Before long, Tibetan Buddhism will enter an unknown world – one without its current Dalai Lama. He has been the leader since he was chosen as a toddler more than 80 years ago. But the Dalai Lama is now 90, and talking openly about the process to pick his successor. Much has changed, however, since he was discovered by senior Buddhist monks in a village in north-west Tibet in 1937. Most pertinently, the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s and the subsequent exile of the region’s Buddhist leadership to…
Day: July 27, 2025
Who is Yu Zidi, the Chinese 12-year-old making waves at World Aquatics Championships?
Yu Zidi could make history on Monday, when the 12-year-old sensation races for her first medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Advertisement While Canadian world record holder Summer McIntosh, herself only 18 and an Olympic champion in the event, is the overwhelming favourite in the 200m individual medley final, Yu could become the youngest person to win a medal at an international event in 89 years. That accolade belongs to Denmark’s Inge Sorensen, who won bronze less than a month after turning 12 at the 1936 Berlin Olympics…
Tech hub Shenzhen urges leniency for innovators if state-aided projects fail
Authorities in China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen have called for leniency towards innovators whose government-funded projects fail or do not pass evaluation. Advertisement The first policy statement of its kind from the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission comes as China aims to cement the city’s status as a hi-tech powerhouse and reduce reliance on foreign technology amid a sustained strategic rivalry with the United States. The new rules applied to all universities, hospitals and companies that undertake technical innovation with government financial aid, the commission said in a…
Yuen Yuen Ang on how China can turn ‘polycrisis’ into ‘polytunity’
Yuen Yuen Ang is the Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University. She is an influential scholar, writing extensively on China’s political and economic trajectory, its international relations and its adaptive development in a fragmented, unpredictable world. Originally from Singapore, her award-winning work includes the books How China Escaped the Poverty Trap and China’s Gilded Age. Advertisement This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. As a professor based in the United States, do you think there…
When travellers think sustainability, make them think Greater Bay Area
Earlier this year, Hong Kong launched its first fully electric ferry. In June, jurisdictions within the Greater Bay Area development zone marked a national event for the environment. Against this backdrop, a quiet but important shift is under way. Advertisement Policymakers in the Greater Bay Area are no longer just thinking about sustainability; they are setting it in motion. With the development zone becoming a hub for experimentation in smart infrastructure and climate innovation, the time is ripe to consider a low-carbon tourism corridor linking cities through cleaner and smarter…
China’s Shaolin Temple says head faces criminal investigation
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s Shaolin Temple said on Sunday that its head had been placed under investigation for alleged criminal offences including embezzlement, in the latest controversy to engulf the so-called CEO monk. Abbot Shi Yongxin has been suspended from his post and placed under “joint investigation from multiple departments”, the temple said in a statement. It added that he was suspected of having improper relationships with multiple women and fathering at least…
China’s Shaolin Temple says its head is facing a criminal investigation
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s Shaolin Temple said on Sunday that its head had been placed under investigation for alleged criminal offences including embezzlement, in the latest controversy to engulf the so-called CEO monk. Abbot Shi Yongxin has been suspended from his post and placed under “joint investigation from multiple departments”, the temple said in a statement. It added that he was suspected of having improper relationships with multiple women and fathering at least…
China, US to extend tariff pause at Sweden talks by another 90 days: sources
Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm beginning on Monday, according to sources close to the matter on both sides. Advertisement China and the United States agreed in May to remove most of the heavy tariffs levied on each other’s goods for 90 days while continuing trade negotiations. That suspension is set to expire on August 12. During the third round of trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies, both will expound their views on major sticking…
Abbot of China’s world-famous Shaolin Temple under criminal investigation
The abbot of China’s famous Shaolin Temple is under investigation for criminal offences including embezzling project funds and temple assets, according to a statement released by the Buddhist sanctuary on Sunday. Advertisement Shi Yongxin, head of what is one of the most famous Buddhist monasteries in the world, is suspected of seriously violating Buddhist precepts and is currently under joint investigation by multiple departments, the statement added. The temple also accused Shi of maintaining improper relationships with multiple women for a long time and having illegitimate children, and promised to…
Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, hate crimes – but tariffs pose new threat
Oakland Chinatown, one of the oldest in the United States, almost feels as lively as Hong Kong on a busy afternoon. Shoppers squeeze along narrow pavements lined with hanging lanterns and sacks of oranges, while a variety store welcomes customers with racks of clothing and slippers. Advertisement While many of the shoppers are Chinese, a considerable number could come from anywhere – a sign that Chinatown draws people from the wider San Francisco Bay Area. Despite signs of a recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic and a concurrent wave of anti-Asian…