https://www.scmp.com/rss/330596/feed Francine is Senior Production Editor at SCMP's Asia desk and lead of the Lunar project. She has worked at newsrooms in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. She has won individual and team awards at the HK News Awards, Wan-Ifra Digital Media Asia Awards and the Canon/Voyager Media Awards. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When May Tan was tapped by her then-employer, British investment bank Cazenove, to relocate from England to work in Hong Kong in 1984, she was not thrilled. The firm had its eye on gaining a foothold in Asia and offered Tan, a Malaysia-born chartered accountant, a secondment in the city to do equity research. Hong Kong’s economy then was in turmoil, ahead of the 1997 handover from Britain to Beijing. Tan, who had never been to the city, described the situation as “chaotic”. “Deng Xiaoping and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3214493/lunar-malaysias-may-tan-looks-back-trailblazing-banking-career-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3214493/lunar-malaysias-may-tan-looks-back-trailblazing-banking-career-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Mar 2023 08:30:16 +0000 For a politician who repeatedly said she had no ambitions for New Zealand’s top job, Jacinda Ardern left office this week having forged her own path as a woman leader at the highest level of power. Throughout her almost six years as prime minister, Ardern demonstrated a fresh brand of leadership that prioritised being authentic, decisive and empathetic – qualities that were on full display as she dealt with a range of unprecedented crises, including a global pandemic, a volcanic eruption and a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3208045/jacinda-ardern-wasnt-perfect-she-blazed-trail-women-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3208045/jacinda-ardern-wasnt-perfect-she-blazed-trail-women-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jan 2023 00:00:15 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206123/christmas-box-filled-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206123/christmas-box-filled-love?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 10:06:50 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3175987/will-elon-musks-twitter-be-unsafe-place-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3175987/will-elon-musks-twitter-be-unsafe-place-women?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Apr 2022 08:09:45 +0000 As much of the Asia-Pacific spent 2021 in degrees of lockdown, people quit their jobs for their well-being, climate policies made headlines, a K-drama idol was cancelled (and then un-cancelled), and a politician apologised for cursing at China. Here’s a look at some of the year’s most memorable stories. Oh no, they didn’t Historical differences between South Korea and China came to the fore early this year when an online dispute erupted over the late poet Yun Dong-joo, who was born in Mingdong,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3161158/year-asia-philippine-f-bomb-china-vaccines-kim-seon-ho-cancelled-wang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3161158/year-asia-philippine-f-bomb-china-vaccines-kim-seon-ho-cancelled-wang?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Dec 2021 03:30:19 +0000 New Zealand’s government is facing growing calls from public health experts to enact a short, sharp “circuit breaker” lockdown, a week after it shifted away from its much-vaunted coronavirus elimination strategy. The nation of 5 million was largely virus-free until mid-August, when an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant centred on the largest city of Auckland began, leading to 1,855 new cases, of which 665 were active in the community as of Saturday. Just 62 per cent of the eligible... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3152556/coronavirus-new-zealand-faces-growing-calls-circuit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3152556/coronavirus-new-zealand-faces-growing-calls-circuit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Oct 2021 21:00:25 +0000 New Zealand is set to phase out lower-skilled migrants and lure wealthy investors in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s administration has billed as a “once-in-a-generation reset” of its immigration system. Ardern on Tuesday said reliance on a temporary workforce had doubled in the last 10 years to 200,000, and this had not only suppressed wages in some sectors, but also put pressure on infrastructure and pushed up the costs of living, including for housing. “We’ve long pointed to the fact a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3133860/new-zealand-seeks-rich-investors-high-skilled-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3133860/new-zealand-seeks-rich-investors-high-skilled-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 03:38:56 +0000 It wasn’t so long ago that New Zealand officially did away with a law designed to exclude the ethnic Chinese community. The government in 1944 axed the Chinese Immigration Act, a measure established in 1881 at the height of anti-Chinese sentiment that saw restrictions including a poll tax of £10 – later raised to £100 (worth about US$14,000 today) – levelled on ethnic Chinese entering New Zealand. They were also denied naturalisation rights and kept out of welfare or pension schemes, among other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3127249/new-zealand-chinese-global-rise-anti-asian-hate-painful-reminder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3127249/new-zealand-chinese-global-rise-anti-asian-hate-painful-reminder?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Mar 2021 20:30:11 +0000 While it’s no surprise the coronavirus pandemic dominated attention this year, readers also kept an eye on China’s geopolitical activities and how Asia-Pacific countries sought to balance their ties with Beijing. Tensions spiked in many places, with Australia-China ties at their lowest in years, Indian and Chinese troops locked in a months-long border stand-off, and Manila saying it would call Washington for help if Beijing continued pushing its claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Tokyo... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3114084/china-australia-tensions-lee-kuan-yews-warning-japanese-sex-pest-asias?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3114084/china-australia-tensions-lee-kuan-yews-warning-japanese-sex-pest-asias?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Dec 2020 04:30:13 +0000 Barring a massive upset, New Zealanders will return Jacinda Ardern as prime minister by a wide margin when they vote in parliamentary elections this weekend. Buoyed by widespread praise of her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Ardern has led the polls by double digits for months – putting her centre-left Labour Party within reach of a rare outright majority in the country’s unicameral parliament. For most Chinese-New Zealanders though, Ardern, a self-described progressive who became the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3104678/jacinda-ardern-soars-new-zealand-elections-ethnic-chinese-voters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3104678/jacinda-ardern-soars-new-zealand-elections-ethnic-chinese-voters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Oct 2020 21:00:06 +0000 When IT worker Leslie Pascua arrived in New Zealand in February for a new job, she was looking forward to building a new life with her partner and son. The Filipino test analyst began working at an Auckland firm on February 15, but as the coronavirus crisis drove away the company’s clients, she found herself “on the bench”. By April 3, her worst fears were confirmed. “Unfortunately, my timing coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in my company’s decision to make me redundant,” said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3084666/coronavirus-migrant-groups-warn-humanitarian-crisis-new-zealand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3084666/coronavirus-migrant-groups-warn-humanitarian-crisis-new-zealand?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2020 02:15:07 +0000 New Zealanders on Thursday awoke to an unprecedented lockdown a day after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, as the number of cases surged to 262. During the four-week lockdown, only essential services – including banks, supermarkets and pharmacies – will open. People have been warned to stay at home as much as possible, and although they are allowed to go out for essential reasons, they must maintain a distance of two metres from another... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3077043/new-zealand-begins-coronavirus-lockdown-concerns-mount?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3077043/new-zealand-begins-coronavirus-lockdown-concerns-mount?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2020 03:54:13 +0000 As Christchurch comes to terms with the terror attack at two mosques that claimed 50 lives, Malaysians in New Zealand are still shocked and traumatised. Three Malaysians are among the dozens of people wounded and a teenager from the Southeast Asian nation is still missing, according to the latest update from its foreign ministry. As New Zealand grieves over the Christchurch terrorist attack, it must come to terms with how hatred was able to take root Rahimi Ahmad, a 39-year-old father of two,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3002220/traumatised-and-paranoid-malaysians-new-zealand-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3002220/traumatised-and-paranoid-malaysians-new-zealand-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Mar 2019 12:42:04 +0000 A young man from mainland China has been charged in Manila with “acts of lasciviousness” after three girls accused him of groping them inside a horror house at a Pasay City theme park last week. Zhang Yang, 19, one of the estimated thousands of men shipped in to the Philippines to work in the booming online gaming industry, was investigated by police and found to have approached the teens and touched their private parts, the Philippine News Agency reported. A police statement revealed the case... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2186079/chinese-man-accused-groping-three-girls-philippine-theme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2186079/chinese-man-accused-groping-three-girls-philippine-theme?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Feb 2019 03:15:30 +0000 Whether you’re gathering with relatives, feasting on Lunar New Year delicacies or plain taking a break during this festive season, here are 10 of our most popular This Week In Asia features to enjoy or revisit over the new few days. Muslim teen Rahaf Mohammed is safe in Canada. What if she were Malaysian or Indonesian? While Muslim-born atheists face prison and re-education in Malaysia, in Indonesia non-believers risk being charged with blasphemy – and despite growing calls for compassion,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2185084/destructive-durians-passports-sale-koreas-natural-extinction-here?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2185084/destructive-durians-passports-sale-koreas-natural-extinction-here?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Feb 2019 11:00:45 +0000