Category: Security

President Donald Trump fired multiple administration officials, including members of the National Security Council, on Thursday.

An anonymous senior defense official told Fox News that the Trump administration fired National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh. The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration also reassigned civilian Deputy Director Wendy Noble to the office of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

CNN reported that multiple sources confirmed the Trump administration also fired Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence; Maggie Dougherty, a senior director for international organizations; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs; and David Feith, a senior director of national security and technology.

According to CNN, Laura Loomer, an investigative journalist and conservative activist, met with the president at the White House on Wednesday and shared a list of roughly a dozen officials that she claimed were not loyal to the Trump administration. The outlet noted that one of its sources indicated that the president’s National Security Council firings were a result of Trump’s meeting with Loomer.

READ MORE: Video: Huge job cuts at Health Department started by Trump admin

In a Thursday post on X, formerly Twitter, Loomer tweeted, “I woke up this morning to learn that there are still people in and around the West Wing who are LEAKING to the hostile, left-wing media about President Trump’s *confidential* and *private* meetings in the Oval Office. I want to reiterate how important it is that people who gain access to the White House or the administration respect the privacy of their conversations with President Trump and his senior staff.”

Loomer confirmed that she met with Trump and presented him with her “research findings” and vowed to continue “reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING” on behalf of the Trump administration and the national security of the country.

Asked about the administration firings while aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said, “We’re always going to let go of people — people we don’t like or people that take advantage of [us] or people that may have loyalties to someone else,” according to Axios.

According to CNN, while Trump denied Loomer’s involvement in the sudden firings, the president described the activist as a “very good patriot.”

In a Thursday evening post on X, Loomer tweeted, “You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump? Because the fired officials are being defended by @jrpsaki Jen Psaki & Andrew McCabe on MSNBC & CNN RIGHT NOW.”

A new bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) on Tuesday would make all military enlistment and retention bonuses exempt from federal taxes.

In a Tuesday press release, Mast’s office confirmed that the Florida Republican introduced the No Tax on Military Bonuses Act in an effort to “exempt all enlistment and reenlistment bonuses paid to members of the U.S. Armed Forces from taxation.”

Tuesday’s press release explained that Mast’s No Tax on Military Bonuses Act would prevent any military enlistment, reenlistment, retention, or other incentive bonuses from being taxed by the federal government. Mast’s office explained that the legislation proposal would “significantly reduce the financial strain on military families and better reflect the challenges these men and women face while serving our nation.”

READ MORE: US Army losing huge number of recruits during first two years of enlistment: Report

According to Mast’s office, while U.S. military members deployed in combat zones are exempted from paying taxes on military bonuses, other military members are “taxed at their marginal tax rate” for military bonuses under current federal law. According to Military Times, some military bonuses are currently taxed at a rate of at least 20%.

The Republican congressman’s office noted that the No Tax on Military Bonuses Act would “cover all bonuses” paid by the Secretary of the Armed Forces to U.S. military members who reenlist in the military, extend service commitments, or are commissioned as an officer.

“Military service members raise their right hands to defend our country, and in return, they deserve to keep every cent of the bonus they earn,” Mast said. “This bill removes the unfair tax burden that has long affected military bonuses and keeps hard-earned money in the pockets of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and guardians.”

Military Times reported that junior enlisted troops in the military recently received a 10% increase in their base pay, while all service members received a 4.5% pay raise at the beginning of the year.

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin warned Tuesday in a video on social media that the United States is in a “pre-Civil War culture.”

In an Instagram video on Tuesday, Baldwin revealed that he watched Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” miniseries on PBS on Monday after returning from a trip. The Hollywood actor explained that he watched the documentary miniseries “without any explicable provocation” and “being purely subconscious.”

“Something told me, something led my hand to pick up the remote and turn on my television… and watch Ken Burns’ famous miniseries,” Baldwin told his social media followers. “And boy, you can see now that we are in a pre-Civil War culture now.”

In his Instagram video, Baldwin acknowledged that there are “profound differences” between the political environment prior to the American Civil War and the current political environment in the United States; however, he warned that the United States is in a “very similar state” to the state the country was in prior to the Civil War.

READ MORE: ‘Underanticipated’ US civil war concerns increase, study shows

“When they describe things back then, politically, there are profound differences, of course, in terms of just history… and age, and what life was like back then, and cotton, and slavery, and Lincoln, and Robert E. Lee and so forth,” Baldwin stated. “But I look at the politics of it, of where people are in this country today, in the division and how they’re holding fast, and no one’s going to falter, no one’s going to break or compromise. And it’s bad.”

After detailing the current state of politics in the United States, the Hollywood actor noted that “it doesn’t seem likely right now” that the nation will be able to come together and “get anywhere.”

“Watching this show [‘The Civil War’] really reminded me how we are in a very similar state now, in a pre-Civil War culture, in a pre-Civil War environment,” Baldwin added. “It’s hard to believe.”

At the end of his Instagram video, Baldwin encouraged people to watch the “epic” and “remarkable” Civil War miniseries for themselves.

NEW: Alec Baldwin declares the United States is in a pre-Civil War culture.

The actor took a break from being bossed around by his wife to make the public service announcement.

“You can see now that we are in a pre Civil War culture.”

“I look at the politics of it, of where… pic.twitter.com/gj2s99xbxW

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 2, 2025

A new musical parody video featuring realistic depictions of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and more was released on Friday by MAGA.com.

Produced by Wylde Productions, the video is a parody of Van Halen’s 1984 hit “Jump” and kicks off with Trump rolling up in a Lamborghini, his blonde mullet hanging down past his shoulders. The next scene shows a shirtless Trump on stage as the lead singer, with Vance on the drums, Patel on bass and Bongino on guitar.

In one of the song’s versus, Trump sings, “Oh no! Bad news, Democrats. Trump’s back again. Our MAGA hero. Make America Great Again. Oh, can’t you see who we have here, he’s got your back ’cause he’s the MAGA machine. Making the court supreme. And all the liberals scream.”

Check out the full video below:

This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.

Myanmar’s military government on Wednesday announced a three-week ceasefire across the war-torn country to help facilitate recovery efforts in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The ruling junta’s statement, broadcast on state-run MRTV, said the ceasefire would last until April 22.

Myanmar has been mired in a civil war since the military overthrew a civilian government in a February 2021 coup d’etat. Since then, rebel groups have pushed back junta troops across much of the country.

The junta’s statement said that during the ceasefire, armed groups were not allowed to attack communication routes used by civilians or the military, nor could they recruit new soldiers or expand territory under their control. Any violations would be met with a response.

Three major ethnic armies fighting the junta — the Arakan Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army — announced a ceasefire until April 30.

The groups said their ceasefire was meant to allow search-and-rescue operations in disaster areas and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches people in need quickly and effectively.

Similarly, the shadow National Unity Government, made up former civilian leaders, has also declared a two-week ceasefire from April 1 as part of the same humanitarian efforts.

2 men rescued from rubble

The military junta raised the death toll from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake that was centered near Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, to 2,886, with 4,639 injured and 373 missing.

However, since there were still many areas where rescue operations have not been able to take place, the number of dead was likely to rise.

On Wednesday, two men buried in rubble for five days near the capital of Naypyidaw were pulled out alive, according to a Facebook post.

One of them, 26-year-old Ko Naing Lin Tun, was presumed dead, and his family had even held a memorial service for him. He and his friend Ko Thet Maung Maung were trapped under the rubble of Aye Thar Yar Hotel.

After surviving for five days, they were both pulled to safety, video footage showed.

Chinese aid convoy gets shot at

China, meanwhile, responded to an incident Tuesday in which junta soldiers opened fire at a Chinese Red Cross convoy of nine vehicles carrying emergency supplies in northern Myanmar. There were no injuries to the passengers or damage to their supplies.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China would ensure the security of the Chinese rescue teams and relief supplies sent for quake relief.

The military junta acknowledged on Wednesday morning that its troops had fired three shots into the air as the Chinese convoy approached. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the junta’s spokesperson, claimed that the convoy did not give prior notice, leading to the shooting as a preventive measure when the convoy was 100 meters away.

The junta’s announcement of the temporary ceasefire came hours after the incident, and follows calls from the United Nations for unrestricted humanitarian access to the quake zone and safety for those providing help.

A total of 14 planes carrying aid and emergency teams from seven countries arrived at the Naypyidaw military-controlled airport on Tuesday. Countries sending relief included Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Bhutan, the Philippines, Laos and Bangladesh.

Myanmar is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries and poorly equipped to cope with the disaster. Four years of civil war have displaced more than 3 million people.

Junta leader to Bangkok

Despite the quake, the junta’s top leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, will be attending a regional summit in Bangkok on Thursday and Friday, state-run MRTV reported on Wednesday evening.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, summit focuses on cooperation in technology and economic development. Attendees include India, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

During the visit, Min Aung Hlaing is expected to discuss international cooperation for disaster relief efforts and post-disaster reconstruction.

His participation in the summit was criticized by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, or APHR, which said that doing so would give legitimacy to the military government.

“The people of Myanmar are still resisting the oppression of the military regime. Instead of supporting these people, BIMSTEC is providing a platform for the military government,” said APHR member and Thai parliamentarian Rangsiman Rome.

The U.S. Treasury Building and the Hotel Washington were evacuated on Thursday morning after the U.S. Secret Service received a report of a suspicious package near the White House in Washington, D.C.

According to DC News Now, the Secret Service confirmed that they received a call regarding a suspicious package at roughly 9:45 a.m. on Thursday and that law enforcement officials responded to the area around 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue NW, which is located near the White House.

DC News Now reported that in addition to the Secret Service, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team also responded to the scene of the suspicious package on Thursday. The outlet noted that the Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team later declared the area was safe from any threat posed by the suspicious package report.

While law enforcement officials were investigating the suspicious package report, multiple roads near the White House were closed. According to DC News Now, the D.C. road closures on Thursday included 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW at 15th Street NW, 17th Street from Pennsylvania to E Street, and from New York Avenue NW to E Street NW.

READ MORE: Videos/Pic: Bomb threat sparks evacuation at NYC college after major left-wing protest

The Secret Service told DC News Now that multiple roads remained closed as of Thursday afternoon.

Pictures shared on X, formerly Twitter, by media personality Phil Holloway show police officials with a bomb robot and a bomb suit near the site of the suspicious package report on Thursday.

“I’m not sure what’s happening outside the Treasury Department right now,” Holloway tweeted. “The entire block is shut down to vehicle and pedestrian traffic And a b@mb suit has been brought out.”

Shortly after sharing pictures of officials bringing out the bomb robot, Holloway shared another picture and an update saying, “Now the b@mb robot is being put back in the truck. Police are packing up.”

The International Military Sports Council announced on Thursday that the 2027 Military World Summer Games will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event will be the first time the Military World Games has been held in the United States.

In a Thursday press release, the International Military Sports Council confirmed that the 8th Military World Summer Games will be hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2027.

The International Military Sports Council said, “This landmark decision, made by the CISM Board of Directors on Saturday, March 29th, marks the highly anticipated return of the Military World Summer Games after an eight-year hiatus since Wuhan, China hosted the Games in 2019.”

Thursday’s press release described the announcement as a “historic moment” since it will mark the first time the United States has hosted the games.

“We are honored to bring the CISM Military World Summer Games to the United States for the first time,” International Military Sports Council President Colonel Nilton Rolim said. “Charlotte’s outstanding sporting facilities, organizational expertise, and commitment to the values of CISM make it the ideal host for this historic event.”

READ MORE: China holds huge military drills around Taiwan, issues ‘severe warning’

The historic event will take place during President Donald Trump’s second term in office and will come in between the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, both of which the president helped secure for the United States, according to Fox News.

Eli Bremer, the co-chair of the upcoming Military World Games, told Fox News that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth provided the final approval for the United States to host the event.

“His vision for the U.S. military, creating warriors, aligns so precisely with the U.S. military engaging in elite sporting,” Bremer told Fox News. “I think this aligns extremely well with the new leadership in the military. I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for the U.S. military to attract amazing talent into it that aligns with the leadership of Secretary Hegseth and all the way down the Trump administration.”

Rolim told Fox News that the Military World Games overcame multiple “barriers” to having the games hosted in the United States, including security, infrastructure standards, and diplomatic protocols. However, he emphasized that the “shared commitment and vision made success possible.”

“The significance is historic,” Rolim said. “Western allies have long been active members of CISM, and the U.S. has supported the mission from the beginning. Now, hosting the Games on American soil extends a clear message: the West is committed to global peace and unity, not just through strategic alliances, but through shared human values.”

President Donald Trump’s administration started implementing huge job cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday following the administration’s announcement last week that the department would be cutting roughly 10,000 jobs.

According to The Associated Press, some HHS staffers cut under the Trump administration were notified of the termination of their employment starting at roughly 5 a.m. on Tuesday. The outlet noted that other employees discovered that their jobs had been terminated after waiting in long lines outside multiple HHS offices.

The mass layoffs at HHS come after the department announced last week that roughly 10,000 jobs would be cut as part of the department’s restructuring process. In a Thursday press release, HHS explained that between the job cuts, early retirements, and the administration’s “Fork in the Road” deferred resignation program, the department would be “downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees.”

On Tuesday morning, Kennedy released a video celebrating the swearing-in of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Makary and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. In the video, Kennedy said that his department is going to “bring back the revered place of NIH in our history” and “restore FDA to its initial mission.”

Kennedy concluded his video, saying, “The revolution begins today!”

Welcome @US_FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and @NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. Let’s restore @HHSgov health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science to tackle the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. The revolution… pic.twitter.com/z25yaOsEuF

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) April 1, 2025

Kennedy later released a statement acknowledging the “difficult moment” facing HHS as tens of thousands of jobs are being cut as part of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the department.

“Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs,” Kennedy tweeted. “But the reality is clear: what we’ve been doing isn’t working.”

READ MORE: Video: 10,000 jobs cut at Health Department by Trump admin

Kennedy explained that Americans continue to become “sicker every year” despite “spending $1.9 trillion in annual costs.” The HHS secretary also said the health outcomes of Americans “continue to decline” despite the government agency’s budget growing by roughly 38% over the past four years.

“We must shift course. HHS needs to be recalibrated to emphasize prevention, not just sick care. These changes will not affect Medicare, Medicaid, or other essential health services,” Kennedy added. “This overhaul is about realigning HHS with its core mission: to stop the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. It’s a win-win for taxpayers, and for every American we serve.”

In a statement obtained by Fox News, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf claimed on Tuesday that the “FDA as we’ve known it is finished” in light of the Trump administration’s mass layoffs. Warning that “history will see this is a huge mistake,” the former FDA commissioner claimed, “Most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed.”

U.S. forces deployed on the southern border may soon get the green light to take down suspicious drones operating overhead.

Transnational cartels may be operating these drones as a way to find gaps in ongoing multi-agency border security efforts, or to directly endanger those multi-agency personnel.

Testifying at a House Armed Services Committee on April 1, Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot—the commander of the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM)—took questions about the number of unidentified drones observed operating near military bases and other sensitive U.S. installations. Guillot, whose command covers North America and ongoing troop deployments along the U.S.-Mexico border, also took questions about suspected cartel drones operating along the border.

Rep. John McGuire (R-VA) said he recently learned about the prevalence of these suspected cartel drones during a recent Congressional delegation tour.

“What I heard from every one of those groups was they can see drones coming from Mexico, they can see where they’re coming from, and they’re hovering around our border patrol vehicles, they’re hovering around our military bases,” McGuire said. “And general, I heard you say that you had permission to shoot them down but I spoke with five different agencies and they all, as of a couple of weeks ago, said they were not sure.”

Guillot testified that 10 U.S. Code § 130i gives U.S. troops with the clear authority necessary to shoot down drones operating around established military bases and other sensitive installations. As for the border, he acknowledged the authority to shoot down drones is less clear.

“The forces on the border, at this time, are not, because they’re mobile,” the NORTHCOM commander said.

The Air Force general said he has requested an expansion of the 10 U.S. Code § 130i authority, to provide troops on the border with clear permission to take drones down.

The Cartel Drone Threat

Guillot’s request for an expanded shoot-down authority comes as an increasing number of U.S. troops are deploying along the border.

In his first day in office, President Donald Trump order an expanded U.S. military mission along the border. He also instructed his cabinet to evaluate whether they could designate cartels and other transnational criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.

In February, the State Department officially designated the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Northeast Cartel (formerly Los Zetas), Gulf Cartel, the United Cartels in Mexico, the New Michoacan Family, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations

According to an October report by the U.K.-based private intelligence firm Grey Dynamics, drones have become an integral part of cartel operations. The organizations have may employ such drones for surveillance, drug smuggling, and even as weapons.

The cartels have even become such avid drone operators that they’ve established their on fabrication sites at Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Querétaro, and Tijuana, according to Grey Dynamics.

In February, the New York Post published excerpts of a memo they reportedly obtained from the U.S. Border Patrol’s El Paso Border Sector, which stated they’d “received information advising that Mexican cartel leaders have authorized the deployment of drones equipped with explosives to be used against U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. military personal currently working along the border with Mexico.”

Texas Authorities also reported two ranchers were killed and a third rancher was seriously injured in January, after they drove over what may have been an improvised explosive device. The explosive device was left along a trail in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, just a short distance from Brownsville, Texas.

US Counter-Drone Capabilities

U.S. forces may have a range of options at their disposal for intercepting suspected cartel drones.

For years, the military has been training with a range of jamming handheld jammer systems that they can use to interfere with an operator’s control capabilities, and in some cases force drones out of the sky.

The military has experimented with other non-kinetic means of stopping drones.

In 2019, the Marine Corps began training with a prototype known as the Compact Laser Weapon System (CLaWS), produced by Boeing. By 2021, the Marine Corpse published footage showing a successful test drone engagement using this system. In January of this year, however, the service revealed to Laser Wars that it had quietly pulled the plug and returned its CLaWS systems back to Boeing.

Explaining the decision to discontinue its CLaWS program spending, a Marine Corps spokesperson told Laser Wars that the service “decided to invest in more deliberate programs of record.” It’s not clear what these other programs may be.

At the end of the day, the preferred method for stopping cartel drones may be good old fashioned firepower.

The U.S. military has been closely monitoring the rapid evolution of drone warfare tactics in Ukraine for a guide. As explosive one-way attack drones have become more common, both Ukrainian and Russian forces have been using shotguns and other small arms to counter these threats.

U.S. military units, have increasingly trained to shoot down drones with machine-guns, rifles, and shotguns. Such firepower may be the time-tested way to bring a suspicious drone out of the sky,  but that may not be a one-size fits all solution, particularly in populated areas along the border.

This article was originally published by FreeBase News and is reprinted with permission.

This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.

The collapse of a China-built skyscraper in Bangkok has reignited long-standing concerns over construction safety and Beijing’s ability to police quality standards in its overseas projects. Yet in China, those conversations were quickly silenced.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and neighboring countries, including Thailand, on Friday. Among the damage was a 32-story office tower in Bangkok that crumbled entirely. The building was being constructed by the China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned enterprise, as part of a joint venture.

News of the collapse spread rapidly on Chinese social media, where users began questioning the structural integrity of Chinese-led projects abroad. But the discussion didn’t last long. Posts were deleted, search results filtered, and even official news reports quietly removed.

One article titled “Under-construction audit building collapses in quake, Thai contractor faces liquidity crisis” published by Chinese outlet Sina Finance, for instance, was removed from the platform’s website after a short-lived stay.

Chinese state-run outlets such as People’s Daily and CCTV both published reports on the collapse on the same day, but the links to the reports are no longer accessible.

Searches for collapse-related keywords on Chinese social media platforms also yielded no results, suggesting that relevant content has been removed or suppressed.

‘Tofu-dreg project’

Construction of the new premises for Thailand’s state audit agency was overseen by state-owned China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, which secured the building contract in 2020 as part of a consortium, according to Seatao, a Chinese site that reports on Beijing’s Belt & Road global infrastructure plan.

It said the 32-story tower was the largest building project undertaken by the group. The consortium included the Thai construction company, Italian-Thai Development Company.

On Sunday, Thailand’s Industry Minister Akanat Promphan, who inspected the scene, said the cause of the building collapse could stem from flawed materials, poor design or bad construction. An investigation is underway.

Wang Kuo-Chen, assistant research fellow at Taiwan’s Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, shares a similar view.

“None of the surrounding buildings in Bangkok collapsed – only that one did,” he said. “Moreover, the way it collapsed was extremely dramatic; it was pulverized rather than tilting to one side. This is a classic sign of substandard construction and cost-cutting,” Wang said, using the term “tofu-dreg project.”

Derived from “tofu dregs” – a soft, crumbly food – the phrase refers to poorly built structures that are weak and prone to collapse.

In the summer of 1998, China experienced severe flooding, and during his inspection of the breached levees in Jiujiang, former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji angrily criticized the collapsed floodwall as a “tofu-dreg project.”

Since then, the term has been widely adopted in Chinese media to describe substandard construction, often associated with corruption and regulatory failures. It was also widely used to refer to buildings that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan quake.

“In recent years, the so-called high-speed rail miracle and China’s advancements in high technology have gradually overshadowed the impression of tofu-dreg projects,” Wang said. “However, the collapse of this audit building has reminded people that the high-tech reputation might just be inflated hype.”

The Chinese Embassy in Thailand has not responded to Radio Free Asia’s request for comments.

Long-standing censorship

But insights, including Wang’s, find no place to thrive in China. Beijing has a long-standing pattern of tightly controlling public discourse after major accidents, especially those involving construction quality and public safety.

In the wake of deadly incidents, online discussions are often swiftly censored, with keywords blocked, social media posts deleted, and news coverage heavily restricted.

After a 2021 gas explosion in Shiyan, Hubei Province, which killed 25 people, posts demanding accountability were quickly taken down, and online discussions were muted.

Similarly, when a hotel being used as a COVID-19 quarantine site collapsed in Quanzhou in 2020, killing 29, authorities removed posts questioning construction practices and safety oversight.

A 2015 landslide in Shenzhen, triggered by a pile of construction waste, and the 2009 collapse of a newly built 13-story apartment building in Shanghai, also saw online censorship of posts highlighting regulatory failures.

One of the most prominent examples remains the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, where the collapse of poorly constructed school buildings sparked public outrage. Parents who demanded answers were silenced, and independent reporting was swiftly curtailed.

Tzeng Wei-Feng, an associate researcher with Taiwan’s National Chengchi University Institute of International Relations, said the widespread media coverage of the collapse of the Bangkok skyscraper is likely to deal a major blow to China’s reputation in Southeast Asian infrastructure development.

In recent years, China has significantly expanded its infrastructure and construction investments across Southeast Asia, primarily through its Belt and Road Initiative, also known as BRI, that is intended to advance China’s economic interests globally.

“Southeast Asian nations might reassess their collaborations with Chinese firms, scrutinizing project details more carefully,” Tzeng said.