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Trump’s Venezuela ‘blockade’ raises legal questions...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

US President Donald Trump’s “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast was raising new questions about the legality of his military campaign in Latin America, while fuelling concerns that the US could be edging closer to war. The Trump administration has said its blockade was narrowly tailored and not targeting civilians, which would be an illegal act of war. But some experts say seizing sanctioned oil tied to leader Nicolas Maduro could provoke a military response from...

Hong Kong customs arrests 2 party room operators over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Hong Kong customs has arrested two party room operators on suspicion of providing pirated karaoke songs to customers after raiding eight properties across the city. The Customs and Excise Department said on Friday that officers launched an operation between December 3 and 10 after analysing intelligence, with the help of copyright owners, and identifying party rooms suspected of possessing and providing infringing karaoke songs. Officers raided party rooms in various areas, including Kwun

China cuts US Treasury holdings to lowest level since...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

China reduced its US Treasury holdings in October to its lowest level in 17 years, as mounting concerns over US debt sustainability and the Federal Reserve’s independence further eroded confidence in dollar-backed assets. The country’s stockpile fell to US$688.7 billion in October, down from US$700.5 billion in September, according to US Treasury Department data released on Thursday. October’s figure was the lowest level reported since November 2008, and marked a plunge of more than 47 per

China’s heat pump tech, Tokyo clarifies Taiwan stance...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

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. China’s ultra-hot heat pump breakthrough paves way for melting ore with sunlight For over a century, the dream of efficiently concentrating low-grade heat into high-temperature industrial energy has been constrained by a stubborn...

Fallen firefighter honoured in funeral procession as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Hongkongers gathered on Friday to pay their last respects to the firefighter who died battling the Tai Po blaze, as his hearse passed the site of the inferno and the fire station he had served in en route to the cemetery in Gallant Garden, in a funeral procession with full honours. The Fire Services Department held an official funeral for the late Ho Wai-ho at Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom at 10am, attended by top government officials, members of the city’s political elite, and

EU agrees US$106 billion loan for Ukraine, but...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

EU leaders struck a deal Friday to provide Ukraine a loan of €90 billion (US$106 billion) to plug its looming budget shortfalls - but failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to come up with the funds. The middle-of-the-night agreement reached at summit talks in Brussels offers Kyiv a desperately needed lifeline as US President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war. “Today’s decision will provide Ukraine with the necessary means to defend itself and

China urged to win ‘hearts and minds’ to fill global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

As the United States undergoes a strategic shift in its global priorities, experts in China are pushing Beijing’s vision for a new world order – but they say the country must improve its messaging. Leading political scientist and government adviser Zheng Yongnian said China had two guiding principles: maintaining its agency while engaging with the world; and extending the ladder it climbed to help other nations ascend. Zheng made the remarks on Tuesday at the International Forum on Mutual...

Hong Kong taxi driver, 62, arrested over fatally...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Hong Kong police have arrested a 62-year-old taxi driver after he allegedly knocked down a woman in Central, who later succumbed to her injuries. A taxi was travelling along Caine Road when it hit a 68-year-old female pedestrian near Elgin Street at 8.55pm on Thursday, according to the force. The woman, who sustained multiple injuries, was rushed to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai in an unconscious state and was declared dead at 10.05pm. The cabby was subsequently arrested on suspicion of...

Home ownership is key to Hong Kong rebuilding civic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

This month’s Legislative Council election once again put Hong Kong’s political participation in the spotlight. Despite official calls for civic engagement and a modest improvement over the previous election, voter turnout remained historically low. Among younger voters in particular, a sense of distance from institutional politics was palpable. This was not simply a matter of apathy or protest abstention. Rather, it reflected a deeper unease about whether the city’s political institutions

Japan city launches edible-looking boot souvenirs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

A city government in Japan has unveiled a bizarre yet impressively realistic pair of fully wearable boots modelled after Taiwan’s beloved dish, braised pork rice. The creation has sparked a lively discussion on social media and left netizens in Taiwan both amused and in disbelief. Lu rou fan, or braised pork rice, is one of Taiwan’s most iconic dishes. It features tender pork simmered in a sweet and savoury soy sauce. The dish is served over white rice with vegetables and a boiled egg and is...

Taiwan restoration experts help families say goodbye...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Taiwanese mortuary reconstruction specialist Kuo Chang-chen wasted no time starting work to restore the bodies of Wang Fuk Court’s fire victims upon arriving in Hong Kong on Thursday. Kuo, 62, is leading a team of five other specialists from Taiwan who volunteered to assist in reconstructing the remains of the victims at the Kowloon Funeral Parlour. Their work aims to prepare the bodies for dignified funerals and offer closure to grieving families. “Every unexpected event deeply wounds the...

China’s pharmaceutical sector moves into the big...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

China is gaining a solid reputation as a pharmaceutical innovation hub, shifting from a copycat drug maker to one whose infrastructure and research and development capabilities rival global pharmaceutical behemoths, according to a global consultancy. US-based SAI MedPartners and its unit Idea Pharma recently launched a new index with the aim of highlighting Chinese drug makers and recognising their shift from generics to “true” innovation. The consultancy released the China Pharmaceutical...

Chinese team builds optical chip AI that is 100 times...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Chinese scientists have unveiled an optical computing chip that outperformed Nvidia’s leading AI hardware by over a hundredfold in speed and energy efficiency – particularly for generative tasks such as video production and image synthesis. The LightGen chip was developed by a team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University, harnessing the speed of light to execute complex artificial intelligence workloads. With more than 2 million photonic neurons integrated into a compact

Trump signs defence bill restricting investment in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a sweeping defence bill that would restrict US outbound investment in Chinese technology and curb federal contracts with Chinese biotechnology companies, amid an uneasy trade truce between Washington and Beijing. The bill, known as the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), cleared both the House of Representatives and Senate earlier this month after months of negotiation. The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday in a 77-20 vote, following its...

TikTok reaches deal to sell US assets to American...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

In a landmark move that ends years of legal and political uncertainty, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew informed employees on Thursday that the company has signed a binding agreement to sell its US operations to a consortium of American investors.The deal, which has received the backing of President Donald Trump, effectively averts a looming nationwide ban and secures the platform’s future for its 170 million American users. The new entity, a TikTok US joint venture, is set to officially close on...

China to remain world’s biggest buyer of chipmaking...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

China is expected to remain the world’s biggest buyer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment through 2027, as domestic chipmakers keep expanding capacity under Beijing’s push for greater tech self-sufficiency, according to a new industry report. Sustained investment across both mature-node and leading-edge processes would keep China the largest market for chipmaking tools until at least 2027, industry association SEMI said. Even so, the association expects the pace to ease, with sales...

Violence erupts in Bangladesh after shot leader of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Violence broke out in Bangladesh’s capital early on Friday after a youth leader of the country’s 2024 pro-democracy uprising who was injured in an assassination attempt died in a hospital in Singapore. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was announced, to demand that his killers be arrested. Several buildings in the capital, including those housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire, according to authorities, with...

US arms deal supports Taiwan’s effort to reassure...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

The US State Department’s approval this week of a US$11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan – reportedly the largest in the island’s history – dovetails with Taipei’s effort to show US President Donald Trump it is doing more to defend itself, even as it shifts towards a less conventional “porcupine” strategy, analysts said. “These are asymmetric weapons that are focused on bolstering the capability of Taiwan’s military to prevent a PLA invasion,” said Bonnie Glaser, vice-president of the

China reportedly sticking to its soybean deal with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

China is estimated to have secured more than half of the 12 million tonnes of soybeans that Washington says Beijing committed to purchase by early 2026, based on US government data and market conventions that analysts say usually indicate China, though little has been shipped so far, heightening concerns over potential cancellations. While the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has officially documented nearly four million tonnes in sales explicitly to China, three million tonnes currently

Brown University shooting suspected identified, US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

US officials have identified a suspect in the shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured several others, US media reported on Thursday, in a breakthrough in the case. “Investigators believe they have identified a suspect in the Brown University shooting, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the case,” CNN reported. CBS News also reported similar information. There is a warrant out for the individual’s arrest, CNN reported, and the authorities are...

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