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The single by the Thai metal band Defying Decay, The Law 112: Secrecy and Renegades, is a raucous, defiant anthem, challenging Thailand’s draconian lese-majesty laws. With a limited market for its brand of alternative metal in its home country, the seven-member band mainly focuses on touring overseas.
Explainer | Why is there a global shipping container crisis?The world’s dependence on China for goods comes into sharp focus as the coronavirus pandemic lays bare vulnerabilities in the global supply chain.
As the 2022 Winter Olympics continue in Beijing, participation in ice and snow activities has been booming across China. The number of tourists joining winter sports activities during the current season is projected to reach 300.5 million, generating revenues of about 323 billion yuan (US$50.8 billion). China has be…
China’s obsession with Beijing Winter Olympic panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen has seen factories increase supply of Games merchandise. Many stores and online websites have run out of stock of the panda mascot due to overwhelming demand.
By Dr Henry Chin, Global Head of Investor Thought Leadership and Head of Research, Asia Pacific at CBRE, and Ada Choi, Head of Occupier Research & Data Intelligence and Management, Asia Pacific at CBRE
Hundreds of people in Beijing were seen queuing overnight outside a Winter Olympics souvenir store to buy the official panda mascot - Bing Dwen Dwen. The price for the toys went up tenfold, to roughly 2,000 yuan (US$314) on the resale market after stock ran out. Three re-sellers have been penalised, according to loc…
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Covid-19 has sent Sri Lanka into an economic tailspin, drying up earnings from tourism and foreign remittances. The island nation of 22 million is now on the brink of bankruptcy. Inflation is red hot and supermarket shelves are bare of supplies while restaurants are unable to serve meals. The government has brought …
Angry protesters in India set fire to train carriages on January 26, 2022, during a protest about railway jobs. Police dispersed the crowd using tear gas and batons, and arrested about a dozen protesters in a violent clash. Video on social media also showed officers entering homes of suspected protesters and floggin…
South Korea’s daily coronavirus case count has been on the rise in recent weeks despite strict mitigation restrictions imposed. To curb the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, the government announced an extension of the social distancing rules imposed on December 18, 2021 for another three weeks, now ending on Febru…
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. International aid suddenly came to a halt and the United States froze US$9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets. During three days of talks in Norway starting January 22, 2022, Taliban officials met W…
In the past six months, three Hong Kong media outlets popular with the opposition have folded. The Apple Daily newspaper and online publication Stand News closed after they were investigated by national security police while another online outlet Citizen News shut itself down as a precaution. Hong Kong’s leader Chie…
Late Taiwanese singing legend Teng Li-chun, commonly known as Teresa Teng, has been brought back to life by a Beijing firm. The digital production and visual effects company Digital Domain has made use of technology to create a virtual-reality hologram of the famous singer. The virtual character is able to converse …
Chongli in Hebei province is one of three host cities for the Beijing Winter Olympics. It will host all ski races except for alpine skiing. Chongli has seven major ski resorts, but it has seen a sharp drop in tourists because of Covid-19 restrictions. More investment has been made in Chongli since Beijing won the ri…
A delivery worker had a narrow escape as the driver of a Porsche lost control of her vehicle before it mounted the pavement outside a market in Hong Kong’s northern Yuen Long district on January 12. The driver and six other people were injured. Dashcam footage shared online showed the sports car stopping outside Hop…
As the Chinese government targets cosmetic surgery as part of a campaign to “purify” social values, so-called micro-procedures such as fillers, laser skin treatments and “thread lifts” are growing in popularity. Costing a fraction of traditional plastic surgery, the cosmetic procedures are also seen as less invasive…
It was a tough start to the new year for Tokyo's tuna sellers. The first bluefin tuna of the year was sold on January 5, 2022, for 16.9 million yen (US$146,000), down significantly from the 2019 record high of 333.6 million yen (US$2.9 million) . It was the third consecutive year prices at Japan’s Toyosu fish market…
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has warned that military actions were not a solution to resolving the self-ruled island’s ongoing tensions with mainland China. In a New Year’s Day live broadcast, Tsai said such conflict would hurt the economy on both sides of the strait and she urged Beijing officials to “prevent t…
As the world enters a third year of the global Covid-19 pandemic, North Korea claims to remain free of the coronavirus because of its strict border closures and travel restrictions that have reportedly worsened food shortages. As the reclusive state rang in the new year, supreme leader Kim Jong-un called on North Ko…
More than 5,000 people queued from 3am at Shanghai Disneyland to buy limited-edition Christmas toys. The collection was available for only one day. Prices soon rose fourfold in the second-hand market.
Counterfeit experts study the closest imitations of the Euro banknote at the European Central Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. To curb the use of fake bills, they track the latest in counterfeit technology. The ECB urges people to “feel, look, tilt” to check for fakes because most are low-quality counterfe…
A plastics-for-rice exchange programme in Bali is tackling two problems at once by offering residents a way to feed their families by clearing waste from the Indonesian resort island. The scheme set up by a non-profit group in May 2020 has so far resulted in the collection of over 540 tonnes of plastic waste at the …
A drought in Afghanistan linked to climate change is worsening suffering in a country reeling from 40 years of conflict. The dry spell has already lasted for two years and climate experts warn that droughts are likely to increase in frequency in the nation which is already struggling with an economy in free fall. As…
The Taliban government of Afghanistan has resumed issuing passports for the first time since the militant group seized power on August 15, 2021, and stopped providing the documents to stop Afghans from leaving the country. The resumption since December 19, 2021, is giving hope to citizens who feel threatened living …
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It has been 10 years since Kim Jong-un became North Korea’s leader. During that time, life for would-be defectors has become even harder. They say that during the pandemic, ordinary people have been hit by worsening living conditions, with many facing starvation. In the decade since coming to power, Kim has continue…
The journey of a video game controller from a Chinese factory to a store shelf in the United States is now more expensive than ever. Transport and shipping costs have skyrocketed due to a global breakdown of supply chains brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving manufacturers and retailers scrambling to stock th…
Eels have been a staple of Japanese cuisine for thousands of years. But habitat loss, overfishing and pollution have reduced their numbers and sent prices soaring. Efforts to artificially replenish eel stocks have been hampered by high costs and their complex life cycles. Growing conservation efforts have also given…
After centuries of being the trade of monks, beer-brewing has also become a source of income for a group of nuns in Belgium. The sisters of Maradret Abbey turned to crafting beer as a way to fund repairs for their convent. They collaborated with the Belgian brewery John Martin to launch two beers on the market. The …
China delivered 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to Afghanistan on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. The shipment is part of a larger 200 million yuan (US$31 million) aid package promised to Afghanistan. It’s set to include 3 million vaccines in total, as well as much-needed food and other aid. The shipmen…
Nicolas Aguzin, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), delivered a keynote speech on December 8, 2021, at the SCMP's 2021 China Conference: United States about the prospects for Hong Kong in China's capital market.
The Northern Army of Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force held its annual live fire shooting match with Type 90 battle tanks in Hokkaido on December 7, 2021. The exercise comes amid heightened regional tensions and as Japan seeks to spend an additional US$6.7 billion on defence this financial year.
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Pakistan’s Karot Hydropower Station has begun storing water since construction started six years ago, helping to cut the country's carbon emissions by 3.2 million tonnes every year. Sitting along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the project is the first to be financed by the Silk Road Fund, which is part…
Driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors, rising inflation has emerged as a problem around the world including in Hong Kong. The city’s consumer price index posted a year-on-year increase of 1.7 per cent in October, 2021, making life of underprivileged residents even harder. Among those bearing the brunt of…
Shoppers around the world are being told to expect fewer choices and higher prices for the Christmas and new year holiday season. Increased shipping costs and commodity prices associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, now further complicated by the emergence of the Omicron variant, have put a strain on global supply ch…
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Hong Kong should focus on technology, creativity and sustainability to find success in the coming 25 years, according to young executives who took part in a recent panel discussion at the University of Hong Kong Business School. Panellists were asked how the city can maintain its advantages and develop its role as a…
More than 2.12 million people registered for China’s annual civil service examination that were held on November 28, 2021. The record number of applicants are competing for only 31,200 vacancies, giving them just a one-in-68 chance of success landing one of the government jobs. Also known as the guokao in Mandarin, …
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After its return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban promised to crack down on poppy plantations and the drug trade. But Western sanctions imposed on the country have brought the Afghan economy on the brink of collapse, with many Afghans once again turning to the profitable poppy trade. As the world’…
