https://www.scmp.com/rss/303674/feed Born and raised in Shanghai, Vicky Feng is a journalist and writer living in Hong Kong. She studied journalism at Baptist University and Chinese language and literature in Shanghai. A book lover, Vicky likes to find and write about all kinds of stories. Reach her on Twitter and Weibo @Vicky_Feng _ en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com What is it? There aren’t many hotels in the world that need to be rebuilt every year, but Icehotel, in Jukkasjärvi, a remote Swedish village 200km inside the Arctic Circle, is one of them. Made with about 1,000 tonnes of crystal-clear ice harvested from the nearby Torne River, together with 30,000 cubic metres of “snice”, snow mixed with ice, the hotel – or at least part of it – is built by ice sculptors from all over the world each October and melts back into the river each May. The property,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2038594/swedens-icehotel-coolest-accommodation-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2038594/swedens-icehotel-coolest-accommodation-world?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Oct 2016 06:00:30 +0000 A Hong Kong piano prodigy is quickly gaining international fame after her stunning performance on a popular American television chat show went viral. Phoenix Li wowed an audience on the Ellen DeGeneres Show with her rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. A video of the performance has been viewed more than half a million times since it was uploaded to YouTube on February 24. The seven-year-old pupil at the Methodist School in Kowloon, who has been playing the piano for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1920463/meet-phoenix-li-seven-year-old-hong-kong-piano?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1920463/meet-phoenix-li-seven-year-old-hong-kong-piano?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Mar 2016 03:30:45 +0000 On a balmy autumn night, a Chinese woman walks under colourful LED lights on a street in Shanghai. She just wants to be called by her Japanese name Hikaru, which means light. The 28-year-old real estate agent has a past that many women of her age can never imagine — she realises now that she lost her innocence. “This job changed me. I am not a pure girl any more. I have become a materialistic and pragmatic woman,” Hikaru told The Post in her aunt’s Shanghai apartment. WATCH: Chinese woman tells... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1896417/confessions-tokyo-bar-hostess-im-not-pure-girl-any-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1896417/confessions-tokyo-bar-hostess-im-not-pure-girl-any-more?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Dec 2015 06:00:00 +0000 Every Saturday, the South China Morning Post presents its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. This week, we feature Miley Cyrus's new kaleidoscopic music video and an amazing slow-motion video of a fire tornado.  Kid battles through hiccups to perform Australia anthem ahead of baseball game  What would you do if hiccups occurred when you were performing at a public place? This 7-year-old kid chose to keep calm and continue his... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1883612/top-5-videos-week-kid-battles-through-hiccups-sing-australia-anthem-amazing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1883612/top-5-videos-week-kid-battles-through-hiccups-sing-australia-anthem-amazing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Nov 2015 02:00:15 +0000 Every Saturday, the South China Morning Post presents its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. This week, we feature a fashion model with a bionic arm and a viral YouTube music video coming out from a burned customer's frustration.    JetPack inventor flies homemade craft around Statue of Liberty  Australian entrepreneur David Mayman and his company JetPack Aviation have spent ten years developing a wearable flying device, JB-9... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1878127/top-5-videos-week-jetpack-inventor-flies-around-statue-liberty-soccer-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1878127/top-5-videos-week-jetpack-inventor-flies-around-statue-liberty-soccer-star?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Nov 2015 10:30:00 +0000 Have you ever looked at soap bubbles through a macro lens? How would you react if you saw "Aladdin" riding a "magic carpet" on the street? Do you know where to find Hong Kong's best street food?  The South China Morning Post team has the answers for you compiled in our top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web this week, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. Kids get crazy after parents tell them their Halloween candy is eaten  How would your kids react if you told them that... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1875968/top-5-videos-week-aladdin-magic-carpet-prank-macro-footage-iridescent-soap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1875968/top-5-videos-week-aladdin-magic-carpet-prank-macro-footage-iridescent-soap?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Nov 2015 11:00:15 +0000 Every Saturday, the South China Morning Post presents its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. This week, we feature the unique friendship between a man and a cute seal, who jumped aboard his boat, and a time-lapse video showing girl growing up over 16 years - from when she was a new-born baby until her teenage years.    YouTubers create 'galaxy' by spinning a waterlogged foam ball Gavin Free and Daniel Gruchy, two YouTubers who... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1873718/top-5-videos-week-space-galaxy-created-spinning-wet-ball-indias-birdman-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1873718/top-5-videos-week-space-galaxy-created-spinning-wet-ball-indias-birdman-who?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Oct 2015 11:00:15 +0000 What's it like to ride a hoverboard? How do you carve a Halloween pumpkin with a rifle?  The South China Morning Post team has the answers for you compiled in our top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web this week, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. Canadian invents a flying hoverboard    A Canadian has invented a hoverboard THAT ACTUALLY FLIES  You may feel you are watching a sci-fi movie, but this is for real!   Romania-born Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1870790/top-5-videos-week-hoverboard-actually-hovers-pumpkin-carving-rifles-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1870790/top-5-videos-week-hoverboard-actually-hovers-pumpkin-carving-rifles-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Oct 2015 11:15:00 +0000 What does it feel like to take your hands of the wheel of a moving car? One blogger found out, and his reactions are priceless, but more of that later. The South China Morning Post team has compiled its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. Scroll on to see engineering put to use in comical ways, why this man is the most sought after porcelain painter in Hong Kong and hikers plunge metres into a river in New Zealand.  Engineer bulids... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1867833/top-5-videos-dude-do-you-even-lift-thors-hammer-irl-and-wild-bears-rampage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1867833/top-5-videos-dude-do-you-even-lift-thors-hammer-irl-and-wild-bears-rampage?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:00:33 +0000 Every weekend, the South China Morning Post presents its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. This week, we bring you wonderful space footage from a long lost weather balloon and a fantastic video of a pro BMX rider's journey through New York, showing the city in a way you've never seen before.   Amazing space footage from a long lost weather balloon  Two years ago, aerospace systems engineer Bryan Chan and his friends launched a... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1859039/top-5-videos-week-amazing-footage-long-lost-weather-ballon-lucky-kayakers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1859039/top-5-videos-week-amazing-footage-long-lost-weather-ballon-lucky-kayakers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2015 07:30:45 +0000 Every Saturday, the South China Morning Post presents its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. This week, we highlight a mysterious fireball that lights up the Bangkok sky (any guesses what it is?) and a skateboarder defying death by racing down a highway at a hair-whipping 112 kilometres per hour.  Speed devil: skateborder races down the road at 112 km/h  Talk about the need for speed. In this video, Zak Maytum, a 24-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1856708/top-5-videos-week-speed-devils-skateboard-stunt-mysterious-fireball-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1856708/top-5-videos-week-speed-devils-skateboard-stunt-mysterious-fireball-over?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2015 00:00:45 +0000 Every Saturday, the South China Morning Post presents its top video picks from SCMP.tv and the web, highlighting news, features, mini-documentaries and more. This week ... a young daredevil takes to the rails - well, above the rails - by taking a wild ride on top of a metro train, and a man takes the term "fly fishing" to new heights by catching a freshwater fish using a drone.   Drone fisherman makes the ultimate splash  Is this the future of fishing? Derek Klingenberg, an American farmer... https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1854973/top-5-videos-week-drone-fisherman-skinning-watermelon-and-daredevils-stunt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lists/article/1854973/top-5-videos-week-drone-fisherman-skinning-watermelon-and-daredevils-stunt?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2015 00:00:15 +0000 Human-like robots may no longer just be the stuff of science fiction, if one sees the fascinating innovations from a Hong Kong-based robotics firm. Hanson Robotics, which relocated to the city more than a year ago, is one of the world's leaders in making robots that look eerily like humans. The company is the home of two intelligent and personable robots, Han and Arthur, who can hold conversations, see and respond to faces, and even show a range of facial expressions. At the click of a button,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1746147/video-meet-han-and-arthur-robots-you-may-one-day-meet-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1746147/video-meet-han-and-arthur-robots-you-may-one-day-meet-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2015 21:00:15 +0000 You may not notice his pieces among the thousands of artworks displayed in this year's Art Basel, which opens to the public today, but you are unlikely to forget him if you meet him. Donning a pair of frog-eye-like sunglasses and a colourful multipattern costume, he is "Frog King" Kwok Mang-ho. The 69-year-old local artist may even share his special sunglasses with you, but he is just as likely to break into an improvised performance, yelling "action" with outstretched arms as he talks. Watch:... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1737638/hong-kong-artist-and-his-love-affair-frog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1737638/hong-kong-artist-and-his-love-affair-frog?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2015 21:15:45 +0000 Click here to access the multimedia site https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1600809/multimedia-living-heritage-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1600809/multimedia-living-heritage-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:45:15 +0000 A controversy has erupted in Chinese martial arts circles over who will be chosen as the officially sanctioned inheritor of the legacy of Wing Chun-style kung fu. Nine martial arts groups from Guangdong province have signed a letter contesting a suggestion by the provincial department of culture to list Ip Chun, the son of kung fu legend Yip Man, as an official standard bearer of the martial art. The 90-year-old Hong Kong-resident has to this day continued to give lessons in his fathers’... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1581106/chinese-kung-fu-masters-battle-over-inheritance-yip-mans-wing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1581106/chinese-kung-fu-masters-battle-over-inheritance-yip-mans-wing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2014 07:30:00 +0000 Special report: In this two-part multimedia feature, we take a look back at Hong Kong's historic typhoon encounters and explore how the territory copes with severe weather events. Click here to access the two-part multimedia series https://www.scmp.com/weather/hong-kong/article/1571405/eye-storm-how-deadly-typhoons-have-changed-face-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/weather/hong-kong/article/1571405/eye-storm-how-deadly-typhoons-have-changed-face-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2014 11:15:30 +0000 Despite facing ridicule and possible jail terms, the protesters accused of breaking into the People’s Liberation Army barracks in Admiralty believe their action was worth it. Dickson Cheung Hon-yin, 40, one of the four accused, told the South China Morning Post in January that they were simply fighting, as citizens, for the right to save the harbourfront and express disgruntlement at Chinese rule. The four are part of Hongkongers Come First, which, at 30 members, is the city’s lone advocacy... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1536266/pla-barracks-trespassers-have-no-regrets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1536266/pla-barracks-trespassers-have-no-regrets?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jun 2014 10:45:30 +0000 Giant eight-metre waves, weeks alone at sea and a severe lack of sleep may not be unusual for a seasoned sailor, but for first time seafarer Wan Jinyu they were all part of an incredible adventure. The 52-year-old businesswoman recently arrived in Hong Kong after a remarkable 497-day trip – and said she wanted to keep on going. Wan and her Swedish husband Rolf Nylander set off from a Mexican beach on November 8, 2012 – their fifth wedding anniversary - before travelling south to La Paz, and then... https://www.scmp.com/article/1521186/i-think-i-can-do-more-chinese-woman-sails-world-497-day-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1521186/i-think-i-can-do-more-chinese-woman-sails-world-497-day-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 May 2014 03:30:00 +0000 Antonio Bacino is on his tenth trip from Italy to Hong Kong. But unlike many other Europeans who travel to the Pearl of the Orient each year for business and pleasure, Bacino’s Hong Kong pilgrimages always involve Wing Chun – an ancient form of self-defence which achieved world renown in 2008 with the blockbuster film Ip Man. In the film, Hong Kong superstar Donnie Yen Ji-dan played Ip Man, teacher of Bruce Lee and one of Wing Chun’s most famous practitioners. Today, Bancio studies with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1456289/changing-inside-foreigners-quest-understand-wing-chun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1456289/changing-inside-foreigners-quest-understand-wing-chun?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Mar 2014 11:00:00 +0000 Kashy Keegan, a 30-year-old British singer and songwriter, has being pursuing his music dream for 15 years. Despite his hard work and determination, his ballads have failed to make a mark at home. But to his surprise, his song This is my dream, which he wrote seven years ago, was chosen as the theme tune for HKTV protests in October, making him an unlikely hero in Hong Kong. Ahead of his first solo concert in Hong Kong on Friday night, Keegan told the South China Morning Post the story behind... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1437100/how-hktvs-theme-song-resurrected-british-singers-music-career?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1437100/how-hktvs-theme-song-resurrected-british-singers-music-career?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2014 08:00:15 +0000 A Chinese animation demanding yet another apology from Jimmy Kimmel after his “kill everyone in China” comment caused outrage, has gone viral in the country he offended. The US comedian has since apologised twice in public for the remark made by a six-year-old child on his late-night talk show aired on US television network ABC on October 16. Video: Animators in China to Jimmy Kimmel: Why you shouldn't 'Kill the Chinese' But for Liu Gangqiang, one of the eight people who worked on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1348363/chinese-animators-demand-sincere-apology-jimmy-kimmel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1348363/chinese-animators-demand-sincere-apology-jimmy-kimmel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Nov 2013 11:00:00 +0000 The Shanghai Audiovisual Archive has released the first known amateur film filmed in the city and preserved in the Chinese mainland. The short clip, just minutes long, gives a rare insight into daily life in the metropolis of the 1930s, a bustling international hub which attracted more foreign investment than even London or Paris at the time. Subsequently the second world war and the social campaigns of the 1950s and 60s left little evidence of the city’s former cosmopolitan splendour... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1347374/shanghai-archive-screens-citys-first-known-home-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1347374/shanghai-archive-screens-citys-first-known-home-film?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2013 09:30:30 +0000 While political activists press for change and the fashionable show off their new looks, there is another group of people who are quietly documenting the stories about this city. They are Hong Kong’s budding writers. Kwok Ka-kie, 33, a full-time gardener and part-time interior designer, is one of many new local writers who are recording Hong Kong’s transforming identity. His conservative attitude towards technology explains his emotional attachment to books. “Readers can know things by turning... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1324375/hong-kong-budding-writers-continue-local-love-affair?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1324375/hong-kong-budding-writers-continue-local-love-affair?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Oct 2013 07:43:28 +0000 A group of 14 giant panda cubs, born between July and September this year, made their first public appearance in China's Sichuan province on Monday. The baby pandas were artificially bred in the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Chengdu city. They are currently being raised in two delivery rooms. The heaviest panda cub is named Meng Meng and weighs around 4 kilograms. The lightest is called Ya Yi and weighs about 0.6 kilograms. The centre has bred 20 pandas this year, 17 have... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1318169/video-14-artificially-bred-giant-panda-cubs-make-debut-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1318169/video-14-artificially-bred-giant-panda-cubs-make-debut-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Sep 2013 05:00:05 +0000 Many Chinese parents are criticised for spoiling their children. A mother in China’s Zhejing province, who cycled to her son’s office to secure a parking place for him, has become one of the most recent examples. Under a blazing sun in Hangzhou city where temperatures have soared to 37 degrees Celsius in recent days, a mother, who remains unidentified, rode a bicycle to a parking lot near her son’s office to secure a parking place for him, according to Youth Times, a local newspaper. The mother... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1296913/hangzhou-mother-gets-her-bike-secure-parking-place-son?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1296913/hangzhou-mother-gets-her-bike-secure-parking-place-son?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2013 09:51:59 +0000 As the heat wave continues to scorch southern China, people have been finding creative ways to cope with the hot weather. A recent innovation is playing mahjong - underwater. Four divers in China’s Hunan province, where temperatures soared to 41 degrees Celsius last weekend, played the popular Chinese game at the bottom of a swimming pool to cool themselves off.  “Playing mahjong underwater is for fun, and the real reason is to feel cool,” Zhang Pin, one of the divers in Xiangtan city, told... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1296655/hunan-divers-play-mahjong-underwater-cool?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1296655/hunan-divers-play-mahjong-underwater-cool?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2013 08:21:42 +0000 When it comes to illegal structures, a rooftop villa built by an eccentric Beijing resident on top of a 26-storey residential building puts Henry Tang’s wine cellar to shame. Beijing's chengguan, or urban management, officials on Monday issued an ultimatum to a former government advisor, demanding he tear down the sprawling structure that he had built over the last six years on top of his top-floor flat. The rooftop house features elaborate fake rocks, real trees and grass, and covers the entire... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1296116/beijing-man-builds-illegal-rooftop-villa-apartment-block?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1296116/beijing-man-builds-illegal-rooftop-villa-apartment-block?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2013 08:46:48 +0000 A university graduate in Nanjing was beaten by local urban management officers or "chengguan" for attempting to video them demolishing a house, in the latest in a series of violent attacks by chengguan. The Peking University graduate, who has not been named, was beaten by chengguan when he tried to video them working at a demolition site late last month. The officials grabbed the young man's phone from his hand and forced him into a vehicle. He was also slapped on the face after being taken to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1295543/chengguan-beat-graduate-nanjing-filming-house-demolition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1295543/chengguan-beat-graduate-nanjing-filming-house-demolition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2013 09:04:28 +0000 A 19-year-old man in China’s Guangdong province has been detained on suspicion of making bomb threats against local police, the latest police action over bomb threats after an explosion at Beijing airport on July 20. The man surnamed Zhen is from Taishan city, which is about 140 kilometres from Hong Kong. He allegedly posted three bomb threats online on August 1 after the police confiscated his motorcycle after he was caught driving without a licence, according to Nanfang Daily, a newspaper... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1294937/man-guangdong-detained-bomb-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1294937/man-guangdong-detained-bomb-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2013 06:41:24 +0000 Instant noodles in a cup may not be Hongkongers' proudest choice for their contribution to world cuisine, but local instant noodle fans may nonetheless take some solace in the fact that one local brand has made it onto a list of the world's most delicious instant noodles.  A Hong Kong-made Nissin cup noodle with seafood curry flavour has been rated as one of the top 10 instant cup noodles of 2013 by an instant noodle rating website. Hans Lienesch, 38, the founder of The Ramen Rater website who... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1294633/hong-kong-instant-noodles-make-worlds-top-10-cup-noodle-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1294633/hong-kong-instant-noodles-make-worlds-top-10-cup-noodle-list?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2013 06:32:57 +0000 Chan Kang-kwong lived a quiet life with his wife in Tuen Mun before she encountered the Church of Almighty God, which has been branded an "evil cult" and banned by Beijing. As his wife became more involved in the church, also known as Lightning of the East and which has one million followers on the mainland, Chan became more worried. "She was addicted to the heresy of the Church of Almighty God," said Chan, 55, who works at a financial company. "It was very serious. Her conversion influenced me... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1294483/hong-kong-christians-harassed-mainlands-church-almighty-god?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1294483/hong-kong-christians-harassed-mainlands-church-almighty-god?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Chan Kang-kwong lived a quiet life with his wife in Tuen Mun before she encountered the Church of Almighty God, which is branded as an “evil cult” and banned by the mainland government. As his wife became more involved in the church, also known as Lightning of the East and which has one million followers on the mainland, Chan became more worried. “She was addicted to the heresy of the Church of Almighty God,” said Chan, 55, who works at a financial company. “It was very serious. Her conversion... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1294428/hong-kong-christians-harassed-mainlands-church-almighty-god?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1294428/hong-kong-christians-harassed-mainlands-church-almighty-god?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2013 08:03:57 +0000 A former deputy school principal in China’s Hebei province has been arrested on allegations of raping and killing a six-year-old girl, in the latest of a series of violent incidents against children by educators in China. Yang Haijun was a deputy principal at a primary school in Laiyuan county, a four-hour drive west of Beijing. On July 27, he told the girl surnamed Chen he would take her home in his car, but then killed her at his home, the Laiyuan, Hebei police department said via its official... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1294412/former-school-principal-arrested-rape-and-murder-six-year-old?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1294412/former-school-principal-arrested-rape-and-murder-six-year-old?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2013 05:42:31 +0000 Singer Wu Hongfei who posted bomb threats online and triggered a debate about free speech in China was released from detention without criminal charges on Friday morning. “I’m back home. Thanks for all the netizens’ support. It was you who helped me through the difficulty. I won’t forget it,” wrote Wu on her Weibo page this morning. Wu has regained her freedom, but she has been forced to leave the apartment that she rented in Beijing, she said on Weibo this afternoon. After 10 days in detention,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293837/singer-wu-hongfei-released-after-bomb-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293837/singer-wu-hongfei-released-after-bomb-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2013 06:57:27 +0000 People around China are finding creative ways to beat the heat as a heatwave that has been scorching one-third of the country for more than 20 days continues. Residents of Shanghai without air conditioning have been sleeping on running machines in a supermarket, cyclists and pedestrians have been using covers to protect themselves from the scorching sun and children have taken to playing in fountains to cool off. Around 15,000 tourists in China’s Sichuan province crowded into a wave pool to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293322/chinese-use-creative-ways-cool-heat-waves-continue-scorch-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293322/chinese-use-creative-ways-cool-heat-waves-continue-scorch-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2013 06:33:05 +0000 Temperatures in Shanghai were so high on Monday that a pork chop was fried within a few minutes on a street pavement. Recently temperatures have hit record highs in 42 regions and cities in China, according to news service China News. Reporters from a Shanghai TV station, a local media, decided to try to cook some meat on the pavement to show how hot the weather has been. They then broadcast it on TV. The reporters put some raw pork on a pavement in downtown Shanghai on Monday afternoon. One... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293010/meat-fries-shanghai-pavement-temperatures-soar-record-highs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293010/meat-fries-shanghai-pavement-temperatures-soar-record-highs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jul 2013 04:58:21 +0000 Several incidents of violence have been reported in Beijing in the aftermath of the attempted suicide by an aggrieved petitioner at the capital's international airport on Saturday. On Monday, a man armed with a knife went on a rampage at a Carrefour shopping centre, in Beijing’s western district, wounding at least four people. Police have arrested a Beijing-native surnamed Wang, born in 1963 at the scene, local police said in a statement. One child was among those wounded, Beijing News reported... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1288324/stabbing-and-bomb-threats-follow-beijing-airport-explosion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1288324/stabbing-and-bomb-threats-follow-beijing-airport-explosion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jul 2013 03:29:51 +0000 Thousands of people have shed tears over a video recorded by woman suffering from cancer and fearing imminent death, in which she prepares a message of blessing for the future weddings of her three children. With the help of a friend, Li Shu, a mother from Langzhong city in Sichuan province, recorded the video from her hospital bed, according to Chengdu Commercial Daily, a local newspaper. “At that time, I felt very bad. I didn’t expect too much from life. I was afraid I couldn’t attend their... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1286263/sichuan-cancer-patient-prepares-video-wedding-blessing-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1286263/sichuan-cancer-patient-prepares-video-wedding-blessing-children?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:07:04 +0000 A wedding day photoshoot ended in violence when two groups of Chinese tourists got into a fist fight in a French lavender field. A Chinese wedding party and another group of Chinese tourists got into a scuffle in a lavender field in Provence, France earlier this month as they jockeyed for better backdrops for their wedding photos, China News reported. The video of the fight, which was shot by one of the tourists involved, was posted online on Wednesday, attracting tens of thousands of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1285440/chinese-wedding-day-photoshoot-ends-brawl-french-lavender-field?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1285440/chinese-wedding-day-photoshoot-ends-brawl-french-lavender-field?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jul 2013 09:41:30 +0000 A woman who has been seen begging with different children on the Beijing subway has sparked concern over possible trafficking and children being forced to beg. A passenger on Beijing’s busy No 10 subway line noticed a woman, who begs with a microphone and a paper bag, with five different children on three different days and posted the pictures online, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday. “I managed to shoot her face finally. This woman takes different children to beg on the subway every day,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1284749/child-beggars-beijing-subway-spark-child-trafficking-fears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1284749/child-beggars-beijing-subway-spark-child-trafficking-fears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jul 2013 10:11:24 +0000 Modern College says it is not responsible for 23 of its pupils being found guilty of plagiarism, and it has blamed the Examinations and Assessment Authority for not providing software to check the pupils' work. The candidates enrolled with the private tutorial company had their marks in the Chinese-language section of this year's Diploma of Secondary Education exams invalidated after their school projects, which counted towards grades, were found to include plagiarised passages from the internet... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1283230/modern-college-blames-exam-body-dse-cheats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1283230/modern-college-blames-exam-body-dse-cheats?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jul 2013 08:54:12 +0000 Government-sponsored experts in China have discredited a widely covered international study linking air pollution from coal burning in northern China to reduced life expectancy of local residents in an attempt to ease public concern. Many state-run media outlets have published seemingly contradictory comments by so-called experts. Jinghua Daily, a state-run newspaper, quoted a doctor from a government institution as saying, “Air pollution from coal burning and smog inevitably lead to an increase... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1281212/state-sponsored-experts-deny-coal-burning-shortens-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1281212/state-sponsored-experts-deny-coal-burning-shortens-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2013 11:12:13 +0000 Graffiti believed to refer to forced land seizures in China has appeared on gateposts of the Chinese embassy in the United States. The person responsible for the graffiti is not known. “Chai”, the Chinese character meaning “demolition”, was written on the embassy’s two gateposts in bluish-black paint on Wednesday morning. The graffiti was later removed by embassy staff, according to China Daily. The Chinese embassy in Washington DC could not be reached for comment. Land seizures have been... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1280332/graffiti-chinese-embassy-us-may-be-protest-against-land-seizures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1280332/graffiti-chinese-embassy-us-may-be-protest-against-land-seizures?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jul 2013 09:31:18 +0000 A Chinese newspaper’s story about the two teenagers who died in the Asiana crash in San Francisco has attracted widespread criticism online for its fawning attitude to government officials. “If they were still alive, Wang Linjia’s eyes would widen in surprise and delight, and Ye Mengyuan would jump up in disbelief, when they learned that Cai Qi, the head of the organisation department of the Zhejiang Communist Party Committee, had paid such close attention to them,” said an article published in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1278840/toadying-officials-asiana-crash-victims-article-attracts-criticism-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1278840/toadying-officials-asiana-crash-victims-article-attracts-criticism-online?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2013 10:39:22 +0000 A mainland mother was released on bail yesterday after apparently trying to set herself alight at the July 1 march to win justice for her daughter. Ran Chongbi doused clothes she was holding with alcohol and was trying to set them on fire using a lighter when she was stopped by Liu Weiping, a human rights activist who was taking part in the march. Police took Ran, who escaped injury, from Victoria Park to hospital where she was examined before being taken into custody for suspected disorderly... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1274830/mother-tried-set-herself-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1274830/mother-tried-set-herself-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A surprising statement by a government official in eastern China's Jiangsu province has captured the attention of internet users after it was caught on video and posted online on Sunday. “If the police don’t beat people, what’s the point of keeping them?” said an unidentified official of a complaint bureau in Suzhou. “The police are the government’s violence machine.” The clip of the statement has gotten more than two million views and has set off a barrage of criticism against police... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1273782/its-polices-job-beat-people-chinese-official-says-viral-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1273782/its-polices-job-beat-people-chinese-official-says-viral-video?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2013 04:37:06 +0000 Be careful unfilial children, you might be breaking the law in China if you don't visit your elderly parents from now on. "Family members who live apart from their parents should often visit or send regards to their parents," reads the new Chinese Elderly Protection Law, which comes into effect on Monday. Article 17 also prohibits family members from “overlooking or neglecting the elderly”, but it doesn't specify the punishment. Most of Chinese internet users have criticised the new law. “It’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1273003/new-filial-piety-law-takes-effect-much-criticism-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1273003/new-filial-piety-law-takes-effect-much-criticism-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jul 2013 03:51:19 +0000 Dogs may be man’s best friend but they can also be a dangerous enemy - as recent tragedies involving attacks by large dogs in China show. A girl was killed by a Tibetan mastiff in a northern city of China on Thursday evening. When the six-year-old was on her way to a grocery store on a street in Dalian, the dog knocked her down and bit her neck. The girl was rushed to hospital, but died from severe injuries to her trachea and arteries, leaving her mother deeply distraught, the Bandao... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1270944/tibetan-mastiff-kills-six-year-old-girl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1270944/tibetan-mastiff-kills-six-year-old-girl?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jun 2013 04:27:18 +0000 Chinese animal activists flocked to Yulin, Guangxi province, to save the lives of hundreds of dogs before the local dog meat festival began on Friday. More than 20 activists from various cities in China, most of them Buddhists, spent more than 100,000 yuan (around HK$126,000), most donated by animal lovers, to buy and save around 400 dogs from the local markets.The activists have re-settled these dogs on a farm in Shangrao, Jiangxi province. “This year most of the dogs are females. They are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1268740/china-animal-activists-rescue-hundreds-dogs-dog-meat-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1268740/china-animal-activists-rescue-hundreds-dogs-dog-meat-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:27:30 +0000