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South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong tour guide stripped of licence over coercing visitors into shopping

A Hong Kong tour guide accused of threatening visitors into making shopping purchases has been struck off for damaging the sector’s reputation and breaching professional conduct, in the second disciplinary action of its kind in less than two months. The Travel Industry Authority said on Friday it revoked Siu Man-chung’s tour guide licence after investigating complaints that Siu made “inappropriate remarks” to pressure inbound mainland Chinese visitors into shopping during tours conducted between...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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TIA to work with Shenzhen to combat coercive shopping

The Travel Industry Authority (TIA) said it had exchanged views with relevant officials from Shenzhen to ramp up supervision on industry misconduct such as tours that involve coercive shopping. In a statement released on Friday, the authority noted its chairperson, Kevin Lam, led a team last month to meet with Ding Zhongyuan, deputy director-general of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio & Television on May 18. The team also met with representatives from Shenzhen's tourism, cybersecurity, market supervision and enforcement departments, as well as travel associations and certain key online platforms. Together, they discussed how to strengthen collaboration to combat illegal tours as well as tours that involve coercive shopping. Speaking at their meeting, Lam noted Hong Kong has been cracking down on unlicensed tour activities, citing a recent case in which authorities arrested a mainland worker for the offence of breaching conditions of stay and offering hiking tour guide services at High Island Reservoir in early May. The man was later convicted and sentenced to six weeks in prison, according to the TIA. Meanwhile, the two sides also touched on issues in which mainland visitors were forced to buy items while on their packaged tours in the SAR. Authorities revoked a tour guide's licence in one case, following an investigation in April. The revocation took effect today. The TIA reiterated that it has "zero tolerance over actions that damage the reputation of Hong Kong's tourism industry", adding it would work with its peers in Shenzhen to enhance education and publicity. It also called on tourists to check if their travel agencies have obtained proper legal certificates before joining their tour groups. Edited by Tony Sabine

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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Reservation system considered for countryside sites

The government is planning to introduce a reservation system for the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Reservoir East Dam in Sai Kung to better manage visitor flows and protect hiking trails from excessive wear and tear, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council. This came as the number of visitors at the Po Pin Chau section reached capacity during previous Golden Week holidays. Authorities said the proposal would also help improve visitor experience by spreading arrivals across different time slots. "Given that hiking trails in other country parks currently do not require reservation, the government will consider piloting the system at the Po Pin Chau section, collecting data for evaluating the effectiveness," it stated. On marine conservation, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has proposed designating the coral areas on both the eastern and western sides of Sharp Island, including the tombolo, as a marine park covering an area of approximately 63 hectares. The department has already launched a public consultation and aims to complete the statutory designation process by mid-2027. The paper also outlined the government's broader eco-tourism push, including the "Four Peaks" tourism project featuring The Peak, Lantau Peak, Tai Mo Shan and Sai Kung Hoi. It said the department would launch a thematic website, promotional videos and other publicity materials in the second half of 2026. "While promoting the 'Four Peaks' tourism, the AFCD will continue to enhance promotion of hiking safety and outdoor etiquette and codes, reminding visitors to protect the natural environment," it stated. Edited by Tony Sabine

South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong authorities prosecute butcher shop over video of rats on exposed meat

Hong Kong’s food hygiene authorities have prosecuted a popular butcher shop in Kwun Tong after a viral video and a subsequent inspection found rats running over pig carcasses, as well as cracked ceilings and stained floors. A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said staff were deployed to inspect a shop on Hip Wo Street after a clip circulated on social media showing rats roaming over the carcasses and feeding on the meat. The outlet is a branch of Qiandama, a mainland...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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Noisy, flashing toys can harm your child: watchdog

Toys that can damage a child's hearing or induce epileptic fits have been found on sale in Hong Kong with some products lacking the necessary warnings for parents, the Consumer Council said on Thursday. The watchdog said it tested 30 battery-powered products with sound or light features, including toy phones, keyboards, walkie-talkies and trains, priced at between HK$28 and HK$399. Eight of the items failed battery safety checks, with the batteries left exposed after drop or pull tests. Of the 22 toys with light features, three did not have the required labels to warn of a potential risk they could trigger photosensitive epilepsy. One toy also played music louder than the 80-decibel limit set out in safety standards, with the council warning that prolonged exposure to excessive noise can harm a child's hearing at a time when their auditory system is still developing. "We urge relevant manufacturers and suppliers to check the results of this test and improve the product design and labelling to improve the safety of toys and strengthen the protection of children," the watchdog said. "The Consumer Council reminds parents and caregivers to pay close attention to product labels and safe usage when purchasing and using battery-operated toys with sound or light features, in order to reduce potential risks to children." It added that parents should check the recommended ages for individual products, make sure children don't hold noisy toys too close to their ears, and not to let children stare at lights coming from toys for too long. Edited by Thomas McAlinden

South China Morning Post

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Fugitive Hong Kong charity director sued in US over real estate ‘shell game’

A wanted director of a scandal-hit Hong Kong charity who fled the city is facing a sweeping 14-count civil lawsuit in the United States over an alleged multimillion-dollar property scheme that the plaintiff described as a “shell game”. In a complaint for damages and equitable relief seen by the South China Morning Post, developer Joseph Lee Daniell accused Jacob Lam Hay-sing, the founder and director of the now-defunct Hong Kong charity, Christian Zheng Sheng Association, of defrauding him of...

South China Morning Post

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China to the Philippines: don’t let ‘a few clowns’ sabotage ties with ‘political theatrics’

Beijing has condemned remarks by Philippine defence chief Gilberto Teodoro Jnr, saying the comments seriously damaged bilateral trust and showed a lack of gratitude for Chinese aid. China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday called on Manila to take action to prevent “a few clowns” from sabotaging bilateral ties through repeated political theatrics, as ties between the two neighbours remained strained. On the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Teodoro said during an interview with...

South China Morning Post

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UK publishes new Mandelson files, raising heat on PM Starmer

The UK government released a vast trove of documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, in a move that threatens to cause fresh damage to Keir Starmer’s faltering premiership. More than 1,500 pages of documentation were published on the British government’s website just after 2pm. They include emails, text messages and other exchanges between government ministers, aides and Mandelson in the run-up to his appointment as US envoy, a post he held from February to September...

South China Morning Post

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Vietnam detains Australian man who trashed Da Nang cafe in late-night rampage

An Australian man has been detained in Vietnam’s coastal city of Da Nang after allegedly going on a shirtless late-night rampage through a cafe, causing extensive damage and forcing frightened customers to flee. The incident unfolded at Ge Cafe on Le Hong Phong Street in central Da Nang shortly before midnight on Friday, according to a detailed account posted by the cafe on its social media account. Local news outlet Tuoi Tre reported that ward police had identified the man as an Australian...

South China Morning Post

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China’s investment-driven role in global growth is underestimated, study says

China’s contribution to global growth is underestimated while the yuan is positioned to emerge as a fundamentally strong global currency, according to a new study from a prominent Beijing-based think tank. Researchers from the China Finance 40 Forum (CF40) – comprising senior regulators and financial experts – said the country’s investment scale could be as much as 3.4 times that of the United States when measured by the volume of physical investment. The analysis, published in a note on Sunday,...

South China Morning Post

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Explosion kills 5 at Hanwha Aerospace factory in South Korea

Five people have died and two others were injured in a fire at a factory operated by South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace in the city of Daejeon, a fire official said on Monday. The two survivors, including one who was badly burned, had escaped from the facility themselves, a fire official told a briefing. “Authorities have yet to identify the victims ‌because their bodies were severely damaged,” a health official told the same briefing. A fire official said that an explosion had triggered the blaze,...

South China Morning Post

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Beyond Nvidia: how US export curbs are forcing China to redesign its AI chip industry

Under the weight of sustained US export controls on advanced semiconductors, China’s AI chipmakers are battling to forge a self-reliant silicon ecosystem capable of breaking Nvidia’s stranglehold on the market. At the centre of this rivalry is a fundamental design debate: Should the country rely on the versatile graphics processing unit (GPU) or pivot to the highly specialised application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)? The fight is no longer about finding a single Nvidia clone; it is about...

South China Morning Post

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Myanmar’s China-backed mega dam revival risks Kachin rebel backlash

Deep in the forested highlands of northern Myanmar, where the Irrawaddy River rises from two tributaries in the hills of Kachin state, a contentious infrastructure project is stirring again – and threatening to reopen wounds that never fully healed. The Myitsone Dam, a US$3.6 billion Chinese-financed hydroelectric megaproject that was shelved more than a decade ago after igniting a storm of popular fury, is back on the table. Myanmar’s military rulers have begun holding public consultations on...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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Development chief points to greater use of drones

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said on Sunday that the government is planning to introduce high-performance drones to boost efficiency and safety in public works and emergency response. These would include models capable of carrying heavy loads and equipped with robotic arms. "With their high mobility and ability to quickly gather information from high altitudes, drones play a role in various fields and application scenarios, including aerial surveillance, disaster relief and patrol support," she wrote on her blog. "Now, drones can be combined with artificial intelligence for in-depth analysis, further enhancing departmental efficiency." She said the government is exploring broader drone applications, such as transporting building material and tools at construction sites and infrastructure projects. Linn also suggested the use of drones for slope maintenance, where they could send repair supplies to hard-to-reach areas. The development chief added that drones have overcome physical barriers and captured high-definition images of remote areas, as well as illegal rooftop structures and illegal building renovation works. The initiative is tied to the government's "Regulatory Sandbox X" under the low-altitude economy framework. In April, four pilot projects involving non-traditional aircraft were selected for phased testing, including a Development Bureau project in collaboration with industry players focused on aerial lifting operations. Linn said the authorities are also studying the use of drones for routine maintenance of infrastructures such as dams, reservoirs and surrounding slopes. She also noted that field trials are expected to begin soon. Edited by Edmond Fong

South China Morning Post

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Russia says Ukraine drone struck Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Russia’s state ⁠nuclear energy company Rosatom said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone had struck the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, causing no damage to key equipment, but the Kyiv military ‌denied it. Rosatom’s head Alexei Likhachev called the incident “deliberate” and said it left a hole in the wall of a turbine hall. “This afternoon, a Ukrainian kamikaze combat drone struck the turbine hall building of Power Unit No 6, resulting in ⁠a subsequent detonation,”...

South China Morning Post

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5 villagers trapped in flooded Laos cave freed after 10-day ordeal

Five villagers trapped deep in a flooded cave in Laos have been freed, ending a 10-day underground ordeal that relied on expert cave rescuers racing against time to dive the group through flooded passages before fresh rains further complicated the mission. Hugs, cheers and tears met four of the group who emerged thin and muddied on Saturday afternoon to be quickly wrapped in foil blankets to regulate their body temperature after days in the damp, cold cave. Another man was freed overnight. But...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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No management fees' impact seen in fire-safety move

Secretary for Security Chris Tang on Saturday said a proposal to hold property management firms responsible for fire-prevention measures would not have a major impact on the fees that they charge. His comments came as the government proposes, in the wake of the Wang Fuk Court inferno in November, amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance that are currently undergoing a one-month public consultation. Among the changes it is looking at is introducing a responsible persons' regime for the maintenance and inspection of fire services installation and equipment. Under the proposal, property management companies would have the statutory responsibility of arranging for fire alarm system inspections to be carried out at least once every six months and fire drills every year. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Tang said such a changeover would not incur high costs. “The cost of carrying out a test of the fire alarm is very low when compared with management fees. The cost is also very low for carrying out a fire drill," he said. "Our new requirement this time does not involve a commitment of new resources, so we believe it should not have a major impact on management fees.” He stressed that if firms are penalised due to violations of these fire-safety codes, they should not pass the cost on to homeowners. The government is also proposing that fire service installation contractors have to renew their licences every five years instead of, as under the existing regime, their registration being permanent. Tang said the move is necessary because the licences of contractors can currently be revoked only if they commit serious violations, making the existing benchmark very high. He also said the police have received 142 reports of suspected thefts so far at the Tai Po estate. “In 48 of the cases – almost 40 percent – we recovered the items immediately," Tang said. "In about 20 percent of the cases, the flats involved were severely damaged, so we and the homeowners believe the items might have been burnt. "In 30 percent of the cases, the residents could not say exactly what [the items] were, so it was hard to follow up. "But in 16 of the cases, we think it could not be determined whether [the items] were stolen or not." He added that officers are actively investigating the cases. Edited by Tony Sabine

South China Morning Post

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Chinese scientists create ‘kill-them-all’ algorithm for drone warfare

A research team from northwestern China has released a new algorithm that could fundamentally change how drone swarms hunt and destroy enemy targets. The algorithm, known as HG-STR (Heterogeneous Graph Spatio-Temporal Reasoning), promises to allow a fleet of fixed-wing drones to autonomously search a vast battlefield and eliminate every single enemy, even when their communications are being jammed and their vision is blocked. It is the first known algorithm capable of achieving a 100 per cent...

South China Morning Post

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Is Huawei’s new chip scaling law a true breakthrough, or mere hype?

Microchip development has always been a race to build smaller and smaller transistors – the fundamental components of chip circuits. Now China’s Huawei Technologies wants to change the game entirely. Faced with US tech export restrictions that block its access to the world’s most advanced chipmaking machinery, Huawei is proposing a fundamental shift in semiconductor progress: stop obsessing over how small the transistors are and start focusing on how fast data moves through the system. It is a...

South China Morning Post

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How Trump’s war on Iran is jeopardising Asia’s remittance lifeline

There seems to be no end to the harm arising from US President Donald Trump’s madcap war on Iran. Go beyond the direct tragic impact across Iran itself, the collateral damage from Tehran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and its ad hoc assaults on US allies in the region: beyond the burgeoning impact of shortages of oil, gas, hydrogen, helium and sulphur, and the prospect of food shortages arising from the collapse in fertiliser supplies; beyond the hardships of tens of thousands of...

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Hong Kong tour guide stripped of licence over coercing visitors into shopping

TIA to work with Shenzhen to combat coercive shopping

Reservation system considered for countryside sites

Hong Kong authorities prosecute butcher shop over video of rats on exposed meat

Noisy, flashing toys can harm your child: watchdog

Fugitive Hong Kong charity director sued in US over real estate ‘shell game’

China to the Philippines: don’t let ‘a few clowns’ sabotage ties with ‘political theatrics’

UK publishes new Mandelson files, raising heat on PM Starmer

Vietnam detains Australian man who trashed Da Nang cafe in late-night rampage

China’s investment-driven role in global growth is underestimated, study says

Explosion kills 5 at Hanwha Aerospace factory in South Korea

Beyond Nvidia: how US export curbs are forcing China to redesign its AI chip industry

Myanmar’s China-backed mega dam revival risks Kachin rebel backlash

Development chief points to greater use of drones

Russia says Ukraine drone struck Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

5 villagers trapped in flooded Laos cave freed after 10-day ordeal

No management fees' impact seen in fire-safety move

Chinese scientists create ‘kill-them-all’ algorithm for drone warfare

Is Huawei’s new chip scaling law a true breakthrough, or mere hype?

How Trump’s war on Iran is jeopardising Asia’s remittance lifeline