SCMP News Digest
Monday, 26 January 2026
Hong Kong lawmakers urge review of seat belt policy on buses amid complaints
Hong Kong lawmakers have urged authorities to review issues with a new seat belt policy on buses six months after its launch, including a suggestion that operators use lap belts in certain vehicles offering short-haul rides to make it easier for passengers to alight.
A day after the regulation for public and private buses took effect, passengers reported difficulties in adapting to the change. Some residents told the Post that they were unclear about the rule, while others said they had no time…
How Thailand, India and Japan illustrate Asia’s patchy recovery in hospitality
The post-pandemic recovery in Asia’s hotel industry is patchy. While international tourist arrivals in some countries surpassed 2019 levels some time ago, most markets have yet to experience a full return to pre-Covid levels.
According to CBRE, only three of the 13 major markets in the Asia-Pacific region – Japan, Vietnam and South Korea – welcomed more overseas tourists in the first half of 2025 than in the corresponding period in 2019. All three have cheap currencies that made them more…
China warns against ‘do-nothing’ officials ahead of 2027 leadership reshuffle
Chinese state media have warned the Communist Party to be vigilant against officials who “do nothing but wait for a power transition” – a clear reference to next year’s national party congress.
The China Organisation and Personnel News, affiliated with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, published a commentary on Friday titled “Preventing Officials from Sitting Around and Doing Nothing but Waiting for a Power Transition”.
It cited a communique issued after the fifth plenary…
Legislators, judiciary must ‘support’ Hong Kong’s executive-led government: Xia Baolong
Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has called on the city to improve its executive-led governance model, arguing that the legislative and judicial branches should support the government as they perform “on the same stage” rather than undermine one another.
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, on Monday warned against any attempts by foreign and disruptive forces to promote the idea of separation of powers, arguing such views undermined the authority of the local…
China needs silver and young spenders, plus policy support, for consumption growth: HSBC
Young consumers’ spending on anime, comics, games and pop toys, alongside growing wellness expenditures by senior consumers, will continue to shape China’s consumption landscape this year, according to HSBC Holdings.
Against this backdrop, the coming nine-day Spring Festival holiday was set to benefit the food, hotel and tourism sectors, HSBC said in a trend report, adding that this tailwind would propel first-quarter growth in the food sector, particularly for snack food and dairy…
AIIB pledges critical infrastructure investments across Asia amid global turbulence
The Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) aims to marshal resources from governments, private parties and peer institutions to build critical infrastructure across Asia despite geopolitical headwinds, its new president said on Monday.
Zou Jiayi, who took the baton of the multilateral development bank in mid-January from inaugural president Jin Liqun, called for investments to augment country-specific tax revenues and promote industrial development, putting economies…
Greg Bovino: the public face of Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign
Clad in tactical gear with a helmet and hurling a tear-gas canister at protesters, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has become the public face of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.
Bovino’s public profile rose further in recent days as he defended violent immigration sweeps in Minneapolis, which culminated Saturday with federal agents fatally shooting 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, the second citizen to be killed in the heavily Democratic northern city in…
Myanmar’s junta-backed party declares majority in poll decried as ‘fraudulent’
Myanmar’s dominant pro-military party has won a junta-run election, according to a party source on Monday, after a month-long vote that democracy watchdogs dismissed as a rebranding of army rule.
The military snatched power in a 2021 coup, ending Myanmar’s experiment with civilian rule and triggering civil war, but pledged a three-phase vote, which finished on Sunday, would return power to the people.
With massively popular democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi detained and her party dissolved,…
Chinese lending to Africa nearly halves in a year as priorities shift to smaller projects
Chinese lending to Africa dropped by nearly half to US$2.1 billion in 2024 compared with the previous year, according to a new report.
The fall, from US$3.9 billion in 2023, was part of a decade-long trend. Lending had been on an upwards trajectory since 2006 and peaked between 2012 and 2018 – a period that saw the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative when lending passed the US$10 billion mark each year.
At its height, in 2016, Beijing lent US$28.8 billion, but the total has not passed the…
China miniseries production team slammed for exposing infant to heavy rain during filming
A miniseries production team in China has come under fire for allowing a baby to be exposed to heavy rain during filming.
On January 17, Chinese actress Xing Yun criticised the crew she worked with last year for mistreating the infant.
In a video clip, Xing’s character, a businesswoman, sees a mother and her baby caught in the rain and offers them both an umbrella and money.
Xing recalled that the night was particularly cold and torrential rain was created by a water truck. The baby, carried by…
Thai comeback kid Pita urges ‘decisive’ People’s Party win to break establishment’s grip
Thailand’s most popular political figure Pita Limjaroenrat has exhorted the public to fight apathy and vote in droves at a February 8 election for his reformist party, which remains the biggest threat to the power of the country’s entrenched elite.
Pita led the reformist People’s Party – then called Move Forward – to win the last election in 2023 on a record 76 per cent voter turnout, stunning the establishment as it gobbled up seats from political dynasties and surged into the heartlands of…
Ex-PLA soldier jailed for 8 months for offering illegal ride-hailing trips in Hong Kong
A former People’s Liberation Army soldier has been sentenced to eight months in prison for illegally carrying passengers in his Tesla Model S luxury sedan using a ride-hailing platform while in Hong Kong as a tourist.
Fanling Court on Monday heard that Zeng Yulin, 39, travelled to Hong Kong from Shenzhen between June and August last year to offer paid rides using online mapping service Amap, earning more than HK$73,000 (US$9,400) in two months.
He told Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung…
China’s central bank to support HKMA in doubling of yuan liquidity for Hong Kong lenders
China’s central bank will support Hong Kong’s monetary authority to double the amount of yuan liquidity available to local banks, helping them increase yuan lending and enhancing the city’s role as an international offshore centre for the mainland currency.
People’s Bank of China (PBOC) deputy governor Zou Lan said at the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) in Hong Kong on Monday that the central bank would provide more funding to allow the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to double the yuan…
Iran unveils bloody anti-US billboard as carrier force nears
Iranian authorities unveiled a new mural on a giant billboard in a central Tehran square on Sunday with a direct warning to the United States to not attempt a military strike on the country, as US warships head to the region.
The image shows a bird’s-eye view of an aircraft carrier with damaged and exploding fighter planes on its flight deck. The deck is strewn with bodies and streaked with blood that trails into the water behind the ship to form a pattern reminiscent of the stripes of the…
Gold surge has analysts eyeing new highs after US$5,100 record amid Trump-era geopolitics
Gold surged to an all-time high of US$5,100 an ounce on Monday, with analysts forecasting further gains as the precious metal is increasingly viewed as a strategic hedge amid heightened geopolitical risks linked to the current US administration’s foreign policy shifts and a growing push for de-dollarisation.
“We see the recent move as justifiable, given the rise in geopolitical risks and [the] macro environment,” said Alexandra Symeonidi, a senior corporate credit and sustainability analyst with…
Chinese military leaders under probe, Blackpink in Hong Kong: 5 weekend reads you missed
We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. China’s top uniformed officer Zhang Youxia is among 2 generals under investigation
Top Chinese military leaders Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are under investigation for suspected “serious” disciplinary violations, according to the Ministry of National Defence.
2. Chinese scientists shrink…
Hong Kong driver, 70, arrested after fatally striking cyclist in Tai Po
Hong Kong police have arrested a 70-year-old car driver who fatally struck an elderly cyclist in Tai Po.
Police received a report of the accident at 7.25am on Monday.
The victim, a man in his seventies or eighties, was struck by a car travelling towards Tai Mei Tuk as he crossed Ting Kok Road near Tai Po Industrial Estate.
No identification was found on the man.
He was rushed to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po but was later pronounced dead.
The force arrested the 70-year-old…
Flying blind at Mach 1: how China is bringing world’s first supersonic rail to life
A rail system that accelerates heavy objects faster than the speed of sound using pure electromagnetic force has been operating in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan for more than two years.
But one of the biggest mysteries remains: how does it stay in control?
The sonic boom the system generates at ground level could blind or wreck traditional sensors, while the slightest miscalculation due to missing data could mean disaster at supersonic speeds.
The system, known as the electromagnetic sledge,…
South Korea mourns ‘kingmaker’ Lee Hae-chan after fatal heart attack in Vietnam
South Korean former prime minister Lee Hae-chan, a veteran politician and influential fixture on the country’s road to democracy, died during an official visit to Vietnam’s southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City, both governments said.
Lee died on Sunday, after emergency medical aid for a heart attack, a South Korean presidential advisory panel said in a statement.
The 73-year-old reportedly complained of flu-like symptoms before his departure to Vietnam and decided to return home one day after his…
How lower US interest rates will help Hongkongers even if local prime rates don’t drop
Hong Kong banks may not cut their prime rates this year, but local interbank rates will still follow US rates lower, benefiting a majority of borrowers, according to a senior executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
Analysts widely expect the US Federal Reserve to cut its key rate by three-quarters of a point this year, but Hong Kong commercial banks are unlikely to cut their prime lending rates more than they already have.
“It would be hard for banks to cut their prime rate any…