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News - South China Morning Post

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Whiplash in Taiwan? How Donald Trump’s blunt warning...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Donald Trump’s blunt warning that he was not looking to have “somebody go independent” after his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping has reignited debate in Taiwan over whether Washington is hardening its message on the island. For many in Taipei, the US president’s remarks evoked memories of the George W. Bush administration, when Washington publicly checked Taiwan over moves seen as edging towards formal independence. But just as analysts were debating whether Trump had delivered the...

‘Chase your dreams’, Hong Kong’s first astronaut...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Hong Kong’s first astronaut has encouraged the city’s young people to chase their dreams, declaring that “there must be a better tomorrow” if everyone works hard and bears the country in mind when pursuing one’s goals. Payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, one of three astronauts on the Shenzhou-23’s mission to China’s Tiangong space station scheduled to launch on Sunday evening, told Hongkongers in a press conference on Saturday that she would “ga yau”, meaning to step up efforts in

For China’s ailing developers, retail frenzy greets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Embattled Chinese developers have turned to a new strategy to resuscitate their ailing businesses: diversifying into semiconductor production. Certain listed property companies have seen their shares skyrocket – some by hundreds of per cent – after announcing investments in “chipmaking”. Such strategic diversification efforts have sparked a buying frenzy among retail investors in the mainland’s A-share market. “Chip-themed stocks are the new darlings of individual investors since [such

Lai Ka-ying is Hong Kong’s first astronaut. Her...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

If you are working on a space station orbiting hundreds of kilometres above the Earth, the woman set to become Hong Kong’s first astronaut when the mission launches this weekend is exactly the type of person you want by your side, according to the professor who supervised her postgraduate studies. Lai Ka-ying was meticulous, patient and a skilled communicator who could break down highly technical ideas for others, Chow Kam-pui, an honorary associate professor at the University of Hong Kong,

UN event on nuclear non-proliferation treaty...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

A four-week United Nations conference reviewing the treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons ended on Friday without agreement as the United States and Iran sparred over Iran’s nuclear programme. Vietnam’s UN Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no consensus among the 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on even a watered-down final document. He did not say which country or countries blocked a consensus. It was the third failure in

Chinese scientists grow heart’s ‘master conductor’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Scientists in Shanghai have used stem cells to create the world’s first laboratory-grown sinoatrial node – the tiny structure that acts as the heart’s natural pacemaker. Capable of beating autonomously, the organoid is a breakthrough that researchers say could transform cardiac disease research and drug screening. The heart’s ability to beat continuously and rhythmically depends on the sinoatrial node, which is nestled inside the right atrial chamber. Acting as the heart’s “master

27 countries seek access to World Bank funds since...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war started to put in place crisis instruments that could quickly access funding from existing World Bank programmes, according to an internal document viewed by Reuters. The World Bank document did not name the ‌countries or the total amount of funds potentially being sought. The World Bank declined to comment. The document showed that three countries had approved new instruments since the Middle East conflict began on February 28, while the...

How China wins by avoiding war

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing in a much weaker position than he did more than four years ago, when he launched his invasion of Ukraine shortly after his last visit. US President Donald Trump left Beijing after much fanfare. However, he was criticised back at home for failing to deliver on any key aspect of American interests, such as committing China to pressuring Iran to end the war on US terms. His popular support is at a historic low. Putin, Trump and Chinese

Hong Kong’s first astronaut Lai Ka-ying picked for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Hong Kong will send its first astronaut to the Tiangong space station, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Saturday. Lai Ka-ying, a police superintendent and tech expert with a doctorate in computer science, will join the Shenzhou-23 mission as a payload specialist. She will become the fourth female astronaut to enter the Chinese space station. The Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft is targeting a launch at 23:08 tomorrow. According to the agency, she will work alongside astronauts Zhu

A cloud above the clouds: US, China race to make...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

In 1957, the Soviet Union kicked off the Cold War’s space race, shocking the world by sending Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, into orbit. Four years later, it did the same to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human in space. In 1969, the US provided another image that defined the era: Neil Armstrong leaving the Eagle lunar lander and planting the American flag on the moon, declaring it “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For the two superpowers,

Ancient Chinese texts depict ‘immortal mirror’ akin...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Ancient China dreamed of future technology long before the modern age, conjuring visions of magic mirrors, ingenious machines and even lifelike wooden puppets. In the Tang dynasty (618–907) text Duyang Miscellaneous Records, a mysterious stone called the “immortal mirror” appears as a precursor to the CT scan. Found in the southwest of an unnamed land, the polished stone was said to span hundreds of kilometres. Passers-by could look into it like a mirror, but instead of reflecting their

Graduates of top vocational school spared brunt of AI...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/23

Graduates of Hong Kong’s largest vocational training institution have largely avoided the negative effects of AI and could reap more internship opportunities from a coming megaproject, the body’s new leader has said. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, newly appointed Vocational Training Council (VTC) chairman Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung also vowed to review the courses to align them with emerging job opportunities. The government earlier revealed that entry-level jobs for university...

SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world. It is the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day.

US judge tosses case against wrongly deported...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

A US federal judge dismissed a criminal case on Friday filed against a Salvadorean man at the centre of a row over US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on migrants.US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia by the Trump administration’s Justice Department was “an abuse of prosecuting power”. Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident married to an American woman, was among more than 200 people sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison in March of last

Xi raised ‘Thucydides Trap’ with Trump as warning...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

Chinese President Xi Jinping viewed the Thucydides Trap as the “best diagnosis” of the challenge Beijing faces with Washington when he raised the concept with US leader Donald Trump this month, signalling an awareness that their current path risked conflict, an eminent American political scientist said. “My impression is that he sees this as the best diagnosis of the challenge he and President Trump face,” said Graham Allison, the founding dean of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School

Putin left China, without a pipeline deal. Why didn’t...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

In an era when technology seems to defy all limits, one age-old barrier has managed to endure: geography. As geopolitical turbulence continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping artery, especially for energy – the search for other fuel sources, and other means of transport, has shifted from a strategic luxury to an existential necessity. This need has become particularly acute for China, a major consumer of fossil fuels. Middle Eastern imports remain a

Trump says he won’t attend son Donald Trump Jnr’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

US ⁠President Donald Trump said on ⁠Friday he would not attend the ⁠wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jnr, to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, because he has to stay in Washington for government business. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the ‌Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “I...

Trump to force foreigners seeking US green cards to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

Foreigners applying for permanent residency in the US will now have to go back to their home countries to seek green cards. “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” Zach Kahler, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement on Friday. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes,”...

Rubio expected to brief New Delhi on Xi-Trump summit...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

When Marco Rubio was confirmed as US Secretary of State last year, fireworks of optimism went off in New Delhi. Given his years as a senator championing a pro-India, staunchly anti-China posture, policymakers anticipated an unprecedented alignment. However, as Rubio arrives in India on Saturday for a four-day visit spanning Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, he enters a relationship strained by transactional politics, structural deadlock and mounting strategic unease over Washington’s

Warsh takes US Fed’s helm with inflation dilemma...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/22

Kevin Warsh, whose broad criticism of current US ⁠Federal Reserve officials, playbook for rate cuts and ties to President Donald Trump elevated him past ⁠other contenders to lead the central bank, was sworn in as Fed leader on Friday at a pivotal moment for monetary policy and the American economy. Warsh, wearing a dark suit and tie and accompanied by his wife, Jane Lauder, heiress to the Estee Lauder fortune, was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after a lengthy introduction

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