The former diplomat who spent nearly three years in Chinese detention says Ottawa cannot afford naivety about CCP engagement A Warning From Someone Who Learned the Hard Way There are few voices on Canada-China relations more authoritative - or more sobering - than Michael Kovrig's. A former Canadian diplomat, Kovrig spent 1,019 days in arbitrary detention in China, held without credible charges in retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. He was imprisoned in isolation, denied adequate consular access, and subjected to conditions that the Canadian government and international human rights organizations characterized as a fundamental violation of his rights. He knows, better than perhaps any living Canadian, exactly what the CCP is willing to do when it calculates that hostage diplomacy serves its interests. In a March 2026 opinion piece for the National Post, Kovrig turned his firsthand knowledge of Beijing's methods onto an assessment of Prime Minister Mark Carney's approach to China - and what he found was cause for serious concern. Carney's China Problem Mark Carney, who came to office as Canada's prime minister following a Liberal leadership transition, has signaled a desire to recalibrate Canada's relationship with Beijing from the deep chill that followed the Two Michaels crisis and the Meng Wanzhou affair. Carney's background as a former central banker who deeply values multilateral…
Micro-dwellers pay full-market rents for spaces smaller than a parking space A City of Millions Living in Spaces Measured in Feet Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest cities on earth and one of its most crowded. For tens of thousands of its poorest residents, home is a space that can be measured not in square metres but in square feet - or, in the most extreme cases, in inches. The so-called coffin homes, cage homes, and subdivided flats that house a significant and growing segment of Hong Kong's population represent one of the starkest expressions of what happens when housing markets are allowed to operate without meaningful social safeguards in a context of extreme land scarcity and extreme inequality. These micro-dwellings, which include wooden or metal-framed bunks stacked in rows and subdivided flats chopped into single-room or studio units of as little as 60 to 80 square feet, are a long-documented feature of Hong Kong's housing landscape. But they are not a historical curiosity. They are a present-tense emergency affecting real people right now. What Life in a Coffin Home Looks Like A coffin home, or gung hei lau in Cantonese, is typically a plywood or metal-framed sleeping compartment of roughly six feet by two and a half feet - about the dimensions of a large suitcase. Residents share…
Hong Kong's third-largest MPF provider earns a landmark accolade 25 years in the making A Quarter-Century of Retirement Commitment Recognised…
Singapore's Old Seng Choong pandan cakes meet premier banking on Queen's Road Banking Gets a New Identity in Hong Kong's…
The International Campaign for Tibet marks the 1959 Uprising Day with a global call to stand with the Tibetan people…
From Warring States officials to modern tech workers, Chinese workers have long battled brutal hours A Modern Crisis With Ancient…
For 30 years, Hong Kong held the world's largest Tiananmen memorial. Beijing ended it. The Vigil That Defied an Empire…
Hong Kong Pays a Steep Price for Dragging Its Feet on Electric Buses and Taxis – While Shenzhen went fully electric years ago, Hong Kong’s green transition crawls at a pace that costs lives and credibility
Xiamen’s Cruise Season Opens Amid Geopolitical Tensions Worth Watching – As the Star Voyager docks in the scenic Chinese port city, travelers should be aware of the political and regulatory realities shaping cruise routes
Dollar Still Dominates: Why the Renminbi and Euro Remain Pretenders – Despite growing de-dollarization rhetoric, deep structural barriers mean the US dollar’s reserve status remains unassailable for now
SEVENTEEN Conquers Kai Tak Stadium, Making K-Pop History in Hong Kong – The 13-member group becomes the first K-pop act to sell out four consecutive shows at Hong Kong’s largest venue
China’s Soft Power in Crisis: How Beijing Lost the Iran War Narrative – Xi Jinping’s government condemned the strikes loudly but changed nothing — exposing the limits of China’s global influence
China Demands Ceasefire as World Splits Over Iran War – Beijing condemns US-Israeli strikes as illegal aggression while global powers struggle to contain the worst Middle East crisis in a decade
Sharks in the Graveyard: How North Carolina Scientists Used Mapping to Tell a Conservation Story – A storymap tracing sand tiger sharks through Atlantic shipwrecks earns global recognition in Esri’s ArcGIS competition
World Leaders Scramble as US-Israel Strikes on Iran Ignite Fear of Wider War – Global capitals react with alarm as Tehran burns and the Middle East teeters on the brink
Do We Want the AI That Pauses? Or the AI That Proceeds? There is a quiet philosophical split emerging in the age of artificial intelligence. It does not revolve around…
Formula 1 on Alert as US-Israel Strike on Iran Sends Travel Chaos Across the Gulf – With missile strikes hitting Bahrain and airspace closures disrupting flights, F1’s upcoming Middle East races face mounting uncertainty
China Solar Surpasses Wind: A Green Milestone With Dark Undertones – For the first time solar power generated more electricity in China than wind, but coal still supplies half the nation’s energy
China Voices Deep Concern as Global Powers Split Over US-Israel Strikes on Iran – Beijing, Moscow, and Europe diverge sharply as Washington and Tel Aviv reshape the Middle East by force
Jimmy Lai’s 20-Year Sentence: A Flashpoint That Could Reshape US-China Relations – The jailing of Hong Kong’s most celebrated press freedom defender transforms a local prosecution into a global diplomatic crisis
How China’s Carrier-Killer Missiles May Have Triggered the 2026 Iran War – A former Pentagon analyst argues that Beijing’s weapons transfer to Tehran closed the diplomatic window and forced the US hand
China’s 600 km/h Maglev Dream: Speed Without Freedom – State-owned CRRC pushes toward a record-breaking train that could reshape travel — but the governance model behind it raises serious questions
War, Oil, and the Global Risks Nobody Wants to Name – Reuters Breakingviews and analysts warn that Trump’s Iran campaign opens threats to markets, alliances, and the global economy
Yum China’s 2025 Results: KFC and Pizza Hut Power a Consumer Comeback – Strong same-store sales growth and a record shareholder return program signal China’s restaurant giant is capitalizing on middle-class demand
Pride House Brings LGBTQ Inclusion to the World’s Greatest Sporting Events – Born in Vancouver and growing toward Los Angeles 2028, Pride House is making international sport a safer space for queer athletes
Tai Po Fire Survivors Speak Out Against a Housing Plan That Ignores Their Wishes – Months after Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades, Wang Fuk Court residents say the government buyout sidelines those who want to go home
Hong Kong Tourism Gets HK$1.66 Billion to Fire Up Bigger Festivals – Greater funding means grander events — but only freedom can restore Hong Kong’s lost global appeal
The Philippines Promotes Its China Critic to Rear Admiral — and Beijing Is Not Happy – Jay Tarriela’s elevation to flag rank is a bold signal from Manila that it will not be intimidated out of defending its sovereign maritime rights
Flight Chaos Grips Southeast Asia Airports: What Travelers Must Know – Mass delays and cancellations hit Jakarta, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong — here is how to protect your trip
China’s Humanoid Robot Boom: Why Beijing Is Winning the Race to Build the Future – Chinese manufacturers are outpacing US rivals in speed, volume, and deployment — and the gap is widening
Ghana’s Black Queens Thump Hong Kong 4-0 in Sharjah Statement Win – Ghana’s women’s national team delivers a clinical four-goal dismantling to announce themselves as Pink Ladies Cup favorites
Two Elderly Passengers Hurt in MTR Escalator Fall at Kowloon Tong – A safety incident at a major interchange station raises urgent questions about aging passenger welfare
America on the Brink: The Terrifying Questions Behind a War with Iran – Before the bombs fall, the answers must come first
Ghana Black Queens Demolish Hong Kong 4-0 in Pink Ladies Cup Opener – A dominant four-goal display in Sharjah signals that Ghana’s women are ready to challenge Africa’s elite
HSBC Beats Forecasts as Wealth Division Delivers Record Growth – Europe’s largest bank posts $29.9 billion pre-tax profit and targets 17 percent returns through 2028 as Hong Kong business outperforms
Africa Warns the World: Iran War Could Spark a Global Economic Crisis – AU chief Youssouf demands restraint as US-Israel strikes threaten oil markets and African food security
Panama Canal Power Play: How CK Hutchison Became a US-China Proxy War Pawn – The battle for port control at a strategic waterway lays bare Beijing’s global reach
Hong Kong Stocks: Why Analysts Say Buy Hard Assets Before Going Broader – A leading market strategist urges caution on Chinese tech and flags a two-phase approach to Hong Kong equity positioning
$10 Billion a Day: The Chinese Crypto Scam Network Robbing Americans – Pig butchering operations linked to CCP-connected gangs drain tens of billions annually from US victims
Global Powers Fracture as China and Russia Condemn US-Israel Strikes on Iran – A new fault line in world affairs opens as Beijing and Moscow demand an end to military operations that Washington calls a defense of civilization
