Inside China Business started on YouTube two years and two months ago. I’ve been in China since 2012, since May 31, 2012. These [holds up two books] are my prayer books. And I—the most important people in my life are in here: my family and closest friends, my business associates and colleagues, and it’s also a chronicle of my Christian walk in China. I put prayer requests down here and I write down as they’re answered and move on. I pray to Him every day, and every day I pray for also the peace of countries and nations, the leaders back home and the leaders here.

And for many years, I was praying, among many other things, that God would bring reform to China. That there would be a lot of changes here. And it was just something that I was—something I did for years and years. And one day I was in my living room, in one of those buildings behind me, and I was praying there, and God spoke to me. He said, “I need you to stop doing that right now. I am using China to bless the world, and I need you to start paying attention.” And He spoke to me as clearly as if you were sitting there right me in my living room. I heard it audibly. “Stop doing that right now. I’m using China to bless the world, and I need you to start paying attention.”

And at the time it happened in my life, where—it was a funny time. I had been asked to teach a course in university here in supply chain management, supply chain optimization. And it was from University of Arkansas. And University of Arkansas in the United States partnered with Walmart, the huge retail supergiant. And as I was putting information and material together to teach the course, I wanted to find case studies that the Chinese students would apply to them, so they could see how Chinese supply chains work. And I came to realize that I had everything upside-down. That it was actually China who owned the supply chain, it was China who did supply chain optimization. And all our companies are doing—our top companies were just taking product designed, manufactured here and put our companies’ names on the side

I started looking for examples of products that we made in other markets that we did not need China for. I know that there’s guys who can chop down trees in North Carolina and Pennsylvania and make good furniture. I’m talking about mass-produced manufactured products. It became kind of an obsession of mine [chuckles] when COVID came and I had a lot of free time. I wanted to find examples of products that we didn’t need China to build…and I’m still looking. And that caused me to examine everything else. I started going through old notes, people I met in Shanghai—people who are the architects of the financial system. And remembering the things they would explain to me, and the things that were right in front of me that I saw but didn’t understand. I was talking without listening to what was happening.^[1]

I know how it looks, I know how it sounds that we explain that I put prayers on, that we are praying for you, that in the closing scenes especially you can hear us praying for the viewers of this channel. And it’s because we cannot afford—you cannot afford to waste years of your life the way I did, where you’re—I have the benefit of standing here, in China, seeing it for myself, and I still wasn’t seeing it properly. I hope and pray for you that you do not waste decades of your life as I did, because we don’t have decades to lose anymore. So…I get messages and emails—phone calls, even—from people saying, “It looks strange that you do that. You shouldn’t do that.” And I don’t care—they’re staying on.

Leading chipmaking engineer Xu Zhenpeng said the United States no longer offered the freedom that researchers once expected – a key reason for his decision to continue his work in China.

Xu, who joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) as a tenure-track assistant professor in January, left behind a team leadership role at Atomic Semi, a California start-up with high-profile backers that included OpenAI’s venture fund.

Before his departure, Xu led a team that was developing a new kind of chipmaking machine using 3D-printed parts that would be smaller, faster and cheaper than today’s large, costly production equipment.

“In my previous role in the semiconductor sector in the US, increasingly strict policies and corporate compliance requirements limited my international mobility, which became a constraint on sustained research development,” he told the South China Morning Post in an email last week.

Xu said his decision to return to China was motivated by long-term academic goals and a desire for a more independent research environment. “Meanwhile, China’s advanced manufacturing research ecosystem is evolving rapidly,” he added.

While Xu did not specify which corporate compliance rules he was referring to, such policies are typically designed to ensure companies follow government restrictions.

In recent years, the US semiconductor sector has come under tighter government export controls, as Washington has sought to prevent advanced chipmaking know-how from strengthening foreign competitors or being used for military purposes.

In practice, compliance restrictions can limit overseas travel, require approval before working with foreign partners or discourage researchers from pursuing certain topics or international collaborations altogether.

Xu said he chose SJTU for its “internationally recognised strength in manufacturing research and close industry ties” – a combination he believed would offer the ideal platform to build his research programme.

In Shanghai, his work will focus on developing high-precision 3D printing for next-generation electronic devices. Xu said he aimed to produce components that combined conductive metals with specialised materials for insulation or sensing, all with micron-level accuracy.

One research direction he intends to pursue involves developing ultra-lightweight antennas for satellites. In a previous study, Xu and his team achieved 3D printed versions 100 times thinner than a human hair, for use in 5G and 6G networks, wearable devices, and compact aerospace systems.

Xu said he planned to refine the process using more advanced materials and fabrication methods to create antennas capable of withstanding extreme environments, including space.

He is also exploring how to simplify chip integration – the step where microchips are connected to other electronic components. Xu’s approach involves 3D-printing the housings with built-in electrical connections in a single step, potentially reducing manufacturing time and costs.

The card is labeled “File No. 070” (Weepinbell’s Pokédex number) in the upper left, with Weepinbell’s Japanese name, ウツドン (Utsudon) in the upper right corner. On the upper half of the card, The same artwork from the front is displayed on a plain white background, and below it, its height and weight are listed (1.0 m and 6.4 kg, respectively). To the left of it to it, a box reads

タイプ：ハエとりポケモン

(Type: Flycatcher Pokémon)

小ちいさな虫むしを食たべて生いきている。毒どくの粉こなを出だして相手あいてを動うごけなくしてから、溶解液ようかいえきで溶とかしてしまう。

(My translation: It survives by eating small bugs. After immobilizing its opponent with PoisonPowder, it uses Acid to completely dissolve it.)

(Aside: This appears to be a variant of Weepinbell’s Japanese Blue Pokédex entry, which reads

「まず　どくのこなを　はき　あいての　うごきを　とめて　しまってから　ようかいえきで　とどめを　さす。」

and the official English translation of which is

It spits out POISONPOWDER to immobilize the enemy and then finishes it with a spray of ACID.)

In the center of the card, it displays the Bellsprout evolutionary line using art from the same Cardass series, showing that Bellsprout evolves into Weepinbell at Level 21 and then into Victreebel with a Leaf Stone.

In the bottom left, an encounter rarity (出現率しゅつげんりつ) chart is displayed, showing that Weepinbell does not appear in Japanese Red or Blue but appears rarely in Green version. Indeed, Weepinbell is exclusive to Japanese Green/International Blue, appearing on Routes 12 through 15 with a with a 10% encounter rate in the first two and a 5% encounter in the last two.

In the lower right, a description of Weepinbell’s featured move is shown in a table:

技名わざめい: ようかいえき
PP値ピーピーち：30
効果大こうかだい　草・虫

身体からだを溶とかす溶解液ようかいえきでダメージを与あたえる。相手あいての防御力ぼうぎょりょくをダウンさせることもある。

(My translation:

Move Name: Acid
PP: 30 Super effective against: Grass & Bug (note that the latter is only true in Gen I))

Deals damage with a body-dissolving acid. May lower the opponent’s defense.)

The top and bottom of the cards feature various copyright and publishing information:

© Nintendo・CREATURES・GAMEFREAK・TV TOKYO・SHO-PRO・JR KIKAKU

発売元／株式会社バンプレスト　発売元／株式会社バンダイ　１９９７　ＭＡＤＥ　ＩＮ　ＪＡＰＡＮ

Tweet from MintPress News (@MintPressNews) on January 27, 2026 at 8:08 PM UTC

A private jet linked to the prominent Houston-based personal injury law firm Arnold & Itkin crashed during takeoff at Bangor International Airport in Maine on Sunday, January 26, 2026, killing all six people on board.

The plane crashed and caught fire shortly after attempting to take off in a severe snowstorm and low visibility conditions. Air traffic control audio reportedly indicated the aircraft was upside down shortly after departure. The final destination was reportedly France.

All six people listed on the flight manifest were killed. Initial reports from the FAA were conflicting, mentioning seven deaths and one seriously injured survivor, but local officials later confirmed six fatalities with no survivors transported to the hospital.

The jet was registered to an LLC that shares a Houston address with the law firm Arnold & Itkin. The firm’s founders, Kurt Arnold and Jason Itkin, were reportedly not on the aircraft.

Identities of the victims have not been officially released by authorities, but some have been confirmed through family members and sources:

• Tara Arnold: An attorney at the firm and wife of co-founder Kurt Arnold.

• Shawna Collins: An event planner.

• Jacob Hosmer: A Houston-area pilot, confirmed by his father to be the captain of the flight.

The law firm Arnold & Itkin has been linked to anti-ICE and anti-Trump labels primarily due to its political donations and specific legal cases involving undocumented immigrants.

The firm and its founders, Kurt Arnold and Jason Itkin, were major financial backers of the First Tuesday PAC during the 2024 election cycle.

This PAC ran multi-million dollar ad campaigns aimed at “Stopping MAGA Republicans” and encouraging voters to “Vote For Every Democrat”.

In 2024 alone, the firm reportedly donated $300,000 to efforts focused on electing Democrats.

The firm is well-known for representing immigrants in high-profile cases. Kurt Arnold’s biography highlights that he secured the largest settlement for an undocumented worker in U.S. history.

Because of their work and their financial opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, critics and certain media outlets labeled them as “top anti-ICE / anti-Trump lawyers” following the news of the crash.