Going back to the city had never been an issue before, said Mr Zhang, who did not give his full name. “But this time, I couldn’t promise my guests that I could either get high-speed train tickets for them, or guarantee a hotel room booking, let alone find a place available for a barbecue meal,” he told the BBC. BBC
Investors are ploughing money into shares of China’s state-run enterprises as they seek a haven from weakness in the Chinese economy and better returns than those offered by the country’s government bond market. Since the start of April, shares in government-run banks have rocketed with state lenders Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China up more than 20 and 10 per cent respectively, in a rare rally for the country’s bank shares. More generally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Red Chips index of state-run enterprises has climbed about…
Tech entrepreneur Rosie Zhang is betting that the reopening of China’s borders to the world will jump-start growth for her start-up. “Now we can go out and sell,” she said, after three years spent during the pandemic pitching customers and teaching them how to use her company’s retail automation technology over video calls from Shanghai. Zhang is one of a growing number of Chinese tech founders, who, even at a time of rising geopolitical tensions, are turning their sights outward. Tepid economic growth and fierce competition are one reason they…
Investors are ploughing money into shares of China’s state-run enterprises as they seek a haven from weakness in the Chinese economy and better returns than those offered by the country’s government bond market. Since the start of April, shares in government-run banks have rocketed with state lenders Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China up more than 20 and 10 per cent, respectively, in a rare rally for the country’s bank shares. More generally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Red Chips index of state-run enterprises has climbed about…
Taiwan’s foreign minister says he is preparing for conflict with China. In an interview this month, Joseph Wu said that “we are taking the Chinese military threat very seriously” and named 2027 as the year to be concerned about. As relations between China and the US spiral ever lower, many analysts are increasingly worried that a conflict could be on the horizon and that the relationship between Taiwan and the US will be an important factor in influencing if and when China attempts to annex the self-governing island. The CIA…
This article is part of a guide to Hong Kong from FT Globetrotter To play golf regularly in Hong Kong requires deep pockets, impeccable social connections and luck. There are, after all, only eight clubs in the Chinese territory and not all accept visitors. One of the courses guards its members’ privacy so assiduously that it was prepared to let me play a round as long as I did not write about it. Even by Hong Kong’s extortionate prices, joining fees at many of the clubs are eye-watering. A neighbour who…
Pro-democracy opposition parties have taken an imposing lead in Thailand’s national elections with 99 per cent of votes counted, as voters delivered a rebuke to the military in a contest that could herald the country’s first transfer of power for a decade. Sunday’s election represents the strongest chance for Thai voters to reclaim control from a military-aligned government and halt a cycle of military coups, violent crackdowns and political turmoil during which Thailand’s economic growth has lagged behind that of regional neighbours. The progressive Move Forward party came top, followed…
Beijing — China marked the return of global sport to the country Sunday after over three years, as badminton fans flocked to the opening day of the Sudirman Cup in the eastern city of Suzhou. Virtually all international sports events ground to a halt in China after the coronavirus pandemic emerged there in late 2019, with the notable exception of last year’s Beijing Winter Olympics which were held in a virus-secure “bubble.” The Sudirman Cup — one of badminton’s biggest tournaments — is the first such competition to take place…
Toronto — There may be more “Chinese police stations” operating in Canada, the Public Safety Minister told a Canadian TV station on Sunday, months after police said they were investigating whether two community centers in Montreal were being used to intimidate or harass Canadians of Chinese origin. “I am confident that the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] have taken concrete action to disrupt any foreign interference in relationship to those so-called police stations, and that if new police stations are popping up and so on, that they will continue to take…
LAINDEHA, Indonesia — As Tamar Ana Jawa wove a red sarong in the fading sunlight, her neighbor switched on a light bulb dangling from the sloping tin roof. It was just one bulb powered by a small solar panel, but in this remote village that means a lot. In some of the world’s most remote places, off-grid solar systems are bringing villagers like Jawa more hours in the day, more money and more social gatherings. Before electricity came to the village, a little less than two years ago, the day…