What does the Iran crisis mean for the global economy?

When DJI CEO Frank Wang’s undergraduate project failed, most would have turned him away. But Professor Li Zexiang, a leading innovator in China’s engineering education, recognised his potential and took him under his wing. Han Yong May, deputy editor-in-chief of SPH’s Chinese Media Group, sits down with Li as part of Lianhe Zaobao’s Future 365 interview series, to find out how his new engineering education system is building a new generation of engineers.

China is unifying its space activities into a unified national ecosystem as it moves beyond mission-specific exploration to industrialisation and ecosystem building. Australian researcher Genevieve Donnellon-May explains how economic pursuits align with the strategic shift in how China views its role in the global space order. 

US President Donald Trump has drawn various comments and views for launching an offensive on Iran, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Now, Trump is asking China and other countries to help by sending military ships to escort other vessels. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Lim Zhan Ting tells us more.

The war in Iran is reinforcing the Takaichi administration’s push to revise Japan’s security strategy, pursuing AI-driven combat systems, drone defence and counterstrike capability amid fears of a widening global war. Writer Foo Choo Wei notes that such moves could worsen the regional security environment while placing new fiscal and economic strains on Japan.

Amid the onslaught of AI, how do we preserve our humanity? Anthropologist Xiang Biao speaks with Lianhe Zaobao associate editor and Fukan editor Woo Mun Ngan as part of Lianhe Zaobao’s Future 365 interview series, saying the best way to stay human is to focus on the present and appreciate what surrounds us.

Even as SpaceX’s Starlink dominates the low-Earth orbit sphere, China’s satellite ambitions are accelerating. As Beijing races to catch up amid new frontiers like orbital AI computing rising, can it close the costly gap in reusable rocket technology in time?

Newsrooms in China are increasingly feeling the squeeze with the advent of AI-generated content (AIGC). This not only calls into question job functions, but the overwhelming influence of deep tech and tech giants, and an erosion of the agenda-setting role of the media. Chinese media commentator Ni Tao discusses the issue.

The recent National People’s Congress passed the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, which requires Mandarin to be prominently featured whenever minority languages are also used. Would this open the door to other similar regulations in future, where minorities have to assimilate to show loyalty? Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yush Chau finds out more.

Relaxed immigration policies and shifting geopolitical dynamics have ushered Japan into the “era of one million overseas Chinese”. Writer Foo Choo Wei discovers that amid shifts in policy and deteriorating China-Japan relations, these Chinese migrants must balance good neighbourliness while preserving their culture and language.

Analysing with data the likely extent of leadership renewal at the 21st Party Congress in 2027, academic Li Cheng and research assistant Du Lang of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World in Hong Kong find that except for General Secretary Xi Jinping, a massive shakeup is expected, and the longstanding practice of age limits will still play a big factor.

Chinese artist Lin Tianmiao’s ​artistic career began later in life, after she became a wife and mother. Her inspiration for artmaking comes from everyday life and objects, her experience as a daughter, wife and mother, and her ability to see the bright side amid major life and death encounters. For her, transforming the mundane into the sublime helps make “play” never end. Curator and writer Tan Hwee Koon takes us through Lin’s recent exhibition “Lin Tianmiao: There’s No Fun in It!” at the Power Station of Art (PSA) Shanghai.

Amid upcoming visits by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the US and by US President Donald Trump to China, Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai has also made headlines with his trip to Japan for a baseball game. Despite claims of it being a private visit, is there more to it? Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei looks at what signals Taiwan and Japan are giving.

Even without Iran closing the Hormuz Strait physically, traffic has dropped precipitously causing prices to spike in Asia, says analyst Christian Le Miere. China, one of those heavily affected, may need to do more, with more military power projection, to secure its own interests near the world’s bottlenecks.

Facing steep bride prices and mounting pressures at home, some Chinese men are finding wives abroad. Three men share how marriages with women from Egypt, Indonesia and Russia reshaped their lives. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei speaks to the couples about their journeys.

Standing at the crossroads of intense great power politics, South Korea must guard its flanks in the Korea-US alliance, Seoul-Tokyo relations and most tricky of all, Seoul-Beijing relations — all against the background of volatile US-China relations. Can its “pragmatic diplomacy” stand the tests of these trials? South Korean academic Jae Ho Chung explores the issue.

Amid the fierce competition in China’s higher education, many Chinese youths are choosing to stay off the beaten — and more expensive — path to further their studies in less popular countries such as Nepal and Kazakhstan. However, Lianhe Zaobao journalist Lee Chee Yang finds out that notwithstanding the challenges of language and academic pressure, there is no guarantee of improvement in prospects for these students.

Just as Chinese restaurants thrive wherever there is an ethnic Chinese community, Gu Sheng Tang TCM CEO Tu Zhiliang wants the same for TCM services. Lianhe Zaobao senior lifestyle correspondent Dennis Ng speaks to the wuxia fan with a vision of saving the world through traditional Chinese medicine.

East Asia stands to be massively affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, given its reliance on just-in-time liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries. Critical will be the way governments diversify their energy resources and maintain power-sector reliability and industrial continuity. Academic Hao Nan looks into the variables.