SCMP’s highlights: 7 of this week’s most read stories
- From Singaporeans waiting 16 hours for a visa to a controversial Hong Kong cartoonist, here are a few highlights from the Post’s recent reporting
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers or shed light on topical issues.
1. Singaporeans spend up to 16 hours waiting in line for China travel visas
Nearly 100 people lined up outside Singapore’s China Visa Application Centre last weekend, with some waiting more than 16 hours in total, in hopes of securing visas to travel to the country. Braving the heat and armed with sleeping bags, many were left disgruntled. For one Singaporean, it was his second time queuing for an appointment despite numerous attempts the previous day to book slots online. “This is unthinkable and it should not persist,” he said. Meanwhile, others have questioned “the change in the Chinese treatment of Singaporeans”.
2. 300 crabs, 80 dessert cups, 50 boxes of durian
Seven patrons at an all-you-can-eat buffet in Qingdao, China, went viral after a video posted on social media by one member of the group showed the party gorging on seemingly endless dishes. Another member of the group, surnamed Zhang, said that he and his friends all have big appetites. However, many online were not impressed with what they saw as overconsumption, with one commenting: “You don’t have a moral bottom line.”
3. Mad rush for free Cathay Pacific plane tickets
Tens of thousands of people in Britain, Germany and Switzerland were vying for about 4,500 free tickets to Hong Kong from Cathay Pacific Airways. The website of Hong Kong’s flagship carrier showed heavy traffic as 70,000 users at one point tried to win a free round-trip, economy-class ticket to the city and back to Britain.
“With so much negative press about Hong Kong over the last few years, I did not expect to be 30,000 places back.”
Earlier rounds of the giveaway offered Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area residents free tickets to 26 countries.
4. Elon Musk confirms Chinese rivals’ theory about Starship rocket explosion
Earlier this week, the Beijing Aerospace System Engineering Institute – the overall design unit for China’s Long March rockets – said if Starship’s smart thrust vector control system had worked as planned, the rocket could have reached space even with multiple engine failures. Two days later, Elon Musk confirmed the theory in a Twitter Spaces discussion, saying: “If we had maintained thrust vector control and throttled up, which we should have … then we would have made it to staging.”
5. Hong Kong newspaper drops cartoonist amid accusations of bias
Two controversial cartoon series by Hong Kong artist Zunzi will soon no longer run in major Hong Kong daily Ming Pao. The newspaper offered no explanation but expressed gratitude to the cartoonist for his contributions over the past 40 years, where he created political cartoons that blended humour with criticism.
6. Japan lodges diplomatic protest over Chinese envoy’s Taiwan warning
“The remarks ... are extremely inappropriate for an ambassador”, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said. The remarks in question were made by China’s envoy to Japan, Wu Jianghao, and concerned Tokyo’s policy towards Taiwan. Wu had warned Tokyo not to interfere with Beijing’s dealings with Taiwan.
“If Japan is tied to the chariot of splitting China, the Japanese people will be led into the pit of fire.”
The diplomatic skirmish arose as Sino-Japanese relations are “at a critical juncture”, according to Wu.
7. A new chapter in relations for Hong Kong and Britain?
“Obviously, we have been through some difficult headwinds in the relationship over the past four or five years,” acknowledged Britain’s top diplomat in Hong Kong Brian Davidson during an Exclusive interview with the Post. Citing possible collaborations in trade, culture and investment, he also stressed the need to end “megaphone diplomacy” and hold more closed-door discussions instead.
