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News - South China Morning Post

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Chinese coastguard rescues Filipino sailors near...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

The Chinese navy and coastguard said on Friday that they rescued 17 Filipino crew members from a Singaporean-flagged cargo ship that had capsized near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. According to the China Coast Guard (CCG), the Maritime Search and Rescue Centre in Sansha, Hainan province, received a distress report at around 1.30am on Friday. The vessel appeared to be in trouble about 55 nautical miles northwest of Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China. The centre

Labubu maker Pop Mart rallies as new toy trend and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Shares of Labubu maker Pop Mart surged on Friday, extending this week’s gain to 23 per cent, after its CEO appeared in a high-profile state media interview and a newly launched product went viral amid growing investor appetite for consumer stocks. In a documentary interview released by Xinhua news agency at noon, founder and CEO Wang Ning reflected on the company’s entrepreneurial journey and outlined his long-term vision, offering rare public remarks that investors viewed as a signal of...

China’s analogue AI chip runs 12 times as fast on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

A radically different kind of chip created by Chinese researchers can now handle real-world data tasks, potentially reshaping artificial intelligence systems’ reliance on power-hungry digital processors, its developers said. Building on work reported in October, the Peking University team’s ultra-fast, energy-efficient analogue chip has moved beyond solving basic mathematical problems and can now power applications such as personalised recommendation and image processing. In a paper published

China diving queen Quan Hongchan delights fans with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Mainland Chinese internet users were left in awe by the country’s Olympic champion, Quan Hongchan – not for her diving techniques this time, but for her new image, which prompted many to marvel that Quan has “really grown up.” On January 12, Quan shared multiple images of herself picking strawberries and tomatoes at a farm in her hometown of Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, as reported by the news outlet Red Star News. Shortly after, the hashtags “Quan Hongchan sports long hair” and “Quan

Paul Chan upbeat about Hong Kong economy despite...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Shifting policies under US President Donald Trump’s administration are expected to heighten market volatility in Hong Kong this year, the finance chief has said, but also expressed “cautious optimism” about the capital market. Explaining his upbeat outlook despite the tense geopolitical climate, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said business and political leaders he met at the World Economic Forum viewed the city much more positively than in previous years. “Despite the [geopolitical]...

Trump withdraws invitation to Canada’s Carney to join...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

US President Donald Trump withdrew on Thursday an invitation for Canada to join ‌his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts. Trump’s about-face follows Canadian Prime ‍Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he openly decried powerful nations using economic integration as weapons and tariffs as leverage. “Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its ⁠invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining,

Putin meets US envoys for midnight talks as Ukraine...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the settlement in Ukraine with US President Donald Trump’s envoys during marathon overnight talks, and the Kremlin insisted that the territorial issue needs to be resolved to reach a peace deal. The Kremlin meeting, which lasted past 3am on Friday, came hours after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticised his European allies Thursday for what he cast as their slow and fragmented response to Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale

China’s births plunge, Trump’s Greenland pledge in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Baby bust: China births plunge 17% in 2025 to historic low as population shrinks China’s birth count plummeted to a record low last year, falling by about 10 million from its 2016 peak and slashing the total by more than half in

What Beijing’s drone flight over Pratas Island means...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

The first confirmed deployment of a PLA drone within Taiwan’s claimed airspace is the latest example of Beijing’s “salami-slicing” strategy towards the self-ruled island, analysts say. One observer noted it was also meant to test, wear down and put pressure on Taiwan’s military. Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Saturday that a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) surveillance drone had entered its self-defined airspace – meaning the space above the 12-nautical-mile (22km) territorial sea baseline...

Newsom, on world stage in Davos, accuses Trump of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday said he was not surprised the Trump administration blocked his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland the day before, saying it was another example of the US president trying to stifle dissent. “Is it surprising the Trump administration didn’t like my commentary and wanted to make sure that I was not allowed to speak? No,” said Newsom, who is weighing a 2028 presidential run. “It’s consistent with this administration and their...

Trump says US ‘armada’ heading towards Iran as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

US President Donald ‌Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an “armada” heading towards Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as ‍he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. One official said additional air-defence systems were also being eyed

Major foreign carmakers set to stage a comeback in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Major international marques, from Tesla to Volkswagen, continued to lose market share in mainland China, as consumers increasingly favoured new domestic electric vehicle (EV) models equipped with hi-tech features. But in 2026, foreign carmakers are expected to stage a comeback when they launch models with innovative technologies, which are expected to attract buyers in spite of sluggish consumer demand, according to industry officials and analysts. “Finally, foreign OEMs [original equipment...

TikTok confirms deal to create new US venture,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

TikTok and its Chinese owner ByteDance have officially established a venture to transfer parts of its US business to a consortium of mostly US investors, effectively securing the platform’s future for its 170 million American users. The company made the announcement on Thursday, hours ahead of a Friday shutdown deadline. The deal – first outlined by TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi in an internal memo last month – was set to close this week, though it had not previously received the formal...

Hong Kong’s ICAC arrests 14, including 3 staff of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has arrested 14 people, including a senior manager of a listed cleaning services company, on suspicion of bribery over the awarding of various contracts to subcontractors, and seized watches valued at over HK$10 million (US$1.3 million). While the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) did not name any companies, the Post learned that one of them is Hong Kong Johnson Holdings. Hong Kong John Holdings said on Thursday night in a filing to the

Trump blames table and aspirin after new bruise...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Photographs of fresh bruising on Donald Trump’s hand raised eyebrows on Thursday, but the 79-year-old US president dismissed renewed speculation over his health, saying he had simply hit a table. Trump has been seen with frequent bruising on his right hand since returning to the White House last year, often concealing it with bandages and make-up. The White House has said it is due to a combination of frequent handshaking and the aspirin he takes for his cardiovascular health, which can lead

A mother’s mind appears restored: might ultrasound be...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Neurologist Sun Bomin’s mother led him to believe that Alzheimer’s disease might not be incurable after all. On January 21, Sun released a short video on China’s Yitiao.tv platform and an article detailing what he said was the world’s first effective treatment of Alzheimer’s disease using the high-intensity FUS procedure. His mother, who appeared in the video but was not named, is aged in her nineties and had been suffering from the progressive brain disorder for around eight years. According

‘Lonely’ Chinese woman, 59, becomes oldest in her...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

A 59-year-old woman in China has given birth to a baby boy and in the process realised her dream of having another child because her daughter lives abroad, making her and her husband feel lonely. On January 9, the infant was born via caesarean section at Zhangjiagang No 1 People’s Hospital in eastern Jiangsu province, weighing 2.2kg. His mother, surnamed Zou, has set a record as the oldest pregnant woman in the city, according to a report by the local news outlet jsnews.org.cn. “Seeing the

Can Hong Kong find quick fixes for corruption in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

Since taking the helm of the owners’ corporation at her Hong Kong housing estate 12 years ago, Chan Wai-ling has received numerous reports of falling concrete, water leakage and other problems that should have been fixed during multimillion-dollar renovations a decade ago. “Whenever there is a typhoon, water leaks into our homes and damages the walls … We cannot sleep as we have to look out for the leakage,” said Chan, 63, referring to Grandway Garden, a subsidised housing estate in Tai Wai...

Revealed: global funds, from BlackRock to Temasek,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

As Chinese biotech and pharmaceutical firms gain importance on the global stage, foreign investors from sovereign wealth funds to industry players are securing strategic stakes in their future success. International institutional investors have built up significant positions in Chinese biotech firms over the past decade. These positions often approach, and in some cases exceed, the 5 per cent disclosure threshold for substantial shareholders in Hong Kong. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset...

China to ‘quietly track’ Greenland developments amid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/23

China will closely monitor developments in Greenland as it seeks to become an important player in Arctic affairs. Still, Beijing is unlikely to respond with any major action in the near future to counter US President Donald Trump’s bid to annex the island, analysts said. “The Arctic is certainly a central matter for policy for China, and they know it’s going to be important in the future, especially with climate change,” said Eurasia Group’s China practice head, David Meale. In his escalated...

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