China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

Lianhe Zaobao is a Chinese-language broadsheet published by Singapore Press Holdings. It was established in 1983, following the merger of Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh, which were started in 1923 and 1929 respectively. It offers timely, credible news reports and a wealth of features, commentaries and opinion pieces. With a Singapore perspective, it also provides news and valuable insights on developments in East Asia, particularly China. In 1995, Lianhe Zaobao became the first Chinese-language newspaper in the world to go online with its portal zaobao.sg. The website has now grown into two sites — zaobao.com to cater to its readers in the greater China region, and zaobao.sg for readers in Singapore and elsewhere.

The paper has correspondents in Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo, and experienced stringers in the Philippines, Japan, Europe and the US. It is one of the few foreign-owned Chinese-language media that is accessible online in China. Zaobao.com has an average of 5 million unique visitors per month, and a monthly pageview count of 100 million in China. The print edition of Lianhe Zaobao is also circulated in Indonesia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Vietnam and major cities of China like Beijing and Shanghai.

This photo taken on 10 May 2023 shows the latest version of a robot called Sophia being tested at Hanson Robotics, a robotics and artificial intelligence company which creates human-like robots, in Hong Kong, China. (Peter Parks/AFP)

AI Stefanie, scams and fake news: China acts on AI regulation

The tech sector has seen a massive shift since the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November last year. The AI wave has brought much trepidation for its potential in advancing education, innovation and more; but along with it comes new challenges, especially those that raise copyright infringement issues or break the law. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks into how AI has been misused in China and the responses.
Tourism heads in China have been dressing up to attract tourists to their regions. (SPH Media)

China's local officials doing cosplay to jumpstart tourism

China’s local tourism chiefs have been dressing up in elaborate costumes and starring in high-quality promotional videos to find online fame to drive tourism in their respective regions. However, netizens observe that not all of them are doing it right, or for the right reasons, and the state media has also spoken against the trend.
Standees in a shopping mall in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, to promote The First Slam Dunk, 20 April 2023. (CNS)

China's youths love Japanese anime, no matter what anyone says

Anime is one of Japan’s best-known global exports, and it is hardly surprising that anime has maintained its popularity in China even amid the highs and lows of China-Japan relations, not least with the two biggest releases in recent years, The First Slam Dunk and Suzume. Zaobao’s China Desk examines the appeal of anime.
Xu Zaozao speaks to the media before a second hearing of her case suing a Beijing hospital for refusing to freeze her eggs on the basis that she is unmarried, at the No. 3 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing, China, on 9 May 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

A woman's right to freeze her eggs: Chinese society debates

As China faces a dire population crisis of ageing population and declining birth rates, public discussion on female reproductive rights have gained attention. Assisted reproductive technologies such as egg freezing has become a sought-after option for women looking to delay child bearing, but it remains a contentious issue in China. Lianhe Zaobao's China Desk tells us more.
A crowd of people eating Zibo barbecue. (Internet)

Chinese are flocking to this Shandong city for barbecues, but it's not all rosy

Zibo, a third-tier former industrial city in Shandong, has been revitalised by a somewhat unlikely source: the humble barbecue skewer. Starting with university students back in March, there has been an influx of visitors hankering for a taste of Zibo barbecue. What is behind this sudden trend?
Young people sleeping at Hai Di Lao to save money on accommodation. (Internet)

Why China’s young travellers are sleeping at Hai Di Lao

Chinese youths are jumping on the trend of “special forces” travel, spending as little as possible to cover as many locations in as short a time as possible, and spending nights in restaurants and trains instead of hotels and travel accommodations. But given the general lack of in-depth experiences and the negative effects of such superficial tourism, is it worth the effort? Or are young Chinese looking for an outlet for their pent-up energy and emotions?
Young people streaming in to take the civil service exam in Taiyuan city, Shanxi province, 28 November 2021. (CNS)

Chinese society's obsession with becoming a civil servant

How far would one go to get a job in the civil service? In China, young people are under enormous pressure if they choose to take the civil service exam, pouring everything into it — some tragic cases have ensued. Zaobao’s China Desk explores the obsession with getting into the civil service.
Action on the court at a Village BA match. (CNS)

‘Village BA’: ‘NBA’ with Chinese characteristics is taking China by storm

Nearly every sports fan would know of the NBA in the US, but few would be familiar with the “Village BA” in China, a four-day event in a rural village in Guizhou. By most accounts, this China-version basketball tourney would give the NBA a run for its money as it gains popularity and expands.
A man stands near a sign of ByteDance app Douyin during China Fashion Week, in Beijing, China, 31 March 2021. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

China's crackdown on fake and staged short videos

With the deluge of short-form videos on various apps and platforms, the line between fact and fiction can be blurred, with some content creators staging videos just to get views and stir up emotions. To combat this, Douyin has come up with a new rule that creators have to label staged videos as such. How effective will this be in preventing creators from going overboard in generating views?