Breaking China, Asia, HK News, Opinions and Insights

Members of the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University in Bailrigg, England, celebrate the 2025 Dragon Boat Festival. Photo: Handout

Chinese spy? Propagandist? Former Confucius Institute director tells his story

Memoir by former Britain-based academic rebuts accusations that the centres serve as vehicles for Beijing’s state narratives.

29 minutes ago

Are China’s social media apps the soft power play to win over the West?

China’s soft power

People

Malaysian court blocks Najib’s bid for house arrest

Monday’s decision keeps the former prime minister behind bars as he awaits the outcome of the far larger 1MDB case on Friday.

30 minutes agovideocam

Global Economy

Blackpink for Ayumi? Why China may reward South Korea’s soft stance on Japan row

Beijing is reviving stalled trade talks with Seoul as the Lee administration breaks with Tokyo on Taiwan, and analysts say Chinese market access could be the geopolitical prize.

2 hours agovideocam

Law and Crime

Hong Kong police arrest 15 over ‘meticulously planned’ 1 billion yen robbery

Police still trying to recover cash, with chief inspector calling robbery ‘meticulously planned and violent operation’ marked by a high level of professional execution.

11 minutes ago

Open Questions

George Yeo on superpower ‘headaches’ and why the US dollar could crack

United States & Canada

US Justice Department denies cover-up as Trump photo restored to Epstein files

Officials backtrack on removing an image showing the US president with several women after bipartisan outrage.

3 hours ago

Newly-released documents from disgraced late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a sheaf of entirely redacted pages. Photo: Reuters

China Business

Alibaba, Pop Mart lead Hong Kong stocks higher before Christmas trading break

Hong Kong’s market will close early on Wednesday and remain shut on December 25 and 26.

3 minutes ago

Politics

‘Pax Silica’: America’s new AI inner circle and Asia’s chosen few

Japan, South Korea and Singapore made the cut, leaving key partners like India and Vietnam – and even New Zealand – on the sidelines.

4 hours ago

Business

The secret ingredient in your daily life: why Malaysian palm oil is used around the world

Found everywhere from food products to biofuel, this vegetable oil is preferred for its versatility, safety and sustainable production.

In partnership with:

MPOC

Palm oil is a versatile ingredient found in a wide range of everyday items, from ice cream and cake to lipstick and biofuel.

China Business

From swoosh to local: Nike stumbles in China as home-grown rivals close the gap

Nike’s sharp drop in China sales underscores intensifying competition from home-grown brands amid changing consumer tastes.

4 hours ago

Walk on by: changing tastes and the growing allure of home-grown brands mean that sports apparel giants like Nike are struggiing in China. Photo: Reuters

Europe

No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive’ talks

Talks in Miami focused on aligning US, European and Ukrainian positions as uncertainty remains if Russia will accept proposed terms.

59 minutes ago

China Business

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market

Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.

5 hours agovideocam

Society

Hong Kong lawyers give free aid to Tai Po residents at loss over next legal steps

As residents of Wang Fuk Court rebuild their lives, hundreds of lawyers have stepped in to help them understand their legal options.

4 hours ago

The blackened buildings of Wang Fuk Court. An independent review committee has been tasked with investigating the blaze. Photo: Elson Li

Australasia

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.

5 minutes agovideocam

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his wife are booed as they arrive at the Light Over Darkness vigil in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Diplomacy

Chinese workers return to Africa as lucrative job opportunities beckon

Large-scale, China-backed projects entice contract workers to take up posts in some African nations, while political instability keeps others away.

21 Dec 2025 - 8:00PMvideocam

Americas

US pursues third oil tanker as Trump’s Venezuela ‘blockade’ intensifies

US Coast Guard shadows a sanctioned ‘dark fleet’ supertanker as Washington moves to choke off Venezuela’s oil revenue.

2 hours ago

Africa

Nigeria secures release of 130 children abducted from Catholic school

Presidential spokesman confirms ‘none left in captivity’ after an operation frees students taken by gunmen in November.

3 hours ago

Freed students at a reception in Minna on December 8. An additional 130 children were released in recent days. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong

China Coast Marathon a spectacular alternative to Standard Chartered Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s oldest marathon, the China Coast event differs from the city race a week later and will pose a gruelling challenge in Sai Kung.

4 hours ago

High Island Reservoir and its Sai Kung surrounds will provide a challenging marathon course. Photo: Eugene Lee

Southeast Asia

‘Hunting in zoo’: Indonesia seeks extra tax from rich to plug budget deficit

The push is adding to unease among rich Indonesians already rattled by what many see as a crackdown on the affluent under Subianto.

3 hours agovideocam

Europe

Trump tariffs push Swiss pharma CEO to urge price alignment with US

Switzerland and the United States are locked in negotiations on the details of a deal slashing a whopping 39 per cent levy to 15 per cent.

21 Dec 2025 - 10:20PM

OPINION

SCMP Editorial

Editorial | TikTok deal could show way forward for US-China engagement

5 hours ago

Joseph E. Stiglitz

Opinion | How Trump is hastening the end of American hegemony

21 Dec 2025 - 8:30PM

Letters

Letters | Shenzhen-Hong Kong special zone could better serve national economy

1 hour ago

Ken Ip

Opinion | Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan

3 hours ago

Alice Wu

Opinion | Frenzy around Hong Kong Palace Museum’s Egyptian show offers food for thought

6 hours ago

Harry’s View | 22 Dec 2025

MORE COMMENT

LATEST

9 minutes ago

Asia

Video | Albanese booed at Bondi attack memorial

01:26

15 minutes ago

Food & Drink

Hosting Christmas at home? Check out these gourmet Hong Kong catering packages

29 minutes ago

Politics

Chinese spy? Propagandist? Former Confucius Institute director tells his story

50 minutes ago

Hong Kong

Video | Redevelopment breaks up decades-old community at Hong Kong’s Choi Hung Estate

54 minutes ago

Law and Crime

Hong Kong police arrest 15 over ‘meticulously planned’ 1 billion yen robbery

59 minutes ago

Europe

No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive’ talks

MORE LATEST NEWS

SCMP Series

WWII: 80 years on

China Inc. goes global

Chinese scientists return home

How China is telling its own story

Simon Li, executive director of the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre, with students (from second left) Kavira S. Kazimoto, Gem Peduche and Josue Camarena, at Andrews University’s Hong Kong campus. Photo: Handout

SCMP Series WWII: 80 years on

After The War | Virtual reality and the Nanking massacre: where does historical immersion become trauma?

Amid push in China for museum digitalisation, one educator seeks to help students ‘feel history without being flooded by it’.

14 Dec 2025 - 4:20PM

After The War | How the post-WWII order was formed and why China wants to reshape it

8 Sep 2025 - 4:11PMvideocam

After The War | Chinese scholars slam Western ‘historical nihilism’ on World War II

2 Sep 2025 - 5:16PM

Open Questions series

Science

Open Questions | Sci-fi writer Liu Cixin on why he’ll be happy if AI surpasses humans

Acclaimed author of the Three-Body trilogy also discusses his ‘dark forest’ theory, and the struggle to come up with original ideas.

15 Dec 2025 - 10:05AMvideocam

China Economy

Open Questions | Economist Huang Yiping on why China’s AI push must be ‘job-oriented’

Dean of Peking University’s National School of Development says ‘balance’ needed in AI development to protect employment, ‘human well-being’.

8 Dec 2025 - 10:07AMvideocam

Diplomacy

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel Zhou Bo on Taiwan reunification, lessons from the Ukraine war

Commentator and former senior colonel on Beijing’s row with Japan, lessons from the Ukraine war and why playing global policeman is a trap.

1 Dec 2025 - 3:57PMvideocam

China Economy

Open Questions | ‘A mistaken view’: US economist Nicholas Lardy on the ‘peak China’ hypothesis

The veteran China watcher talks Beijing’s need for financial reform and how US-China economic convergence could still be on the horizon.

24 Nov 2025 - 10:09AMvideocam

Key Industries:

Tech

China’s Qwen and DeepSeek edge out US AI models in Christian values benchmark

US start-up Gloo’s Flourishing AI Christian benchmark tested how the output of AI models ‘help people flourish’, CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

17 Dec 2025 - 7:00AM

The questions in FAI-C were reviewed by a panel of Biblical experts, including theologians, pastors, psychologists and scholars of ethics. Photo: SCMP

China Business

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market

Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.

5 hours agovideocam

Tech

Building a humanoid robot without China? Then you better bring a bigger wallet

China has issued five times the number of patents related to humanoid robots than the US, says Morgan Stanley.

21 Dec 2025 - 7:30AM

China Economy

China’s ‘black flying’ drone dilemma: when tech clashes with aviation safety

Videos posted online have shown drones climbing above 8,000 metres, dangerously close to passenger aircraft.

20 Dec 2025 - 6:00PM

A drone flies over the Khumbu Icefall on the Nepali side of Mount Everest in April last year. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Are Trump loyalists struggling in US rural heartland ready to say ‘enough’?

Hammered by crippling costs and precious revenue lost to China, Midwest farmers’ loyalty to the US president will be tested in 2026 midterms.

21 Dec 2025 - 7:35AMvideocam

China Business

Are Chinese biotechs what the doctor ordered as Big Pharma faces ‘patent cliff’?

US drug makers are racing to plug looming ‘patent cliff’ revenue gaps – and increasingly they are turning to China biotechs.

20 Dec 2025 - 8:57AM

Diplomacy

China urged to win ‘hearts and minds’ to fill leadership void as US retreats

Experts pushing Beijing’s vision for a new world order say nation can offer an ‘important alternative’ but it needs to improve its messaging.

19 Dec 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

Military

Why China’s rapid military build-up is ‘hardly the whole story’

The PLA has been moving fast to modernise its arsenal and warfare strategy, but it’s seen as ‘seriously deficient’ in some areas.

18 Dec 2025 - 6:03AM

Chinese spy? Propagandist? Former Confucius Institute director tells his story

Memoir by former Britain-based academic rebuts accusations that the centres serve as vehicles for Beijing’s state narratives.

Are China’s social media apps the soft power play to win over the West?

Malaysian court blocks Najib’s bid for house arrest

Monday’s decision keeps the former prime minister behind bars as he awaits the outcome of the far larger 1MDB case on Friday.

Blackpink for Ayumi? Why China may reward South Korea’s soft stance on Japan row

Beijing is reviving stalled trade talks with Seoul as the Lee administration breaks with Tokyo on Taiwan, and analysts say Chinese market access could be the geopolitical prize.

Hong Kong police arrest 15 over ‘meticulously planned’ 1 billion yen robbery

Police still trying to recover cash, with chief inspector calling robbery ‘meticulously planned and violent operation’ marked by a high level of professional execution.

George Yeo on superpower ‘headaches’ and why the US dollar could crack

US Justice Department denies cover-up as Trump photo restored to Epstein files

Officials backtrack on removing an image showing the US president with several women after bipartisan outrage.

Alibaba, Pop Mart lead Hong Kong stocks higher before Christmas trading break

Hong Kong’s market will close early on Wednesday and remain shut on December 25 and 26.

‘Pax Silica’: America’s new AI inner circle and Asia’s chosen few

Japan, South Korea and Singapore made the cut, leaving key partners like India and Vietnam – and even New Zealand – on the sidelines.

.css-f84qeq{font-family:Roboto Condensed,Roboto Condensed fallback,sans-serif;font-style:italic;}The secret ingredient in your daily life: why Malaysian palm oil is used around the world

Found everywhere from food products to biofuel, this vegetable oil is preferred for its versatility, safety and sustainable production.

From swoosh to local: Nike stumbles in China as home-grown rivals close the gap

Nike’s sharp drop in China sales underscores intensifying competition from home-grown brands amid changing consumer tastes.

No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive’ talks

Talks in Miami focused on aligning US, European and Ukrainian positions as uncertainty remains if Russia will accept proposed terms.

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market

Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.

Hong Kong lawyers give free aid to Tai Po residents at loss over next legal steps

As residents of Wang Fuk Court rebuild their lives, hundreds of lawyers have stepped in to help them understand their legal options.

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.

Chinese workers return to Africa as lucrative job opportunities beckon

Large-scale, China-backed projects entice contract workers to take up posts in some African nations, while political instability keeps others away.

US pursues third oil tanker as Trump’s Venezuela ‘blockade’ intensifies

US Coast Guard shadows a sanctioned ‘dark fleet’ supertanker as Washington moves to choke off Venezuela’s oil revenue.

Nigeria secures release of 130 children abducted from Catholic school

Presidential spokesman confirms ‘none left in captivity’ after an operation frees students taken by gunmen in November.

China Coast Marathon a spectacular alternative to Standard Chartered Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s oldest marathon, the China Coast event differs from the city race a week later and will pose a gruelling challenge in Sai Kung.

‘Hunting in zoo’: Indonesia seeks extra tax from rich to plug budget deficit

The push is adding to unease among rich Indonesians already rattled by what many see as a crackdown on the affluent under Subianto.

Trump tariffs push Swiss pharma CEO to urge price alignment with US

Switzerland and the United States are locked in negotiations on the details of a deal slashing a whopping 39 per cent levy to 15 per cent.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Editorial | TikTok deal could show way forward for US-China engagement

Opinion | How Trump is hastening the end of American hegemony

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Shenzhen-Hong Kong special zone could better serve national economy

Opinion | Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan

Opinion | Frenzy around Hong Kong Palace Museum’s Egyptian show offers food for thought

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | Albanese booed at Bondi attack memorial

Hosting Christmas at home? Check out these gourmet Hong Kong catering packages

Chinese spy? Propagandist? Former Confucius Institute director tells his story

Video | Redevelopment breaks up decades-old community at Hong Kong’s Choi Hung Estate

Hong Kong police arrest 15 over ‘meticulously planned’ 1 billion yen robbery

No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive’ talks

After The War | Virtual reality and the Nanking massacre: where does historical immersion become trauma?

Amid push in China for museum digitalisation, one educator seeks to help students ‘feel history without being flooded by it’.

After The War | How the post-WWII order was formed and why China wants to reshape it

After The War | Chinese scholars slam Western ‘historical nihilism’ on World War II

Open Questions | Sci-fi writer Liu Cixin on why he’ll be happy if AI surpasses humans

Acclaimed author of the Three-Body trilogy also discusses his ‘dark forest’ theory, and the struggle to come up with original ideas.

Open Questions | Economist Huang Yiping on why China’s AI push must be ‘job-oriented’

Dean of Peking University’s National School of Development says ‘balance’ needed in AI development to protect employment, ‘human well-being’.

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel Zhou Bo on Taiwan reunification, lessons from the Ukraine war

Commentator and former senior colonel on Beijing’s row with Japan, lessons from the Ukraine war and why playing global policeman is a trap.

Open Questions | ‘A mistaken view’: US economist Nicholas Lardy on the ‘peak China’ hypothesis

The veteran China watcher talks Beijing’s need for financial reform and how US-China economic convergence could still be on the horizon.

China’s Qwen and DeepSeek edge out US AI models in Christian values benchmark

US start-up Gloo’s Flourishing AI Christian benchmark tested how the output of AI models ‘help people flourish’, CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market

Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.

Building a humanoid robot without China? Then you better bring a bigger wallet

China has issued five times the number of patents related to humanoid robots than the US, says Morgan Stanley.

China’s ‘black flying’ drone dilemma: when tech clashes with aviation safety

Videos posted online have shown drones climbing above 8,000 metres, dangerously close to passenger aircraft.

Are Trump loyalists struggling in US rural heartland ready to say ‘enough’?

Hammered by crippling costs and precious revenue lost to China, Midwest farmers’ loyalty to the US president will be tested in 2026 midterms.

Are Chinese biotechs what the doctor ordered as Big Pharma faces ‘patent cliff’?

US drug makers are racing to plug looming ‘patent cliff’ revenue gaps – and increasingly they are turning to China biotechs.

China urged to win ‘hearts and minds’ to fill leadership void as US retreats

Experts pushing Beijing’s vision for a new world order say nation can offer an ‘important alternative’ but it needs to improve its messaging.

Why China’s rapid military build-up is ‘hardly the whole story’

The PLA has been moving fast to modernise its arsenal and warfare strategy, but it’s seen as ‘seriously deficient’ in some areas.

The secret ingredient in your daily life: why Malaysian palm oil is used around the world

Editorial | TikTok deal could show way forward for US-China engagement

Letters | Shenzhen-Hong Kong special zone could better serve national economy

Video | Albanese booed at Bondi attack memorial