With slower growth in China’s economy, young professionals and middle-class people across the country are tightening their belts and cutting down on spending. But what can the rest of the world expect from diminished demand in the second-biggest economy?

Two years after taking office as Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee has shifted his focus from enforcing national security to improving the lives of residents and rebuilding the city's economy. But he faces formidable challenges, stemming from geopolitical tensions between China and the West with Hong Kong caught in the middle. Lee discusses all this and more with the Post's managing editor of content, Yonden Lhatoo, in this extended version of Talking Post.

How does a country deepen its relationship and do business with China without risking retaliation by the US and its allies? How can a nation protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea yet maintain a delicate balancing act with its neighbours with their own views and claims? Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discusses these issues and more, including his deep anguish over the Israel-Gaza war, in this extended version of Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.

The European Union and the United States claim that China is flooding global markets with cheap goods. China says these assertions are groundless. Post Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham breaks down the arguments for and against overcapacity, and looks at whether the EU and China are heading towards a trade war. Read more about this: https://sc.mp/a1e73f 

The US has been grappling with an opioid crisis for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of fentanyl – a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin. What roles do China and India play in the global illicit fentanyl trade? Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan and independent investigative journalist Ben Westhoff walk us through their reporting. For more on this: https://sc.mp/8c9626 

Domestic tourism in China is steadily recovering, but what about inbound tourism? Post senior correspondent Ralph Jennings has a look at who is visiting China and who is not and explores the various hurdles foreigners face when travelling to China. For more on China travel: https://sc.mp/facef8

Hong Kong’s urban jungle was once regularly visited by wild tigers, with sightings of the big cats until the 1960s. While local history books only mention tiger killings in 1915 and 1942, the animals appear in oral accounts, newspapers and John Saeki's 2022 book The Last Tigers of Hong Kong – which tells tales of deadly attacks and terrified villagers hearing roars and frantic pig squealing. In this podcast, the Post tracks down Hong Kong’s links to the critically endangered South China tiger. 🐅

China is turning science fiction into fact, whether through the development of nuclear reactors for interplanetary space travel or the use of artificial intelligence to fight corruption. The Post’s science editor Stephen Chen and science reporter Holly Chik discuss some of the latest achievements by China’s scientific community and how the country is nurturing the next generation of scientists. Read the latest on China science: https://sc.mp/a3caf7   

China has just concluded its biggest annual plenary event in Beijing, the “two sessions” of its top legislative and political advisory bodies. Post executive editor and resident China expert Chow Chung-yan sits down with managing editor Yonden Lhatoo in this extended version of Talking Post to unpack it all. Watch the video interview: https://sc.mp/6dae8c 

How might a second Trump presidency affect US relations with China, North Korea, Japan, Asean, India and more? Post US bureau chief Robert Delaney compares and analyses the foreign policies of incumbent President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump and explores whether Beijing prefers one over the other. Read the latest on the US presidential 2024 elections: https://sc.mp/0d0073 

A century-old American trade provision known as the “de minimis” rule has drawn the attention of some US lawmakers. They argue that the rule gives Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Temu, an unfair advantage over American retailers. Post reporter Siqi Ji explores the arguments for scrapping the rule and explains why changing it will be hard despite bipartisan support. Read Siqi’s story: https://sc.mp/5c57e8

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team travelled to Hong Kong for a highly anticipated football match on February 4, 2024. But the game ended with boos and demands for refunds after the player often referred to as the “greatest of all time” never took the field. Post sports editor Josh Ball has more on an event that for many was the greatest let-down of all time. For the latest updates: https://sc.mp/7a29b0 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made the South its “principal enemy” in proposed changes to the country’s constitution. He has also ended hopes of reunification, while intensifying missile tests. Is the Korean peninsula on the brink of war? Former CIA analyst and North Korean expert Soo Kim has more. Read the full story: https://sc.mp/u6mb 

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate won the Taiwan presidential race on January 13, 2024. The opposition Kuomintang managed to secure the most seats in the legislature. But as Post correspondent Kinling Lo explains, all eyes are now on the Taiwan People’s Party. For more on Taiwan’s 2024 election: https://sc.mp/926c 

Post reporter Emily Hung takes us through her reporting, exploring the unregulated world of “medical beauty” in Hong Kong, and the resulting tragedies. Check out the full article: https://sc.mp/m55x 

The year 2023 was when China’s video gaming industry staged a comeback. More licences for games were approved, the biggest global launch of a Chinese game was recorded and gold medals were won. Post reporter Ann Cao takes us through the many highs for the sector over the year and explains what to expect heading into 2024. Read the latest on China’s video gaming industry: https://sc.mp/mgt1

Cui Tiankai is China’s longest-serving ambassador to the US. Ever since his retirement as Beijing’s top envoy to Washington in 2021, he has been active in backchannel diplomacy between the two countries. This extended version of Talking Post has more from Cui as he sat down with Post managing editor Yonden Lhatoo on November 13, 2023, to discuss geopolitical tension, war and peace, and diplomacy. Watch the video interview: https://sc.mp/zp3e  Read more about Cui: https://sc.mp/mxm8 

Post editor Josephine Ma explains where China stands on the Israel-Gaza war, how Israel and Palestine have responded to Beijing’s actions so far and what China stands to gain in trying to help mediate one of the most complex geopolitical issues in the world. Read the latest on the Israel-Gaza war: https://sc.mp/brs0

Millions of migrant workers helped transform China from an agrarian economy into a manufacturing giant, but most have yet to see major changes in their own living conditions. Unequal distribution of benefits and precarious working conditions mean most remain in jobs well past the statutory retirement age. This Post story is reported by Mia Nulimaimaiti and narrated by Holly Chik.  Read the full story here: https://sc.mp/s86o 

Intelligence agencies in the US and China have apparently become intentionally more visible than ever. But why? Post US deputy bureau chief Mark Magnier explains what’s going behind the strategic leaks and veneer of transparency, and what they reveal about bilateral relations between the two superpowers. Read Mark’s full story here: https://sc.mp/chcv 

Hong Kong’s nightlife is not what it used to be. Post reporter Connor Mycroft breaks down what’s changed, how the government wants to revitalise the city’s night economy and whether plans unveiled so far seem likely to work. Read Connor’s full story here: https://sc.mp/2jpi 

As China’s property crisis continues and the growth of household wealth dwindles, some owners have had to sell their overseas investments. But with a saturated market and very few buyers, property owners are struggling to find buyers. This Post story is reported by He Huifeng and narrated by Regina de Luna. For the full text: https://sc.mp/ua7p 

China has seen a significant increase in the size and influence of its middle class, but an ageing population is set to hinder the nation’s growth. In the US, the size of the middle class fell from 61 per cent of the population in 1971 to 50 per cent in 2022 amid flat wage growth and a drop in university enrolments. This Post story was reported by Ralph Jennings and He Huifeng and narrated by James Aitken. For the full text: https://sc.mp/sx1u 

One week ago on September 7, 2023, Hong Kong was hit by a record-breaking rainstorm that flooded the city. South China Morning Post city desk reporter Harvey Kong breaks down what happened across the city and explores the questions Hong Kong’s government now faces as clean-up continues. Post Hong Kong news editor Denise Tsang describes what happened to her when she was stuck in traffic during the city’s heaviest downpour. 

China’s southern metropolis of Shenzhen is the only mainland city where individuals can apply for bankruptcy, but it’s not easy since authorities reportedly frown on debt forgiveness. While debt is often taken to the grave, debtors’ families may continue to be hounded by creditors under a traditional belief that a “son must pay his father’s debt”. This Post story by Mandy Zuo and He Huifeng is narrated by Jasmine Tse.

Finbarr Bermingham reports on the EU response to Xi's absence at the G20, how 'de-risking' is playing out, and Beijing's reception to Germany's far right populist party AfD; Chad Bray analyses China's property giant Country Garden, its teetering on the brink of default and the forecast for what comes next; Zhou Xin looks at the big picture of the challenges for Xi Jinping and his central government.

Jarrod Watt and Jasmine Tse sift through the facts of how China came to levy nearly three years of escalating official and unofficial trade bans on Australian exports after comments made by the Australian Prime Minister at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. SCMP political economy reporter Kandy Wong reports on how one of Australia's oldest and most prestigious wine brands has made the pivot from the Barossa Valley to making wine in mainland China, and what obstacles still remain in the…

SCMP science reporter Victoria Bela speaks of the science behind China and Russia's opposition to the Fukushima water release plan and how it compares to the tritium water releases from Chinese nuclear power plants. Mimi Lau from HKU AnnieLab factcheck newsroom analyses the state-led social media campaign fusing anti-Japanese hatred with misinformation and pseudo-science, leading to panic buying of salt in mainland China and Hong Kong.  

US President Joe Biden has taken another step to counter China’s technological advancements. Post North America bureau chief Rob Delaney and Beijing-based correspondent Kinling Lo analyse Biden’s “small yard, high fence” strategy, the muted response from Beijing and how next year’s US elections may further escalate this tech war.   

Andrew Collier, managing director of Orient Capital Research, analyses how the world of investment reacted to the latest US investment restrictions on China’s tech industry, and the options that are left for Beijing as it aims to become the world leader in artificial intelligence. Georgetown University’s CSET research analyst Ngor Luong knows exactly who has been investing in China, and explains why she expects more money to flow from China to Southeast Asia.  

Hear how Chinese scientists and the semiconductor industry have responded to Biden’s latest executive order, why some are calling it a “lose-lose” situation, and why China’s goal towards technological self-sufficiency has become much more difficult. Also, the Post’s Shenzhen-based tech reporter Iris Deng shares her latest visit to the world’s largest electronics market in search of chips the US has barred from export to China.

The US and China have less than two weeks to decide whether to renew a landmark science and technology agreement. Post reporter Khushboo Razdan explains what this agreement has achieved in the past and what would be lost if it isn’t renewed by August 27. Particle physicist and acclaimed columnist Yangyang Cheng explains how US-China science cooperation is as old as the bilateral relationship and what kind of collaborations she hopes to see between the global superpowers.  

China is predicted to have 400 million retirees in 2035 - the same year the state pension fund is expected to run out. In this episode, Jasmine Tse analyses the central government's race to prepare the nation's finances, infrastructure and health system. Global health policy expert Professor Winnie Yip unpacks the challenges ahead, explains why robots or immigrants won’t fix them, and reveals a shift in China's culture of filial piety and caring for the elderly. Post desk editor Zhou Xin looks…

Something's changed in China's youth and it's causing concern all the way up to President Xi Jinping. Jasmine Tse presents an episode tracing the roots of a cross-generational protest from the 90s 'slacker' Generation X in the West to the year 2019 and a lone Chinese developer angry at '996' working culture, to viral memes on Chinese social media that became slogans uniting China’s GenZ and millennials in their disaffection with the status quo. 

A record 12 million Chinese college graduates are entering the workforce at a time of historic youth unemployment. Xi Jinping's response to China's GenZ and millenials was "eat bitterness'. King’s College sociologist Dr Ye Liu analyses why these generations differ from their elders; consumer trends journalist Yaling Jiang analyses how spending habits of China’s GenZ and millenials are changing the economy and Post reporter Luna Sun analyses the harsh economic reality for China’s new graduates.

What started as a government-backed campaign to shame women in their late 20s and 30s who didn’t marry and have children has backfired spectacularly. Hear from the daughters of the one child policy; now the most educated, affluent women in Chinese history, and what they think about career, marriage and children.

After 70 years as the world's most populated nation, the news of China's first decline in population since the Great Famine of the 1960s was a long time coming. King’s College sociologist Dr Ye Liu reveals the deeper impact of the one child policy, how the massive gender imbalance continues to play out in and how it forged generations of women with very different attitudes to their elders.    

There’s more to the shock of China's declining population than just births, deaths and marriages. Chinese GenZ and Millenials are choosing career over kids - or choosing to “lay flat” or “let it rot”. The two most educated and affluent generations in China's history are making choices that are changing the economy and challenging Beijing's policies - but they're now facing historic levels of unemployment, just as a record 12 million Chinese college students are about to graduate. Jasmine Tse…

Holly Chik looks at how this year’s heatwaves in China presaged the announcement of an El Nino weather cycle. Shanghai-based sustainability expert Richard Brubaker analyses the challenges to secure water, food and power supplies. Siqi Ji reports on the ongoing drought in Yunnan province threatening China’s massive hydropower scheme that supplies its industrial heartland, and Echo Xie reports on a new type of climate disaster – the flash drought – and what it means to the world. 

The final in a three part special on Hong Kong's new retail crypto trading era: SCMP tech reporter Xinmei Shen speaks with Vivien Khoo about her transition from compliance in banking and how that influeces her views on crypto and fintech; her forecast for the future of Hong Kong in the new retail crypto trading era; and her advocacy and leadership with women and challenging the culture of 'crypto bros'.

The second in a three part special on Hong Kong's new retail crypto trading era: SCMP specialist digital editor Jarrod Watt speaks with Neil Tan, chair of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong about how generative AI is changing crypto; his involvement in blockchain development in mainland China; how Hong Kong's legalising of retail crypto trading will attract talent that fled Beijing's crypto ban; and whether bitcoin mining will come to Hong Kong.

SCMP tech reporter Xinmei Shen presents an episode on Hong Kong’s new era of regulated retail cryptocurrency. Matt Haldane looks the major players and and the attraction to mainland Chinese investment after Beijing’s crypto and bitcoin bans in 2021; Ken Lo of crypto exchange HKbitEX discusses how the regulations work; and Chengyi Ong from Chainalysis examines Hong Kong’s regulations, how they compare globally and analyses the risks ahead.

Hear analysis from Orient Capital Research managing director Andrew Collier of the raids and arrests on consulting firms conducting due diligence and sharing expert analysis in mainland China and the impact on foreign investment; Post tech desk editor Zhou Xin looks at why the Cyberspace Administration of China has labelled American chipmaker Micron a “national security risk”. 

Finbarr Bermingham analyses the EU Indo-Pacific forum and the reality of "de-risking" from China; Kawala Xie reports on expectations for the role of China's peace envoy to Ukraine Li Hui; Rob Delaney looks at the Wang Yi-Jake Sullivan meeting as the US mends relations without raising balloon incidents; and Shi Jiangtao on Beijing's response to the G7 meeting and how it views Japan's increasingly hawkish call for Europe to focus on the Taiwan Strait.

Holly Chik presents the latest update on AI in mainland China. William Zheng reports on the first person arrested for using ChatGPT to generate fake news; while tech reporters Ben Jiang and Coco Feng explain the lag of China’s tech companies as they try to catch up, while the first wave of AI-related job losses begin.

Hear the stories going viral this week from the SCMP People and Society desk with Luisa Tam and Kevin Kwong. The airbnb guests from hell who protest a denied cancellation by turning the taps and gas on for days; the man who had his girlfriend's name added to his mother's tombstone, only to have her demand it be removed two years later; the grieving brother and sister who find out their dead mother left them millions, made even more distraught by the brother's wife demanding her fair share, and…

The 2023 “golden week” holiday period which includes May Day did more than just reveal how badly people in mainland China wanted to travel and visit tourist sites. Beijing-based reporter Luna Sun discusses the numbers and has a look at an island hoping to surpass Hong Kong as a free trade and travel destination, while the Post’s Oscar Liu and Harvey Kong look at new trends and behaviours seen among the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visited Hong Kong over the past week.

Holly Chik presents an episode analysing new announcements about the Chinese space programme. Post science reporter Xin Ling and Space.com journalist Andrew Jones report on Beijing’s timeline for developing a GPS system for the moon and 3D printing bricks for the first lunar base, its hopes for beating the US in a race to get soil samples from Mars and its plans for a survey of Jupiter’s moon Callisto.

Holly Chik looks at how people in China are using AI and ChatGPT. A dead woman holds a conversation with her grandson; a surveillance satellite operates without human control; and the PLA considers “cognitive warfare”. In Hong Kong, a stock brokerage with thousands of millennial and Gen Z investors prepares to launch a ChatGPT-powered investment assistant. And hear from nuclear weapons and China tech expert Dr Amy J Nelson on chances for a global AI arms treaty.  

Holly Chik presents the second in a two part special. Technology reporter Xinmei Shen analyses Beijing’s new draft guidelines for generative AI and how it will affect China’s burgeoning chatbot industry. China technology and AI expert Matt Sheehan from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace compares the approach of China, the US and Europe in regulating AI and the prospects for superpower co-operation.  

Despite it not being officially available, Hong Kong is adapting ChatGPT for use in finance, law firms, customer service and beyond. Hong Kong city reporter Oscar Liu reports on how it's being used, as well as the split among Hong Kong universities on whether to allow students to use ChatGPT. Hear from a secondary teacher on how ChatGPT and other AI applications are changing the way he teaches, how his students are using it to enhance their learning and his concerns for unregulated development…

Xi Jinping’s recent Moscow visit was upstaged by an unannounced trip to Ukraine by Japanese leader Fumio Kishida as well as Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russian nuclear weapons will be staged in Belarus. The Post’s Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses the EU response as well as why European leaders are making plans to visit Beijing. Diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao explains why Kishida’s diplomacy with Ukraine, South Korea and India is being seen as a game changer for Xi’s plans…

Kevin Kwong and Luisa Tam talk about the stories from mainland China that grabbed people's attention this week. Find more stories from the SCMP People and Culture desk: https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture

Holly Chik speaks with SCMP political economy editor Wendy Wu about how Xi Jinping's reference to 'brotherhood and love' for China's entrepreneurs has been received, and what the latest economic data portends for the plans put forward at the Two Sessions. Senior journalist William Zheng analyses the speeches of Xi Jinping and newly ascended premier Li Qiang.

Jasmine Tse hosts a special episode celebrating the success of Michelle Yeoh and her film Everything, Everywhere All At Once at the 2023 Oscars. Senior culture reporter Lisa Cam explains the power of films with Asian mothers and their daughters as central characters. And Hong Kong-born Hollywood veteran George Cheung talks about the barriers he’s confronted as an Asian actor in 50 years of films and tv, and why this year’s Academy Awards represent substantial progress for Asian actors.

The Post’s Kinling Lo reports from Beijing on its annual political assembly known as the ‘two sessions’, in a week when Chinese President Xi Jinping made an unusual direct remark on US policy while Foreign Minister Qin Gang in his first media briefing, also commented on US rivalry, Ukraine and Taiwan. North American bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses the US response, its ongoing legislative agenda for Taiwan and the impending visit of its leader Tsai Ing-wen.

China’s president Xi Jinping will seek to consolidate his power and update Beijing’s economic and security policies in the coming ‘two sessions’ meetings. Hear analysis on the expected ministerial changes as well as indications about how Beijing will change its approach to internal security, the administration of Hong Kong and how it will use the gatherings to send signals to China’s people as well as to the world.

It is now just over one year since Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin declared China and Russia's “no limits” friendship, just weeks before the Russian leader announced he had ordered troops into Ukraine. Hear Beijing diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao and Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyse the optics of top diplomat Wang Yi’s meeting this week with President Putin, how Beijing’s relationship with Moscow has changed, and how European nations have changed their perspective on China over the…

While not officially released in China, the arrival of ChatGPT has sparked huge interest on Chinese social media and set off a race between tech giants Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba to develop similar AI chatbot technology. Post technology reporter Xinmei Shen speaks with fellow tech journalists Coco Feng and Ben Jiang in Beijing about this new AI tech gold rush, how China’s censorship system will have an impact, and why operating in Chinese language is a much more complicated task for AI. Alibaba…

SCMP Culture desk editor Kevin Kwong and China People and Society edesk editor Luisa Tam discuss the stories that have been most popular on scmp.com over the past week. What do you prefer - a deadly octopus in your hotpot or floor cleaning liquid in your fruit juice? Luisa Tam talks Kevin Kwong through some of the stories that got the biggest audience for the SCMP People and Society desk. Hear about the controversial court case over lai see and why gay couples are in the spotlight for the year…

SCMP science reporter Holly Chik presents the final in a series on how Hong Kong’s Covid policies have affected its economy and people. Child development expert Dr Fanny Lam, expert and founder of the Hong Kong Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology Centre, discusses how masks, home-schooling and staying indoors have affected toddlers, children and teenagers at a neurological level, and how parents can help them rebuild as they return to schools and socialising.

Holly Chik presents the third in a series looking at Hong Kong’s unique experience in this pandemic. Senior culture reporter Lisa Cam analyses the shocks and the changes to Hong Kong's famed restaurant industry, news desk editor Denise Tsang analyses the economic impact and loss of reputation as an aviation and finance hub; City desk reporter Jeffie Lam analyses the complexity of Hong Kong's vaccine anxiety and how it contributed to fatalities suffered in the Omicron wave of 2022.

Amid a tsunami of conspiracy, misinformation and xenophobia on social media during the pandemic, Hong Kong saw something special on Twitter and Facebook. City desk reporter Laura Westbrook discusses the massive online community known as the Hong Kong Quarantine Support group, Jamie Gong reveals how a post about his elderly mother started "the greatest thread of the pandemic" and the Twitter-based journalist known as Tripperhead, explains why he decided to parse and post the daily data dumps and…

SCMP journalist Holly Chik presents the first in a series looking at how the pandemic changed Hong Kong, how its people used social media to support each other among constantly changing restrictions, and how the lessons of SARS point once again to how Hong Kong needs to prepare for the future. Video journalist Thomas Yau reflects on his reporting from Wuhan in 2020, 2021 and 2023, his experiences on the streets of Shanghai, how 60+ days of lockdown changed him, and what changes he sees in his…

Holly Chik speaks with Post culture desk senior reporter Lisa Cam about the traditions for Lunar New Year in Hong Kong and among the broader Chinese diaspora around the world. Learn about what lies ahead for people born in the Year of the Rabbit as well as the food served at annual reunion meals, who gets red envelopes filled with money, why people wear red underwear, how to greet your Chinese neighbours in Mandarin or Cantonese and much more. More on Year of the Rabbit: https://sc.mp/l8az

Holly Chik looks at China's demographic crisis: a birth rate at its lowest in 60 years and a rapidly ageing workforce approaching retirement. Beijing-based reporter Luna Sun discusses the pressures on China's Generation Z and Millenials, who must care for ageing parents while confronting the reality of choosing between careers and starting families amid soaring costs of education and housing as well as a slowing economy.  

SCMP science reporter Holly Chik reports on mainland China opening its borders after three years, as the Omicron surge continues to wreak havoc. HKU epidemiologist Prof Ben Cowling contrasts the Hong Kong experience and forecasts how this surge will play out over the Lunar New Year holiday; Thomas Yau reports from Shanghai on the healthcare crisis; Xinlu Liang reports on the new black market in Paxlovid-style drugs and renewed misinformation on Chinese social media about treatments and the XBB…

Mimi Lau presents the latest episode on China's pivot away from nearly three years of zero-Covid policies; Beijing-based reporter Luna Sun speaks of the confusion among residents and business owners and analyses the economic costs revealed by the harsh policies; epidemiologist Dr Ben Cowling looks at the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, the numbers of unvaccinated elderly and forecasts what lies ahead for mainland China in comparison to Hong Kong's experience earlier this year; senior…

Hear first-hand accounts of the zero Covid protests in Shanghai and Beijing; Mimi Lau speaks with Beijing-based reporters Luna Sun and Shi Jiangtao about the threats to food security caused by zero-Covid policy restrictions and a shift in narrative as days of mass protests across the country have called for an end to President Xi Jinping’s signature Covid strategy.  

Mimi Lau speaks with mainland China-based reporters Coco Feng and Luna Sun about the effect of district-based lockdowns in Beijing and rising discontent over the nation’s zero-Covid policy, as World Cup TV broadcasts from Qatar bring home to the public the reality of people ‘living with the virus’ elsewhere in the world.   

Shenzhen-based reporter Phoebe Zhang reports on the districts of the giant southern Chinese manufacturing hub undergoing lockdowns and mass testing, the mass exodus of workers from the Apple supplier Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant and the nationalist blogger who publicly criticised Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy. News editor Josephine Ma on the paradox of Beijing permitting the Pfizer vaccine for foreign residents only, 22 months after the jabs were widely available in Hong Kong, and the quandary…

Mimi Lau presents the second part of the Post analysis of China’s 20th Communist Party congress. Beijing-based editors Mai Jun and Wendy Wu unpack the deep changes to the party beyond the ascent of President Xi Jinping to a historic third term. Hear about the implications for China’s foreign and domestic policy, and also how for the first time in decades no woman has been selected for the Politburo.

Mimi Lau presents an episode looking at the historic 20th party congress in Beijing, what it means for China’s Communist Party and what we can expect from it. Veteran China diplomacy experts William Zheng and Mai Jun unpack some of the event’s process and how it is expected to set the stage for Xi Jinping’s historic third term as leader and ascension to a level on par with Mao Zedong.

Two months of record-breaking heatwaves in the Sichuan province of south west China, resulted in widespread power outages as rivers ran dry, exposing the weakness in the region’s reliance on hydroelectric power. Post reporter Holly Chik speaks with fellow journalists Echo Xie and Siqi Ji about what they found on the farms and in the manufacturing centres, while veteran Shanghai-based sustainability expert Richard Brubaker unpacks the impact on global food prices and China’s approach to water,…

Now Washington has passed the US Chips and Science Act with tens of billions of dollars for the US semiconductor industry, what of its effect on China? Post technology journalist Xinmei Shen speaks with her Beijing-based colleague Che Pan about why the 3-nanometre revolution in semiconductors is so vital and how China's semisconductor industry might compete. SCMP technology editor Zhou Xin analyses how Beijing sees the new law, and how the US push to form the Chip 4 coalition is a bid to…

Post journalist Holly Chik and Beijing-based reporter Amanda Lee look into the Henan bank scandal where savings accounts were frozen and a subsequent protest was violently quashed; business desk reporter Pearl Liu unpacks the growing number of people across China with mortgages suspending payments on unfinished flats as more property developers slide into default, and how Beijing is trying to defuse a ticking timebomb of debt.  

Jasmine Tse presents the latest episode looking at the ongoing lockdown in Shanghai, as China pursues increasingly draconian zero Covid measures. Video reporter Thomas Yau reports in life inside the Puxi district as residents look at the second month of lockdown and restrictions and increased anxiety over the potential of being taken away to quarantine facilities if any of their neighbours test positive for Covid. SCMP China desk news editor Josephine Ma reports on Beijing's reaction to the WHO…

SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik looks at how mass testing and lockdowns are affecting Beijing and Shanghai. Video reporter Thomas Yau reports on ongoing stress and anger of residents in Puxi district over food supplies, and the shocking videos evading social media censorship. Amanda Lee in Beijing and Siji Ji in Shenyan analyse the economic data and discuss the silencing and disappearance of a prominent Chinese economist who criticized Beijing's harsh zero Covid policies as concerns mount…

As parts of Shanghai enter a sixth week of lockdown, SCMP video producer Thomas Yau reports from Puxi district on the mood of residents, as more videos elude censorship, including the viral Voice of April. In Beijing, Post reporters Luna Sun and Amanda Lee report from the locked down Chaoyan district on residents' anxieties and preparations. SCMP news desk editor Josephine Ma returns to answer the big question: why are there no mRNA vaccines despite a Shanghai company licensed to distribute…

SCMP reporter Holly Chik speaks with video journalist Thomas Yau from the Puxi district on bartering for food, increasingly violent street clashes appearing on social media and protest banners demanding Covid deaths be acknowledged. Shanghai-based NYU economics professor Rodrigo Zeidan analyses the growing buildup of cargo ships outside Shanghai's port and what it means for global trade. Senior correspondent William Zheng looks at Xi Jinping's political challenges with Shanghai in the leadup to…

 SCMP journalists in Shanghai report on the ongoing lockdown in the Puxi district. Thomas Yau discusses rising tensions among residents amid supply shortages, why he’s bartering noodles for toothpaste and anger directed at local neighbourhood committees. Tracy Qu analyses China's food delivery companies responding to the food crisis while authorities seek to quell social media unrest. Shanghai-based sustainability expert Richard Brubaker analyses supply chain bottlenecks and when the West will…

China’s most-populous city Shanghai has plunged its people into a historic half-half lockdown, starting with all districts east of the Huangpu River to be followed by similar measures for all areas west. Post reporter Holly Chik speaks with Shanghai bureau chief Daniel Ren from lockdown about how residents are coping, and to explore the economic impact on the finance and manufacturing base. Video journalist Thomas Yau is on the other side of the river, where there is panic buying and rising…

SCMP’s Mimi Lau presents the latest update on Hong Kong's Omicron surge, with reporter Gigi Choy discussing images of the sick and elderly in beds on the streets outside overcrowded hospitals;, William Zhang updates efforts from mainland China to send assistance and reports on people trying to flee across the border. Tara Joseph from AmChamHK talks about the ongoing exodus of expats; HK resident Vivian Lin shares her experience of being stranded in Melbourne, unable to return to the city.

Hong Kong is desperately implementing new Covid-19 rules and penalties in an effort to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. The SCMP’s Hong Kong reporter Gigi Choy explains how one case became hundreds, chief Asia correspondent Bhavan Jaipragas unpacks Singapore’s experience of “living with Covid-19”, and epidemiologist Dr Ben Cowling returns with a forecast for what happens next, and whether Hong Kong’s “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy can be resuscitated. Presented by Mimi Lau.

Hear about Hong Kong’s fifth wave of the pandemic. Microbiologist Dr Siddharth Sridhar unpacks Hong Kong's 2020-era zero Covid policy as the reality of low vaccinations in the elderly and the Omicron variant hits; Hong Kong Veterinary Association president Dr Owen Swan reveals the science and emotions behind the order to cull thousands of hamsters, SCMP journalists Chad Bray and Gigi Choy report on the exodus of Hong Kong's finance sector and the quest to track Hong Kong's omicron spread.

As the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday loom, Mimi Lau looks at Beijing's desperate measures to maintain its zero-Covid policy amid new outbreaks in Tianjin and Henan province. Holly Chik unpacks the claim that Covid-19 is entering China by mail; Shanghai-based journalist Thomas Yau on what it's like to travel through China right now, and Bernice Chan details the massive changes to Hong Kong's famed restaurant industry amid a harsh 6pm lockdown policy. Get our Listening Post…

SCMP journalist Xinmei Shen is joined by her fellow technology reporters Josh Ye and Jane Zhang to unpack and analyse the numerous crackdowns Chinese authorities have launched on the nation's tech sector this year. They start with a record-smashing antitrust fine, then move on to explore how new regulations for gaming, after-school tutoring and data privacy impacted Chinese society as well as Wall Street.

Mimi Lau talks with SCMP deputy sports editor Josh Ball about the diplomatic snub announced on the Beijing Winter Olympics; historian Nicholas Sarantakes recaps the saga of the 1980 Moscow Olympic boycott and other political actions over the decades, and analyses the impact of Joe Biden’s decision on the American public; Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, looks at past commercial boycotts and pressure on the Olympics and the IOC's ongoing role in the Peng Shuai story.

SCMP digital editor Jarrod Watt speaks with Professor Ben Cowling, Chair Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong. Cowling has been on previous episodes of Inside China, but in this special feature he discusses the Omicron variant, the need for travel bans, the science behind 21 day quarantine, and delves into his experience of Hong Kong quarantine. Hear about air purifiers, "selfish masks" and his predictions for Hong Kong and mainland China in…

SCMP reporters Mimi Lau, Simone McCarthy and Josephine Ma discuss the latest coronavirus news from inside mainland China and around the world. Hear what we know about the variant called Omicron, the new pandemic treaty agreed to at an historic World Health Assembly meeting, and hear about how China stands on the verge of a new policy on booster shots as well as the latest updates on advances and trials for monoclonal antibody treatments to treat Covid-19 infections.

Mimi Lau looks at how a since-deleted social media post by Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has ignited global concern for her welfare, China’s state media reply on Twitter response and a billion-dollar ultimatum from the WTA. Hear from exiled feminist activist Xiaowen Liang, information/economy expert Peter Lorentzen and senior SCMP staff on the battle for the narrative and how the WTA actions compare with the NBA and IOC. Subscribe to our podcast newsletter: sc.mp/Listening-Post-Newsletter

SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik presents the second part of our series looking at the technological and economic changes under way in order for China to meet its 2030 and 2050 carbon emissions targets. Hear from energy, resources and transition expert Prakash Sharma and research analyst and battery storage specialist  Xu Le on how China is moving to a post-coal society in which everything is electric. Subscribe to our new podcast review newsletter: http://sc.mp/Listening-Post-Newsletter

Mimi Lau speaks with the Post’s Beijing-based news editor Mai Jun about the historic resolution issued by the Sixth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee in Beijing. How does it compare to the previous historic resolutions issued by Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping? Does it grapple with historic errors, does it focus on contemporary problems, or is it all about facing the future? Hear how Hong Kong and Taiwan both received mentions and hear about the significant omissions. 

With the COP26 global climate summit being seen as one of the last chances for the planet, SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik looks at how China's ongoing power crisis has lead to a huge shake-up in its economy and opened the way for renewable energy to compete against coal. Norway-based energy analyst Qin Yan contrasts the operation of China's new national emissions trading market with that of Europe, how changes in China's energy market are a tectonic change for its economy. China energy…

Are you ready, player one? A change is coming, promising to transform the web into the “metaverse”. SCMP tech desk reporters Xinmei Shen and Josh Ye analyse what it means, and why the likes of Facebook as well as China’s major tech giants, game developers and investors are all focused on a change some believe will be as big as the arrival of the World Wide Web itself. Hear from Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Mark Kanterman on the investments he's documenting and just what the metaverse…

SCMP reporter Echo Xie reports from Kunming and the COP15 Biodiversity conference, where China’s president Xi Jinping announced a $US232 million fund for developing nations to protect biodiversity, a massive expansion of solar and wind power projects and China’s first official national parks. Meanwhile, as floods in Shanxi province shut coal mines, reporter Siqi Ji discusses the ongoing power crisis in China’s northeastern ‘rust belt’ amid concerns and growing anger as the cold winter looms.    

Mass power outages, factories with restricted hours and the prospect of major disruptions in the production of Christmas retail goods. This is the reality of China's three-pronged power crisis, comprising supply, price and regulation of coal-powered electricity. SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik speaks with political economy journalist Cissy Zhou about how long this power crisis is expected to last, how a ban on Australian coal complicates things and the prospects for the global economy.

SCMP tech journalist Xinmei Shen speaks with Vancouver-based correspondent Ian Young about his three years covering Meng Wanzhou, how her court saga irrevocably changed Canada’s relationship with China and what questions remain after Meng and two Canadians were freed; tech desk editor Zhou Xin discusses Huawei’s changing fortunes and how Beijing managed nationalist sentiment around the company exec’s homecoming.

Mimi Lau speaks with SCMP reporter Pearl Liu about the background to the US$300 billion debt crisis for China's property giant Evergrande, the warning signs from 2019 and escalating events this year that lead to protests across China. Desk editor Zhou Xin explores how Evergrande is part of China’s economic success story, Beijing’s changing “red lines” and how the capitalist excess of its "Belt Brother” CEO contrasts with Xi Jinping’s “Common Prosperity”. 

SCMP tech journalists Xinmei Shen and Josh Ye analyse the the impact of Beijing's crackdown on online gaming for players under 18. Hear how the ban is driving players to Steam and other servers in the West, how it affects the multi-billion dollar games development industry, and what will come of China's huge esports ecosystem and the desire to become the world's dominant esports nation. Hear the gaming addiction podcast: spoti.fi/3nvMirb

SCMP reporter Mimi Lau speaks with fellow journalist Simone McCarthy about the call from WHO investigators for a second audit of lab facilities in and around Wuhan, just as US president Joe Biden's deadline for a report into the 'Wuhan lab leak theory' arrives; Cissy Zhou discusses the internal and global economic shockwaves from China's zero Covid strategy and the pushback from those who say China needs to live with the virus; Josephine Ma discusses new MRNA vaccine developments in mainland…

SCMP tech reporter Xinmei Shen provides context and analysis of the latest regulatory crackdown by Beijing authorities, this time on the multibillion-dollar industry around after-school tutoring. Beijing-based reporter Coco Feng reports on experiences of parents and teachers as they learned courses were essentially outlawed, while Cissy Zhou explains the motivations of the crackdown, the rise of the middle-class ji wa parent in mainland China and implications of a potential underground system…

Mimi Lau presents the story of how a Chinese worker on a forced labour gang in northeastern Heilongjiang province in 1933 found a mysterious-looking skull, only to stash it in a well for safekeeping. Eighty-five years later, it has been the source of global debate over whether it’s a new species related to humans. Dr Ni Xijun, leading paleoanthropologist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, helps unravel the mystery of China’s ‘Dragon Man’. Written and produced by Jasmine Tse. Read more: https:/…

SCMP reporter Amber Wang reports on the damage to Zhengzhou and surrounding cities in Henan province as millions of people continue the recovery from disastrous floods. Tech reporter Tracy Qu discusses the emergency spreadshett that became a a huge crowd-sourced resource, and how China's huge short video audience are using TikTok style platforms for emergency aid and assistance,

Mimi Lau reports on the developing flood disaster in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou following record-smashing rains which have pushed the Yellow River to extreme heights, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and threatening nearby dams. Hear first-hand accounts of people trapped in subway trains as flood waters filled the tunnels, and analysis from Beijing-based reporter Echo Xie on how these floods differ from last year's floods on the Yangtze River.

Following the crackdown on ride-hailing firm Didi, China’s cybersecurity police have turned up the heat on other mainland tech firms with US IPO plans, by ordering data security reviews of Chinese firms with over a million users if they want to list on Wall Street. SCMP tech reporter Xinmei Shen is joined by colleagues Zhou Xin and Tracy Qu to discuss the growing role of Chinese regulators in reining in not only mainland tech firms but also the live-streaming industry.

Days after China's biggest ride-hailing app Didi launched a multibillion-dollar IPO on Wall Street, Beijing's internet watchdog removed it from China's app stores, claiming data being collected was a national security risk. SCMP tech reporter Xinmei Shen is joined by fellow reporter Tracy Qu and tech desk editor John Artman to analyse what’s behind the move, the Tesla-Microsoft connection, and whether this signals the start of decoupling between the world’s two biggest economies.

How did one factory in Taiwan become the sole reason why new cars, iPhones, gaming consoles and consumer whitegoods are facing delays in production? SCMP tech editors John Artman and Zhou Xin pull apart the circumstances that created this global supply chain crisis, how the US tech war and the pandemic created this situation and analyse what China is doing to become self-sufficient in chip manufacture. Can it catch up - or will it simply invade and take over production?

Mimi Lau presents a deep-dive into China's expansion plans for its new space station, its new Hubble-style telescope and its invitation for (most) nations to collaborate, as well as its timeline to develop a base on the moon in conjunction with Russia. Hear from space industry journalist Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) and Hong Kong University space program head Professor Quentin Parker on China's ambitious plans for space travel and research. More on Hong Kong's space lab: www.lsr.hku.hk/

In this week’s Inside China, Xinmei Shen presents a deep dive into the new operating system Huawei has unveiled for phones, tablets and devices. SCMP tech editor John Artman analyses how the tech war that began under the Trump administration helped fuel the drive to develop a system to compete in an environment dominated by Android and Apple. We also look at the strategy behind the pivot for China's largest telecoms company, why no other Chinese firms supports it and why the Internet of Things…

Reporting from China's newest Covid-19 outbreak in Guangzhou, where lockdowns, mass testing, and mass quarantine are being deployed for China's busiest export and trade hub; analysing how politics, conspiracy and science collide in the mainstream resurgence of the Wuhan lab leak theory, amid new revelations of the extent of wildlife trading at Wuhan's wet markets and calls for the WHO investigation team to return to China. 

Mainland China's once-per-decade census has been released, showing overall population growth despite demographers stating China’s population is likely to start shrinking in the next few years. The SCMP’s Mimi Lau examines the sensitivities behind the numbers that will shape China’s future policies. Sidney Leng speaks about census methodology, Zhou Xin weighs in on what the census numbers tell us about changes in various segments of China’s population and Qin Chen talks about how the daughters…

After years of turbocharged growth, China’s leading tech firms have come under intense scrutiny from Beijing. The record fines slapped on Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, sent alarm bells among China’s Big Tech. But the move may not be just a bid to rein in the firms, but Beijing’s attempt to reshape the future direction and focus of its home-grown tech companies. SCMP’s Xinmei Shen and Jane Zhang discuss the changes under way with guest HKU China law professor Angela Zhang

Dr Ben Cowling from the HKU School of Public Health discusses what herd immunity looks like for Hong Kong and how new Covid-19 variants will affect vaccinations; SCMP reporter Simone McCarthy discusses the latest vaccine manufactured in China, how Beijing's vaccine diplomacy is being countered by the West and how the global COVAX agreement and debate over IP are affecting vaccines for developing nations.

Mimi Lau presents an International Women's Day special: Phoebe Zhang reports on the backlash against feminists and women's rights activists, as well the ongoing fight for single women to be allowed to freeze their eggs; Qin Chen reports on how China's plunging birth rate is being driven by the daughters born and raised during the years of the One Child policy.

Mimi Lau explains the workings of China's two annual political meetings that include the world's largest parliamentary gathering, the National People's Congress. Beijing-based reporter Mai Jun looks at the combined forces of history and future plans influencing this year's event, from the announcement of the five year plan and 2035 vision as well as the centenary of China's Communist Party and the role of China's President Xi Jinping.

If China's tech giant ByteDance lists on the US stock exchange it will be the first Chinese social media company to launch an IPO in American stock history.  Zhou Xin discusses the background to this move, starting with Donald Trump's threat to ban TikTok in Agust of 2020, and the red lines Beijing will have for any access to the powerful algorithms that power Bytedance technology. China tech specialist reporter Masha Borak explains the big differences between TikTok and its Chinese equivalent…

Beijing-based reporter Qin Chen presents a Lunar New Year special on the forecasts for the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. SCMP China society editor Luisa Tam has consulted with top feng shui masters and sources to find what theYear of the Ox portends for health, wealth and relationships as well as what colours, numbers and dates may be lucky.

China is trying to contain outbreaks of Covid-19 during the Lunar New Year by asking its citizens to stay where they are instead of travelling home for the annual re-union dinner. Kinling Lo speaks with reporters Phoebe Zhang in Shenzhen and Qin Chen Beijing about how these controls are affecting New Year plans and the mood of locals and migrant workers, while tech reporter Masha Borak details how China's big tech companies are expanding their services and reach in an effort to help people…

SCMP journalist Nadeem Shad speaks with freelance space journalist and China space industry expert Andrew Jones about the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, and the audacious plan to deliver a vehicle to the Martian surface. Hear how the other missions being sent by NASA and the United Arab Emirates are not a new 'space race', and how it might just take FBI permission to allow an American spacecraft to communicate with a Chinese one. Andrew Jones also unpacks why 2020 was one of the busiest years in…

Mimi Lau and Kinling Lo speak with fellow journalists at the South China Morning Post, one year after our first podcast reporting on the coronavirus outbreak which became a pandemic. Simone McCarthy details the latest on the WHO investigation team which has landed in mainland China and what they hope to find; video journalist Thomas Yau discusses his return to Wuhan one year after being among the first journalists to head in to the city; Finbarr Bermingham analyses the impact of the pandemic on…

The full extent of the global crisis of plastic in our oceans was revealed in studies by Professor Jenna Jambeck and her team from the University of Georgia. Their calculations that there were five grocery sized bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world made headlines around the globe. What are we going to do about all this plastic? It’s going to take more than just banning the use of plastic drinking straws, and this final episode takes you to meet some people who…

Find out what happened when two Chinese cities - Taipei and Hong Kong - took very different approaches to recycling and waste disposal, and how they brought vastly different results. In the process you’ll find out that a song known by Americans and Australians as signifying ‘ice cream’ means something entirely different in Taiwan, and it’s also one of the reasons why the Taipei government managed to boast of zero waste going to landfill in 2014. China’s National Sword policy has had a…

While the world struggled to cope with the changes wrought by China’s National Sword policy, some 26 million people in Shanghai had a challenge of their own starting in July of 2019. It was a new policy aimed at changing how Shanghai collects and deals with its waste, and brought in a new system of four bins which separated wet, dry, toxic and recyclable materials. The residents and netizens greeted this new system with many different reactions, memes and quips on social media, all boiling…

New Year’s Day in 2018 was the first day of a new policy introduced in China, called National Sword. Its impact would be felt by households across the US and Australia, by local, state and national governments and by entire industries that would be left teetering on the brink of collapse. The shock to domestic kerbside recycling programmes continues to reverberate - but it’s not all bad news. It’s led to innovation, investment and a serious rethink of what we throw into the recycling bin. …

In this bonus episode of the Behind the Tariffs podcast series, attention turns to what has changed in the year since the US-China trade war began. Finbarr Bermingham and Naomi Ng look at what the world can expect following the underwhelming outcome of the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Osaka G20 meeting, and find out how the ongoing battle of tariffs and trade barriers will have an impact on the 2020 US presidential election. Arnold Kamler, CEO of the largest bicycle…

What does it take to get an exclusion from US tariffs? More to the point, what do a breast pump, a soldering iron, a guitar tuner and a salad spinner have in common? Each of these items has been granted an exclusion from tariffs by the Office of the US Trade Representative, and Naomi Ng heads off on a hunt for the Hong Kong engineer who owns the patent for the salad spinner. Her search brings her to the office of Gigi Wong, and an education in what the salad spinner can tell us about…

One woman in Philadelphia is trying to live the American dream as an innovator, manufacturer and CEO of her own company. Another woman in Hong Kong is running a company established by her father, exporting gaming hardware to the US. Both have found that their businesses may no longer be viable as a result of the trade war - either because of tariffs or from a slightly more oblique concept known as “non-tariff barriers”. Listen in as Sherrill Mosee talks us through her decision to have her…

If the US-China trade war has a no-man’s land, then maybe it’s somewhere near a truckstop not far from the Lo Wu border crossing that regulates traffic between mainland China and Hong Kong. Finbarr Bermingham travels up to a once-busy truckers’ diner to meet Kwok Yip-biu, who has driven trucks back and forth over the border for 30 years. Kwok recalls the “golden era” of Hong Kong as a gateway for trade into and out of mainland China, and how, lately, the trade war has put the brakes on the…

US President Donald Trump’s decision to place tariffs on goods made in China has, unsurprisingly, led to the relocation of many American companies from China. But most are not moving back to the US - instead they are heading to Vietnam, along with other lower cost hubs. And not only are US companies moving out of China and into Vietnam, Chinese companies are, too. Join us on a journey to Ho Chi Minh City, where we find Chinese companies that have moved south of the border to avoid the tariffs…

Roughly 95 per cent of the bicycles sold in the United States are imported from China, and tariffs on steel and aluminium are combining with tariffs on bicycle components to force companies to make some tough decisions. Kent International is an American bicycle manufacturer and distributor in the direct line of fire of the trade war. Listen as Kent CEO Arnold Kamler recounts his company’s history of importing bicycles from Taiwan, then Southeast Asia, and eventually mainland China through the…

The trade war between the United States and China did not start with US President Donald Trump. In this episode, let South China Morning Post journalists Naomi Ng and Finbarr Bermingham take you on a journey back to where it all started, to find one of the root causes of the multi-billion dollar trade spat between the US and China. You will hear a trade lawyer make a revelation about multinational corporations and tariffs, and answer the crucial question: who actually pays a tariff? You’ll…

Cinema audiences in the 1980s watched a futuristic vision of the year 2019 that included killer robots, flying cars -- and an almost entirely American cast. Fast forward to today, and one of the biggest global blockbusters is The Wandering Earth, which has an almost entirely Chinese cast and is based on a novella by China's most famous science fiction writer, Liu Cixin. Liu was the first Chinese writer to win a coveted Hugo Award, which honours the year's best science fiction. He has helped to…

Millions of people seeking work and better incomes have moved from rural areas of China to Beijing to work in what Americans might call the “gig economy”. As with the US gig economy, some have jobs delivering packages for online shopping companies and driving cars for ride-hailing apps – but others work more traditional jobs, as labourers on construction sites or as cashiers in supermarkets. A phrase that emerged from government documents referred to these people as “di duan ren kou”, or “the…

When US President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping stood together on the White House lawn before their historic meeting in 1978, it had already been one month since another historic first: the arrival of the first Chinese students to attend universities and colleges in the US since the 1949 proclamation of the People’s Republic of China. Much has changed since then, but in this podcast you will hear the experiences of two of these students, Yan Dachun and Liu Bacheng. They…

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s economic transformation, known as 改革开放 - 'reform and opening up' - engineered by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. Hear from the mainland Chinese who experienced it, the Hong Kong cultural figures who participated in it and one of the first industrialists to begin operating an export-oriented manufacturing business in Shenzhen. Presented by Laurie Chen Interviews with: Wu Tao, Zhang Donghong, Liza Wang Ming-chuen, Tenky Tin Kai-man, Henry Tang …

Selected works adapted from 'Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio', written by Pu Songling somewhere around 1679, and first translated into English in 1880 by Herbert Giles. There were some 500 stories originally published; in this presentation we bring you selected stories featuring genies, necromancers, shape-shifting animals, a rescuscitated corpse and at least one troublesome severed head. Voiced by: John Elphinstone, Laurie Chen, Ryan Swift, Nectar Gan, Yuki Tsang, Dayu Zhang, John…

The Yeren - translated directly from Chinese, means 'Wild Man' - is the world's oldest documented mysterious creature, pre-dating stories of Saskwatch, the Yeti and Bigfoot. Take a journey deep into the mysterious Shennongjia forest, hear from eyewitnesses and scientists, and learn of the hunt for the Yeren. Presented by Laurie Chen From an original text and video story by Laurie Chen & Lea Li Script by Laurie Chen & Jarrod Watt Voiceovers by Sidney Leng, Lea Li, Dayu Zhang, Bong…

More than 600 pneumatic drilling workers who laid the foundation for Shenzhen's high rise skyline, helping to transform a fishing village into China's tech capital, are petitioning for justice as they face a slow and painful death from advanced silicosis. Listen to this podcast and subscribe for more episodes on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher   Original story by Mimi Lau Presenter: Mimi Lau Field interview recordings: Shan Shan Kao Translations: Bobo Wei Voiceovers: Bong Miquiabas,…

Explore the centuries-old art of Chinese bull wrestling, a tradition of the Hui Muslims of Jiaxing, Zheijiang Province. Also meet the man who wants to turn it into a business and spectator sport, blending martial arts, wrestling and the ancient art of qigong. Presented by Naomi Ng, from an original video story by Tom Wang Voiceovers by Dayu Zhang, Brian Peach and John Carter Written and produced by Jarrod Watt

South China Morning Post reports on the scene of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake upon the tenth anniversary of one of China's worst natural disasters. Presenter: Mimi Lau Voices: Bong Miquiabas, Naomi Ng, Alan Wong Producers: Jarrod Watt, James Legge

This is the story of the commerce, culture, cuisine and cure-alls that fuel China's snake economy, from the snake-farming boom in an impoverished village in Zisiqiao to one of Hong Kong's oldest snake soup restaurants. Presenter: Ernest Kao Recordings: Tom Wang & Jarrod Watt Translations: Yuki Tsang & Scout Xu Voiceovers: Bong Miquiabas, Yuki Tsang & John Elphinstone Script: James Legge Production: Jarrod Watt

The story of dumplings is the story of the globalisation of Chinese cuisine - take the journey from Beijing to Shanghai, Hong Kong and down the ancient Silk Road to discover who invented them - and how a traditional Chinese medicine cure evolved into a meal enjoyed around the world. Featured interviewees: Lu Hongbin; Du Yichu restaurant, Beijing Hu Wei-I; Wan Shou Zai restaurant, Shanghai Wang Hong Chun; Ah Cun Shandong Dumpling, Prince Edward Dr Dai Zhaoyu, senior lecturer, School of…