Will Taiwan issue derail Washington and Beijing’s latest reset? Analysts are sceptical

South China Morning Post - Oct 10, 2026

Recent interactions involving the US and Taiwan are not expected to derail the current momentum in relations between Washington and mainland China, according to diplomatic analysts. Beijing was taking a pragmatic approach to navigating the complexities of the Taiwan issue, they said, but the fate of a US$14 billion arms package for the island remained a key concern. During President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to the United States, Xi urged his hosts to “adhere to the correct position of opposing...

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Actress breastfeeds in public, cheers on fellow mothers

Actress breastfeeds in public, cheers on fellow mothers

Actress Choi Yu-hwa has shared an update on breastfeeding her baby for six months after giving birth, expressing pride in reaching her goal and offering words of encouragement to mothers everywhere. On Monday, Choi posted photos on social media, writing, "The day my baby turned six months old was also the day I successfully reached my goal of breastfeeding for six months." The photos offer a glimpse into Choi's daily life as a mother. In particular, they show her breastfeeding her baby in public places, including restaurants and cafes. "I worked really hard," Choi said. "Taking care of a baby through the night is difficult, but traveling without having to carry extra things is convenient, so I've decided to keep breastfeeding a little longer." She added, "To all the mothers in the world, keep going!" Choi made her acting debut in 2010 in the KBS2 one-act drama "The Great Gye Choon-bin." She later appeared in TV series including "Suits," "Life," "Class of Lies" and "River Where the Moon Rises," as well as films such as "Tazza: One Eyed Jack" and "The Truth Beneath." In December last year, C

Korean, Japanese dramas target each other's home screens

Korean, Japanese dramas target each other's home screens

“My name is Minamida Minami. Whether you read it forward or backward, it’s Minamida Minami. Kitsusuki (woodpecker), tomato, Swiss, koneko (kitten), Minamida Minami.” The line comes from “Extraordinary Attorney Minami,” the Japanese adaptation of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” In the original series, protagonist Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) introduces herself using words that read the same forward and backward, such as “gireogi (wild goose), tomato, Swiss and Indo-in (Indian).” The Japanese remake recreates the wordplay in Japanese. Around the same time, a genius surgeon who swept Japan is moving the setting to a Korean hospital. Two representative legal and medical dramas from Korea and Japan are switching home turfs as they seek viewers across the sea. Kansai TV and Fuji TV will premiere “Extraordinary Attorney Minami” on Oct. 19. Like the original “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” which aired on ENA in 2022, the series follows the growth of a rookie lawyer on the autism spectrum. “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” made history by remaining in Netflix’s global Top

Dad who wept over daughter's book brings 'Long, Long Night' to Busan

Dad who wept over daughter's book brings 'Long, Long Night' to Busan

An animated film made by a father who burst into tears while reading his elementary school-aged daughter's book has been invited to the competition section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival. “Long Long Night” is the only animated film among the 13 competition titles. Based on author Ru Ri's 2021 children's book of the same name, the film follows the journey of Norden, the last white rock rhinoceros on Earth, and a young penguin born from an abandoned egg. The original book has sold more than 800,000 copies, becoming a megahit in children's literature and a rare children's story that has also won enthusiastic support from adults. Director Youm Kyu-bock and producer Jung Kyoung-hee discussed the film's four-year journey to the screen at a press conference held Friday at the Busan Cinema Center in the city's Haeundae District. The project began with a book Youm's daughter brought home. Youm said he cried uncontrollably while reading "Long Long Night" to his daughter and became captivated by the friendship between the aging rhinoceros and the young penguin. "I felt I had to ma

Worker prospects in Hong Kong hair, beauty sector not cut and dried amid staff shortages

Worker prospects in Hong Kong hair, beauty sector not cut and dried amid staff shortages

Hongkonger Terrence Wu Chung-ting puts on an apron, picks up a comb and massages hair essence into a client’s scalp during a treatment for hair loss. But eight years ago, Wu’s job could not have been any more different. A finance graduate from one of the city’s top universities, he was then a marketer for beauty products and focused on sales. But when he saw untapped potential in Hong Kong’s hairdressing industry, he boldly switched careers from a white-collar to a blue-collar profession,...

Singaporean teenager flown to hospital after falling ill during Lion Rock hike

Singaporean teenager flown to hospital after falling ill during Lion Rock hike

A Singaporean girl has been flown to a hospital after falling ill during a hike with two other friends at Hong Kong’s Lion Rock, according to police. The force received a report on Saturday from the mother of one of the hikers at about 6.50am. Her daughter called for help after the 17-year-old Singaporean friend vomited and experienced chills during their hike at Lion Rock, a 495-metre-high mountain. Police later arrived at the scene while the Government Flying Service deployed a helicopter to...

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: Blind musician with rare birth disease plays her heart out

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: Blind musician with rare birth disease plays her heart out

A year after a seven-hour surgery in Hong Kong in 2025, Cassie Li Pui-ying was on stage at Queen Elizabeth Stadium, playing the drums before an audience of more than 2,500 people. She heard the applause but could not see who it came from. That March night was organised by Live Theatre, which her mother Marine Mak also helps run. Li sang, spoke and played the drums. The group gives visually impaired students a stage to perform on. Despite having been through several serious health scares, what...

Why a Communist Party boss had a coffee shop date with Chinese content creators

Why a Communist Party boss had a coffee shop date with Chinese content creators

The setting may have been casual but the choice was not when the Communist Party boss of a northeastern Chinese province sat down with digital content creators at a coffee shop on Wednesday. Jilin province party secretary Huang Qiang invited the influencers to the relaxed setting of the Songyuan Coffee Shop in Changchun to encourage them to “actively promote mainstream values and spread positive energy”. According to a local government statement, Huang and the participants also exchanged views...

Modi and Xi can’t bridge the India-China divide by themselves

Modi and Xi can’t bridge the India-China divide by themselves

Last month, President Xi Jinping travelled to New Delhi to attend the Brics summit – his first visit in seven years. On the summit’s sidelines, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an in-depth conversation that explored topics of shared interest between them, such as leveraging open-weight artificial intelligence (AI) for mutual benefit. Even so, such sanguine signals were soon drowned out by a spate of downbeat headlines. One recent story warned of the “asymmetric” relationship...

Lack of heat action plan leaves Hong Kong’s vulnerable residents at risk, experts warn

Lack of heat action plan leaves Hong Kong’s vulnerable residents at risk, experts warn

Environmentalists and academics have criticised the omission of a systemic heat-health action plan in Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and latest policy address, warning that relying on “common sense” is failing to protect vulnerable residents from rising temperatures. Their comments came as new research from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) found that extreme heat may have contributed to as many as 3,238 excess deaths in the city over the past decade. In response to the South China Morning...

New Taipei-Hong Kong subsea route opened to cut risk and meet AI demand

New Taipei-Hong Kong subsea route opened to cut risk and meet AI demand

One of the world’s biggest network service providers has opened a new subsea route between Taipei and Hong Kong to strengthen the system against repeated underwater cable disruptions around the island. Britain-headquartered RETN said the new route would take its total to six serving Taiwan: four connecting Taipei and Hong Kong, and two linking Taipei and Tokyo. “Like many island economies, Taiwan’s international connectivity relies heavily on subsea cables, which creates exposure to risks such...

Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI

Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI

Kurt Campbell is a veteran US diplomat and strategist who has played a leading role in shaping Washington’s approach to China and the Indo-Pacific for more than a decade. He served as the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs from 2021 to 2024 and as US deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013 and was a key architect of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia”. Often...

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