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News - South China Morning Post

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‘Strictly forbidden’: China warns hikers off Aotai...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Chinese authorities have again stressed that hiking on the deadly Aotai Line in northwest China is illegal after three more people died on what Chinese media have described as the country’s “most dangerous hiking route”. “It is strictly forbidden to conduct unauthorised hiking traverses and similar activities [on the Aotai trail],” the General Administration of Sport’s mountaineering management centre said in a notice on Friday. “Recently, five individuals undertook an unauthorised crossing

8 hurt as coach with mainland Chinese tourists hits...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Eight people were injured when a coach filled with tourists from mainland China crashed into the back of a KMB double-decker bus in Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin neighbourhood. Both vehicles were travelling along Lung Cheung Road towards Kwun Tong at about 11.40am on Sunday when the KMB bus slowed down near Wong Tai Sin Square. The coach reportedly failed to brake in time and slammed into its rear. Three passengers on the KMB bus – a man and two women aged between 63 and 80 – and five on the tour...

China urges Tanzania to back multilateralism, vows to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

China pledged to deepen cooperation and exchanges with Tanzania on Friday as its top diplomat toured the region, promising that Beijing would “always stand together” with Africa. Wang Yi also called on Tanzania to work with China to uphold international law and multilateralism, in what one observer said would be the Chinese foreign minister’s key message to Africa amid Washington’s apparent retreat from the rules-based international system. Wang will wrap up his six-day tour of the continent

Panda cubs, SpongeBob and Peppa Pig head to Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Hong Kong’s first large-scale balloon float parade, featuring beloved icons such as SpongeBob SquarePants and the city’s baby panda cubs, attracted hundreds, including young children, to the West Kowloon Cultural District on Sunday. Families lined the paths of the West Kowloon Art Park as the parade of 16 giant helium balloons made a loop between the Hong Kong Palace Museum and contemporary art museum M+, accompanied by a youth marching band. The event brought together characters from popular...

Hong Kong police hunt man who snatched HK$650,000...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Hong Kong police are searching for a man who snatched a Rolex watch worth HK$650,000 (US$83,370) from a luxury shop in a busy shopping district while posing as a customer. The force said on Sunday it received a report at 12.46pm from staff at Prince Jewellery & Watch on Haiphong Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, saying that a mainland Chinese suspect snatched the watch during a viewing. The man had asked shop staff to let him see the timepiece about 10 minutes earlier, before grabbing the watch and

How a legal loophole is failing Hong Kong survivors...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

It took Eva Chan* more than a decade to find the courage to walk into a police station and report the sexual abuse she had endured for about six years at the hands of a family member she had lived with as a teenager. Reporting the abuse when she was 16 was unimaginable. At the time, her mother had discovered what had been happening and had driven the perpetrator out of their home. “There’s no professional support, as school social workers might not handle these cases often and might not know...

China set to supercharge fifth-gen J-20 stealth...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

China is set to supercharge the advanced J-20 stealth fighter with avionics upgrades on its radar, engines and AI integration to cement the fifth-generation jet’s pivotal position in aerial warfare, a military analyst told state media. The Mighty Dragon, China’s answer to the American F-22 “Raptor”, was also effectively operating alongside the country’s stealth attack drone and early warning aircraft, military commentator Zhang Xuefeng told state broadcaster CCTV in a programme released on...

China wife shocked to learn that ‘People’s Armed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

A Chinese woman who thought she married and had a child with a People’s Armed Police (PAP) officer found out seven years later that he was in fact a convicted murderer. In 2014, a woman in northern China’s Hebei province, who uses the pseudonym Pang, married a PAP officer, Jia Bin, who had been introduced to her by her uncle. The couple soon had a son but Jia spent a dwindling amount of time at home, saying he was on “special missions”. He initially disappeared for days, then for months

Gaza clings to Medecins Sans Frontieres following...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

At a hospital in Gaza, wards are filled with patients fearing they will be left without care if Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is forced out under an Israeli ban due to take effect in March. Last month, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organisations, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from March 1 for failing to provide detailed information on their Palestinian staff. “They stood by us throughout the war,” said 10-year-old Adam Asfour, his left arm pinned with metal rods after he

Hong Kong issues 4 tickets from 700 new site...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Hong Kong health authorities have issued four fixed penalty tickets in newly designated no smoking areas, including outside hospitals, clinics and tram stops, following more than 700 inspections since the city expanded its tobacco control measures on New Year’s Day. Ten days into the enforcement of the broadened ban, tobacco control officers carried out more than 1,600 total inspections citywide, with more than 700 in sites newly brought under the prohibition, according to Director of Health

Hong Kong must issue bonds as public works drive...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Hong Kong’s heavy investment in public works will keep its capital account at a deficit, highlighting the need for bond issuances to fund critical infrastructure and long-term development, the finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also revealed on Sunday that the next annual budget will be delivered on February 25. Looking at the current budget, he said that core spending on education, healthcare and social welfare accounted for nearly 60 per cent, even as higher stamp

4 injured in bombings in Thailand’s south amid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Assailants detonated bombs at nearly a dozen petrol stations in Thailand’s south early Sunday, injuring four people, the army said, the latest attacks in the insurgency-hit region. A low-level conflict since 2004 has killed thousands of people as rebels in the Muslim-majority region bordering Malaysia battle for greater autonomy. Several bombs exploded within a 40-minute period after midnight on Sunday, igniting 11 petrol stations across Thailand’s southernmost provinces of Narathiwat,

Why Hong Kong must resist pressure to loosen budget...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

When he sits down later this month to finalise the budget for the coming financial year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will have some positive news in his pocket to balance against the many calls for additional spending. As some of those new demands are likely to be expensive and compelling, he will need all the help he can get. First, the good news. Hong Kong is heading for a surplus in public finances. In his 2025 budget, Chan forecast a deficit on the consolidated operating account

US strips moral framing from foreign aid in ‘America...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

At a high-level conference in Washington last month, the US State Department unveiled an “America first” aid strategy that ties development dollars directly to the commercial and security goals of the world’s largest economy. This shift away from decades of framing the United States’ foreign assistance as a moral undertaking is a reflection, analysts say, of the Trump administration’s view that foreign assistance should advance America’s national interest above all else. Officials at the...

China’s outbound travel set to soar by 10 million...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

China’s vast outbound travel market is set for further growth in 2026, boosted by the spread of visa-free policies for Chinese nationals and a stronger yuan. But visits to Japan could plummet by nearly 50 per cent amid a political dispute between Beijing and Tokyo, according to analysts and industry insiders. Mainland Chinese travellers are expected to take about 165 million to 175 million cross-border trips in 2026, up from an estimated 155 million last year, the travel marketing and

How ancient China ‘borrowing longevity’ custom helps...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

A superstitious Chinese custom known as “borrowing longevity” involved performing a ritual to pray to the gods when a relative was seriously ill. During this ritual, individuals would voluntarily offer to shorten their own lifespans in hopes of extending the patient’s life. In ancient China, people held a profound belief in fate, considering a person’s lifespan predetermined and unchangeable. However, they also believed that life expectancy could be borrowed or exchanged. When parents were...

Iran will target US, Israel if Trump strikes over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Tehran threatened on Sunday to retaliate against Israel and US military bases ‍in the event of US strikes on Iran, issuing the warning as Israeli sources said Israel was on high alert for the possibility of any US intervention. With Iran’s clerical establishment facing the biggest anti-government protests since 2022, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days, warning Iranian leaders against using force against demonstrators. On Saturday, Trump said the US...

Hong Kong police to release list of 161 Tai Po fire...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Hong Kong police have informed some families who lost their loved ones in the tragic Tai Po fire that a full list of the 161 deceased will be made public, the Post has learned. Six weeks after the Wang Fuk Court fire, Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades, three residents who lost family members told the Post separately that officers contacted them by phone on Sunday to relay the plan. “Police called us and said they will release the list. They didn’t ask if we agree or not, or tell us when,” said...

Hong Kong to offer direct high-speed rail access to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

Travellers from Hong Kong will have direct high-speed rail access to 16 more mainland Chinese destinations including Nanjing and Wuxi from January 26, the MTR Corporation has said. The rail operator also said on Sunday the sleeper train service to Shanghai’s Hongqiao station would be upgraded to daily operations in response to strong demand. Passengers could purchase tickets from Monday, January 12. The addition of 16 new stops, primarily covering the Yangtze River Delta region and Guangdong...

Singapore businesses list rising costs and tariffs as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/11

For businesses in Singapore, such as skincare chain Kskin, the global trade environment has become more challenging in recent years as a result of hurdles ranging from rising costs and US tariffs to fast-changing regulations. Kskin began venturing overseas in 2023 and has opened outlets in Malaysia, the Philippines and the US. Due to the tariffs, the costs of Kskin’s equipment and products have risen in recent months. Brian Ng, the firm’s director, told This Week in Asia: “Our margins [at...

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