2 h. ago Chinese solar firms bank on overseas expansion to survive amid US tariffs

Chinese solar and energy-storage companies will continue to press ahead with their overseas expansion with or without a long-term agreement on trade tariffs, as production abroad holds the key to their long-term survival, according to executives at China’s largest solar industry exhibition. Although the US and China reached a 90-day truce in their ongoing tariff war in May, solar panel exports from China and Southeast Asia to the US are still subject to tariffs of as much as 3,521 per cent, with...

Economics

4 h. ago TikTok’s sister app Douyin courts merchants with lower deposit fees

TikTok owner ByteDance, whose Douyin short video app has emerged as a popular e-commerce shopping platform in China, will cut the guarantee deposit payable by merchants, in a move designed to keep existing sellers and lure new ones amid fierce competition. The deposit, held by the platform on behalf of sellers to cover potential costs such as refunds or penalties, would be capped at 5,000 yuan (US$695), a fraction of the previous maximum of 500,000 yuan. As a result, the deposit payable by...

Events

5 h. ago Trump seems to reverse course on Chinese students in US, saying he supports them

US President Donald Trump reiterated his support for Chinese students in America on Thursday and pledged to help them remain in the country after graduation, distancing himself from initiatives that his administration has announced to limit or block international students because of national security concerns. “I’ve always been strongly in favour of it. I think it’s a great thing,” Trump said on Thursday, referring to Chinese nationals seeking to study in the US. “It’s also good for our schools....

Politics

12 h. ago Beijing national security authorities carry out operation with police in Hong Kong

Beijing’s national security authorities in Hong Kong launched a joint operation with local counterparts on Thursday over a case of suspected collusion with foreign forces. The investigation is the first publicly known joint operation by Beijing’s national security arm in the city and the local police force. According to authorities, six people and an organisation were suspected of having committed the offence of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national...

Events

13 h. ago Nvidia CEO says Huawei has everyone ‘covered’ if US chip ban on China stays

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said his company’s technology remained a generation ahead of those developed by China, but warned that Huawei Technologies was in a position to expand its semiconductor business should US chip export curbs stay in place. In an interview with US broadcaster CNBC on Thursday, Huang appeared to echo recent published remarks made by Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, who said the Chinese company’s Ascend artificial intelligence (AI) processors lagged behind...

Politics

14 h. ago How LA protests might force China to rethink its approach to US ties

The unrest in Los Angeles has revealed US domestic tensions that could momentarily divert Donald Trump’s attention from his China policies, potentially requiring a recalibration of Beijing’s approach towards Washington, according to Chinese analysts. One international relations expert urged Beijing to adopt a more pragmatic approach towards US ties and shift its focus to adapt to the conservative turn in American politics. After days of demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles over citywide US...

Events

15 h. ago Customs works with University of Hong Kong to develop crypto transaction tracer

Customs officials are working with the University of Hong Kong to develop a tool that can trace cryptocurrency transactions, with the authority stressing it had recorded seven suspected money laundering cases involving virtual assets and more than HK$9 billion (US$1.1 billion) in recent years. Mario Wong Ho-yin, assistant commissioner for intelligence and investigation at the Customs and Excise Department, said on Thursday it would ramp up collaborations with academics, finance and virtual asset...

Politics

17 h. ago China to remove tariffs on nearly all goods from Africa as both criticise US

Twenty more African countries, mostly from the continent’s middle-income nations, are set to gain access to the world’s largest consumer market duty-free as Beijing plans to remove tariffs for all products from every African nation except eSwatini. The measure was announced as African ministers joined Beijing at a meeting in central China affiliated with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Amid the tariff war, representatives from China and African nations accused the United States of...

Politics

17 h. ago Pentagon chief warns China preparing for war, calls Beijing top US threat

Pentagon chief warns China preparing for war, calls Beijing top US threat  Business Standard

Events

17 h. ago ‘Overflowing with faeces, urine’: 150 dead cats found in Japanese woman’s home

A volunteer at an animal welfare group in Japan has been arrested after about 150 dead cats were discovered at her home in Kumamoto city. Police and animal rescue volunteers found the bodies, some in an advanced stage of decomposition, on Tuesday after they entered the woman’s home to investigate a pet owner’s complaint to the animal welfare group on May 27. The complainant said she had handed over four of her late mother’s pet cats to the suspect, who had promised her regular updates and...

Events

19 h. ago Fire erupts in Hong Kong shopping district, with smoke billowing into streets

A fire erupted in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay on Thursday afternoon, with smoke billowing into the streets of the shopping district. A Post reporter observed smoke coming from what appeared to be the ground floor entrance of the Apartment O service flats near Eton Tower, with emergency personnel arriving at the scene to extinguish the blaze. At least nine fire trucks were spotted in the area. Police and firefighters also blocked off road access along Hoi Ping Road. The smoke could be smelt from...

Economics

19 h. ago Firefighters put out blaze in busy Hong Kong shopping district

Hong Kong firefighters have extinguished a blaze that erupted in Causeway Bay on Thursday afternoon and caused smoke to billow into the streets of the busy shopping district. The Information Services Department said the fire was put out at around 4.48pm, nearly an hour and a half after the blaze was first reported. The Fire Services Department said that no injuries were reported, adding that the cause of the blaze was still under investigation. A Post reporter earlier observed smoke coming from...

Economics

19 h. ago Teen star of Hong Kong documentary on DSE exams convicted of theft again

A Hong Kong student who starred in a popular web documentary about the city’s university entrance exams has been convicted of theft for a second time after pleading guilty to shoplifting at a supermarket. Eastern Court on Thursday recorded a guilty plea from Tang Ngai-hong, who admitted to stealing a bag of fruit and two packets of potato chips from the Fresh supermarket at Kornhill Plaza North in Quarry Bay on January 5. The offence took place just five months after the 19-year-old was fined...

Politics

19 h. ago Malaysians demand action against Facebook group exploiting schoolgirls’ images

Outraged Malaysians have demanded that police hunt down the people behind a Facebook page that has shared hundreds of images of schoolgirls. The online community launched a social media crusade earlier this week against the group called “Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah” (Primary School Kids Group) after an influencer discovered an old picture of herself from her high school days posted on the page. The group had around 12,000 members who routinely made sexually suggestive comments on pictures of...

Culture

20 h. ago Trump touts ‘done’ deal with Beijing on rare earth minerals, Chinese students

Trump touts ‘done’ deal with Beijing on rare earth minerals, Chinese students  PTV News

Politics

23 h. ago Chinese vessel grounding: concern in Philippines over new grey

A recent case of a Chinese militia vessel running aground on a strategic island in the disputed South China Sea has raised concerns from the Philippine side of another wave of so-called grey-zone activities by Beijing, even as Manila’s officials acknowledge the incident could be down to inclement weather. Observers point to the Philippines having adopted the same strategy to stake claim over the Second Thomas Shoal when it permanently grounded the war vessel BRP Sierra Madre in 1999. The recent...

Politics

25 h. ago The case of Hong Kong vs Singapore: unlimited potential for collaboration

From Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios Singapore to Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, there is this never-ending comparison between Hong Kong and Singapore. Insofar as our legal systems and the legal markets are concerned, there are also interesting similarities and differences. Both Hong Kong and Singapore are common law jurisdictions with developed and efficient legal systems. We are both in strategic locations with world-class legal infrastructure and vibrant legal communities....

Politics

26 h. ago China women pay US$14 to relax with charming men who take them on luxury car rides

Young women in southern China are spending 99 yuan (US$14) to relax with fit, handsome men who treat them to luxury car rides after work. According to the mainland media outlet Vista Hydrogen Business, a new trend called “city ride” is gaining traction in cities like Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Xiamen. This service features so-called “man bodhisattvas,” who provide companionship rides in expensive vehicles. These men are often affluent university students who use their families’ luxury cars during...

Economics

26 h. ago Hong Kong police chief vows vigilance against lingering national security threats

Hong Kong’s police chief has pledged vigilance against lingering threats of external interference, home-grown terrorism and “soft resistance”, five years after the Beijing-imposed national security law was promulgated. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said that while Hong Kong had returned to a state of stability in recent years, “undercurrents” remained that required the force to boost its intelligence-gathering and law enforcement efforts. “Now we are talking about how to advance from...

Events

27 h. ago Mainland China scientists build electronic war game for Taiwan and nearby waters

A PLA mobile electronic warfare platform deployed southeast of Taiwan activates its emitter, shattering the electromagnetic silence with powerful pulses, which are initially blocked by the island’s towering central mountain range. But while the key eastern military bases are unaffected at first, gradually the signals navigate the complex terrain, reflecting like mirrors off slopes and scattering across rough surfaces. Eventually, they cross the peaks to blanket the entire island and its...

Events