12 h. ago US students discover Unit 731 horrors, and an American war crime cover

As thousands of students gather this week for the finals of the National History Day contest in the US state of Maryland, one research project may stand out – not only as a sobering reminder of an infamous, often forgotten Japanese military unit, but also for America’s role in keeping its war crimes quiet. The project, a documentary produced by four students from a New Mexico high school, is an investigation of Unit 731 – a secret group that carried out unspeakable experiments on people in China...

Events

22 h. ago China's Investment Pivot and Africa’s Industrial Prospects: Any Hope for African “Flying Geese”?

China's Investment Pivot and Africa’s Industrial Prospects: Any Hope for African “Flying Geese”?  Center For Global Development

Politics

24 h. ago China turns to robots for elderly care with national pilot programme

China has launched a pilot programme aimed at accelerating the deployment of robots to alleviate the pressure of elderly care, as the nation grapples with a rapidly ageing population and a labour shortage. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, issued a notice on Monday inviting organisations to participate in pilot projects. The initiative aims to enhance the integration of robotics into smart elderly care. The programme...

Politics

27 h. ago Malaysia assures users their privacy is protected in mobile data grab

Malaysia’s communications regulator has assured the public that their privacy remains intact, despite a government move to hoover up data on mobile phone and internet usage as part of widening controls over online activity. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said that the data being compiled under the government’s Mobile Phone Data project was all anonymous. There were no markers to indicate the identity of users, such as names or mobile numbers. “At the point of...

Politics

28 h. ago China’s top drone maker DJI comes down to earth with launch of robotic cleaner

Chinese drone giant DJI is expected to launch a vacuum cleaning robot in a move set to intensify competition in the country’s crowded robotic cleaner market, according to a report by the state-backed financial newspaper China Securities Journal, citing internal sources. Shenzhen-based DJI will introduce a combination vacuum cleaner and mopping robot this month, a project that has been under development over the past four years, according to the report. The product is called DJI ROMO, according...

Events

52 h. ago ‘Symbol of hope’: LGBTQ Singaporeans to seal stories of love inside time capsule

When healthcare worker V first met his partner E, a researcher, in 2000 they instantly clicked and began their relationship that spanned a little over 20 years. At the time, homosexuality was still an offence in Singapore but V, who is now in his late 40s and spoke on condition of anonymity, told This Week in Asia they were happy enjoying food, travel and what he described as “quiet activism” in the city state. To commemorate the second year of their relationship, he gifted E matching wedding...

Politics

57 h. ago China’s rare mineral gives blind mice ‘super vision’, hope for human blindness

Researchers have used a rare mineral produced mostly in China to create an artificial retina that not only restored sight in blind animals, but also gave them “super vision” – the extraordinary ability to see infrared light. The advance offers significant promise for treating human blindness, according to scientists. The study, led by Wang Shuiyuan, a researcher at the College of Integrated Circuits and Micro-Nano Electronics at Fudan University in Shanghai, was published in the journal Science...

Politics

57 h. ago China’s rare mineral gives blind mice ‘super vision’, offers hope for humans

Researchers have used a rare mineral produced mostly in China to create an artificial retina that not only restored sight in blind animals, but also gave them “super vision” – the extraordinary ability to see infrared light. The advance offers significant promise for treating human blindness, according to scientists. The study, led by Wang Shuiyuan, a researcher at the College of Integrated Circuits and Micro-Nano Electronics at Fudan University in Shanghai, was published in the journal Science...

Politics

60 h. ago The future of retirement for wealthy Hongkongers could be this Zhuhai community

A Macau conglomerate is targeting Hong Kong’s affluent retirees with a new luxury senior housing project in the Greater Bay Area, capitalising on a shortage of high-end retirement options for the city’s affluent retirees. “There is a lack of high-quality lifestyle retirement [options] in Hong Kong,” said Amber Li, founder of Serensia Woods, a 13,500-square-metre (145,313 sq ft) retirement community in Zhuhai’s Hengqin district. The community, on an island largely in the Guangdong city...

Politics

4 d. ago Indonesian villagers urge China to stop funding mine project after permit loss

An Indonesian community in North Sumatra is calling on Beijing to withdraw financial backing for a China-linked zinc and lead mine in the earthquake-prone region after the project lost its environmental permit. On May 23, Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry formally revoked the approval it had granted in 2022 to Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM), an Indonesian joint venture seeking to build an underground mine in the Dairi regency. The move was in line with a Supreme Court ruling ordering...

Politics

5 d. ago Fintech startup Syfe bolsters Hong Kong expansion after new funding round

Syfe, a Singapore-based digital investment platform operator, has raised US$80 million in its Series C funding round, as the company pushes to expand its wealth management product offerings in Hong Kong. This round includes new all-equity financing worth US$53 million at a significantly higher valuation, according to the fintech start-up’s statement on Thursday. The latest financing brings the company’s total funding to US$132 million since it was founded in 2019. Syfe founder and CEO Dhruv...

Politics

5 d. ago It's not just AI — China's quickly gaining an edge over the U.S. in biotech

It's not just AI — China's quickly gaining an edge over the U.S. in biotech  CNBC

Politics

5 d. ago Xiaomi founder stays on as honorary chairman at Chinese software firm

Lei Jun – the 55-year-old Chinese entrepreneur transforming Xiaomi into a technology conglomerate covering smartphones, electric vehicles (EVs) and chips – will retain his seat as “honorary chairman” at Beijing Kingsoft Office Software, suggesting that the founder remains committed to taking on multiple roles on the business front lines. In his honorary chairman role, Lei, the “actual controller” of Kingsoft Office, will provide guidance on technology innovation, management and corporate...

Politics

5 d. ago Harvard speech sparks debate, China GDP growth outlook: 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. Privilege or merit? Harvard speech ignites China debate on elite education access Emotional remarks by a Chinese student who delivered this year’s Harvard University commencement speech have sparked a debate in China about barriers to elite education. 2. China’s GDP growth expected to slow next year amid trade strife: OECD China’s economy is projected to...

Politics

6 d. ago India projected to accelerate solar power generation as storage costs fall

India’s transition towards a clean energy-based digital economy may have received a boost from a new study showing that the costs of solar power and its storage are now lower than coal-generated electricity used by businesses in the country. Solar and its battery storage costs have fallen to 6 Indian rupees (7 US cents) per kilowatt hour and is likely to remain stable for the next 25 years, according to a report by the India Energy and Climate Centre of the University of California, Berkeley...

Politics

6 d. ago Biotech firm touts new AI drug discovery amid third Hong Kong IPO attempt

Biotechnology firm Insilico Medicine said its new drug for lung disease, designed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), showed positive results in the latest clinical trials, as the company pushes for a public listing in Hong Kong. Insilico found that its new small-molecule drug candidate, rentosertib, designed with its AI platform Chemistry42, was “generally safe and potentially effective” for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to its phase 2A clinical trial...

Economics

6 d. ago China team triples distance record set by direct quantum communication founder

Chinese scientists have achieved a record in quantum-based secure direct communications – trebling the distance of a multi-user network to around the same length as a drive from Paris to Brussels, according to a new paper. While the transmission rate is still too low to handle images, the researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University said the 300km (186 miles) optical fibre network was theoretically scalable, showing the viability of this kind of quantum network. According to the paper, published...

Politics

6 d. ago China’s GDP growth expected to slow next year amid trade strife: OECD

China’s economy is projected to grow by 4.3 per cent next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said this week as it trimmed a 10th of a percentage point off its previous forecast in the light of ongoing world trade strife. “Substantial barriers to trade” coupled with “diminishing confidence and heightened policy uncertainty” were putting downward pressure on economic growth rates around the world this year and next, the Paris-headquartered world trade advocacy...

Politics

6 d. ago Anwar’s ‘Madani City’ plan sparks fresh backlash in Malaysia

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to build a new hi-tech city named after his “Madani” slogan has sparked fresh outrage, with Malaysians accusing the government of splurging on a vanity project while imposing spending cuts on the public. Anwar rose to power in 2022 on the promise that he would avoid the excesses of his predecessors. He vowed to stamp out corruption and cronyism after years of scandals that cost the country billions of dollars. His credibility has taken several blows since...

Events

6 d. ago ‘Nepotism city’? Malaysian leader’s megaproject plan criticised by the public

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to build a new hi-tech city named after his “Madani” slogan has sparked fresh outrage, with Malaysians accusing the government of splurging on a vanity project while imposing spending cuts on the public. Anwar rose to power in 2022 on the promise that he would avoid the excesses of his predecessors. He vowed to stamp out corruption and cronyism after years of scandals that cost the country billions of dollars. His credibility has taken several blows since...

Politics