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News - South China Morning Post

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Maisy Ho, daughter of late tycoon Stanley Ho, dies...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Maisy Ho Chiu-ha, a daughter of late Hong Kong and Macau tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, died on Sunday. Her siblings – Pansy Ho Chiu-king, Daisy Ho Chiu-fung, Josie Ho Chiu-yi and Lawrence Ho Yau-lung – disclosed the news in a statement but stopped short of revealing the cause of death. “We regretfully share that our beloved sister Maisy Ho passed away peacefully on April 12, 2026, surrounded by family,” they said. “We appreciate your condolences and ask for privacy during this difficult

Rehabilitation project open to all 2019 Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Hong Kong authorities will not “draw a line” on which protesters arrested during the 2019 social unrest are eligible for a rehabilitation programme, the security chief has said, while defending the decision to keep the project a secret until recently. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Sunday that the special rehabilitation programme run by his bureau for people arrested in connection with the 2019 anti-government protests had been operating for the past one to two

In Indonesia, horror film posters trigger child...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Promotional posters for the horror film Aku Harus Mati (“I Must Die”) have been taken down in parts of Indonesia after sparking backlash from child protection experts, who say the campaign’s stark language and imagery are especially alarming amid what officials have called a “child suicide emergency”. The row has struck a nerve in a country where concerns over child mental health and suicidal ideation have been mounting, turning what might otherwise have been dismissed as provocative horror...

Chinese firm slammed for using ex-employee’s data to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

A Chinese company has sparked controversy after it reportedly used a former employee’s data to create an artificial intelligence (AI) human to continue working following his resignation. A game company in Shandong province in northern China has attracted attention after turning a former employee into an AI-powered “digital worker” which continued performing tasks after their resignation. The employee, whose personal details remain unclear, previously worked as an human resources (HR)...

In Philippines, LPG price shock reaches bottom of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Filipinos like their pares, a traditional beef stew, served hot – but the soaring cost of liquefied petroleum gas has made that prospect increasingly difficult since war erupted in the Middle East. To save a few pesos, 20-year-old Eric Garcia delicately turned a knob to adjust the flame under his warming trays to the lowest setting as he grapples with fuel costs that have nearly doubled in price. While sticker shock at petrol stations has garnered the biggest headlines since the war forced

Hyundai spearheads foreign EV comeback push in China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Hyundai Motor has spearheaded a comeback among foreign marques vying for a slice of the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market, launching a new brand built around local technologies and partnerships. The South Korean carmaker, which reversed a six-year sales decline in 2025, said it would soon introduce production models under the Ioniq brand tailored for Chinese consumers, as it steps up its push into the world’s largest automotive market. “The newly launched Ioniq brand in China evolves beyond

‘A dream come true’: helpers flock to Disneyland for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Hundreds of domestic workers wearing Minnie Mouse ear headbands flocked to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort on Sunday morning after receiving free tickets, with many helpers arriving at least an hour before the theme park opened. The amusement park and the Li Ka Shing Foundation handed out 5,000 tickets to thank the helpers hailing from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand. Crowds of ticket holders and their friends arrived at Disneyland at 9.15am, with many holding...

Singapore drama sparks Malaysian ire over scam hub...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Singapore’s national media network Mediacorp has responded to criticism from Malaysian organisations over its drama Highway to Somewhere, which some claim portrays the country as a hub for scam syndicates. In a statement, a spokesperson said the production had taken care in its depiction of Malaysia and that the storyline was not meant to target any specific country. The 20-episode Chinese-language series follows a married couple played by Romeo Tan and Jeanette Aw, and four friends portrayed

Controversial Hong Kong documentary pulled from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Award-winning Hong Kong documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self has been withdrawn by its distributor from an Italian film festival after a dispute among stakeholders worsened. Golden Scene said on Sunday that its documentary would not feature at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, 10 days after the event’s line-up listed the title in its “out of competition” section. “We deeply regret this and reserve all legal rights to protect our company’s reputation and interests,” the company said,...

Time to act on stalled proposal toughening child...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Hong Kong authorities have been urged to toughen penalties for child abuse as a proposal to review protection laws for minors, which were last updated in 1995, has remained stalled for seven years. A check by the South China Morning Post found that over more than 20 years, only one of 13 serious child abuse cases involving ill-treatment or neglect of a child or young person resulted in a jail term close to the maximum of 10 years. Lawmakers earlier this month called for increasing the 10-year...

Does Iran’s wartime resilience offer any lessons for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Iran’s ability to sustain missile and drone strikes despite heavy US-Israeli attacks has sharpened a debate in Taiwan: if the island’s air defences were degraded in the early stages of a conflict with mainland China, could it still keep fighting? The answer from officials, lawmakers and analysts was cautious but clear. They said the island could be resilient – but only if it shifted away from a missile-heavy defensive mindset towards a more integrated, cost-effective and survivable

Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

For years, Southeast Asian countries have preferred to avoid taking sides between China and the United States. This year’s State of Southeast Asia survey shows that this approach still holds, but a more contested geostrategic environment is making it harder to sustain. The region continues to feel uneasy about China’s entrenched influence, is increasingly troubled by US leadership under President Donald Trump and is more conscious of Asean’s institutional constraints. The weakening of

Pope Leo slams ‘delusion of omnipotence’ stoking...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fuelling the US-Israel war on Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace. Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on the same day the US and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held. History’s first US-born pope did not mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the...

Maduro’s capture sparked outrage, confusion – and a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Two months after the United States’ capture and forcible extradition of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro – and as the South American country attempts to settle into a state of relative normalcy in the aftermath of the military incursion – a cohort of Chinese migrants are relocating there in search of business opportunities. Not all are new arrivals. Mey Hou, a long-term Venezuela resident in her 40s who fled the country during Maduro’s tenure, said many people from her hometown in...

‘We have no trust in the other side’: Iran points...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

The United States and Iran did not reach a deal because Washington failed to win the other side’s trust, Tehran’s lead negotiator said on Sunday. In his first comments since the marathon round of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad broke up, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on social media: “We have the necessary good faith and will, but due to the experiences of the two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side. “The opposing side ultimately failed to gain

Why securing Hong Kong’s economic future is a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Hong Kong is navigating a period of significant economic transition. The city is seeing a surge in family offices. It is an offshore renminbi hub and has one of the world’s most meaningful capital markets. However, it needs systemic change to attract and retain top talent, bring the Hong Kong diaspora back home and lure high-spending tourists. While our capital infrastructure is strong, our cultural infrastructure demands urgent attention. As outlined in China’s 15th five-year plan, the

Hong Kong’s ministerial team spent HK$46.6 million on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

Hong Kong’s 21 ministerial-level officials spent more than HK$46.6 million (US$5.9 million) on trips over the past three financial years, with finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po accounting for nearly a quarter of the total. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah was the most frequent traveller, making 50 trips in the past three years at a cost of HK$7.21 million to taxpayers, official records released to legislators showed. Chan made 35 visits during the three

China family creates AI clone to comfort elderly mum...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

After a man in China was killed in a road accident last year, his family hired an artificial intelligence (AI) technology team to create a digital version of him to comfort his elderly mother. The AI creation is able to chat with his octogenarian mother online and help her live with the reality of her only child’s death. The incident was exposed by the AI team leader Zhang Zewei, who is based in eastern Jiangsu province, according to the media outlet Litchi News. The family, who live in

Singapore’s robotaxi drive revs up with help from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/12

In a quiet street in northern Singapore, a car plies the road like any other – except it is a left-hand drive from China and the person in the driver’s seat has been trained to keep his hands off the wheel and his foot off the pedals unless an emergency arises. Eventually, there will be no need for a safety officer or any human behind the wheel at all – mirroring the autonomous vehicles (AVs) already operating in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For now,

Over the moon: Artemis II astronauts make emotional...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Still marvelling over their moon mission, the Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home on Saturday from hundreds who took part in Nasa’s lunar comeback that set a record for deep space travel. The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego where they splashed down just offshore the evening before. After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, the astronauts took the hangar stage, surrounded by...

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