South China Morning Post

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode 13 features a preview of Sunday's Hong Kong International Races, with predictions and the team's best bets.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode 12 features a look at Wednesday's International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley, with predictions and the team's best bets.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode 11 features an update on all things Hong Kong International Races, a look at Romantic Warrior's new plans for the season and the team's best bets for Sunday's 10-race card.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode 10 features a look back at Sunday's Group Two action, the selected runners for December's Hong Kong International Races and the team's best bets for this weekend's 10-race card.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode nine features a look at the abandonment at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, a preview of this weekend's Group Two action and the team's best bets for Sunday's 11-race card.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode eight features a look at the International Jockeys' Championship line up and the team's best bets for Saturday's 10-race card, where Wunderbar takes on Magic Control down the Sha Tin straight.

Situated in the eastern Himalayas, the kingdom of Bhutan has become synonymous with serenity and spirituality. In this episode of Eat Drink Asia, Post reporter Lisa Cam visits Bhutan to learn how locals preserve and promote their traditional culture through food. Read more: https://sc.mp/vyukv

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode seven features a Hong Kong International Races update, while we hear from Zac Purton ahead of Massive Sovereign's return in Sunday's Group Three Sa Sa Ladies' Purse and get the team's best bets for Sha Tin's 10-race card.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode six covers the first batch of entries for December's Hong Kong International Races and Ka Ying Rising's electric win in the Premier Bowl, plus we hear from James McDonald ahead of his winter contract in Hong Kong and get the team's best bets for this weekend's meeting at Happy Valley.

Welcome to the Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode five covers Galaxy Patch's blistering win, David Hayes' thoughts on his exciting sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, ahead of the Premier Bowl, a preview of this weekend's feature and the team's best bets on the card.

Welcome to the new Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode four covers David Eustace's promising start, Zac Purton's thoughts on his Caulfield Cup ride, Land Legend, a preview of this Sunday's Group Two Sha Tin Trophy and the team's best bets on the card.

Welcome to the new Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode three covers an early look at this season's Classic Series contenders, Dan Meagher's HKIR dream and the team's best bets for Sunday's meeting at Sha Tin.

Welcome to the new Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode two covers this weekend's Group One Sprinters Stakes, with Jay providing all the latest news from Nakayama, as well as an update on veteran trainer Benno Yung, the team's best bets for Saturday's meeting at Sha Tin and a preview of the Group Three National Day Cup.

Welcome to the brand new Hong Kong Racing Weekly podcast. Episode one covers Romantic Warrior's potential dirt campaign, Golden Sixty's farewell ceremony and this weekend's Group Three Celebration Cup.

Noodles with wontons, beef balls and shrimp roe as well as boat noodles are classic Hong Kong dishes, but where did they originate? In this episode of Eat Drink Asia, hosts Charmaine Mok and Sam Evans are joined by Post reporter Lisa Cam to discuss how these noodle varieties made their way to Hong Kong. They also make an argument for why noodles are more emblematic of Chinese cultural heritage than rice.  This episode is made with the support of Cathay Pacific.

Pineapple buns, cocktail buns and egg tarts are among the cornucopia of delectables ready to be sampled at bakeries across Hong Kong. In this episode of Eat Drink Asia, hosts Charmaine Mok and Sam Evans explore the origins of these classic baked goods. They also speak with cookbook author Kristina Cho, who shares tips about making egg tarts at home and explains how Chinese-style bakeries in the United States compare with those in Hong Kong. This episode is made with the support of Cathay…

More Asian internet users are influenced by far-right causes including white supremacism in the digital age. Listen to Post reporter Kimberly Lim explain more about the ‘anti-woke’ movement’s slow creep in the region, while experts Munira Mustaffa, Jo Krishnakumar and Rizky Rahadianto provide context on how the internet has become so divisive. Read more: https://sc.mp/h43aw

The history of dim sum dates back thousands of years, but chefs in Hong Kong are taking the tradition to new heights. In this episode of Eat Drink Asia, hear how some restaurants in the city are putting their own spin on classic dishes. Hosts Charmaine Mok and Sam Evans also sit down with Ho Lee Fook’s chefs ArChan Chan and Winson Yip to discuss the balance between preservation and experimentation when it comes to dim sum food culture. This episode is made with the support of Cathay Pacific.

With slower growth in China’s economy, young professionals and middle-class people across the country are tightening their belts and cutting down on spending. But what can the rest of the world expect from diminished demand in the second-biggest economy?

Two years after taking office as Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee has shifted his focus from enforcing national security to improving the lives of residents and rebuilding the city's economy. But he faces formidable challenges, stemming from geopolitical tensions between China and the West with Hong Kong caught in the middle. Lee discusses all this and more with the Post's managing editor of content, Yonden Lhatoo, in this extended version of Talking Post.

How does a country deepen its relationship and do business with China without risking retaliation by the US and its allies? How can a nation protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea yet maintain a delicate balancing act with its neighbours with their own views and claims? Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discusses these issues and more, including his deep anguish over the Israel-Gaza war, in this extended version of Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.

How does a country deepen its relationship and do business with China without risking retaliation by the US and its allies? How can a nation protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea yet maintain a delicate balancing act with its neighbours with their own views and claims? Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discusses these issues and more, including his deep anguish over the Israel-Gaza war, in this extended version of Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.

Harajuku, a neighbourhood in the Japanese capital Tokyo, has long been known as the birthplace of some incredibly colourful and unique fashion subcultures. The district had gone relatively quiet for years, but now one of its best-known styles called decora is staging a surprise comeback. In this episode of About Asia, we chart the rise, fall and rebirth of Harajuku’s fashion scene.  Read more: https://sc.mp/cdeb24

Once described as “the best pig” by the late food legend Anthony Bourdain, babi guling is no longer just a ceremonial dish in Bali. Post reporter Lisa Cam examines how overtourism helped turn the beloved spit-roasted pig into the Indonesian island’s most ubiquitous street food. Read more: https://sc.mp/3lkcz

The European Union and the United States claim that China is flooding global markets with cheap goods. China says these assertions are groundless. Post Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham breaks down the arguments for and against overcapacity, and looks at whether the EU and China are heading towards a trade war. Read more about this: https://sc.mp/a1e73f

The US has been grappling with an opioid crisis for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of fentanyl – a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin. What roles do China and India play in the global illicit fentanyl trade? Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan and independent investigative journalist Ben Westhoff walk us through their reporting. For more on this: https://sc.mp/8c9626

The US has been grappling with an opioid crisis for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of fentanyl – a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin. What roles do China and India play in the global illicit fentanyl trade? Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan and independent investigative journalist Ben Westhoff walk us through their reporting. For more on this: https://sc.mp/8c9626

Domestic tourism in China is steadily recovering, but what about inbound tourism? Post senior correspondent Ralph Jennings has a look at who is visiting China and who is not and explores the various hurdles foreigners face when travelling to China. For more on China travel: https://sc.mp/facef8

Hong Kong’s urban jungle was once regularly visited by wild tigers, with sightings of the big cats until the 1960s. While local history books only mention tiger killings in 1915 and 1942, the animals appear in oral accounts, newspapers and John Saeki's 2022 book The Last Tigers of Hong Kong – which tells tales of deadly attacks and terrified villagers hearing roars and frantic pig squealing. In this podcast, the Post tracks down Hong Kong’s links to the critically endangered South China tiger. 🐅

China is turning science fiction into fact, whether through the development of nuclear reactors for interplanetary space travel or the use of artificial intelligence to fight corruption. The Post’s science editor Stephen Chen and science reporter Holly Chik discuss some of the latest achievements by China’s scientific community and how the country is nurturing the next generation of scientists. Read the latest on China science: https://sc.mp/a3caf7

Oppenheimer will finally make its Japan premier on March 29, 2024, eight months after the film’s world debut. How will the only country to suffer wartime atomic bombings react to a biopic about the American physicist who led efforts to build the first such weapons of mass destruction? Yuki Miyamoto, a nuclear ethics professor at DePaul University who has seen Oppenheimer three times, discusses her reservations about the film.  Read more: https://sc.mp/92s0

Protests continue in India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which many say is a Hindu nationalist campaign targeting Muslims, spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Post spoke with independent journalist Angad Singh for more. Read more on this: https://sc.mp/5396d3

China has just concluded its biggest annual plenary event in Beijing, the “two sessions” of its top legislative and political advisory bodies. Post executive editor and resident China expert Chow Chung-yan sits down with managing editor Yonden Lhatoo in this extended version of Talking Post to unpack it all. Watch the video interview: https://sc.mp/6dae8c

The yakuza are seeing a pop cultural renaissance with hit TV shows like Tokyo Vice and video games such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. In reality, however, the Japanese organised crime groups are in serious decline. But do their shrinking numbers tell the whole story? To learn more, the Post’s Jonathan Vit spoke with Dr Martina Baradel, a criminologist at the University of Oxford. Read more on this: https://sc.mp/r6law

How might a second Trump presidency affect US relations with China, North Korea, Japan, Asean, India and more? Post US bureau chief Robert Delaney compares and analyses the foreign policies of incumbent President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump and explores whether Beijing prefers one over the other. Read the latest on the US presidential 2024 elections: https://sc.mp/0d0073

How might a second Trump presidency affect US relations with China, North Korea, Japan, Asean, India and more? Post US bureau chief Robert Delaney compares and analyses the foreign policies of incumbent President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump and explores whether Beijing prefers one over the other. Read the latest on the US presidential 2024 elections: https://sc.mp/0d0073

A growing number of women are freezing their eggs as a means of prolonging their fertility, but what are the economic and social barriers they face along the way? The Post spoke with Dr Geetha Venkat to learn more. Read more on this: https://sc.mp/3hse

The political marriage of the Philippines’ two most powerful families appears to be crumbling. Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, explains the history behind the apparent feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, and its potential implication to the country’s political future. For the latest on the Philippines: https://sc.mp/ca9d66

Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s current defence minister, has won the presidential election by a wide margin, according to unofficial, but historically accurate quick count results. But there are lingering concerns about Prabowo related to past allegations of human rights abuses. In this episode of About Asia, we speak with Jacqui Baker of Murdoch University about the president-elect’s successful shift from fiery populist to a grandfatherly figure.

A century-old American trade provision known as the “de minimis” rule has drawn the attention of some US lawmakers. They argue that the rule gives Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Temu, an unfair advantage over American retailers. Post reporter Siqi Ji explores the arguments for scrapping the rule and explains why changing it will be hard despite bipartisan support. Read Siqi’s story: https://sc.mp/5c57e8