https://www.scmp.com/rss/512753/feed Nick Yang is an undergraduate student at Hong Kong Baptist University, and currently a summer intern at the Post. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Top leaders and experts in China gather every summer at the seaside resort of Beidaihe. Mao Zedong started the summer retreat tradition of meetings as early as 1953. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping has weakened the political importance of the annual retreat since taking over. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3273601/where-chinas-top-leaders-discreetly-go-summer-brief-history-beidaihe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3273601/where-chinas-top-leaders-discreetly-go-summer-brief-history-beidaihe?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2024 02:00:12 +0000 China has introduced a new health declaration form for those entering or leaving the country, but the authorities have stressed that the country’s strict border controls will remain in place. The country also remains committed to its zero-Covid policy even as the rest of the world finds ways to live with the virus, but has signalled it wants to make travel easier for some groups. Here is how things stand at present. Is it easier to enter China than before? The customs administration said the new... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3190393/coronavirus-china-has-new-entry-rules-are-they-making-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3190393/coronavirus-china-has-new-entry-rules-are-they-making-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2022 06:00:25 +0000 Heavy rain fell in parts of the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Wednesday offering temporary relief from a persistent drought that has led to power cuts and threatened food supplies. Central and northern parts of the province have experienced heavy rain that hit cities including Guangyuan, Mianyang, and the provincial capital Chengdu, forcing 30,000 residents to be evacuated overnight. China to burn more coal as heatwave, drought threaten power supply Sichuan’s meteorological station... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3190179/rain-brings-some-relief-drought-hit-parts-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3190179/rain-brings-some-relief-drought-hit-parts-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Aug 2022 13:30:18 +0000 Extreme heat in China’s southwestern Chongqing municipality has left the city parched and several mountains ablaze. At least four districts have reported fires since Thursday, forcing 1,500 people from 540 households to be evacuated. The latest blaze broke out in Banan district on Sunday, while another in Jiangjin district that had been burning since Thursday was not put out until Monday morning. “That’s terrible. When I wake up, my home is full of soot,” said a Weibo user who said they lived... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3189751/fires-blaze-southwest-china-extreme-heat-scorches-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3189751/fires-blaze-southwest-china-extreme-heat-scorches-region?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Aug 2022 08:28:19 +0000 Disaster relief departments in China’s northwestern province of Qinghai were urged to step up the search for survivors after a flash flood in rural areas of the capital killed at least 18 people, with 13 others reported missing. The flood hit Datong county in the provincial capital Xining in the early hours of Thursday morning, following torrential rains overnight. More than 6,000 people across six villages were “affected”, according to the local government, which issued a level 2 alarm – the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3189496/china-steps-search-missing-after-flash-flood-kills-17-leaves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3189496/china-steps-search-missing-after-flash-flood-kills-17-leaves?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Aug 2022 08:26:53 +0000 At least 17 people have died and another 17 are missing after a flash flood in China’s northwestern province of Qinghai, the local government said on Thursday. The disaster occurred early on Thursday morning in Datong county of the provincial capital Xining, the province’s emergency office said in a brief statement. It said the office had issued a level 2 alarm over the disaster, without giving further details. China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with level 1 being... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3189304/flash-flood-hits-northwestern-china-leaving-4-dead-and-dozens-missing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3189304/flash-flood-hits-northwestern-china-leaving-4-dead-and-dozens-missing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Aug 2022 04:04:45 +0000 Close to 20 per cent of the 150,000 travellers left stranded by a growing Covid-19 outbreak in China’s southern Hainan province have flown home, local authorities said. However, frequent flight cancellations, and extra nucleic acid test and quarantine requirements are making exit difficult, even though authorities promised a gradual restoration of flight capacity for provincial capital Haikou and the top tourist city of Sanya. The island province, often billed as “China’s Hawaii”, has recorded... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3188987/chinas-covid-hit-tropical-paradise-stranded-tourists-grapple?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3188987/chinas-covid-hit-tropical-paradise-stranded-tourists-grapple?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Aug 2022 13:00:19 +0000 The popular beach destination of Sanya in China’s southernmost Hainan province reported 186 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and another 227 asymptomatic infections on Monday, amid a fast-spreading outbreak that has triggered a citywide lockdown. More than 800 confirmed cases have been reported since August 1, in a wave attributed to China’s first cases of the Omicron subvariant BA.5.1.3, the most infectious and transmissible coronavirus strain yet. Seeking to cut off transmission chains, the local... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3188148/coronavirus-chinese-beach-city-sanya-reports-nearly-200-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3188148/coronavirus-chinese-beach-city-sanya-reports-nearly-200-new?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2022 09:13:19 +0000 Health authorities in China’s southern city of Guangzhou have apologised for forcing their way into nearly 100 homes after their inhabitants had been sent away to undergo centralised quarantine for Covid-19. Officials in Guangzhou’s Liwan district had entered 84 such households earlier this month after breaking the locks, to screen for close contacts who might be hiding out to avoid isolation orders. In a statement on Monday, district authorities admitted the action had been rude and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3185717/coronavirus-chinese-city-says-sorry-break-drive-find-close?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3185717/coronavirus-chinese-city-says-sorry-break-drive-find-close?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jul 2022 01:00:20 +0000 More Chinese are speaking out about the discrimination they have faced after having Covid-19, with some unable to find work or even losing their jobs because they had the virus. One of them is 24-year-old He Yuxiu, who was living in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, when Russia invaded in February. She was also recovering from Covid-19. The postgraduate student shared her experience of being stranded in her flat in videos posted to Chinese social media, showing her building shaking during... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3185404/treated-virus-chinese-teacher-says-she-was-sacked-because-shed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3185404/treated-virus-chinese-teacher-says-she-was-sacked-because-shed?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jul 2022 09:00:15 +0000 Air China said it had fixed loose wing screws on one of its passenger aircraft after a video clip of the problematic fairing during flight was shared widely online. This comes after a passenger on Air China flight CA1921 from Beijing to Hengyang on Thursday noticed that a wing screw on the Boeing 737-NG was loose. He recorded a video and posted it on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The topic went viral soon, prompting the airline to issue a late-night statement. “Air China attached great... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3184614/air-china-responds-viral-video-loose-wing-screw-boeing-737ng?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3184614/air-china-responds-viral-video-loose-wing-screw-boeing-737ng?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jul 2022 09:11:36 +0000 China has opened its doors to more international flights ahead of the summer travel season, with routes from Russia and the Philippines set to increase following the loosening of Covid-19 controls. Commercial flights from Russia to China will be expanded this month from the current two flights per week to eight, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in Moscow on Tuesday. Of the six additional flights, three will resume former routes between Moscow and Beijing, Shenzhen and Chengdu,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3184222/china-adds-international-flights-after-relaxing-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3184222/china-adds-international-flights-after-relaxing-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:13:49 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for authorities nationwide to step up flood control and disaster relief efforts as severe flooding in the southern part of the country affects hundreds of thousands of people. An executive meeting of the State Council that Li chaired on Wednesday was told there would be more extreme weather to come during this year’s flood season, which is typically July and August in China. “We should deploy the party Central Committee and the State Council to strengthen... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3182764/amid-record-breaking-floods-china-premier-calls-stepped-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3182764/amid-record-breaking-floods-china-premier-calls-stepped-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jun 2022 06:16:10 +0000 A deputy police chief has been sacked and five others placed under investigation following an attack on a group of women in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan earlier this month that caused widespread public outrage. The four diners were attacked by a group of nine people at a barbecue restaurant after one of them rejected a man’s advances. In an official notice published on Tuesday, Hebei’s discipline inspection and supervision authority said it had “carried out in-depth investigations into... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3182532/police-officer-fired-and-5-placed-under-investigation-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3182532/police-officer-fired-and-5-placed-under-investigation-over?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jun 2022 12:53:34 +0000 At least eight people are injured and six remain missing after an explosion at a chemical industrial estate in northwest China on Thursday evening. The blast happened at a pesticide firm in Lanzhou, Gansu province just before 7pm, according to state news agency Xinhua. More than 400 fire and rescue personnel and 47 rescue vehicles were sent to the scene. All of the injured are said to be in a stable condition. It is not known what caused the blast – covering an area of about 600 sq metres (6,500... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3182040/explosion-pesticide-firm-northwestern-china-leaves-least-8-hurt-and-6?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3182040/explosion-pesticide-firm-northwestern-china-leaves-least-8-hurt-and-6?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jun 2022 05:04:39 +0000 Victims of what could be one of China’s largest financial scandals found themselves unable to step outside to join planned protests because their health QR codes had turned red, reigniting fears that the large-scale data collected for contact tracing would be abused for other uses. Since late May, hundreds of people have taken to the streets in China’s central Henan province, calling for authorities to ensure the return of their deposits that were frozen in four rural banks in the province. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3181635/chinese-health-code-turns-red-financial-victims-about-protest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3181635/chinese-health-code-turns-red-financial-victims-about-protest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:23:54 +0000 Dandong – China’s biggest city bordering North Korea – has been locked down for more than a month due to successive waves of Covid-19, and for frustrated residents there is no end in sight. They have been confined to their homes since the end of April, yet case numbers are rising. So far, there have been 56 local cases but more than 850 asymptomatic infections, according to the latest figures from the provincial health commission. Five new locally acquired cases were reported on Tuesday. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3180932/its-tough-lockdown-drags-millions-dandong-near-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3180932/its-tough-lockdown-drags-millions-dandong-near-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:14 +0000 China is set to launch the Shenzhou 14 probe on Sunday morning, taking a crew of three to the Tiangong space station to oversee the final stages of its construction. Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe will be the third crew to travel to the space station. The trio are also the first mission made up entirely of China’s second generation of astronauts who joined the programme in 2010. The previous missions, Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13, were both led by commanders from the first batch of astronauts... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3180417/chinas-first-woman-space-liu-yang-returns-shenzhou-14-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3180417/chinas-first-woman-space-liu-yang-returns-shenzhou-14-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2022 12:30:29 +0000 You may have heard that drinking too much tea too close to bedtime can disrupt your sleep, but according to a new study, long-term tea consumption may also reduce the health impact of chronic insomnia. In the study published in peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on Monday, researchers from Westlake University in China found that habitual tea drinking was linked to a lower risk of disorders related to the gut flora – the tiny organisms that live in our digestive tracts – and bile acids... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3180313/habitual-tea-drinking-may-reduce-effects-chronic-insomnia-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3180313/habitual-tea-drinking-may-reduce-effects-chronic-insomnia-study?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2022 04:00:20 +0000 In this series, we answer frequently asked questions about China’s strict zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 including current entry restrictions, the length of quarantine and which tests travellers have to take. Have a question you want us to tackle? Drop us an email at chinadeskeditors@scmp.com. This story has been made freely available to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. (Updated July 1, 2022.) Since closing its borders to most international travel... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3148925/can-i-travel-mainland-china-guide-entry-restrictions-documents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3148925/can-i-travel-mainland-china-guide-entry-restrictions-documents?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Sep 2021 04:00:28 +0000