https://www.scmp.com/rss/308286/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A Chinese man who withdrew a newly issued 100-yuan (HK$120) banknote with the watermark of Mao Zedong’s face from his local bank was stunned to see the former leader had two left eyebrows, mainland media reports. The resident of Kenli county, in Shandong province, was told that the banknote, although genuine, featured a rare printing mistake, which agents said could mean it had a resale value of up to 1.5 million yuan, Qilu Evening News reported. Read more: Mao money, Mao problems: China’s cash... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1889716/mao-zedong-money-raises-eyebrows-rare-error-means-chinese-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1889716/mao-zedong-money-raises-eyebrows-rare-error-means-chinese-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2015 07:15:45 +0000 Firemen at a Chinese airport were left red-faced after responding to reports of a fire in a passenger jet’s engine by driving past the aircraft and spraying foam on another jet by mistake, mainland media reports. The pilot of Fuzhou Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane raised the alarm by contacting the control tower at Fuzhou Changle International Airport , in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Thursday after noticing sparks coming from the right-hand engine of an Air China Boeing 737-800 that was waiting to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1889696/er-youve-sprayed-foam-wrong-plane-chinese-airport-firemen-mix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1889696/er-youve-sprayed-foam-wrong-plane-chinese-airport-firemen-mix?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2015 05:00:00 +0000 A man in Shanghai kicked and broke open a bus door after the driver refused to let him get off between stops, according to a news website report. The unnamed passenger, 25, took a bus on Tuesday without realising it skipped some stops during the rush hour, Thepaper.cn said. When he realised the bus would not stop where he wanted to get off he started demanding the driver open the door, the report said. The driver rejected his demand, saying he was not allowed to open it while driving. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1889690/chinese-passenger-detained-police-after-kicking-bus-door-open-get?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1889690/chinese-passenger-detained-police-after-kicking-bus-door-open-get?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2015 04:34:49 +0000 China’s reputation for copying things seems to know no bounds after one of the most iconic landmarks in America - the United States Capitol Building - appeared in a mainland theme park. Well, at least half of it. Read more: Venice of the East? Replica of canal city latest architectural fake to be built in China A number of Chinese theme parks have built large replicas of iconic buildings from around the world, but this one - described as “one of a kind” - may well be one of the most bizarre. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1886721/chinese-theme-parks-one-kind-attraction-inspired-half-us-capitol?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1886721/chinese-theme-parks-one-kind-attraction-inspired-half-us-capitol?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Dec 2015 06:00:45 +0000 At least 25 people were taken to hospital with injuries as the collapse of a stage sparked pandemonium at gala show celebrating the 30th anniversary of a prestigious aeronautical institute in Beijing, mainland media reports Dozens of performers were standing on the central part of a three-metre-high wooden stage at Beihang University when it suddenly collapsed near the end of Saturday’s show, The Beijing News reported. Watch me: Stage collapses at gala show at Beihang University The collapse... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1886713/25-people-injured-chinese-stage-collapse-during-university-gala?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1886713/25-people-injured-chinese-stage-collapse-during-university-gala?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Dec 2015 05:00:45 +0000 China and the US have agreed to a framework on managing their cybersecurity disputes at the highest-level talks on the issue since the leaders of the two nations sat down in September, Beijing said on Wednesday. The discussions in Washington had yielded “positive outcomes”, the Ministry of Public Security said, including an understanding that quick communication after perceived attacks was critical. Ministry chief Guo Shengkun met Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and US Attorney General... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1885959/china-and-us-find-common-ground-over-cybersecurity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1885959/china-and-us-find-common-ground-over-cybersecurity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Dec 2015 10:15:45 +0000 People in Beijing finally breathed in relief on Wednesday morning as strong winds dispersed the worst smog this winter that blanketed the capital for six days. Concentrations of PM2.5, the fine pollutants deemed most harmful to health, dropped to seven micrograms per cubic metre at 8 am compared with 410 micrograms 12 hours before. The World Health organisation says readings under 25 are safe. READ MORE: Beijing air pollution: black humour and satire as capital is shrouded yet again in thick... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1885785/beijing-air-pollution-strong-winds-finally-blow-thick-pall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1885785/beijing-air-pollution-strong-winds-finally-blow-thick-pall?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Dec 2015 03:45:00 +0000 President Xi Jinping  has told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that China hoped to see sensitive issues with its Asian neighbour “addressed rightly”, according to a news agency report, amid signs of a thaw in relations between the two nations. Xi and Abe talked for four minutes on the sidelines of the international climate change summit in Paris on Monday, Kyodo quoted a senior Japanese official as saying. Xi noted that he had seen “changing signs” in the two countries’ relations, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1885704/xi-jinping-and-shinzo-abe-break-ice-brief-meeting-paris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1885704/xi-jinping-and-shinzo-abe-break-ice-brief-meeting-paris?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:00:45 +0000 Beijing was again engulfed in heavy smog on Monday, sending air pollution readings soaring ahead of President Xi Jinping’s address to the global climate change summit in Paris. Both the US embassy in Beijing and the municipal government said the air pollution in the capital was at hazardous levels, with the main pollutants in both cases PM2.5 particles, very fine pollutants that are especially harmful to human health. The municipal reading on Monday was roughly 40 per cent higher than that a day... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1885375/smog-soars-hazardous-levels-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1885375/smog-soars-hazardous-levels-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Nov 2015 15:45:00 +0000 A deal at the climate change summit in Paris should underscore countries’ “common but differentiated” responsibilities, President Xi Jinping told his French counterpart in the lead-up to the latest round of negotiations to tackle global warming. François Hollande held a working dinner on Sunday with President Xi after the Chinese head of state’s arrival in Paris for the United Nations summit. READ MORE: China pushes for legally binding emissions limit at Paris climate change summit Xi will join... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1885187/paris-climate-summit-developed-countries-should-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1885187/paris-climate-summit-developed-countries-should-take?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Nov 2015 07:15:30 +0000 Beijing confirmed on Thursday for the first time that it has been in talks with Djibouti to build military logistics “facilities” in the Horn of Africa country to support Chinese peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions. The remarks were made by the defence and foreign ministries days after Beijing announced President Xi Jinping’s  official visit to South Africa and Zimbabwe next week. The facilities would mainly provide logistics services for the People’s Liberation Army’s troops in UN... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1883599/chinas-military-talks-build-logistics-facilities-horn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1883599/chinas-military-talks-build-logistics-facilities-horn?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Nov 2015 09:45:30 +0000 China will keep its distance and avoid getting caught up in the fallout from Turkey’s decision to shoot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border, analysts said yesterday. Beijing does not have immediate interest in playing the mediator role, despite its close ties with Moscow, because the disputes are far more complex than the violation of airspace. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei  said China was paying close attention to the incident and many circumstances “needed further... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1883428/china-stay-sidelines-turkey-russia-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1883428/china-stay-sidelines-turkey-russia-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Nov 2015 20:11:03 +0000 Chinese paramilitary special forces used flamethrowers to smoke terror suspects out of their hiding place in a cliffside cave during a recent counterterrorism operation in the far western Xinjiang region, the military’s official newspaper said on Monday. The troops had been hunting “dozens of terrorists who had fled to the Tianshan Mountains after brutally killing civilians over a month ago,” the report said, without specifying where and when the operation took place. READ MORE: Chinese forces... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1881961/flamethrower-used-flush-out-militants-chinas-xinjiang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1881961/flamethrower-used-flush-out-militants-chinas-xinjiang?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Nov 2015 04:15:15 +0000 A Beijing-backed plan for a regional free-trade pact failed to advance on Thursday afternoon, with Asia-Pacific leaders simply repeating their support for a goal made at last year’s Apec summit. In a joint declaration to wrap up the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the 21 leaders again backed a strategic study of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), the goal they set in 2014 at their meeting in Beijing. They also said the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880716/beijing-backed-free-trade-plan-fails-advance-apec?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880716/beijing-backed-free-trade-plan-fails-advance-apec?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Nov 2015 17:30:15 +0000 Plenty of eyebrows were raised when the police-escorted motorcade carrying President Xi Jinping  on his arrival in Manila stopped at the lobby of a decades-old hotel far from the city’s business centre of Makati. Read more: Full coverage of the 2015 Apec summit The Century Park Hotel was little known even to the press officers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, who had to look it up on the internet in response to media requests. But Xi’s arrival meant the hotel, ranked a lowly 26... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880374/fit-president-hotel-owned-one-manilas-richest-men-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880374/fit-president-hotel-owned-one-manilas-richest-men-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:45:00 +0000 President Xi Jinping warned on Wednesday that rival trade pacts in the Asia-Pacific region might cause “fragmentation”. He also pledged to further lift restrictions on foreign investment in China. Speaking to business leaders at an Apec CEO summit in Manila, Xi urged member nations to accelerate the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as many other economic deals were taking shape in the region. “Currently, many new free-trade arrangements keep emerging. It triggers... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880140/chinese-president-xi-jinping-sends-warning-over-rival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880140/chinese-president-xi-jinping-sends-warning-over-rival?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Nov 2015 05:45:30 +0000 Ministers from Asia-Pacific economies have pledged to beef up the fight against terrorism by targeting the financing of militant groups and performing risk assessments on air travellers and crews, following the deadly attacks in Paris. The statement was issued on Tuesday by ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) countries as they wrapped up a two-day conference ahead of a summit for state leaders. The ministers highlighted the Apec counter-terrorism working group’s efforts... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880037/apec-pledges-boost-fight-against-terrorism-following?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1880037/apec-pledges-boost-fight-against-terrorism-following?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Nov 2015 15:30:00 +0000 The presidents of China and the Philippines are to sit down for their first official talks this week on the sidelines of a regional economic summit amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea. Few concessions would be made by either side on territorial claims, but they might agree to look into a risk management mechanism and strengthen economic ties, analysts said. READ MORE: I’m taking Xi to a Chinese restaurant if he visits Manila, says Aquino President Xi Jinping will join 20 other heads... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1879096/chinas-xi-jinping-meet-philippines-leader-benigno?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1879096/chinas-xi-jinping-meet-philippines-leader-benigno?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Nov 2015 14:00:00 +0000 Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on Friday defended his safe play in his speech before last week's closed-door summit with President Xi Jinping , saying that Beijing and Taipei had agreed to steer clear of sensitive issues in public. Ma was labelled a traitor by the island's opposition party for not elaborating in his opening remarks that Beijing and Taipei differed on what "China" refers to in the "one China" principle. READ MORE: Did Ma Ying-jeou stand up for Taiwan in closed-door summit with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1878642/i-had-no-time-taiwans-ma-ying-jeou-defends-safe-play?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1878642/i-had-no-time-taiwans-ma-ying-jeou-defends-safe-play?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Nov 2015 14:45:00 +0000 China and the United States have both launched missile tests in recent days, prompting analysts to suggest a space arms race between them is gathering pace. China tested a Dong Neng-3 missile at the Korla Missile Test Complex in Xinjiang on October 30, the Washington Free Beacon said on Monday, citing two anonymous US officials. The officials described the Dong Neng-3 as a “direct-ascent missile” designed to take out satellites. It was designed to target even those satellites with missile... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1877680/arms-race-space-gathers-pace-china-and-us-test-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1877680/arms-race-space-gathers-pace-china-and-us-test-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Nov 2015 16:00:45 +0000 President Xi Jinping will have spent at least 24 days abroad visiting eight countries in the last four months of the year. He will leave Beijing on Saturday for the G20 Leaders' Summit in Turkey, just days after his trip to Vietnam and meeting Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore. Hours after his return from the three-day visit to Antalya, Xi will head to the airport again on November 17 for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the Philippines, amid tensions over... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1877285/road-again-packed-overseas-itinerary-chinese-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1877285/road-again-packed-overseas-itinerary-chinese-president?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Nov 2015 16:00:00 +0000 US defence officials offered their experience to China and Japan in setting up a communication mechanism to avoid accidental clashes involving territorial disputes, according to a former adviser to the government in Tokyo. Naoyuki Agawa, a professor at Keio University who previously served in the Japanese embassy in Washington, said Pentagon officials had suggested such a mechanism could be useful for China and Japan, given Beijing's declaration of an air defence identification zone over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1875137/us-offers-its-cold-war-hotline-experience-china-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1875137/us-offers-its-cold-war-hotline-experience-china-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Nov 2015 16:30:00 +0000 As Premier Li Keqiang  was calling for greater cooperation between young Chinese and Korean entrepreneurs on the final day of his trilateral summit to South Korea  the leaders of the host nation and Japan held “constructive” talks about the South China Sea. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the South China Sea issue with President Park Geun-hye during a meeting in Seoul on Monday – the first official bilateral summit between the two for more than three years, said Yasuhisa Kawamura, press... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874996/south-korea-and-japan-discuss-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874996/south-korea-and-japan-discuss-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:00:45 +0000 The leaders of South Korea, China and Japan said on Sunday they were willing to work together again for regional trade and security after setting aside historical animosities with their first summit talks in three years. South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed a wide range of topics, from free trade to the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, during a 90-minute meeting in Seoul. A joint statement after the talks... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874687/back-summit-table-china-japan-and-s-korea-focus-regions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874687/back-summit-table-china-japan-and-s-korea-focus-regions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Nov 2015 16:30:45 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang unveiled a 6.5 per cent annualised economic growth target for the next five years on Sunday, as he tried to ease global investors' fears about a slowdown in China's economy. Addressing South Korean business leaders in Seoul, Li said China would aim for lower growth in gross domestic product but would still meet its target of creating a "moderately prosperous" society by 2020. "In terms of GDP, we need to maintain year-on-year growth of at least 6.5 per cent to meet the goal,"... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1874809/chinese-premier-li-keqiang-goes-record-65-cent-economic-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1874809/chinese-premier-li-keqiang-goes-record-65-cent-economic-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Nov 2015 16:00:30 +0000 Japan and China agreed late on Sunday to restart high-level talks that were put on hold amid strained ties, a senior Japanese official said after Premier Li Keqiang held his first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two nations agreed to aim to resume talks on exploration of natural resources in the East China Sea, which have been suspended since 2012, and to have a high-level bilateral economic dialogue early next year after a six-year hiatus. Abe and Li also agreed that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874808/china-and-japan-agree-restart-top-level-east-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874808/china-and-japan-agree-restart-top-level-east-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Nov 2015 16:00:00 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang promised yesterday to allow South Korea more access to China's financial and telecommunications markets than it had given to any of Beijing's existing trade pact partners. Li made the commitment as he sought to reassure a South Korean business delegation that China would open up more of its economy and advance market reforms. "[China] will launch service trade and investment negotiations with [South Korea] using pre-establishment national treatment and a negative list," he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874694/trade-pact-promises-south-korean-players-unprecedented?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874694/trade-pact-promises-south-korean-players-unprecedented?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Nov 2015 14:08:42 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang unveiled a 6.5 per cent annualised economic growth target for the next five years on Sunday, while soothing global investors’ concerns about a slowing Chinese economy. Addressing South Korean business leaders in Seoul, the premier said China would aim for lower growth in its gross domestic product but would still meet its target of creating a “moderately prosperous” society by 2020. “In terms of GDP, we need to maintain year-on-year growth of at least 6.5 per cent to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1874626/chinese-premier-lowers-economic-growth-target-65pc-confident?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/1874626/chinese-premier-lowers-economic-growth-target-65pc-confident?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Nov 2015 09:15:15 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected meet this evening for talks after the trilateral summit in Seoul. Staff are busy setting up the conference room in the Shilla Hotel, where the Chinese delegation is staying. Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a 45-minutes discussion with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida this morning at the Hilton Hotel, after which both sides remained tight-lipped about the possibility of a one-on-one discussion between Li and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874614/leaders-china-and-japan-expected-meet-talks-within?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874614/leaders-china-and-japan-expected-meet-talks-within?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Nov 2015 07:15:30 +0000 Chinese and South Korea leaders reached a series of economic and trade agreements yesterday in Seoul, a move showing both sides' determination to speed up their bilateral free-trade agreement, which could be in place by the end of the year. Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Park Geun-hye signed 13 items of memorandum of understanding and one cooperation agreement during their one-on-one meeting at the presidential Blue House. Their agreements came ahead of the trilateral summit... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874540/robotics-food-imports-green-factories-china-and-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1874540/robotics-food-imports-green-factories-china-and-south?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Oct 2015 19:15:30 +0000 The US Pacific Command and the People’s Liberation Army are expected to continue their military-to-military exchanges even after a US warship sailed through waters in the South China Sea that Beijing claims as its own territory. Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, would visit Beijing on Monday, Japanese broadcaster NHK and The New York Times reported yesterday. Harris’ visit was aimed at boosting exchanges between the two nations’ navies and avoiding unintended clashes,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1873562/china-us-wont-cut-contact-over-uss-lassens-sail-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1873562/china-us-wont-cut-contact-over-uss-lassens-sail-south?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:45:45 +0000 German Chancellor Angela Merkel begins her eighth visit to China tomorrow less than a week after the mainland's special relationship with Britain was hailed as experiencing a "golden era" following President Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain. However, Germany was keen to reinforce its own "excellent relations" with the mainland, said Michael Clauss, the German ambassador to China. Merkel was expected to hold meetings with state leaders in Beijing before travelling with Premier Li Keqiang to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1873001/after-xi-jinpings-visit-britain-german-chancellor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1873001/after-xi-jinpings-visit-britain-german-chancellor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2015 15:45:00 +0000 Videos of a woman quarrelling with a man whom she accused of breaking her expensive mobile at an airport in Shanghai has raised eyebrows online, a Chinese news portal reported. The two clips show the pair quarrelling outside a first class VIP lounge at Shanghai Pudong International Airport after she accused the other passenger making her drop a supposedly expensive “rose gold iPhone”, according to Guancha.cn. The two video clips were uploaded early on Monday by microbloggers claiming to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872783/appalling-tantrum-or-cringeworthy-marketing-chinese-internet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872783/appalling-tantrum-or-cringeworthy-marketing-chinese-internet?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2015 08:06:48 +0000 A baby was killed in northern China after it was hit by a local government car that drove on to a pavement and finally smashed into a tree, a newspaper reported. A witness claimed the health chief of Xinji township in Henan province, Wang Zhikun, was driving the car when it hit the baby’s pushchair, but police said an initial investigation showed it was driven by another member of staff in the department, the Dahe Daily said. The baby’s mother was also hit by the car during the incident on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872712/baby-killed-after-local-government-car-hurtles-pavement-northern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872712/baby-killed-after-local-government-car-hurtles-pavement-northern?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2015 06:08:43 +0000 School pupils were forced to take part in a sports event during a huge downpour while the principal and teachers watched holding umbrellas, according to a newspaper report. More than a thousand pupils watched or took part in the games in Xianyang in Shaanxi province last Friday and many later caught a cold after they were drenched, their parents told Xianyang Today.  It was just drizzling when the event started in the afternoon, but when hundreds of parents went to collect their children at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872691/chinese-schoolchildren-forced-take-part-sports-event-downpour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872691/chinese-schoolchildren-forced-take-part-sports-event-downpour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2015 05:18:27 +0000 Staff at a rural credit cooperative in China have spent six days working overtime to try to piece together banknotes worth 40,000 yuan (HK$48,000) after an elderly man tore them into more than 2,000 pieces and left them in a bag, mainland media reports. Some of the banknote pieces were so small that it appeared as if they had been passed through a shredding machine, West China Metropolis Daily reported on Monday. The 79-year-old man, identified only by his surname, Luo, from the city of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872680/financial-headache-staff-try-repair-banknotes-after-chinese-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1872680/financial-headache-staff-try-repair-banknotes-after-chinese-man?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2015 05:00:15 +0000 After a day of pomp, President Xi Jinping  and his British host sealed a multibillion-dollar deal to finance a British nuclear plant.   Xi met Prime Minister David Cameron for a summit at noon yesterday at 10 Downing Street, where the two discussed bilateral issues – including the loss of British steel jobs to cheap Chinese exports and human rights – “openly and constructively”, Cameron told reporters afterwards. Cameron said he wanted to make Britain the “partner of choice for China in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1870702/nuclear-deal-takes-chinas-relationship-britain-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1870702/nuclear-deal-takes-chinas-relationship-britain-new?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Oct 2015 16:30:15 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping's first full day in London began with a state welcome as he embarked on his four-day stay in Britain, during which more than US$46 billion of deals are expected to be signed. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan , exchanged gifts with Queen Elizabeth. The queen gave Xi a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets and Peng a pair of Royal Crown Derby candlesticks, while Xi gave the queen two of his wife's music albums, British media reported. Peng is a popular folk singer in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1870211/royal-welcome-chinas-xi-jinping-he-brings-us46-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1870211/royal-welcome-chinas-xi-jinping-he-brings-us46-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:45:15 +0000 President Xi Jinping spoke out against anti-Chinese bias as he addressed opposition to China's state-subsidised investments in Britain ahead of his state visit that begins today. Business, not politics, should decide which companies win projects, Xi told Reuters. He called London's decision to embrace Chinese investment a "visionary and strategic choice", reassuring his host that China could weather the slowdown as it reshaped its economy. READ MORE: Finance, investment and football: interview... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1869275/lets-not-politicise-business-says-chinese-president-xi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1869275/lets-not-politicise-business-says-chinese-president-xi?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Oct 2015 15:30:30 +0000 Primary students at a Shanghai international school partnered with Britain’s exclusive Wellington College were taken to hospital with eye injuries after a medical demonstration using ultraviolet lights went wrong, mainland media reports. An unknown number of Year 2 students and their teachers at the private Wellington College International Shanghai were taken to Shanghai Children Medical Centre  – a children’s hospital linked to Shanghai Jiao Tong University – and found to have suffered... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867826/students-exclusive-chinese-international-school-suffer-eye?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867826/students-exclusive-chinese-international-school-suffer-eye?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 08:00:45 +0000 A Peking University graduate accused of plagiarising a thesis paper has taken her former college to court demanding that it reinstate her PhD degree, according to a newspaper report. She said an essay she copied from was not part of her degree thesis and the university had decided to revoke her degree merely due to public pressure, The Beijing News reported.  A court in the Haidian district of the capital held the first hearing in the case on Wednesday, the newspaper said. Yu Yanru, 36, was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867815/chinese-phd-scholar-accused-plagiarism-takes-peking-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867815/chinese-phd-scholar-accused-plagiarism-takes-peking-university?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 07:06:06 +0000 A former investigative reporter from northern China is in a critical condition in hospital after he was beaten up by four men, according to media reports. Yang Yanfang, 46, fell into a coma after he was attacked on Tuesday outside a research centre where he works in Zhengzhou in Henan province, the news website Thepaper.cn reported. He is being treated for internal bleeding in the brain and a fractured skull, the article cited the Hunan Renmin Hospital as saying. Yang became famous after he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867811/former-chinese-investigative-reporter-beaten-four-men-and-left?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867811/former-chinese-investigative-reporter-beaten-four-men-and-left?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 06:15:15 +0000 A young Chinese mother strangled her newborn baby before throwing him in a rubbish bin – where his desperate cries were heard shortly before he died – because her family could not afford another child, mainland media reports. Wan Hongyu, 25, pleaded guilty to the intentional homicide of her baby son after giving birth in July last year, when she appeared in Beijing’s Second Intermediate Court on Wednesday, the news outlet Qq.com reported. A neighbour heard the cries of a baby boy coming from a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867804/chinese-mother-strangles-costly-newborn-second-child-and-leaves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867804/chinese-mother-strangles-costly-newborn-second-child-and-leaves?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 05:45:45 +0000 A Chinese mother punished her “runaway” teenage son by parading him through the streets with his hands and feet bound together in chains, mainland media reports. A video filmed by a bystander has been widely shared on mainland social media and video clip websites, The Beijing News reported The 90-second clip showed the unnamed boy bent over as he struggled to walk in the chains along a street in Yongkang, in Zhejiang province, the newspaper said. An unidentified woman was seen walking slowly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867740/chinese-mother-parades-chained-teenage-son-street-punishment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1867740/chinese-mother-parades-chained-teenage-son-street-punishment?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 04:45:30 +0000 Read the Chinese translation of this story here. President Xi Jinping will announce multibillion-pound investments on his first state visit to the UK next week to gild Sino-British ties once strained over the Dalai Lama. The two countries are expected to seal deals on nuclear and railway projects and announce the launch of sovereign debt in yuan in London during Xi's five-day trip to mark what British Prime Minister David Cameron described as the "golden year" of bilateral relations. READ... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1867611/chinese-president-xi-jinping-pledge-multi-billion-pound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1867611/chinese-president-xi-jinping-pledge-multi-billion-pound?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:00:45 +0000 China has subtly shifted its stance towards North Korea as it tries to improve ties strained over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes and rein in its young leader from taking more provocative steps, analysts say. China’s fifth-ranked official Liu Yunshan prioritised the stability of the Korean Peninsula over denuclearisation issues as he spoke to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his visit to Pyongyang last week to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the country’s ruling... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1866728/china-shifts-focus-north-korea-regional-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1866728/china-shifts-focus-north-korea-regional-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2015 14:57:53 +0000 Beijing yesterday expressed concerns that the US Navy was reportedly preparing to send ships "within days" inside the 12 nautical-mile territorial zones China has claimed around its artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had long made clear its position on the South China Sea. "We hope the United States can look upon the current situation of the South China Sea from an objective and fair perspective and play a constructive role... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1865414/beijing-alert-us-navy-incursion-near-artificial-islands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1865414/beijing-alert-us-navy-incursion-near-artificial-islands?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2015 16:00:00 +0000 Taiwan's tourism industry is bracing for a big drop in mainland visitors during the presidential election season. The island's tourism bureau said on Wednesday travel agencies had been voicing concerns for about a month that restrictions would be imposed from December 16 to election day on January 16. Individual travellers would not be affected but the number of visitors in tour groups was expected to halve, the bureau quoted the agencies as saying. The remarks came after Taiwanese media... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1865082/dont-leave-chinese-tour-groups-taiwans-tourism-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1865082/dont-leave-chinese-tour-groups-taiwans-tourism-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2015 15:45:30 +0000 China will seek to quicken the pace of its free-trade negotiations with other Asia-Pacific economies to counter a mammoth Washington-led trade pact in the region, observers say. The United States and 11 other countries that in total make up 40 per cent of the world's economy scored a landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal in Atlanta on Monday. In response, China - presently excluded from the TPP - was expected to push for the conclusion of its Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1864811/its-not-checkmate-yet-beijing-counter-us-led-trans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1864811/its-not-checkmate-yet-beijing-counter-us-led-trans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2015 16:00:45 +0000 Two Japanese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of spying, the foreign ministry confirmed yesterday, following Japanese reports that Chinese authorities had been holding the pair since May, "making an excuse to link them to espionage". Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said "relevant authorities" arrested the two "in accordance with the law for engaging in espionage activities in China". "China has already notified the Japanese side of the relevant situation," Hong added. Japanese Chief Cabinet... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1862606/china-confirms-arrest-two-suspected-japanese-spies-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1862606/china-confirms-arrest-two-suspected-japanese-spies-one?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Sep 2015 01:30:00 +0000