https://www.scmp.com/rss/327375/feed Andrew is a writer and reporter whose work has appeared in The New York Times and other publications. He is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When Russian troops stage their biggest military exercise in decades in the country’s far east later this month, Chinese counterparts will be there alongside them. Even though the countries’ militaries routinely hold joint exercises, the decision to include China in Vostok 2018 surprised some defence analysts because the drills had previously been off-limits to foreign armed forces – and in some cases included potential conflict scenarios with China. With both countries seeking to check US... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/2162919/subs-ships-and-aftersales-service-how-russias-military-making?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/2162919/subs-ships-and-aftersales-service-how-russias-military-making?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Sep 2018 18:34:11 +0000 “[Thirty-five] cars en route through China; Four-year dream makes motorsport history,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on September 15, 1985, marking the start of a rally race from Hong Kong to Beijing – the first event of its kind in the mainland. “The 3,400 km rally […] will see all the dare-devil thrills and spills of top international events,” the story continued. “It will take sharp wits, skill and nerve […] to negotiate the mountains, rivers and roads through the unknown territory... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2162018/how-1985-hong-kong-beijing-rally-made-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2162018/how-1985-hong-kong-beijing-rally-made-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Aug 2018 16:01:53 +0000 After four months in Phnom Penh, Sothy Kum still has more bad days than good. Nights, he says, are especially hard – when the tears come and he feels every bit of the 14,000km (8,700 miles) separating him from his family and the small Wisconsin town he calls home. In Wisconsin, Sothy Kum, 43, has a wife, Lisa, whom he met in 2009. He has a business he shares with her, which was their livelihood, and a house in a cul-de-sac, which is nothing like the one-bedroom flat he sleeps in now in a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2160861/strangers-their-homeland-khmerican-cambodians-trump-deported?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2160861/strangers-their-homeland-khmerican-cambodians-trump-deported?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Aug 2018 19:00:36 +0000 August is usually a busy time of year on South Korean military bases. As commercial and military planes arrive throughout the South carrying United States military personnel by the thousands, barracks fill to the brim and troops spill into nearby hotels. For two weeks, from sunrise to sundown and through the wee hours of the night, the bases typically buzz with the comings and goings of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines all there for the same reason: to practise for the possibility of war... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2161039/fears-suspension-us-south-korea-military-exercises-may?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2161039/fears-suspension-us-south-korea-military-exercises-may?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Aug 2018 15:57:00 +0000 “Ex-U.S. Soldier Crosses Over: Quits China For Home With Wife, Children,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on August 18, 1965, referring to 34-year-old William White, who had been taken prisoner during the Korean war but refused repatriation to the United States when fighting ended, in 1953. “[An African-American] former soldier arrived [in Hong Kong] yesterday en route to the United States after 11 years [in China],” the story continued. “Explaining his decision, [White] said, ‘I was... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2159960/when-american-pow-chose-remain-china-refusing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2159960/when-american-pow-chose-remain-china-refusing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Aug 2018 14:01:58 +0000 On a soccer pitch in a cavernous Hong Kong shopping centre, a group of men lace up their trainers and change into matching jerseys. They get to work stretching, running drills and having a kick-around. Soon their shouts and the smack of soccer balls hitting the walls around the pitch echo past shopfronts and the centre’s last remaining shoppers. Seyed Meeran Naina Marikar, 19, moves quickly across the pitch. He passes a ball back and forth with teammates, winds up for a kick, and watches as the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2159485/homeless-world-cup-soccer-tournament-beacon-hope-hongkongers-troubled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2159485/homeless-world-cup-soccer-tournament-beacon-hope-hongkongers-troubled?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Aug 2018 10:45:27 +0000 “Woman Police Inspector Going to Britain,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on July 11, 1967, the first of many that would chart the rise of the pioneering Helen Lui Che-ying. “Miss Lui Che-ying, Woman Senior Inspector of Police, Hongkong Island, will leave for the United Kingdom today on a four-month visit,” the story continued. “She is the first local woman police officer to be sent to Britain for advanced training.” How Anson Chan became Hong Kong’s first local chief secretary Lui had... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2157940/how-pioneering-policewoman-rose-through-ranks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2157940/how-pioneering-policewoman-rose-through-ranks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Aug 2018 23:17:40 +0000 Nguyen Van Son is accustomed to rising with the sun. When you’re homeless, he says, if the light doesn’t wake you, the heat will. But when the sun comes up over the footbridge Nguyen calls home on a recent morning, the 63-year-old hasn’t slept at all. Instead, he has spent the night breaking apart the makeshift hut where he has slept for the past 15 months in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po district. Nguyen has removed the hut’s canopy of blankets, disassembled its bamboo frame, stripped the sheets... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2157230/homeless-hong-kong-cycle-despair-evicted-street-sleepers-few-places-go?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2157230/homeless-hong-kong-cycle-despair-evicted-street-sleepers-few-places-go?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jul 2018 09:18:09 +0000 On a busy pedestrian street, one recent afternoon in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay shopping district, sprightly Vivian – dressed in a black T-shirt, colourful shorts and bright yellow trainers – scans the crowd for any­one who might lend an ear. The 61-year-old smiles and waves amiably to shoppers. Behind her, fellow demonstrators man a street stand framed by banners announcing their cause. “In Memory of Liu Xiaobo,” their message proclaims in large Chinese characters. “Set Liu Xia free... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2157010/liu-xiaobo-memorial-litmus-test-protest-fatigue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2157010/liu-xiaobo-memorial-litmus-test-protest-fatigue?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jul 2018 05:00:15 +0000 “Seventeen feared dead after bus plunges down ravine on Lantao,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on July 23, 1973. “A dawn search will start today on the blood-spattered Lantao hillside where at least two passengers are still missing after yester­day’s bus disaster in which 15 died,” the story continued. “They are believed to be dead inside the shattered wreckage of the mangled bus which somersaulted 300 ft down a cliff.” Witnesses said they saw the bus speeding downhill “as if out... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2156928/when-17-died-after-bus-plunged-cliff-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2156928/when-17-died-after-bus-plunged-cliff-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jul 2018 23:18:26 +0000 The first time Lo Kam-wing visited Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse, it was 1974 and he wasn’t supposed to be there. Then just 14 years old, Lo and a few schoolmates made their way to the racetrack one day after school to try their luck at getting around the 18-and-over admission policy. Maybe the ticket taker didn’t care. Maybe the policy just wasn’t as strict as they expected. Whatever the case, as soon as the boys were allowed in, they disappeared quickly into the crowd, hoping not to be... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2155438/hooked-hong-kong-horse-racing-men-and-women-who-live-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2155438/hooked-hong-kong-horse-racing-men-and-women-who-live-their?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jul 2018 10:48:45 +0000 In the wake of fatalities involving Uber Technologies and Tesla self-driving vehicles in the US this spring, the future of autonomous transport seems to have hit a bumpy road. But every day in Phoenix, Arizona, 400 people of all ages are using Waymo self-driving minivans to get to and from school, work, the supermarket and anywhere else within a 100-square mile area as part of a pilot programme operated by Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Ordering a Waymo ride is as simple as a few taps on a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2151024/race-self-driving-dominance-alphabets-waymo-still-leads-pack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2151024/race-self-driving-dominance-alphabets-waymo-still-leads-pack?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Jun 2018 23:02:46 +0000 In May, China met Fuli, a foot-tall, plastic robot dog that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide emotional support to its owners, while also requiring care and attention of its own. Something of a cross between Japan’s Paro, the baby harp seal which can ‘coo’ electronically to the elderly, and a Tamagotchi, Fuli is self-mobile and equipped with sensors that enable it to monitor an owner’s biometrics, information the robot then uses to gauge the keeper’s mood and respond... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2150720/asias-lonely-youth-are-turning-machines-companionship-and-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2150720/asias-lonely-youth-are-turning-machines-companionship-and-support?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jun 2018 06:02:31 +0000