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News - South China Morning Post

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The winners from China’s growing intercity football...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

“I can’t wait to watch the game – it’s Lion’s Head Meatballs versus Hairy Crab!” Liu Jieling, a 42-year-old company executive from Suzhou, joked about a derby clash pitting a side inspired by her city’s signature crustacean cuisine against one by Yangzhou’s steamed meatballs. The 2026 season of the Jiangsu City Football League – popularly known as the Su Super League – kicks off on Saturday, and the amateur tournament in Jiangsu, a province in eastern China, is already generating huge buzz...

China warns university students to beware of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

China’s top intelligence agency has warned university students to be wary of lucrative job postings that may serve as covers for foreign espionage, as they begin searching for work ahead of a record graduation season. Offers such as earning 800 yuan (US$117) a day for remote data processing or research projects promising easy money could be “traps” to recruit students to illegally collect sensitive information for foreign intelligence agencies, the Ministry of State Security said. “Be wary of...

Tighter civil service disciplinary rules risk...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

The head of a civil service union federation in Hong Kong has warned that tighter disciplinary action risks becoming excessive as the government seeks to revise the penalty system to handle underperforming employees this year. Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, was responding to the Civil Service Bureau’s plan to revise the regulations to further improve the disciplinary mechanism, including tightening rules on withholding salaries during suspensions and...

China café sets ‘entry rules’ that ban littering,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

A coffee shop in eastern China has gone viral for its entry rules banning a range of bizarre misbehaviour, from discarding black stockings to stealing tiny turtles from its pond. The café, Yi Nan Ping, is in Qingzhou Ancient City, a popular tourist site in Weifang, Shandong province, and is known for its signature pineapple Americano and picturesque courtyard. Visitors recently spotted an oversized notice at the café entrance, almost as tall as an adult, opening with a blunt admission: it had...

Global wealth gap grows as aid to world’s poorest...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

The gap between rich and poor nations is growing even wider as actions agreed to by many countries last year, including overhauling the major global financial institutions, remain unfulfilled promises, a UN report has concluded. The report assessing the blueprint adopted in Seville, Spain, last June to narrow the gap and achieve UN development goals for 2030 was issued ahead of next week’s spring meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the main global...

‘Cancelling orders’ in China: how Hormuz oil crisis...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

As the Strait of Hormuz reopened and closed again this week, manufacturers across China are navigating a roller coaster of concerns rooted in supply and pricing volatilities. Soaring oil prices have already filtered through to processed fuel and petroleum-based raw materials that help power China’s manufacturing sector – the world’s largest – and a fragile two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States is unlikely to restore pre-conflict stability in the near term, according to

Discovery Bay developer submits proposal for full...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

The developer of Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay is pushing ahead with a plan for unrestricted taxi access and four new ranks in the resort-style seaside community on Lantau Island, despite a backlash from residents. In a paper submitted to Islands District Council, Hong Kong Resort Company said the lack of point-to-point public transport “severely impacts residents’ daily lives” and that it had received hundreds of messages of support for the proposal. The company said existing restrictions

US Navy crosses Strait of Hormuz amid Mideast peace...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Several US Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, US news outlet Axios reported, as delegations from Iran and the United States reportedly met in Pakistan to reinforce a fragile ceasefire. The crossing by the US Navy, the first since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, was not coordinated with Tehran, the report said, citing American officials. “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China,...

Hong Kong’s listing reform 2.0: can it outshine...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Fang Liu, a partner at global law firm Clifford Chance, counts among his clients many technology companies that are keen to list in Hong Kong, but find the current requirements cumbersome. Clifford Chance has helped more than a dozen innovative companies raise funds under the new listing regime since 2018, when Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) introduced reforms for pre-revenue biotech firms and companies with weighted voting rights (WVR), where one class of shareholders carries more...

China has mapped out a third new county in Xinjiang....

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

China has established a third new county in its Xinjiang region, this time along vital transport routes linking the country to South and Central Asia. Analysts said the move underscored Beijing’s focus on governance and security along its far-flung western borders. Sitting in southwestern Xinjiang near the Karakoram Range, Cenling county is a linchpin for China’s frontier security and regional development. Its strategic value stems from its proximity to the borders with Pakistan and

Helpful analysts predict China property recovery now,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

A close mainland relative cried her eyes out while video-calling with my wife and me recently. Like many in China who have bought property since the late 2010s, she is sitting on a big loss with her flat outside downtown Chongqing. The city saw sales pick up around the time of the Spring Festival, traditionally an off-season. But when she tried her luck, the offers from potential buyers were brutal, and she called off the sale. Knowing that I work for an English-language newspaper in Hong

73 public schools join new scheme to hire native...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

More than 70 public schools, or nearly 9 per cent, have joined a new scheme in Hong Kong to hire native English-speaking teachers (NETs) that offers lower pay but higher recruitment flexibility. Under the scheme launched this academic year, operators were given a grant to hire such teachers to enhance the effectiveness of English-language instruction and increase students’ exposure to the language. “In the 2025-26 school year, a total of 73 aided schools – 28 primary schools and 45 secondary...

How gossip spread in ancient China before advent of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Long before social media and camera lenses, ancient China had its own “paparazzi” who wielded ink, paper and a sharp tongue to unsettle the lives of the powerful. In those days, gossip was more than idle chatter; it formed an informal information network linking teahouses, stage stations, street tabloids and officialdom. During the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), the imperial court established the Censorate, a body charged with monitoring official conduct. Its censors watched for misconduct

Molotov attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home leads...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

⁠Police in the United States ⁠have arrested a man for allegedly ⁠throwing a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home and for making threats outside the artificial intelligence start-up’s headquarters. In a social media post, the San Francisco Police ‌Department said an unknown man threw an incendiary device at a North Beach residence at 4.12am on Friday and then escaped on foot. The 20-year-old suspect was detained about an hour later after police received a call about a man

Artemis II astronauts return home from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/10

The Artemis II capsule and its four-member crew streaked through Earth’s ⁠atmosphere and safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday after nearly 10 days in space, capping the first voyage by humans to the vicinity of the moon in over half a century. Nasa’s gumdrop-shaped Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, parachuted gently into the sea off the Southern California coast shortly after 5pm, concluding a mission that took the astronauts deeper into space than anyone had flown before. The...

Vocational schools new front in China’s strategy to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/10

In classrooms and training centres across China, a growing number of students from Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond are learning not just the Chinese language, but how the country’s factories operate, how supply chains are managed and how products are marketed and sold across borders.Hebei Software Institute, in the northern city of Baoding, has been at the forefront of the push. The vocational college said it had established multiple overseas-oriented programmes in recent years,

Trump’s tariff powers tested again as judges question...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/10

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs returned to court on Friday, as a three-judge Court of International Trade panel in New York sharply questioned both sides while weighing the legality of a new set of tariffs he imposed in February, shortly after a Supreme Court ruling declared most of his sweeping levies unlawful. While the judges offered few clues on how they might rule on the Section 122 tariffs, the court has previously rejected business challenges seeking to invalidate Section 301

China’s next growth engine? An AI-powered...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/10

As China enters its 15th five-year plan, policymakers face a structural constraint that cannot be eased with another round of infrastructure spending or property stimulus. The demographic dividend that powered four decades of expansion is fading. Industrial competition has intensified. The central economic question is no longer how fast China can grow, but how productively. Artificial intelligence, specifically the rise of AI agents, may offer part of the answer. Deployed at scale, these

Trump tariff refund tool will go live on April 20, US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/10

Importers seeking tariff refunds will be able to begin filing their requests on April 20, US Customs and Border Protection said on Friday. In the first phase, the CBP’s Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool, called CAPE, will process paperwork for certain straightforward and recent import entries – leaving more complex refund scenarios for later. The move comes as the administration looks to comply with the February ruling by the US Supreme Court that threw out duties

China, Russia rally behind Cuba as US squeezes Havana...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/10

China and Russia expressed support for Cuba’s embattled government amid mounting pressure from the United States, as Moscow’s deputy foreign minister concluded a visit to Havana and Beijing signalled its willingness to step up diplomatic backing for the island. “China is willing to work with the international community to firmly support Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security, and opposing external interference,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday. “The

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