Politics
Bilahari Kausikan: The Korean Peninsula and the future of East Asian geopolitics
Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan believes that a momentous strategic shift is underway on the Korean Peninsula, impacting the East Asian geopolitical landscape. The rise of a nuclear-armed North Korea and a transactional US alliance system are forcing a structural reset. An independent nuclear path for South Korea and Japan may be next.
Bilahari Kausikan
Technology
China’s AI battle moves from chatbots to agents
China’s tech giants Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance are racing to turn AI agents into the next essential workplace tool, moving beyond chatbots to software that can independently carry out complex tasks. But as they vie to reshape how businesses operate, questions remain over adoption, profitability and whether these agents can deliver measurable value.
Caixin Global
Society
From labs to billboards: Behind China’s push to turn scientists into patriotic icons
Giant tributes to nuclear physicists and rocket scientists are popping up across major Chinese cities. However, academic Erik Baark observes that behind the scientific drive is a push for academic reforms.
Erik Baark
Society
Chinese youths trade ambition for simple pleasures
From catching caterpillars to riding slow trains, Chinese youths are pursuing joy from the little things in life. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks at the rise of youths shunning ambition and excess spending, and “just getting on with life”.
China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao
Society
The Chinese internet’s morbid fixation with Li Ka-shing’s death rumours
Rumours of 98-year-old Li Ka-shing’s death this week prompted an official rebuke from CK Asset. From high-profile virtual calls to new medical initiatives, Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk finds out what Asia’s iconic tycoon has been up to.
China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao
Popular This Month
Politics
Bilahari Kausikan: On international law and foreign policy
Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan sounds the reminder that abiding by international law is a choice countries make in their own national interest, and that serving the latter is the only consistency in countries’ foreign policy, in a speech delivered at the Law Society of Singapore’s Public International Law Conference on 3 September 2026. This is an edited version of the transcript.
Bilahari Kausikan
Economy
The road north: From Cambodia’s farms to China
Existing infrastructure is converging into an emerging Cambodia-Laos-China agricultural corridor, bringing farmers into regional trade, observes researcher David Okoronkwo, after weeks of field study in Kratie, northeastern Cambodia.
David Okoronkwo
Politics
What ‘road warrior’ Xi’s overseas trips reveal about his health
There has been speculation about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s health following his overseas trips. Examining TV footage of Xi’s gait and walking posture in India and the US, Taiwanese academic Wen-Hsuan Tsai offers some observations about possible correlations to the state of the leader’s health.
Wen-Hsuan Tsai
Cartoon
ThinkCartoon (29 September 2026)
Heng Kim Song has been the freelance editorial cartoonist for Lianhe Zaobao since 1984. His cartoons are also featured in many major international publications including The New York Times, Asahi Shimbun, JoongAng Ilbo, South China Morning Post and Yazhou Zhoukan. His many awards include the Top Award in United Nations ESCAP’s Cartoon Competition and the Grafica Internazionale Award presented by Italian Museum of Political Satire and Caricature. Heng has also participated in many international exhibitions and events, including the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings held in Davos, Switzerland.
Heng Kim Song
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Editor's pick
Society
[Video] This PhD dropout exposes China’s academic fraud — can he change the system?
Politics
[Video] Trump and Xi meet again: What changed and what didn’t
This year’s historic Trump-Xi state visits delivered memes and pageantry, though Xi’s trip to Washington was shadowed by protests and Trump’s media ban. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina and Lingming Lu compare the two summits to see what changed and what didn’t.
Yi Jina, Lu Lingming
Society
[Video] Could Niu Lai be China’s highest-return film ever?
Made by a mother and son with no outside investment, the low-budget Chinese animated film Niu Lai earned only US$1,000 in its first nine days before viral clips pushed its box office takings past US$4 million in just a few days. ThinkChina’s Lu Lingming explains what drove its unexpected box office success.
Lu Lingming
Politics
[Video] Bilahari Kausikan: How to navigate the new world order
Bilahari Kausikan, in an interview with ThinkChina editor Chow Yian Ping, examines how US-China rivalry is reshaping the global order, why China’s “China dream” narrative of national rejuvenation remains powerful but limiting, and how a more fluid, multipolar Asia will test the nimbleness of smaller states such as Singapore.
Chow Yian Ping
Politics
[Video] Is China stopping its own citizens from leaving?
China has introduced new rules on exit and entry administration, setting out when authorities can intervene in border crossings and when citizens may be barred from leaving the country. The regulation brings national security, export controls and technology concerns more directly into the rules governing cross-border movement. ThinkChina’s Lingming Lu looks into the issue.
Lu Lingming
Society
[Video] Rare Hubei tornadoes expose China’s rising weather risk
Three rare tornadoes in Hubei exposed a stark new reality: China must prepare for increasingly complex extreme weather with better forecasting, more resilient cities and stronger disaster response. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina and Lu Lingming find out more.
Yi Jina, Lu Lingming
Society
[Video] Effortlessly beautiful: China’s new obsession with ‘invisible’ cosmetic procedures
Why are millions of Chinese paying for cosmetic procedures that nobody is supposed to notice? The pursuit of “natural beauty” is reshaping the country’s booming medical aesthetics industry. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina finds out more.
Yi Jina
Society
[Video] China made it to the World Cup, just not on the pitch
China’s men’s football team is once again absent from the World Cup, but China is visible almost everywhere else around the tournament. ThinkChina’s Lu Lingming looks at how China made it into the World Cup economy, even as its team remains off the pitch.
Lu Lingming
Latest Articles
Politics
Former Chongqing mayor who outlasted Bo Xilai meets his downfall
Huang Qifan survived the downfall of two Chongqing party bosses and earned a reputation as a political untouchable. Now, nearly a decade after leaving office, he is under investigation. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei examines his career.
Sim Tze Wei
Society
[Big read] Hong Kong wants more babies, but couples need more than cash grants
Standalone cash grants are failing to revive Hong Kong’s birth rate. As officials look to Singapore for inspiration, young couples say deeper structural relief is needed. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Tai Hing Shing looks at why the city’s birth rate is so hard to lift.
Tai Hing Shing
Politics
George Yeo: APEC was built to unite the Pacific. Can it do so again?
APEC was founded to keep both sides of the Pacific connected, but growing geopolitical divisions threaten that vision. In a CGTN programme on APEC recorded at Renmin University of China, former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo argues that the upcoming Shenzhen summit could help restore the spirit of cooperation that brought the forum into being. This is an edited version of his speech.
George Yeo
Society
Huawei’s ‘brake-gate’: Is patriotism drowning out rational debate in China?
When Huawei’s luxury EV failed a third-party safety test, a technical flaw spiralled into nationalistic fervor. Can Chinese public discourse mature to separate corporate accountability from patriotic sentiment? Lianhe Zaobao China news editor Yang Danxu gives her take on the issue.
Yang Danxu
Politics
A new foreign minister, but who really calls the shots in Indonesia?
The appointment of a career diplomat has raised hopes of a return to Indonesia’s traditional foreign policy, with renewed emphasis on ASEAN. But Prabowo’s handling of China and the South China Sea raises questions about whether the country can change course while the president remains firmly in charge. ISEAS academic Leo Suryadinata gives his take.
Leo Suryadinata
Society
Distrusting Beijing, encountering ‘everyday China’ in the Philippines
Younger Filipinos seem to have more nuanced attitudes towards China and encounter its soft power in different ways than their parents’ generation, but this does not mean a sea change has occurred. Academic Jan Robert R Go gives his analysis.
Jan Robert R Go
Economy
[Big read] China’s smart farms boost output, but can farmers afford the upgrade?
BeiDou-guided harvesters and soil big data are reshaping China’s agricultural heartland. But Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei explains why high-tech solutions alone cannot fully guarantee China’s food security.
Sim Tze Wei
Politics
Double Tenth speech: A softer Lai, but no thaw across the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s Double Tenth Day address prioritised economic relief over cross-strait policy. Academics told Lianhe Zaobao’s Taipei correspondent Lai Oi Lai that the speech is a cautious move to calm tensions with Beijing and win domestic voters.
Lai Oi Lai
Economy
China’s banks are using AI tokens to assess credit. Is it risky?
China’s banks are using AI token consumption as a new metric for offering credit. But without neutral data and stable pricing, can measuring compute usage really substitute for traditional collateral? Academics Mingyang Jian and Jiang Kun analyse the matter.
Mingyang Jian, Jiang Kun
Economy
Five minutes to Shenzhen: Can Hong Kong win back its shoppers?
The new Huanggang Port makes border crossings between Shenzhen and Hong Kong easier than ever. But can Hong Kong businesses turn greater connectivity into an opportunity rather than a threat? Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing finds out.
Tai Hing Shing
Economy
Can China and the EU avert a trade war?
Europe has hardened its stance on China and its “overcapacity”, threatening swift measures on trade restrictions. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong explains why both sides need to examine the root causes to prevent a lose-lose outcome.
Han Yong Hong
Economy
[Big read] China has the drugs. Can it build the next Pfizer?
Chinese pharmaceutical companies are moving from licensing to big pharma to building their own R&D, manufacturing and sales ecosystem overseas. Lianhe Zaobao China news correspondent Lim Zhan Ting speaks with industry insiders to find out how China managed to catch up.
Lim Zhan Ting
Culture
Who were the patrons of Nanyang art?
Nanyang art is generally associated with a category of artworks created in the early to mid-20th century by Chinese migrant artists in their new-found home of Singapore. A group of Western-educated individuals were their strongest and most vocal champions, referring to their work as “Malayan art”, rather than “Nanyang art”, at a time when Singapore was heading towards independence from the British. Low Sze Wee, group director (museums) of the National Heritage Board tells us more.
Low Sze Wee
History
[Photos] Days by the sea: Remembering writer and revolutionary Chen Yingzhen
Rediscovered photographs from a 1987 trip to the Philippines bring back memories of Taiwanese literary giant Chen Yingzhen — his ideals and friendships, his unwavering convictions, and a rarely seen, carefree side of the famously serious writer. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao goes back in time.
Hsu Chung-mao
Economy
FAW-GAC deal tests a new path for China’s auto consolidation
A major consolidation centered on Toyota’s joint ventures is taking shape between state-owned carmakers FAW and GAC. Driven by shrinking sales and fierce EV competition, could this strategic deal alter China’s auto landscape?
Caixin Global
Technology
Southeast Asia’s mixed AI stacks: Pragmatic but not risk-free
Regional initiatives such as Singapore’s SEA-LION and Indonesia’s Sahabat-AI show that Southeast Asia can combine technologies from American, Chinese and regional sources. But mixed AI stacks do not automatically reduce dependence. ISEAS academic Zenobia Chan tells us more.
Zenobia Chan