuation of the prime minister from The Lodge to the Chinese dance troupe Shen Yun. In a bomb threat emailed to the group, the sender said explosives would be detonated if Australian performances by Shen Yun proceeded.
This is just the latest controversy surrounding Shen Yun. But this use of a security threat as a prop to achieve other goals exposes a deeper and increasingly consequential struggle over culture, representation and political voice in the transnational Chinese world.