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Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: youth-led charity supports young cancer patients
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Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: youth-led charity supports young cancer patients

Timothy Chan Chi-fung was 19 when a testicular tumour sent him into a Hong Kong hospital system largely designed for children or much older adults. Neither door quite fitted. His experience eventually led him to found Youth Cancer Hong Kong, a contribution that has earned him a place as a finalist in the community category of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards. The awards, co-organised by Sino...

Philippines thought Pogos were gone. Corruption and AI still power them
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Philippines thought Pogos were gone. Corruption and AI still power them

Two years after the Philippines banned its notorious offshore gaming hubs, or Pogos, a recent crackdown on hundreds of foreigners has highlighted a worrying trend of embedded corruption that still enables the sector to thrive. In September, the National Bureau of Investigation raided a call centre-style facility in Makati City, arresting more than 120 Chinese nationals linked to an alleged illegal...

China warned Myanmar syndicates, Trump urged Xi to talk to Takaichi: SCMP’s 7 highlights
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China warned Myanmar syndicates, Trump urged Xi to talk to Takaichi: SCMP’s 7 highlights

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China tried 3 times to talk crime families out of scam business in Myanmar: CCTV China tried three times to persuade powerful families...

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: firm uses 3D-printed tiles to restore coral reefs
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Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: firm uses 3D-printed tiles to restore coral reefs

In 2014, a University of Hong Kong research team watched two years of reef restoration work collapse in Sai Kung. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department had asked the researchers to speed up coral recovery. Cement structures were placed on the seabed and coral began to grow. But as the colonies became larger, they became unstable. “They have no roots,” said Vriko Yu Pik-fan, then a...

Hong Kong national security police charge man over seditious social media posts

Hong Kong national security police charge man over seditious social media posts

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Hong Kong national security police have charged a man with publishing seditious material on social media, while court proceedings did not reveal details of his posts. The force’s national security department said on Friday it had charged a 52-year-old man for posting seditious material with the intent to provoke hatred towards the central Chinese authorities, the Hong Kong government and the judic...

Former Greentown China head charged for taking bribes over stake in real estate project

Former Greentown China head charged for taking bribes over stake in real estate project

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Hong Kong’s corruption watchdog has charged the former head of a listed company for allegedly accepting HK$20 million (US$2.5 million) in bribes from a mainland Chinese property developer in exchange for acquiring a stake in the developer’s real estate project. Zhang Yadong, 58, who was chairman of Greentown China Holdings from 2019 to 2025, faced a count of conspiracy to accept advantages, the In...

160,000 Hongkongers register for ‘joint clearance’ ahead of Huanggang Port opening

160,000 Hongkongers register for ‘joint clearance’ ahead of Huanggang Port opening

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More than 160,000 Hong Kong residents have registered to use “joint clearance” e-channels ahead of the revamped Huanggang border crossing’s opening on Monday, with extra manpower to be deployed and command centres activated to ensure a smooth start. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that his bureau would activate its Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to oversee oper...

Over 160,000 Hongkongers register for ‘joint clearance’ ahead of Huanggang Port opening

Over 160,000 Hongkongers register for ‘joint clearance’ ahead of Huanggang Port opening

SCMP •

Over 160,000 Hong Kong residents have already registered for the “joint clearance” channel ahead of the revamped Huanggang border crossing’s opening on Monday, with extra manpower deployed and high-level command centres activated to ensure a smooth opening. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that his bureau would activate its Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to over...

Hong Kong to deploy extra manpower for Huanggang Port opening on Monday

Hong Kong to deploy extra manpower for Huanggang Port opening on Monday

SCMP •

The revamped Huanggang border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will open on Monday, with extra manpower deployed and high-level command centres activated to ensure a smooth opening. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that his bureau would activate its Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to oversee operations, while a joint command centre will be established with...

Hong Kong and Shenzhen confirm Huanggang Port to open on Monday

Hong Kong and Shenzhen confirm Huanggang Port to open on Monday

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The revamped Huanggang border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will open on Monday, after both sides confirmed the facility was ready for service. The Hong Kong government said on Friday that the new Huanggang border crossing would commence operations at 6.30am, October 12, replacing the current Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang port as the sole round-the-clock clearance point. “Acceptance inspection o...

Hong Kong, Shenzhen confirm Huanggang Port to open on Monday

Hong Kong, Shenzhen confirm Huanggang Port to open on Monday

SCMP •

The revamped Huanggang border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will open on Monday, after both sides confirmed the facility was ready for service. The Hong Kong government said on Friday that the new Huanggang border crossing would commence operations at 6.30am, October 12, replacing the current Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang port as the sole round-the-clock clearance point. “Acceptance inspection o...

Can China use its widening US yield gap to boost the yuan’s global role?

Can China use its widening US yield gap to boost the yuan’s global role?

SCMP •

China should seize a window opened by the widening US-China yield gap to strengthen the financing, hedging and asset-absorption systems behind the yuan, turning its cyclical low-interest-rate advantage into lasting global use of the currency, according to a researcher from a Beijing-based governmental think tank. The 10-year US Treasury yield was 5.22 per cent on Thursday, compared with 1.69 per c...

Can China use widening yield gap between the US dollar and yuan to boost global role?

Can China use widening yield gap between the US dollar and yuan to boost global role?

SCMP •

China should seize a window opened by the widening US-China yield gap to strengthen the financing, hedging and asset-absorption systems behind the yuan, turning its cyclical low-interest-rate advantage into lasting global use of the currency, according to a researcher from a Beijing-based governmental think tank. The 10-year US Treasury yield was 5.22 per cent on Thursday, compared with 1.69 per c...

Sacred splashes: ancient Chinese ritual of ‘elephant washing’ for good fortune

Sacred splashes: ancient Chinese ritual of ‘elephant washing’ for good fortune

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In ancient China, royal families washed elephants to pray for good fortune – until one elephant went rogue and brought the tradition to an end. Elephants had been spotted and documented in China as early as 4000 BC. They are believed to have once been familiar animals in the Central Plains before gradually migrating south to more remote regions. From the Han dynasty (202 BC–220), elephants were pr...

New York mayor urges Trump to remove ICE after driver with child in car is shot

New York mayor urges Trump to remove ICE after driver with child in car is shot

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New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he would ask US President Donald Trump to remove federal immigration agents from the city as tensions flared over the latest shooting involving ICE. The New York Police Department said a man had been shot around 4pm in the Marble Hill neighbourhood of the Bronx during an altercation with federal agents. Mamdani and the Department of Homeland Security (DH...

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, September 2026

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, September 2026

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Chinese President Xi Jinping was busy travelling abroad last month. In September, he paid a historic state visit to the United States, his first to the country in more than a decade. He also made his first visit to India in seven years, meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Brics summit. China will host the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, ...

Singapore film festival rejects South Korean party’s calls to drop The Assassin(s)

Singapore film festival rejects South Korean party’s calls to drop The Assassin(s)

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The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is standing by its decision to screen South Korean political thriller The Assassin(s) as its opening film, despite calls from South Korea’s conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) to withdraw it over allegations of historical distortion. The film, directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, has drawn critic...

27 people, groups named finalists for 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards

27 people, groups named finalists for 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards

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Twenty-seven individuals and groups have been named finalists for the 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, which recognises the unsung heroes of the city who have made major contributions to society. This year’s shortlist for the awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post, is divided into nine categories: community, culture, innovation, sustainability, perseverance, teamwork, ...

Hong Kong police to launch international academy, reveal details of new degree

Hong Kong police to launch international academy, reveal details of new degree

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Hong Kong’s police have revealed they will launch an academy offering specialised courses for overseas officers and shared new details about the force’s bachelor’s degree programme, with classes expected to start next March. Kelly Cheng Lai-ki, director of the Police College, said establishing the Hong Kong International Academy of Policing would consolidate generations of frontline wisdom handed ...

Rare Chinese calligraphy scroll resurfaces after 81 years, sells for US$22.6 million

Rare Chinese calligraphy scroll resurfaces after 81 years, sells for US$22.6 million

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A rare work of Chinese calligraphy long presumed destroyed in the chaos of 1945 only to resurface 81 years later, fetched HK$177.45 million (US$22.6 million) in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The work called Jishi Tie, or Accumulated Time Letter, by early Tang dynasty (618-907) calligrapher Yu Shinan, went under the hammer at China Guardian Hong Kong’s autumn auction at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhib...

Ukraine’s Zelensky accuses US of inaction as Russian strikes kill nearly 80 in 2 days

Ukraine’s Zelensky accuses US of inaction as Russian strikes kill nearly 80 in 2 days

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the US of being unwilling to help Ukraine after a Russian bomb attack on Thursday killed at least 35 people in the east, sending the two-day death toll from Russian strikes to over 70. Hours after the strike on the embattled city of Kramatorsk tore through two buses, Zelensky criticised Washington’s effort to pursue economic ties with Russia while als...

3 dilemmas on keeping AI under control are converging

3 dilemmas on keeping AI under control are converging

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In March, artificial intelligence agents powered by leading Chinese models reportedly displayed deception, concealed failure and pushed against imposed limits in controlled tests. In July, OpenAI’s internal research model circumvented controls meant to keep it offline and accessed developer platform Hugging Face’s systems. In August, Britain’s AI Security Institute uncovered unsanctioned agent beh...

3 siblings killed in Malaysia crash after insisting on going to haze-closed school

3 siblings killed in Malaysia crash after insisting on going to haze-closed school

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A boy and his sister lost their lives in a road accident after they wanted to attend classes despite their school being closed due to the haze in Malaysia’s Johor state. Their elder brother, who took them on his motorcycle to check out the school for themselves, was killed as well. The three siblings – Nordaniel Aiman Norlizan, 18, Nordaniel Fikri Norlizan, 11, and Puteri Naufa Raisha Norlizan, ei...

How quickly is China learning from the Ukraine war’s latest drone tactics?

How quickly is China learning from the Ukraine war’s latest drone tactics?

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China is running the most systematic effort of any outside power to learn from the drone war in Ukraine, with military and defence-industry analysts typically writing up new battlefield techniques within about four months, according to a new analysis. But it usually took a year or more before those lessons showed up publicly in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) training, equipment or force structure,...

From kitchen waste to sky-high costs: inside Hong Kong’s quest for green jet fuel

From kitchen waste to sky-high costs: inside Hong Kong’s quest for green jet fuel

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China’s once-notorious “gutter oil”, recycled from kitchen and drainage waste, has almost vanished from dining tables in recent years and now carries the nickname liquid gold. The substance has become a highly sought-after feedstock for producing clean energy, especially sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with biofuel producers such as Hong Kong-based Ecoceres sourcing gutter oil across the Greater ...

South Korea struggles to curb sexual exploitation sites 10 years after Soranet scandal

South Korea struggles to curb sexual exploitation sites 10 years after Soranet scandal

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A decade after the shutdown of Soranet – a sprawling online hub for secretly filmed and non-consensual sexual videos that became a symbol of South Korea’s digital sex-crime crisis – the country is still struggling to stamp out similar networks and copycat sites that have emerged in its wake. Their prevalence reflects the difficulties of deterring such illegal activities, policing the online space ...

Flavio Bolsonaro says he would work with China and US as Brazil’s president

Flavio Bolsonaro says he would work with China and US as Brazil’s president

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Flavio Bolsonaro said he would work with the US and China if he becomes Brazil’s president, after a surprise election performance left him poised to join a wave of conservative leaders pushing Latin America closer to Washington. “I’m not going to pick sides,” Bolsonaro said at an event in Brasilia on Thursday. “My side will be the Brazilian people, whether we’re dealing with China, Israel, the Mid...

Central retail shop bought by Swiss heir in ‘rare’ Hong Kong market move

Central retail shop bought by Swiss heir in ‘rare’ Hong Kong market move

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In a rare market move, a long-established local developer sold a Central retail shop that was held for over 50 years to an heir of Swiss underwear maker Triumph, according to data from the Land Registry, a deal analysts have called “highly unusual”. The use of international capital to acquire local retail assets in Hong Kong is uncommon. Triumph International did not immediately respond to a reque...

US to live-stream firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan

US to live-stream firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan

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The Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will be live-streamed after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be “public”. Hegseth, speaking to the conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice News on Wednesday, said the execution of Hasan will take place at Fort Hood on December 3. Hasan, a former army psychiatrist, was convicted of killi...