https://www.scmp.com/rss/525841/feed Caroline Lin joined the Post in 2026, covering China with a focus on politics and diplomacy. She holds a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong, with prior experience in video production and digital investigations in Chinese-language and international media outlets. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China has been the backdrop for a rare aviation moment in the past few days, with the world’s three core strategic heavy-lifting aircraft operating within the country. Several large US military transport aircraft were spotted landing in Shenzhen over the weekend, widely seen as preparation for US President Donald Trump’s expected trip to the southern Chinese city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum next week. And on Monday, a Russian-made, Chinese-owned Il-76 transport plane... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3373821/c-17-il-76-y-20-aviation-moment-skies-over-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3373821/c-17-il-76-y-20-aviation-moment-skies-over-china Mon, 09 Nov 2026 12:00:24 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Moon Chen stared down at her textbook, struggling to make sense of the words on the page. The 15-year-old felt a suffocating weight press into her chest, while her heart fluttered erratically. Chen’s mother rushed her to a cardiologist – only to be told that she should see a psychiatrist instead. Chen, now in higher secondary school in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, vividly recalls the period before she was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. At the time, she did not know that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3373644/chinas-fierce-race-success-mental-health-struggles-are-starting-earlier https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3373644/chinas-fierce-race-success-mental-health-struggles-are-starting-earlier Sat, 07 Nov 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Japanese character company Sanrio, owner of popular characters including Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll and My Melody, has terminated its planned collaboration with the television drama Vivant following strong public criticism in China. In an official statement released on its Japanese website on Thursday, the company acknowledged that the Japanese spy drama contained content that “does not align with the Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy”. The controversial series includes scenes depicting... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3372526/hello-kitty-owner-sanrio-scraps-japanese-tv-show-vivant-deal-over-china-backlash https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3372526/hello-kitty-owner-sanrio-scraps-japanese-tv-show-vivant-deal-over-china-backlash Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:41:20 +0000 Caroline Lin,Eve Qiao Caroline Lin,Eve Qiao German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has begun his state visit to China in the eastern province of Anhui, spotlighting a growing trend among visiting foreign leaders to look well beyond Beijing. Steinmeier arrived in the provincial capital Hefei early on Tuesday to begin a five-day state visit, marking his first trip to China in nearly eight years and confirming an exclusive report by the South China Morning Post earlier this month. When foreign dignitaries bypass Beijing for provincial... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3372340/german-leaders-china-visit-latest-sign-foreign-diplomacy-pivot-beyond-beijing https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3372340/german-leaders-china-visit-latest-sign-foreign-diplomacy-pivot-beyond-beijing Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:17:05 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin When Grant Newsham, a retired US Marine colonel and security analyst, sat down for an interview that aired last month, he called China’s economic rise illusory and said there were “600 million Chinese at least who live on US$5 a day or less”. His remarks quickly drew online criticism as well as accusations that he was using outdated figures from 2020 while ignoring differences in purchasing power. Some commenters argued that uneven development was common across countries. Others questioned how... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371535/washington-misreading-beijing-decline-us-visits-china-sparks-concern https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371535/washington-misreading-beijing-decline-us-visits-china-sparks-concern Sat, 24 Oct 2026 10:03:53 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Flight disruptions and cancellations surged across East Asia as Typhoon Champi approached Taiwan on Friday, prompting emergency precautions in eastern mainland China, including Shanghai, and in Japan during a large-scale joint military drill with the US. Taiwan’s transport ministry said 262 local flights and 715 international and cross-strait flights had been cancelled as of 10am on Friday. The island’s largest airports – Taiwan Taoyuan, Taipei Songshan, Kaohsiung and Taichung – faced widespread... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3371901/typhoon-champi-grounds-hundreds-flights-taiwan-threatens-eastern-mainland-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3371901/typhoon-champi-grounds-hundreds-flights-taiwan-threatens-eastern-mainland-china Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:00:39 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Internet users in China are watching the protests in France with a mix of geopolitical cynicism, domestic pride and sadness at the damage to French landmarks. The protests started in September, when students and teachers in southeastern Paris rallied against deteriorating school conditions. Those specific grievances quickly escalated into nationwide protests at the rising cost of living and declining public services. What began as peaceful marches has since dissolved into violence, with rioters... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371813/what-do-protests-france-look-china-internet-users-weigh https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371813/what-do-protests-france-look-china-internet-users-weigh Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:30 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin As Super Typhoon Champi – now the strongest storm of the year worldwide – barrels towards eastern China, authorities are planning evacuations and urging those in its path to prepare. Airports in major Chinese cities could be affected by the storm, including Wenzhou Longwan, Fuzhou Changle, Ningbo Lishe, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pudong and Xiamen Gaoqi, according to aviation data platform VariFlight. Travellers are bracing for potential disruptions, though there have been no... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3371627/strongest-storm-year-barrels-towards-taiwan-and-mainland-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3371627/strongest-storm-year-barrels-towards-taiwan-and-mainland-china Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:06 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin A 500-year-old Buddha statue that was found buried by a roadside in Australia has been returned to China, leaving an ongoing mystery about how it arrived in the country. The 15cm (six-inch) bronze figurine was formally handed over to Chinese consular representatives during a ceremony in the coastal town of Denham in Shark Bay on Tuesday, the public broadcaster ABC reported. It will be taken to China for further evaluation to establish its history before being displayed at a museum in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371046/australia-hands-ming-dynasty-buddha-back-china-amid-ongoing-mystery-over-its-arrival https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371046/australia-hands-ming-dynasty-buddha-back-china-amid-ongoing-mystery-over-its-arrival Fri, 16 Oct 2026 01:00:10 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have warned of the potential risks of cross-border arranged marriages, saying some relationships lack genuine emotional foundations and can lead to financial ruin or legal trouble. Marriages can be risky when they are organised by illegal matchmaking agencies that charge high fees, according to a post on the Xintian county police branch’s social media account on Tuesday. For-profit international matchmaking is illegal in China. The post... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370982/cross-border-matchmaking-can-lead-financial-ruin-chinese-police-warn-rural-men https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370982/cross-border-matchmaking-can-lead-financial-ruin-chinese-police-warn-rural-men Thu, 15 Oct 2026 08:59:13 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Beijing is rapidly scaling up the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce short-form videos and microdramas in its publicity campaigns, aligning with directives stressing technology’s role in strengthening ideological work and guiding public opinion. In contrast to sensational tropes dominating AI content across Chinese media platforms – such as Cinderella romance, rebirth for revenge and post-apocalyptic survival – a new wave of AI-generated miniseries weaves Chinese culture, policies... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370547/how-china-harnesses-ai-microdramas-shape-public-opinion-home-and-abroad https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370547/how-china-harnesses-ai-microdramas-shape-public-opinion-home-and-abroad Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:03:06 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin The setting may have been casual but the choice was not when the Communist Party boss of a northeastern Chinese province sat down with digital content creators at a coffee shop on Wednesday. Jilin province party secretary Huang Qiang invited the influencers to the relaxed setting of the Songyuan Coffee Shop in Changchun to encourage them to “actively promote mainstream values and spread positive energy”. According to a local government statement, Huang and the participants also exchanged views... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370417/why-communist-party-boss-had-coffee-shop-date-chinese-content-creators https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370417/why-communist-party-boss-had-coffee-shop-date-chinese-content-creators Sat, 10 Oct 2026 02:01:07 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Creators of China’s first Tibetan-language AI model have pledged to speed up upgrades aimed at promoting ethnic integration. Approaches to advancing the large language model, DeepZang, were discussed at a seminar on Monday that brought together representatives from research institutes, universities and enterprises, according to state-run portal Chinanews.com. It said the event held in Hohhot, in China’s northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region, addressed issues such as improving Tibetan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3369938/chinas-deepzang-ai-aims-transform-tibetan-language-tech-promote-ethnic-unity https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3369938/chinas-deepzang-ai-aims-transform-tibetan-language-tech-promote-ethnic-unity Wed, 07 Oct 2026 01:00:07 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China Eastern Airlines has reported a male passenger to the police for allegedly disturbing order, after a flight attendant was filmed kneeling in a cabin aisle to apologise for bumping his elbow with a service trolley. In its second statement on the incident, the carrier said on Saturday that it believed the actions of the passenger amounted to disturbing order aboard a civil aircraft and had severely infringed upon the employee’s personal dignity. The airline added that it had banned the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3369719/china-eastern-reports-passenger-police-over-cabin-crew-kneeling-row https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3369719/china-eastern-reports-passenger-police-over-cabin-crew-kneeling-row Sun, 04 Oct 2026 13:20:27 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China’s ruling Communist Party is marking 90 years since the end of the Long March with exhibitions, tours, film and television productions as it tries to mobilise the nation to contribute to its vision for the future. Ahead of the October 22 anniversary, commemorative activities are under way to promote the history of the Long March and revive its “spirit”. The Long March was an epic retreat between 1934 and 1936 by the party’s Red Army to evade Kuomintang, or Nationalist, forces during the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3369418/shows-tours-and-film-china-marks-90-years-end-long-march https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3369418/shows-tours-and-film-china-marks-90-years-end-long-march Thu, 01 Oct 2026 04:59:40 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin While foreign leaders and their families walk the iconic restored sections of the Great Wall around Beijing, the ancient stones of a remote Ming-era stretch of the structure in northern central China have been sacrificed for cheaper dumping of coal-mining waste. For nearly 20 years, a section of the wall in Ningwu county, Shanxi province, was used as a short cut to dump slag, despite whistle-blowers repeatedly raising the alarm to officials, according to a report by Chinese state broadcaster... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3368730/remote-section-chinas-great-wall-damaged-20-years-mine-waste-dumping https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3368730/remote-section-chinas-great-wall-damaged-20-years-mine-waste-dumping Sun, 27 Sep 2026 09:57:51 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Over private tea in the White House Red Room to mark the end of Xi Jinping’s state visit, US President Donald Trump struck a relaxed tone, marvelling across the table at how fast the Chinese leader had made the trip to America. “It’s a very fast plane … the fastest plane,” Trump said, in footage captured after the White House TV press pool resumed coverage following a court ruling that restored access to outlets previously banned by the US president. “[It was due to] its route,” Xi replied. “We... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368906/why-xis-flight-path-china-us-was-hours-faster-trumps-may https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368906/why-xis-flight-path-china-us-was-hours-faster-trumps-may Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:00:56 +0000 Orange Wang,Caroline Lin Orange Wang,Caroline Lin Domestic US political turmoil and Donald Trump’s feud with the media overshadowed a summit that Beijing hoped would project an image of China on equal footing and help stabilise ties with the United States. Trump rolled out the full red-carpet treatment for Chinese President Xi Jinping as he paid his first state visit to the US in over a decade. In addition to Trump and his wife Melania greeting Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan on the tarmac on arrival, the “many special arrangements” included a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368860/what-summit-us-tv-blackout-and-midterms-turmoil-overshadow-red-carpet-treatment https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368860/what-summit-us-tv-blackout-and-midterms-turmoil-overshadow-red-carpet-treatment Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:54:34 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Chinese President Xi Jinping has not only made history as the first Chinese leader to undertake two formal state visits to the United States, he is also the only Chinese leader to be spending two Mid-Autumn Festivals on American soil. Xi offered festive greetings during his toast at Thursday’s state banquet. “As I speak, my compatriots in China are celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival – a cherished occasion for family reunions according to Chinese tradition. I wish you all a very happy Mid-Autumn... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368838/xi-jinping-marks-second-mid-autumn-festival-us-during-state-visit https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368838/xi-jinping-marks-second-mid-autumn-festival-us-during-state-visit Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:20:13 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin While their husbands held talks at the White House, Melania Trump hosted Peng Liyuan at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art on Thursday, where the famed Chinese soprano softly hummed along to a youth choir’s performance of a familiar classic. Footage shows the Hope Chinese School youth choir waving Chinese and American national flags during their rendition of the song “Jasmine Flower”, while Peng watches with a smile, her lips moving along to the lyrics. As the performance ends, she... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368757/pitch-perfect-cultural-diplomacy-wins-heart-chinas-first-lady-peng-liyuan https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368757/pitch-perfect-cultural-diplomacy-wins-heart-chinas-first-lady-peng-liyuan Fri, 25 Sep 2026 04:43:09 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin American tenor Christopher Macchio will perform at the White House banquet for Chinese President Xi Jinping during his first state visit to the United States in more than a decade. “An honour to return to Washington DC to perform for the State Dinner with Donald Trump (originally @realDonaldTrump) and President Xi,” Macchio said on social media, tagging the official accounts of Trump, the White House, and the Trump campaign. Often referred to as “America’s Tenor”, Macchio is a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368682/us-tenor-christopher-macchio-booked-xi-trump-state-dinner-performance https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368682/us-tenor-christopher-macchio-booked-xi-trump-state-dinner-performance Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:18:20 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China’s first lady Peng Liyuan is again stepping into the international limelight as she travels to Washington with President Xi Jinping this week. Xi and Peng were invited to visit the White House by Donald Trump in May, when the US leader was in Beijing. They are expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, local time, to begin their three-day visit. On Thursday, Xi and Peng will be welcomed at the White House with a State Floor arrival ceremony and a Rose Garden military... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368510/chinas-first-lady-peng-liyuan-projects-glamour-and-soft-power-world-stage https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368510/chinas-first-lady-peng-liyuan-projects-glamour-and-soft-power-world-stage Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:02:32 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China can learn from US immigration strategies to attract foreign talent and stay competitive in the intensifying global tech race, a Chinese public policy analyst has said. Li Mingbo, deputy dean of the Guangzhou Institute of the Greater Bay Area (GIG), said China must be more efficient in promoting its new K visas for young science and technology specialists from overseas, noting that the country lacked an immigration system tailored for hi-tech talent. “Although the US has tightened its visa... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3367534/china-needs-us-style-immigration-policy-win-tech-rivalry-washington-expert https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3367534/china-needs-us-style-immigration-policy-win-tech-rivalry-washington-expert Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:04:32 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Huang Qiaoyuan has just a year to go before she completes her undergraduate medical training in southern China, but she is thinking of quitting the field and going into consulting. Huang, a fifth-year clinical medical student in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said she was initially drawn to the idea of being a doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the contributions of health workers came to the fore. She also thought it would be a financially secure choice in a country where the career... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367856/low-pay-job-insecurity-chinas-trainee-doctors-turn-young-talent https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367856/low-pay-job-insecurity-chinas-trainee-doctors-turn-young-talent Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:58:19 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin The United States has returned dozens of cultural relics to China ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s coming visit to Washington, a goodwill gesture to help pave the way for a positive summit. At the handover ceremony at the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, China officials received 58 cultural relics and palaeontological fossils from the cultural property, art and antiquities programme of US Homeland Security Investigations. A further six items were returned a day later by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368033/us-hands-over-64-smuggled-artefacts-china-diplomatic-push-leaders-meeting https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368033/us-hands-over-64-smuggled-artefacts-china-diplomatic-push-leaders-meeting Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:11 +0000 Jane Cai,Caroline Lin Jane Cai,Caroline Lin In the quiet of a Peking University research room, shelves groan under the weight of 60 thick volumes. Stacked, they stand taller than an average human. Inside their pages lie the details of more than 23,000 ancient Chinese bronze vessels, weapons, chariot fittings and ritual objects that left China’s shores long ago and now sit in museums, private collections and auction houses across nearly 30 countries. Published in April by Shanghai Classics Publishing House, the Collection of Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365643/23000-bronzes-14-years-60-volumes-how-china-mapping-lost-heritage-held-abroad https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365643/23000-bronzes-14-years-60-volumes-how-china-mapping-lost-heritage-held-abroad Sun, 30 Aug 2026 08:00:37 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Australia’s decision to axe partnerships with two Chinese universities has raised concerns that Canberra is moving to align with Washington on research security policy. The decision came after the United States expanded its restrictions on research entities from China. One analyst warned that Canberra’s latest move would not hinder Chinese progress, but it could leave Australia locked out of top-tier scientific research. The Australian National University confirmed in a statement that it would... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365526/will-australia-be-locked-out-top-scientific-research-shunning-chinese-universities https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365526/will-australia-be-locked-out-top-scientific-research-shunning-chinese-universities Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:00:09 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Typhoon Saudel made landfall in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang on Friday morning, disrupting flights and ferry services across major urban centres, including the industrial hub of Ningbo and the economic powerhouse of Shanghai. Ningbo Lishe International Airport suspended all flight operations from 11.30pm on Thursday. Even though services resumed at 11am on Friday, some 16 inbound and 28 outbound flights were cancelled for the day. In the Zhejiang city of Wenzhou, a base for private... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3365546/storm-travel-chaos-typhoon-saudel-makes-double-landfall-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3365546/storm-travel-chaos-typhoon-saudel-makes-double-landfall-china Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:15:41 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin The coastal Chinese province of Zhejiang is battening down for the approach of Typhoon Saudel, with flights cancelled across the area. The eastern province is home to a number of major commercial centres, including the industrial hub of Ningbo, the port city of Zhoushan, and Wenzhou. Ningbo Lishe International Airport said flights in and out of the facility would be suspended from 11.30pm on Thursday. In Wenzhou, 90 flights were cancelled, while 22 flights were grounded in Zhoushan. According to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3365463/flights-ferries-cancelled-shanghai-and-shenzhen-typhoon-saudel-closes https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3365463/flights-ferries-cancelled-shanghai-and-shenzhen-typhoon-saudel-closes Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:13 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China’s state media has called for English-language terms related to artificial intelligence (AI) to be dropped in favour of standardised Chinese equivalents in a push to boost the country’s “discourse power”. As AI technologies have rapidly spread in China, English terms have entered common speech in the country, such as “agent” and “LLM” for large language model, a commentary published by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily noted earlier this month. The article argued that reliance... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3364320/why-chinese-state-media-telling-people-stop-using-english-ai-terms https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3364320/why-chinese-state-media-telling-people-stop-using-english-ai-terms Tue, 18 Aug 2026 04:00:11 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin The iconic wrapper of White Rabbit, a six-decade-old Chinese milk confectionery, has recently gone viral in the West. Shared this month in a post on social media he retro packaging was hailed as an “absolute masterstroke of graphic design”. Its distinctive waxy paper – featuring a white rabbit against a red circle, with blue-and-white rabbit motifs lining both edges – has since racked up more than 6 million views and 260,000 likes. In the comments section, online users from around the world have... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364210/chinamaxxing-trend-really-about-china-or-gen-z-fleeing-western-fatigue https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364210/chinamaxxing-trend-really-about-china-or-gen-z-fleeing-western-fatigue Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:00:16 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Wearing a black mariner’s cap and with a wall-to-wall bookshelf as a backdrop, Cambridge University professor Alan Macfarlane greets his social media audience with a soft ni hao – “Hello” in Chinese. In his latest video, Macfarlane follows this signature opening by thoughtfully answering a question pulled from the comments: why has making genuine friends become so difficult? Few would have expected an 84-year-old British anthropologist and historian from Cambridge University to become a social... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364001/why-chinese-youth-are-turning-84-year-old-cambridge-professor-support https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364001/why-chinese-youth-are-turning-84-year-old-cambridge-professor-support Sat, 15 Aug 2026 10:26:35 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Chinese museums have been criticised for spelling errors in their information boards, including one in Zhejiang province where one of the captions for an exhibition about the Long March turned the Red Army into a “red car”. Such mistakes are especially embarrassing given the high importance the authorities attach to Communist Party history and come amid an ongoing push to promote “red tourism” or revolutionary-themed attractions. The mistake by Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou was one of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3364054/chinese-museums-left-red-faced-after-caption-errors-mar-communist-party-themed-displays https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3364054/chinese-museums-left-red-faced-after-caption-errors-mar-communist-party-themed-displays Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:22:03 +0000 Alyssa Chen,Caroline Lin Alyssa Chen,Caroline Lin For generations, China’s brightest science and technology minds followed a well-worn path: board a Westbound flight and claim a seat at a globally renowned university. That once-reliable trajectory has fractured. Escalating US-China tech competition and tightening immigration policies across the “big four” study destinations – Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States – have redrawn the map for global student mobility. As Western nations impose ever-stricter access controls and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3363892/chinas-stem-students-turn-singapore-western-study-options-shrink https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3363892/chinas-stem-students-turn-singapore-western-study-options-shrink Thu, 13 Aug 2026 22:00:13 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin A highway operator in Gansu province, northwestern China, apologised on Wednesday after a service area sign for the hot water room, mistranslated in English as “open water rooms”, was shared on social media. Similar translation errors, as well as spelling mistakes, on signage at public facilities have repeatedly drawn attention, including an incident in late March, when a passenger at an airport in the southwestern city of Guiyang discovered multiple misspellings. The mistranslation of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3363887/chinas-travellers-raise-alarm-over-error-filled-tourist-signs-public-spaces https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3363887/chinas-travellers-raise-alarm-over-error-filled-tourist-signs-public-spaces Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:00:07 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration is putting museums nationwide on notice to strengthen emergency management during the summer peak season, following a series of operational failures, including a sudden power outage in Xian’s Terracotta Warriors museum last week. According to the notice published on Monday, there have been issues such as blackouts, air conditioning failures and severe overcrowding at some museums, triggering safety fears and public concern. The disruptions... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3363780/blackout-chinas-terracotta-army-museum-triggers-nationwide-cultural-safety-review https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3363780/blackout-chinas-terracotta-army-museum-triggers-nationwide-cultural-safety-review Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:20 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin At a night market in Shenzhen, Sasa Xu finishes her day with passion fruit tea. It costs US$2.40, bringing her total spend for the day to US$9.40 – details that close out her video “What low-income life in China really looks like”. The video has drawn more than 470,000 views since it was posted to YouTube in April. It includes footage of Xu at a traditional wet market and walking through a densely populated “urban village” where many of the city’s low-income workers live. “Through these simple,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3363427/chinese-vloggers-are-taking-youtube-set-record-straight https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3363427/chinese-vloggers-are-taking-youtube-set-record-straight Sun, 09 Aug 2026 11:00:09 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin As China’s era of catch-up growth fades, experts warn that profound issues in research culture and institutional incentives may hamstring the country’s ambition to become a leader in scientific innovation. In a dialogue held at the Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS) last month, leading scholars discussed the hurdles China faces with Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine. Lu Bai, a neurobiologist and the president of SANS, noted that China had been able to use... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3362637/chinas-catch-era-ends-whats-standing-way-tech-innovation https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3362637/chinas-catch-era-ends-whats-standing-way-tech-innovation Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:00:12 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Beijing has launched a drone research hub in Tibet near Mount Everest in an effort to exploit its high-altitude advantage in the ongoing competition for technological dominance between the US and China. The Plateau Drone R&D Application Centre was recently unveiled by Xizang University, state news agency Xinhua reported earlier this month. Xizang is the official Chinese pinyin name for the Tibet autonomous region in western China. Situated on the Chinese side of the world’s highest peak, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362159/new-peak-us-china-tech-rivalry-tibet-drone-hub-launches-mount-everest https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362159/new-peak-us-china-tech-rivalry-tibet-drone-hub-launches-mount-everest Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:00:09 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Chinese scientists have developed a way to create clothing and textiles from a fungus that can self-clean and regenerate. The fabric can also be customised – for example to add colour or protect the wearer from ultraviolet (UV) rays – with the help of other microorganisms, according to a study published on Friday. A persistent challenge for engineered living materials (ELMs) has been scaling up microscopic living cells into large, durable structures that remain alive and functional. A research... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3361873/fungus-fashion-chinese-scientists-develop-sustainable-living-textiles https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3361873/fungus-fashion-chinese-scientists-develop-sustainable-living-textiles Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:00:13 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Chinese defence suppliers are hitting a wall when it comes to translating national strategic goals into effective enterprise-level actions, according to an analysis by industry insiders. The study, published in May by the academic journal Defence Industry Conversion in China, identified four major challenges that might undermine the implementation of Beijing’s 2026-2030 plan for the national defence industry. Authors Gao Xufeng and Wu Ke are strategic planning researchers from the Chengdu-based... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3361802/can-chinas-aerospace-industry-overcome-execution-gap-modernisation-goals https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3361802/can-chinas-aerospace-industry-overcome-execution-gap-modernisation-goals Sat, 25 Jul 2026 04:00:19 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin With its vast strategic mineral reserves and land corridors to Southeast Asia, China’s southwestern province of Yunnan is vital to the country’s preparedness to counter geopolitical risks, according to researchers specialising in civil-military fusion. Yunnan’s “nationally leading resource reserves” – including gallium, rare earths and other strategic minerals essential for advanced weapons development – made the province indispensable to China’s push for “defence industry mobilisation”, they... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3361079/how-yunnans-mineral-wealth-and-border-corridors-could-solve-chinas-malacca-dilemma https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3361079/how-yunnans-mineral-wealth-and-border-corridors-could-solve-chinas-malacca-dilemma Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China is developing an early warning system to spot asteroids that might smash into the Earth, according to the scientist leading the national mission. China planned to deploy multiple telescopes on the ground, alongside a constellation of satellites in orbit, state-run Science and Technology Daily quoted Li Mingtao, chief scientist at the asteroid monitoring and early-warning research centre under the China National Space Administration, as saying. None of the asteroids that had been discovered... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3360783/china-building-early-warning-system-spot-earth-smashing-asteroids https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3360783/china-building-early-warning-system-spot-earth-smashing-asteroids Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:00:06 +0000 Phoebe Zhang,Caroline Lin,Alcott Wei Phoebe Zhang,Caroline Lin,Alcott Wei Flights have been cancelled and airlines are offering refunds in at least 10 airports, as a weakened Typhoon Bavi nears China’s coast, where it is expected to land between Fuqing in Fujian province and Wenling in Zhejiang. Zhoushan’s airport said in a social media post that 14 flights to and from the island city in Zhejiang province were cancelled for Friday. In Wenzhou, 17 inbound flights have been cancelled. Multiple airlines – including Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3360056/flights-disrupted-ex-super-typhoon-bavi-continues-towards-chinas-coast https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3360056/flights-disrupted-ex-super-typhoon-bavi-continues-towards-chinas-coast Fri, 10 Jul 2026 02:56:35 +0000 Phoebe Zhang,Caroline Lin Phoebe Zhang,Caroline Lin Worried residents in China are preparing for Super Typhoon Bavi to land, stocking up on supplies and rethinking travel plans. Satellite imagery from China’s official weather forecaster shows Bavi covering nearly 940,000 sq km (363,000 square miles) – an area about nine times the size of the eastern province of Zhejiang or 850 times that of Hong Kong. Hui Xinyi, a high school English tutor in the Zhejiang capital of Hangzhou, is among those constantly refreshing weather apps and scrolling through... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3359921/lions-dead-zebras-run-floodwaters-devastate-zoo-southern-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3359921/lions-dead-zebras-run-floodwaters-devastate-zoo-southern-china Thu, 09 Jul 2026 02:53:39 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin Beijing on Thursday rejected criticism from the United States and three European nations over its recent coastguard operations east of Taiwan, declaring the patrols were lawful and necessary to safeguard its maritime rights and regional order. The rebuke came a day after the US, Britain, France and Germany expressed concern over the coastguard deployments, saying the activities “threaten regional stability and the freedom of navigation and safety of international shipping”. Chinese foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3358384/beijing-slams-us-european-concerns-over-coastguard-patrols-near-taiwan https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3358384/beijing-slams-us-european-concerns-over-coastguard-patrols-near-taiwan Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:12:36 +0000 Caroline Lin Caroline Lin China has detained two Japanese nationals over alleged attempts to take rare earth-related products out of the country. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Wednesday that one of the two was detained by Chinese authorities on May 18 and the other a week later, accused of violating Chinese laws governing the import and export of restricted goods. Tokyo confirmed the detentions, without giving further details, citing privacy. One of the detainees is an employee of a Japanese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3358187/2-japanese-held-china-over-alleged-rare-earths-smuggling https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3358187/2-japanese-held-china-over-alleged-rare-earths-smuggling Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:04:07 +0000 Laura Zhou,Caroline Lin,Orange Wang Laura Zhou,Caroline Lin,Orange Wang Chinese tourists are expected to be among the hardest hit by Japan’s fivefold visa fee increase, a move analysts warned could further strain already tense relations between Beijing and Tokyo. For the first time since 1978, the Japanese government has decided to raise visa fees. The cost of a single-entry visa will increase from 3,000 yen (US$18.54) to 15,000 yen, while multiple-entry visas will jump from 6,000 yen to 30,000 yen. The new policy, which will come into effect on July 1, has been... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3357961/japans-visa-fee-jump-hit-chinese-tourists-hardest-adding-friction-tense-ties https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3357961/japans-visa-fee-jump-hit-chinese-tourists-hardest-adding-friction-tense-ties Tue, 23 Jun 2026 01:00:20 +0000