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Opinion

Behind the China EV advance, there’s a network of issues to consider

O THE IRONY. As the illegal US-Israel attack on Iran sent petrol prices soaring, there was celebration in China this week as BYD launched an electric car battery that can be “refueled” for 400 km in just five minutes—in other words, as quickly as a petrol car. Final barrier gone. Given the bargain prices of…

March 10, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

Japan election: Recycling the past to ruin the future

Nostalgia for your country's past military adventures is a common tool used by politicians. But when those adventures included the killing of tens of millions of people in neighboring countries and the use of rape as a weapon, that's different. And when you propose reviving that army, that's a serious concern for the world. A…

March 7, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

Features News Opinion

Saving what’s left of Western liberalism

The geopolitical editor at the Economist, David Rennie, recently interviewed Alexander Stubb, the President of Finland, where they discussed Mr Stubb’s “plan to save the liberal world order” (link). Richard Cullen pens a brief report card highlighting some of the challenges facing this worthy rescue mission. WE KNOW THAT the enduring heartland of liberalism is…

March 2, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

Features News Opinion

Truth trumps fiction, as Donald trumps expectations

Evelyn Waugh was an exceptional English novelist. His best political satires were very good. Truth, though, can still outwit the best fiction, says Richard Cullen A LIVELY SHORT STORY published by Evelyn Waugh in late 1932, entitled “Incident in Azania” discussed events that unfolded on an imaginary, colonial island off the East Coast of Africa. …

February 3, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

News Opinion

The U.S. openly threatens judges around the world: sorry, but you just can’t do that

Threatening judges for simply doing their jobs is an extremely serious crime. Unfortunately, one nation is doing exactly that, and is getting away with it. Top legal mind Grenville Cross reports. THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JUDGES (IAJ) was founded in Salzburg, Austria, in 1953. It is a professional, nonpolitical organization that promotes judicial independence worldwide.…

January 29, 20260Comments ByGrenville Cross

Hong Kong News News Opinion

David Webb and the Quiet Power of an Unbought Voice

WHEN NEWS BROKE that David Webb had passed away, the reaction in Hong Kong’s financial circles was strikingly divided. Some felt genuine loss. Others fell into an uneasy silence. That contrast alone says much about his place in the city’s capital markets. Webb was never a celebrity investor in the conventional sense. He did not…

January 22, 20260Comments ByKen Ip

News Opinion

Decoding ‘Trump QE’ – a stealth liquidity injection bypassing the Fed

LATE INTO THE NIGHT on January 9, 2026, global financial markets witnessed a seismic moment. U.S. President Trump posted a seemingly routine but ultimately explosive tweet: he ordered the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make use of the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately purchase US$200 billion in Mortgage-Backed Securities. This…

January 16, 20260Comments ByAaron Lai

News Opinion

Transcendental banditry

The Cambridge Dictionary explains that to transcend means, “to rise above or be more important” (link). It is a concept commonly associated with positive transcendence. But some find that violently imposing one’s will can also deliver a transcendental experience. Introduction We typically associate transcendence with rising above the daily grind to achieve enhanced, positive inner…

January 14, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

News Opinion

Six steps the world needs to take right now about the US and Venezuela: Jeffrey Sachs

[speech given to the United Nations security council on 5 January 2026] . Mr. President, distinguished members of the Security Council, the issue before the council today is not the character of the government of Venezuela. The issue is whether any member state by force, coercion, or economic strangulation has the right to determine Venezuela's…

January 6, 20260Comments ByJeffrey Sachs

Features News Opinion

War and peace

The surge in China’s military capacity, especially over the last decade, has been the focus of increasing Western commentary, some of it measured, much of it alarmist. Many alarmists believe it is a truth universally acknowledged that any large nation possessed of a significantly upgraded stockpile of advanced martial equipment will want to use it…

December 31, 20250Comments ByRichard Cullen

Opinion

Behind the China EV advance, there’s a network of issues to consider

Japan election: Recycling the past to ruin the future

Saving what’s left of Western liberalism

Truth trumps fiction, as Donald trumps expectations

The U.S. openly threatens judges around the world: sorry, but you just can’t do that

David Webb and the Quiet Power of an Unbought Voice

Decoding ‘Trump QE’ – a stealth liquidity injection bypassing the Fed

Transcendental banditry

Six steps the world needs to take right now about the US and Venezuela: Jeffrey Sachs

War and peace

Idea: Existing tech can be used to ease Hong Kongers’ time spent in Chinese mainland

A lawyer’s journey: from 1980s China to a top spot at the United Nations

Chinese legal system growing fast, with continuous refinements