China party meeting, stocks slump, HSBC leads earnings

South China Morning Post - Oct 23, 2026

A key Communist Party meeting next week in Beijing is likely to be dominated by two themes – the renewal of President Xi Jinping’s long-standing anti-corruption drive and the hunt for clues about a looming leadership reshuffle. “Major issues related to advancing full and rigorous party self-governance” will top the agenda at the fifth plenum of the party’s Central Committee, which runs from Monday to Wednesday. Plenums, which usually take place once a year, draw about 300 delegates and...

Read full article

More News

Chinese state media takes aim at Japanese firm KDDI over Mongolia wildfire

Chinese state media takes aim at Japanese firm KDDI over Mongolia wildfire

Chinese state media has called for a Japanese telecoms firm to apologise to China over a huge wildfire in neighbouring Mongolia, as diplomatic tensions run high between Beijing and Tokyo. The grassland fire broke out on October 8 and burned about 80 per cent of a nature reserve on the Mongolia-China border. According to Japanese media reports, the company, KDDI, has acknowledged that the fire was linked to activities involving its majority-owned subsidiary MobiCom – the largest mobile network...

China’s Xi Jinping orders urgent relief after Tibet earthquake leaves 16 dead

China’s Xi Jinping orders urgent relief after Tibet earthquake leaves 16 dead

All efforts need to be focused on search and rescue for survivors and treating the injured, President Xi Jinping instructed on Friday morning, after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed 16 and injured 65 in China’s Tibet autonomous region overnight. “The disaster-hit area is located in a high-altitude region with cold weather. It is imperative to closely monitor seismic activities and weather changes and implement rescue operations accordingly, while preventing secondary disasters,” he said,...

Hong Kong elderly urged to stay indoors as air pollution spikes to serious levels

Hong Kong elderly urged to stay indoors as air pollution spikes to serious levels

Severe haze in Hong Kong over the past two days has prompted a government warning of serious health risks, with experts urging the elderly and vulnerable to stay indoors until sunset. Air quality health risk levels at some of Hong Kong’s roadside monitoring stations rose on Wednesday and Thursday, with experts attributing the surge to elevated ozone levels caused by sunlight and high temperatures and warning that conditions were likely to persist over the next few days. On Wednesday afternoon,...

How Hong Kong can go from passive trade hub to regional control tower

How Hong Kong can go from passive trade hub to regional control tower

This year has opened a rare window of relative calm in global commerce. On October 8, the World Trade Organization doubled its forecast for global goods trade growth, from 1.9 to 3.9 per cent. The easing of US-China and Europe-China tensions has given open economies some breathing space. Hong Kong has seized the moment. Its exports rose 42.5 per cent year on year in the first eight months of 2026, with figures from August alone up 53 per cent, driven largely by AI-related equipment and...

Chinese astronomers find real 3-body system. It is not what Liu Cixin thinks

Chinese astronomers find real 3-body system. It is not what Liu Cixin thinks

In author and computer engineer Liu Cixin’s science fiction hit The Three-Body Problem, three suns throw a doomed world into chaos. Chinese astronomers say they have found a real three-star system that is far better behaved. Using FAST, the world’s biggest single-dish radio telescope in southwestern China, the researchers found two dead stars and a “living” one locked in a steady cosmic dance about 7,000 light years from Earth. One of the dead stars is a pulsar that spins more than 300 times a...

Hong Kong degree holders’ pay advantage over non-graduates narrows to HK$2,500

Hong Kong degree holders’ pay advantage over non-graduates narrows to HK$2,500

Fresh Hong Kong graduates are increasingly feeling the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) as they enter the workforce, human resources experts have said, after a survey found the starting salaries for degree holders and sub-degree graduates had narrowed. The results of the latest annual survey by Baptist University found the disparity between the starting salaries of bachelor’s degree and sub-degree graduates narrowed by 17 per cent, or HK$500 (US$63.70), from HK$3,000 last year to HK$2,500...

Seeing China differently: Ultrarunner Ria Xi's China journey

Seeing China differently: Ultrarunner Ria Xi's China journey

Seeing China differently: Ultrarunner Ria Xi's China journey

China's top diplomat holds talks with FM of Republic of the Congo

China's top diplomat holds talks with FM of Republic of the Congo

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Constant-Serge Bounda, minister of foreign affairs, La Francophonie and Congolese Abroad of the Republic of the Congo, on Thursday in Beijing.

Asia Society announces new permanent home in historic Washington building

Asia Society announces new permanent home in historic Washington building

The Asia Society announced on Thursday that it had marked out territory on the Washington policy landscape with the purchase of a US$17.5 million building that will give it a permanent spot alongside other US capital think tanks dating back more than a century, striving for influence. The 70-year-old institution, founded by the grandson of oil mogul John D. Rockefeller, has focused more on public policy in recent years, in addition to its traditional focus on arts, culture and education, under...

16 killed after M7.0 quake hits China's Xizang, rescue underway

16 killed after M7.0 quake hits China's Xizang, rescue underway

16 killed after M7.0 quake hits China's Xizang, rescue underway

At 85, Kim Hye-ja returns to film after turning down role 6 times

At 85, Kim Hye-ja returns to film after turning down role 6 times

“I just want to be like a nameless wildflower.” That was what veteran actor Kim Hye-ja told director Song Il-gon last year when he visited her home in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul, to ask her to star in his new film. Song, whose films include “Picnic” (1999), “Flower Island” (2001) and “Always” (2011), was developing a movie about victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, and Kim was his first choice for the lead role. But Kim turned him down. “I've never played a role like this before, and I'm scared, so I don't want to do it,” she said. Song persisted, even writing her a lengthy letter. After six attempts, Kim finally agreed. The result is “Still Shining,” which opened Wednesday and marks the actor's first film in nine years, since “The Way” in 2017. She turns 85 this year on Oct. 25. What changed her mind was the way the film chose to remember the victims. “Still Shining” follows Sun-ok and Jeong-im, two 18-year-old girls living in a remote mountain village in 1942. Played in their youth by Park Seo-kyung and Choi Ju-eun, the inseparable friends spend the

African architect's career break leads to unexpected modeling fame in Korea

African architect's career break leads to unexpected modeling fame in Korea

For Tanoé Akouba Leïla Olivia, modeling was the last thing on her mind when she came to Korea, because she was certain about her aspirations of working as an architect. Her professional training in interior design and 3D visualization in the U.K., Italy and Spain cemented her commitment to the field, until a career break in Korea made her rethink her path and eventually become a full-time model. Born in Cote d’Ivoire to an Ivorian father and Malian mother, Leïla spent her early childhood traveling between countries due to the nature of her parents’ work. Her childhood was filled with memories of the bright streets of Manchester, the antique avenues of Spain and the bustling roads of Italy. From time to time, she would find herself enjoying the flavorful food in Nigeria and exploring the historical and colorful streets of Togo and Senegal. This lifestyle led her to consider herself “un enfant du monde” — a French expression meaning “child of the world.” After completing her internship in Marbella and Valencia, she took a big leap and moved to China to work as a 3D visua

Recommended

Asia Viral News

Asia Viral News features the latest and most trending news from Asia. Get ready to immerse yourself in the daily engaging topics with share-worthy news only in Asia Viral News.

ABOUT US
Newsletter

Copyright © 2015 - 2026 Asia Viral News. All Rights Reserved.