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News - South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong banking authority presses lenders to shape...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued requirements on Wednesday for banks to improve their services for elderly customers, as the proportion of the city’s population over the age of 65 increases rapidly. Banks will be required to upgrade their apps to meet the needs of elderly customers, improve branch facilities and ensure that staff members provide appropriate advice on investments, insurance and pension products. “As Hong Kong faces an ageing population, we expect more elderly...

Shanghai to open ‘free-to-fly’ zones covering 46% of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

The municipal government of Shanghai will open “free-to-fly” zones in the city for drones from February 1, as part of streamlined regulations designed to support the country’s development of a low-altitude economy. According to Shanghai’s new guidelines for civil unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), consumer drones will be allowed to fly in certain “suitable airspace” in the city without prior declaration, provided these devices are registered. These include UAVs categorised as micro, light and...

Hong Kong homebuyers snap up latest flats at Sierra...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Hong Kong’s largest developer by market capitalistion, is poised to sell out another batch of units at its Sierra Sea project in the New Territories, the city’s largest residential project in two and a half decades.As of 4.30pm, 206 units out of 218 made available on Wednesday had found buyers, according to property agents. The developer has had two sold-out rounds in the project so far this year: 213 flats sold on January 10 and 229 flats sold last

Could China draw battlefield inspiration from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

China could learn from Ukraine on using drones to launch modified small and micro aerial bombs, a leading Chinese weapons expert said. Cai Yi, chief scientist of China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), said in an interview earlier this month that aerial bomb strikes by Ukrainian drones provided “a valuable example for observing drone warfare”. China could draw inspiration from Ukraine’s experience in developing small drone-borne bombs, Cai added in the interview, which appeared in...

China mum makes daughter crawl on knees during cold...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

A Shanghai mother who forced her daughter to crawl on her knees on a cold night has been accused of abusive parenting. The unidentified woman meted out the punishment in their residential compound at 9pm on January 6. Passers-by who tried to intervene were berated by the mother. A witness, surnamed Xu, said the girl stood up when she reached the compound’s entrance gate. Xu said the mother complained that her family was heavily in debt after buying a flat to provide a better education for

5 Singaporeans among 55 booked for littering in Johor...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Five Singaporeans are among 55 people booked for littering in Johor Bahru since January 1, as Malaysia steps up enforcement under newly gazetted rules that send offenders to court rather than allowing on-the-spot settlements. Johor Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) director Zainal Fitri Ahmad said the Singaporeans had offered a range of excuses when caught, including claims that they were picking up rubbish rather than discarding it. “One said they were not...

Larry Fink ponders moving World Economic Forum from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Larry Fink, the interim co-chief of the World Economic Forum (WEF), is openly musing about a venue change for the flagship event that would take the annual January meeting outside Switzerland. “You should also see WEF start doing something new: showing up – and listening – in the places where the modern world is actually built,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Davos, yes. But also places like Detroit and Dublin – and cities like Jakarta and Buenos Aires.” The Blackrock chief executive officer...

Hong Kong teams up with experts to develop AI...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Hong Kong’s government is partnering with technology experts, professionals and educators to develop a highly intelligent AI platform tailored to the needs of the city’s schools, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin has said. Choi told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that authorities were exploring launching a large language model (LLM) relating to the academic curriculum of Hong Kong’s schools. She was responding to lawmaker Tang Fei, who asked whether the Education Bureau

How China is rethinking export-led growth as global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Beijing’s recent call to balance trade and investment as part of a push for more sustainable growth reflects a gradual shift towards greater overseas localisation of Chinese supply chains, analysts said, as the country grapples with simmering frictions amid a record trade surplus. “Commercial authorities at all levels ... should guide the reasonable and orderly cross-border layout of industrial and supply chains, promote integrated development of trade and investment... and effectively...

Beijing outlines tech push with focus on AI, 6G,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

China aims to make breakthroughs in artificial intelligence chips, accelerate 6G development and establish key benchmarks for humanoid robotics, as the country kicks off its new five-year plan prioritising innovation as a key driver of economic growth. To promote the development of the AI industry, the government was targeting breakthroughs in core technologies such as training chips and heterogeneous computing, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said at

Helper in Hong Kong charged, another in custody, over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

One of two domestic helpers in Hong Kong earlier arrested for allegedly abusing two small children faces a holding charge of ill-treatment after one of the boys, a four-month-old infant, was hospitalised with a brain haemorrhage and injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome. Chief Inspector Tam Ching-shan of the Tai Po district crime unit said on Wednesday that the two helpers, aged 28 and 45, worked in the same household as the infant and his 16-month-old brother, who was also found with...

Singapore’s Workers’ Party rejects Leader of the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Singapore’s biggest opposition party, the Workers’ Party, has said it will not be nominating a replacement for the position of the Leader of the Opposition. In a media statement issued on Wednesday, the party said it had responded to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s invitation to nominate another elected MP to fill the vacancy. Wong removed WP chief Pritam Singh from his position as Leader of the Opposition last Thursday, following Singh’s court conviction for lying under oath to a

China mega-embassy approval further boosts UK relations

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

The UK approved China’s controversial plan to build a mega-embassy in London, a move that probably paves the way for Keir Starmer to make the first trip to Beijing by a British prime minister since 2018. The decision, following three delays, moves China closer to constructing the roughly 65,000 square metre (700,000 sq ft) embassy at the site of the former Royal Mint near the Tower of London. Local residents may challenge the decision in court. Starmer is set to visit Beijing and Shanghai

Singapore to buy US aircraft, torpedoes to boost Asia...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

The United States on Tuesday announced the approval of a US$2.3 billion sale of P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, torpedoes and related equipment to Singapore. “The proposed sale will improve Singapore’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible maritime force capable of deterring adversaries,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. It will “enhance the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving

For many states, partnership with China makes more...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

This month, a telling scene unfolded in Addis Ababa. The African Union and China held their ninth strategic dialogue in the Ethiopian capital and launched the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, framing the agenda around modernisation, connectivity and industrialisation rather than bloc politics. The moment captures what many smaller states are doing in today’s fractured world: choosing workable partnership over performative rivalry. The loudest conversations in global

China fines e-commerce firm PDD for tax violations...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Shanghai’s tax authority fined an operating entity of PDD Holdings, the US-listed e-commerce company that runs leading retail platforms Pinduoduo and Temu, citing its failure to comply with local tax requirements, according to a Wednesday report from state news agency Xinhua. Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology, a PDD subsidiary which operates Pinduoduo, failed to report necessary information concerning its platform operators and employees for the third quarter of 2025, the city’s tax...

Malaysia’s primary school early entry option spurs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

A sweeping shake-up on when Malaysian children can start school and how they are assessed has sparked fresh anxiety among parents, many of whom fear an “optional” earlier entry would fuel a de facto race, while schools may struggle with space and staffing. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday that children would be allowed to enter Year One of primary school at age six from 2027, a year earlier than the current norm, alongside a new standardised assessment framework known as the

Why South Korea’s flight attendants are forced to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

At first glance, South Korea’s Incheon International Airport appears every bit the image of global glamour. Trains to the airport, which serves more than 70 million passengers a year, are filled with travellers – and with flight attendants commuting to work in full uniform. Even in freezing weather, they can be seen wearing thin jackets and low shoes that leave their ankles exposed. The sight has become a familiar part of the airport’s daily rhythm. Behind the scenes, however, lies a less...

Malaysia media groups urge action after reporter...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Media groups have urged Malaysia’s government to clamp down on acts of intimidation and violence by its officials, after a journalist was allegedly assaulted by the chief executive of a government-linked company over a question asked at a news conference. The incident has sharpened scrutiny of press freedom in the country, coming days after another journalist was detained under a colonial-era Sedition Act for asking a “sensitive question” at a public forum. In the latest case, the chief...

Why Japan PM’s election bet will not repair damaged...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is betting that her strong public approval ratings will translate into a decisive majority in next month’s elections, but her bid could face a challenge from surging right-wing factions and a newly formed political party. A failure to secure a majority in the parliament’s lower house would severely undermine Takaichi’s ability to steer a tougher course on China. But irrespective of the election outcome, repairing relations with China would take well

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