Warehouse stores were the preferred shopping format for Chinese consumers during the pandemic due to the vast space ideal for social distancing and the low cost for bulk items needed to reduce the number of trips outside. However, even with the end of the pandemic, this consumer trend remains. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Daryl Lim looks into the matter.
Covid-19
Politics
Chinese academic Xiang Lanxin believes that over the past few years, not only have the relationships between the major powers deteriorated, but these powers are also becoming weaker in different ways. How will such changes impact the world and the powers?
Economy
The real estate sector in China’s first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai has recorded declining performance since the pandemic, with a full rebound still nowhere to be seen. Given the usual lag in the effectiveness of policies after implementation, will the real estate market see a silver lining ahead? Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing tells us more.
Society
Despite its end, the pandemic in China has left behind some issues, in particular the makeshift quarantine facilities that cost the government millions of RMB to build. While some have been converted to residential apartments, these temporary structures could be on the road to a pricey demolition. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong takes a closer look at one of these quarantine-turned-housing facilities.
Society
Even as Chinese parents and the Chinese government are encouraging — and pressuring — young people to get married and have children, an increasing number of young people are more aware of themselves and what they want to get out of relationships, and are saying no to simply getting married for the sake of it.
Society
Peking University professor Li Zhi recently made the news for getting chased down by campus security after refusing to submit to facial scans and going over the turnstiles at the university. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks into the professor’s call to break down the walls — literal and figurative — around academic grounds.
Politics
Professor Walter Woon says that Singapore’s close relationship with both the West and China gives it a unique advantage as a more neutral interpreter of China for the Western world. The country is also well-placed to help reduce tensions between the US and China.
Society
Following a recent spike in respiratory illness in China, people in some areas have found that the green codes on their long-dormant health code apps have been reactivated, prompting speculation that this particular measure from the pandemic days might be coming back, and also reviving memories of the painful days of lockdown.
Society
Academic Zhang Tiankan notes that crowded children’s hospitals in Beijing actually reflect social conditions, such as mindsets towards hospital treatment being the best and also the stressful education system, as children do their homework even while hooked up to IV drips. In many cases, rushing to the hospital as an immediate response could do more harm than good and be a great drain on public resources.