5 d. ago China woman buys US$28 ‘love insurance’, claims US$1,400 when she gets married a decade later

A Chinese woman who bought a “love insurance” policy for 199 yuan (US$28) in 2016 claimed a 10,000-yuan (US$1,400) payout ten years later. The payout came after she and her partner officially registered their marriage in 2025, following a decade long relationship. The woman surnamed Wu from Xian, Shaanxi province in central China, met her husband, surnamed Wang, in secondary school. The pair began dating and officially entered a relationship in 2015 after enrolling at the same university. They...

Economics

6 d. ago 31% of scam victims calling Hong Kong helpline had possible suicidal tendencies

Nearly a third of scam victims who sought counselling through a Hong Kong welfare group’s crisis hotlines last year had possible suicidal tendencies, according to a study by the organisation. The Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre said on Sunday that its hotline service handled 3,983 debt-related cases in 2025, with more than 31 per cent involving individuals at risk of suicide and requiring crisis intervention. “Many who fall victim to scams feel shame and guilt,” the centre said in its...

Events

1 week ago Korean peninsula arms race is heating up. How will China react in 2026?

As the new year unfolds, China finds itself grappling with strategic pressures fuelled by two US treaty allies at its doorstep – Japan and South Korea. In the second of a two-part series, Seong Hyeon Choi looks at how competing pressures in the Korean peninsula may complicate China’s security calculus. Read the first part here. In 2025, there was a major shift in China’s security environment relating to the Korean peninsula, as the North grew more open in its push for nuclear weapons and the...

Politics

2 w. ago Watch: Chinese FM Wang Yi recaps China's foreign relations in 2025

Watch: Chinese FM Wang Yi recaps China's foreign relations in 2025  news.cgtn.com

Politics

2 w. ago Asia’s year of costly climate disasters spurs calls for ‘decisive action’

As Asia counts the cost of one of the world’s most expensive years for weather disasters, aid groups and scientists are warning that poorer countries face even greater risks ahead unless global emissions are cut and spending shifts from disaster response to prevention. Asia accounted for four of the world’s six costliest climate-related disasters in 2025, according to a report by Christian Aid released this month, underlining how heavily the region is being hit by floods, storms and extreme...

Events

2 w. ago 2025 Recap: Five Key Developments in China’s Foreign Information Influence

2025 Recap: Five Key Developments in China’s Foreign Information Influence  The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine

Politics

4 w. ago Democrats bet on ‘betrayal’ in rural heartland as Trump’s ‘America first’ mantra falls short

It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the fifth part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine how Trump’s strained relationship with farmers in America’s rural heartland may impact the 2026 midterm elections. As a bruising 2025 draws to a close for America’s Democratic Party, the caucus is spotlighting mounting challenges facing farmers in the country’s rural heartland. In a series of mini-documentaries released late this year, the lush green...

Politics