China’s new army of engineers
Its ranks will swell as the country’s high-tech industries grow
THE TEARS and toil were worth it. Some 4.8m pupils will soon learn that their scores in the recent gaokao exam have earned them spots on a bachelor’s degree course at university—unlike 8m of their fellow test-takers. How to make the most of their glittering futures? For many the answer is to study engineering.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Studying the illiberal arts ”
From the June 28th 2025 edition
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Some contemplate suicide. Others vaunt their folly as influencers
Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong’s shaggy agitator for democracy
His League of Social Democrats, the territory’s last pro-democracy party, disbanded this week
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Our new number-crunching on reading banned books
Hong Kong’s last functioning pro-democracy party disbands
A long campaign against dissent crushes a final few democrats
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Local officials wrestle with competing incentives
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They could change its internet for good and turbocharge AI efforts