Breaking China, Asia, HK News, Opinions and Insights

A record 63 high-ranking officials were placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption this year. Photo: Robert Ng

China vows to keep up the fight after record ‘tigers’ caught in corruption net

Politburo agrees to push forward campaign and calls for graft-busters to provide ‘guarantee’ for nation’s economic and social development.

28 minutes agovideocam

4 Chinese defence firm chiefs among 8 sacked from top advisory body CPPCC

Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign

Science

China’s new quantum computer hits stability milestone, beating Google on efficiency

Chinese team is first outside the US to cross key threshold that determines whether practical quantum computers can work reliably at scale.

3 hours agovideocam

Military

Will Trump’s battleship plan deter China or is it just a pipe dream?

Donald Trump unveils new class of ship meant to ‘inspire fear in America’s enemies’, but analysts say the initiative faces huge hurdles.

6 hours agovideocam

Society

How Hong Kong’s Tai Po community is finding light in darkness, 1 month after fire

As Wang Fuk Court residents and their neighbours pick up the pieces after blaze, glimmers of warmth and generosity bring hope.

4 hours ago

Diplomacy

Japanese ground troops take part in an exercise in Okinawa prefecture in June. Chinese state media says the resurgence of Japanese militarism has dealt a serious blow to bilateral relations and undermined regional peace and stability. Photo: AFP

China sharpens criticism of Japan ‘neo-militarism’, warns of ‘dangerous signal’

China Economy

China’s Comac to team up with China Eastern for bigger C919 variant, sources say

Comac’s stretched model, expected to be dubbed the C919-800, could target lucrative Asian routes and seat more than 200 passengers.

28 minutes agovideocam

A C919 jet operated by China Eastern Airlines takes off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on January 1. Photo: Xinhua

China Business

China’s rising biotech clout on show in flurry of billion-dollar licensing deals

A burst of overseas licensing pacts is spotlighting China’s biotech sector, as Jacobio, Coherent Biopharma and Harbour BioMed land deals.

2 hours ago

People

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

Myanmar’s phased election, set to start on Sunday, is likely to be steered by the same leaders responsible for driving the Rohingya out.

1 hour agovideocam

People & Culture

How this year’s Yidan Prize laureates reshape modern literacy and skills worldwide

Mamadou Amadou Ly and Uri Wilensky help transform teaching and learning through multilingual education and computational thinking.

In partnership with:

Yidan Prize Foundation

The 2025 Yidan Prize laureates Professor Uri Wilensky (left) and Mamadou Amadou Ly help remove barriers to education by transforming how learners access and engage with knowledge.

Entertainment

How The Joy Luck Club opened the door for majority-Asian casts in Hollywood

The Joy Luck Club (1993) is a complex tale of intergenerational trauma focusing on four Chinese mothers and their daughters in San Francisco.

5 hours agovideocam

Lisa Lu (left) and Rosalind Chao in a still from The Joy Luck Club (1993). The film stands as only the second Hollywood film ever to tell a contemporary story with a majority Asian cast – the first, Flower Drum Song, had arrived 32 years prior.

Africa

US launches strike on Islamic State targets in Nigeria, Trump says

US strikes targeting militants were carried out in cooperation with the Nigerian government.

56 minutes ago

East Asia

Japan’s US$782 billion budget to boost military firepower, tame inflation

The budget comes as the market worries about Prime Minister Takaichi’s big spending policies adding to Japan’s public debt.

28 minutes agovideocam

Politics

‘Maximum deterrence’: why North Korea just revealed its new nuclear submarine

The unprecedented transparency from the normally secretive country shows a shift in North Korean defence strategy, analysts say.

4 hours agovideocam

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) inspects a nuclear-powered submarine under construction in a photo released on December 25. Photo: KCNA/AP

Other Sport

Year in athletics: Mondo Duplantis shines, the US enjoys a stellar year

Doping still lingers over the sport, with Kenyan and Russian athletes the biggest offenders.

2 hours ago

Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis shone on the biggest stage again, setting his 14th pole vault world record this year. Photo: Xinhua

Science

China’s military maglev achieves 0-700km/h acceleration in less than 2 seconds

Feat seen to catapult China into global top tier of ultra-high-speed maglev technology and unlock new possibilities for hyperloop transport.

25 Dec 2025 - 10:00PMvideocam

China Business

Firmer yuan fuels share gains on bets Beijing will tolerate appreciation

Chinese equities edged higher on Friday, led by BYD, after the offshore yuan climbed through 7 per dollar for the first time since 2024.

2 hours ago

Americas

Brazil’s Bolsonaro backs son’s presidential bid, undergoes hernia surgery

The former president, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, was allowed to leave prison for the operation.

2 hours ago

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro leaves the DF Star hospital in Brasilia on September 14. Photo: AFP

United States & Canada

Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at Trump in ‘alternative Christmas message’ to UK

Talk show host and Trump foe Kimmel tells UK TV that ‘tyranny is booming’ in US.

2 hours agovideocam

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel speaks at a conference in Los Angeles in October. Photo: AFP

Europe

Britain’s King Charles calls for ‘reconciliation’ in Christmas speech

UK monarch praises the courage of those who risked their lives for others during his fourth Christmas broadcast as king.

4 hours ago

Tech Trends

Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra, backed by Leica, challenges Apple’s iPhone Pro Max in imaging

The 17 Ultra’s US$998 starting price is nearly 8 per cent higher than the previous generation owing to the soaring cost of memory chips.

25 Dec 2025 - 11:14PM

OPINION

Bernard Chan

Opinion | West is getting on the same page as China for children’s social media use

3 hours ago

Nicholas Spiro

Macroscope | Why Wall Street remains bullish on China amid economic slowdown

5 hours ago

Grenville Cross

Opinion | Hong Kong’s new legislators must strengthen child protection laws

25 Dec 2025 - 9:30AM

Hannan Hussain

Opinion | Seoul holds the key to US-North Korea denuclearisation talks

25 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

Letters

Letters | Let 2026 be the year we are kinder to animals

25 Dec 2025 - 11:30AM

Harry’s View | 26 Dec 2025

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Racing

Lo Rider primed for return to Derby trip: ‘the 2,000m is perfect for him now’

28 minutes ago

East Asia

Japan’s US$782 billion budget to boost military firepower, tame inflation

28 minutes ago

Politics

China vows to keep up the fight after record ‘tigers’ caught in corruption net

28 minutes ago

China Economy

China’s Comac to team up with China Eastern for bigger C919 variant, sources say

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People

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

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Southeast Asia

‘Don’t embarrass Malaysia’: minister furious over public littering

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SCMP Series

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SCMP Series Beijing’s recalibration of its Taiwan policy

Why has Beijing turned down the heat in the Taiwan Strait in the second half of 2025?

PLA warplanes and ships have been less active around the island in the second half of the year, Taiwanese data shows.

25 Dec 2025 - 9:58AMvideocam

Beijing is pinning hopes for Taiwan reunification on KMT – but not all of them

24 Dec 2025 - 9:53PMvideocam

‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification?

23 Dec 2025 - 3:43PMvideocam

Open Questions series

Diplomacy

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

Singapore’s former foreign minister also discusses Trump, the latest China-Japan dust-up, and rivalry between Hong Kong and the city state.

22 Dec 2025 - 10:02AMvideocam

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

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 Economy

China’s Comac to team up with China Eastern for bigger C919 variant, sources say

Comac’s stretched model, expected to be dubbed the C919-800, could target lucrative Asian routes and seat more than 200 passengers.

28 minutes agovideocam

China Business

China’s rising biotech clout on show in flurry of billion-dollar licensing deals

A burst of overseas licensing pacts is spotlighting China’s biotech sector, as Jacobio, Coherent Biopharma and Harbour BioMed land deals.

2 hours ago

China Business

Mercedes-Benz buys US$191 million stake in Chinese autonomous driving developer

The German carmaker obtains a 3 per cent stake in Chongqing Qianli Technology.

25 Dec 2025 - 9:00PM

Military

How Beijing’s strategy shift explains decreased PLA activity in the Taiwan Strait

PLA warplanes and ships have been less active around the island in the second half of the year, Taiwanese data shows.

25 Dec 2025 - 9:58AMvideocam

Politics

Beijing is pinning hopes for Taiwan reunification on KMT – but not all of them

The party’s new chairwoman Cheng Li-wun has adopted a mainland-friendly tone but it remains to be seen if she can live up to Beijing’s hopes.

24 Dec 2025 - 9:53PMvideocam

Politics

‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification?

Analysts examine Taiwan-related policy announcements, a new commemoration day and military posturing for clues to Beijing’s intent.

23 Dec 2025 - 3:43PMvideocam

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 vows to keep up the fight after record ‘tigers’ caught in corruption net

Politburo agrees to push forward campaign and calls for graft-busters to provide ‘guarantee’ for nation’s economic and social development.

4 Chinese defence firm chiefs among 8 sacked from top advisory body CPPCC

China’s new quantum computer hits stability milestone, beating Google on efficiency

Chinese team is first outside the US to cross key threshold that determines whether practical quantum computers can work reliably at scale.

Will Trump’s battleship plan deter China or is it just a pipe dream?

Donald Trump unveils new class of ship meant to ‘inspire fear in America’s enemies’, but analysts say the initiative faces huge hurdles.

How Hong Kong’s Tai Po community is finding light in darkness, 1 month after fire

As Wang Fuk Court residents and their neighbours pick up the pieces after blaze, glimmers of warmth and generosity bring hope.

China sharpens criticism of Japan ‘neo-militarism’, warns of ‘dangerous signal’

China’s Comac to team up with China Eastern for bigger C919 variant, sources say

Comac’s stretched model, expected to be dubbed the C919-800, could target lucrative Asian routes and seat more than 200 passengers.

China’s rising biotech clout on show in flurry of billion-dollar licensing deals

A burst of overseas licensing pacts is spotlighting China’s biotech sector, as Jacobio, Coherent Biopharma and Harbour BioMed land deals.

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

Myanmar’s phased election, set to start on Sunday, is likely to be steered by the same leaders responsible for driving the Rohingya out.

.css-f84qeq{font-family:Roboto Condensed,Roboto Condensed fallback,sans-serif;font-style:italic;}How this year’s Yidan Prize laureates reshape modern literacy and skills worldwide

Mamadou Amadou Ly and Uri Wilensky help transform teaching and learning through multilingual education and computational thinking.

How The Joy Luck Club opened the door for majority-Asian casts in Hollywood

The Joy Luck Club (1993) is a complex tale of intergenerational trauma focusing on four Chinese mothers and their daughters in San Francisco.

US launches strike on Islamic State targets in Nigeria, Trump says

US strikes targeting militants were carried out in cooperation with the Nigerian government.

Japan’s US$782 billion budget to boost military firepower, tame inflation

The budget comes as the market worries about Prime Minister Takaichi’s big spending policies adding to Japan’s public debt.

‘Maximum deterrence’: why North Korea just revealed its new nuclear submarine

The unprecedented transparency from the normally secretive country shows a shift in North Korean defence strategy, analysts say.

Year in athletics: Mondo Duplantis shines, the US enjoys a stellar year

Doping still lingers over the sport, with Kenyan and Russian athletes the biggest offenders.

China’s military maglev achieves 0-700km/h acceleration in less than 2 seconds

Feat seen to catapult China into global top tier of ultra-high-speed maglev technology and unlock new possibilities for hyperloop transport.

Firmer yuan fuels share gains on bets Beijing will tolerate appreciation

Chinese equities edged higher on Friday, led by BYD, after the offshore yuan climbed through 7 per dollar for the first time since 2024.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro backs son’s presidential bid, undergoes hernia surgery

The former president, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, was allowed to leave prison for the operation.

Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at Trump in ‘alternative Christmas message’ to UK

Talk show host and Trump foe Kimmel tells UK TV that ‘tyranny is booming’ in US.

Britain’s King Charles calls for ‘reconciliation’ in Christmas speech

UK monarch praises the courage of those who risked their lives for others during his fourth Christmas broadcast as king.

Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra, backed by Leica, challenges Apple’s iPhone Pro Max in imaging

The 17 Ultra’s US$998 starting price is nearly 8 per cent higher than the previous generation owing to the soaring cost of memory chips.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | West is getting on the same page as China for children’s social media use

Macroscope | Why Wall Street remains bullish on China amid economic slowdown

Opinion | Hong Kong’s new legislators must strengthen child protection laws

Opinion | Seoul holds the key to US-North Korea denuclearisation talks

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Let 2026 be the year we are kinder to animals

Lo Rider primed for return to Derby trip: ‘the 2,000m is perfect for him now’

Japan’s US$782 billion budget to boost military firepower, tame inflation

China vows to keep up the fight after record ‘tigers’ caught in corruption net

China’s Comac to team up with China Eastern for bigger C919 variant, sources say

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

‘Don’t embarrass Malaysia’: minister furious over public littering

Why has Beijing turned down the heat in the Taiwan Strait in the second half of 2025?

PLA warplanes and ships have been less active around the island in the second half of the year, Taiwanese data shows.

Beijing is pinning hopes for Taiwan reunification on KMT – but not all of them

‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification?

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

Singapore’s former foreign minister also discusses Trump, the latest China-Japan dust-up, and rivalry between Hong Kong and the city state.

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.

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 Comac to team up with China Eastern for bigger C919 variant, sources say

Comac’s stretched model, expected to be dubbed the C919-800, could target lucrative Asian routes and seat more than 200 passengers.

China’s rising biotech clout on show in flurry of billion-dollar licensing deals

A burst of overseas licensing pacts is spotlighting China’s biotech sector, as Jacobio, Coherent Biopharma and Harbour BioMed land deals.

Mercedes-Benz buys US$191 million stake in Chinese autonomous driving developer

The German carmaker obtains a 3 per cent stake in Chongqing Qianli Technology.

How Beijing’s strategy shift explains decreased PLA activity in the Taiwan Strait

PLA warplanes and ships have been less active around the island in the second half of the year, Taiwanese data shows.

Beijing is pinning hopes for Taiwan reunification on KMT – but not all of them

The party’s new chairwoman Cheng Li-wun has adopted a mainland-friendly tone but it remains to be seen if she can live up to Beijing’s hopes.

‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification?

Analysts examine Taiwan-related policy announcements, a new commemoration day and military posturing for clues to Beijing’s intent.

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.

How this year’s Yidan Prize laureates reshape modern literacy and skills worldwide

Opinion | West is getting on the same page as China for children’s social media use

Letters | Let 2026 be the year we are kinder to animals