Jun Mai

Jun Mai is an award-winning journalist covering China's political and social news. He writes about China's elite politics, general policies and social activism. He is currently based in Beijing.

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon (left) greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference on Tuesday in New York. Photo: AFP

China

Fugitive tycoon and Bannon imply Beijing involvement in HNA leader’s death

21 Nov 2018 - 7:17am 33

Taiwan’s lack of a voice in Trump’s tariff war stands out amid the significance the US administration has increasingly attached to the island. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Taiwan – US security partner but silent victim in Trump’s trade war

16 Nov 2018 - 11:08pm 26

‘Stand down,’ China hawk Peter Navarro tells Wall Street’s would-be brokers of trade war truce

Politics

China hawk Navarro tells would-be brokers of trade war truce to ‘stand down’

10 Nov 2018 - 10:18pm 71

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires later this month. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

Top Beijing adviser says don’t expect Trump-Xi trade war closure at G20

8 Nov 2018 - 10:29pm 4

The midterm elections Tuesday may bring House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer new power in Washington. Regardless, though, they are likely to remain in step with US President Donald Trump’s hawkish China policies. Photo: Bloomberg

United States & Canada

Beyond the midterms, China hawks will remain the rule in Washington

6 Nov 2018 - 8:32am 15

Deng Pufang, the oldest son of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, pictured in 2012. Photo: AFP

Politics

China should ‘know its place’, Deng Xiaoping’s son says

1 Nov 2018 - 2:50pm 237

Xi Jinping’s policy priorities have remained essentially the same since the president first took power, according to a program’s analysis of the front pages of People’s Daily. Photo: Reuters.

Politics

Predicting Beijing’s thinking via AI and People’s Daily

30 Oct 2018 - 9:14pm 3

Michael Pillsbury, author the The Hundred-Year Marathon, has emerged as one of the most influential voices on China policy in the US. Photo: Alamy

Diplomacy

US law enforcers should stop China’s influence campaign, says strategist

25 Oct 2018 - 11:23pm 26

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are set to meet on November 29 in Buenos Aires, according to sources. Photo: AFP

China Economy

Xi Jinping, Donald Trump ‘agree to talk’ at G20 summit next month

26 Oct 2018 - 3:53pm 62

Illustration by Lau Ka-kuen

Diplomacy

Is Trump’s hawkish behaviour towards China the start of a new cold war?

18 Oct 2018 - 11:57pm 68

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Politics

FBI chief tells Congress that China is bigger security threat than Russia

11 Oct 2018 - 11:30pm 70

Illustration: SCMP

Society

Chinese who used US ‘asylum mill’ lawyers face deportation threat

10 Oct 2018 - 11:09pm 39

Star says she has ‘experienced unprecedented pain and agony’ in first social media post since disappearing three months ago

Politics

‘I was in pain and agony’: Fan Bingbing speaks out after secret detention

4 Oct 2018 - 5:55am 217

Beijing cannot avoid dealing with the developed world if it wants to build a technologically advanced country

Diplomacy

China’s new world order ‘unrealistic’ if built on belt and road alone

28 Sep 2018 - 10:47pm 28

Former internet tsar Lu Wei is awaiting trial on corruption charges. Photo: AFP

Politics

China sends ex-colleagues of former internet tsar to ‘education sessions’

8 Oct 2018 - 2:40pm 2

The United States must treat China as an equal if the trade war is to end, a senior Chinese official says. Photo: Reuters

News

China willing to talk trade but not with American ‘knife at its throat’

25 Sep 2018 - 11:35pm 76

Pope Francis ‘hopes the wounds of the past can be overcome’, the Vatican said in a statement on its new deal with China on the appointment of bishops. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Vatican signs historic deal with China on bishop appointments

22 Sep 2018 - 11:24pm 67

Chinese foreign ministry says United States will have to bear the consequences of violating basic norms of international relations

Diplomacy

China hits back at US sanctions over Russian fighter jet purchases

21 Sep 2018 - 4:19pm 110

Energy chief – one of few high-ranking Uygur officials and once seen as a rising star – was in the Chinese delegation at meeting with Vladimir Putin this week

Politics

China’s former Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri facing corruption probe

21 Sep 2018 - 10:14pm 3

Yang Weimin, former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, says the public want more than economic development. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Former top Chinese officials call for better protection of human rights

19 Sep 2018 - 4:45am 16

China has released draft rules to tighten up on online religious activities in China. Photo: AFP

Politics

China to ban foreigners from preaching religion online

13 Sep 2018 - 2:41am 29

Surplus that drove US president to wage trade war rises in China’s favour as he repeats threat of tariffs on further US$200 billion of goods

Diplomacy

China’s trade surplus with US grows 10 per cent to US$31 billion

15 Oct 2018 - 12:02pm 64

China’s ability to innovate in science and technology will be key in determining its global competitiveness, government steering group said. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

China to 'seriously evaluate' old ways of science and tech development

25 Sep 2018 - 2:10pm 13

One in 10 of the respondents to an international survey had been “invited to have tea” with Chinese police or security personnel to discuss or for warning about their area of study in the last 10 years. Photo: Reuters/AFP/AP/Shutterstock

Politics

Overseas social scientists ‘face real repression’ in China research

5 Sep 2018 - 11:34pm 19

At least four children died and more than 10,000 sickened in the 2008 melamine milk powder scandal. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Chinese officials who rise from the ashes of public crises

26 Jul 2018 - 12:48am 4

China’s anti-corruption campaign has had problems of legitimacy, as a number of investigations are widely seen as tools to punish political opponents and the legal system used to authorise a flawed process. Illustration: Perry Tse

Politics

Caught in China’s anti-corruption web, and forsaken by a suspect legal system

25 Jul 2018 - 8:53am 5

Chinese students work on the Ares, a humanoid bipedal robot designed during the 2016 World Robot Conference in Beijing. Beijing continued to play down its industrial and technological upgrading plan known as Made in China 2025 at a briefing on Tuesday. Photo: Thomas Yau

China

Beijing says world should be objective about ‘Made in China 2025’

5 Sep 2018 - 3:58pm 7

Peng Zhuying, 90, was taken to a military brothel in 1944, six years after being blinded. Photo: Handout

Society

Chinese former ‘comfort women’ tell of brutal treatment by Japanese

23 Jul 2018 - 6:52pm 46

The motorcyclist was unconvinced that a man wearing swimming trunks was a police officer. Photo: News.163.com

Society

Chinese motorcyclist refuses to believe man in trunks is an officer

22 Jul 2018 - 7:48pm 4

Flight CA1639, bound for Harbin, turned back at about 8.30pm after crew and passengers noticed the smoke. Photo: news.sina.com.cn

Society

Air China flight turns back to Beijing because of smoke in cabin

22 Jul 2018 - 6:06pm 8

Qu Shezai, 61, has been jailed for four years for his repeated breakouts and the time he had yet to serve from his previous convictions. Photo: Shutterstock

Society

Fugitive who can’t afford medical bills turns himself in after 26 years

22 Jul 2018 - 5:17pm

The man was filmed pretending to beat up a dummy officer. Photo: News.163.com

Society

Chinese man’s ‘fight’ with dummy police officer lands him in trouble

22 Jul 2018 - 7:18pm 1

The annual gathering of the party’s retired and serving elite could see some shifts in domestic direction but don’t expect a challenge to Xi’s agenda, observers say

Politics

Trade war fallout to lead agenda as Xi gathers elite for strategy session

20 Jul 2018 - 11:30pm 85

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China, last year. The summit will be held in South Africa this year. Photo: reuters

Diplomacy

China seeks emerging economies’ support for pushback on US tariffs

13 Jul 2018 - 10:37pm 4

Chinese President Xi Jinping has scored many personal victories since coming to power, but a trade conflict with the US may be harder to win. Photo: Xinhua

Politics

Will trade row with US be Chinese President Xi Jinping’s biggest challenge?

7 Jul 2018 - 11:15pm 88

China is also extensively involved in the infrastructure boom in Qatar, playing an integral part in the construction of the Lusail Iconic Stadium for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Photo: Handout

Diplomacy

Top-level China forum to bring Qatar back to Arab League table

6 Jul 2018 - 11:04pm

People’s Daily warned that reports trying to stir nationalistic sentiment by inflating the country’s achievements were doing the most damage and would ultimately hold China back. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

US ‘so scared’ of China’s progress? Party mouthpiece doesn’t think so

2 Jul 2018 - 11:10pm 44

Douyin is one of five firms that have voluntarily suspended their advertising services following an investigation by the cyberspace watchdog into allegations they insulted a Chinese war hero. Photo: Handout

Politics

China’s video app Douyin halts advertising over war hero insults

1 Jul 2018 - 11:15pm 4

Chinese tourists travelling to the United States have been advised not to argue with border checkpoint officials. Photo: Reuters

Diplomacy

Chinese visitors to US told to beware of shootings, costly medical care

2 Jul 2018 - 5:22pm 62

Payment for the purchase of the house in Nanjing was completed on Wednesday. Photo: news.sina.com.cn

Society

Chinese axe murder house sells at auction for US$1.2 million

29 Jun 2018 - 2:52am

Vice-Premier Liu is Beijing’s point man at the trade talks with the United States. Photo: AFP

Politics

Why Liu He won't leave US trade war talks despite his impossible job

27 Jun 2018 - 3:44pm 17

European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen gestures to Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He as they arrive for a joint press conference in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

China, EU plan working group to revamp WTO and counter US unilateralism

1 Aug 2018 - 4:04pm 9

The Hainan government plans to hire 50,000 English-speaking foreign workers under its plan to become an international tourism resort. Photo: Bloomberg

Politics

Chinese holiday island to unlock Facebook, Twitter for foreigners

22 Jun 2018 - 11:17pm 40

Petitioners kneel before a car, blocking its way, as they beg to display their letters near a government office supposed to receive complaints in Beijing. Chinese take their grievances to the leadership as a last resort. Photo: AP

Politics

Elderly woman exonerated after being jailed for petitioning over land dispute

12 Jun 2018 - 10:27pm 3

Wang Yang applauds Taiwan for preserving aspects of the past in rare reference to party’s dark past

Politics

Top Chinese cadre criticises Cultural Revolution for harm to tradition

7 Jun 2018 - 10:24pm 27

One lane has been set aside for women at a public swimming pool in Guangzhou. Photo: 163.com

Society

Chinese swimming pool stirs debate with women-only lane

1 Jun 2018 - 11:13am 2

Cracks found in window of Capital Airlines aircraft bound for Vietnam, forcing its return to Hangzhou an hour into journey

Society

Second plane in cockpit window drama makes ‘Turbo Drop’ landing

1 Jun 2018 - 11:25am 5