China's legislature on Thursday said it is planning to draft national security laws that would punish seditious and secessionist behavior in Hong Kong.

The renewed push from China to pass a national security law will almost certainly set off more protests against Beijing's rule in Hong Kong, which is semi-autonomous.

China on Thursday begins its biggest political meetings of the year, signaling its confidence that it has the coronavirus under control. At the top of the agenda: how to revive the flagging economy.

Before COVID-19 engulfed the Chinese city of Wuhan, Fang Fang was already an award-winning novelist. But her chronicle of the lockdown of her hometown might be her most lasting work.

Both countries eased some of their intensive rules after new cases slowed to a trickle. But clusters have cropped up again this month, and authorities are ramping up testing to try to curb the spread.

China's diplomacy has taken a strikingly "undiplomatic" turn, analysts say, as it counters U.S. accusations of starting the coronavirus.

The Communist Party says authorities acted swiftly and efficiently to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Officials are working to silence those suspected of challenging the narrative.

Officials in the Chinese city of Wuhan claim that the worst is over. But residents say they have not forgotten isolation, fear and heartbreak, as the city was sealed off from the rest of China.

China is using high- and low-tech measures to track its residents. The digital contact methods have allowed the country to restart most of its economy, but raise concerns about privacy and accuracy.

The U.S. is calling for more tracking and surveillance to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Such technology is already heavily used in other countries, fueling debates over health versus privacy.

China's gross domestic product shrank by 6.8% in the first three months of 2020 as closures due to the coronavirus hit the world's second largest economy.

China's economy contracted by 6.8% in the first three months of 2020 from the same period a year ago — its biggest drop since 1992.

China's leader declared himself the "supreme commander" in a war against the coronavirus. But the public face of China's containment of the virus is an 83-year-old, weightlifting doctor.

NPR's global health and development correspondent and NPR's Beijing correspondent answer more questions about the global response to the pandemic.

NPR's global health and development correspondent and NPR's Beijing correspondent answer questions about the global response to the pandemic.

After a 76-day lockdown, the city's reopening includes the return of its tradition of eating a medley of morning snacks.

Zhang Hai's father died of the coronavirus on Feb. 1 and was cremated. Ashes can now be picked up, but the government requires a chaperone for visits to the crematorium as well as for burials.

China has closed its land border with Russia and placed a border city on lockdown after an increase in coronavirus infections that it blames on people crossing from Russia.

The end of the city's 76-day lockdown is a milestone in China's efforts to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus that sickened more than 80,000 across the country and overwhelmed health systems.

China has ended its lockdown of Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus first emerged. After being closed off for more than 10 weeks, millions are expected to leave the area.