Strong government-industry partnership and interdisciplinary education are what make a university town financially viable and successful, the head of a University of Cambridge college has said, sharing the UK’s experience as Hong Kong develops its Northern Metropolis plan. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Professor Girish Menon, president of Lucy Cavendish College, said Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan character made it “best placed” to place young people at the heart of its university...

Construction workers have been working late into the night in downtown Shenzhen as the city makes its final preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in two weeks’ time. On a weekday night, a South China Morning Post reporter saw at least 50 construction workers gathered at an intersection about 1km (just over half a mile) from the Apec venues in the central district of Futian, laying down pebbles and planting trees along the pavements. The main road that leads up to the...

Yerevan Pathway sets course for biodiversity action

In the end, it was Winnie Ho Wing-yin, housing secretary at the time of the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, who took the rap. Her resignation came after weeks of talk within political circles suggesting that bureau chiefs would not have to bear responsibility for the tragedy that killed 168 people and displaced 1,984 families. These suggestions were met with shock. Some spoke out against such talk, including Andrew Fung Wai-kwong, former information coordinator for the Chief Executive’s Office,...

Top university research, cross-border data exchanges and access to mainland China’s large market have attracted Japanese firm Rohto Pharmaceutical to conduct clinical trials in Hong Kong, making it the first company from the country to partner with the city’s government under a flagship investment initiative. Rohto, known for its over-the-counter eye care and skincare products, is among the latest batch of 18 firms recruited by the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), a...

Tuesday’s US midterm election is both hugely consequential and not so consequential even as the world waits to see the American voters’ verdict on Donald Trump’s presidency – and the impact that verdict will have on his temperament, plans and possible petulant response, analysts and former government officials said. On the one hand, an expected strong showing by opposition Democrats could bring more Congressional scrutiny over some of the most unconventional, maximalist and disruptive policies...

Robert Hux on China’s governance achievements

Joshua Cooper Ramo is chairman and CEO of Sornay, an investment and advisory firm. Previously he was CEO of Kissinger Associates. Ramo is the author of the new book Darwin’s Lock: America, China and the Shared Future of Nations. His 2004 analysis of “the Beijing consensus” contrasted the Western and Chinese economic development models. He is the author of two New York Times best-selling books and now lives in Shanghai with his family. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click...

Evolving China-Germany ties: A new engine for China-EU cooperation

“I am thinking about retiring after reaching 200 appearances for the national team.” Ji So-yun, a living legend of Korean women's football, has set a clear target for the final chapter of her international career: reaching 200 games before hanging up her cleats. The 35-year-old Suwon FC Women midfielder won a bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and is now in her 20th year as a member of the national team. She first donned the Taegeuk mark in 2006 at the age of 15. Since making her Asian Games debut in Doha, Qatar, that year, she has competed in six games, including Guangzhou, China, in 2010, Incheon in 2014, Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, in 2018, Hangzhou, China, in 2022 and this year's tournament. In a recent interview with Hankook Ilbo at the Suwon Athletes' Tillage, Ji spoke candidly about her retirement plans. “I think I could reach 200 appearances sometime next year or the year after,” she said. Ji holds the Korean record for most appearances and goals in international matches, with 182 caps and 76 goals. On the men's side, Son Heung-min (151 caps, 59 goals) sur

A former publisher of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper has joined a Hong Kong government-organised mainland study tour for rehabilitated offenders, telling a state-owned broadcaster he felt “very proud” as a Chinese national after experiencing the country’s technological advances first-hand. Cheung Kim-hung, a key prosecution witness in former media boss and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign or external...

China’s ruling Communist Party will step up “party building” across the country’s tech sector and deploy digital tools to fight corruption, according to a landmark document adopted at a key political plenum. These tools include a digital discipline inspection platform and a big-data supervision platform. The party will also crack down on corruption involving the internet, virtual currency, cross-border funds and blockchain technology, according to the document formally approved on Thursday at...

Hong Kong tour groups returning from Japan have praised a smooth roll-out of the country’s new tax refund arrangement that requires travellers to complete refund procedures at airports or ports rather than at shops. Under the “pay first, refund later” scheme, which took effect on Sunday to curb illicit domestic reselling and tax evasion, international tourists must now pay the 10 per cent consumption tax upfront at the counter. Travellers are now required to complete customs verification before...

Excerpts from resolution of CPC plenum

A potential lame-duck phase may not deter US President Donald Trump from pursuing more “transactional” or “risky” foreign policy moves after the midterm elections, Chinese experts warn, while casting doubt on expectations of a powerful Democratic wave. Amid a season of high-stakes contests that could reshape global politics, the US vote on Tuesday stands out. The election, which will determine who takes control of the US Congress, could result in Trump and his fellow Republicans no longer...

Chinese and German auto companies on Friday explored ways to boost cooperation amid profound global transformation and fierce industry competition.

How China fights corruption and prevents the abuse of power

Chinese President Xi Jinping has mounted a direct defence of the campaign for strong Communist Party governance and internal discipline, describing them as a “fundamental guarantee” for China’s rise and warning against any easing of scrutiny, according to state media. Xi took the floor as the party’s 20th Central Committee closed its fifth plenum on Thursday, to directly address the scepticism over the sweeping campaign, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. According to “side notes”...

Full text: CPC resolution on full, rigorous Party self-governance

Full text: Explanation of the CPC resolution on strict self-governance

Gao Zhidan, special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and director of China's General Administration of Sport, attended the opening ceremony of the fourth Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, capital of Senegal, on Saturday at the invitation of the Senegalese government.

A Japanese spy drama has sparked a backlash in China over scenes accused of distorting wartime history, with experts warning that such narratives could fuel anti-China sentiment and build support for Japan's remilitarization.

How Chinese private enterprises thrive in high-quality development

China unveils detailed two-launch plan for first manned moon landing

The Hong Kong Bar Association has called on the government to clearly define criminal thresholds and resolve whistle-blower immunity rules under its plan to outlaw bid-rigging following the deadly Tai Po inferno. A task force formed by the association, which represents the city’s barristers, spent 10 months reviewing four key areas of law and released a 140-page report on Sunday in the hope of providing direction to address the shortcomings that led to the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze last...

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Comedian Shin Bong-sun, who has drawn attention for her slimmer figure, turned down even a tempting snack to stay on track with her diet. Shin recently posted a photo of a black plastic bag on social media, writing, “Hotteok my older sister bought me from Namdaemun. I won't eat it.” She also shared a full-body photo taken at a gym, saying she was playing tennis and attending a personal training session. Shin previously revealed that she had lost 11 kilograms in just 100 days. She has since continued to exercise regularly and manage her diet. Hotteok: A calorie bomb with sugar and oil Hotteok is a snack made by filling wheat flour dough with a sweet filling and cooking it in oil. The carbohydrates in the dough, combined with sugar and oil, make the snack high in calories. Its calorie content varies depending on its size, filling ingredients and the amount of oil used during cooking. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's food nutrition database, hotteok containing nuts has 314 kilocalories per 100 grams. Eating a 150-gram hotteok

Hanwha Group has won its first contract to build a warship for the United States Navy after its acquisition of Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard in December 2024, marking a tangible step forward in the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation initiative known as Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA). Hanwha Group said Sunday that Hanwha Defense USA has signed a $269 million (357.5 billion won) contract with TOTE Services to build a landing ship medium (LSM). TOTE Services is a vessel construction manager entrusted by the U.S. Navy with overseeing shipbuilding contracts and managing vessel construction. The construction of the LSM is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of next year, and the contract also includes options for three additional vessels. The LSM is an expeditionary landing vessel designed to support the U.S. Navy's operations in contested coastal areas, including the Indo-Pacific region. It is tasked with transporting and deploying Marine Corps personnel, equipment and supplies to coastal areas. The U.S. Navy aims to secure 35 LSMs. The vessel measures 100 meters in

Unionized workers at South Korean steelmaker POSCO will vote this week on a tentative wage agreement reached with management, the union said Sunday. The two sides have held 30 rounds of negotiations since June, while the union staged two partial strikes in September to demand higher wages and bonuses. Last week, the union said it would launch an "indefinite" strike from Nov. 2 unless the company presented an acceptable wage offer. On Friday, the union reached a tentative agreement on the company's latest offer, which includes a 2.6 percent increase in base pay, a one-off payment of 6 million won ($4,500) and improved benefits. Union members are scheduled to vote on the deal on Saturday. The union had initially demanded a 7.1 percent increase in base pay, a performance bonus equivalent to 600 percent of base pay, 50 company shares per worker and a holiday bonus equivalent to 200 percent of base pay. In addition to higher wages, the union cited staffing shortages and aging facilities as factors that could heighten the risk of workplace accidents. Management's previous offer included a 2.5 pe

Korea is shopping for real estate on the moon, and its newly established space agency has its eye on some of the lunar surface’s most forbidding neighborhoods. At a recent academic symposium, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) revealed a shortlist of prospective landing sites for two robotic missions scheduled for 2032. The agency is weighing 20 candidate zones for its flagship lunar lander and nine for a precursor soft-landing demonstration craft, signaling a decisive shift toward boots-on-the-surface ambitions for a nation long playing catch-up in deep-space exploration. Rather than sticking strictly to the lunar south pole — a crowded target for NASA’s Artemis program and rival missions seeking water ice — Korean scientists are eyeing a broader, strategically varied grid. The candidate list spans ancient impact basins, jagged basaltic plains, and deep pit craters that could house underground lava tubes. Among the standout targets for the early 2032 verification probe is Lacus Mortis, or the "Lake of Death," a pitted plain that scientists suspect holds collapsed lava tub

Two relatives from a family separated by the 1950-53 Korean War met for the first time in a third country in September, marking a rare reunion amid frozen inter-Korean relations. Tensions remain high on the divided Korean Peninsula as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ruled out talks with South Korea and defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other." The meeting came five months after South Korea's Unification Ministry received a request from a North Korean member of a separated family seeking help to find a maternal uncle in South Korea. The request was relayed to the ministry by a North Korean defector living in the South. The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, located the uncle in its database of separated families, only to learn that he had died 30 years earlier. After trying to contact the uncle's adult children using information in the database, a ministry official made contact with a 65-year-old cousin living in Gyeonggi Province near Seoul. The South Korean cousin readily agreed to contact the North Korean relative, saying the cousin's