PODCAST

News - South China Morning Post

All the latest breaking news from Hong Kong, China and around the world

All Episodes

Hong Kong to boost tech, financial services...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

Hong Kong’s finance chief has pledged to further integrate financial services with technology innovation to foster a thriving ecosystem, following a surge in investor interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks during the first trading day of the year. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also stressed on Sunday the importance of Hong Kong’s role as an international capital market in fuelling the growth of mainland China’s frontier tech firms using the city’s funding and liquidity. “We...

Tourist couple leave babies with China guard to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

A tourist couple from South Asia left their babies with a park guard in China to enjoy themselves, and locals instantly swooped in to calm them and change a nappy. On December 22, a social media user known as “No Cilantro” shared the story from Qianling Mountain Park in Guiyang, in southwestern China’s Guizhou province. The century-old park is famous for its sweeping mountain views and abundant wildlife, especially its naughty monkeys that love to interact with people. In her post, No

Sanctioned Chen Zhi’s Hong Kong firms rocked by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

Recently sanctioned Chinese-born Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi has been linked to a network of entities in Hong Kong, with the move triggering regulatory measures and prompting auditors and directors to quit those firms. Company documents reviewed by the Post reveal an interconnected group of firms sharing directors and addresses tied to Chen, luxury real estate and previously appointed international business figures, raising questions about the depth of his operations in Hong Kong and the...

Caribbean holidaymakers stranded after US operation...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country early on Saturday also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region. No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela that day, according to FlightRadar24.com. Major airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed...

New KMT chair hopes to take peace message to Beijing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

A plan by the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party to visit Beijing this year, hoping to meet President Xi Jinping, has fuelled hopes of better dialogue amid soaring cross-strait tensions. But while supporters have hailed Cheng Li-wun’s planned trip as a chance to ease frictions across the Taiwan Strait, critics warn that it risks signalling alignment with Beijing as it increases military pressure on the island. Cheng, who was elected chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT) in October, has...

Afghanistan-Pakistan border closure leaves thousands...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

Nearly three months since border clashes prompted the closure of land crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, university students, merchants and families are left hanging with no way of getting back. “We miss our parents and relatives,” said Shah Faisal, 25, who studies medicine at an Afghan university and was hoping to visit his family back in Pakistan during winter break. But the border has been shut since October 12, leaving many like him with no viable option of making it

Temperatures in Hong Kong to dip to 12 degrees as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected to drop to as low as 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday due to an incoming northeasterly monsoon, according to the local forecaster. The Hong Kong Observatory said temperatures on Sunday ranged from 14 to 19 degrees, while a fresh

China’s wealthy swap real estate for insurance, gold...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/04

Since 2020, Li Jiang, a veteran manufacturing entrepreneur from Guangdong, has been selling off his properties one by one – a move that once puzzled many of his friends. For decades, real estate had been the ultimate “anchor” for retirement planning and wealth transfer among China’s high-net-worth families. At his peak, Li concentrated much of his wealth in property, owning seven assets ranging from CBD apartments to high-end suburban villas. These were intended partly for retirement and

Self-proclaimed ‘peace President’ Trump bombs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

Donald Trump returned to office vowing to be the peace president. Nearly a year later, he is embracing war on multiple fronts.Trump on Saturday ordered large-scale military strikes in Venezuela and announced that leftist leader Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. The raid to kick off the new year comes after the US military on Christmas Day hit Nigeria, in what Trump said was an operation targeting jihadists who had attacked Christians. And hours before the attack

What if China’s KJ-600 aircraft could serve older...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

China’s first fixed-wing carrier-based early-warning aircraft may have sacrificed aerial refuelling to be able to operate from both ski-jump and catapult-equipped vessels, according to a Chinese military magazine. The KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft was designed for catapult-launched operations and made its debut at the Victory Day parade in early September, flying over Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Later that month, video was released of its take-off and landing via...

Travellers hoof it in China as horseback tourism...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

Hong Kong-based entrepreneur Chan Shan Shan is a frequent traveller to mainland China. But rather than the usual activities or sightseeing spots that fill the days of most tourists, Chan has something else on her itinerary: horse riding. Over the past five years, Chan, 29, has left Hong Kong to canter across varied terrains in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Zhuhai, all in neighbouring Guangdong province. She has mounted up in Yunnan province and western China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as

Hong Kong firm sanctioned by US in Venezuela...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

A Hong Kong-based company sanctioned by the United States for alleged links to Venezuelan oil exports registered a fictitious address in the city, the Post has found, leaving a namesake eyewear firm anxious about repercussions. The Trump administration stepped up its pressure campaign against Venezuela’s oil exports earlier this week by sanctioning four companies based in Hong Kong and mainland China, accusing them of ties to the Venezuelan oil sector and evading restrictions. The US

Iran’s Khamenei demands rioters ‘be put in their...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

Iran’s supreme leader insisted on Saturday that “rioters must be put in their place” after a week of protests that have shaken the Islamic Republic, likely giving security forces a green light to aggressively put down the demonstrations. The first comments by 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei come as violence surrounding the demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy has killed at least 10 people. The protests show no sign of stopping and follow US President Donald Trump warning Iran on...

15 left hanging as Hong Kong Ocean Park’s ‘Wild...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

A high-speed ride at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has malfunctioned for the second time in six months, again trapping thrill-seekers in mid-air. Fifteen people on the theme park’s “Wild Twister” ride were stranded for 19 minutes on Saturday afternoon. A park spokesman said a signal failure at 2.57pm automatically triggered the safety system to halt the ride. “Fifteen affected passengers all left the facility at 3.16pm, with no one injured,” the spokesman said. He said that staff had promptly reset...

Hong Kong’s Route 6 set to fully open in 2026,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

A new route connecting Hong Kong’s Yau Ma Tei and Tseung Kwan O will fully open this year, the city’s transport chief has said. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan also said on Saturday that the route, on which construction began in 2017, would be fully connected by the end of the year following the completion of a Kowloon Bay tunnel section linking to the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel. “We are striving to open the entire Route 6 within this year, which will slash travel time

AI scientist Ling Haibin, father of world’s first...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

AI scientist Ling Haibin, the acclaimed computer scientist behind the world’s first mobile plant identification app, has left his position in the United States to take up a full-time role at Westlake University in Hangzhou, eastern China. One of Ling’s PhD research projects, which involved using computers to recognise leaves of different shapes, led to the creation of the identification app LeafSnap. The app teaches users about plant diversity, how to care for houseplants, diagnose disease

Hongkongers urged to get flu shots as city braces for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

Hong Kong health authorities have urged the public to get the latest seasonal influenza vaccine ahead of the next wave of the flu virus, as temperatures in the city dropped to their lowest so far this winter. The appeal by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) on Saturday coincided with similar calls by an infectious disease specialist, who expressed concerns over the low vaccination rates in the population. The warnings came as temperatures at the Hong Kong Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui

China’s Communist Party paper warns of Japanese...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

Japanese militarism is infiltrating culture and sports, a key Communist Party publication has warned, spotlighting table tennis star Tomokazu Harimoto and others in a pointed commentary. According to the article in the Study Times, run by the cadre-training Central Party School, Japanese far-right forces are using cultural and sporting activities to “influence public perception and beautify the history of aggression”. These activities included football player Kaoru Mitoma being photographed

Elon Musk’s Grok AI faces scrutiny over complaints it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

Elon Musk’s AI platform, Grok, announced on Friday it is scrambling to fix safety flaws after users successfully used the tool to turn photographs of children and women into erotic images. “We’ve identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing them,” Grok stated in a post on X, emphasising that “CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) is illegal and prohibited.” The controversy stems from an “edit image” button rolled out in late December. The feature allows users to modify any image on

China doubles down on anti-corruption fight as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/03

China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to press ahead with President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign after a record 65 high-ranking officials were detained by the country’s top anti-graft agency last year. In a front-page editorial on Saturday, the People’s Daily stressed that self-reform and anti-corruption efforts were key to ensuring the longevity of the party’s rule over China. “A new year, a new journey begins,” the party mouthpiece said, urging intensified discipline in the

21,911 results