China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

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.

The ChatGPT logo is seen in this illustration taken 3 February 2023. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Is a Chinese ChatGPT on the way?

Following OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT, players such as Google are scrambling to develop their own AI chatbot. It is also rumoured that Baidu is developing a project called ERNIE Bot to rival ChatGPT. With tech giants feeling the heat, will we see the race quickening to build a truly sentient chatbot?
A man and a child walk past a display for Full River Red in a cinema in Fuzhou, 25 January 2023. (CNS)

Chinese films hit it big during CNY, but is it enough to save the industry?

The Chinese film industry has released several blockbusters over the Chinese New Year period, and crowds have also returned to cinemas. However, the off-screen drama seems to be more interesting than the movies themselves, with claims of various forms of dishonest or misleading figures for ticket sales, complete with lawsuits and competition for audiences.
People visit a traditional Spring Festival flower market which reopened after closure due to the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, on 20 January 2023. (AFP)

Is China finally seeing the end of the pandemic?

Despite worries that Covid infections would rise sharply after the Chinese New Year period, statistics show that earlier fears were unfounded. The sudden change has netizens speculating if “solar storms” helped to quell the virus. Can China really expect clearer skies ahead?
Visitors walk past the Casino Lisboa during Lunar New Year in Macau, China, 24 January 2023. (Lam Yik/Reuters)

Can Macau’s economy move beyond the gambling and gaming industry?

Gambling and casino-hopping have long been Macau's calling card. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks into what else Macau has to offer, and how the local government is trying to wean its economy off the gaming industry, especially given mainland China’s clampdown on illegal gambling.
People release balloons as they gather to celebrate New Year's Eve, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, 1 January 2023. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Unease amid celebration: New year, old Covid worries in China

With the easing of Covid measures in China, many cities saw the return of New Year countdown celebrations, with major crowds congregating in droves. While the mood is upbeat, worries remain. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks at the people’s hopes for 2023.
Hong Kong scion Kenneth Fok has a shot at becoming Hong Kong's next Chief Executive. (SPH Media)

Will scion Kenneth Fok become Hong Kong's future chief executive?

Hong Kong scion Kenneth Fok seems to be favoured as a future candidate for Hong Kong’s next chief executive by the higher-ups in Beijing. The eldest grandson of the late "patriotic" tycoon Henry Fok Ying Tung and the husband of former Olympic gold-medal diver Guo Jingjing, Kenneth Fok's background is "politically correct" and fits well into the “patriots rule Hong Kong” governance model.
People line up at a fever clinic of a hospital, after the government gradually loosened the restrictions on Covid-19 control, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, 10 December 2022. (Martin Pollard/Reuters)

Will mainland China see a 'tsunami' of Covid cases?

Following the protests against China’s strict Covid controls, the authorities have released ten new measures to ease or lift many Covid rules and restrictions. But while many people have been looking forward to this day, there is also anxiety as to what to expect with the sudden overnight changes.
A couple sits in a promenade along the Huangpu River under Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, China, on 9 November 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

China’s marriage, divorce and birth rates are falling

The prolonged implementation of Covid-19 control measures has caused a significant socioeconomic impact in China, notably leading to the decline in marriage, divorce and birth rates, as well as the increase in youth unemployment. While the situation is more complex than what the data show, Chinese observers believe that both external and internal factors are at play.
Attendees ahead of a "First Tool-In" ceremony at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on 6 December 2022. (Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg)

Will TSMC’s American plant lead to an exodus of semiconductor talents from Taiwan?

TSMC’s new facility in Arizona, US, is set to begin production in 2024, with a second facility underway. The company’s US$40 billion investment is a first in many ways and marks a major shift in the global semiconductor industry. But TSMC has made conservative remarks about the move, and the new plant has also roused much concern from the Taiwanese.