SCMP News Digest
Daily News • Monday, 2 February 2026
Hong Kong police arrest hundreds in HK$620 million fraud, money laundering crackdown
Hong Kong police have arrested more than 680 people in a series of recent operations targeting deception and money laundering, with suspected criminal proceeds reaching HK$620 million.
In one operation, officers from the cybersecurity and technology crime bureau focused on combating the misuse of bank accounts. Between February and September last year, police received reports from 51 victims of unauthorised transfers from their online bank accounts, ranging from HK$400 (US$50) to HK$10,000, with…
Australian woman dies after getting caught in Japan ski lift
An Australian woman died after her backpack caught on a ski lift on a Japanese mountain and she became suspended mid-air, police said on Monday.
The 22-year-old woman was preparing to get off the lift on Friday morning at Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Hakuba Valley, a popular ski destination in the central region of Nagano.
But a loose buckle from her backpack became caught in the lift chair, according to the lift operator, Tsugaike Gondola Lift.
The woman, who had secured the rucksack with a…
China couple abandon their young children at hotel after dispute, spark heated debate
A Chinese couple who left their young children at a hotel following a fight have ignited a heated discussion over how to punish irresponsible parents.
The Beijing Chaoyang district police posted on January 22 that they received a phone call from a man who claimed to have been looking after his friends’ two children at a hotel.
The children, a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, had been abandoned by their parents after the couple had a fight during a family trip to Beijing.
Both parents…
Gaza’s Rafah crossing reopens amid Israel-Hamas ceasefire, but challenges remain
Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopened on Monday for limited traffic, a key step in the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire but a mostly symbolic development on the ground as few people will be allowed to travel in either direction and no goods will be going into the war-torn territory.
Within the first hour of the opening, no one was actually seen crossing in or out of Gaza. An Egyptian official said 50 Palestinians would cross in each direction on the first day of the crossing’s operation.
About…
Government proposes planning team for Apec finance ministers’ meeting in Hong Kong
Some 500 guests are expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) finance ministers’ meeting in Hong Kong in October, the first to be held in the city, with authorities set to appoint a team led by two senior officials to oversee planning for the event.
Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu proposed to set up an event coordination team under his bureau to prepare for the meeting.
“This…
Xi wants yuan’s global punch to match Chinese economic might
President Xi Jinping has called for China’s yuan to become a global reserve currency, underscoring ambitions to carve out a greater role for it in world finance.
The country needed a “powerful currency” that could be “widely used in international trade, investment and foreign exchange markets, and attain reserve currency status”, Xi said in a commentary published on Saturday in Qiushi, the Communist Party’s ideology journal. The comments were first made in a 2024 speech to officials.
Xi spoke of…
China navigates US threats to anchor global shipbuilding dominance in 2025
China secured the most new shipbuilding orders globally in 2025 despite a slight dip in market share, showing enduring market dominance amid industry turbulence sparked by US threats targeting the Chinese maritime sector, official data showed.
Chinese shipyards secured 107.8 million deadweight tonnage (DWT) in new orders in 2025 – a 4.6 per cent year-on-year decline – accounting for 69 per cent of the global market, down from a 74.1 per cent share in 2024, according to data released on Sunday by…
Kim Seon-ho’s agency denies South Korean actor set up shell firm to evade taxes
South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho’s agency, Fantagio, has issued a statement defending the star of Netflix’s Can This Love Be Translated? after he was accused of setting up a shell company to evade taxes.
The claims are similar to those levelled against actor-singer Cha Eun-woo, a fellow Fantagio artiste, just days before. Cha is under investigation for allegedly setting up a one-person corporation to avoid paying about 20 billion won (US$13.6 million) in taxes.
On Sunday, media outlet Sports…
Trump vows to sue ‘dope’ Trevor Noah over Grammys joke linking him to Epstein island
US President Donald Trump threatened legal action on Monday against the host of the 68th Grammy Awards over the comedian’s comment on the US president and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After congratulating Billie Eilish for winning the Grammy for Song of the Year for her track “Wildflower”, host Trevor Noah brought up Trump and Epstein.
“Wow. That’s a Grammy that every artist wants – almost as much as Trump wants Greenland,” he quipped, referring to the president’s threats to seize the…
Alibaba’s Qwen ramps up AI app race with Spring Festival giveaway blitz
Alibaba Group Holding has joined rivals including Tencent Holdings and Baidu in rolling out Spring Festival red-packet giveaways to drive mass-market adoption of its artificial intelligence, committing 3 billion yuan (US$432 million) to spur spending across its ecosystem as it seeks to extend its edge in foundational models to consumer-facing products.
The Hangzhou-based e-commerce and AI giant said on Monday that its AI app Qwen would anchor a Spring Festival campaign across its flagship…
Chinese gold and silver investors face gut check amid volatility, fund suspensions
Another gold fund in mainland China suspended new investments as precious metals extended a plunge on Monday, heightening dilemmas for investors.
The Harvest Gold Securities Investment Fund, a listed open-ended fund (LOF) investing in gold-related products, said it would suspend new investments from Tuesday until further notice. The fund manager said it aimed to ensure stable operation and protect the interests of unit holders.
On Wednesday, E Fund Management’s E Fund Gold Theme LOF also closed…
Hong Kong’s housing market recovery rests on solid foundations
Hong Kong has its mojo back. The city’s economy grew 3.5 per cent last year, the fastest pace since 2021, according to an advanced estimate published by the Census and Statistics Department on January 30. A sharp increase in exports, the unexpected driver of growth in many Asian economies last year, was a key factor in Hong Kong’s resurgence.
The rebound was underpinned by the dramatic revival in the city’s capital markets. Share sales nearly quadrupled last year to more than US$73 billion…
China’s widebody C929 could arrive early on revved-up development plan: sources
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is revving up the design and testing phase of its widebody C929 airliner, marshalling its resources and mobilising its stakeholders to roll out the indigenous jet on schedule – or, potentially, ahead of earlier estimates.
Specialists from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) have proactively involved themselves in the C929’s development, the South China Morning Post has learned, with personnel from the national regulator assessing…
Hong Kong to formulate first 5-year plan to align with national blueprint
A new task force led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will formulate Hong Kong’s first five-year blueprint to align with the nation’s 15th five-year plan, with a political analyst saying the move signals greater government involvement in shaping the city’s development.
Lee also said on Monday that he would prioritise visits to Eastern Europe and Central Asia to explore new markets for local businesses, stressing the need to “avoid putting all eggs in one basket” and mitigate risk amid…
Costa Rica elects tough-talking right-winger for president
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez won Costa Rica’s presidential election on Sunday by a landslide, after promising to crack down hard on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade.
Fernandez’s nearest rival, centre-right economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 per cent needed to avoid a run-off.
With 81.24 per cent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves had 48.94 per…
Zhang Youxia investigation to end ‘watered down’ capability of China’s military: PLA Daily
The People’s Liberation Army’s anti-corruption investigations into top general Zhang Youxia and others will eliminate a watered down combat capability and give new momentum to the military’s development, according to a commentary by its mouthpiece the PLA Daily.
“The resolute investigation and punishment of corrupt officials such as Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli removes obstacles and stumbling blocks that hinder the development of our cause,” it said in a front-page editorial on Monday.
“It…
Chinese EV makers’ shares skid as sales slide after tax incentive ends
Major Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers got off to a bumpy start in 2026 as they reported falling deliveries in January due to softening government support.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed BYD, Xpeng, Li Auto and Nio plummeted on Monday, battered by a bearish delivery outlook in the cutthroat mainland EV market.
“Lacklustre [sales] data in January represented a rude reminder that the industry will face a difficult year,” said Ivan Li, a researcher at Loyal Wealth Management in Shanghai. “Nearly…
Mainland Chinese student jailed for 3 months for hiring impostor to take TOEFL test
A mainland Chinese student has been jailed for three months for paying an impostor to take an English proficiency test in Cambodia on her behalf and submitting the results to a university in Hong Kong to meet graduation requirements.
Tuen Mun Court on Monday ruled that a community service order would not help Huang Xinyi turn over a new leaf after a probation officer’s testimony about her “distorted values” and “deep-rooted disregard” for academic honesty.
Magistrate David Chum Yau-fong said a…
‘Bleak start’ to 2026 for China’s property sector as sales declines accelerate
China’s years-long property downturn has carried into 2026, with new-home sales sliding sharply and, by some measures, deteriorating at their fastest pace in recent years.
The country’s top 100 developers reported combined contracted sales of 165.5 billion yuan (US$24 billion) in January, down 27 per cent from a year earlier, according to data released over the weekend by China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC).
Stress was particularly acute among offshore borrowers.
The combined…
Latest Epstein files dump reveals ‘embarrassing’ friendship with another royal
Norway’s crown princess, whose son goes on trial on Tuesday on rape charges, has found herself embroiled in another scandal after newly unsealed files revealed her unexpected friendship with late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest scandal has even raised questions about whether Mette-Marit, a commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, could still become queen one day.
Her name appears at least 1,000 times in the millions of new Epstein documents released by the US Department of…