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China EV makers surge back in March as subsidies and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers posted a strong rebound in sales last month, shaking off the weak start to the year as local government subsidies and aggressive financing incentives drew in first-time buyers. Momentum is expected to carry through the coming months, with dozens of new models set to debut at the Auto China show in Beijing, likely to stimulate fresh demand. “The sweeping improvement in deliveries revived hopes for a steady [EV] market after a woeful performance in January

China youth flock to TCM bars for ‘prescription...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

By night, some young Chinese are swapping traditional cocktails for so-called traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) bars, where herbal-infused spirits promise everything from heartbreak cures to wellness boosts. In these dimly lit venues, R&B or rock music pulses through the speakers while behind the bar, drawers brim with herbs rather than bottles. Bartenders in white coats, often certified TCM practitioners, begin each visit by taking pulses and asking about lifestyle habits before crafting...

Why China and Vietnam are shifting from confrontation...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

Despite land reclamation efforts in the fiercely contested South China Sea, an unusual silence has fallen between Beijing and Hanoi over their rival claims. Observers said this suggested both sides were prioritising pragmatism to keep tensions in check. In March, months into reports suggesting continued Chinese dredging activities at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands, Hanoi broke its silence by lodging a protest with Beijing over what it called “illegal and invalid” foreign...

Trump sends crude surging as Iran speech fails to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

US President Donald Trump tried to sell the war on Iran to sceptical Americans in a televised address, saying that the conflict was “nearing completion” and that there was no need to worry about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. The US would hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks”, Trump said on Wednesday from the White House. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages,” he said. He didn’t give a specific deadline for the end of operations during the...

Surging ‘Jewish terrorism’ in West Bank condemned but...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

Violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has reached unprecedented levels since the start of the war with Iran, with NGOs and opposition figures denouncing an environment of impunity. While so-called “Jewish terrorism” has drawn widespread condemnation both in Israel and abroad, little has been done to curb it. Assaults by violent settlers against Palestinians have been carried out for years, often to the indifference of mainstream Israeli...

Discovery Bay resident files ombudsman complaint over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

A Discovery Bay resident has lodged a complaint with the city’s ombudsman over authorities’ handling of a proposal to allow unrestricted taxi access to the resort-style seaside community in Hong Kong. A petition bearing 1,700 signatures from concerned residents has also been submitted to the Transport Department calling for proper public consultation and wider communications on the measures. Taxis have had limited access to Discovery Bay since 2014, restricted to the north plaza of the

Malaysian minister offers personal aid to family of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

A Malaysian minister visited and provided financial aid to the widow of a motorcyclist who was killed in a drink-driving accident that threatened to inflame racial tensions in the country. Transport Minister Anthony Loke visited the family of the late Amirul Hafiz Omar, 33, on Sunday, accompanied by Road Transport Department Director General Aedy Fadly Ramli. He gave Amirul’s 32-year-old widow, Nor Nadia Abdul Majid, money from his own pocket to help the family with expenses. “However, no

‘China shock 2.0’ is a false narrative born of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

A leading Chinese state media outlet has run back-to-back front-page editorials over the past two days pushing back against claims that China’s economy is losing steam and that the global economy is experiencing a “China shock 2.0”.“Looking across the globe, China’s growth target stands out as second to none,” the state-run Economic Daily wrote in a Thursday editorial, noting that the country’s goal of achieving 4.5 to 5 per cent growth in 2026 was far higher than the 2.6 per cent global

Russia is luring students with large financial...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

Students across Russia are being offered large financial incentives ⁠to join drone units fighting in Ukraine as operators and engineers, while companies in Russia’s central Ryazan region have been given quotas to sign up workers for the army, documents show. The recruitment effort, which comes as Russian forces continue to grind forwards on the battlefield in Ukraine and as US-brokered peace talks are on ice due to the Iran war, suggests Moscow is diversifying its push to replenish its army’s...

Goldman Sachs economist sees Iran war testing China’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

Andrew Tilton, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Goldman Sachs, speaks to the South China Morning Post about the long-term future of China’s economy after the “two sessions” in Beijing and ahead of an expected Xi-Trump summit – all during an oil crisis sparked by the US-Israel war against Iran. SCMP Plus readers get early access to articles in the Open Questions series. What impact will the oil shock arising from the Iran war have on the growth of Asian economies this year? Asia is greatly...

Leslie Cheung’s path to stardom, 10 new K-dramas to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

We have selected five Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. 10 of the best new K-dramas to watch in April 2026 Spring is here and with it an all-new line-up of tantalising K-drama offerings, ranging from fantasy, action and animation to a wide variety of romance. 2. How Leslie Cheung broke all the rules to become a Hong Kong superstar In the golden age of Hong Kong’s...

China’s ‘pig semen eyedrop’ may help treat...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

An innovative therapy using pig semen-derived exosomes, engineered into eye drops capable of penetrating deep into retinal tissue, may hold the key to breaching the brain’s defences against diseases like Alzheimer’s. This breakthrough, led by Professor Zhang Yu at China’s Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, originally targeted a rare childhood eye cancer retinoblastoma that often resists conventional treatments due to its delicate location near the brain. Published in peer-reviewed journal...

Hong Kong’s Catholic leader calls for giving young...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

The head of Hong Kong’s Catholic diocese has urged the government to offer young offenders a “second chance to start anew” and to introduce legal provisions to help those with minor criminal records pursue their careers. In his Easter message on Thursday, Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan also encouraged authorities to reduce the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) so that educators could have more time and space to better support students, amid persistently high youth suicide rates. “I call

Wreck of Danish flagship sunk by famed British...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

More than 200 years after being sunk by Admiral Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbour by marine archaeologists. Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 metres (49 feet) beneath the waves, divers have been working against the clock to unearth the 19th century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast. Denmark’s Viking Ship

Premier Li Qiang pushes AI-powered, next-gen energy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

As global supply volatility intensifies, Premier Li Qiang has called for faster development of a “new-type power system” to accelerate the green transition and expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the sector. During a three-day visit to the southwestern province of Sichuan, Li stressed the need to expand green electricity supply and optimise the energy mix to bolster security and support economic growth. He urged market players to explore new grid architectures, improve

From Wagyu to joss paper: rise of pet spirit money,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

“Pet spirit money” in various currencies has emerged as a burgeoning trend, with many promoting “luxury dog funerals” that include paper servants and companion pets, as well as unique paper offerings such as salmon, tuna, steak, Wagyu beef and dried chicken. In China, holding funerals for loved ones and burning joss paper have long been revered mourning traditions, originally intended to express remembrance and respect for the deceased, as well as to convey the hope that they will thrive in

Hong Kong’s CLP Power hands out HK$100 shopping...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

Hong Kong’s CLP Power is distributing HK$100 (US$13) consumption coupons to about 600,000 eligible customers, including elderly people receiving concessionary tariffs, using HK$60 million from the company’s Community Energy Saving Fund. The initiative follows the power company’s earlier announcement that it would raise its fuel cost adjustment (FCA) charge starting this month, citing a discrepancy between forecast and actual fuel prices amid the United States-Israel war against Iran, which

Hong Kong man, 89, rescued after being found clinging...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

An 89-year-old Hong Kong man has been rescued after he was discovered clinging to the exterior wall of a care home in To Kwa Wan following a fall from a second-floor window. Care home staff filed a report with police at around 8am on Thursday, stating the man was hanging off the building at the intersection of Lok Shan Road and Ma Tau Wai Road. The force said he fell from the window while trying to retrieve something and clung to a section of the wall near an air-conditioning

‘Impossible for Chinese’: Yale scientist Zhang Kai...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

For Zhang Kai, a pioneering scientist who is building an ultra-large-scale cellular structure group data bank with unprecedented precision, returning home to China was the natural choice to fulfil his ambition. “In the United States, it is almost impossible for a Chinese scholar to take the lead on this project,” Zhang said during a March 26 interview with China Science Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the country’s most prestigious research

Hong Kong’s unified stock exchange opens for trading...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/02

This article was first published on April 3, 1986. By Jerry Norton Debut-day is full of contradictions Considering the historic nature of yesterday’s share market trading, a strong rally might have seemed appropriate. Instead, the first session in the new unified stock exchange saw prices finish sharply down from Thursday’s close. But most brokers still described themselves as well satisfied with the performance, despite the Hang Seng index closing the morning-only trading session 22.67

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