Sport

A publicity image of the Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems performance. (iSING! Festival/Twitter)

When the arts is more than politics: Reflections on the 50th anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China tour

Learning of a recent performance in the US by Suzhou musicians, SPH Chinese Media Group editor-in-chief Lee Huay Leng muses on the role that the Philadelphia Orchestra’s visit to Beijing had played in US-China relations in the 1970s. While no substitute for hard diplomacy, cultural exchanges can sow seeds of friendship among different peoples, and help the world reap something beautiful in the future.
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.
Eileen Gu at the Beijing Winter Olympics, 10 February 2022. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Chinese netizens questioning Eileen Gu's identity and loyalty

Skiing star Eileen Gu has announced that she will be an ambassador for Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics, sparking online debate in China. In today's increasingly polarised world, can a "globalised" person gain acceptance and recognition from conflicting parties and be that communicator of goodwill?
A delivery worker rides a vehicle pasts a JD.com advertisement with an image of freestyle skier Eileen Gu, at a bus stop in Beijing, China, 11 January 2022. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

How do you romanise a Chinese name? Gu Ailing, Eileen Gu or Ailing (Eileen) Gu?

Translation studies professor Xiao Weiqing muses that the media and the Chinese Olympic Committee must have taken great pains to standardise and romanise Chinese names in their coverage of the Winter Olympics.
Supporters of Yoon Seok-youl, presidential candidate from the main opposition People Power Party, attend a campaign rally in Seoul, South Korea, on 15 February 2022. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg)

How will anti-China sentiment impact South Korea’s presidential election?

South Korean angst directed towards China during the Winter Olympics suggests that anti-China sentiment in South Korea has not completely subsided from the time of China's reprisals against South Korea for the THAAD missile system deployment some years ago. In such a climate, bilateral relations could get rockier if Yoon Seok-youl of the conservative People Power Party makes it to the finish line in South Korea's March presidential election.
Performers during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, National Stadium, Beijing, China, 20 February 2022. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

Why China is the biggest winner of the 2022 Winter Olympics

Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan feels that the Beijing Winter Olympics has turned out much better than what was initially expected. Despite diplomatic boycotts by some Western countries and political bickering about China's human rights issues, the Chinese are more than pleased with the event. Not only did China give its best-ever showing at a Winter Olympics, it also pulled off a decent event despite the pandemic, and has generated great interest in winter sports among the Chinese public.
Cartoon: Heng Kim Song

ThinkCartoon

Heng Kim Song has been the freelance editorial cartoonist

A couple (front, left) wear traditional hanbok dress as they walk across a road in Seoul, South Korea, on 7 January 2022. (Anthony Wallace/AFP)

When neighbours disagree: Did China 'steal' South Korea’s culture and historical memory?

When the Chinese featured a lady wearing a hanbok — what to the Koreans is their national costume — at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, it was as if the band-aid on rising China-South Korean tensions was peeled off. Soon after, cries of foul play and the Chinese “snatching” medals from the South Koreans followed. Are greater squabbles on the horizon for these Northeast Asian neighbours?
Competitors in a cross-country skiing event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, National Cross-Country Centre, Zhangjiakou, China, 16 February 2022. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

Media coverage of Beijing Winter Olympics shows parallel worlds

It seems that the Chinese and foreign media have very different approaches to covering the Beijing Winter Olympics — Chinese journalists want to portray the favourable side of the Games while foreign journalists tend to take a more critical stand in focusing on problems. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu examines this phenomenon.