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1. China raises taxes on some sectors to boost finances: a one-off fix or tough times ahead?

   Beijing has recently targeted tax incentives in telecoms and other select industries after fiscal revenue dropped sharply in late 2025, fuelling market speculation of similar, larger-scale moves and triggering volatility. The South China Morning Post examines the latest developments and outlines how economists view the changes. What has the Chinese government announced? Beijing has moved to...

2. Hong Kong recalls Aptamil baby milk formula batch over toxin contamination fears

   Hong Kong’s food safety watchdog has recalled a batch of Aptamil powdered infant milk formula over concerns it may be contaminated with a toxin found in similar products. The Centre for Food Safety said on Tuesday evening that a local retailer sold “a small quantity” of a batch of products suspected to contain cereulide, prompting the watchdog to launch a precautionary recall. According to the...

3. China woman accidentally leaves water tap on, turns community into ice rink overnight

   A woman in northwestern China forgot to turn off the tap of her water heater after bathing, causing an hours-long leak that turned her residential community into an outdoor skating rink. The woman, known as Wang, released a video on social media on January 16 apologising to residents in her neighbourhood in Lanzhou, Gansu province, the Xianfeng News reported. “I took a shower last night and then...

4. Defence argues Tiananmen vigil activists’ actions ‘lawful’ exercise of rights

   A disbanded alliance behind Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Square vigil had only intended to promote democracy and greater political freedom when it advocated the abolition of the mainland’s one-party rule, a defence lawyer has said in a high-profile national security trial. Defence counsel Erik Shum Sze-man on Wednesday said ending the Communist Party of China’s one-party rule would have been a solution...

5. Record F-35 deliveries muscle up American allies in the Asia-Pacific region

   Lockheed Martin expects to have around 300 of its fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets operating in the Asia-Pacific by 2035, one of the US aerospace giant’s senior executives said at the Singapore Airshow on Tuesday. Steve Sheehy, aeronautics vice-president of international business development, made the prediction during a media briefing in which he cited the “emergence of threat” in the region...

6. 3 Hong Kong pupils probed for drinking, overnight stay in separate room on tour

   Hong Kong education authorities have expressed concern over reports that two boys and a girl from a secondary school allegedly sneaked out of their hotel to drink alcohol and rent another room overnight during a mainland China exchange tour. The Education Bureau said on Wednesday that it had contacted the school immediately after learning of the incident. It added that the school was handling...

7. Government’s proposal for dogs in eateries a ‘step forward’ for Hong Kong: lawmakers

   Hong Kong lawmakers have called a new government proposal to allow up to 1,000 restaurants to welcome dogs a “good step forward”, with one legislator saying the measure could be a “test case” for the pet economy. Agriculture and fisheries sector lawmaker Chan Pok-chi said on Wednesday the measure balanced the needs of the public and restaurants. “This is the first time that [authorities] have...

8. Tencent’s giveaway campaign for AI chatbot Yuanbao blocked – by WeChat

   Tencent Holdings’ aggressive red-packet blitz to promote its artificial intelligence chatbot Yuanbao ran into a roadblock on Wednesday from the company’s own super app WeChat, dealing a blow to a US$144 million effort to acquire users for the emerging AI app. WeChat, known as Weixin on the mainland, announced on Wednesday that it would restrict Yuanbao links from opening directly within WeChat,...

9. Rise of ‘Filipino trolls’ spurs push for legal fix amid Chinese influence concerns

   A proposal to update a nearly 50-year-old law requiring individuals to disclose their political activities in the interest of national security has gained steam amid allegations of the rise of “Filipino trolls” espousing pro-Beijing content. Antonio Carpio, a retired Philippine Supreme Court senior associate justice, proposed that the country update its Foreign Agents Act, a 1979 law that...

10. Chinese AI firms defend safety practices, push back on Western criticism

    Chinese companies are mitigating the risks of artificial intelligence in their own way and should not be judged through a Western lens, according to Chinese industry insiders. The comments come ahead of what is expected to be a busy month for Chinese AI developers, with new major models set to be released ahead of the Lunar New Year. Last year, concerns about the risks of Chinese models held...