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My Take

My Take
My Take, a popular and sometimes controversial daily column of the South China Morning Post, analyses a variety of hot-button issues concerning Hong Kong, mainland China and the region.
People attend a protest against the US’ attack on Iran’s nuclear sites in Tehran on June 22, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Ali Khamenei

My Take | Congratulations to Iran and the occasional flash of Trump genius

US president and the ayatollah deserve a joint Nobel Peace Prize for averting a third world war or at least Iraq 2.0, if general ceasefire holds.

Israel

My Take | Is it time for change in Iran? Leave it to Iranians to decide

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United States

My Take | Why ancient Rome is haunting contemporary America’s far right

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Britain

My Take | Brave victims help bring brutal rapist from Chinese mainland to justice

Zou Zhenhao, convicted of 10 attacks in Britain and China, may have carried out up to 50 more and police want women to come forward.

Zhenhao Zou, is seen in a photo released by authories in March. Metropolitan Police handout via Reuters
Hong Kong economy

My Take | Hong Kong has been, and always will be, a very special Chinese city

And, contrary to the views of famed economist Stephen Roach, so will great places such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chongqing.

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Mainland China

My Take | New world order: Greater China, Russia and Israel, but smaller US

Spheres of influence are emerging that will slowly but surely erode America’s global power from East Asia to the Middle East.

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China-Middle East relations

Opinion | Israel-Iran conflict is latest test of China’s self-proclaimed neutrality

Echoing Moscow, Islamabad and Pyongyang, Beijing’s alignment with Tehran challenges its credibility as a neutral mediator.

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Israeli security forces inspect destroyed houses that were struck by a missile fired from Iran on Saturday. Flaring tensions between the two adversaries have put China’s self-proclaimed neutrality under the spotlight again. Photo: AP
Mainland China

My Take | How hapless Chinese scientists became ‘agroterrorists’ in the US

Experts say the fungus Fusarium graminearum is more of a pest than ‘a dangerous biological pathogen’, as FBI director Kash Patel has claimed.

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Mark Rutte

My Take | Hey, Nato boss man, keep your hands off the Asia-Pacific region

The West’s unspoken assumption is that Asians cannot be trusted to manage their own affairs, at least when Western interests are involved.

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Mainland China

My Take | US risks soft power by alienating Chinese students

America can guard its core technologies, but relinquishing its status as an international education hub will undermine its global influence.

Students cheer during the 374th Harvard Commencement on May 29. The school has been a frequent target of US President Donald Trump as he pushes for strict oversight on admissions and hiring. Photo: AFP
China economy

My Take | What will China look like in 2030? A forecast on the next 5-year plan

China is likely to leverage advanced technology to boost manufacturing, achieving self-sufficiency while becoming an indispensable exporter.

Visitors interact with robotic musicians at a carnival in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province. Photo: Xinhua
United States

My Take | What were 2 Chinese scientists who took a pathogen into the US thinking?

The toxic fungus may be a legitimate research subject, but they have handed Washington the perfect excuse to hype up the China threat.

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Hong Kong politics

My Take | Ombudsman sets a new year zero by removing reports from website

Ensuring easy public access to carefully preserved archives allows for Hong Kong’s history – recent or distant – to be better understood.

Hong Kong politics

My Take | HK eyes open to real China after fall of Western-allied opposition

Far from being afraid, Hongkongers now do what sensible people would have done long ago – dine, shop and play on the mainland.

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Hongkongers head to Shenzhen via Lo Wu station during the National Day holiday on October 1, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee
Taiwan

My Take | ‘Strategic clarity’ over Taiwan is just so much American bombast

Ally or not, no one with a decent sense of self-preservation can afford to take a security guarantee by the United States at face value nowadays.

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Soldiers lower the Taiwanese flag at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. Photo: AP
US-China trade war

Opinion | Sorry, but the ‘China shock’ was actually pretty good for America

Based on the latest data, experts argue that job losses in some parts of the US economy have been more than made up for in other areas.

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Cryptocurrency

My Take | Hong Kong’s stablecoin ambitions offer Chinese yuan a way into the crypto world

Beijing’s tolerance of and supportive attitude towards Hong Kong’s stablecoin ambitions is interesting to observe.

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China technology

My Take | Springtime for China’s engineers and scientists. In US, not so much

As the chip war rages, Chinese firms and institutes have had a boost in state support while their counterparts face crackdowns and restrictions.

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The United States last month announced a global ban on the use of advanced artificial intelligence-powered chips made by Chinese companies – the latest in a string of export curbs targeting China’s semiconductor industry. Photo: AFP
Taiwan

My Take | Taiwan’s Lai does not have the cards with Washington or Beijing

By aligning with the US and annoying the mainland, Taipei under the DPP has sacrificed future prosperity and security for little or nothing.

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Israel-Gaza war

My Take | European Union has finally shed crocodile tears for Palestinians

Rounds of Western criticism are little more than a slap on the wrist for Israel when the latter’s genocidal intent in Gaza can no longer be ignored.

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US-China relations

My Take | American financial exploitation vs Chinese financial repression

The superpowers’ rivalry is not so much about competing social-economic systems, but two different versions of capitalism.

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While the US is imposing high tariffs on friend and foe alike, nominally communist China has been promoting free trade and defending globalisation. Photo: EPA
United States

My Take | US kicking out foreign students to the benefit of China and others

Hong Kong and the mainland are among those hoping to lure refugees from Harvard and other top universities scared away by Trump crackdown.

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Harvard sweatshirts are displayed for sale in a school store window on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 15, 2025. Photo: AFP
Britain

My Take | Hongkongers in the UK deserve to be supported, not let down

The British government should clarify the position of BN(O) visa holders and exclude them from the impact of a campaign to cut immigration.

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United States

My Take | Trump drums up a fake genocide while sponsoring real one in Gaza

US president tries to confront South African counterpart in Oval Office with unsubstantiated allegations of atrocities against white farmers.

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Asean

My Take | Closer Asean ties can help China counter US militarisation of region

However, Beijing’s foreign policy and economic agenda are at cross purposes, with nations in the bloc suffering from chronic trade deficits.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) shakes hands with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (right) in Putrajaya outside Kuala Lumpur on April 16. File photo: Reuters
Donald Trump

My Take | US presidents often hide the true state of their health from the public

Revelations of Biden’s mental decline and advanced prostate cancer latest example of White House dishonesty based on the constitution.

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Former US president Joe Biden. Photo: TNS
US-China relations

My Take | US should change the opioid crisis narrative if it wants China’s full support

While exerting pressure abroad, Trump should ensure resources at home that ease fentanyl crisis are not affected by his budget cuts.

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Libya

My Take | The world’s biggest rogue state looks to sanction little Hong Kong

As it targets the city’s judiciary, the US has paralysed the work of the ICC while planning for the ethnic cleansing and displacement of Gazans.

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