Space

Tesla CEO Elon Musk drew widespread criticism for his comment on establishing Taiwan as a special administrative zone. While Musk raised his suggestions based on his own commercial interests, the controversial statement shows the impact of the Taiwan Strait issue for the business world. Is there a time and place for businessmen to tread on geopolitical issues?

China recently announced that its space exploration programme will recruit payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau, sparking excitement for the people of Hong Kong. While the announcement is a recognition of the special administrative region’s R&D capabilities, some believe that it is an effort to win over the people of Hong Kong and boost their sense of belonging and patriotism. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk takes a look at what this opportunity means for Hong Kong.

Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, notes that well-educated and professionally capable military technocrats are prominently represented in the PLA leadership, and this trend is set to continue after the 20th Party Congress. What contributions will this new corps of military technocrats make as Xi Jinping heads into a likely third term?

The rapid rise of “the cosmos club” has paralleled China's rising aspiration to take on a prominent role in the international “space club”. Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, takes a closer look at the career paths and institutional associations of emerging rocket scientists in China’s national and provincial leadership.

The presence of leaders in the CCP Central Committee with aerospace backgrounds is not new, but this group has never penetrated the national and provincial levels of leadership at the rate and scale that it has during the Xi Jinping era. Two and perhaps even three of them will be strong contenders for the Politburo at the 20th Party Congress, and most of them will play an important role in Xi Jinping’s third term and beyond, says Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution.

With China's accelerated efforts to become a great space power, including opening up its space sector to private firms, Western developed countries worry that China's military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy may see technology developed in the commercial sector being used to boost China's military space power in the future. Are these fears justified? Japanese academic Masaaki Yatsuzuka looks into the issue.

China’s Shenzhou-14 spacecraft launched on 5 June, with the three astronauts on board taking on a six-month stint in space. Among them, the greatest focus has been on Liu Yang, China’s first woman in space and a vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan tells us more about this prominent astronaut.

EAI academic Qian Jiwei notes that as China’s space capabilities increase, the field is being opened up to private companies. This move is likely to spark off greater innovation and efficiency for the industry and give China a leg up in the space race, but challenges exist in offering targeted policies and managing innovative outputs.

As geopolitical competition among global powers extends into outer space, major players are looking at how the private sector can play a bigger part in the space race and boost national space venturing capabilities. Yogesh Joshi and Ashmita Rana note that while India's space expenditure stands at only one-sixth of China's, and the latter seems to be leading the way in working with its private space firms, India's great ambitions and edge over China in working with global partners may give it a greater push to catch up.