https://www.scmp.com/rss/310278/feed Craig Addison has covered Asia technology since 1992. He joined the Post in 2013. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Taiwan flag stayed on Tom Cruise’s jacket in Top Gun: Maverick, and Disney refused to make cuts to the animated Toy Story prequel Lightyear. Hooray for Hollywood. Studios have finally stopped kowtowing to Beijing. Not so fast. Paramount’s Top Gun, a film glorifying US military strength, was never going to get a China release anyway. Disney’s censoring of a same-sex kiss in Lightyear – more than a dozen mostly Muslim-majority countries made the same request – would have been untenable after... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185895/why-you-wont-see-chinese-villain-hollywood-film-any-time-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185895/why-you-wont-see-chinese-villain-hollywood-film-any-time-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 23:45:22 +0000 Following the 1997 handover, Hong Kong filmmakers censored their work to secure funding and mainland Chinese distribution, but independent films for the local market were still free to broach politically sensitive subjects. Not any more. The national security law and newly revised film censorship guidelines have ended that creative freedom. There will be no more films like Ten Years, the controversial anthology named best movie at the 2016 Hong Kong Film Awards, that told five dystopian stories... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149683/how-national-security-law-hastening-demise-hong-kong-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149683/how-national-security-law-hastening-demise-hong-kong-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Sep 2021 00:45:13 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3133717/widening-chip-shortage-forces-global-leaders-sit-and-take-notice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3133717/widening-chip-shortage-forces-global-leaders-sit-and-take-notice?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 May 2021 12:00:00 +0000 Beijing is engaged in multiple efforts to cultivate its local semiconductor talent, but knows that the fastest way to achieve self reliance in the technology is to poach talent from Taiwan – where the engineers not only speak the same language, they have experience working in the world’s most advanced chip fabs. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, has borne the brunt of that poaching, and it seems that the company’s founder, 89-year-old Morris... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3131245/are-taiwans-job-hopping-chip-engineers-traitors-or-patriots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3131245/are-taiwans-job-hopping-chip-engineers-traitors-or-patriots?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Apr 2021 22:00:14 +0000 The semiconductor shortage that first hit global carmakers, and has since spilled over to consumer electronics, has no doubt triggered frantic behind-the-scenes debates about the need for back-up plans. The supply chain shock came about after carmakers underestimated the rebound in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. It was compounded by the fact that wafer foundries making the chips were fully booked and couldn’t ramp up production fast enough given the long lead times required to add wafer... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3126173/why-semiconductor-shortage-hitting-cars-and-smartphones-wont-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3126173/why-semiconductor-shortage-hitting-cars-and-smartphones-wont-be?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Mar 2021 22:00:14 +0000 After reading a report last week that said China was stockpiling chip-making equipment to protect against future US trade sanctions, I was reminded of two old proverbs: “There’s a sucker born every minute” and “laughing all the way to the bank”. Last year, Chinese companies spent almost US$32 billion buying such equipment from suppliers in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere, a 20 per cent jump from 2019, according to a Bloomberg analysis of official trade data. Separately, trade group SEMI... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3120939/china-sucker-spending-billions-foreign-semiconductor-equipment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3120939/china-sucker-spending-billions-foreign-semiconductor-equipment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:39:18 +0000 It may be premature to write Huawei’s obituary, but one thing is clear – the company we once knew is no longer. While China’s telecoms and smartphone champion will most likely survive in some form, it will look very different. The old Huawei wanted to be the global leader in smartphones and 5G technology. Now, with Washington finding and closing the loopholes Huawei exploited to get around US sanctions designed to block its access to critical technologies such as semiconductors, it looks like... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3115711/us-sanctions-killed-old-huawei-what-will-reborn-one-look?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3115711/us-sanctions-killed-old-huawei-what-will-reborn-one-look?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 21:00:05 +0000 One of the biggest battles in the ongoing US China tech war is over semiconductors – the enabling technology behind everything from smartphones to earth-orbiting satellites. However, efforts by the US and China to satisfy their respective national security concerns will likely end in failure. China must reduce its near-total dependency on American chip tech, but it does not have a good track record when it comes to developing its own chip industry – even with the help of foreign technology... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3105156/chinas-semiconductor-quest-likely-fail-leaving-rapprochement-us-only-way-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3105156/chinas-semiconductor-quest-likely-fail-leaving-rapprochement-us-only-way-out?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2020 23:15:08 +0000 “The Chinese can take a test, but what they can‘t do is innovate. They are not terribly imaginative. They’re not entrepreneurial … that is why they are stealing our intellectual property.” That was the view of former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina on the campaign trail five years ago. She was the only female in a large field of Republican candidates vying for the party’s nomination, which of course was won by Donald Trump who is now seeking a second term in the White House. Contrary to what... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3100537/beijing-one-time-helping-hand-now-hurting-chinas-tech-chances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3100537/beijing-one-time-helping-hand-now-hurting-chinas-tech-chances?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2020 22:15:08 +0000 The national security law’s impact on free speech in Hong Kong has been widely debated but the implications for one sector have received less attention: the city’s film industry. This is partly because Covid-19 has largely shuttered film production and cinemas (though theatres will reopen from Friday). However, the law’s impact on Hong Kong cinema will be felt long after the pandemic is gone. Hong Kong is famous overseas for two genres: the kung fu flicks that made Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3098879/why-hong-kongs-independent-film-industry-will-lose-its-identity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3098879/why-hong-kongs-independent-film-industry-will-lose-its-identity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Aug 2020 22:45:08 +0000 Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei told the Post earlier this year that he hopes to be forgotten after retiring from the company. “My biggest wish is to drink coffee in a cafe unnoticed,” said the 75 year old. But standing between Ren and those anonymous visits to coffee shops is probably the biggest decision of his career. In May, the Trump Administration announced a new direct product rule (DPR) that effectively blocks Huawei's access to advanced semiconductors – the brains inside all of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3094508/could-huawei-founder-ren-zhengfei-give-5g-keep-company-alive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3094508/could-huawei-founder-ren-zhengfei-give-5g-keep-company-alive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2020 22:15:14 +0000 In a bid to challenge the US as the world’s tech superpower, China plans to invest US$1.4 trillion over the next five years to build 5G wireless networks and develop AI software for applications such as autonomous driving, automated factories and mass surveillance. The programme, slated for approval by the National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing this month, is the linchpin of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s goal of making the country less dependent on foreign technology. Trouble is, there’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3085611/why-beijings-new-tech-master-plan-will-make-it-more-dependent-us-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3085611/why-beijings-new-tech-master-plan-will-make-it-more-dependent-us-not?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 May 2020 22:00:17 +0000 One of the benefits of spending a lot of time at home during the pandemic is the chance to catch up on viewing. Most people are binge-watching Netflix but thanks to the generosity of my local cable provider, all the premium movie channels have been made available for free during the current period. I’ve been able to catch up on a couple of cult sci-fi movies from the 1990s that depicted a dystopian 21st century. It has been fun watching how Hollywood perceives future technology. In Escape from... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3081420/coronavirus-pandemic-may-seed-next-big-thing-tech-and-youll-never?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3081420/coronavirus-pandemic-may-seed-next-big-thing-tech-and-youll-never?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2020 22:00:09 +0000 Six months after it was banned from using US technology, reports surfaced that Huawei Technologies’ new Mate 30 flagship smartphone and its 5G base stations contained zero US parts. While those broad claims were questioned by some analysts, Huawei had been able to swap out advanced chips from US suppliers like Qualcomm and Xilinx, which were included in the blacklist, and replace them with its own circuit designs that were fabricated by TSMC, a silicon wafer foundry in Taiwan. As Huawei... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3074667/how-us-president-could-end-huaweis-global-5g-shipments-stroke-pen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3074667/how-us-president-could-end-huaweis-global-5g-shipments-stroke-pen?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2020 22:30:19 +0000 We've all had those heart-stopping moments, “Where's my phone?!” Is it on the back seat of the taxi disappearing into traffic, or did I leave it at home? Maybe I haven't lost everything. For more than a decade, we have been tethered to a flat piece of metal and glass that is now central to our lives – combining communications (voice and text), photography, music, videos, news, web search and dozens of other seemingly essential apps into one indispensable device we have to carry everywhere. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/why-coronavirus-outbreak-may-hasten-demise-smartphone-we-know-it/article/3049820?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/why-coronavirus-outbreak-may-hasten-demise-smartphone-we-know-it/article/3049820?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2020 10:46:07 +0000 We've all had those heart stopping moments, “Where's my phone?!” Is it on the back seat of the taxi disappearing into traffic, or did I leave it at home? Maybe I haven't lost everything. For more than a decade, we have been tethered to a flat piece of metal and glass that is now central to our lives – combining communications (voice and text), photography, music, videos, news, web search and dozens of other seemingly essential apps into one indispensable device we have to carry everywhere. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/3049519/why-coronavirus-outbreak-may-hasten-demise-smartphone-we-know-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/3049519/why-coronavirus-outbreak-may-hasten-demise-smartphone-we-know-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Feb 2020 22:00:16 +0000 When then-US president Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Taipei in 1960, thousands cheered amid a sea of American flags as the motorcade made its way to the city centre. Ike addressed a crowd of half a million, pledging that America would support Taiwan over the communist-run People’s Republic of China. Two decades later, the Taiwanese felt betrayed when then-president Jimmy Carter unilaterally cut diplomatic relations to recognise the PRC. Angry protesters stomped on peanuts – since Carter had a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036523/why-taiwans-role-will-be-crucial-next-phase-us-china-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036523/why-taiwans-role-will-be-crucial-next-phase-us-china-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2019 19:00:17 +0000 When Huawei’s smartphone shipments overtook Apple’s iPhone sales in the second quarter of last year, the Chinese company’s goal of unseating Samsung and becoming the world’s No 1 smartphone maker by 2020 seemed on track. Then, last month, the US government banned Huawei and its affiliates from purchasing American components and software without a licence, the latest move in a continuing campaign by Washington to punish the company for alleged theft of trade secrets and violating US sanctions on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3013957/trade-war-could-leave-huawei-smartphones-frozen-time-without-core?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3013957/trade-war-could-leave-huawei-smartphones-frozen-time-without-core?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2019 19:00:05 +0000 The day after China’s State Council unveiled Made in China 2025, Donald Trump tweeted that rival Republican candidate John Kasich stole his “make America great slogan”. “Designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power”, according to the Xinhua News Agency announcement on May 19, 2015, the roll out of the state-backed industrial policy came at a time when Washington was distracted – to say the least. China is often a punching bag during US presidential... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2166500/why-made-china-2025-road-map-hi-tech-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2166500/why-made-china-2025-road-map-hi-tech-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 03:30:45 +0000 They used to be the billion dollar start-ups. Now we call them unicorns, a term coined five years ago by Aileen Lee of Silicon Valley-based Cowboy Ventures. In mythology, unicorns are rare, beautiful creatures. It was the perfect name – until recently. Now unicorn is taking on new meaning: start-ups that perpetuate the myth that they are worth a billion US dollars. These days, it does not take much money to claim a US$1 billion valuation – under US$200 million in some cases. Nor do you have to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2158444/only-thing-mythical-about-unicorns-these-days-are-their-valuations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2158444/only-thing-mythical-about-unicorns-these-days-are-their-valuations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Aug 2018 23:00:20 +0000 As the so-called ZTE incident enters the next phase, the line coming out of China has changed from bravado to humility. The Global Times lamented the “huge gap” in technology that would require “generations of arduous efforts to overcome”, while the Communist Party's Beijing Daily said China was “not amazing” in certain areas, a tongue-in-cheek reference to a recent propaganda film called Amazing China. Separately, a Tsinghua University professor was quoted by The New York Times saying China’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2153618/china-reliant-us-core-technology-some-time-so-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2153618/china-reliant-us-core-technology-some-time-so-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jul 2018 23:04:05 +0000 Eighteen years ago a small fire in a microchip factory in the US city of Albuquerque set off a chain of events that led to the demise of one mobile phone giant and market share gains for another. The damage from water and smoke to millions of Philips-made radio frequency microchips disrupted the supply chain for Ericsson and Nokia – both major mobile phone makers at the time. Ericsson bungled its response to the crisis and posted huge losses, eventually exiting the mobile phone business. Nokia... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2142491/why-us-sanctions-zte-might-turn-out-be-best-thing-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2142491/why-us-sanctions-zte-might-turn-out-be-best-thing-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:00:15 +0000 After the AlphaGo computer program from Google’s parent Alphabet beat China’s top Go player Ke Jie three for three in May last year, the 19-year-old was in tears, declaring his opponent “God-like”. Chinese authorities had earlier cancelled planned live broadcasts of the deciding matches. Two months later, China’s State Council announced an ambitious national programme to overtake the United States in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it is easy to see how the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2126639/heres-why-chinas-leaders-may-regret-winning-global-artificial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2126639/heres-why-chinas-leaders-may-regret-winning-global-artificial?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jan 2018 05:53:51 +0000 China’s technology sector is in a bubble – but not the kind that erases huge fortunes when it bursts. This bubble, imposed by the Chinese authorities in Beijing in the form of the censored, closed internet also known as the Great Firewall, has stymied efforts by the world’s second-largest economy to create truly innovative breakthroughs. Various commentators of late have written about how China has “won” against Silicon Valley or has caught up with it. They cite the rapid growth of BAT – Baidu... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2096825/china-kind-technology-bubble-helps-local-firms-will-it-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2096825/china-kind-technology-bubble-helps-local-firms-will-it-last?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jun 2017 08:15:30 +0000 If there was any doubt Donald Trump would build a wall if elected, it was put to rest at the start of the first US presidential debate this week. Not a Mexican border wall though, but a Chinese one. Seven seconds into Trump’s opening remarks and he was already ripping into China. “Our jobs are fleeing the country…If you look at what China is doing [to the US] in terms of making our product, they’re devaluing their currency and there’s nobody in our government to fight them,” The Donald... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2023416/why-donald-trumps-wall-will-be-around-china-not-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2023416/why-donald-trumps-wall-will-be-around-china-not-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Sep 2016 01:45:00 +0000 Children from mainland have right to learn I refer to the report ("Kindergartens prepare for huge mainland influx", October 11) about parents flocking to kindergartens, especially in North District, for application forms. I found it hard to understand why local parents should vent their anger at those from the mainland over this matter. Granted, the increase in cross-boundary kindergarteners will pose a threat to local people and add to the workload of the kindergartens. But we should take... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1335391/letters-editor-october-20-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1335391/letters-editor-october-20-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Oct 2013 22:31:19 +0000 I am disappointed that the University of Hong Kong has dropped more than 20 places in the world top 200 university rankings. Although the Post article about the topic ("HKU drops over 20 places in world league table", October 4) suggested HKU has not suffered much of a decline in standards, it is important for the university to upgrade itself and remain competitive. To tackle the problem, I think HKU needs to learn from some mainland universities - for instance, Tsinghua - and publish more... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1335410/hku-can-improve-its-world-ranking-luring-elite-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1335410/hku-can-improve-its-world-ranking-luring-elite-students?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Oct 2013 22:31:19 +0000 Criticism of Aquino media grilling unfair I am furious at Mr Jake van der Kamp's suggestion ("Journalists out of line with Aquino", October 10) that Hong Kong people should leave behind us the cold-blooded killing of eight Hong Kong tourists in Manila and the gross mishandling by the Philippine government three years ago. Van der Kamp criticised the Hong Kong media who fired questions at Mr Aquino at the Apec meeting as being "out of line" because "this is offensive to the entire population of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1333747/letters-editor-october-18-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1333747/letters-editor-october-18-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Oct 2013 19:15:00 +0000 We have never had a scientist in Hong Kong receiving the Shaw Prize, yet the award originated in our city. So why is that? I think the issue is twofold. The first one is the public attitude towards scientific research. People always think that science is beyond a normal human being's reach and those who do research are a bunch of nerds. They pay them little respect. What they don't realise is that scientists are pioneers in expanding our understanding on nature, on humans and on social... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1333748/negative-public-view-research-leaves-our-scientists-undervalued?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1333748/negative-public-view-research-leaves-our-scientists-undervalued?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Oct 2013 19:09:58 +0000