https://www.scmp.com/rss/506038/feed Whether you're into Chinese movies on Netflix, sci-fi films, anime or comics, we dive into the world of geek culture from a Chinese perspective. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Yaling Jiang Yaling Jiang When Eric Zhou noticed that many of his female colleagues at his former employer in Beijing were struggling to find love, his solution was not to set them up with his friends, as people usually do. Instead, he started a dating app. “Online dating is the future in China,” said Zhou, founder of Slow and former head of global operations at ByteDance’s viral short video-sharing app TikTok. “The friend circles of young people sharply narrow once they move from college to work. The increase in work... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3126195/why-dating-apps-chinese-characteristics-are-capturing-hearts-gen-z?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3126195/why-dating-apps-chinese-characteristics-are-capturing-hearts-gen-z?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Mar 2021 03:00:19 +0000 Before going viral, Zhaxi Dingzhen was your average Tibetan herder living in China’s southwestern Sichuan province. His typical day was spent tending to his flock and helping out at home. But a 10-second video posted online would quickly change that routine, turning Dingzhen into an online sensation overnight. Soon after the video appeared online on November 11, China’s internet users marvelled at Dingzhen’s rugged good looks and herdsman lifestyle in the highland. Millions tuned in to watch a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/3116603/cultivating-internet-celebrities-rural-governments-answer-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/3116603/cultivating-internet-celebrities-rural-governments-answer-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jan 2021 23:00:14 +0000 Breaking with tradition, Hong Kong’s dominant television broadcaster TVB will ring in the new year by airing a New Year’s Eve event put on by Chinese online video platform Bilibili after the typical fireworks display over Victoria Harbour was cancelled this year. The 4.5-hour-long show touts a star-studded cast that includes piano superstar Lang Lang and Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse. It will also feature live events in Beijing, Wuhan and Taipei, according to a commercial for the event. For... https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3115675/hong-kongs-tvb-broadcast-mainland-streamer-bilibilis-new-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3115675/hong-kongs-tvb-broadcast-mainland-streamer-bilibilis-new-years?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 23:45:12 +0000 This has been a year of many unexpected events, with a pandemic that has turned lives upside down while also helping to enrich vocabularies – and not just with terms related to epidemiology. The effect in China can be seen in the annual list of hot new internet buzzwords from the country’s search giant Baidu, giving a glimpse into people’s everyday struggles in 2020. Similar to year-end lists from Google Trends, the Baidu Buzz List compiles popular search terms from different categories. This... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3114041/flexible-work-and-715-baidus-top-2020-buzzwords-reveal-gruelling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3114041/flexible-work-and-715-baidus-top-2020-buzzwords-reveal-gruelling?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Dec 2020 22:15:10 +0000 Amid rising economic tensions with the US and a variety of political flashpoints across the globe, Chinese diplomacy has taken an aggressive turn in the past year. “Wolf Warrior” diplomats, named after a popular series of testosterone-fuelled patriotic action flicks, have waged a public war of words on social media such as Twitter, on topics ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to alleged crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. And those wanting to emulate this tough approach now have help... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3112103/want-be-chinese-diplomat-developers-have-program-emulates-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3112103/want-be-chinese-diplomat-developers-have-program-emulates-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:15:10 +0000 For several years now, online audiences around the world have been forced to get used to the idea of periodic price increases – except in China. Now Chinese video streaming platforms are raising subscription prices for the first time, and netizens are not happy about it. China’s two largest streaming services recently announced moves to increase prices as people have come to rely on online entertainment more than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic. Baidu-owned iQiyi, sometimes dubbed China’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3110071/iqiyi-and-tencent-video-raise-streaming-prices-first-time-some-users?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3110071/iqiyi-and-tencent-video-raise-streaming-prices-first-time-some-users?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:35:15 +0000 A new animated film co-produced by a Chinese studio that tells the story of a Chinese goddess seems like the perfect recipe for becoming a hit in China. That did not happen, and now Over the Moon is drawing comparisons to Walt Disney Studios’ live-action Mulan remake as a film trying hard to impress Chinese audiences and falling short. Reviews have been much kinder to Over the Moon, though, which was released globally on Netflix on October 23 and got a theatrical release in China on the same... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3109589/netflixs-over-moon-praised-china-bigger-box-office-bomb-disneys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3109589/netflixs-over-moon-praised-china-bigger-box-office-bomb-disneys?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Nov 2020 03:00:08 +0000 “So awkward I’m physically uncomfortable after seeing it.” A new talent show featuring virtual idols is drawing mixed reactions as people complain about technical glitches and uninspired characters. The “physically uncomfortable” viewer is just one of many people leaving negative reviews for Dimension Nova on Chinese review site Douban. The new show comes courtesy of iQiyi, one of China’s biggest video streaming platforms. It pits 30 digital anime avatars against each other in front of three... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3107625/30-virtual-idols-are-facing-talent-show-iqiyi-viewers-complain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3107625/30-virtual-idols-are-facing-talent-show-iqiyi-viewers-complain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Oct 2020 23:00:17 +0000 Addiction is an age old problem, but having trouble peeling yourself away from your smartphone is a uniquely 21st century headache. And it turns out that just how badly a person is hooked on their mobile devices could be related to sex, income and education. Male Beijingers are more prone to suffering from mobile phone addiction than females, according to the latest issue of the Blue Book of Beijing Social Mentality, an annual study published by the Social Sciences Academic Press (China). Phone... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3106092/smartphone-addiction-more-prevalent-among-men-and-parents-many?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3106092/smartphone-addiction-more-prevalent-among-men-and-parents-many?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2020 14:30:17 +0000 When Disney’s new live-action Mulan was released in September, audiences in China were not kind. The film was swiftly slammed online, with people saying it misrepresented Chinese culture and some comparing it to Western Chinese food. Now a new Chinese-made animated film about Mulan is trying to rectify that. Kung Fu Mulan is being billed as featuring “real China, real Mulan”, as a poster for the film reads. Unfortunately for the studio behind it, the film turned into an even bigger flop than the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3104700/chinas-own-kung-fu-mulan-takes-disney-and-becomes-another-2020-flop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3104700/chinas-own-kung-fu-mulan-takes-disney-and-becomes-another-2020-flop?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2020 03:05:17 +0000 If you have been waiting to pick up Huawei’s latest foldable phone for a good price, now might be the time to strike. Several Mate Xs devices are popping up on second-hand markets, and Tencent might be to blame – although the company likely did not intend it. On Wednesday, Tencent Holdings reportedly gave the phones out as a generous reward to 10,000 employees working in its Platform and Content Group (PCG). Not long after, listings for the phones started showing up online with descriptions... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3103813/huawei-mate-xs-foldable-smartphones-gifted-tencent-employees-turn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3103813/huawei-mate-xs-foldable-smartphones-gifted-tencent-employees-turn?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Oct 2020 21:00:12 +0000 China generates the most plastic waste in the world. But at least one city is taking a dramatic step to help the fight against single-use packaging. Shanghai recently unveiled an ambitious plan to have no plastic in landfills by 2022. New regulations from the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission and other municipal departments aim to reduce waste from e-commerce packaging. The city’s post offices are tasked with reducing the use of non-biodegradable plastics in express delivery, with plans... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3103632/plastic-waste-e-commerce-packaging-big-problem-china-so-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3103632/plastic-waste-e-commerce-packaging-big-problem-china-so-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Oct 2020 02:45:14 +0000 September 30 is one of the worst days in China to try to hail a taxi. This is the day before the country’s week-long national holiday begins. But ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing says that it has a solution: 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million) in subsidies to motivate drivers to pick up more passengers. The national holiday is the second biggest annual holiday in China after Lunar New Year, making it one of the country’s busiest tourist seasons. Last year, people took 782 million domestic trips... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3103496/didi-chuxing-hopes-ride-hailing-subsidies-will-make-it-little-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3103496/didi-chuxing-hopes-ride-hailing-subsidies-will-make-it-little-better?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:00:11 +0000 “Where do babies come from?” can be one of the most vexing but important questions that a child can ask. One teacher in China reportedly volunteered to give an answer to her primary school class, but not everyone appreciated the candour. One parent ranted online about the sex education lesson, and it kicked off a viral debate on social media. The complaint was captured by the Chinese television channel Hubei Jinshi. “My daughter came home and told me that her class teacher taught them about the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3102832/teacher-explains-pregnancy-kids-china-and-viral-online-debate-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3102832/teacher-explains-pregnancy-kids-china-and-viral-online-debate-about?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2020 00:35:13 +0000 An investigation by Facebook and a partner analytics firm has detailed how a network of social accounts from China tried to interfere with online political debate on hot-button topics ranging from the South China Sea to US politics. Internet experts said the findings indicate an increasingly forthright attempt by Beijing to shape global discussion on the country’s policies and its relations with others, regardless of whether these tactics actually work. “China’s propaganda campaigns conducted... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3102672/how-chinese-network-fake-facebook-accounts-influenced-online-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3102672/how-chinese-network-fake-facebook-accounts-influenced-online-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2020 10:30:11 +0000 Surfing the internet used to be simple: we got online using either a computer or smartphone. But the arrival of smartwatches, smart speakers and countless other new gadgets in the Internet of Things has made users more connected than ever. And now that is threatening to widen the digital divide between China’s children in urban and rural areas. More than 99 per cent of the country’s population under 18 now has access to the internet, according to an annual study by the Chinese Academy of Social... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3102524/smartphones-bridged-digital-divide-chinas-urban-and-rural-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3102524/smartphones-bridged-digital-divide-chinas-urban-and-rural-children?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2020 03:05:14 +0000 When Disney’s animated musical Mulan was released in China in early 1999, nine months had passed since its international debut. Pirated copies of the film were widely available on disc by that point, and the film famously flopped in the country. Now, it looks like history might be repeating itself. Disney’s live-action remake of the film, also titled Mulan, was the most pirated movie in the world during its first weekend online, according to data from iknowwhatyoudownload.com. The film was put... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3101525/piracy-hurt-disneys-mulan-china-1999-and-it-appears-be-happening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3101525/piracy-hurt-disneys-mulan-china-1999-and-it-appears-be-happening?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2020 17:00:10 +0000 Jack Ma might be retired from his role as Alibaba’s executive chairman, but that doesn’t mean he’s moving away from the limelight. On Wednesday night, the billionaire founder of Alibaba appeared as a surprise guest in a live-streaming session featuring Chinese pop diva Faye Wong. The 51-year-old superstar, famous for her breathy voice, is a household name in Chinese communities across the globe. In the West, she’s best known for starring in the cult classic film Chungking Express, from Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3101019/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-joins-canto-pop-queen-faye-wong-live?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3101019/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-joins-canto-pop-queen-faye-wong-live?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:50:10 +0000 Ever since Hong Kong adopted a national security law passed by Beijing on July 1, most social platforms in mainland China have been awash in articles and comments praising the arrests of political activists. But on one widely-used book review site, a publication detailing the new legislation was swamped with bad reviews before the rating function was removed altogether. An archived page from Douban shows that the book, published by the state-owned China Legal Publishing House, had a score of 2.5... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3100813/chinas-popular-review-site-douban-hides-reviews-book-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3100813/chinas-popular-review-site-douban-hides-reviews-book-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Sep 2020 03:05:18 +0000 Mulan has pulled out all the stops to attract a Chinese audience. The movie that adapts a local legend has an all-star cast with multiple household names in China. This stirred up a lot of excitement in China, but now that reviews are coming in, it looks like that early goodwill is dying. “It’s like that feeling when you go to a Western Chinese restaurant and have a pretty weird Chinese meal,” one user said of the new Mulan on Q&A site Zhihu. Mulan is the latest live-action remake from Disney,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3100528/disneys-mulan-hit-bad-reviews-china-pirated-copies-circulate-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3100528/disneys-mulan-hit-bad-reviews-china-pirated-copies-circulate-online?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2020 17:30:10 +0000 E-commerce is giving money laundering a modern makeover. Empty packages from China showing up on doorsteps are often linked to unscrupulous online sellers trying to boost sales numbers in what’s called a brushing scheme. But investigators in China say these mysterious packages are also being used for more nefarious purposes. Police in the city of Wuxi, northwest of Shanghai, recently busted an operation that used a so-called empty package scheme to launder illegal cross-border gambling money,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3100107/e-commerce-schemes-involving-empty-boxes-qr-codes-and-fake-tracking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3100107/e-commerce-schemes-involving-empty-boxes-qr-codes-and-fake-tracking?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2020 03:05:06 +0000 In most of the world, Disney’s Mulan is skipping cinemas and heading straight to the Disney+ streaming platform. But in China, the film is finally getting a theatrical debut on September 11 after months of delays. The remake of Disney’s beloved 1998 animated film, featuring a Chinese warrior woman, is the first live-action epic from the House of Mouse starring a Chinese actress in the lead role. The story is based on ancient Chinese folklore, but many people in the country lamented the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3099913/disneys-live-action-mulan-finally-debuts-chinese-cinemas-september?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3099913/disneys-live-action-mulan-finally-debuts-chinese-cinemas-september?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2020 12:20:11 +0000 China’s most famous science fiction novel has been praised by the likes of former US President Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. But Chinese readers are still worried that a new adaptation announced by Netflix could be modified to better fit Western tastes. Netflix said on Tuesday that it’s bringing an English-language adaptation of The Three-Body Problem to its streaming platform. The production team includes David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the co-creators of HBO’s widely popular... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3099856/netflix-adaptation-liu-cixins-three-body-problem-faces-skepticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3099856/netflix-adaptation-liu-cixins-three-body-problem-faces-skepticism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2020 08:05:15 +0000 Li Ming first moved to Shenzhen in 2013, just as streaming services were becoming more popular in China. But Li thought using streaming as her sole source of TV would be troublesome. So just as she had in Guangzhou, Li signed up for a local cable service – a more popular option in the affordable urban village where she lived. Seven years later, things are very different. And not just in Shenzhen. “Who uses cable TV now?” Li said. “Now everyone likes streaming. Even my grandma can use... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3097676/cord-cutting-was-already-norm-china-when-coronavirus-hit-people-turn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3097676/cord-cutting-was-already-norm-china-when-coronavirus-hit-people-turn?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2020 03:20:06 +0000 When the novel coronavirus first struck China, government efforts to control online discussions were mostly focused on domestic politics. But as the pandemic spread across the globe, US-related topics have borne the brunt of WeChat’s censorship, a new study found. WeChat, the app that does everything Between January and May, researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab found that the Chinese app blocked more than 2,000 keywords related to Covid-19. Tencent, the owner of WeChat, did not... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3099227/chinas-wechat-censored-thousands-keywords-tied-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3099227/chinas-wechat-censored-thousands-keywords-tied-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:35:05 +0000 How can China replicate the broad success of last year’s The Wandering Earth, the country’s first major science fiction film that became a breakout hit? That’s the question that Chinese film authorities are grappling with as they push the domestic film industry to produce more sci-fi blockbusters. The China Film Administration and the China Association for Science and Technology recently published a list of 10 guidelines specifically targeting the development of Chinese sci-fi films. It covers a... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3098717/chinas-authorities-have-new-ideas-science-fiction-films-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3098717/chinas-authorities-have-new-ideas-science-fiction-films-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Aug 2020 04:05:09 +0000 DJI is the most popular drone brand in the world, with over 70 per cent of the market last year. But in India, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to fly drones made by the Chinese giant. Starting this month, Indian authorities have opened more than two-thirds of the country’s land to consumer drones. This finally gives India’s drone enthusiasts a way to legally fly in a large swath of the country after an abrupt ban on consumer drones in 2014. But not all drones are equal in the eyes of Indian... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3098176/india-opens-more-its-sky-consumer-drones-most-chinas-dji-dont?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3098176/india-opens-more-its-sky-consumer-drones-most-chinas-dji-dont?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Aug 2020 04:35:11 +0000 When Marvel Studios was adapting super hero Doctor Strange for the big screen, dedicated fans noticed a conspicuous change: the Ancient One would be a Celtic character played by Tilda Swinton. This was a departure from the character’s Tibetan roots in the comics, and his home of Kamar-Taj was moved from the Himalayan Mountains to Kathmandu. Many people believed the change was a political decision from the Disney-owned studio to avoid angering China. This has become common practice in Hollywood,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3096475/hollywood-being-called-out-appeasing-chinese-censors-state-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3096475/hollywood-being-called-out-appeasing-chinese-censors-state-media?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2020 03:45:08 +0000 Tony Wakim and Layne Stein had no idea that their Disney-inspired music videos were racking up millions of views in China until they were told by a friend. The duo has been performing and producing content for YouTube for years. But thanks to bootleggers, they were also unknowingly building a fan base on Bilibili, a popular Chinese video platform they had never heard of. “They sent us the link and we took a look and went: ‘Oh my gosh, that's crazy,’” Stein said. Soon after this revelation, the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3096294/youtube-stars-are-flocking-chinese-counterpart-bilibili-once-known?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3096294/youtube-stars-are-flocking-chinese-counterpart-bilibili-once-known?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2020 03:45:07 +0000 Beijing has imprisoned 42 people involved in a debt collecting operation for cyber harassment. The main defendant in the case, convicted last week along with his associates, founded a number of companies specialising in debt recovery. With the help of some 300 employees and various technologies, they harassed and threatened more than 700 people since 2015, according to a court in Beijing’s Changping district. The victims received recurrent robocalls made through apps known locally as “Husini”,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3095828/42-cyberbullying-debt-collectors-sentenced-seven-years-prison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3095828/42-cyberbullying-debt-collectors-sentenced-seven-years-prison?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2020 10:43:19 +0000 A new rule on pets in China’s southern tech hub has touched a nerve among some citizens worried about increasing surveillance. But others say the change is welcome and has been long-awaited. Shenzhen, home to tech behemoths like Tencent and Huawei, recently announced that all registered dogs must be microchipped by the end of the year. The implantation process involves inserting an identification chip, the size of a grain of rice, under the skin – usually on the back of the neck. It can be... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3095144/dog-owners-chinas-tech-hub-shenzhen-need-microchip-their-pets-2020?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3095144/dog-owners-chinas-tech-hub-shenzhen-need-microchip-their-pets-2020?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jul 2020 11:15:08 +0000 For the past few years, the food delivery battle in China has been represented by two colours: yellow for Meituan Dianping and blue for Alibaba-owned Ele.me. On any given day in Shanghai or Beijing, drivers from rival brands can be seen wearing uniforms consisting mostly of their respective employer’s colours while roaming the streets on scooters painted in the same hue. (Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.) Recently, though, a new image contest has emerged – and this time it’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3095004/meituan-and-eleme-battle-attention-streets-china-kangaroo-ears-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3095004/meituan-and-eleme-battle-attention-streets-china-kangaroo-ears-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jul 2020 03:15:08 +0000 Although the worst of the Covid-19 breakout in China has subsided, Catherine Zheng still remembers how fearful it made her. She dreaded taking Shanghai’s crowded metro into work. Her colleagues stopped drinking water at work just so they wouldn’t have to use the toilet. And she was also anxious about her parents’ health and possible financial insecurity if she fell ill. The toll of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be widely measured by the disease’s climbing fatalities. But it’s also taken a... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3094407/covid-19-news-wechat-and-weibo-stressing-out-chinese-netizens-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3094407/covid-19-news-wechat-and-weibo-stressing-out-chinese-netizens-study?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jul 2020 03:15:05 +0000 When a new album from Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu swept through the US iTunes chart back in 2018, some suspected foul play when it started topping big names like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. Soon after, posts from Wu’s dedicated fan base on Weibo emerged showing step-by-step instructions on how to boost the artist’s albums on various music platforms, including Apple’s. Now Weibo wants to put an end to this kind of avid, coordinated action from fans on social media. The microblogging site... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3093941/weibo-trying-put-stop-chinas-extreme-celebrity-fan-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3093941/weibo-trying-put-stop-chinas-extreme-celebrity-fan-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jul 2020 14:13:46 +0000 After being closed for half a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, China’s cinemas are finally reopening. The nation’s moviegoers are overjoyed despite the fact that they’ll mostly just be able to watch films that first released years ago. Among the anticipated re-releases are all eight Harry Potter films. Theatres in Shanghai will be showing the films remastered in 4K for the Shanghai International Film Festival, which starts July 25. Each instalment is getting two showings, but it seems... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3093945/harry-potter-4k-remaster-hits-shanghai-film-festival-cinemas-reopen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3093945/harry-potter-4k-remaster-hits-shanghai-film-festival-cinemas-reopen?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jul 2020 12:36:41 +0000 I met Raine on Sunday afternoon. She was practising her dance moves for an online video in Hong Kong’s busy Tamar Park. Two of Raine’s friends stood by, while another recorded the video. In the past, this video might have wound up on TikTok. The short video app remains a popular destination for goofy skits, lip-synching and dance routines. It’s become widely known for its appeal to teenagers, but TikTok also became a surprising hit among domestic helpers in Hong Kong. “It’s easy to use, you can... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3092985/tiktok-was-stress-reliever-hong-kongs-domestic-helpers-now-its-gone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3092985/tiktok-was-stress-reliever-hong-kongs-domestic-helpers-now-its-gone?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jul 2020 21:00:15 +0000 Living without Facebook, Instagram and YouTube is a mundane reality in mainland China. But those apps are beloved in Hong Kong, used by millions in the city. The tech titans behind these platforms, as well as the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn owner Microsoft, have all suspended requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities as they assess the implication of a new security law. The rules imposed by Beijing require internet firms to censor online content or surrender their equipment as the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3092364/facebook-and-google-banned-china-enjoy-unrivalled-popularity-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3092364/facebook-and-google-banned-china-enjoy-unrivalled-popularity-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jul 2020 21:00:22 +0000 Sam Wong remembers exactly when he deleted his Facebook account. An hour before the clock struck midnight on July 1, Hong Kong officially adopted a new national security law imposed by Beijing. Like many others living in the city, Wong only learned about the full details of the sweeping legislation after it was signed into law. By the time it came into force, he decided that the moment had come for him to quit the social media platform. The social service manager in his early 30s, who spoke... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3092012/hongkongers-spooked-beijings-new-national-security-law-are-scrubbing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3092012/hongkongers-spooked-beijings-new-national-security-law-are-scrubbing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 09:15:16 +0000 It’s not every day that a tech titan falls for a million-dollar scam. But Tencent is now taking the embarrassing episode in stride, making fun of itself on social media after being tricked by a group of fraudsters posing as the maker of China’s beloved chilli sauce, Lao Gan Ma. “I’m the silly penguin who ate fake chilli sauce,” wrote Tencent, which uses the flightless bird as the company mascot, in a tongue-in-cheek Weibo post on Wednesday evening. It includes a video mocking the incident, along... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3091497/how-three-fraudsters-duped-tencent-hijacking-name-chinas-beloved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3091497/how-three-fraudsters-duped-tencent-hijacking-name-chinas-beloved?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2020 08:14:37 +0000 Shining Star is a South Korean animated series that follows the trials and tribulations of magical girls trying to realize their dream to become pop idols. They make friends, participate in competitions and sing about ice cream in saccharine voices. But another striking characteristic is causing some controversy in China: Colorful hair. The show was suspended from a Chinese television station after complaints about the characters’ vibrant hair colors, local media reported Tuesday. The show was... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3091204/colorful-hair-gets-south-korean-cartoon-removed-chinese-tv-station?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3091204/colorful-hair-gets-south-korean-cartoon-removed-chinese-tv-station?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 21:00:15 +0000 A mood of defiance and apprehension has descended upon Hong Kong’s outspoken netizens a day before Beijing’s sweeping national security law for the city is set to go into effect. On Tuesday, China’s top law-making authority approved the legislation, which prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces that endanger national security. The new law has stoked fears of increased censorship and surveillance in a city that has long enjoyed freedom of speech. On... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3091193/defiance-and-unease-hong-kongs-internet-national-security-law-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3091193/defiance-and-unease-hong-kongs-internet-national-security-law-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 09:17:25 +0000 “Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!” That’s the battle call of China’s “King of Lipstick,” Li Jiaqi, the live streaming beauty product salesman who once sold 15,000 tubes of lipstick in just five minutes. Li is one of a rising number of people hawking products on China’s e-commerce and live streaming platforms. Part salesperson and part influencer, they push everything from Louis Vuitton bags to home-grown oranges. And millions are tuning in to watch. The trend hasn’t quite caught on in other parts of the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3090201/live-streaming-e-commerce-booming-china-after-covid-19-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3090201/live-streaming-e-commerce-booming-china-after-covid-19-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2020 21:00:15 +0000 To any native Chinese person of a certain age, the tune is unmistakable. “The snowflakes are fluttering and the north wind is blowing,” serenades iconic Taiwanese crooner Fei Yu-ching in his 1983 classic, Yi Jian Mei. The melancholic love song compares the singer’s undying love to a blossoming plum tree in the middle of winter. It’s also an apt metaphor for the song that has found a second life in the unlikeliest of circumstances nearly four decades later, shooting to the top of music charts… in... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3089256/how-hit-chinese-song-80s-became-global-meme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3089256/how-hit-chinese-song-80s-became-global-meme?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:54:23 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS If I ask you to picture a clubhouse in an apartment building, a plain room with a few chairs might come to mind. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll picture a gym or swimming pool. But in Hong Kong, the world’s most expensive housing market, residential clubhouses are nothing but ordinary. In a city where the average family needs to save for more than 20 years to afford a home, property developers are resorting to various high-tech gimmicks to entice buyers... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3088517/included-your-next-apartment-vr-pods-and-esports-arenas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3088517/included-your-next-apartment-vr-pods-and-esports-arenas?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jun 2020 00:00:12 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS The story of China’s economic success has often been told through rags-to-riches tales about famous tycoons and tech billionaires. Now as hundreds of millions of Chinese people try to weather a shrinking economy shocked by the coronavirus pandemic, some are hoping to find a small fortune in a humble place: Roadside market stalls. Chatter about street hawking has soared online after encouragement from the Chinese premier, who saw it as a new source of... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3088267/trending-chinas-tiktok-how-be-successful-street-vendor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3088267/trending-chinas-tiktok-how-be-successful-street-vendor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jun 2020 13:31:48 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS For many TV critics, the new Netflix comedy Space Force isn’t all that comedic. But in China, where Netflix is unavailable, many people are finding ways to watch the show -- and they find it entertaining. Or at least they do when they’re not being offended by it. (Beware: Space Force spoilers ahead.) Space Force was created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels, former showrunner for the hit sitcom The Office. Carell plays General Mark Naird, a character... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3088260/panned-critics-netflixs-space-force-finds-happy-audience-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3088260/panned-critics-netflixs-space-force-finds-happy-audience-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jun 2020 13:05:58 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS As developers across the globe await the start of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, a group of young programmers will soon find out which of them won the tech giant’s first coding competition for kids. The Swift Student Challenge is a virtual competition designed to help kids learn how to code using Apple’s five-year-old Swift programming language. The competition is based around Swift Playgrounds, an educational app introduced in 2016... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3087951/12-year-old-programmer-hong-kong-tackles-apples-first-student-coding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3087951/12-year-old-programmer-hong-kong-tackles-apples-first-student-coding?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jun 2020 00:00:22 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Every day since early February, many Weibo users have continued to visit the profile page for Chinese doctor Li Wenliang. His death from Covid-19 saw widespread condemnation of the government’s handling of the pandemic on social media. In remembrance of Li, users routinely show up in the comment section of his last Weibo post to greet him good morning and good night and even tell him about the day’s weather. But on June 4, some users showed up to... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3087608/coronavirus-doctors-last-social-media-post-draws-commemorations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3087608/coronavirus-doctors-last-social-media-post-draws-commemorations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:17:08 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS “From its first day, DingTalk has been an iron thorn whip. It turns employees into instruments, it’s a tool of enslavement.” Based on these harsh words alone, you might think DingTalk is a medieval torture device deployed by corporations to punish employees for missing deadlines. But this is actually one of many negative comments left on a local forum describing one of China’s most widely used work communication platforms. It’s used the same way in the... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3086778/dingtalk-chinas-answer-slack-and-stuff-office-nightmares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3086778/dingtalk-chinas-answer-slack-and-stuff-office-nightmares?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2020 15:05:57 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Work collaboration and note-taking app Notion is no longer accessible in China, according to its San Francisco-based owner. “Notion is blocked by a firewall in China. We are monitoring the situation and will continue to post updates,” the company said in a tweet posted Sunday evening local time. Notion’s app lets anyone from individual users to entire workplaces and classrooms organize digital documents, take notes, set up to-do lists and team up with... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3085953/us-work-collaboration-app-notion-blocked-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3085953/us-work-collaboration-app-notion-blocked-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 May 2020 09:18:40 +0000