6 h. ago Washington should lower temperature on Taiwan attack threat, US report says

As the US Congress works to finish its annual defence authorisation bill, with new measures aimed at countering China’s influence, a report released Wednesday argues that Washington would be better served by toning down rhetoric about Taiwan and reducing defence investments premised on a looming mainland Chinese attack there. Beijing is “highly unlikely” to attack Taiwan, with its chances of success increasingly improbable, authors of the Stimson Centre report, “Rethinking the Threat: Why China...

Events

17 h. ago Hong Kong court orders arrest of talent scheme applicant who lied about degree

A Hong Kong court has ordered the arrest of a mainland Chinese talent scheme applicant who jumped bail while facing prosecution for allegedly lying about his qualifications. Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong on Wednesday signed a warrant for the arrest of Che Yuyi after the 30-year-old twice failed to appear in Sha Tin Court to answer a charge of making a false statement to the Immigration Department in October 2023. The magistrate also ordered the confiscation of the defendant’s...

Events

36 h. ago 96 arrested, HK$479 million in drugs seized in Hong Kong police, customs effort

Hong Kong police and customs have arrested 96 people and seized more than HK$479 million (US$61 million) worth of drugs in a months-long joint effort, with authorities warning that an increasing number of mainland Chinese and foreign air passengers are being lured into smuggling narcotics. Authorities said on Tuesday that the recruitment of non-local air travellers was part of attempts to confuse investigators, with other tactics including arranging convoluted flight routes to target...

Events

58 h. ago Hong Kong schools cut fewer Primary One classes after ‘boost from talent scheme’

Hong Kong schools appear to have staunched the problem of shrinking enrolment as fewer Primary One classes are being cut this year, according to official data, with the sector attributing the improvement to an influx of children of mainland Chinese talent. According to Primary School Profiles 2025 released on Monday, there are 1,569 Primary One classes in public schools this year, 12 fewer than the 1,581 in 2024. Last year, there were 26 Primary One classes fewer than in the 2023-24 school...

Politics

62 h. ago Hong Kong invests HK$30 million in water pipe robots to detect leaks

Hong Kong authorities have invested HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) in developing water pipe robots, modelled after endoscopes, to navigate the city’s complex urban infrastructure and detect leaks, addressing risks posed by an ageing network. The Water Supplies Department announced on Monday the opening of the Pipeline Robots Joint Laboratory, a collaboration with Polytechnic University and mainland Chinese robotics company Shenzhen Bwell Technology. Under the two-year collaboration, researchers...

Economics

66 h. ago Hong Kong, 2 mainland Chinese cities named UN body’s top innovation cluster

A cluster of cities comprising Hong Kong and two others from mainland China has been named the world’s top innovation hub, a feat attributed to a new ranking metric that involves venture capital deals, a United Nations body has said. For the first time in five years, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster surpassed Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan, to claim the number one spot in the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) 2025 Global Innovation Index. The result was announced on Monday at the...

Politics

3 d. ago Chinese officials urge family to cremate sick man lying on floor, shocking public

A group of public servants in China have come under fire for urging a rural family to cremate their relative while he was still alive and in earshot. On August 19, a villager in eastern China’s Anhui province posted a video exposing local government officials for promoting cremation while an elderly member of a family was lying sick and dying. It is a local custom to place a dying person on the floor. The officials told the family about the perks of cremation, including their policy of providing...

Politics

5 d. ago Can China’s US$22 trillion savings and global investors propel markets higher?

In the second instalment of the two-part series on the outlook for the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stock markets, Zhang Shidong and Yulu Ao look at the catalysts that could underpin the rally. Read part one here When Chinese stocks hit a 10-year high this week, Jian Shi Cortesi saw it as a sign that the rally could continue as overseas investors returned to the nation’s onshore and offshore equities, which are worth a combined US$20 trillion. The Switzerland-based investment director at GAM...

Economics

5 d. ago China’s retail investors armed with US$22 trillion are key to markets’ fortunes

In the second instalment of the two-part series on the outlook for the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stock markets, Zhang Shidong and Yulu Ao look at the catalysts that could underpin the rally. Read part one here. When Chinese stocks hit a 10-year high this week, Jian Shi Cortesi saw it as a sign that the rally could continue as overseas investors returned to the nation’s onshore and offshore equities, which are worth a combined US$20 trillion. The Switzerland-based investment director at GAM...

Economics

6 d. ago China’s stock boom will not do much to rejuvenate the economy, Nomura says

The ongoing rally in Chinese stocks will do little to boost growth in the mainland’s economy, as equity investments account for a small portion of total household assets, Nomura Holdings said. In a report on Wednesday, Lu Ting, the Japanese brokerage’s chief China economist, said Chinese households parked the majority of their wealth in the struggling property market. Stock holdings accounted for 1.3 per cent of total household assets, while the proportion for properties was 60 per cent, the...

Politics

6 d. ago What does a mock US rocket launcher in mainland China say about a Taiwan conflict?

Mock-ups of Himars rocket launchers – which Taiwan has ordered from the US – have been spotted in a car park in mainland China, suggesting a PLA simulation of a cross-strait conflict. A video circulating on mainland Chinese social media this week showed three trucks resembling the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars). The replica trucks appeared to be lighter than genuine Himars units and, according to the video, lacked rocket launchers. The footage showed the vehicles...

Events

7 d. ago Manufacturer took action over copied bricks before Hong Kong’s MTR Corp scandal

The sole licensed mainland Chinese manufacturer of a German-owned brick brand has said that it started legal action over bogus products two months ago, before counterfeits were found on an MTR Corporation construction site, sparking public outcry. The revelation comes amid intense media and government scrutiny of the MTR Corp’s Tung Chung East station project, where counterfeit bricks from a Yangzhou-based company were allegedly used. According to reports cited in the manufacturer’s statement,...

Politics

7 d. ago Hong Kong’s MTR Corp files police report over counterfeit brick scandal

The MTR Corporation has filed a police report over a counterfeit brick scandal involving one of its construction sites after it failed to resolve concerns about the authenticity of materials and documentation supplied by a subcontractor. The rail giant made the move on Wednesday after the sole licensed mainland Chinese manufacturer of a German-owned brick brand said it had taken legal action over alleged falsification of authorisation documents and test reports two months ago, before imitation...

Events

8 d. ago Taiwan warns celebrities to be wary of supporting Beijing’s military parade

Taiwan on Tuesday cautioned its entertainers against echoing mainland Chinese propaganda, singling out Beijing’s military parade next week, as it reiterated that government employees and senior retired officers were forbidden from attending. The warning was issued by the island’s Mainland Affairs Council ahead of the Victory Day parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II. “Taiwanese entertainers developing careers in...

Events

1 week ago British Airways committed to Hong Kong, mainland China routes: customer chief

British Airways remains committed to the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets despite reducing its service to the city and halting flights to Beijing, its customer chief has said, stressing that the carrier will revisit its schedules once geopolitical issues change. In an interview with the Post, chief customer officer Calum Laming emphasised that the airline had no intention of scaling back its presence in Hong Kong and on the mainland despite reduced services due to Russian airspace...

Economics

1 week ago Hong Kong tops the US as IPO venue for mainland Chinese start

In the first of a two-part series about Hong Kong’s market for initial public offerings, Zhang Shidong and Ao Yulu report that more Chinese companies opted to list in Hong Kong in the first eight months of 2025 than in New York. Hong Kong has overtaken the US as the new listing venue for mainland Chinese companies, marking a major milestone for the world’s fourth-largest capital market after a decade of betting on its growth in its much larger and stronger hinterland. As many as 46...

Politics

1 week ago China’s warning over US vessels, shale gas fields found: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China warns US over military build-up as warships head towards Venezuela As US destroyers closed in on Venezuela’s coast, China condemned Washington’s military build-up and warned against foreign interference, backing Nicolas Maduro in a showdown that is drawing in powers far beyond the Caribbean. 2. Why are 7 large mainland Chinese cargo ships sailing in...

Events

1 week ago Why are 7 large mainland Chinese cargo ships sailing in the Taiwan Strait?

A fleet of large civilian cargo ships has sailed through the Taiwan Strait since heading south from the Bohai Sea off northern mainland China, prompting speculation about a possible joint amphibious landing drill with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The seven ro-ro, or “roll-on/roll-off” ships, with the Yantai-based Bohai Ferry Company in Shandong province, have deviated from their normal shipping routes in the Bohai Sea, according to Maritime Optima, a live ship tracker. As of Thursday, two...

Transport

1 week ago Hong Kong, mainland Chinese authorities arrest 42, foil people

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese law enforcement agencies have arrested 42 people in a crackdown on a cross-border people-smuggling syndicate that allegedly sold workers forged identity cards, housed them in subdivided flats and placed them in low-paid jobs. Chief Inspector Lau Ho-tak of the organised crime and triad bureau said on Thursday that the cross-border operation took place the previous day, with 30 suspects arrested in the city and 12 others apprehended across the border, including in...

Events

2 w. ago Is the PHL16 multiple rocket launcher China’s answer to the US Himars system?

As tensions intensify across the Taiwan Strait, Beijing has ramped up its firepower capacity to prepare for a possible war in the region. One of the weapon systems key to these efforts is the PHL-16, a truck-mounted self-propelled multiple rocket launcher (MRL) that incorporates modular design and long-range precision-strike capabilities. The system is often described as the mainland Chinese version of Lockheed Martin’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) that Taiwan has bought and...

Events