Brave New World Etc.(formerly Midtown Blogger): South China Morning Post

China says British complaints over Hong Kong visit ban 'useless'

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says British complaints over Hong Kong visit ban "useless". Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

UPDATE

China rebuffed as “useless” on Tuesday complaints from British Prime Minister David Cameron about a ban on a group of UK lawmakers visiting Hong Kong, saying the former colonial power would reap what it sowed.

Wednesday, 3 December, 2014, 11:27am 4 comments

Police to probe more than 200 Occupy protesters as leaders prepare to surrender

Pro-democracy protesters occupy Lung Wo Road, next to the Hong Kong Chief Executive's Office, part of the Central Government Office complex that the protesters are trying to surround. Photo: EPA

The three co-founders of Occupy Central will today hand themselves in to police, as a police source revealed that more than 200 people had been identified for investigation over the civil disobedience movement.

3 Dec 2014 - 10:49am 112 comments More on Occupy Central

Brother of Hu aide linked to new probe into listing irregularities at securities watchdog

The graft probe of a senior mainland securities regulator this week could be related to the ongoing investigation of the younger brother of Ling Jihua (pictured). Photo: Reuters

Li Liang, who was chief of the Investor Protection Bureau at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), was taken away by the party's anti-graft agency on Monday morning.

3 Dec 2014 - 7:41am

Easing of one-child policy causing friction within Chinese families

High living costs and widespread pollution are deterring couples from having more babies despite an easing in family planning policy. Photo: AFP

The easing of China's one-child policy earlier this year has led to difficulties in some families, where the economic reality means having another baby is not a feasible proposition.

3 Dec 2014 - 9:42am 1 comment

Japan's Shinzo Abe hits the campaign trail for election on his 'Abenomics' plan

Shinzo Abe tucks into some grilled fish in the port of Soma. His Liberal Democratic Party may lose seats in the election. Photo: Reuters

Official campaigning kicked off in Japan yesterday ahead of a December 14 election that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has described as a referendum on his faltering "Abenomics" growth blitz.

3 Dec 2014 - 8:18amMore on Shinzo Abe

Novelist Mo Yan advises writers to be original

Nobel laureate Guan Moye, better known by his pen name Mo Yan, gives a lecture at Open University yesterday. Photo: May Tse

Writers who wish to exercise unrestrained creativity in their work must do their utmost to break away from commonly held theories about their craft, a Nobel laureate has advised.

3 Dec 2014 - 8:06am 1 comment

KMT stalwarts in no rush to fill Ma Ying-jeou's shoes

Hung Hsiu-chu (right) says all KMT members must help put the party back on track. Photo: CAN

President Ma Ying-jeou's decision yesterday to resign as chairman to accept blame for the KMT's crushing defeat in the weekend's local elections is expected to ignite a heated power struggle within the party.

3 Dec 2014 - 5:24am

Judicial reform experiment approved for launch

The launch of an experiment in judicial reform that allows the Supreme People's Court to set up circuit courts and courts that cross administrative lines has been endorsed by the Communist Party.

3 Dec 2014 - 3:52am

Mexico pays Chinese rail firm over 100 million yuan after pulling out of bullet-train deal

Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transport Gerardo Ruiz Esparza (centre) attends a press conference on the country's first high-speed railway project. Photo: Xinhua

NEW

Mexico has compensated a Chinese-led consortium with over 100 million yuan after its government cancelled a rail contract that the group had earlier won.

3 Dec 2014 - 3:30am

Chinese swimmer Sun Yang barred from Australian pools in wake of doping ban

Olympic and world champion swimmer Sun Yang has been barred from training in Australia in the wake of a three-month ban for a doping violation.

3 Dec 2014 - 9:54am 2 comments

Taiwan's KMT scrambles for interim chairman as Ma Ying-jeou steps down

President Ma Ying-jeou will officially step down tomorrow as the chairman of the Kuomintang after the party's disastrous showing in Saturday's local elections

3 Dec 2014 - 9:42am 5 comments

France offers to help China catch fugitives in Operation Fox Hunt

3 Dec 2014 - 3:52am

FBI in malware warning to US companies after cyber attack targets Sony Pictures

3 Dec 2014 - 7:46am

One dead, dozens missing as South Korean trawler sinks off eastern Russia

3 Dec 2014 - 8:42am

Ingredients from China linked to at least 100 synthetic drug deaths in Japan

3 Dec 2014 - 1:25am

Canadian and teaching assistant on trial in Indonesia on sex abuse charges

3 Dec 2014 - 1:55am

Cyberespionage ring stole corporate secrets in effort to rig stock market

3 Dec 2014 - 9:06am

Efforts under way to fix Pentagon's broken procurement system

3 Dec 2014 - 4:07am

Kenyan leader vows war on al-Shebab after 36 killed in execution

3 Dec 2014 - 3:29am

Gordon Brown stepping down from British parliament after 30 years

2 Dec 2014 - 10:57pm

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3 DEC 2014

Occupy co-founders urge students to go home as they vow to surrender to police
‘Lame duck’ President Ma says he will quit as KMT chairman tomorrow
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Leader

Hong Kong leader CY Leung must redouble efforts to solve housing crisis

3 Dec 2014 - 8:34am 2 comments

European Central Bank alone can't save the euro zone

3 Dec 2014 - 8:38am

Today's Poll

Should the Occupy trio hand themselves in to police?

Total number of votes recorded: 128

Opinion

HOWARD WINN

Costs awarded against MSAB for improper behaviour

3 Dec 2014 - 6:39am 1 comment

ALEX LO

Hong Kong Occupy 'leaders' set for another show by turning themselves in to police

3 Dec 2014 - 5:07am 23 comments

MICHAEL CHUGANI

It's a phoney civil disobedience movement

3 Dec 2014 - 4:17am 26 comments

RICHARD WONG

Why populist democracy is wrong for Hong Kong

2 Dec 2014 - 6:01pm 22 comments

Insight

DPP strengthens its hand for 2016 with landslide win in local elections

Ma's capacity to achieve much of his policy agenda, already weakened by his low public approval ratings, is highly constrained.

JONATHAN SULLIVAN

It is normal practice for Taiwan, but it bears repeating. At a time when students and activists in Hong Kong are fighting for the right to some semblance of democratic competition, millions of Taiwanese participated in a democratic exercise unprecedented in scale on Saturday.

2 Dec 2014 - 5:55pm 1 comment

Blogs

CORPORATE CHINA

Weibo: Xiaomi's apartment play; China Mobile's nakedness

DOUG YOUNG3 Dec 2014 - 9:12am

AS I SEE IT

To soldier on, be like water

JASON Y NG3 Dec 2014 - 8:47am 1 comment

Focus

Taiwan's election taboo: why both sides kept quiet about cross-strait ties

The tension of yesterday’s local elections in Taiwan shows on the faces of supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party as they watch results roll in. Photo: AP

FANNY FUNG

The Taiwan local elections were intense races but there was one area of political ground that candidates from both the pro-Beijing and pro-independence camps tiptoed around - cross-strait ties.

1 Dec 2014 - 8:08pm 3 comments

Harry's View

1 Dec 2014

Hong Kong

OCCUPY CENTRAL

No regrets, says Occupy’s Benny Tai as he prepares to hand himself in to police

NEW

Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting said he had no regrets as he prepared to surrender to police today.

3 Dec 2014 - 11:17amMore on Occupy Central

OCCUPY CENTRAL

China says British complaints over Hong Kong visit ban 'useless'

UPDATE

3 Dec 2014 - 11:27am 4 comments

Hong Kong student arrested in Taipei over murder of 70-year-old landlord

3 Dec 2014

MORE HONG KONG NEWS

China

Former president Jiang Zemin writes an inscription saying, “Building a world-class national museum”, during his rare public visit to Beijing's National Museum of China on October 3. Photo: National Museum of China

CHINA POLITICS

Jiang Zemin 'reflects on Hong Kong's handover' during rare public visit to museum

China’s former president and party chief Jiang Zemin is said to have reflected on the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China during a rare public appearance in Beijing on October 3.

3 Dec 2014 - 11:26am

TAIWAN ELECTIONS

Taiwan's KMT scrambles for interim chairman as Ma Ying-jeou steps down

President Ma Ying-jeou will officially step down tomorrow as the chairman of the Kuomintang after the party's disastrous showing in Saturday's local elections

3 Dec 2014 - 9:42am 5 comments

TAIWAN

KMT stalwarts in no rush to fill Ma Ying-jeou's shoes

3 Dec 2014

MORE CHINA NEWS

Asia

JAPAN

Japan's Shinzo Abe hits the campaign trail for election on his 'Abenomics' plan

Official campaigning kicked off in Japan yesterday ahead of a December 14 election that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has described as a referendum on his faltering "Abenomics" growth blitz.

3 Dec 2014 - 8:18amMore on Shinzo Abe

SOUTH KOREA

One dead, dozens missing as South Korean trawler sinks off eastern Russia

South Korean officials expressed fear yesterday of a huge death toll among more than 50 fishermen who remain missing after their ship sank amid high waves in the freezing waters of the western Bering Sea.

3 Dec 2014 - 8:42amMore on South Korea

INDONESIA

Canadian and teaching assistant on trial in Indonesia on sex abuse charges

3 Dec 2014

MORE ASIA NEWS

World

Sony Pictures Entertainment was under a destructive cyberattack last week. Photo: AP

CRIME

FBI in malware warning to US companies after cyber attack targets Sony Pictures

The FBI has warned US businesses that hackers have used malicious software to launch a destructive cyberattack in the United States, following a devastating breach last week at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

3 Dec 2014 - 7:46am

INTERNET SECURITY

Cyberespionage ring stole corporate secrets in effort to rig stock market

Security researchers say they have uncovered a cyberespionage ring focused on stealing corporate secrets for the purpose of gaming the stock market.

3 Dec 2014 - 9:06am

UNITED STATES

Efforts under way to fix Pentagon's broken procurement system

3 Dec 2014

MORE WORLD NEWS

China Insider

Rescuers battle an ambulance fire outside a pharmacy in Yinchuan, Ningxia. The emergency vehicle erupted into flames when the driver tried to heat the fuel tank because of the cold weather. Photo: China Foto Press

CHINA DIGEST

Drunken generosity; Tourists get a taste of Australia; businessman loses 680,000-yuan phone at airport

3 Dec 2014

Residents play the erhu in Bama county in Guangxi. The regional government has launched a programme to produce crops with a higher content of selenium, a mineral linked to the local residents' famous longevity. Photo: Imaginechina

CHINA DIGEST

Luxury wedding chaos; students turn to loan sharks; new job for ex-Fudan University boss

2 Dec 2014

Police in Helan county have busted a gang who stole and slaughtered pet dogs and sold their meat to more than 500 restaurants in nearby Yinchuan. Photo: AFP

CHINA DIGEST

Dongguan officer found dead; woman sues over surgery; Jiangsu seeks HK help

2 Dec 2014

Primary school students pose for pictures with big cigarettes ahead of World No Tobacco Day last year. Photo: Reuters

HEALTH

Beijing bans smoking in public places as China eyes nationwide tobacco crackdown

29 Nov 2014 3 comments

A free Wi-fi service became available yesterday on the T809 Hong Kong-to-Guangzhou through train linking Guangzhou East and Hung Hom stations. Photo: Edward Wong

CHINA DIGEST

Mother of all hot pots; temple stolen overnight; wild panda dies of injuries

2 Dec 2014

A man rushed up to a bank counter in Heyuan waving a chopper but was forced to wait after calm-headed staff ignored him. Photo: AFP

CHINA DIGEST

Stabbing death after cat abused; armed bank robber forced to wait; student repels sex attacker using taekwondo

28 Nov 2014

Job seekers at a job fair held for fresh graduates at Xian, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Photo: Xinhua

EDUCATION

Two out of every five foreign-educated Chinese earn below 5,000 yuan a month: study

30 Nov 2014

A man in Yangzhou has been arrested after he pretended to be an assistant judge and tricked six families out of more than 2 million yuan, promising to arrange for their children to enter famous universities. Photo: Xinhua

CHINA DIGEST

Drone sparks military alert; taxi driver saves suicidal woman - three times

27 Nov 2014

A general view of the Forbidden City when pollution in Beijing reached "hazardous" level. Photo: EPA

AIR POLLUTION

Beijing considers permanent odd-even ban on vehicles after success of 'Apec blue'

27 Nov 2014 1 comment

Chinese internet users will soon be able to legally watch fantasy series Game of Thrones thanks to the tie-up between Tencent and HBO. Photo: HBO

TV DRAMA

'Game of Thrones' comes to China as Tencent joins forces with HBO

27 Nov 2014

Four officials in Nanchong have been jailed for received bribes during a demolition project, the West China City Daily reports. Photo: Bloomberg

CHINA DIGEST

Gold offered for lost dog; 'disabled girl raped'; drugs gang busted

27 Nov 2014

A food factory in Beijing has been using illegal chemicals to increase production of bean sprouts, netting the firm millions of yuan in profits. Photo: AP

CHINA DIGEST

Boy, 6, attacked; police targeted with hot tea; head of family at 8

27 Nov 2014

A satellite image showing China's construction on the Ferry Cross (Yongshu) Reef in Spratlys island.

TERRITORIAL DISPUTE

'We have lagged too far behind': China hits back at US calls to stop island project

25 Nov 2014 4 comments

An image of one section of the artwork which has drawn praise online. Photo: Weibo

ART

Chinese photographer spoofs famous ancient painting with images of modern social ills

24 Nov 2014

Business

Customer try out Apple iPhone 6 smartphones at an Apple store in Beijing as the US and China reached a breakthrough deal that has pushed the world close to a deal on lifting tariffs on a wide variety of technology products. Photo: Bloomberg

TRADE

US, China lead final round of talks to lift tariffs on tech products

NEW

Efforts to cut tariffs on more information and communications technology products may be on the verge of a successful conclusion as negotiations resume tomorrow in Geneva, following a major breakthrough reached by the United States and China last month in Beijing.

2 Dec 2014 - 3:30pm

TRADE

Russia negotiating deals with Chinese companies as recession looms

Moscow is negotiating billions of dollars worth of deals with Chinese companies as the governments of Russia and China seek more settlements in roubles and yuan to sidestep the problem of the falling rouble.

3 Dec 2014 - 6:40am 1 comment

MARKETS

DOUG YOUNG

Weibo: Xiaomi's apartment play; China Mobile's nakedness

3 Dec 2014 - 9:12am

MORE BUSINESS NEWS

Property

Two private surveys showed on Monday that new home prices on the mainland fell further last month. Photo: AFP

OUTLOOK

Mainland rate cut likely to slow decline in home prices

While policy stimulus is likely to slow the decline in mainland home prices, more supportive moves are needed for market, researchers say.

3 Dec 2014 - 7:34am

RETAILING

Omni-channel strategy vital for retailers in China

An omni-channel strategy is the solution for global retailers facing the rising threat of fast-growing online shopping sales in China, according to Robert Welanetz, the chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centres.

3 Dec 2014 - 8:00am

PRICES

Macau home prices drop 10pc as gaming revenue slumps

3 Dec 2014

MORE PROPERTY NEWS

Lifestyle

ARTS & CULTURE

A reclining Buddha In Nirvana in Dunhuang Caves, Gansu province.

Dunhuang exhibition reveals China's multicultural past

2 Dec 2014 - 5:05pmMore on LIFE

Count Basie Orchestra still has that swing almost 80 years later

1 Dec 2014

Choreographers Showcase 2014

2 Dec 2014

FOOD & WINE

Triple wild mushroom consommé and poached baby pear.

Fine dining at Fanling Industrial Estate

Fanling Industrial Estate isn't the most obvious location for a fine dining restaurant, especially one that not only wants to offer its customers a menu with the expected emphasis on presentation and flavour, but also claims to serve healthy food.

27 Nov 2014 - 7:51pm

Dine-Art is the latest in a trend for art-oriented restaurants

28 Nov 2014

China loves red wine, but white may become more popular

27 Nov 2014

TECHNOLOGY

Revolutionary 'maglev' lifts that travel sideways on the way to Hong Kong skyscrapers?

Hong Kong's skyscrapers may be lined up for revolutionary sideways elevators, with German lift maker ThyssenKrupp revealing its new "Willy Wonka-style" contraptions are heading to the city.

30 Nov 2014 - 9:43am 8 comments

Evidence of biological evolution still dismissed by leaps in creationist logic

30 Nov 2014 1 comment

Short Science, November 30, 2014

30 Nov 2014

FASHION

Blitz X Coach plays on the label's American roots.

Stuart Vevers modernises Coach by focusing on its American roots

28 Nov 2014

Grana label reaches out with an emphasis on logistics

28 Nov 2014

BOOKS

Author Ha Jin's exile in the US helped him understand the spy protagonist of his latest novel

29 Nov 2014

William Gibson's futures offer readers a wild ride

29 Nov 2014

HEALTH

Holiday fitness camps catching on among Hong Kong's professionals

1 Dec 2014

Home Run: the best running routes in Tsim Sha Tsui

2 Dec 2014

BEAUTY

Beauty Fix: Sulwhasoo ginseng intensive treatment

26 Nov 2014

Beauty buzz

22 Nov 2014

FAMILY & EDUCATION

Technology doesn't make us 'Appy: young Hongkongers 'depressed by social media'

2 Dec 2014 3 comments

Book expresses frustration of raising children in colourful terms

2 Dec 2014

INTERIORS & LIVING

Paul Smith - Christmas Gift Idea

3 Dec 2014

Swedish talent showcased in Hong Kong's Business of Design Week

3 Dec 2014

Magazines

Post Magazine: November 23
23 NOV 2014

The arduous ascent of an unconquered Sichuan mountain
48 Hours: November 20
20 NOV 2014

Jeff Koons: bad boy of American art

Sport

Sun Yang regularly trains on the Gold Coast with his Australian coach. Photo: AP

SWIMMING

Chinese swimmer Sun Yang barred from Australian pools in wake of doping ban

Olympic and world champion swimmer Sun Yang has been barred from training in Australia in the wake of a three-month ban for a doping violation.

3 Dec 2014 - 9:54am 2 comments

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Gerrard and Mata on target as Liverpool and Manchester United win

Steven Gerrard and Juan Mata scored pivotal goals as Liverpool and Manchester United each posted victories over obdurate opposition in the Premier League on Tuesday.

3 Dec 2014 - 9:31amMore on English Premier League 2014/15

WINDSURFING