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News - South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong arts hub cancels gay-themed play hours...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District cancelled a gay-themed play set to be staged at its Xiqu Centre less than two hours before tickets went on sale at 11am on Saturday, citing complaints the work promoted confrontation and defamed the city. The author of We Are Gay, Candace Chong Mui-ngam, was also attacked in a 1,000-word opinion piece in the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po Chinese-language newspaper for “building her happiness on Hongkongers’ pain”. “It is with regret that we announce the...

Pope Leo visits ship sailing the Mediterranean on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Arm in arm, young people of different faiths perform the dabke, an Arabic folk dance, in the Italian port of Ostia, elated by a visit from Pope Leo. Behind them is the Bel Espoir, a schooner vessel on which the young people – whether from Libya and Egypt or France and Bosnia – have been sailing the Mediterranean to promote peace. “For me especially, it means a lot that the pope believes in the project and he wants to come and meet us,” said Jesus Marro, a 30-year-old Spaniard. “He believes in...

China-Canada ties on the mend after Ottawa’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

China and Canada are showing a readiness to mend mutual ties as both nations tackle strained relations with the US, marking a shift by Ottawa that analysts have described as “pragmatic”. Beijing was willing to restart dialogue and exchanges “at all levels” and rebuild trust with Ottawa, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said as he met Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand during her two-day trip to China. Friday’s meeting in Beijing came just over a week after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney...

China filmmaker, 74, mocked over daughter’s first...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

A prominent 74-year-old film producer in China recently celebrated his one-year-old daughter’s birthday, only to face online abuse. His wife has since taken legal action against the cyberbullies, as their more than 30-year age gap sparked public debate. Zhang Jizhong, a renowned Chinese martial arts film mogul, is known for producing Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin, as well as adapting martial arts novels by Jin Yong. His wife, Du Xinglin, 43, was previously Zhang’s agent

Chinachem Tower blaze in Hong Kong’s Central put out...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Firefighters have extinguished a blaze at the Chinachem Tower in Hong Kong’s central business district after a battle that lasted for more than four hours, with at least four people injured. Huge flames erupted when the scaffolding along the building caught fire on Saturday afternoon, sending up thick plumes of smoke that were visible from Kowloon across Victoria Harbour. At least four people were rescued after being trapped inside the tower. According to authorities, 36 firefighting

Nexperia said to halt salaries and system access for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Nexperia has withheld access to work accounts and halted salaries for its employees in China, according to local news reports citing a letter from the Chinese unit of the Dutch chipmaker, marking the latest escalation in a growing political dispute between the Netherlands and China. The Chinese unit of Nexperia informed customers on Friday that it had been notified by headquarters that salary payments would cease and employees’ access to company systems would be suspended, according to

Iran says no longer bound by ‘restrictions’ on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Iran on Saturday said it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”. The 2015 deal – signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme. But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington...

Jardine Matheson to buy remaining stake in Mandarin...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Jardine Matheson Holdings has agreed to buy the remaining 11.96 per cent of hotel arm Mandarin Oriental International it does not already own, as the century-old conglomerate ramps up efforts to increase investor returns. Mandarin Oriental shareholders would receive US$3.35 in cash per share in a deal that valued the hotel chain at about US$4.2 billion, Jardine said in a statement on Friday. The total value represented a premium of 40 per cent to Mandarin Oriental’s closing price on Thursday,...

Sacked Chinese generals ‘disloyal’, dealt ‘serious...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

China has accused the nine generals expelled from the Communist Party on Friday of seriously undermining the principle that the military should be loyal to the party, saying that they dealt a serious blow to the unity of the armed forces and the image of senior officers. In an editorial published on Saturday, military mouthpiece PLA Daily said the disgraced nine – including He Weidong, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and a member of the 24-man Politburo – had been...

Japan’s political turmoil will weigh heavily on its...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Are politicians dispensable, and can elite bureaucrats run a country more efficiently? The question has become one of more than academic importance in Japan, where the political situation has degenerated into chaos as potential leaders and their parties vie for power. This is a question that has considerable economic and financial as well as political significance. Japan is a key trade, investment and security partner to other leading nations in and beyond Asia and its financial markets are...

Hong Kong police bust vice ring exploiting minors,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Hong Kong police have dismantled a local vice syndicate allegedly led by an 18-year-old woman, which exploited underage girls for sex services, arresting 58 people in two crackdowns. Chief Inspector Yim Wan-ha of Kowloon West said on Saturday that the force recently apprehended 23 people in a crackdown on the local syndicate suspected of recruiting teenage girls for prostitution through online social platforms and youth hang-out spots with the lure of quick money. “Core members befriend

Nepal’s Gen Z uprising splinters as ideological...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

One month after Nepal’s youth-led revolt redrew the political map, competing visions for the future and the daunting challenge of turning protest into meaningful reform are casting uncertainty over the country’s political future. In the wake of the September uprising, which ousted the government of K.P. Sharma Oli and left more than 70 people dead, new Gen Z factions have proliferated, defined by their deep ideological divides. Groups with names like the Gen Z Alliance, Real Gen Z Nepal and

China US$1.4 million lottery winner tips...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

A man in eastern China who lavished chunks of a 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) lottery win on a woman live-streamer but gave his wife nothing has captivated mainland social media. The man’s wife, surnamed Yuan, exposed his scandal to Henan TV in mid-October after filing for divorce. The couple, who live in Dezhou, Shandong province, have been married since 2016. On December 17 last year, the husband, whose identity was not revealed in the report, won a jackpot of 10.17 million yuan, with

Guangdong motorists must follow Hong Kong laws under...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Motorists from mainland China entering Hong Kong under a new travel scheme must abide by the city’s laws, the transport minister has warned. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Saturday that authorities would have systems in place to track drivers with unpaid penalties through their registered mainland payment methods. Under the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles” scheme, motorists from the southern Chinese province will be able to apply to drive into Hong Kong

Thailand, Singapore investigate Chen Zhi’s group...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Authorities in Thailand and Singapore are looking into a Cambodian real estate group after the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on the company’s chairman on allegations of fraud and money laundering. Surapol Prembutr, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, said Thai officials would work with their US counterparts to review the asset seizure process and legal proceedings involving Prince Holding Group, the Bangkok Post reported. Singapore police were looking into the...

‘Phenomenal’: how Hongkongers’ generosity helped 4.5...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Hong Kong supported 4.5 million people in need worldwide over one year through the relief agency World Vision, its president has said, envisioning the city becoming a humanitarian aid hub. Andrew Morley, president and CEO of World Vision International, a child-focused charity operating in more than 100 countries, also urged people to contribute more as he said government funding for humanitarian aid across the world had decreased by about 25 per cent this year compared with 2024, despite a

Overseas expansion adds fuel to Chinese energy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Openings at overseas energy storage operations flood John Yang’s screen anytime he browses recruitment websites, with listed giants and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alike offering salaries well above those typically found in China’s manufacturing sector. “Job seeking has never felt easier. The only worry is whether the new role could last beyond next year,” joked Yang, Thailand director at a Shenzhen-based energy storage firm. Yang’s experience reflects the recent, rapid overseas...

Viral China parents celebrate son’s slim exam pass,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

A video of parents from eastern China celebrating their son’s exam results after he got just one point above a pass has gone viral online. Unlike the typical Chinese “tiger parenting” style, the father prioritised his child’s health and happiness over perfection. The clip shows a mother entering a house with three children, holding an exam paper and smiling broadly. She excitedly tells her husband, who is lying on the couch: “Our son scored 61 out of 100; he passed the monthly maths

Man found dead by hiker 200 metres from summit of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

A man was found dead about 200 metres from the summit of Hong Kong’s Lion Rock on Saturday morning, police said. Police received a report at 10am on Saturday from a hiker, who had spotted the man had collapsed in a mountain area near the popular peak. Responders from the Government Flying Service and the Fire Services Department arrived at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead. His body was later airlifted by helicopter to the Government Flying Service headquarters in Chek Lap

Rush to create 2,600 student hostel spaces to meet...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/18

Education authorities have received more than 10 applications to convert commercial buildings and hotels into 2,600 dormitory spaces in Hong Kong, a move to address the increased demand after raising the cap on non-local students at tertiary institutions to 50 per cent. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said on Saturday she was encouraged by the response to the “Hostel in the City” scheme, launched in July with the Development Bureau. “We have approved a few applications now,”

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