Long Reads
Why more people want a world without humans – it’s not all climate change
More thinkers see positives in human extinction, from anti-humanists who want us wiped out for our environmental crimes, to transhumanists who welcome AI taking over.
Diners at risk: how Asian appetites for abalone foster crime in South Africa
Abalone’s popularity in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia has fuelled a booming illegal trade in South Africa that is threatening the safety of unsuspecting consumers while enriching organised-crime syndicates.
Why Chinese church offering ‘de-Westernised’ Christianity thrives in the US
Founded in 1920s Shanghai, the Local Church has spread to touch the lives of many in the US. A former atheist traces how he found God among this congregation.
BTS, politics, Hitchcock: Oldboy, Decision to Leave director reveals all
Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook has a reputation for shocking audiences with extreme violence. His latest film is a love story. Has he changed his ways?
The slow, painful demise of one of China’s best photography festivals
Lianzhou Foto was halted by the pandemic but cracks had begun to show years earlier, with authorities removing exhibits in an atmosphere of ever-tighter restrictions on self-expression.
How China’s social credit system actually works – it’s not how you think
Is there really a scary algorithm behind China’s social credit system amassing data and deciding an individual’s worth to society? No. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns.
Festive fiction: Murder on the Shanghai Express – a Christmas whodunit
’Twas the night before Christmas, and for senior detective John Creighton, the journey from Peking to join his family is derailed by a body, a brandy and a bloody whodunit.
Clara Law on what drives her filmmaking and why Hong Kong was never home
Macau-born, Melbourne-based filmmaker Clara Law talks about the poetic quest for truth and beauty that defines her career, and why she never felt completely at home in Hong Kong.
Chinese students pay for ‘guaranteed acceptance’ into elite US universities
By falsifying grades, academic transcripts and personal statements, education ‘consultants’ are helping Chinese students gain entrance to elite universities in the United States – for a fat fee.
‘The white man’s waste’: why fast fashion is burying African beaches
‘Recycling’ schemes from fast-fashion giants like H&M and Zara result in less than 1 per cent of old clothes turned into new items. In nations like Ghana, the result is all around.
Lose weight by hacking your metabolism – how it works
Hacking your metabolism can help your body burn fat and carbs more efficiently so you can lose weight better, with the ultimate aim to achieve ‘metabolic flexibility’.
AI is rewriting the rules of creativity. Should it be stopped?
From pop music to painting, the rapid rise of artificial intanelligence and machine learning is transforming the way people create. But that’s not necessarily a good thing.
The story of Africans descended from 15th century Chinese sailors lives on
‘We were pretty sure they were Chinese’: the Kenyans who believe they’re descended from shipwrecked sailors of 15th century admiral Zheng He’s fleet.
The Guangzhou hotel bomber whose anti-colonial spirit inspired Ho Chi Minh
In June 1924, a hotel was bombed in Guangzhou in an attempt to assassinate the French governor of Indochina. The plot failed, but the bomber’s influence was far-reaching.