5 h. ago Chen Feng, founder of Chinese conglomerate HNA, sentenced to 12 years in prison

Chen Feng, a founder of the defunct Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and is subject to a penalty of 221 million yuan (US$30.8 million), nearly four years after he was detained by police. The 72-year-old businessman was charged with harming the interests of a listed company, fraudulently obtaining loans and a breach of duty through misappropriation, according to a court document. The government said 40 million yuan in personal assets were ordered to be...

Events

8 h. ago Chinese actor Yu Shi wins 2 medals at national horseback archery competition

Chinese actor Yu Shi, known for his roles in blockbuster fantasy epics, has taken method acting to a new level by claiming two medals at a national horseback archery competition on Wednesday. Yu, who rose to fame after starring in the 2023 film Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, won bronze in the single mounted and gold in the team event with his group from Shenzhen. The National Horseback Archery Elite Competition is a traditional sporting event that has deep roots in the region’s...

Politics

9 h. ago Everything you need to know about this year’s Hong Kong DSE examinations

We have selected eight stories from our coverage of Hong Kong’s Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examinations. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Feels like magic’: Hong Kong’s DSE top scorers revel in results – as it happened 2. Hong Kong’s DSE stars praise power of AI, eye local medical degrees 3. Hong Kong DSE 14 years in: best subjects, worst performers and top schools 4. ‘Less stressful’: why mainland Chinese pupils choose Hong Kong’s DSE...

Politics

10 h. ago China editor slams school for ousting woman for casual sex, wants man treated same

A former editor in China has called for gender-neutral punishment and criticised a university for expelling a woman who had casual sex with a man. The backlash follows the expulsion of a 21-year-old Chinese student, surnamed Li, after her alleged sexual involvement with a Ukrainian gamer. Li reportedly had a one-night stand with a 37-year-old Ukrainian ex-Counter-Strike player, Danylo Teslenko, known as “Zeus”, while he was in Shanghai for an event last December. Teslenko shared their intimate...

Culture

10 h. ago Syria’s future tied to Israel peace deal as billions in investment set to arrive

Some US$20 billion of foreign investment and financial aid is set to pour into Syria over the next few years, kick-starting the reconstruction of the war-torn country after Western sanctions were lifted two months ago. But the desperately needed funds forthcoming from Gulf Arab, Turkish and Western firms remain tied to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s willingness to reach some kind of Washington-backed peace agreement with an antagonistic Israel, according to several Middle East experts who...

Economics

11 h. ago Maersk downplays hit from US port fees as doubts swirl over anti

When the United States unveiled plans to charge hefty fees to any China-built or operated ship entering an American port earlier this year, the shipping industry appeared to face a stark choice: cut Chinese vessels out of their fleets or see their costs soar. But months ahead of the charges coming into force, the global shipping giant Maersk insists that it will be able to avoid making that decision, casting further doubt over the US’ ability to curtail the dominance of China’s...

Events

11 h. ago Philippines ‘least safe’ to travel to? Sorry, Canadian firm says

A Canadian travel insurance comparison firm has issued a formal apology and withdrawn a controversial ranking that labelled the Philippines as the least safe country in the world – a designation that provoked sharp condemnation from the Philippine government and tourism industry. HelloSafe, which had published its “2025 Safety Index” in early June, scored the Philippines 82.32 – placing it at the bottom of a list measuring safety through indicators such as natural disasters, healthcare, societal...

Politics

11 h. ago ChinaAMC launches first tokenised yuan fund amid Hong Kong stablecoin push

ChinaAMC (HK), the Hong Kong arm of Chinese fund house China Asset Management, launched the world’s first yuan-denominated tokenised fund on Thursday, aligning with the city’s regulatory framework for stablecoins, which is expected to stimulate demand for digital assets. While a yuan stablecoin is currently unavailable, mainland Chinese officials have softened their stance on digital currencies and the broader digital asset space. With Hong Kong’s stablecoin ordinance taking effect from August...

Politics

12 h. ago Chinese police investigating 5 missing teens warn of telecoms crime risk

Chinese police are investigating at least five cases of missing teenagers believed to have been caught up in scam centres, including some who have lost contact with their families after travelling to Myanmar. Police in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in central China, issued a notice on Wednesday, confirming the disappearance of an 18-year-old high school student who had travelled to a city in Yunnan, a southwestern province on the border with Myanmar. According to his parents, the student...

Events

14 h. ago Chinese woman is disabled in car crash, lover disappears after pledging support

The boyfriend of a Chinese woman has shocked social media by abandoning her just three months after she was made paraplegic in a car accident for which he was primarily responsible. On April 5, the woman, surnamed Bai, 25, was travelling with her boyfriend, surnamed Zhang, and members of his family near a reservoir in Gansu province, northwestern China. Zhang was at the wheel and Bai was the front-seat passenger. Tragedy struck when Zhang reportedly became distracted while making a right turn,...

Events

14 h. ago Wahaha heiress’ inheritance battle puts Chinese family firms in spotlight

Kelly Zong Fuli, chairwoman and CEO of mainland China’s largest soft-drinks producer Hangzhou Wahaha Group, is embroiled in a wealth-inheritance dispute that has prompted questions about the sustainability of the country’s family businesses. The daughter of late founder Zong Qinghou is facing two lawsuits as three plaintiffs, claiming to be her half-brothers and half-sister, seek to prevent her from dealing with assets worth about US$2 billion. The feud surfaced just a year after the heiress won...

Events

16 h. ago Chinese steel companies find new tariff workaround: steel billet

Chinese steel companies find new tariff workaround: steel billet  Reuters

Economics

16 h. ago Nvidia Boss Praises DeepSeek and Chinese AI in Beijing Visit

Nvidia Boss Praises DeepSeek and Chinese AI in Beijing Visit  Bloomberg.com

Politics

17 h. ago Record US Firms Cut China Investment Plans as Tariffs Spiraled

Record US Firms Cut China Investment Plans as Tariffs Spiraled  Bloomberg.com

Economics

18 h. ago How deals are trumping port dispute on Australian PM’s China visit

Beijing has set aside major disputes with Canberra and instead filled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day visit to China this week with a slew of trade and investment deals, a move analysts said was an effort to find common ground amid trade tensions with the United States. The deals include the potential widening of access to the Chinese market for Australian farm produce and coal, cooperation in the digitalisation of the financial sector, investment in greenfield projects and...

Politics

18 h. ago On Australian PM’s visit to China, the 2 nations ‘hold back’ on disputes

Beijing has set aside major disputes with Canberra and instead filled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day visit to China this week with a slew of trade and investment deals, a move analysts said was an effort to find common ground amid trade tensions with the United States. The deals include the potential widening of access to the Chinese market for Australian farm produce and coal, cooperation in the digitalisation of the financial sector, investment in greenfield projects and...

Politics

18 h. ago Nvidia's H20 chips see surge in Chinese orders as Jensen Huang returns to Beijing

Nvidia's H20 chips see surge in Chinese orders as Jensen Huang returns to Beijing  digitimes

Politics

19 h. ago Chinese ethnic minorities sing songs to solve legal disputes; case goes viral

Some courts in southwestern China’s Guizhou province have hired folk singers to work as mediators in a bid to settle legal disputes among local ethnic minorities. In a 2023 video that recently went viral on social media, a man in Rongjiang County, Guizhou province, took a woman from a neighbouring village to court after she spread a folk song she made up to defame him and his wife in several chat groups. Both parties are from the Shui ethnic group, for whom folk singing is a major way of...

Politics

19 h. ago DSE versus gaokao: more mainland Chinese pupils opting for Hong Kong system

An increasing number of mainland Chinese pupils are taking Hong Kong’s university entrance exams as a step towards more diverse opportunities in higher education, with at least two achieving flying colours as private candidates this year. Leslie Wang Ziqi, 18, a student in Shenzhen, switched from the National Higher Education Entrance Examination or gaokao, mainland China’s university entrance exam, to the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE), as a private candidate at the beginning of his final...

Politics

19 h. ago ‘Less stressful’: why mainland Chinese pupils choose Hong Kong’s DSE over gaokao

An increasing number of mainland Chinese pupils are taking Hong Kong’s university entrance exams as a step towards more diverse opportunities in higher education, with at least two achieving flying colours as private candidates this year. Leslie Wang Ziqi, 18, a student in Shenzhen, switched from the National Higher Education Entrance Examination or gaokao, mainland China’s university entrance exam, to the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE), as a private candidate at the beginning of his final...

Politics