A booming semiconductor industry is helping drive a surge in trade in Xian, one of China’s ancient capitals, making it the country’s top performer by trade growth among provincial capitals and provincial-level cities for which data is publicly available. The capital of western China’s Shaanxi province recorded a 115.5 per cent year-on-year surge in trade during the first nine months of 2026. Exports far outpaced imports, climbing 142.1 per cent. Two product categories drove much of that export...

More than 1,000 people are still taking shelter in evacuation centres, awaiting temporary housing three months after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture, damaging their homes. The quake occurred at 4.27pm on July 28. As of Monday, the death toll stood at 38 – 36 from confirmed disaster-related causes and two suspected to be disaster-related – bringing the number of casualties to 420. Evacuation centres remain open at 21 locations in seven cities and towns. In...

Fresh-graduate job postings in Hong Kong fell 22 per cent in the first nine months of this year from the same period in 2025, according to data from one of the city’s biggest job-search platforms, with an industry leader warning that advances in technology will deepen the decline. Its data also showed more graduates chasing fewer jobs: a typical listing for graduates drew 56 per cent more applications than a year earlier. Yet about 85 per cent of the 298 companies Jobsdb surveyed in August and...

Hong Kong lawmakers have raised concerns about the hefty cost of developing a flagship tech hub and a neighbouring wetland park near the city’s border with mainland China, as the government seeks to secure a fresh HK$27 billion for the second round of works. During a Legislative Council development panel meeting on Tuesday, government officials explained the HK$27.2 billion proposal. It covers forming 175 hectares (432 acres) of land at the San Tin Technopole, establishing more than one-third of...

Hong Kong lawmakers have been given a pay rise retroactive to October 1 after a one-year pay freeze, bringing their monthly basic salary to more than HK$110,000. Outgoing and newly elected Hong Kong lawmakers meet the press on December 9, 2025. Photo: HKFP. Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday morning that legislators had received an unannounced 1.6 per cent pay rise, although the Legislative Council updated figures on its website. Following the pay rise, lawmakers will receive a basic monthly salary of HK$110,053, an increase of HK$1,740. The maximum medical allowance will also be increased by 1.6 per cent to HK$38,500 per year. The basic salary of Legislative Council President Starry Lee is double that of other lawmakers, bringing her basic monthly salary to HK$221,060. Chan Chun-ying, chairman of LegCo’s House Committee, receives 1.5 times the basic monthly salary of other lawmakers, earning HK$165,800 per month after the pay rise. Lawmakers who currently serve as members of the Executive Council, including Kenneth Lau, Stanley Ng and Gary Chan, earn less compared to other legislators. Their monthly basic salary will rise from HK$72,530 to HK$73,690. ‘Justify their pay’ Hong Kong’s legislature was expanded from 60 to 70 seats in 2012. In 2021, Beijing overhauled the electoral system for the legislature, expanding it to 90 seats. Most traditional opposition figures remain in prison, have left politics, or have fled into self-imposed exile. Hong Kong legislator Starry Lee shakes hands with other lawmakers after being elected as Legislative Council president on January 8, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Earlier in October, Rita Fan, the first president of Hong Kong’s legislature after the 1997 Handover, said on RTHK that it was costing too much to sustain 90 lawmakers in the Legislative Council, citing the opinions of “a friend.” Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday that Fan’s remarks were widely discussed in political circles, and the public expected lawmakers’ performance to better “justify their pay.” Earlier this year, Hong Kong approved a 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants, judges and judicial officers, and a 1.3 per cent pay rise for top ministers and other political appointees.

A Hong Kong political commentator charged with revealing details of a national security probe has testified that he did not believe an investigation was underway. Wong On-yin’s YouTube Channel. Photo: Screenshot, via YouTube. Wong Kwok-ngon, known by his pen name Wong On-yin, continued his testimony at the District Court on Tuesday. The 72-year-old, who is representing himself, was arrested last December after publishing two YouTube videos discussing a meeting with national security police that took place the day before. Revealing details of a national security investigation is a crime under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), the city’s homegrown security law known locally as Article 23. National security police had brought him in to discuss a press conference about the fatal Wang Fuk Court fire, which had occurred days earlier, at which Wong was scheduled to speak. In response to the prosecution’s questions, Wong confirmed that he did say in his video that he met the officers at Mong Kok Police Station, and that he described their ages and appearances. But he said he had put in considerable thought before publishing the videos, and that it was his judgement that police were not carrying out an investigation. Wong said he believed the meeting’s purpose was just for officers to stop the press conference from going ahead. District Court in Wan Chai. File photo: HKFP. Wong added that officers asked him what he planned to talk about during the press conference – which was eventually called off – and whether he had collaborated with any organisations. Therefore, he did not think there was a problem with talking about the meeting, he said. He also told the court that police handed him a confidentiality agreement during the meeting, but that he “basically did not look at it.” Media reports Tuesday marked the 12th day of the trial, in which Wong is representing himself. During the first day of his testimony, he told the court that he held bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law. On Tuesday, Wong also said he did not consider it an act of disclosure when the information being discussed was already known to the public. Wong On-yin. Photo: Screenshot, via YouTube. Wong said the media had already reported the news that he had been taken in by national security police. When asked by the prosecution whether what he said in the videos – including the people he met with and what was discussed – went beyond what was reported in the media, Wong agreed. Wong also faces a sedition charge in relation to 30 commentary videos he posted between January and December last year. Tuesday’s hearing began with Wong playing four videos from his YouTube channel that were not among those 30. In those four videos, Wong talked about topics such as the Wang Fuk Court fire. For example, he spoke on controversies in renovation projects and the removal of four investigative articles by state-backed outlet Ta Kung Pao about the construction at the housing estate. He told the court he wanted to give a more complete picture of his commentary, and that he had never incited the public to take part in any action. The trial will continue on Wednesday.

The latest figures mark a major milestone as Beijing grapples with an ageing population.

India-China ties were on a cautious recovery path until a border official’s remarks raised fresh doubts about ground realities.

Record-breaking voter turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel hits around 80 percent, early indications show.

Despite narrower exit poll figures, opposition leaders insisted the result was a defeat for the government.