‘Systematically dismantled’: Hegseth’s new offensive against China’s Confucius Institutes

South China Morning Post - Oct 24, 2026

Just weeks before Donald Trump’s second trip to China this year and his third meeting with President Xi Jinping, whom he has called a “truly great” friend, his administration is intensifying its crackdown on Confucius Institutes – Beijing-backed centres that promote Chinese language and culture at universities abroad. Long viewed by critics as instruments of Beijing’s soft power and cultural diplomacy, the institutes are back in the crosshairs of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who says the...

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Thousands evacuated and flights grounded as Typhoon Champi hits eastern China

Thousands evacuated and flights grounded as Typhoon Champi hits eastern China

Typhoon Champi continued to batter China’s eastern coast on Saturday, grounding over a hundred flights and prompting the authorities to relocate tens of thousands of people, while weakening as it moved towards Japan. Flights from airports in Shanghai as well as Fujian and Zhejiang provinces were grounded. China Eastern Airlines said it had cancelled 39 domestic flights to and from Shanghai’s two main airports while flights to and from the cities of Fuzhou and Wenzhou were also affected. The...

Hong Kong urged to revive growth, drive reforms with government’s ‘visible hand’

Hong Kong urged to revive growth, drive reforms with government’s ‘visible hand’

Hong Kong authorities should act as a “visible hand” to break down barriers erected by vested interests and revive growth momentum through reform under its maiden five-year plan, a former Beijing official overseeing the city’s affairs has said. Deng Zhonghua, former deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also said the city had to adopt a reform-oriented approach to empower emerging industries through deregulation. Hong Kong also needed to address “deep-rooted...

Abby Choi trial so far: ex-father-in-law lied to rent village flat, bought mincer

Abby Choi trial so far: ex-father-in-law lied to rent village flat, bought mincer

The former father-in-law of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung rented a village house flat under false pretences and bought a meat mincer and multiple saws as he allegedly prepared for the model’s killing, a court has heard. More evidence emerged regarding how three of Choi’s former in-laws allegedly planned her murder and the disposal of her body as the High Court trial entered its fourth week. Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31, his father, Kwong Kau, 68, and elder brother,...

How competition between Chinese and Indian firms could reshape African drug markets

How competition between Chinese and Indian firms could reshape African drug markets

China is challenging India’s long-held dominance of the African market for antimalarial drugs in 12 of the continent’s hardest-hit countries, according to a new study. Last year, Chinese exports of antimalarial drugs reached US$89.3 million, nearly matching India’s US$89.6 million, according to Indian market research company Sol Gravitas. The gap has closed significantly since 2021, when Indian exports stood at US$121 million compared with US$62.6 million for China. Separately, the study...

16,000 sign up for exam to drive taxis or ride-hailing cars in Hong Kong

16,000 sign up for exam to drive taxis or ride-hailing cars in Hong Kong

About 16,000 Hong Kong residents have signed up for a joint exam to drive taxis or ride-hailing cars, the transport chief has said. Speaking on a radio programme on Saturday, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said the allocation arrangement for the 10,000 ride-hailing vehicle permits would be announced in November, with the government considering increasing the odds for certain drivers in the lottery draw. “We are pleased to see the enthusiastic response to the joint examination....

Hong Kong customs seizes 600 million illicit cigarettes in first 9 months of 2026

Hong Kong customs seizes 600 million illicit cigarettes in first 9 months of 2026

Hong Kong customs officers seized 600 million illicit cigarette sticks in the first three quarters of this year, the department chief has said, as he revealed plans to roll out more advanced contraband detection equipment. Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat told a radio programme on Saturday that the seizures in the first nine months this year nearly matched the 2025 total. He said that of the 600 million sticks seized, 200 million were destined for other locations but were...

Crypto platform on alert lists opens Hong Kong office, prompting calls for scrutiny

Crypto platform on alert lists opens Hong Kong office, prompting calls for scrutiny

A cryptocurrency trading platform on Hong Kong and Canadian regulators’ alert lists has opened an office in the city, prompting experts to urge closer scrutiny of how such firms promote themselves without undermining an open business environment. Experts told the South China Morning Post that inclusion on a regulator’s alert list did not necessarily mean a company had broken the law. But they urged authorities to step up oversight of how such firms marketed regulated financial products. Polar...

China carries out in-depth investigation of Turkey’s largest rare earth deposit

China carries out in-depth investigation of Turkey’s largest rare earth deposit

Chinese researchers have mapped the complex geological evolution of Turkey’s Kizilcaoren deposit, offering fresh insights into the country’s most significant known rare earth reserve while dampening expectations over its commercial potential. Although the findings shed light on how rare earth elements accumulate in carbonatite-related formations, the researchers concluded that the site was unlikely to emerge as a major global alternative to existing producers any time soon. Lead scientist...

Xi's key remarks on advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance

Xi's key remarks on advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has in recent years stressed that the Party's full and rigorous self-governance is an unceasing endeavor and that self-reform is a journey to which there is no end. Here are some of his key remarks on the topic.

Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

In Seoul's bustling Namdaemun Market, a group of American tourists stepped out of a pharmacy and opened their shopping bags to show their haul: a box of Bacchus energy drinks and three packages of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) skin care products. Inside, other foreign shoppers queued at the counters with acne treatments, scar gels and cosmetics in hand. Pharmacists in white coats scanned their purchases at the registers. Scenes like this are becoming increasingly common as Korean pharmacies emerge as a new stop on the K-beauty tourism route. Foreign visitors are seeking both over-the-counter (OTC) dermatological drugs available only at pharmacies and pharmacy-sold cosmetics promoted through social media. “Foreign tourists now account for 40 to 50 percent of our sales,” Park Jun-sun, who runs one of the pharmacies in Namdaemun Market, told The Korea Times. “There weren’t that many when I opened two years ago, but the number suddenly started rising about a year ago.” Even at larger pharmacies that cater mainly to Korean customers, foreign shoppers have become more visible. Staff

North Korea's diversifying missile arsenal complicates South's defense

North Korea's diversifying missile arsenal complicates South's defense

North Korea is displaying an increasingly diverse missile arsenal this year, firing from different platforms — on land, aboard warships and, according to Pyongyang, underwater from a submarine — while testing weapons designed to carry heavier warheads, maneuver to evade interception and inflict damage over wider areas. The frequency of missile tests has also increased, with 16 ballistic missile launches recorded through Oct. 12, which exceeds the six recorded in all of 2025 and 12 in 2024. But what's more threatening than the frequency of ballistic missiles is diversification, with cruise missile tests added on seven occasions through Oct. 14, involving land-based launchers, destroyers and, purportedly, a submarine. The expanding arsenal gives North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s military more options to approach targets from different directions and coordinate strikes, placing greater demands on South Korean and U.S. defenses even as questions remain over Pyongyang's technological claims. Widening range of weapons This year's ballistic launches began near Pyongyang on Jan. 4 with susp

Spring comes earlier, autumn foliage later as climate change alters forests

Spring comes earlier, autumn foliage later as climate change alters forests

If you are planning a fall foliage trip this year, you may need to set off a little later than expected. The peak autumn foliage season is forecast to arrive later than usual. According to the Korea Forest Service, fall colors will spread gradually from the central to southern regions, starting with Mount Seorak on Oct. 20. Foliage is expected to reach its peak nationwide only in late October, with peak dates forecast for Oct. 28 at Mount Songni, Nov. 4 at Mount Naejang and Nov. 6 at Mount Halla. The average peak date for maples and oaks nationwide is expected to be Oct. 31, about 0.8 days later than the average peak date over the past five years. The delayed foliage season is not an isolated development this year. As temperatures rise, spring is arriving increasingly early while autumn is shifting later, a pattern that researchers have consistently observed in Korea's forests. The seasonal clock that we have long taken for granted is changing. A 2021 study by researchers at the Korea National Arboretum and Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Environmental Studies tracked 25

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