Latest news with #Tian
The Sun
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
China's wine market uncorks consumption vitality
YINCHUAN, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 13 June 2025 - In an exhibition hall at an expo in Yinchuan, the capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the rich aroma emanating from a copper hot pot is gaining the attention of visitors. The dish of tender mutton cooked in red wine-added broth is a perfect blend of two of Ningxia's most famed products. 'Using spring water, red wine and nourishing ingredients removes unpleasant smells, making the mutton delicious and flavorful,' said Tian Feng, who manages the hot pot restaurant operating the booth. The popularity of its red wine hot pot ensures the restaurant is often fully booked on weekends, Tian added. Across China's evolving consumer landscape, wine is undergoing a subtle transformation. No longer restricted to formal banquets and professional tasting events, wine is becoming accessible as various consumption scenarios and wine products are created. This shift in accessibility is evident at the ongoing Fifth China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Ningxia, which is a renowned wine production region that is promoting a 'tipsy economy.' Ningxia boasts a unique terroir for the production of top-class wine, with prolonged sunshine hours and a cool, dry climate aiding the cultivation of grapes. After four decades of development, it has become China's largest wine-producing region. The eastern foot of Helan Mountain is widely regarded as a 'golden zone' for grape cultivation and high-end wine production. By the end of 2024, the region had more than 600,000 mu (about 40,000 hectares) of wine grape plantations and an annual wine output of 140 million bottles. Its wines were exported to over 40 countries and regions. At the expo, brightly colored canned wines from the Ningxia State Farm Winery have won the favor of many. Compared to bottled wines, canned wines are more convenient to drink and can more easily meet the demands of diverse scenarios such as camping and picnics, said Li Shuang, the winery's sales manager. In addition to its canned wines, which have been popular since their launch last year, the company offers innovative products such as creamy jasmine wine, lemon oolong tea wine, black coffee wine and alcohol-free options. These products drove 20 percent of the company's sales growth in 2024, Li said. Cheeks rosy after tasting a dozen wines at the expo, local visitor Lu Ting is a tourism professional and sommelier who enjoys buying wines to share with family and friends. 'Chardonnay with meat skewers, reds with hot pot -- it's about sharing joy,' said Lu, 42. The four-day event will run until Thursday and is slated to include a world wine tasting event, a wine and winery exhibition, an innovation competition and an art biennial. Last month, Yinchuan also hosted a marathon that saw 43 local wineries offer 28,000 runners free vineyard tours, tastings and exclusive discounts for wine purchases. This event-driven approach has created a powerful synergy between tourism and viticulture, resulting in a surge in hotel bookings in the city. 'We're transforming the entire city into a living wine museum,' said Li Bingjie, director of Yinchuan's wine industry development service center. 'Visitors can fully immerse themselves in the journey from grape to glass.' Speaking at the expo's opening ceremony on Monday, Yvette van der Merwe, president of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, said that the organization has for many years observed and supported the rise of China's grape and wine industry, with the country being an important wine consumer and table grape producer. 'I see the energy that the growth of Ningxia Helan Mountain's east foothill region has contributed to the Chinese wine industry, and I am confident that it will bring new inspiration and opportunities to the global wine community,' she said.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Iberia Parish arrest tied to global online investment scam
IBERIA PARISH, La. (KLFY) — A man was arrested in Iberia Parish in connection with an international online investment scam that defrauded victims of thousands of dollars and involved the use of cash shipments and cryptocurrency kiosks. Pengfei Tian, 29 years old, Flushing, New York, arrested and charged for criminal conspiracy, illegal transmission of monetary funds, theft between $5,000 and $25,000, attempted theft over $25,000, money laundering, obstruction of justice and racketeering, deputies said. According to deputies, Tian is allegedly believed to be in the United States on an expired work visa and is suspected to be involved with an organized group operating a fictitious online gold exchange scheme that has defrauded victims of thousands of dollars. The investigation revealed that victims are typically approached via social media, where a member of the organization allegedly builds a relationship and eventually introduces them to what appears to be a high-yield gold investment opportunity, deputies said. Victims are allegedly instructed to send funds via cash shipments or cryptocurrency kiosks, which are then used to set up access to a fake online investment portal displaying artificially inflated returns. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now According to officials, victims are encouraged to take out personal loans to increase their investments. Once indebted, they are allegedly coerced into sending more money with false promises that their 'profits' can only be released once the loans are paid off. The scheme intensifies when couriers are sent under the guise of helping victims pay off their debts and delivering their supposed earnings in cash, none of which ever materialize, deputies said. Deputies urges the public to be cautious when asked to send money through untraceable means or when promised unrealistic returns on investments. This investigation is active and ongoing, with additional arrests and charges anticipated as other members of the group are identified. We will update as more information is released. House Republicans tee up tweaks to Trump megabill Abbeville police chief speaks on drive-by shooting video More Storms Likely For The Rest of The Week, Low End Severe Threat… Suspicious bag prompts evacuation at Lafayette Regional Airport New bill seeks to improve ER care for trafficking victims and sexual abuse Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Military News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
China targeting US military members for spy operations, fmr. CIA chief warns
A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station chief recently warned that U.S. military members and employees of the federal government are in the 'crosshairs' of China's spy operations as China tries to access information related to the U.S. military. Dan Hoffman, a former CIA station chief, told Fox News that China is likely targeting anyone in the U.S. military or the federal government to participate in various Chinese espionage operations. 'I think anybody who serves in the U.S. government is in the crosshairs. And China will do it,' Hoffman stated. 'Sometimes they'll run their recruitment operations posing as someone else. So maybe somebody doesn't want to go spy for China, but they might pretend to be somebody else. Or they might contact you on social media, on LinkedIn or some other site and pose as someone not so nefarious when in fact they are.' The former CIA station chief told Fox News that one of the Chinese government's 'highest requirement' is acquiring intelligence from the U.S. military. 'They want to recruit U.S. military because there's a probability we might go to war with China, and not just U.S. military, but NATO members as well, and throughout Asia,' Hoffman said. 'So they've got a massive intelligence apparatus.' READ MORE: Chinese naval activity increases in the Pacific: Report In March, the Department of Justice announced that two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers, identified as Jian Zhao and Li Tian, and one former U.S. Army soldier, identified as Ruoyu Duan, had been arrested and charged for allegedly selling secret military information to China. According to the Department of Justice, Tian and Duan were charged for conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property, and Zhao was charged for conspiring to obtain and transmit national defense information to an individual not authorized to receive the information, for theft of government property, and for bribery. Fox News reported that prosecutors said the espionage efforts involving Tian, Duan, and Zhao reflect China's use of individuals trusted by Chinese intelligence organizations to obtain information that could benefit the Chinese government. According to Fox News, those individuals, known as 'cut-outs,' are then used to recruit people with access to sensitive U.S. government information. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel previously addressed China's espionage operations, saying, 'While bribery and corruption have thrived under China's Communist Party, this behavior cannot be tolerated with our service members who are entrusted with sensitive military information, including national defense information. The FBI and our partners will continue to work to uncover attempts by those in China to steal sensitive U.S. military information and hold all accountable who play a role in betraying our national defense.'
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
China targets US military members in overseas spy operations, former CIA station chief warns
A former CIA station chief says China has U.S. military service members and government employees in the "crosshairs" of its overseas spy operations. Jian Zhao and Li Tian, both active-duty Army soldiers, were arrested in early March after allegedly selling "Top Secret" information to individuals based in China, according to the Department of Justice. Zhao and Tian were both indicted by federal grand juries in Washington and Oregon. Federal prosecutors allege Tian sold sensitive military information to former soldier Ruoyu Duan, who would allegedly receive money from individuals residing in China. Tian then allegedly received tens of thousands of dollars for selling the sensitive information. Included in the alleged documents Tian sold was a Google Drive link containing classified documents about the Stryker combat vehicle. Tian also allegedly sent additional sensitive data on U.S. weapons systems. Bombshell Report Suggests 'Chinese Spies' Infiltrating Prestigious Us University: 'Widespread Campaign' Prosecutors said the incidents highlight efforts by China to use "cut-outs," known as people trusted by Chinese intelligence services, to gather sensitive information that could help the Chinese government. Those "cut-outs" then recruit individuals with access to or knowledge of U.S. government information, which includes current and former government officials. Read On The Fox News App According to the court documents, security video showed Tian allegedly brought his personal cellphone into a classified area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington in May 2024, printed a classified document and left with it. He would allegedly return over three hours later with the document. Prosecutors also alleged that Tian took screenshots of sensitive information on several occasions. In a connected case at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Zhao allegedly sold classified information to an unnamed co-conspirator. According to federal prosecutors, Zhao received at least $15,000 for the documents. Zhao allegedly sold 20 military hard drives to an individual in China, some containing a "Secret" label. Zaho allegedly conspired to sell information related to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System as well as information related to U.S. military readiness if there was a war with China. "While bribery and corruption have thrived under China's Communist Party, this behavior cannot be tolerated with our service members who are entrusted with sensitive military information, including national defense information," said FBI Director Kash Patel on the charges. Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he thinks U.S. military service members as well as government employees are being targeted to take part in these spy operations. Former Us Army Intelligence Analyst Sentenced For Selling Sensitive Documents To Chinese National "I think anybody who serves in the U.S. government is in the crosshairs. And China will do it," Hoffman said. "Sometimes they'll run their recruitment operations posing as someone else. So maybe somebody doesn't want to go spy for China, but they might pretend to be somebody else. Or they might contact you on social media, on LinkedIn or some other site and pose as someone not so nefarious when in fact they are." Hoffman said gaining intel from the U.S. military is one of the Chinese government's "highest requirements." "They want to recruit U.S. military because there's a probability we might go to war with China, and not just U.S. military, but NATO members as well, and throughout Asia. So they've got a massive intelligence apparatus," he said. China isn't just targeting the U.S. military. It's targeting many other aspects of American society as well, including academia. Five former University of Michigan students were charged in October 2024 after they were allegedly caught spying on a National Guard training center for the Chinese government during a training session with the Taiwanese military. The former University of Michigan students were confronted by a Utah National Guard sergeant major in August 2023 near a lake at Camp Grayling in Michigan. Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute focusing on U.S. and China relations, told Fox News Digital the Chinese Communist Party "will exercise whatever tactics they feel they need to by hook or crook to get our military secrets," adding China is "shameless." "This is a tactic that China is exercising in the new Cold War that we're locked in with the Chinese Communist Party. And one of the things that is really striking is the low price that a lot of Americans are willing to sell their patriotism for and their allegiance for. Some of these people didn't get that much money to sell some really sensitive military secrets over to the Chinese Communist Party," Sobolik said. Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this article source: China targets US military members in overseas spy operations, former CIA station chief warns
Sydney Morning Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Who's the breadwinner? In Perth, it's probably your house
Perth is the only place in Australia where houses earned more than people, with average prices surging by $95,022 over the past year – climbing from $812,482 to $907,504. Ray White Group senior data analyst Atom Go Tian said Perth residents seemed to have the best of both worlds. 'Not only do they earn the second-highest annual income across the country, but their houses made the biggest gains in the last 12 months,' he said. 'Even Canberra with annual incomes of $93,351 couldn't match what Perth houses made.' Tian said in Adelaide it was neck and neck with both annual personal income and house price growth sitting at just over $63,000. Brisbane homeowners were just keeping their noses in front, earning roughly $2000 more than their houses appreciated. 'However, the gap widens from here with Melbourne and Canberra having the greatest disparity between personal income and house price growth,' he said. 'Melburnians made 5.5 times more than their properties, while Canberrans pulled in five times what their houses did.' At a suburb level Perth dominated the list of suburbs where houses earn more than people. Carabooda-Pinjar, which has a median house price of $1.58 million, recorded the largest difference between annual house price gain and income with a net positive increase of $95,272. It was closely followed by Nedlands-Dalkeith-Crawley ($93,000), City Beach ($80,514) and Claremont ($63,293). 'Even among Perth's strongest performers, house prices remain relatively accessible compared to Sydney and Melbourne,' Tian said.
