Macau youth ‘happy to stay’, but will economic revamp create the right jobs?

By Emily Hung

Leo Zhou, a first-year student at the University of Macau, is clear about where he sees himself working in the future: mainland China.

“Macau has a strong focus on tourism and casinos, the demand and job offerings for engineers are very limited,” said the 19-year-old student from Macau, who is pursuing a degree in electrical and computer engineering.

He added he believed only one large telecommunication company could offer promising prospects for engineers.

“If the government takes concrete steps to nurture other industries such as finance, just like Hong Kong, I would be happy to stay here for my career,” the student said.

Zhou was among the young Macau residents who spoke to the Post and expressed dissatisfaction with their limited career choices despite the city’s drive to diversify its economy and reduce its long-standing dependence on the gaming sector.

Observers also warned an aggressive push to attract concerts and conferences, as part of the diversification efforts, would encourage young people to take up high-earning freelance jobs instead of investing in upgrading their skill sets.

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Athlete’s family says they paid HK$100k to group that said it could get her into Olympics

By Lars Hamer

The parents of a young skateboarding athlete have claimed they paid more than HK$100,000 to a group that said it could get her to the Olympics, only to discover it had no official standing in Hong Kong.

Speaking at a press conference alongside sports sector lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-kong on Wednesday, the teenager’s father, surnamed Su, said he had signed a five-year contract in 2021 with the China Hong Kong Skateboarding Federation because of this belief.

Su also claimed that when he tried to break the contract, the federation demanded HK$300,000 in compensation and threatened to stop the girl from skating for a year if they did not get the money.

While the father said he did not report the matter to police to spare his daughter any further anguish, lawyers acting for both sides resolved the dispute in July.

“In the conversation between myself and the so-called chairman of the association, he told me that he does have the authorisation to nominate my daughter to participate in the Asian Games and even the Olympic Games,” Su said. “This is one of the main reasons why I signed that five-year contract.”

But Reeve Tsui Yin-lung, the federation’s president and head coach, denied taking money from the family, or promising to ensure the teenager would reach the Games.

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Superpower showdown: how US-China economic warfare could play out under Trump

By Mandy Zuo

After retaking the White House last month, US president-elect Donald Trump celebrated his victory by attending an Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight bout with his friend and UFC president, Dana White, alongside billionaire ally Elon Musk.

Days later, Trump, the well-known fan of mixed martial arts, started to announce his pick of a group of diehard supporters for his “America first” agenda who are expected to come out swinging at China – America’s most consequential geopolitical rival – in his second term.

From Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive who has been vocal about tariffs, to Peter Navarro, a hawkish economist sanctioned by Beijing, choices made by Trump for his economic team signal that competition and conflicts between the world’s two largest economies are set to intensify, according to analysts.

And some say that China, which has maintained a stable team of loyalists to President Xi Jinping and gained experience with Trump in his first term, may respond with more composure – as demonstrated in the ancient Chinese martial art of tai chi – while trying to dissolve attacks from the United States.

Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who has been the “Chinese lead in US economic and trade talks” since last year, is expected to play a pivotal role in dealing with what looks to be shaping up as a fresh round of trade contentions.

Unlike when Trump first entered politics and had to rely on the opinions of establishment Republicans, his strong return has elevated loyalty to his primary criterion for selecting candidates, aiming to minimise any constraints on presidential power.

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Musk pressures US lawmakers to reject funding bill, raising risk of government shutdown

By Reuters

Elon Musk, tapped by US president-elect Donald Trump to prune the federal government, on Wednesday pressured Republicans in Congress to reject a stopgap spending bill, which would trigger a partial government shutdown.

Musk said Congress should pass no laws until Trump returns to the White House next month, but some House of Representatives members immediately said they would vote for the stopgap bill.

The Tesla chief executive and world’s richest person, who spent more than US$250 million to help Trump get elected, said lawmakers who vote to extend government funding past Friday should be voted out of office.

That could complicate efforts to avert a shutdown that would disrupt everything from air travel to law enforcement days before the Dec. 25 Christmas holiday.

“This criminal bill should NOT pass,” Musk wrote on social media.

Unless Congress acts, the federal government will run out of money to fund operations on Saturday. Negotiators on Tuesday agreed on a deal to extend funding through March 14.

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China should seize the moment to promote peace on Korean peninsula

By Chan Young BangAnar Shaikenova

China is at a crossroads as the most important player on the Korean peninsula. It must either tolerate continuous belligerent escalations from North Korea backed with nuclear weapons or promote peace and stability through denuclearisation of the peninsula and diminish US influence in the region.

During the past two months, a whirlwind of profoundly important political events has occurred with far-reaching implications for the global order.

US president-elect Donald Trump’s return to power has ignited intense speculation and pre-emptive action regarding his promise to broker peace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In South Korea, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law and subsequent impeachment has thrown the nation into political chaos. In Syria, rebel forces toppled president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, sending shock waves through the Middle East and Moscow. As a consequence of these events, five strategic variables mark a turning point for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and how China can act on it.

First, Trump’s second term will result in a political shift for the US. President Joe Biden’s objective in northeast Asia has been primarily to check China’s rise by forging alliances, such as the trilateral partnership with South Korea and Japan, and the Aukus defence pact with Australia and the UK. Trump’s regional policy will not be burdened with the rules-based order advocated by his predecessor.

In addition, Trump’s relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might lead to renewed talks. Most importantly, this shift could push South Korea and Japan to take more responsibility for their defence. Leaders of both countries have expressed an interest in joining the nuclear club to deter North Korea, and increased militarisation and nuclear expansion are not in China’s best interests.

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Nato chief wants to put Ukraine in position of strength for any peace talks with Russia

By Associated Press

Nato’s secretary general said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting on Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders.

But Mark Rutte appeared frustrated at growing speculation in Nato capitals about when those peace talks might start and whether European peacekeepers would be involved, saying that speaking publicly about it plays into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“High on the agenda is to make sure that the president, his team in Ukraine, are in the best possible position one day when they decide so to start the peace talks,” Rutte told reporters as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to his residence in Brussels.

The focus, Rutte said, must be “to do everything now to make sure that when it comes to air defence, when it comes to other weapons systems, that we make sure that we provide whatever we can”.

He said that another issue up for discussion would be “how to make sure that when peace comes one day that we also think about the economy of Ukraine now, but also after a future peace deal”.

Zelensky posted on Telegram that he would hold talks with the leaders of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland and UK representatives, who were in Brussels. He is also due to take part in an EU summit in the Belgian capital on Thursday.

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New York man Chen Jinping pleads guilty in Chinese ‘secret police station’ case

By Reuters

A New York resident who prosecutors say operated a “secret police station” in the Chinatown district of Manhattan to aid Beijing’s targeting of dissidents, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent.

Chen Jinping, 61, entered the plea at a hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court before US District Judge Nina Morrison. He faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on May 30.

In court, Chen admitted to removing an online article about the alleged police station on behalf of China’s government in September 2022. He said he was not registered with the US Justice Department as a foreign agent at the time, as US law requires of people acting for other countries.

Chen and a New York-based co-defendant, Lu Jianwang, were initially arrested on April 17, 2023. Lu has pleaded not guilty to the same charge, as well as to obstruction of justice.

The arrests followed a 2022 investigation published by Spain-based advocacy group Safeguard Defenders that reported China had set up overseas “service stations”, including in New York, that illegally worked with Chinese police to pressure fugitives to return to China.

The Department of Justice has been ramping up probes into what it calls “transnational repression” by US adversaries such as China and Iran to intimidate political opponents living in the United States.

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US Supreme Court agrees to review law banning Chinese-owned TikTok

By Khushboo Razdan

The US Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it had agreed to review a US law that mandates a nationwide ban of the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok if it fails to secure a non-Chinese buyer by January 19.

The arguments over whether the law violates freedom of speech protected by the US Constitution will be heard on January 10.

The court has directed the petitioners to submit a brief by December 27, arguing whether the law, officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, violates the free speech protections.

The app has around 170 million active users in the US.

“Speech restrictions have survived the Constitution’s most demanding standard only in rare and narrow circumstances,” TikTok said in an emergency appeal it filed on Monday, requesting a temporary halt on the ban.

TikTok had urged the court to “do what it has traditionally done in free speech cases: apply the most rigorous scrutiny to speech bans and conclude that it violates the First Amendment”.

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China and India agree on six-point consensus as they resume high-level border talks

By Zhao ZiwenKhushboo Razdan

China and India reached a six-point consensus following border talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval in Beijing on Wednesday.

They agreed to “continue to take measures to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations”, according to a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry.

The top diplomats “reaffirmed their commitment to continue seeking a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable package solution to the boundary issue” and to take “positive measures to promote this process.” The package settlement, first agreed upon in 2005, outlines the guiding principles for resolving the border dispute.

The two countries pledged to strengthen cross-border exchanges and cooperation, including resuming Indian pilgrimages to China, revitalising cross-border river cooperation, and renewing border trade, the statement said.

Additionally, they agreed to hold the next round of special representatives’ meetings in India next year, with the exact timing to be determined later through diplomatic channels.

According to another readout by the Chinese foreign ministry, the talks between Wang and Doval were “in-depth and constructive”.

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Shoppers look to score as mall at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park opens

By Johnny Wan

A 700,000 sq ft shopping centre in Hong Kong’s soon-to-open Kai Tak Sports Park began operating on Wednesday, with hundreds of people queuing for cash coupons.

Scores of stores in the Kai Tak Mall opened their doors, with occupancy at about 80 per cent. The mall is a key part of the park, located in the heart of East Kowloon and about a five-minute walk from Kai Tak MTR station.

The park is due to open in March next year.

“We definitely encourage people coming for shows, or sport events, to come earlier and enjoy our restaurants and spend as well,” said Crystal Wong Ho Kwan, head of retail of Kai Tak Sports Park.

“We are also in discussions with some of our restaurant partners to stay open even after events, and of course, there will be some flexible arrangements.”

Regular operating hours are from 10am to 10pm daily.

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Nicolas Sarkozy to wear electronic bracelet after French corruption conviction upheld

By Reuters

The Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court, upheld on Wednesday former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for corruption and influence peddling.

Sarkozy had appealed against the 2021 conviction for corruption and influence peddling, in which he had been handed a three-year prison sentence. Two of the years were suspended and Sarkozy would wear an electronic monitoring bracelet instead of going to prison for the last year.

Patrice Spinosi, lawyer for Sarkozy, said Sarkozy would appeal to the European Court for Human Rights to challenge the ruling.

Spinosi added Sarkozy would comply with the ruling which forces him to wear an electronic bracelet, a first for a former head of state, but would continue to use all legal means available to him to prove his innocence.

Sarkozy, a conservative who remains an important figure in French politics even after leaving office in 2012, had been found guilty by a lower court of trying to bribe a judge and of peddling influence in exchange for confidential information about a probe into his 2007 campaign finances.

The court found that Sarkozy conspired to secure a job in Monaco for a judge in exchange for inside information about an investigation into allegations that Sarkozy had accepted illegal payments from L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang pledges to crack down on unfair targeting of private firms

By William Zheng

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has warned local governments not to target private companies with unfair fines and promised further measures to improve the business environment next year.

The pledge – made at a meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Monday – follows accusations that some local authorities have been trying to raise extra funds by targeting private firms outside their jurisdictions.

This year Beijing has announced a series of measures to improve the business environment as part of its efforts to boost the faltering economy.

This includes a drive by the country’s top prosecuting authority to strengthen legal protections for private enterprises.

According to state news agency Xinhua, Li said that the abuse of administrative punishments and unfair law enforcement are still problems in some parts of the country and in certain sectors.

He told the meeting it is important for the government to start with the issues that are of “grave concern to the public and businesses” and standardise the exercise of power across the nation.

A special campaign will be launched in 2025 to regulate business-related law enforcement with the aim of improving the business environment and boosting market confidence, Li said.

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