Hong Kong films have been doing well in the second half of this year, with several films among the top in box office takings. Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing looks at the factors behind this strong showing, including government funding, cast appeal, pent-up demand due to the pandemic, and possibly an indirect way for people to express their political wants.

Prabowo has been in Indonesia’s political scene for decades and his chequered past has not deterred him from multiple runs for vice-president and president. Given his support from the conservative and radical Muslims, with a potential running mate that can boost his standing, will Prabowo finally make his mark as Indonesia’s president in the 2024 elections? ISEAS academic Leo Suryadinata gives a profile of this controversial figure.

Corrupt officials linked to former Vice-Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun have recently been meted harsh sentences, among which include life imprisonment and removal of personal assets. Is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sending out a message, with just weeks left before the commencement of the 20th Party Congress? Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong tells us more about the CCP’s crackdown on “political factions”.

Recent developments over the Taiwan Strait have strained the already-tense China-US relations, with Biden repeating the commitment to support Taiwan militarily while claiming no change to the "one China" policy, and China showing comparatively measured responses. How will both sides continue to tread the line? Zaobao correspondent Edwin Ong tells us more.

Former journalist Lim Jen Erh reflects on two boxes of old books he chanced upon, containing dance manuals and guqin scores. Before the advent of technology, these old volumes were the only way to pass on such knowledge and instructions, which makes them invaluable today.

China has more than 170 million sandwich-generation families. While the sandwich generation grew up in the 80s as "little emperors", they are feeling the strain now with the double pressure of looking after their children and the elderly. Most of them focus on "children first", but if a married couple’s parents live in two different cities, that makes it even harder to care for all four parents at the same time.

Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, notes that well-educated and professionally capable military technocrats are prominently represented in the PLA leadership, and this trend is set to continue after the 20th Party Congress. What contributions will this new corps of military technocrats make as Xi Jinping heads into a likely third term?

With just weeks left before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s 20th Party Congress, officials are now faced with stricter performance requirements to curb laziness, incompetence and other characteristics that have been deemed “unfitting” for a leading cadre. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu tells us more about how the new regulations would impact officials and the CCP leadership.

As the situation in the Taiwan Strait develops, Japan needs to navigate relations with mainland China and Taiwan, while also keeping in mind the role of the US as well as its own interests. Japanese academic Sahashi Ryo examines Japan's options and how it will acquit itself. He notes that Japan is now firmly in an age where the Japan-China and Japan-US relationships must always be considered together.

Despite state media dispelling the misunderstanding that China’s zero-Covid policy would become a long-lasting basic national policy, Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong notes that the Chinese people are still wary of how much longer the strict measures will persist, especially amid the sudden censorship of specific search terms related to the end of the pandemic on social media. Is there an end in sight for the strict anti-epidemic measures?

The collapse of the Soviet Union was sudden and shocking, not least for China, with which it once shared a similar ideology. Commentator Zhou Nongjian explores what China can learn from the missteps of the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev that ultimately led to the country’s downfall.

Commentator Lew Mon-hung notes that recent public opinion in China has been advocating a closed-door policy, sharply diverting away from the national policy of reform and opening up taken in 1978. Will China change course and reverse its decades-long process?

While the UK’s China policy would largely be business as usual with new Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss at the helm, China may be in for a tougher time where it counts as the UK finds a renewed opportunity to influence European partners to work in concert with the US against China.

Queen Elizabeth II was not only an ever-present figure in British modern history, she also played an important role in diplomacy. Over her 70-year reign, she has met with Chinese leaders since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and witnessed the handover of Hong Kong. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk takes a look at the late Queen’s relationship with China.

Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan analyses the outcomes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Uzbekistan and the implications of China’s perceived stronger courting of the Central Asia region.

Under President Xi Jinping, the CCP has encouraged greater youth participation in politics, but on their terms, such as bringing in new blood through the “selected graduate” (选调生) system. However, both the youths and the Communist Party know that this is an expedient relationship that may not be for the long term. This is the fourth in a five-part series of articles on the future of China.

China seems to be pulling back while Russia wants to take a step forward, as seen from the Xi-Putin parlay at their meeting in Uzbekistan. But the delicate dance is not only at the surface level of the Ukraine war, but China’s deeper strategic goals in Central Asia, where Russia considers itself a dominant power.