Japan loses appeal as Hongkongers favour South Korea, mainland China this Christmas Hong Kong tourists are choosing South Korea and other mainland Chinese cities over Japan for their Christmas holidays, a trade body has said, as around 1,500 outbound tours are expected to depart the city. Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said on Wednesday that 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s tour groups would leave via high-speed rail, mostly for short-haul trips lasting three to four days. “We predict that there will be about 1,500 outbound tours during the...

South China Morning Post

Japan loses out as Hongkongers pick South Korea, mainland China this Christmas

‘The main reason is that Japan has experienced several incidents … including bear attacks and earthquakes,’ Travel Industry Council says.

‘C-beauty’ brands find retail expansion outside China a slow slog With its signature fan-shaped wall of lipsticks displayed at the entrance, the Hong Kong store of Mao Geping Cosmetics at the Harbour City shopping complex in Tsim Sha Tsui appeared quiet on a recent weekday night. That underscored a sluggish state of affairs at Mao Geping, about two months after opening its first overseas location in the city, and the broader challenges faced by Chinese beauty – dubbed C-beauty – brands seeking to expand sales outside the mainland. The cosmetics firm was named...

South China Morning Post

‘C-beauty’ cosmetics brands find retail expansion outside China a slow slog

‘For established domestic cosmetics companies attempting to expand abroad, progress is still in its early stages,’ CLSA’s Chris Gao says.

Hong Kong firms hoping new southbound travel scheme will drive more business A new scheme that allows private cars from Guangdong province to enter Hong Kong’s urban areas has brought business opportunities for some, with users of a popular online platform selling courses on how to drive in the city or one-stop application services for mainland Chinese motorists. Local businesses are also offering perks to drivers using the scheme, ranging from parking discounts to accommodation packages. Under the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area)”...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong firms hoping new southbound travel scheme will drive more business

Social media users are selling driving courses to Guangdong car owners while local companies are offering perks to attract business.

Yoon’s ex-aides in ‘disbelief’ over South Korean martial law plan Two former senior aides to South Korea’s ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol have testified in court that Yoon pressed ahead with a plan to impose martial law despite objections from cabinet members and top officials, with their statements offering a rare insight into the events that led to the short-lived decree. Testimony by former National Security Office chief Shin Won-sik and former presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk on Monday shed new light on Yoon’s thinking behind his martial law...

South China Morning Post

Yoon’s ex-aides express ‘disbelief’ over South Korean martial law plan

The two aides’ testimonies give a rare insight into the thinking of the former president, who is charged with leading the ‘insurrection’.

China, Russia clash with US at UN meeting over Venezuela oil seizures and naval pressure China accused the United States at the United Nations on Tuesday of violating international law and destabilising the Caribbean region, as Washington defended its seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers and vowed to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council requested by Venezuela and backed by China and Russia, Beijing said US actions carried out under the banner of counter-narcotics enforcement amounted to unilateral...

South China Morning Post

China, Russia clash with US at UN over Venezuela oil seizures and naval pressure

Venezuela turns to UN as Trump’s oil crackdown intensifies and Caracas advances a law targeting those in support of naval blockades.

Over 99% of Hongkongers have low immunity against ‘super flu’: researchers More than 99 per cent of Hong Kong residents have low immunity against the new “super flu”, a team of researchers has found, as they urged the public to get vaccinated against the rapidly spreading strain. Despite the low level of immunity among the city’s population, the team from the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) faculty of medicine on Tuesday assured residents that current vaccines were still as effective at preventing the spread of infection. “These data serve as a clear alert for Hong...

South China Morning Post

Over 99% of Hongkongers have low immunity against ‘super flu’: researchers

University of Hong Kong researchers urge public to get vaccinated against rapidly spreading strain, saying current vaccines are still effective.

A year after South Korea’s Jeju Air crash, the fight for truth continues Grieving mother Lee Hyo-eun returns every weekend to the airport where her daughter and 178 others died last year, desperate for the truth about South Korea’s deadliest airline disaster. Jeju Air flight 2216 was coming in to land at Muan International Airport from Thailand when it struck a flock of birds and was forced to make a belly landing that sent it crashing into a structure at the end of the runway. Only two flight attendants seated in the tail section survived. Lee vividly remembers that...

South China Morning Post

A year after South Korea’s Jeju Air crash, the fight for truth continues

Families of the victims say they harbour deep mistrust over how the investigation into the disaster that killed 179 people has been handled.

No need for needles? US approves Wegovy pill for weight loss US regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. The US Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drug maker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly’s oral drug, orforglipron, was still under review. Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of...

South China Morning Post

No need for needles? US approves Wegovy pill for weight loss

Novo Nordisk’s daily medication offers an oral alternative to blockbuster injections, with a launch expected in early January.

Philippines’ struggle for Chinese tourists, flood aid remarks spark ire: 7 Asia highlights We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass For much of the past year, Asian exporters have been racing to stay ahead of a global tariff storm – re-routing shipments, reconfiguring supply chains and absorbing rising costs as the United States...

South China Morning Post

Philippines’ Chinese tourism woes, police officer goes viral: 7 Asia highlights

From India’s anxiety over US-Pakistan deals to South Korea’s visa policy debate, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

Where can Hongkongers and tourists find Christmas spirit in a subdued holiday season? Hong Kong is marking this Christmas and New Year in a subdued mood following last month’s Tai Po fire, which has claimed 161 lives so far. Many large-scale events have been postponed or scaled down, prompting residents and tourists to find quieter ways to celebrate amid a sombre atmosphere. The Post lists the major citywide celebrations that are still happening. Christmas Town A dazzling Christmas Town at Statue Square Gardens in Central is running from November 14 to January 4, featuring a...

South China Morning Post

Explainer | Where can Hongkongers, tourists find Christmas spirit in subdued holiday season?

The Post rounds up celebrations as many large-scale events have been postponed or scaled down after last month’s deadly fire.

Hong Kong’s Sigg Prize shared for the first time as M+ boss praises 2 ‘bold’ artists The Sigg Prize 2025 has been awarded jointly to Hong Kong animator Wong Ping and Macau-raised artist Heidi Lau, marking the first time the contemporary art prize has been shared between two artists since it was first awarded in 2019. The announcement was made on December 16 by M+, the museum in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District that organises the biennial competition named after the collector Uli Sigg. “We were deeply impressed by the works presented and decided to award two winners in...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong’s Sigg Prize shared for first time in the award’s history

Animator Wong Ping and ceramicist Heidi Lau share the Sigg Prize 2025, a contemporary art prize awarded by Hong Kong’s M+ museum.

Hong Kong to add more compatible chargers for Chinese EVs as Guangdong cars hit roads Hong Kong will provide more chargers compatible with Chinese electric vehicles, the transport chief has said, as the first batch of cars from Guangdong province enter the city’s urban areas under a new scheme. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Tuesday that nearly 100 mainland Chinese cars entered Hong Kong on the first day of the southbound travel for Guangdong vehicles scheme, almost reaching the daily quota. She added that the government would monitor if more cars would...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong to add more compatible chargers for Chinese EVs as mainland cars arrive

‘It is an absolute joy to drive straight from Zhuhai to Hong Kong with just one pump of the accelerator,’ says driver among southbound scheme�...

Hongkongers urged to quickly sign up for eMPF platform as defence against scams Cybersecurity experts have urged Hong Kong residents to prioritise the use of an official one-stop digital identity app to register their accounts on the city’s new centralised pension fund platform to prevent theft after scammers stole HK$1.8 million. Some also questioned why the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), which manages the eMPF platform, did not deploy the government’s “iAM Smart” app as a mandatory process for verifying the identity of users from the outset. They...

South China Morning Post

Hongkongers urged to quickly sign up for eMPF platform as defence against scams

Cybersecurity experts call on residents to move quickly after HK$1.8 million stolen from three MPF accounts.

Swire Properties sells 2 Deep Water Bay homes for US$283 million in biggest deal in years Activity in Hong Kong’s ultra-luxury residential market is picking up, with Swire Properties selling two homes in Deep Water Bay for a whopping HK$2.2 billion (US$283 million). The two three-storey units at 6 Deep Water Bay Road had saleable areas of about 9,600 sq ft and 5,300 sq ft, with the transactions set to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, the developer said. Both units were acquired by the same buyer. On a per square foot basis, the deal works out to HK$147,010, “one of the...

South China Morning Post

2 Deep Water Bay homes sold for US$283 million in biggest deal in years

The two three-storey units at 6 Deep Water Bay Road fetched HK$147,010 per square foot, the highest since HK$150,000 for a 2015 deal.

More signs being installed in new section of Hong Kong’s Central Kowloon Bypass Hong Kong’s transport authorities are putting up more signs on the Yau Ma Tei section of the Central Kowloon Bypass to make directions clearer, following complaints of inadequate signage despite the newly opened thoroughfare operating smoothly on its first day. Secretary for Transport Mable Chan said that 50,000 vehicles had so far used the bypass’ new section since its launch the day before, as she conducted an inspection on Monday morning. “We can see that the traffic at Gascoigne Road...

South China Morning Post

Police asked to tackle reckless driving on Hong Kong’s new Central Kowloon Bypass

Transport Department says it has informed police of vehicles making U-turns at tunnel entrance and heading in opposite direction.

No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive and constructive’ talks US and Ukrainian envoys issued a joint statement on Sunday that hailed “productive and constructive” talks in Miami but did not announce any apparent breakthrough in efforts to end the war with Russia. Top representatives from both Ukraine and Russia, as well as Kyiv’s European allies, have been in southern Florida over the past several days for a series of separate talks hosted by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The meetings were the latest in a weeks-long diplomatic...

South China Morning Post

No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive’ talks

Talks in Miami focused on aligning US, European and Ukrainian positions as uncertainty remains if Russia will accept proposed terms.

Malaysia’s Najib Razak to be released from jail for house arrest A Malaysian High Court judge ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to be released from jail for house arrest on Monday. Najib, who has been in prison since 2022, had his 12-year jail sentence halved last year by a pardons board chaired by the country’s former king. But he insists the monarch also issued an “addendum order” that converts his sentence to house arrest, and he has been seeking to compel the government to confirm the document’s existence and enforce its contents. Government...

South China Morning Post

Malaysian court blocks Najib’s bid for house arrest

Monday’s decision keeps the former prime minister behind bars as he awaits the outcome of the far larger 1MDB case on Friday.

Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan A city’s character is not tested on a good day, but in the quiet hours after a disaster, when the smoke settles, sirens fade and residents look at the charred outline of a home that used to anchor an entire life. The Tai Po fire, which engulfed several blocks of subsidised government housing and left families displaced overnight, has forced Hong Kong into a rare moment of civic introspection. A tragedy on this scale is a stress test of our assumptions about urban planning, insurance, finance and...

South China Morning Post

Opinion | Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan

The fire must compel us to re-examine how we assign risk, structure contracts, insure homes and support communities after a catastrophe.

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market Nearly 270,000 cars with self-driving systems that allow drivers to be “hands off” under certain conditions will be sold in China next year as Beijing allows carmakers to build such vehicles, according to Daiwa Securities. This volume is projected to represent about 1 per cent of China’s total new car sales in 2026, as the expanding adoption of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is poised to stimulate the world’s largest automotive and electric vehicle (EV) market amid waning...

South China Morning Post

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market

Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by an angry crowd gathered at the famous Bondi Beach on Sunday to honour the victims of a gun attack ‍a week earlier that targeted a seaside Jewish Hanukkah festival event. The nation marked a day of reflection on Sunday to honour the 15 people killed and the dozens wounded in the attack by two gunmen. With security tight and flags at half-staff on government buildings, a minute of silence was held at 6.47pm local time, the time the attack...

South China Morning Post

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.