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SCMP

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 subscribing.
1. US’ 500 military personnel in Taiwan an ‘open test’ of Beijing’s red lines
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.
2. Top sleep scientist Dan Yang leaves US for China role, reunites with Mu-ming Poo
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.
3. China invested in a lagging Darwin port. Now profitable, Australia wants it back

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.
4. Hong Kong students in US visa limbo although ‘interview bookings available’

Hongkongers hoping to pursue tertiary education in the United States are grappling with uncertainties after the US government halted scheduling interviews for student visas, although a consultancy said online bookings were still available on Wednesday.
5. Stranger connections and the rise of ‘third places’ in Singapore

In Singapore, a growing number of millennials and Gen Zs are actively seeking out and creating their own communities to meet new people. Across the island, such “third places” – locations for informal socialising beyond work and home – are on the rise.
6. Elon Musk’s Hyperloop has a key flaw. Chinese scientists may have found ‘cure’

Chinese scientists claimed to have solved a critical flaw in the futuristic vision of ultra-high speed ground travel, potentially salvaging vacuum-tube maglev technology and casting new light on the challenges faced by Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept.
7. Chinese paraglider cheats death after flying to 28,000ft, handed 6 month ban

A Chinese paraglider who cheated death after a cloud carried him to the same height as the cruising altitude for aircraft, has been banned from flying for six months.


China doubts Musk’s Starship future; ex-TSMC chip prodigy returns: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Consort Wan’s dark story, the good and bad with GLP-1s: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Xpeng’s driverless cabs; Tesla launches FSD in China; Nio slams price wars: 7 EV reads

Singha beer dynasty scandal, Malaysia’s sunken missile deal: 7 Asia highlights

SCMP Highlights

US military personnel in Taiwan, mainland China’s ‘cure’ to Hyperloop flaw: SCMP’s 7 highlights

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act enshrines continued US defence support to the island, mainly through arms sales. Photo: AFP

Chinese ambassador to Canberra Xiao Qian said he hoped Australia would view issues around the leasing of Darwin port “objectively”. Photo: Handout

A protestor arrives at a rally in support of Harvard’s international student population at the university’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Casual Poet Library has become a sort of community centre and living room, founder Rebecca Toh says. Photo: Rebecca Toh

A model of the ultra-high speed maglev train system that is under development in China. Photo: China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation

Chinese paraglider Peng Yujiang had a lucky escape after being carried to 28,000 ft. Photo: Weibo/Chinese Weather Enthusiasts

Singapore Airlines incident a year on, Kim Jong-un watches warship flop: 7 Asia highlights

Kim Jong-un visits the Choe Hyon warship at an undisclosed location in North Korea on April 29. Photo: EPA-EFE/KCNA

The streets of Jayang-dong, a neighbourhood in Seoul, South Korea, dubbed “Little China”. Photo: Kim Jung-yeop

The interior of Singapore Airlines flight 321 after an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on May 21, last year. Photo: Reuters

Anwar Ibrahim with his daughter Nurul Izzah. Photo: Instagram/n_izzah

An Indian soldier keeps watch near the Line of Control separating Pakistan and India on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has called for Filipinos to safeguard the country’s sovereignty against foreigners engaged in criminal activities. Photo: Kyodo

A street vendor sells drinks in plastic at a beach in Bali, Indonesia. The Bali Provincial Government has banned the production and distribution of bottled drinking water in plastic packaging under one litre to tackle the plastic waste crisis. Photo: EPA-EFE

Singapore Airlines turbulence 1 year on, China pushes Pakistan dam: SCMP’s 7 highlights

The HAL Prachand is an Indian multi-role light attack helicopter designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Project Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). Photo: Handout

The dam has been described as a “flagship” project for Pakistan. Photo: Handout

Housing and Development Board flats in Singapore. Photo: Roy Issa

Authorities have identified nine projects to attract tourists seeking in-depth experiences. Photo: Alexander Mak

A stunning bride in China has gone viral online after people refused to believe she was real and asked if she was generated by artificial intelligence. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo

China’s robot-made missiles, new bacteria strain found on Tiangong: 7 science highlights

Chinese air-to-air missiles, including the PL-15E implicated in this week’s aerial exchange between India and Pakistan, on display at China’s Zhuhai air show. Photo: Handout

Pakistan integrated Awacs aircraft into its air combat system. Photo: AFP

Pakistan’s military claims it destroyed an Indian air defence system in Punjab using Chinese hypersonic missiles fired from a JF-17 fighter jet. Photo: Handout

The Shuangjiangkou hydropower project in Sichuan province has been under construction for nearly a decade. Photo: Handout

Leading biomechanics scientist Lin Shaozhen has taken a full-time position as a professor and doctoral supervisor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou in China’s Guangdong province. Photo: Shutterstock

Preprint paper by Chinese trio says they established “the existence of smooth framed manifolds with Kervaire invariant one in dimension 126, thereby resolving the final case of the Kervaire invariant problem”.  Photo: Shutterstock  

The microbe was collected during the Shenzhou-15 mission. Photo: CCTV

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From US putting 500 military personnel in Taiwan to paraglider cheating death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting


From US putting 500 military personnel in Taiwan to paraglider cheating death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.


US military personnel in Taiwan, mainland China’s ‘cure’ to Hyperloop flaw: SCMP’s 7 highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From US putting 500 military personnel in Taiwan to paraglider cheating death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. US’ 500 military personnel in Taiwan an ‘open test’ of Beijing’s red lines

2. Top sleep scientist Dan Yang leaves US for China role, reunites with Mu-ming Poo

From US putting 500 military personnel in Taiwan to paraglider cheating death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting