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News - South China Morning Post

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Operation Santa Claus: charities help Tai Po fire...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

Inside a sparsely furnished 100 sq ft public housing flat in Hong Kong’s Hung Shui Kiu, a family of two lives with little more than a bunk bed, television stand, sofa and some donated clothes racks. This flat is the temporary home of 69-year-old resident surnamed Ho and her daughter. They were among the 5,000 Wang Fuk Court residents displaced by an inferno that ravaged the Tai Po estate on November 26 last year, killing 168 people. The pair had refrained from settling into the accommodation...

Hong Kong should adopt the ‘Hefei model’ in the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

The arrival of Yuan Gujie, the new deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, has sparked widespread speculation. Her legal background and experience in Guangdong province suggest that her posting carries a clear agenda: to promote deeper integration between Hong Kong and other Greater Bay Area cities. One thing is clear: if the Northern Metropolis is to accelerate, Hong Kong’s existing legal framework and development model may prove inadequate. A fundamental overhaul is

Parents of baby Danny to get 1-hour weekly visits,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

A Hong Kong couple whose baby was born at home and placed in court-ordered care has said they can visit their son for up to one hour a week while they work to prove their parenting capability, as they outlined three potential outcomes for custody listed by social welfare authorities. The unmarried couple, Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin, told the South China Morning Post on Sunday that they were scheduled to meet government social workers and be granted supervised visits with their son Danny...

‘Sky breaks’: in some China regions, lying flat can...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

While many Chinese people joke that they “work like a dog” because they are anxious about dropping out of the rat race, there is a tradition in some areas that people can legitimately “lie flat” once a year to ward off bad luck. The day is called tian chuan, or the day when the sky breaks. It usually falls on the 20th day of the first lunar month, and marks the day when the sky that Nuwa mended breaks once in a year. Nuwa is a mythological figure, a mother goddess who is said to have moulded

Hong Kong principal fired over Singapore row says he...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

A Hong Kong school principal who was sacked after he swore at security guards during a student trip to Singapore has expressed “shock and regret” over his immediate dismissal, saying he will seek legal advice on his employment rights. Lee Cheuk-hing, former principal of San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun, said on Friday that he had appointed legal representatives to review his dismissal after the school board rejected his resignation and terminated his contract with...

Heavy showers, squally thunderstorms forecast for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hongkongers can expect occasional showers and squally thunderstorms over the next few days before the rain gradually eases by midweek. The week got off to a soggy start, with the forecaster issuing an amber rainstorm warning – the lowest in a three-tier system – at 3pm on Sunday. It was cancelled at 4pm. The amber signal indicates that heavy rain has

Inside Gaza’s tent cities without a single proper...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

In their bare-bones tent in southern Gaza, Mostafa Shaaban built his family’s makeshift toilet behind a curtain in a corner. He dug a shallow pit in the sandy soil, poured a concrete slab around it, fixed a bottomless bucket over the hole, then topped it off with a battered, plastic toilet seat. It reeks with a foul odour and buzzes with flies and mosquitoes only a few feet from where they sleep and prepare meals. Every week, Shaaban has to dig the sewage sludge out of the pit. But at least

Beijing sends largest patrol ship east of Taiwan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

Beijing has sent a flotilla that includes mainland China’s largest patrol vessel to waters east of Taiwan in response to Japanese-Philippine maritime boundary negotiations. The Ministry of Transport ships are expected to conduct joint patrols with a coastguard formation dispatched to the same waters last Monday. The Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily published a commentary on Sunday that accused Japan and the Philippines, which already have long-running territorial disputes with

Slumping rupiah makes Indonesia irresistible for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

Indonesia has always been a favourite travel destination for Malaysians and visitor numbers are expected to increase with the neighbouring country’s currency hitting a record low. Melaka Tourism Association president Madelina Quah said the low rupiah presents an advantage for Malaysians travelling and shopping in Indonesia. “This will translate to cheaper holidays, shopping for weddings and buying of raw materials for imports against exports’ competitiveness,” she said. “Younger Malaysians...

Chinese medical team arrives in DR Congo to help...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/07

A Chinese team of medical experts has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a three-month frontline mission to contain an expanding Ebola outbreak across a mining region with extensive Beijing-backed mineral investments. The five-member team of specialists in epidemiology, clinical medicine, research and traditional Chinese medicine arrived in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday. According to China’s National Health Commission, the experts will work with local authorities to strengthen...

How China is working to turn Saishiteng Mountain into...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Construction on the Tibetan plateau of some of the Earth’s most powerful optical telescopes is putting China on track to house the world’s biggest astronomy base by the mid-2030s, according to project scientists.Deng Licai, lead scientist for site planning at the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) in Beijing, said the telescopes at Saishiteng Mountain in northwestern Qinghai province would stretch between 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) and 14.5 metres across, and partner with dozens

Pope Leo urges end to ‘polarising narratives’ on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Pope Leo on Saturday urged global leaders to avoid dividing their electorates with “sterile simplifications” to gain popularity and called on them to listen to the world’s cries for peace, in a forceful speech opening a week-long tour of Spain. Leo, who has angered US President Donald Trump by criticising his anti-immigration policies and the Iran war, will meet homeless people in Madrid and migrants in the Canary Islands during a visit he has said he hopes will set an example to the world

Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy patrons threaten...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Some patrons of an exclusive Hong Kong sports club have escalated action against the Rosewood Hotel Group’s plan to change operations at its clubhouse in Central, but the hospitality firm says it has made some “refinements” to the arrangement. A representative of a group of concerned patrons at the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy (HKGTA) told the South China Morning Post on Thursday that complaints had been filed with the Consumer Council watchdog. The group had also threatened to take the...

How China is turning historic African slave port into...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

In Benin’s southern Atlantic coastal town of Ouidah, located about 40km (25 miles) west of the economic capital of Cotonou, China is turning a former slave trade hub into a busy tourist destination. The historic port once saw nearly 2 million enslaved Africans marched along the 2km “Slave Route” from the auction plaza to the beach during the transatlantic slave trade. On the shore, captives were passed through the “Gate of No Return”, with a monumental memorial arch now standing at the exact...

Beijing deploys new missiles matching Patriots...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Mainland China has equipped frontline troops facing Taiwan with a new missile, according to mainland state media. The missile is believed to be an HQ-16F, which has comparable qualities to the US Patriot PAC2 and 3 systems. On Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV aired footage of the 73rd Group Army’s first operational and live-fire assessment of the missile in the Gobi Desert. The unit, which forms part of the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command, had travelled thousands of...

96 deals signed, flights planned: what’s next for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has wrapped up his visit to Central Asia after meeting high-level leaders and sealing nearly 100 partnership agreements aimed at opening the “big door” for local and mainland Chinese businesses. While reviving direct flights to the region was considered a big win from the trip, observers noted that the real challenges lay ahead as authorities and different parties must take necessary follow-up actions to realise the gains. Local authorities and businesses

Wan Chai temple and Stanley Mosque set for highest...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

A nearly 180-year-old temple nestled in the heart of Wan Chai and Hong Kong’s only mosque inside a prison are poised to receive the city’s highest level of heritage protection under a government proposal. In a paper submitted ahead of a board meeting on Thursday, the Antiquities and Monuments Office recommended that Hung Shing Temple in Wan Chai and the Stanley Mosque at Stanley Prison be declared statutory monuments. Both buildings currently hold Grade 1 historic building status. “The two...

WHO warns nearly 500 confirmed Ebola cases in Central...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Nearly 500 Ebola cases have now been confirmed in the deadly outbreak raging in central Africa, a WHO overview showed on Saturday, amid mounting concern over the swelling scale of the epidemic. In its daily update on the situation, the World Health Organization tallied 452 confirmed cases, including 82 deaths, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), where the outbreak was declared three weeks ago. In neighbouring Uganda, meanwhile, it counted 19 confirmed cases, including two

Hong Kong saves HK$69 million in first month after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Changes to Hong Kong’s public transport subsidy scheme saved the government HK$69 million (US$8.8 million) in the first month, with fewer elderly and disabled commuters taking expensive long-haul routes for short trips, the welfare minister has said. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Saturday that, following revisions to the concessionary fare scheme that took effect on April 3, the average government subsidy for trips costing more than HK$10 fell from HK$4.90 in

Snakes alive! Warmer weather brings flurry of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/06

Residents in some parts of Beijing are on edge as rises in humidity and temperature lure snakes into the Chinese capital, where encounters with the reptiles are usually rare. Concerned residents have been sharing their sightings on social media. “Why are there snakes in Beijing’s parks?” one user posted. “It scared me to death.” In the comments section, many others shared similar experiences, with one woman recounting her shock at finding a snake hiding behind the fridge of her 25th-floor...

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