69 h. ago Hong Kong consumer watchdog urges better elderly services after 9,206 complaints

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has called on businesses to improve services for elderly customers after receiving more than 9,200 complaints in the past three years, including a woman who spent HK$400,000 (US$51,294) on beauty treatments. The Consumer Council said on Thursday that improving services for seniors would help boost the spending potential of the “silver economy”, a priority for the city’s government amid a rapidly ageing population. “The council urges traders to review their sales...

Politics

3 d. ago Why are Chinese tourists spending less overseas than before?

Chinese tourist numbers are recovering across Asia after a pandemic-era contraction, buoyed by the expansion of visa-free policies and a stronger yuan. But one thing has not returned: the spending sprees that used to boost duty-free retailers around the world. The trend can be clearly seen in South Korea, which relied on Chinese travellers for 70 per cent of its duty-free sales before Covid-19. Around 5 million visitors from China arrived in the country during the first 11 months of 2025, a...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Structurally hurt’: why are Chinese tourists spending less overseas than before?

Chinese tourist numbers are recovering across Asia after a pandemic-era contraction, buoyed by the expansion of visa-free policies and a stronger yuan. But one thing has not returned: the spending sprees that used to boost duty-free retailers around the world. The trend can be clearly seen in South Korea, which relied on Chinese travellers for 70 per cent of its duty-free sales before Covid-19. Around 5 million visitors from China arrived in the country during the first 11 months of 2025, a...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for ‘dream military’. Will China boost spending in response?

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to boost next year’s military budget to US$1.5 trillion aims to blunt China’s global influence, a move analysts said could push Beijing to speed up its own military build-up with “greater urgency”. On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that the US military budget for the 2027 financial year should be raised in the face of “very troubled and dangerous times”. “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more...

Events

9 d. ago Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for military. Will China boost spending too?

Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for military. Will China boost spending too?  South China Morning Post

Events

9 d. ago Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for ‘dream US military’. Will China boost spending too?

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to boost next year’s military budget to US$1.5 trillion aims to blunt China’s global influence, a move analysts said could push Beijing to speed up its own military build-up with “greater urgency”. On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that the US military budget for the 2027 financial year should be raised in the face of “very troubled and dangerous times”. “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more...

Events

2 w. ago China military exercises: PLA simulates Taiwan blockade, Trump 'not worried'

China military exercises: PLA simulates Taiwan blockade, Trump 'not worried'  NBC News

Events

3 w. ago Trump’s military restraint on Venezuela: power play with eye on China or weakness?

President Donald Trump’s reluctance to authorise direct military intervention in Venezuela underscored the US dilemma of how to reassert dominance in its traditional sphere while managing escalation risks in multipolar rivalry with China and Russia, observers said. But they cautioned against seeing US hesitation as weakness, noting intensified sanctions, naval blockades and diplomatic pressure from Washington, alongside a recalibrated strategy to sustain influence without overcommitment against...

Events