While going over his business ledgers, Daniel Chan, the third-generation owner of Hong Kong’s Koon Chun sauce factory, made an interesting discovery. One of his biggest groups of clients came from Réunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, with a population just shy of 900,000. “We were sending two containers…
A hotel in central China has attracted attention on social media by launching a “pet sleep-accompanying” service. However, the service has come with a warning from a lawyer that the hotel will have to bear full responsibility if the canines bite anyone. Biguiyuan Phoenix Hotel in Wuhan, Hubei province began offering the service at the…
A group of middle-aged Chinese women have taken square dancing onto a completely new track by doing it on trains. On July 27, a passenger on a train to Changchun, in northeastern China’s Jilin province, complained that a group of so-called aunties were dancing in the sleeping carriage next to his, disturbing his rest. He…
A woman in China has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for causing the intentional injury of her boyfriend after she banged his head against a wall, causing his death. The woman, identified by the alias Ajuan, said she beat her boyfriend after he asked to hurt him in a bid to save their…
An estranged couple from southwestern China became embroiled in a dispute over 29 chickens during their divorce proceedings. After telling them to split the batch of birds evenly, a judge advised them to eat the extra one as a “farewell meal” before finalising their divorce. The idea was not only practical but also reflected traditional…
Iran’s reported plans to sign up to China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system could expand Beijing’s footprint in the Middle East as advanced technology emerges as a battleground, according to analysts. The plans come after Tehran suffered major losses to its military and nuclear facilities in its 12-day war with Israel and the US in June….
Rare earths are needed for everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, wind turbines and fighter jets – and China controls the supply chain. In the third of a four-part series, we look at how Beijing’s dominance in the critical minerals is matching up to Washington’s lead in artificial intelligence, as well as how they…
An exhibition featuring more than 100 works of art such as jewellery, weaponry and fragments of architectural history from the Mughal court – a Muslim dynasty encompassing most of present-day South Asia – opened in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is the first stop on the travelling show’s itinerary and the…
The Australian Federal Police have charged a woman with foreign interference, for the third time since new laws were introduced in 2018. The woman, a Chinese national and Australian permanent resident, faced the ACT Magistrates Court today accused of covertly gathering information about the Canberra branch of Buddhist association Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. The…
The United States is aiming for a possible extension of the tariff pause with China, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a television interview released on Sunday. Confronted by a CBS News journalist with claims from the Chinese side that the current deadline of August 12 would be postponed, Greer said: “That’s something we’re…