8 h. ago Why are mainland Chinese tourists posing in front of MTR stations in Hong Kong?

Surrounded by a stream of passengers on an MTR platform in Hong Kong on a regular weekday, a couple paused to pose for photos next to a station sign to mark their journey. “We took photos at most of the metro stations we visited, just to record our metro route,” said Arale, a 36-year-old tourist who was visiting the city with his wife, Qing, 37, for the first time. Recording such a visual diary is part of a popular trend on Chinese social media in which people travel around Hong Kong to take...

Politics

9 h. ago Hong Kong Instagram influencer pleads for release of father arrested in Cambodia

A Hong Kong-based Instagram influencer has written an open letter to Cambodia’s prime minister, calling for the immediate release of her father, who needs urgent medical care. Stephanie Cheng, also known as Laparasian on Instagram, posted a copy of the letter in English, French and Chinese on her social media early Saturday morning. In a separate post the previous day, the influencer said that her father, Cheng Chi-gian, a French citizen, had been “kidnapped in Phnom Penh just before exposing a...

Events

52 h. ago ByteDance helps jewellery firm Lao Feng Xiang push AI glasses to China’s elderly

Social media giant ByteDance is helping the 177-year-old Chinese jewellery company Lao Feng Xiang develop a new generation of smart glasses, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), that feature real-time voice navigation and translation functions. Lao Feng Xiang debuted their initial line of wearable gadgets at Wednesday’s opening of the International Exhibition of Senior Care, Rehabilitation Medicine and Healthcare, the world’s biggest senior care expo, that is being held in the company’s home...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘Chaotic era’: Chinese state media say LA protests are proof of a broken America

Chinese state media have sought to portray the escalating Los Angeles protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies as proof of a broken government and the lack of social cohesion in the United States. Such a framing, alongside a mix of gloating and schadenfreude on Chinese social media, comes amid sustained US-China tariff tensions and ongoing high-level trade talks in London. The state-backed Beijing Youth Daily, in a commentary published on its social media page on Tuesday,...

Events

4 d. ago Did China’s first emperor launch westwards mission to find ‘elixir of life’?

History records the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang as sending the alchemist Xu Fu eastwards towards Japan on a quest for the elixir of immortality. However, the ancient texts make no mention of any similar expedition heading west. But according to a state media report, findings by Chinese archaeologists suggest that a western expedition for the “elixir of life” may indeed have been launched during the reign of Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang, or the “first emperor of China”, was so named because he...

Events

4 d. ago Labubu becomes bait for China’s Ping An Bank to lure young customers

Hoping the world’s trendiest monster will scare up some new customers, China’s Ping An Bank is rewarding those who open new accounts with a Pop Mart Lababu doll amid fierce competition for young customers among Chinese retail banks. New clients who open a savings account and deposit more than 50,000 yuan (US$6,954) for at least three months could receive a blind box from the first or second series of the Chinese toy retailer’s popular collectibles, according to media reports. Customers who also...

Economics

4 d. ago FBI busts second Chinese scholar at UM in widening smuggling probe

FBI busts second Chinese scholar at UM in widening smuggling probe  The Detroit News

Events

5 d. ago China maths genius opens first social media account, gains 23 million fans in 5 days

Chinese mathematics prodigy Wei Dongyi has recently launched his first social media account, capturing widespread attention due to concerns about his appearance and dental health, while amassing an impressive 23 million followers in just five days. The 33-year-old, originally from Shandong province in eastern China, serves as an assistant professor in the mathematics department at the esteemed Peking University. Despite his remarkable achievements, Wei prefers a life centred on research and...

Economics

5 d. ago China urges ‘high vigilance’ from citizens in LA as ICE protests continue

China has urged its citizens in the Los Angeles area to stay vigilant and prioritise their personal safety amid “ongoing law enforcement actions” targeting immigration-related protests in California’s largest city. In a safety advisory issued on Monday, the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles reminded Chinese citizens in the area “to closely monitor official announcements and media reports, stay highly vigilant, strengthen safety precautions, avoid gathering sites, crowded areas, or locations with...

Events

6 d. ago Chinese media rebate corruption probe widens across agencies

Chinese media rebate corruption probe widens across agencies  Campaign Asia

Politics

7 d. ago Social media giant RedNote opens Hong Kong office, its first outside mainland

Chinese social media giant RedNote has opened an office in Hong Kong, its first outside mainland China, a move the city’s finance chief hopes will provide a boost to local businesses and the platform’s international expansion. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Saturday that he had personally invited the company, also known as Xiaohongshu, to set up a base in the city. “When I visited Shanghai at the end of last year, I made a special visit to Xiaohongshu’s headquarters,” Chan wrote on...

Politics

9 d. ago Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held phone call on Thursday, Chinese state media reports

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held phone call on Thursday, Chinese state media reports  Financial Times

Politics

1 week ago Sorry, but the ‘China shock’ was actually pretty good for America

The idea that China has stolen millions of American jobs in recent decades, causing a collapse in the manufacturing labour market, has long been a staple anti-Chinese narrative on both sides of US politics. Even economists and media pundits who grudgingly acknowledge that cheap Chinese goods have made life easier and more affordable for the average American would complain about these alleged mass job losses. And the blue-collar voters most severely affected by sectoral lay-offs and the decline...

Events

1 week ago Malaysia goes after US$178 million in London assets tied to Daim’s widow

Malaysia has launched efforts to freeze assets in London – including bank accounts and prime real estate valued at £132 million (US$178 million) – linked to the widow of the late tycoon Daim Zainuddin, according to anti-graft authorities. The process – which will ultimately need to be executed by authorities in the United Kingdom – is part of a widening embezzlement probe into his family’s wealth. Daim, who died last November aged 86, was a key ally of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and...

Economics

1 week ago Top retired Chinese general Xu Qiliang dies of illness: state media

Top retired Chinese general Xu Qiliang dies of illness: state media  Reuters

Events

2 w. ago Disbelief as China paraglider sucked into freezing, high altitude vortex is punished

Social media in China has reacted with disbelief after a Chinese paraglider who miraculously survived after being sucked into a potentially deadly cloud vortex that carried him 8,598 metres above sea level was punished by local authorities. Peng Yujiang, 55, was sucked into the clouds on May 24 in the Qilian Mountain region across Qinghai and Gansu provinces in northwestern China. He ascended to an altitude almost the height of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest that is 8,849 metres...

Politics

2 w. ago China ‘goddess’ actress returns in crime thriller, captivating Cannes audiences

Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan has made a notable comeback to the media spotlight with her new Hong Kong film, Sons of the Neon Night, which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. After marrying Taiwanese-Canadian actor Mark Chao in 2014 and welcoming a daughter in 2019, Gao significantly reduced her public exposure, making her return to showbiz especially stunning for fans who observed that she seemed to have not aged at all. Sons of the Neon Night, a Hong Kong dystopian crime thriller,...

Events

2 w. ago WeChat denounced by North Carolina official for complicity in US fentanyl crisis

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has accused the Chinese social media app WeChat of facilitating cross-border money laundering that helps finance the fentanyl abuse crisis in the US. In a video posted online on Tuesday, Jackson alleged that Mexican drug cartels have been using WeChat to coordinate cash pickups in US cities, arrange currency swaps with Chinese brokers and quietly move drug profits across borders. “You are now a core part of the business model that is killing thousands...

Politics

2 w. ago WeChat denounced for complicity in US fentanyl crisis by North Carolina official

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has accused the Chinese social media app WeChat of facilitating cross-border money laundering that helps finance the fentanyl abuse crisis in the US. In a video posted online on Tuesday, Jackson alleged that Mexican drug cartels have been using WeChat to coordinate cash pickups in US cities, arrange currency swaps with Chinese brokers and quietly move drug profits across borders. “You are now a core part of the business model that is killing thousands...

Politics

2 w. ago Chinese media highlights Beijing's keenness to boost presence in Gulf region through Kuwait

Chinese media highlights Beijing's keenness to boost presence in Gulf region through Kuwait  kuna.net.kw

Politics