Blog Band – Fridayeveryday

Extraordinary program gently turns arrested ‘insurgents’ into citizens who don’t re-offend

More than 1,000 young people lured into violence in the 2019 civil unrest have joined a rehabilitation program involving visits to the Chinese mainland - and the results are extraordinary. The program has an incredibly low re-offending rate of just 0.4 per cent, compared to Hong Kong’s overall 22.4 per cent rate. James Ockenden reports…

May 19, 20260Comments ByJames Ockenden

The first wizard’s first invention

“HUNGRY? I HAVE SOMETHING to show you,” the white-haired man says to the young fellow hunter he is training. “Come.” They walk into a deep cave in a cliff wall jutting out of the forest and sit on the floor. The older man opens the leather pouch he uses as a bag and pulls out…

May 13, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news

China says NO to US ‘orders’ to stop buying Iranian oil

BREAKING NEWS: CHINA'S LEADERSHIP THIS WEEKEND said “no” to a global order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump—and today analysts worldwide are holding their breath to see if the mercurial leader will back down. The Trump administration last week again ordered the world, including specific firms in China, to stop trading with Iranians—the latest in…

May 4, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

Hong Kong News Opinion

Is Hong Kong one of the world’s most engaging cities – or a spooky-dooky police state?

The contrast between joyful, buzzy Hong Kong, and its absurdly grim image overseas is startling - especially in the light of the brutal restrictions on free speech emerging in numerous western countries. Richard Cullen reports. THE RUGBY SEVENS, a combined sports tournament and a huge international party, is underway in front of massive crowds at…

May 1, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

China news

China moving faster, with three major laws reviewed at Two Sessions

CHINA IS MOVING FAST. Three major new laws were reviewed simultaneously for the first time this year. Normally, only one or two draft laws make it to the “Two Sessions”. But this year, three important pieces of legislation were reviewed at the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, covering…

April 30, 20260Comments ByHerman Hu

China news News

China, Europe, want to turn our cars into energy storage devices in 2027

IMAGINE A WORLD where each family has a powerful magic battery that provides energy for their transport between home and work every day. The SAME magic battery is used by the city’s electricity utility company to provide light and heat for the wider community every evening. The family’s energy costs fall, because the electricity firm…

April 26, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

News

West’s ‘shadow world government’ meets in Washington DC

MEMBERS OF THE WEST’S "SHADOW WORLD GOVERNMENT" are heading home today after meeting behind closed doors to discuss their vision of the future of the world. Intelligence chiefs, heads of state, and top business leaders met in private at the Salamander Washington DC hotel for the Bilderberg Group meeting, which took place from April 9…

April 15, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news Chinese history Culture

Harm caused by the ‘western lens’ interpretation of China

Richard Cullen looks at a fascinating new book: Understanding China: Governance, Socio-Economics, Global Influence (by Chandran Nair and others, Routledge, Abingdon, 2026). Strongly recommended: Richard's Substack Newsletter: https://substack.com/@richardcullen376919 Routledge in the UK recently published an important new book, authored by Chandran Nair, Jorgen Randers, Jinfeng Zhou and Frederick Charles Dubee, entitled: “Understanding China: Governance, Socio-Economics,…

April 13, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

Hong Kong News News

Hong Kong stays top of financial world

HONG KONG STAYED AHEAD of the US as the world’s top spot for share market launches, new data showed yesterday. In just three months ending yesterday, 37 companies raised US$13.26 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange, LSEG Data and Analytics of London revealed. This puts the southern Chinese city number one in the world…

April 1, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

Features News

Tucker Carlson has become the conscience of the western media: or has he?

For years, independent thinkers saw Fox News host Tucker Carlson as the epitome of all that was bad about the western corporate media's ultra-simplified, west-is-best view of the world. What changed? Richard Cullen investigates. After watching the recent interview of Tucker Carlson by The Economist (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tox2hr4dddM) one observer argued that: In the midst of this collective [Western…

March 27, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen