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South China Morning Post

All the latest breaking news from Hong Kong, China and around the world

Is Hong Kong’s cultural hub of West Kowloon emerging as ‘Central 2.0’?

Hong Kong’s West Kowloon is poised to emerge as the second-most important office sub-market after Central with the completion of new buildings that will accommodate banks and insurance companies, according to industry officials. However, there was expected to be limited demand from newcomers or via corporate expansion, with leasing activity dominated by relocations and higher vacancy rates in...
Rise of China complicates ‘authoritarian’ vs ‘democratic’ binary

There is growing unease in how we describe political systems today. Words that once seemed clear no longer illuminate as they should. “Free”, “democratic”, “liberal” and “authoritarian” are among the most commonly used terms in political discourse, yet their meanings have become increasingly blurred and contested. This is not simply a matter of semantics. It reflects a deeper mismatch between...
China TV variety show exposes scam linking ‘peace’ sign selfies to privacy risks

A casual peace sign in a selfie has become China’s latest online privacy concern after experts warned that the popular pose could expose users’ fingerprints. In a mainland workplace reality show aired in April, financial expert Li Chang used a celebrity selfie to show how clearly visible fingers in a photograph could put personal biometric data at risk. Li said fingerprints could potentially be...
Bar Association proposes ‘double-track’ approach to criminalising bid-rigging

The Hong Kong Bar Association has proposed criminalising bid-rigging by introducing a “double-track” approach to the Competition Ordinance, describing it as a quick fix to increase deterrence and encourage more whistle-blowers to expose industry malpractice following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Under the current civil regime established in 2015, the ordinance only punishes individuals...
K-pop moved on from Goo Hara, Sulli and Jonghyun’s suicides. Fans never did

Every year for the past three years, Edward Sugiana has made the same pilgrimage from Vancouver to a memorial hall on the southern fringes of Seoul that has become one of K-pop’s most sacred and sorrowful sites. Inside a small private room, Post-it notes from fans cover the walls alongside flowers and photographs of the girl group Kara. Nearly seven years after her death, visitors continue to...
China’s AI drive seen widening wealth gap, testing ‘common prosperity’ push

China wants artificial intelligence to become a new engine of growth, powering everything from factory upgrades to scientific discovery. But outside the country’s technology hubs, the economic benefits promised by AI may be harder to realise. Recent studies suggest that AI will widen regional divides. Big cities with deep pools of talent, capital and innovative firms are best placed to adopt the...
Gold vs water: Argentina opens glaciers to mining but at what cost to world food supplies?

Beneath the shining white glaciers of the Andean mountains lie valuable deposits of gold, copper and molybdenum which, until recently, were off-limits to the mining companies that have set their eyes on these untapped minerals. That could be about to change, after legislators in Argentina agreed to amend the Glacier Law that has prohibited all mining and exploration activities in the country’s...
With the US, China must choose constructive power over destruction

Foreign affairs are not a series of disconnected episodes. They are a test of whether nations learn from history and act with foresight. The United States has often failed that test. It forgets that unchecked aggression leads to wider wars and that removing governments without building new authority invites chaos. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran’s destabilising role in the Middle East and the...
Putin says he thinks Ukraine conflict is coming to an end

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he thought the Ukraine war was coming to an end, remarks that came just hours after he had vowed victory in Ukraine at Moscow’s most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years. “I think that the matter is coming to an end,” Putin told reporters of the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. He also said he would be...
Ex-minister tells UK cabinet to boot Starmer or she’ll challenge him herself

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, reeling from a crushing local election defeat, faced a new setback to his leadership on Saturday when a former minister said she would challenge him for the top job if no one else stepped forward. Starmer’s Labour Party recorded the worst losses of a governing party in municipal polls since 1995, prompting a growing number of his ‌own lawmakers to call on him...