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Forty-four protesters arrested during earlier confrontations were charged with rioting and will appear at Eastern Court in Sai Wan Ho on July 31. At around 10.30pm outside Kwai Chung Police Station on July 30, crowds that had gathered to greet*protesters being released on bail turned rowdy, with some throwing eggs a…
Li Na became the first Asian-born player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 20. She was enshrined along with France’s Mary Pierce and Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov in an on-court ceremony in Rhode Island. Li, from Wuhan, China, enthralled the world after winning two Grand Slams and reach…
Hong Kong is in the midst of its biggest political crisis since the former British colony was handed over to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Millions of people have taken to the streets to protest against a controversial extradition amendment that would allow for the transfer of suspects to face trial on the Chinese ma…
Human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was detained during a 2015 crackdown when Chinese authorities arrested some 300 lawyers and activists. For over four years, his family was denied visitation rights.
The annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China involves up to 100,000 dogs being butchered for their meat. The SCMP's Luisa Tam says the Chinese government should give dogs full protection by allowing the animals to have legal status as "companion animals" and by not allowing the event to be promoted as a cultural fest…
Former Interpol president, Meng Hongwei, stood trial for corruption in Tianjin, China on June 20. He pleaded guilty to accepting US$2 million in bribes. In 2016, Meng was the first elected Interpol president from China. He served as the vice-minister of public security at the same time. He disappeared into police cu…
In 2015, Angus Leung, a senior immigration officer in Hong Kong, took the government to court after the city’s secretary for civil service refused to grant spousal benefits to his British husband Scott Adams.
An attorney for Brendt Christensen, a former teaching assistant at the University of Illinois, admitted that his client had kidnapped and killed a young visiting Chinese scholar in a court hearing on June 12. The 26-year-old Zhang Yingying went missing in Illinois on June 9, 2017. She was last seen entering Christen…
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has ruled in favour of a gay civil servant who applied for spousal employment benefits for his husband. The top court’s decision announced on June 6, 2019, is being hailed as a landmark for same-sex equality in the city, where gay marriage is not yet recognised.
Thousands of Hong Kong legal professionals took part in a silent protest march on June 6, 2019, to oppose a government bill that would amend the city’s extradition law.
In 1989, Beijing-based writer Ma Bo, who is better known as Lao Gui, author of Blood Red Sunset, was a journalist working for state-run newspaper Legal Daily, as well as an active participant in the Tiananmen Square protests.
The Philippines has sent 69 containers loaded with trash back to Canada after a court determined that the waste was improperly labelled as recyclable.
Six witnesses and dissidents in China and abroad share their experiences of hardship since the night of the crackdown, and why they think China can never heal or move forward until Beijing reverses its verdict on the protests.
It’s only a matter of time before other places in Asia start following in Taiwan’s footsteps to legalise same-sex marriage, says the face of Ireland’s successful movement pushing for marriage equality. Gay rights activist Rory O’Neill, also known as Irish drag queen Panti Bliss, was instrumental in Ireland’s fight t…
At the end of a six-week national election process, India confirmed on May 23, 2019, that Narendra Modi has won a second term as prime minister. Supporters of his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party took to the streets to celebrate their landslide victory.
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After passing historic amendments to laws, Taiwan registered the first same-sex marriages in Asia on May 24, 2019. The registrations of hundreds of unions came one week after a 30-year fight for equality ended with Taiwan finally legalising gay marriage. Gay and lesbian couples still face restrictions over issues su…
A knife-wielding man who killed two schoolboys in 2018 has been sentenced to death by a court in Shanghai, China.
Former Philippine Supreme Court associate justice Conchita Carpio-Morales was questioned for hours by immigration officers at Hong Kong’s international airport on May 21, 2019.
SCMP Chief News Editor Yonden Lhatoo hates Game of Thrones forever in his final review.
A French man was sentenced to death by an Indonesia court on May 20, 2019, after he was found guilty of smuggling drugs.
Australia is home to more than 1 million Chinese-Australians – who make up about 5.6 per cent of the nation’s population. As the country heads to the polls for a federal election on May 18, 2019, political candidates have Chinese citizens in mind more than ever.
After former Interpol president Meng Hongwei’s family was granted asylum in France, China’s Foreign Ministry said the move was a “complete misuse” of French legal procedure. Meng Hongwei was detained by China for corruption in September 2018. His wife, Grace Meng, has dismissed the allegations and said the arrest wa…
Several hundred same-sex marriage supporters gathered outside the Taiwanese parliament as legislators debated Asia’s first gay marriage bill ahead of a key vote on May 17. The parliament will vote on a bill proposed by Taiwan’s ruling party in February to offer same-sex couples "permanent unions" as well as limited …
Hong Kong beach volleyball duo Kelvin Lau Tsz-ho and Wong Pui-lam were hoping for Asian Games success in August 2018 when Lau was suddenly struck down by illness. The diagnosis was leukaemia, forcing them to rush home to Hong Kong to seek treatment. Lau is now recovering, and the pair say they are hoping to one day …
Thailand announced its new queen, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn, three days before the coronation ceremony for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4. Queen Suthida, 40, served in the special unit of the king’s guard and formerly worked as a Thai Airways flight attendant. She has been seen alongside King Vajiralongkorn …
India, the world’s biggest democracy is holding its national election. Voting is taking place over seven phases spanning a total of 39 days. Some 900 million eligible voters will be electing 543 members of the country's lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. Surveys leading up to the start of polling suggested th…
China's ruling Communist Party has been holding events to draw more users to a new app designed to teach users "Xi Jinping Thought" or the Chinese president's political theory that has been enshrined in the constitution. The Xuexi Qiangguo app launched in January features news on Xi's activities and his accomplishme…
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Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Dr Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, who each face three charges relating to public nuisance over their roles in Hong Kong’s 2014 Occupy protests, are expected to hear court verdicts in their cases on April 9, 2019. The trio recently sat down with the SCMP’s Chris Lau to talk about the tria…
Zhang Yujing, the Chinese woman who bypassed layers of security to enter US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, appeared in court for the first time on April 8, 2019.
An off-duty policewoman in China’s southeastern province of Fujian province sprang into action with a dramatic chase covering more than one kilometre to catch a pickpocket who stole her mobile phone. The chase on April 4, 2019, started after the officer noticed someone snatch the device as they were travelling on a …
The trial of former Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak in the capital Kuala Lumpur on April 3, 2019, with the court considering seven initial charges.
Police have confirmed the death toll of the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand has risen to 50, with another 50 wounded. Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian citizen, appeared at court two days after the incident and was charged with murder. Three other suspects were arrested but believed no…
A slick tool for teaching “Xi Jinping Thought” has become the most popular smartphone app in China. The country’s ruling Communist Party launched the app as part of a new campaign calling on its cadres to immerse themselves in political doctrine every day.
An Australian judge sentenced cardinal George Pell to six years in prison on March 13, 2019.
Malaysian prosecutors have dropped murder charges against one of two women who have been held for about two years on suspicion of killing Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Two legislators from India’s ruling party were set to be disciplined for fighting with a shoe after video of the incident was widely shared on social media. The shoe spat has caused embarrassment for the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shoes are considered unclean in the country, and usin…
While the Trump-Kim Summit plays out in Hanoi, US President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is providing three days of testimony on Capitol Hill, starting February 26.
Chizuka Oe and Yoko Ogawa have been together for 25 years, but when they submitted their marriage registration at a Tokyo town hall, they knew it would be rejected. Along with 12 other same-sex couples, they decided to file lawsuits on Valentine's Day in at least four cities, including Tokyo. They plan to seek damag…
British tourist Auj-e Taqaddas has been handed a six-month jail sentence for slapping an immigration officer in Bali, after video of the assault was widely shared on social media. The video also showed the 42-year-old woman’s expletive-laden rant directed at the officer from Indonesian immigration. She had been info…
Thailand’s Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya has shocked the kingdom by announcing her candidacy in the country’s upcoming general election. Her decision to align herself with the powerful Shinawatra clan is an unprecedented move that severely dents the chances of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who leads the ruling j…
Footage shared on Chinese social media has sparked outrage after it showed a carousel with real horses tied to metal pillars a zoo in eastern China. The Nantong Forest Wildlife Zoo in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu says the live carousel is legal, and an innovative amusement ride. But visitors have not been sup…
China’s customs authority has joined hands with environmental groups including WildAid and WWF to crack down on ivory smuggling. The campaign includes a video with a stark warning about the legal risks and impact on endangered species of smuggling activities.
A Chinese court sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death for drug trafficking on Monday, January 14. The case further escalates China’s diplomatic conflict with Canada following the arrest of Huawei CFO Sabrina Mengin Vancouver in December 2018.
Taking pride in being a “Hong Kong boy”, Donald Tsang worked his way up and rose quickly through the ranks in his 45-year civil service career. He took over the top job as the chief executive of Hong Kong in 2005 before the court case brought him back down to earth and put him behind bars.
The wife of detained human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang has been blocked from submitting a petition to protest the treatment of her husband by the Chinese court handling his trial.
Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang is being tried for subverting state power in a hearing behind closed doors in the northern city of Tianjin on Boxing Day, after being kept waiting behind bars for 3½ years.
Catholics in China celebrated Christmas eve mass at state-approved churches, where clergy are appointed by the ruling Communist Party, not the Vatican. The ordination of clergy is a long-running dispute between Beijing and the Catholic church.
The job of fetching balls on the court at the Champions Tennis tournament in London was delegated to those perfect for the task - three dogs named Hattie, Tina and Melvin.
