More Graves Found at Canadian School, Xiaohongshu Suspends Listing, China’s Vaccination Drive Reaches 1.4 Billion Doses

Here is today’s ranking of the 10 most-read news stories in China, in economics, finance and current affairs, to help give you a sense of what’s trending in the Chinese language sphere.

Chinese social media users have been paying close attention to the two critically endangered species found in Yunnan. They have also been following the Pakistan bus explosion which killed nine Chinese and three Pakistanis.

1. 4.8-magnitude earthquake hits southwestern Chinese province

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan county (external source, in Chinese), Sichuan province at 11:36 p.m. Wednesday, according to the China Earthquake Network Center. The Sichuan Earthquake Bureau said there were no casualties.

2. University of Hong Kong cuts ties with student union

The University of Hong Kong (external source, in Chinese) severed all ties with its student union after it passed a resolution on the “sacrifice” of a man who stabbed a police officer on July 1 before committing suicide.

3. Pakistan bus explosion that killed nine Chinese caused by bomb

An explosion on a bus in northern Pakistan killed nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis while injuring dozens more Wednesday morning. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian blamed a “bomb attack” for the Chinese casualties.

4. More unmarked graves uncovered at former residential school site in Canada

Canada’s Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation (external source, in Chinese), an indigenous nation in British Columbia, announced Thursday the discovery of 200 more child graves at the site of a former Indian residential school in Kamloops, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. This is the fifth time that unmarked children’s graves have been found at a former residential school.

Photo: VCG

5. Two critically endangered plant species found in Yunnan

Chinese botanical researchers in June discovered two critically endangered plant species (external source, in Chinese) in Xiaozhai Tienkeng near Mengzi city, southwestern China’s Yunnan province, that had not been seen for over a century. The species are called Petrocosmea granflora and Elaeagnus bambusetorum.

6. Social media platform Xiaohongshu suspends US IPO plan

Chinese lifestyle-focused social media platform Xiaohongshu (external source, in Chinese) has halted plans to list in New York as Beijing tightens scrutiny of Chinese companies’ overseas IPOs, according to Bloomberg.

7. Shenzhou-12 return capsule to touch down at Dongfeng landing site

China’s Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft (external source, in Chinese) was successfully launched on June 17. After a stay of three months, the three astronauts will return on board the re-entry capsule to the Dongfeng landing site in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region in September, which will be the country’s first desert spacecraft landing.

8. Suspected assassins of Haitian president received U.S. training

The Pentagon confirmed (external source, in Chinese) Thursday that some of the suspected assassins of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse received training from the U.S. military while serving in the Colombian military.

9. Former U.S. President George Bush says Afghanistan troop withdrawal is a mistake

Former U.S. President George W. Bush (external source, in Chinese) criticized President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, saying it would lead to the suffering of the Afghan people. The Afghan Taliban seized control of another major border crossing with Pakistan on Wednesday.

10. China’s Covid-19 vaccination drive passes 1.4 billion doses

As of Tuesday, China has administered more than 1.4 billion doses (external source, in Chinese) of Covid-19 vaccines, according to the country’s National Health Council, with the last 100 million doses administered in nine days.

Translated by intern reporter Chen Bingyi

Caixin has not independently verified the veracity or accuracy of all of the headlines.

The daily ranking of most read news stories among Chinese people, about China and global affairs, is jointly provided to you by Caixin Insight and HANA Data, an artificial intelligence technology team.

The key indicators calculated on the list are based on mass data sourced from China’s mainstream social media platforms and online news websites. Click here for a detailed introduction of our methodology.