Breaking China, Asia, HK News, Opinions and Insights

A pro-government, armed civilian in Caracas, Venezuela, attends a protest demanding the release of President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, after US forces captured and flew them to the United States. Photo: AP

China is likely to thread the needle after US attack on Venezuela

A wait-and-see strategy is wise, analysts said, given the uncertainty surrounding Venezuela at the moment.

25 minutes ago

Will Beijing look to US capture of Nicolas Maduro for lessons on Taiwan?

US-Venezuela conflict

Law and Crime

Police to deepen Asean ties as Hong Kong set to host first top Interpol meeting

Police chief Joe Chow says Hong Kong’s high standing will help foster ties as city looks to host 196 member country representatives in November.

3 hours ago

Diplomacy

Venezuela crisis underscores China’s challenges in Latin America

Washington making an example of Maduro as a ‘warning shot’ would create a ‘chilling effect’ across Latin America, observer says.

4 Jan 2026 - 11:01PMvideocam

Diplomacy

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung lands in Beijing with 200-strong delegation

State visit unfolds amid turbulent global landscape where South Korea must delicately navigate US-China rivalry and China-Japan tensions.

6 hours agovideocam

Open Questions

‘Embrace the moment’: on China, Daniel Kritenbrink puts pragmatism first

Tech Trends

China’s humanoid robot makers, Hong Kong start-ups set to dazzle CES 2026

Nearly a dozen Chinese humanoid robot makers are expected at the trade show, while Hong Kong sends its largest-ever delegation.

36 minutes agovideocam

Chinese humanoid robot maker AgiBot is expected to bring its full product portfolio at CES 2026. Photo: AgiBot

Diplomacy

Trump warns Venezuela’s interim leader to cooperate, or else

US President Donald Trump said Delcy Rodríguez could pay ‘a very big price’ if she defies Washington.

2 hours ago

Politics

‘Not very high’ bar: Philippines inherits Thailand-Cambodia border crisis

Given Asean’s policy of non-interference, the Philippines may be better off leaving peace negotiations to the US and China, experts say.

4 hours 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.

Diplomacy

US scrambles geopolitics with stark attack on Venezuela

The US attack reverses a vow US President Donald Trump made when campaigning for his second term that Washington would stop, not start, wars.

5 Jan 2026 - 1:09AM

US President Donald Trump and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John D. Caine at a news conference on Saturday about the US attack on Venezuela. Photo: EPA

Military

Will Beijing look to US capture of Nicolas Maduro for lessons on Taiwan?

Analysts say US operation should serve as warning to separatist forces in Taiwan following PLA drills targeting the island’s leadership.

4 Jan 2026 - 9:01PMvideocam

East Asia

North Korea links Sunday’s missile launch to ‘recent geopolitical crisis’

Kim Jong-un, who denounced the US capture of Venezuela’s Maduro, said achievements have been made in preparing forces ‘for an actual war’.

4 hours ago

China Economy

Maduro capture: is the US trying to grab control of the global oil market?

Removal of Venezuelan leader could be part of US effort to regain global pricing power as petrodollar system comes under strain: analysts.

4 Jan 2026 - 9:42PM

In a photo released by the White House, US President Donald Trump monitors American military strikes on Venezuela from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on June 3. Photo: AP

Banking & Finance

Exclusive | HKMA teams up with SFC, Insurance Authority to promote fintech over next 5 years

The HKMA is expanding the city’s generative AI sandbox to include other industries, chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man says.

3 hours ago

Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man. Photo: SCMP

East Asia

South Korean ‘nation’s actor’ Ahn Sung-ki dies at 74

Ahn collected over 40 major movie awards in his lifetime, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times.

1 hour ago

Chinese culture

How Peking opera actors pull off such impressive balancing moves

Peking opera actress Zhang Wanting, currently appearing in The Masked Heroine, started training in the art form in her childhood.

4 hours ago

Southeast Asia

New ‘command economy’? Indonesia seizes land the size of Switzerland

Prabowo Subianto’s government has taken over 4 million hectares of plantations and mines since last January.

2 hours agovideocam

A truck loaded with oil palm drives on an unpaved road at a plantation in Langsa, Aceh province. Photo: AFP

Cryptocurrency

Digital finance in 2026: what to expect as pilots move into real-world adoption

While digital money experiments promise greater efficiency, they also risk deeper fragmentation and regulatory pitfalls, experts warn.

4 hours ago

Blockchain and Web3 technology are “inherently global”, but real-world applications must be “embedded in regulation and local use cases”, expert says. Photo: Shutterstock

Europe

Powers to seize mobile phones over Channel migrant crossings come into force

From Monday, UK authorities will take electronic devices from migrants to download data in a bid to gather intelligence on people smugglers.

4 hours ago

Europe

Swiss grieve as all 40 bar fire victims identified - many of them under 18

Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14.

37 minutes ago

OPINION

Alice Wu

Opinion | Starry Lee or Ronick Chan? Lawmakers’ choice will reveal their priorities

2 hours ago

Letters

Letters | Scolding not the right way to curb children’s social media use

6 minutes ago

Wang Xiangwei

Opinion | Why China is still struggling to ‘invest in people’

6 hours ago

SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Mainland Chinese drivers need to be aware of and respect Hong Kong laws

4 hours ago

SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Hong Kong’s anti-scam service a prudent way to make banking more secure

5 hours ago

Harry’s View | 5 Jan 2026

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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 | How new C100 chief plans to foster ties between Chinese-Americans and China

The Committee of 100’s president Paul Cheung has high hopes for Chinese-Americans’ relationship with China in these uncertain times.

3 Jan 2026 - 12:33AMvideocam

Paul Cheung, the new president of the Committee of 100, is hoping his organisation can provide context and nuance to the fractious US-China relationship for Chinese-Americans. Photo: Handout

Diplomacy

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on European vertigo in a post-American world

While melancholy Europe frets that the US and China will shape the future, middle powers are jostling for a place at the big table.

29 Dec 2025 - 9:04AMvideocam

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

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

Banking & Finance

The ‘biology winter’ thaws: why investors are buying Hong Kong’s biotech IPOs

A wave of China out-licensing deals is feeding a biotech comeback in Hong Kong, where IPOs and follow-on placements are surging.

28 minutes ago

Tech Trends

China’s humanoid robot makers, Hong Kong start-ups set to dazzle CES 2026

Nearly a dozen Chinese humanoid robot makers are expected at the trade show, while Hong Kong sends its largest-ever delegation.

36 minutes agovideocam

China Economy

What are China’s hottest jobs as AI reshapes the labour market?

The structural shift in China’s labour market will make digital skills mandatory as new opportunities emerge and traditional work tapers off.

3 Jan 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence will shape the future of job creation in China as demand for AI product managers surges by 178 per cent and digital skills will be mandatory in the new employment landscape. Photo: Shutterstock

Diplomacy

Why China is turning down the nationalist heat in its row with Japan

With economic stakes high, Beijing seen as ‘more cautious in handling external frictions’, avoiding fanning of ‘uncontrollable’ nationalism.

4 Jan 2026 - 6:06AMvideocam

Military

Just how close did a PLA drone come to the heart of Taipei during drill?

Footage shared by a mainland military social media account shows Taipei 101 but it’s not clear when it was taken.

2 Jan 2026 - 6:00AMvideocam

Law and Crime

Hong Kong’s sex offence laws are to be overhauled. What needs to be updated?

Consent and gender issues are key areas the government will look at when it starts the review process.

2 Jan 2026 - 8:34AM

China Economy

How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge.

1 Jan 2026 - 10:39PMvideocam

Vendors work at the Yiwu International Trade Market, a vast emporium for wholesale goods often dubbed the “world’s supermarket”, in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. The city has recorded strong growth in exports this year despite the US-China trade war. Photo: AFP

China is likely to thread the needle after US attack on Venezuela

A wait-and-see strategy is wise, analysts said, given the uncertainty surrounding Venezuela at the moment.

Will Beijing look to US capture of Nicolas Maduro for lessons on Taiwan?

Police to deepen Asean ties as Hong Kong set to host first top Interpol meeting

Police chief Joe Chow says Hong Kong’s high standing will help foster ties as city looks to host 196 member country representatives in November.

Venezuela crisis underscores China’s challenges in Latin America

Washington making an example of Maduro as a ‘warning shot’ would create a ‘chilling effect’ across Latin America, observer says.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung lands in Beijing with 200-strong delegation

State visit unfolds amid turbulent global landscape where South Korea must delicately navigate US-China rivalry and China-Japan tensions.

‘Embrace the moment’: on China, Daniel Kritenbrink puts pragmatism first

China’s humanoid robot makers, Hong Kong start-ups set to dazzle CES 2026

Nearly a dozen Chinese humanoid robot makers are expected at the trade show, while Hong Kong sends its largest-ever delegation.

Trump warns Venezuela’s interim leader to cooperate, or else

US President Donald Trump said Delcy Rodríguez could pay ‘a very big price’ if she defies Washington.

‘Not very high’ bar: Philippines inherits Thailand-Cambodia border crisis

Given Asean’s policy of non-interference, the Philippines may be better off leaving peace negotiations to the US and China, experts say.

.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.

US scrambles geopolitics with stark attack on Venezuela

The US attack reverses a vow US President Donald Trump made when campaigning for his second term that Washington would stop, not start, wars.

Will Beijing look to US capture of Nicolas Maduro for lessons on Taiwan?

Analysts say US operation should serve as warning to separatist forces in Taiwan following PLA drills targeting the island’s leadership.

North Korea links Sunday’s missile launch to ‘recent geopolitical crisis’

Kim Jong-un, who denounced the US capture of Venezuela’s Maduro, said achievements have been made in preparing forces ‘for an actual war’.

Maduro capture: is the US trying to grab control of the global oil market?

Removal of Venezuelan leader could be part of US effort to regain global pricing power as petrodollar system comes under strain: analysts.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | HKMA teams up with SFC, Insurance Authority to promote fintech over next 5 years

The HKMA is expanding the city’s generative AI sandbox to include other industries, chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man says.

South Korean ‘nation’s actor’ Ahn Sung-ki dies at 74

Ahn collected over 40 major movie awards in his lifetime, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times.

How Peking opera actors pull off such impressive balancing moves

Peking opera actress Zhang Wanting, currently appearing in The Masked Heroine, started training in the art form in her childhood.

New ‘command economy’? Indonesia seizes land the size of Switzerland

Prabowo Subianto’s government has taken over 4 million hectares of plantations and mines since last January.

Digital finance in 2026: what to expect as pilots move into real-world adoption

While digital money experiments promise greater efficiency, they also risk deeper fragmentation and regulatory pitfalls, experts warn.

Powers to seize mobile phones over Channel migrant crossings come into force

From Monday, UK authorities will take electronic devices from migrants to download data in a bid to gather intelligence on people smugglers.

Swiss grieve as all 40 bar fire victims identified - many of them under 18

Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | Starry Lee or Ronick Chan? Lawmakers’ choice will reveal their priorities

Letters | Scolding not the right way to curb children’s social media use

Opinion | Why China is still struggling to ‘invest in people’

Editorial | Mainland Chinese drivers need to be aware of and respect Hong Kong laws

Editorial | Hong Kong’s anti-scam service a prudent way to make banking more secure

Over 150 residents evacuated after ‘candle’ sparks fire in Hong Kong flat

Novak Djokovic quits players’ union over transparency, governance concerns

The ‘biology winter’ thaws: why investors are buying Hong Kong’s biotech IPOs

China’s humanoid robot makers, Hong Kong start-ups set to dazzle CES 2026

Hong Kong stocks rise to 7-week high on strong Asian equities outlook

South Korean ‘nation’s actor’ Ahn Sung-ki dies at 74

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 | How new C100 chief plans to foster ties between Chinese-Americans and China

The Committee of 100’s president Paul Cheung has high hopes for Chinese-Americans’ relationship with China in these uncertain times.

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on European vertigo in a post-American world

While melancholy Europe frets that the US and China will shape the future, middle powers are jostling for a place at the big table.

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.

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.

The ‘biology winter’ thaws: why investors are buying Hong Kong’s biotech IPOs

A wave of China out-licensing deals is feeding a biotech comeback in Hong Kong, where IPOs and follow-on placements are surging.

China’s humanoid robot makers, Hong Kong start-ups set to dazzle CES 2026

Nearly a dozen Chinese humanoid robot makers are expected at the trade show, while Hong Kong sends its largest-ever delegation.

What are China’s hottest jobs as AI reshapes the labour market?

The structural shift in China’s labour market will make digital skills mandatory as new opportunities emerge and traditional work tapers off.

Why China is turning down the nationalist heat in its row with Japan

With economic stakes high, Beijing seen as ‘more cautious in handling external frictions’, avoiding fanning of ‘uncontrollable’ nationalism.

Just how close did a PLA drone come to the heart of Taipei during drill?

Footage shared by a mainland military social media account shows Taipei 101 but it’s not clear when it was taken.

Hong Kong’s sex offence laws are to be overhauled. What needs to be updated?

Consent and gender issues are key areas the government will look at when it starts the review process.

How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge.

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

Exclusive | HKMA teams up with SFC, Insurance Authority to promote fintech over next 5 years

Opinion | Starry Lee or Ronick Chan? Lawmakers’ choice will reveal their priorities