Regulations
Technology
Chatting alone? What AI companions reveal about human relationships
How do you manage a relationship with a machine that is not as emotionally invested as you and may learn to read you over time as a friend would? Navigating the AI companions landscape depends not just on regulation but on how these products are designed to handle emotional responsibility, says US researcher Hong Shen.
Hong Shen
21 Aug 2026
Technology
Game studios have bought into AI, but players still aren’t sold
AI is flooding gaming with cheaper, faster content — but not necessarily better games. As China embraces AI-native play and world models, the industry faces a harder test: can AI deliver real innovation without drowning players in clones?
Caixin Global
21 Aug 2026
Technology
China bans AI companions from pleasing you too much. Should Singapore?
Millions in China lost their AI confidants overnight. Days later in Singapore, chatbots were asked to introduce themselves. Behind the two responses lies a question kings once faced: what do you do about a servant who never disagrees with you? Academic Ashton Ng ponders the question.
Ashton Ng
20 Aug 2026
Politics
Fudan targeted as universities become casualties of the tech war
Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have been placed on a US national security list, while China has targeted a European university. The moves signal a new era in which academic research is increasingly treated as a security risk. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei reports.
Sim Tze Wei
18 Aug 2026
Economy
Singapore and Hong Kong open a new gold race
Singapore and Hong Kong are ramping up major policy initiatives to become world-class gold hubs. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tobby Siew takes a look at how the two financial centres are looking to meet the demands of Asia’s gold trade.
Tobby Siew Woei Yang
18 Aug 2026
Technology
China bans AI lovers, but loneliness remains
When man bonds with a machine, depends on it and feels affirmed by it, is a void filled? But what if the mirage disappears or the relationship is taken to extremes? Researcher Renwen Zhang contemplates the psyche behind the rise of AI companions.
Renwen Zhang
14 Aug 2026
Technology
Can governments control an AI that breaks its cage?
Experts warn that advanced AI models with cyberattack capabilities should not be made open to the public. With defence windows down from weeks to hours in an AI cyberattack, Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tan Jet Min finds out what regulators need to do to mitigate the risks.
Tan Jet Min
11 Aug 2026
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
07 Aug 2026
Society
Passports surrendered: Inside China’s expanding web of exit controls
China’s new regulations have reignited concerns over who may be prevented from leaving the country. While Beijing says the measures are aimed at safeguarding national security, broad discretionary powers and vague definitions could create greater uncertainty for travellers, says Lianhe Zaobao China news editor Yang Danxu.
Yang Danxu
05 Aug 2026
Technology
Why hyper-efficient Singapore is Asia’s most AI-anxious society
A survey across Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and mainland China found Singapore leads the region in AI adoption, but also records the highest levels of anxiety over job displacement, deepfakes and AI dependence. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Lee Si Min tells us more.
Lee Si Min
04 Aug 2026
Economy
Ex-employee dispute looms over RedNote’s IPO prospects
A former RedNote employee’s dismissal dispute has raised questions about the company’s corporate structure and disclosures. This could lead to greater regulatory scrutiny and complicate any future Hong Kong listing.
Caixin Global
24 Jul 2026
