Inside China

Despite it not being officially available, Hong Kong is adapting ChatGPT for use in finance, law firms, customer service and beyond. Hong Kong city reporter Oscar Liu reports on how it's being used, as well as the split among Hong Kong universities on whether to allow students to use ChatGPT. Hear from a secondary teacher on how ChatGPT and other AI applications are changing the way he teaches, how his students are using it to enhance their learning and his concerns for unregulated development…

Xi Jinping’s recent Moscow visit was upstaged by an unannounced trip to Ukraine by Japanese leader Fumio Kishida as well as Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russian nuclear weapons will be staged in Belarus. The Post’s Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses the EU response as well as why European leaders are making plans to visit Beijing. Diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao explains why Kishida’s diplomacy with Ukraine, South Korea and India is being seen as a game changer for Xi’s plans…

Kevin Kwong and Luisa Tam talk about the stories from mainland China that grabbed people's attention this week. Find more stories from the SCMP People and Culture desk: https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture

Holly Chik speaks with SCMP political economy editor Wendy Wu about how Xi Jinping's reference to 'brotherhood and love' for China's entrepreneurs has been received, and what the latest economic data portends for the plans put forward at the Two Sessions. Senior journalist William Zheng analyses the speeches of Xi Jinping and newly ascended premier Li Qiang.

Jasmine Tse hosts a special episode celebrating the success of Michelle Yeoh and her film Everything, Everywhere All At Once at the 2023 Oscars. Senior culture reporter Lisa Cam explains the power of films with Asian mothers and their daughters as central characters. And Hong Kong-born Hollywood veteran George Cheung talks about the barriers he’s confronted as an Asian actor in 50 years of films and tv, and why this year’s Academy Awards represent substantial progress for Asian actors.

The Post’s Kinling Lo reports from Beijing on its annual political assembly known as the ‘two sessions’, in a week when Chinese President Xi Jinping made an unusual direct remark on US policy while Foreign Minister Qin Gang in his first media briefing, also commented on US rivalry, Ukraine and Taiwan. North American bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses the US response, its ongoing legislative agenda for Taiwan and the impending visit of its leader Tsai Ing-wen.

China’s president Xi Jinping will seek to consolidate his power and update Beijing’s economic and security policies in the coming ‘two sessions’ meetings. Hear analysis on the expected ministerial changes as well as indications about how Beijing will change its approach to internal security, the administration of Hong Kong and how it will use the gatherings to send signals to China’s people as well as to the world.

It is now just over one year since Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin declared China and Russia's “no limits” friendship, just weeks before the Russian leader announced he had ordered troops into Ukraine. Hear Beijing diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao and Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyse the optics of top diplomat Wang Yi’s meeting this week with President Putin, how Beijing’s relationship with Moscow has changed, and how European nations have changed their perspective on China over the…

While not officially released in China, the arrival of ChatGPT has sparked huge interest on Chinese social media and set off a race between tech giants Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba to develop similar AI chatbot technology. Post technology reporter Xinmei Shen speaks with fellow tech journalists Coco Feng and Ben Jiang in Beijing about this new AI tech gold rush, how China’s censorship system will have an impact, and why operating in Chinese language is a much more complicated task for AI. Alibaba…

SCMP Culture desk editor Kevin Kwong and China People and Society edesk editor Luisa Tam discuss the stories that have been most popular on scmp.com over the past week. What do you prefer - a deadly octopus in your hotpot or floor cleaning liquid in your fruit juice? Luisa Tam talks Kevin Kwong through some of the stories that got the biggest audience for the SCMP People and Society desk. Hear about the controversial court case over lai see and why gay couples are in the spotlight for the year…

SCMP science reporter Holly Chik presents the final in a series on how Hong Kong’s Covid policies have affected its economy and people. Child development expert Dr Fanny Lam, expert and founder of the Hong Kong Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology Centre, discusses how masks, home-schooling and staying indoors have affected toddlers, children and teenagers at a neurological level, and how parents can help them rebuild as they return to schools and socialising.

Holly Chik presents the third in a series looking at Hong Kong’s unique experience in this pandemic. Senior culture reporter Lisa Cam analyses the shocks and the changes to Hong Kong's famed restaurant industry, news desk editor Denise Tsang analyses the economic impact and loss of reputation as an aviation and finance hub; City desk reporter Jeffie Lam analyses the complexity of Hong Kong's vaccine anxiety and how it contributed to fatalities suffered in the Omicron wave of 2022.

Amid a tsunami of conspiracy, misinformation and xenophobia on social media during the pandemic, Hong Kong saw something special on Twitter and Facebook. City desk reporter Laura Westbrook discusses the massive online community known as the Hong Kong Quarantine Support group, Jamie Gong reveals how a post about his elderly mother started "the greatest thread of the pandemic" and the Twitter-based journalist known as Tripperhead, explains why he decided to parse and post the daily data dumps and…

SCMP journalist Holly Chik presents the first in a series looking at how the pandemic changed Hong Kong, how its people used social media to support each other among constantly changing restrictions, and how the lessons of SARS point once again to how Hong Kong needs to prepare for the future. Video journalist Thomas Yau reflects on his reporting from Wuhan in 2020, 2021 and 2023, his experiences on the streets of Shanghai, how 60+ days of lockdown changed him, and what changes he sees in his…

Holly Chik speaks with Post culture desk senior reporter Lisa Cam about the traditions for Lunar New Year in Hong Kong and among the broader Chinese diaspora around the world. Learn about what lies ahead for people born in the Year of the Rabbit as well as the food served at annual reunion meals, who gets red envelopes filled with money, why people wear red underwear, how to greet your Chinese neighbours in Mandarin or Cantonese and much more. More on Year of the Rabbit: https://sc.mp/l8az

Holly Chik looks at China's demographic crisis: a birth rate at its lowest in 60 years and a rapidly ageing workforce approaching retirement. Beijing-based reporter Luna Sun discusses the pressures on China's Generation Z and Millenials, who must care for ageing parents while confronting the reality of choosing between careers and starting families amid soaring costs of education and housing as well as a slowing economy.
 

SCMP science reporter Holly Chik reports on mainland China opening its borders after three years, as the Omicron surge continues to wreak havoc. HKU epidemiologist Prof Ben Cowling contrasts the Hong Kong experience and forecasts how this surge will play out over the Lunar New Year holiday; Thomas Yau reports from Shanghai on the healthcare crisis; Xinlu Liang reports on the new black market in Paxlovid-style drugs and renewed misinformation on Chinese social media about treatments and the XBB…

Mimi Lau presents the latest episode on China's pivot away from nearly three years of zero-Covid policies; Beijing-based reporter Luna Sun speaks of the confusion among residents and business owners and analyses the economic costs revealed by the harsh policies; epidemiologist Dr Ben Cowling looks at the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, the numbers of unvaccinated elderly and forecasts what lies ahead for mainland China in comparison to Hong Kong's experience earlier this year; senior…

Hear first-hand accounts of the zero Covid protests in Shanghai and Beijing; Mimi Lau speaks with Beijing-based reporters Luna Sun and Shi Jiangtao about the threats to food security caused by zero-Covid policy restrictions and a shift in narrative as days of mass protests across the country have called for an end to President Xi Jinping’s signature Covid strategy.
 

Mimi Lau speaks with mainland China-based reporters Coco Feng and Luna Sun about the effect of district-based lockdowns in Beijing and rising discontent over the nation’s zero-Covid policy, as World Cup TV broadcasts from Qatar bring home to the public the reality of people ‘living with the virus’ elsewhere in the world. 
 

Shenzhen-based reporter Phoebe Zhang reports on the districts of the giant southern Chinese manufacturing hub undergoing lockdowns and mass testing, the mass exodus of workers from the Apple supplier Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant and the nationalist blogger who publicly criticised Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy. News editor Josephine Ma on the paradox of Beijing permitting the Pfizer vaccine for foreign residents only, 22 months after the jabs were widely available in Hong Kong, and the quandary…

Mimi Lau presents the second part of the Post analysis of China’s 20th Communist Party congress. Beijing-based editors Mai Jun and Wendy Wu unpack the deep changes to the party beyond the ascent of President Xi Jinping to a historic third term. Hear about the implications for China’s foreign and domestic policy, and also how for the first time in decades no woman has been selected for the Politburo.

Mimi Lau presents an episode looking at the historic 20th party congress in Beijing, what it means for China’s Communist Party and what we can expect from it. Veteran China diplomacy experts William Zheng and Mai Jun unpack some of the event’s process and how it is expected to set the stage for Xi Jinping’s historic third term as leader and ascension to a level on par with Mao Zedong.

Two months of record-breaking heatwaves in the Sichuan province of south west China, resulted in widespread power outages as rivers ran dry, exposing the weakness in the region’s reliance on hydroelectric power. Post reporter Holly Chik speaks with fellow journalists Echo Xie and Siqi Ji about what they found on the farms and in the manufacturing centres, while veteran Shanghai-based sustainability expert Richard Brubaker unpacks the impact on global food prices and China’s approach to water,…

Now Washington has passed the US Chips and Science Act with tens of billions of dollars for the US semiconductor industry, what of its effect on China? Post technology journalist Xinmei Shen speaks with her Beijing-based colleague Che Pan about why the 3-nanometre revolution in semiconductors is so vital and how China's semisconductor industry might compete. SCMP technology editor Zhou Xin analyses how Beijing sees the new law, and how the US push to form the Chip 4 coalition is a bid to…

Post journalist Holly Chik and Beijing-based reporter Amanda Lee look into the Henan bank scandal where savings accounts were frozen and a subsequent protest was violently quashed; business desk reporter Pearl Liu unpacks the growing number of people across China with mortgages suspending payments on unfinished flats as more property developers slide into default, and how Beijing is trying to defuse a ticking timebomb of debt.
 

Jasmine Tse presents the latest episode looking at the ongoing lockdown in Shanghai, as China pursues increasingly draconian zero Covid measures. Video reporter Thomas Yau reports in life inside the Puxi district as residents look at the second month of lockdown and restrictions and increased anxiety over the potential of being taken away to quarantine facilities if any of their neighbours test positive for Covid. SCMP China desk news editor Josephine Ma reports on Beijing's reaction to the WHO…

SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik looks at how mass testing and lockdowns are affecting Beijing and Shanghai. Video reporter Thomas Yau reports on ongoing stress and anger of residents in Puxi district over food supplies, and the shocking videos evading social media censorship. Amanda Lee in Beijing and Siji Ji in Shenyan analyse the economic data and discuss the silencing and disappearance of a prominent Chinese economist who criticized Beijing's harsh zero Covid policies as concerns mount…

As parts of Shanghai enter a sixth week of lockdown, SCMP video producer Thomas Yau reports from Puxi district on the mood of residents, as more videos elude censorship, including the viral Voice of April. In Beijing, Post reporters Luna Sun and Amanda Lee report from the locked down Chaoyan district on residents' anxieties and preparations. SCMP news desk editor Josephine Ma returns to answer the big question: why are there no mRNA vaccines despite a Shanghai company licensed to distribute…

SCMP reporter Holly Chik speaks with video journalist Thomas Yau from the Puxi district on bartering for food, increasingly violent street clashes appearing on social media and protest banners demanding Covid deaths be acknowledged. Shanghai-based NYU economics professor Rodrigo Zeidan analyses the growing buildup of cargo ships outside Shanghai's port and what it means for global trade. Senior correspondent William Zheng looks at Xi Jinping's political challenges with Shanghai in the leadup to…

 SCMP journalists in Shanghai report on the ongoing lockdown in the Puxi district. Thomas Yau discusses rising tensions among residents amid supply shortages, why he’s bartering noodles for toothpaste and anger directed at local neighbourhood committees. Tracy Qu analyses China's food delivery companies responding to the food crisis while authorities seek to quell social media unrest. Shanghai-based sustainability expert Richard Brubaker analyses supply chain bottlenecks and when the West will…

China’s most-populous city Shanghai has plunged its people into a historic half-half lockdown, starting with all districts east of the Huangpu River to be followed by similar measures for all areas west. Post reporter Holly Chik speaks with Shanghai bureau chief Daniel Ren from lockdown about how residents are coping, and to explore the economic impact on the finance and manufacturing base. Video journalist Thomas Yau is on the other side of the river, where there is panic buying and rising…

SCMP’s Mimi Lau presents the latest update on Hong Kong's Omicron surge, with reporter Gigi Choy discussing images of the sick and elderly in beds on the streets outside overcrowded hospitals;, William Zhang updates efforts from mainland China to send assistance and reports on people trying to flee across the border. Tara Joseph from AmChamHK talks about the ongoing exodus of expats; HK resident Vivian Lin shares her experience of being stranded in Melbourne, unable to return to the city.

Hong Kong is desperately implementing new Covid-19 rules and penalties in an effort to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. The SCMP’s Hong Kong reporter Gigi Choy explains how one case became hundreds, chief Asia correspondent Bhavan Jaipragas unpacks Singapore’s experience of “living with Covid-19”, and epidemiologist Dr Ben Cowling returns with a forecast for what happens next, and whether Hong Kong’s “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy can be resuscitated. Presented by Mimi Lau.

Hear about Hong Kong’s fifth wave of the pandemic. Microbiologist Dr Siddharth Sridhar unpacks Hong Kong's 2020-era zero Covid policy as the reality of low vaccinations in the elderly and the Omicron variant hits; Hong Kong Veterinary Association president Dr Owen Swan reveals the science and emotions behind the order to cull thousands of hamsters, SCMP journalists Chad Bray and Gigi Choy report on the exodus of Hong Kong's finance sector and the quest to track Hong Kong's omicron spread.

As the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday loom, Mimi Lau looks at Beijing's desperate measures to maintain its zero-Covid policy amid new outbreaks in Tianjin and Henan province. Holly Chik unpacks the claim that Covid-19 is entering China by mail; Shanghai-based journalist Thomas Yau on what it's like to travel through China right now, and Bernice Chan details the massive changes to Hong Kong's famed restaurant industry amid a harsh 6pm lockdown policy. Get our Listening Post…

SCMP journalist Xinmei Shen is joined by her fellow technology reporters Josh Ye and Jane Zhang to unpack and analyse the numerous crackdowns Chinese authorities have launched on the nation's tech sector this year. They start with a record-smashing antitrust fine, then move on to explore how new regulations for gaming, after-school tutoring and data privacy impacted Chinese society as well as Wall Street.

Mimi Lau talks with SCMP deputy sports editor Josh Ball about the diplomatic snub announced on the Beijing Winter Olympics; historian Nicholas Sarantakes recaps the saga of the 1980 Moscow Olympic boycott and other political actions over the decades, and analyses the impact of Joe Biden’s decision on the American public; Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, looks at past commercial boycotts and pressure on the Olympics and the IOC's ongoing role in the Peng Shuai story.

SCMP digital editor Jarrod Watt speaks with Professor Ben Cowling, Chair Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong. Cowling has been on previous episodes of Inside China, but in this special feature he discusses the Omicron variant, the need for travel bans, the science behind 21 day quarantine, and delves into his experience of Hong Kong quarantine. Hear about air purifiers, "selfish masks" and his predictions for Hong Kong and mainland China in…

SCMP reporters Mimi Lau, Simone McCarthy and Josephine Ma discuss the latest coronavirus news from inside mainland China and around the world. Hear what we know about the variant called Omicron, the new pandemic treaty agreed to at an historic World Health Assembly meeting, and hear about how China stands on the verge of a new policy on booster shots as well as the latest updates on advances and trials for monoclonal antibody treatments to treat Covid-19 infections.

Mimi Lau looks at how a since-deleted social media post by Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has ignited global concern for her welfare, China’s state media reply on Twitter response and a billion-dollar ultimatum from the WTA. Hear from exiled feminist activist Xiaowen Liang, information/economy expert Peter Lorentzen and senior SCMP staff on the battle for the narrative and how the WTA actions compare with the NBA and IOC. Subscribe to our podcast newsletter: sc.mp/Listening-Post-Newsletter

SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik presents the second part of our series looking at the technological and economic changes under way in order for China to meet its 2030 and 2050 carbon emissions targets. Hear from energy, resources and transition expert Prakash Sharma and research analyst and battery storage specialist  Xu Le on how China is moving to a post-coal society in which everything is electric. Subscribe to our new podcast review newsletter: http://sc.mp/Listening-Post-Newsletter

Mimi Lau speaks with the Post’s Beijing-based news editor Mai Jun about the historic resolution issued by the Sixth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee in Beijing. How does it compare to the previous historic resolutions issued by Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping? Does it grapple with historic errors, does it focus on contemporary problems, or is it all about facing the future? Hear how Hong Kong and Taiwan both received mentions and hear about the significant omissions. 

With the COP26 global climate summit being seen as one of the last chances for the planet, SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik looks at how China's ongoing power crisis has lead to a huge shake-up in its economy and opened the way for renewable energy to compete against coal. Norway-based energy analyst Qin Yan contrasts the operation of China's new national emissions trading market with that of Europe, how changes in China's energy market are a tectonic change for its economy. China energy…

Are you ready, player one? A change is coming, promising to transform the web into the “metaverse”. SCMP tech desk reporters Xinmei Shen and Josh Ye analyse what it means, and why the likes of Facebook as well as China’s major tech giants, game developers and investors are all focused on a change some believe will be as big as the arrival of the World Wide Web itself. Hear from Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Mark Kanterman on the investments he's documenting and just what the metaverse…

SCMP reporter Echo Xie reports from Kunming and the COP15 Biodiversity conference, where China’s president Xi Jinping announced a $US232 million fund for developing nations to protect biodiversity, a massive expansion of solar and wind power projects and China’s first official national parks. Meanwhile, as floods in Shanxi province shut coal mines, reporter Siqi Ji discusses the ongoing power crisis in China’s northeastern ‘rust belt’ amid concerns and growing anger as the cold winter looms.  
 

Mass power outages, factories with restricted hours and the prospect of major disruptions in the production of Christmas retail goods. This is the reality of China's three-pronged power crisis, comprising supply, price and regulation of coal-powered electricity. SCMP China desk reporter Holly Chik speaks with political economy journalist Cissy Zhou about how long this power crisis is expected to last, how a ban on Australian coal complicates things and the prospects for the global economy.

SCMP tech journalist Xinmei Shen speaks with Vancouver-based correspondent Ian Young about his three years covering Meng Wanzhou, how her court saga irrevocably changed Canada’s relationship with China and what questions remain after Meng and two Canadians were freed; tech desk editor Zhou Xin discusses Huawei’s changing fortunes and how Beijing managed nationalist sentiment around the company exec’s homecoming.

Mimi Lau speaks with SCMP reporter Pearl Liu about the background to the US$300 billion debt crisis for China's property giant Evergrande, the warning signs from 2019 and escalating events this year that lead to protests across China. Desk editor Zhou Xin explores how Evergrande is part of China’s economic success story, Beijing’s changing “red lines” and how the capitalist excess of its "Belt Brother” CEO contrasts with Xi Jinping’s “Common Prosperity”. 

SCMP tech journalists Xinmei Shen and Josh Ye analyse the the impact of Beijing's crackdown on online gaming for players under 18. Hear how the ban is driving players to Steam and other servers in the West, how it affects the multi-billion dollar games development industry, and what will come of China's huge esports ecosystem and the desire to become the world's dominant esports nation. Hear the gaming addiction podcast: spoti.fi/3nvMirb