US military personnel in Taiwan, China's ‘cure' to Hyperloop flaw: SCMP's 7 highlights
We have selected seven stories from this week's news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider
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Washington's disclosure that around 500 US military personnel are stationed in Taiwan signals more open and substantial defence support for the island – a pivot from a previously discreet partnership that is openly testing Beijing's red lines, according to analysts.
After spending 35 years in the United States pioneering research on the neural circuits that govern sleep and executive brain functions of the frontal cortex, neuroscientist Dan Yang has returned to China to join the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) as a senior principal investigator.
Chinese ambassador to Canberra Xiao Qian said he hoped Australia would view issues around the leasing of Darwin port 'objectively'. Photo: Handout
China's ambassador to Australia has described the Australian government's plan to end a Chinese firm's control of the strategically located Darwin Port as 'questionable', saying the company should not be punished.
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South China Morning Post
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- South China Morning Post
Mongolia's prime minister resigns amid corruption claims after losing confidence vote
Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene resigned on Tuesday, a parliamentary statement said, after losing a confidence vote among lawmakers. Advertisement The secret ballot followed days of protests in the capital Ulaanbaatar against alleged corruption. Speaking after the result of the vote was announced to parliament, Oyun-Erdene said: 'It was an honour to serve my country and people in times of difficulties, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs.' He will remain as caretaker prime minister until his successor is appointed within 30 days. People sing during a protest in Ulaanbaatar on May 21 calling for the resignation of Mongolia's Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene. Photo: AFP Mongolia , a landlocked democracy in northern Asia, has battled deep-seated corruption for decades.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's stablecoin ambitions offer Beijing a channel to bring yuan into crypto world
China is not a fan of cryptocurrencies. Over the past decade, the Chinese government has built up one of the world's most hostile regulatory frameworks against cryptocurrency-related activities, including trading and mining. Beijing views digital assets like bitcoin as a threat to the country's financial stability and capital account controls, and even a challenge to the nation's currency sovereignty. Advertisement In the face of challenges from bitcoin and other privately-issued digital currencies such as Facebook's Diem, formally known as Libra, China's central bank has started to promote the use of a 'sovereign' digital yuan. But the digital yuan 'experiment' has for years struggled to find relevance as a form of payment in domestic and international transactions. Against this backdrop, Beijing's tolerance of and supportive attitude towards the stablecoin ambitions of Hong Kong is interesting to observe. Last month, the city's lawmakers passed the Stablecoins Bill , which will take effect later this year, paving the way for stablecoins backed by the Hong Kong dollar and other assets in the city. The green light comes at a time when the second administration of US President Donald Trump has adopted a friendly stance towards stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that maintains a fixed value by being pegged to a reference asset such as the US dollar. This photo illustration shows Chinese 100 yuan notes and US 100 dollar notes, in Beijing on April 8, 2025. Photo: AFP China is taking notice. While Beijing has yet to make any official comment on stablecoins, there are research papers making the argument that stablecoins, backed by US dollar assets, represent an extension of US dollar hegemony in the blockchain realm. Advertisement The world's top-10 stablecoins in terms of market capitalisation are all backed by US dollar assets, except Pax Gold that is backed by gold. There are also stablecoins backed by euro assets, but the market cap of these is tiny compared to US dollar ones.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump ‘likely' to speak to Xi this week, White House says, amid renewed trade tensions
US President Donald Trump is 'likely' to speak to China's President Xi Jinping this week, the White House said on Monday, amid renewed trade tensions between the two countries. Advertisement The prospect for such talks, mentioned to reporters by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, comes after China hit back at the United States over alleged violations of a temporary bilateral trade agreement reached in mid-May in Geneva. China's Commerce Ministry on Monday released a statement saying Trump's accusation last week that Beijing had violated the agreement is 'groundless' and 'grossly distorts the facts'. The ministry also criticised the Trump administration for introducing 'discriminatory measures' against China , including issuing guidance on export controls of artificial intelligence chips and revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the United States. Such comments were made after Trump lashed out at China on Friday for 'totally' violating the agreement reached in high-level talks in the Swiss city, under which the two countries committed to backing away from their respective triple-digit tariffs and trade restrictions. Advertisement 'I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual,' Trump said in a social media post.
