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China ‘hardcore grandma’ gains fame for farm...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

An 82-year-old woman from eastern China, affectionately known as the “hardcore grandma,” has captivated many with her remarkable skills in operating field fertilisation drones and her success as a live-streamer selling rice. Born in 1943, Dai Shuying hails from Laomei Village in Xindu Town, Tongcheng, Anhui province. In her youth, she worked as a bookkeeper and was regarded as one of the few “educated individuals” in her village, capable of reading, writing, and performing calculations. While...

Number of registered companies in Hong Kong reaches...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Hong Kong’s corporate landscape expanded to unprecedented levels last year, with the total number of local registered companies reaching a record of nearly 1.56 million by the end of 2025. “By the end of 2025, the total number of local companies and redomiciled companies registered under the Companies Ordinance increased by 96,609 compared with 2024, reaching 1,557,103,” the Companies Registry said in a statement on Friday, noting that it was “an all-time high figure”. Among the total in

HSBC reviews Singapore insurance unit amid high...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

HSBC Holdings’ exploration of options for its insurance business in Singapore may lead to a sale of the unit as the group reallocates resources to its insurance business in Hong Kong and mainland China, according to analysts. “It makes sense for HSBC to consider an exit from Singapore’s insurance market to focus on Hong Kong and mainland China, as so many mainlanders are coming to Hong Kong to buy insurance products here,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of...

Why is China’s Xi Jinping putting the political heat...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Chinese President Xi Jinping has refocused national anti-corruption efforts on illegal villas and “private resorts”, luxury developments that have come to symbolise excess and graft over the past two decades. According to newly released excerpts of a speech, Xi singled out the developments for special mention at the central urban work conference in July, highlighting them as examples of the need to improve governance, combat corruption and promote sustainable urban development. “[Officials

Canada to remove 100% tariffs on Chinese EV imports:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Canada will remove the additional 100 per cent in tariffs it had imposed on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday during a state visit in Beijing. In place of the higher duties, Carney said, Canada will cap import volume and retain a standard tariff rate of 6.1 per cent to shipments within the 49,000-unit limit. Canada’s additional tariffs, covering all EVs made in China, took effect in October 2024, following a similar move from the United

China dominates global humanoid robot market with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

China accounted for more than four out of five humanoid robot installations globally in 2025, driven by domestic start-ups AgiBot and Unitree Robotics, as mass production and commercialisation accelerated, according to a report by Counterpoint Research. A total of 16,000 humanoid robots were installed globally in 2025, mainly for data collection and research, as well as in the logistics, manufacturing, and automotive sectors, according to Counterpoint data released on Wednesday. The market

South Korean church’s ‘special force’ targets young...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

A controversial church facing possible disbandment over religious-political collusion in South Korea is aggressively expanding its presence across Australia by targeting young people at universities and shopping centres, according to a former member who has accused the group of weaponising fear to shield it from criticism. The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, founded in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the second coming of Jesus Christ, has an estimated 200,000 followers in the East Asian...

China’s 7,000-year-old sunmao woodwork leads to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

How to beat the United States in gene editing? A research team from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences had struggled with this question for three years, with no results. Then they decided to draw inspiration from an ancient woodwork tradition and cut DNA like wood. It led to a gene-editing tool with unprecedented efficiency. In the Chinese mortise-and-tenon joint technique known as sunmao, no nails or glue are used. Instead, a protruding “tenon” on one piece fits securely

Malaysia rules 15-year-old fit to stand trial in 2025...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

The 15-year-old male student accused of murdering his schoolmate at a school in Malaysia’s Selangor state has been declared fit to stand trial, following a psychiatric evaluation. His lawyer, Kitson Foong, informed the press that he conveyed the report’s findings to the Magistrate’s Court during closed-door proceedings on January 16. The court subsequently ruled that the accused is fit to stand trial and enter his defense. According to the lawyer, the psychiatric report also recommended the

Hong Kong’s finance chief warns of market volatility,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Hong Kong’s capital market is likely to experience significant fluctuations this year owing to intensifying geopolitical risks, the city’s finance chief has warned, stressing the need for caution in financial management. Six weeks before the government unveils its annual budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po pledged to consider whether there is scope to adjust child allowance to encourage more births, after a Post report revealed that Hong Kong’s registered births hit a record low last...

China warns of ‘honey trap’ risks in defence sector...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Chinese state security authorities have warned of the risk of “honey traps” in the defence and technology sectors, saying that in one case a public official was blackmailed into surrendering state secrets following a trip abroad. In an article published on Wednesday, a social media account affiliated with the National Administration of State Secrets Protection said defence industry personnel were becoming targets of honey traps set by foreign intelligence agencies. According to the account...

Hong Kong marathons throughout the years – SCMP archive

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon attracts tens of thousands of people from all over the world every year but the sporting event had humble beginnings in the city. When Hong Kong held its first international marathon in 1969, there were only 28 participants. In this collection of pictures, we look at how the annual running event has grown throughout the years.

Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia plan defence pact as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

As tensions between the United States and Iran threaten to plunge the Middle East into chaos again, regional military powers Turkey and Pakistan have revealed they are planning a tripartite defence partnership with Saudi Arabia. Thursday’s disclosure comes as Iran’s neighbours await clarity on US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on the Islamic Republic’s trading partners earlier in the week – a measure which threatens to disrupt supply chains across the

Hong Kong government’s cargo-tracking digital...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

The Hong Kong government has launched a digital logistics platform offering real-time cargo tracking, with some 2,300 companies registered on the system. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Friday the new Port Community System would streamline transport data and improve transparency for users. The system integrates sea, land and air data and uses artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology to provide instantaneous cargo tracking services, which Chan said was...

Malaysian man arrested for forcing son, 10, to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

A Malaysian man previously convicted of child abuse has been arrested again on suspicion of forcing his son, 10, to shoplift daily necessities. Police in Bahau, in Negeri Sembilan state’s Jempol district, were alerted to what initially appeared to be a simple case of theft on Wednesday, The Sun newspaper reported. Staff from a wholesale supermarket had caught the boy trying to steal a 200-gram pack of instant coffee. But officers soon uncovered a troubling pattern of child exploitation,

South Korea’s Yoon sentenced to 5 years in prison...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Impeached former South Korean president Yoon Seok-yeol was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday after being found guilty of resisting arrest and other offences linked to his attempted imposition of martial law in 2024. The verdict marks Yoon’s first conviction among eight ongoing criminal trials, in one of which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for his alleged role as the “ringleader” of an attempted insurrection. The 2024 decree unleashed a wave of political unrest,

China’s US envoy says world faces ‘stark choice’ as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

China’s top diplomat in the United States delivered a sharply worded rebuke on Thursday over US President Donald Trump’s tumultuous approach to global relations, laying out a stark choice between a world informed by China-led stability and one battered by Washington. Chinese ambassador Xie Feng’s comments to the 1,000-member China General Chamber of Commerce come two weeks into Trump’s second year of his latest term in the White House. The past fortnight has already seen the Trump

Chinese woman swallows raw fish gallbladder, hoping...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

A woman from eastern China ended up in the intensive care unit (ICU) hours after swallowing a raw fish gallbladder, believing it would cure her headache. The 50-year-old woman, surnamed Liu, from Jiangsu province, adhered to the folk remedy that claimed raw fish gallbladders could clear heat, detoxify the body, and alleviate a persistent migraine that had been troubling her. On the morning of December 14, Liu bought a 2.5kg grass carp at the market, extracted the gallbladder at home, and...

Hong Kong’s Chris Tang defends police’s ‘difficult...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Hong Kong’s security chief has defended police’s “difficult decision” to shoot dead a man who brandished a knife and took a woman hostage in a shopping centre, but a relative of the deceased said officers could have aimed for his limbs to avoid killing him. After officers fatally shot the 34-year-old man on Thursday at Tuen Mun Town Plaza, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the suspect was mentally unstable at the time and might have been influenced by drugs as suspected

‘Shared interests’: Xi Jinping and Mark Carney embark...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

China and Canada should build a new strategic partnership based on mutual respect and shared interests, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday as both sides sought to turn the page on years of diplomatic friction. In talks with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Beijing, Xi called for deeper and broader economic cooperation. “China-Canada economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial in nature, and both sides have gained from cooperation,” state news agency Xinhua

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