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Hong Kong’s development minister has vowed to tighten monitoring of contractors and explore harsher penalties for industry misconduct following criticisms that the government’s reliance on their self-supervision was partly to blame for the deadly Tai Po blaze. But Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also defended the current regulatory system, stressing that violations were penalised. “The monitoring system ha...
Hong Kong should serve as a hub for the commercialisation of artificial intelligence and as a strategic base for mainland Chinese AI companies’ overseas expansion, the city’s finance chief has said, while highlighting the risks and challenges associated with its development. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s comments followed a speech on Friday by Chinese President Xi Jinping in which he calle...
Delegates representing a United States congressional advisory panel are making their first trip to China in seven years to investigate how the two countries’ economic and trade relationship affects national security. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission has requested meetings with Chinese government officials, academics and industry leaders in key technology sectors such as artific...
In the second of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on ageing in Hong Kong, Lo Hoi-ying examines rising social isolation among the elderly, its serious health risks and how activities and community support are helping seniors stay socially engaged. For Lee Chor-kwan, an 89-year-old living alone in Hong Kong, mealtimes are often lonely. But the highlight of his day is lunchtime, when he vis...
The leaders of Germany and France announced on Friday that the German military would participate in a nuclear exercise under a French initiative to deepen European nuclear cooperation. The move by both countries to deepen nuclear cooperation underscores growing European defence self-reliance amid concerns about the future of US security commitments to the continent. “We will have German convention...
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 develo...
Sales of intangible heritage products are on the rise, highlighted by the online frenzy sparked by Elon Musk’s six-year-old son Little X wearing a Chinese-style silk jacket and carrying a tiger-head bag in May, when they accompanied US President Donald Trump on a state visit to Beijing. The surge is part of a wider boom, with industry data showing intangible cultural heritage and traditional handi...
There is no game quite like chess, which is so beloved and intricate that millions of people around the world dedicate their lives to mastering its strategies. The history of chess stretches back thousands of years to ancient India and has seen various relatives emerge over the centuries across the globe. One such counterpart is Liubo, or “six sticks,” a Chinese board game that enjoyed widespread ...
Hong Kong is seeking to promote itself as a city that visitors “feel” rather than merely see under a new global tourism campaign highlighting experiences ranging from mahjong games and tram rides to hidden beaches and Kai Tak Stadium. Tourism Board executive director Anthony Lau Chun-hon told the South China Morning Post on Sunday that the “Only in Hong Kong” campaign aimed to redefine how travell...
Hong Kong police have arrested a 19-year-old woman for falsely claiming to have planted explosives in an office in Kwai Chung, after searches found no suspicious items. Police revealed on Sunday that the arrest was made the day before in Wong Tai Sin, after officers conducting online patrols identified a social media post alleging the presence of explosives in the office. The woman, surnamed Liu, ...
When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest in Tehran earlier this month, Indonesia, home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth, decided to send only its ambassador – at first. The decision raised questions not only about Jakarta’s non-aligned foreign policy but also the tensions at the heart of President Prabowo Subianto’s prized “good-neighbour” diplomacy. One former Indonesian ambassa...
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will make his first trip to the White House this week to present a plan to US President Donald Trump on how to disarm Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. Aoun, who served as the commander of Lebanon’s US-backed army before being elected president last year, is the first Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years to visit ...
Kenneth Jeyaretnam, secretary general of the Reform Party (RP), has died, his wife said on Sunday. He was 67 years old. Jeyaretnam died in his sleep, surrounded by family, on Saturday, said Amanda Jeyaretnam in a post on her husband’s social media. “He was my beloved husband and a loving and devoted father to his son, Jared. He filled our lives with joy and wonder and we miss him so much,” she sai...
The Chinese city of Changzhou is building what it claims will be the country’s first city-level “green token factory”, as local governments race to answer Beijing’s call to power massive artificial intelligence computing demands with clean energy. The project would be powered by green energy and could produce 60 trillion tokens per year once completed, the municipal government said in a statement ...
The Chinese city of Changzhou is building what it claims will be the country’s first city-level “green token factory”, as local governments race to answer Beijing’s call to power massive artificial intelligence computing demands with clean energy. The project would be powered by green energy and could produce 60 trillion tokens per year once completed, the municipal government said in a statement ...
A writer from central China once hailed as a “literary prodigy” has had her master’s degree revoked for plagiarism. Jiang Fangzhou, 36, grew up in an ordinary family in Hubei province. Her mother is a Chinese-language teacher and online writer, while her father is a railway police officer. But her precocious rise captivated generations of ambitious Chinese parents. Jiang began writing at seven and...
Hong Kong will press ahead with its new dog-friendly dining scheme despite a public backlash and the withdrawal of 11 participating restaurants, the environment minister has said, describing the situation as part of an initial adjustment period. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Sunday that authorities would step up inspections and public education to reduce rule violation...
An intergovernmental mediation body headquartered in Hong Kong has resolved at least one more dispute since settling a case involving parties from Singapore and mainland China, as the number of signatory states grew to 46 and contracting nations reached 16. Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, secretary general of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed), also said on Sunday that her organisation ha...
Homeowners of a fire-hit Hong Kong estate have demanded greater clarity on the condition of their flats after a six-hour extraordinary general meeting on Sunday, during which they rejected an audit report but supported holding another session within two months. Hop On Management Company, the government-appointed administrator of Wang Fuk Court, reportedly told residents more time was needed to com...
Homeowners of a fire-hit Hong Kong estate who waited months for an extraordinary general meeting have urgent questions regarding compensation and the state of their flats, although the agenda excluded a crucial building examination report. Hop On Management Company, the government-appointed administrator of Wang Fuk Court, arranged the meeting with flat owners on Sunday to discuss items including ...
An American service member was killed on Saturday in Iraq during “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone, the US military said on Sunday, just a day after announcing the deaths of two other US service members following an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan. Sunday’s announcement brings the death toll of US service members to 17 during the conflict with Iran. More than 430 American troops...
The US military launched air strikes on Sunday targeting Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for the killing of American troops in Jordan, further widening the crossfire between the nations as they fight over the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes, now part of a weeklong campaign that has seen Iran strike US-allied countries across the Middle East, come as an interim deal seeking to fi...
Hong Kong’s lawmakers have embarked on an unprecedented week-long study visit to Beijing, with the Legislative Council’s president saying the trip would help their work of ensuring the city better aligns with national development. Starry Lee Wai-king on Sunday highlighted the significance of the trip, which marks the first time the entire legislature has travelled to the capital for such a “nation...
Smaller, family-run businesses in mainland China are embracing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) more readily than large enterprises, while market agility and steady power supplies will determine the winners of the global AI race, industry leaders have said at a forum in Indonesia. Panel speakers at the inaugural Nusa Dua Forum in Bali, organised on Friday by the South China Morning Post and I...
India is stepping up engagement with Indo-Pacific middle powers as uncertainty grows over the future of US security commitments in Asia, with analysts saying New Delhi is building a web of partnerships that allows countries with different strategic interests to cooperate without joining a formal alliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a six-day diplomatic tour of the Indo-Pacific from July ...
Hong Kong students can benefit from taking a gap year after taking the university entrance exam but should set clear goals for their future, education sector experts have said, pointing to the increasing value of applicants with experience outside the classroom. NGOs and experts said that setting aside a year for internships, volunteer work or exchange programmes would enable students to understan...
Meite Siaka wears many hats. By day, he is a senior tax official, a lecturer at the National School of Administration and deputy mayor of Kani in northern Ivory Coast. But outside government, he serves as the founding president of the Ivorian Federation of Chinese Martial Arts (FIAMC), a group he established in 2008. He also works as a master and instructor, running several martial arts clubs. Now...
A long-discussed plan for an Asean power grid is gaining steam, according to investors and Indonesian policymakers gathered in Bali, as surging demand from AI and data centres, as well as the region’s energy transition, fuels optimism over the initiative. On Friday, representatives from sovereign wealth funds, institutional capital and family principals converged on the St Regis Bali Resort for th...
Asia’s only dedicated exorcism centre – designed to train not only Philippine priests but clergy from across the region – sits just off a busy thoroughfare in Metro Manila. Inside, neatly made-up rooms for visiting priests line warmly lit halls that lead to a chapel where the 400-year-old ritual takes place. Holy relics employed in the proceedings line one wall, another features a one-way mirror t...
BNP Paribas, France’s largest lender and the second-largest in Europe, has found that an increasing number of wealthy European clients are seeking to establish family offices in Hong Kong to capitalise on growing opportunities in the region, according to a banker from the lender. A growing number of wealthy mainland clients were also looking to invest in Europe, said Lemuel Lee, head of wealth man...
