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Market rates set Hong Kong’s HK$150,000 subsidy for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Hong Kong authorities took market rates into account before setting a two-year annual subsidy of HK$150,000 (US$19,278) for flat owners displaced by the Tai Po fire, the city’s home affairs minister has said, amid calls for the government to monitor whether the new measure will further drive up rents in the area. Under the new measure, homeowners of the fire-damaged Wang Fuk Court will each receive the subsidy to rent homes in the private market, at a total cost of HK$1.2 billion. Both flat...

Hong Kong police arrest 5 over stealing HK$1.8...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of posing as Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account holders to withdraw HK$1.8 million (US$231,300) from the city’s new online pension fund platform. The scam also prompted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the pension scheme, to immediately suspend its paperless verification process, known as eKYC, for registering online platform users. It apologised for any inconvenience caused. Chief Inspector Lee Chun-man of

Hong Kong court orders trial to compensate Mo Li,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

A Hong Kong court has ordered a trial to determine the compensation an employer must pay to a dancer who was paralysed from the neck down in an accident at a concert featuring the popular boy band Mirror. District Court judge Phillis Loh Lai-ping said on Friday she believed that Studiodanz, Mo Li Kai-yin’s employer at the time of the accident, was “evading civil responsibility” as its representatives had failed to attend any hearings in the case and had been uncontactable. Loh noted that Li’s...

US launches review of Nvidia’s H200 chip sales to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

US President Donald Trump’s ‌administration has launched a review that could result in the first shipments to China of Nvidia’s H200 chips, five sources said, making good on his pledge to allow the controversial sales. Trump this month said he would allow sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, with the US government collecting a 25 per cent fee, and that the sales would help keep US firms ahead by cutting demand for Chinese-developed chips. The move drew fire from China hawks across the US...

UN says Sudan’s RSF killed 1,000 civilians in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

More than 1,000 civilians were killed in a three-day attack by the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group earlier this year on the largest displacement camp in western Sudan, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report released on Thursday. RSF stormed Zamzam camp in April as part of its siege of the city of El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province. In the attack, hundreds of people were summarily executed, according to the report. People were killed in house-to-house raids...

How China cracked the US ‘super code’ that controls...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

China is no longer using American software to run its power grid. The Southern Regional Electricity Market (SREM) – the world’s largest unified power market – has switched fully to Tianquan, a solver developed by Chinese engineers with speeds 14 per cent faster than American products, according to a report by the official Science and Technology Daily. It follows recent reports that the State Grid, Huawei and many other leading Chinese companies have abandoned US solvers. If China no longer

China still targeting US-based researchers for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

China is still trying to recruit US-based researchers despite years of heightened scrutiny, members of Congress were told on Thursday at a hearing where multiple science agencies warned that tighter security measures must go hand in hand with efforts to retain foreign talent. “Just in the past week, I have received three emails that were forwarded to me from researchers in the community who had been approached for recruitment by Chinese malign foreign talent recruitment programmes,” said

Hong Kong Santa Hash run spreads festive cheer and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

Dressed in festive outfits, nearly 140 people dashed through Hong Kong’s streets on Sunday for the annual Santa Hash charity run, raising vital funds in the process. The event began at Lockhart Road Playground in Wan Chai and covered a 6km (4 miles) route past landmarks including the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, Chater Garden, St John’s Cathedral, the Peak Tram and Hong Kong Park, before looping back to the finish. Participants navigated the trail in true “hash” style – a mix of running and...

Trump suspends US green card lottery after Brown...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

US President Donald Trump suspended the green card lottery programme on Thursday that allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to come to the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on the social platform X that at Trump’s direction she is ordering the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the programme. “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” she said of the suspect, Portuguese national...

Chinese rookie cop resembling Taiwan actor Eddie Peng...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/19

A Shanghai police officer who looks uncannily like the famous Taiwan actor Eddie Peng Yu-yan has trended on social media. A video clip of the officer, who only joined the force quite recently, has racked up over one million likes. Officer Gu Chenhan, who is in his early 20s, patrols underground stations across Shanghai accompanied by a police dog nicknamed Fries, according to a report by Shanghai TV. Gu first attracted attention in September 2023 when, as a police university student, he was

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...

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