Year-End Triple Shock: 5th Plenum Showdown Ahead?
China Insights delivers sharp, data-driven analysis of China’s politics, economy, and society. We connect the dots behind breaking headlines — from Beijing’s power shifts...
More Japanese favour having an empress as Princess Aiko’s public appeal rises
Nearly 70 per cent of Japanese want the law to be changed to permit an empress, with observers suggesting that the recent emergence of...
US singer marries sultan, Singaporean Chinese ‘least attractive’: 8 viral stories in 2025
Catch up on some of SCMP’s trendiest stories this year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1....
H3N2 Influenza Virus Surges in China, Death Toll Up | China in Focus
Health experts around the world are warning of a more aggressive flu season this year. It’s a new version of H3N2—a virus China first...
Will Taiwan’s decentralised military model raise more questions than it solves?
Taiwan’s military has stepped up training in decentralised command and control, aiming to ensure frontline units can operate independently in the event of a...
Taiwan intervention may just spell the end of the West
The horrors of war are so seared into the minds of people that the resultant images in their heads can bias them to picture...
Despite political tensions, Japanese sushi chain Sushiro debuts to huge crowds in Shanghai
Japan’s Sushiro, the world’s largest conveyor-belt sushi chain, debuted in Shanghai in early December 2025, to much fanfare. People have been queuing hours for...
Australia’s Albanese faces fierce battle over gun laws after Bondi Beach shooting
When a gunman murdered 35 people in Tasmania in 1996, Australia’s political leaders united to implement some of the West’s toughest gun laws. Nearly...
2 More Heritage Foundation Board Members Resign
WASHINGTON—Two more members of conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Shane McCullar and Abby Spencer Moffat, resigned Dec. 16, citing concerns over...