China has met most of its 5-year goals. It hasn’t done so well on emissions
By Holly Chik
China met most of its targets under the current 14th Five-Year Plan to 2025 but has fallen short on energy efficiency and emission goals, according to Tsinghua University researchers.
Their preliminary assessment found that China will struggle to meet its targets for energy consumption and carbon emissions reduction, despite efficient water usage and progress on green energy.
They said the rise in coal consumption from 2020 to 2023 had resulted in a lack of improvement in energy output efficiency per unit of GDP.
The analysis was carried out by Hu Angang and Zhou Shaojie, director and deputy director of the Institute for Contemporary China Studies at Tsinghua, and their findings were published in the Chinese-language Journal of Beijing University of Technology (Social Sciences Edition) on January 27.
They said progress in the first three to four years of the current five-year plan was “generally in line with expectations”.
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By Holly Chik
China met most of its targets under the current 14th Five-Year Plan to 2025 but has fallen short on energy efficiency and emission goals, according to Tsinghua University researchers.
Their preliminary assessment found that China will struggle to meet its targets for energy consumption and carbon emissions reduction, despite efficient water usage and progress on green energy.
They said the rise in coal consumption from 2020 to 2023 had resulted in a lack of improvement in energy output efficiency per unit of GDP.
The analysis was carried out by Hu Angang and Zhou Shaojie, director and deputy director of the Institute for Contemporary China Studies at Tsinghua, and their findings were published in the Chinese-language Journal of Beijing University of Technology (Social Sciences Edition) on January 27.
They said progress in the first three to four years of the current five-year plan was “generally in line with expectations”.
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Trump tells US Treasury to stop minting new pennies
By Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told the Treasury to stop producing penny coins, presenting it as an effort to cut down on government spending.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he added.
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency – a cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk that has helped slash federal spending – highlighted the cost of producing pennies in a post on X in January.
Debates about the production cost of pennies are not new in the United States, with several bills having been introduced in Congress that have failed to pass.
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By Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told the Treasury to stop producing penny coins, presenting it as an effort to cut down on government spending.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he added.
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency – a cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk that has helped slash federal spending – highlighted the cost of producing pennies in a post on X in January.
Debates about the production cost of pennies are not new in the United States, with several bills having been introduced in Congress that have failed to pass.
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Billionaire proposes US$1 million reward for Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales
By Bloomberg
Bolivian-American billionaire Marcelo Claure has floated the idea of offering a US$1 million reward for ex-president Evo Morales, who is the subject of an arrest warrant.
Claure, in a post on X late on Saturday, said he would think about the reward, above a photograph of a wanted poster for Evo Morales, implying, but without saying as much, that the reward would be for information leading to the former president’s arrest. Claure, a former COO of SoftBank, now manages his own investment fund and family office.
The billionaire has been wading deeper into Bolivia’s election cycle, commissioning nationwide polls and saying he will back a yet-to-be-decided right-wing candidate to defeat the ruling socialist MAS party. On Saturday he said the government of Luis Arce, a former ally of Morales turned rival, is making the country a joke and said that Bolivia was seen as uninvestable.
A Bolivian court last month ordered the arrest of the former president, who is being investigated for allegedly having a child with a minor. The government has accused groups linked to Morales of responsibility for attacks on the police.
Morales, speaking on his Sunday radio show, responded that Claure was either crazy or foolish, La Razon reported. Morales has not left the Tropico region of Bolivia’s Cochabamba since October because of the arrest warrant against him, but he remains politically active in that area.
The country is suffering an economic crisis amid shortages of fuel and foreign currency. At the same time, the ruling socialist party is divided between supporters of President Arce and those loyal to Morales.
Arce last year was forced to deny that he had faked a coup against his government in a bid to shore up his popularity. The fiscal deficit was near 11 per cent of GDP last year, Finance Minister Marcelo Montenegro said on Thursday, and year-on-year inflation reached 12 per cent in January.
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By Bloomberg
Bolivian-American billionaire Marcelo Claure has floated the idea of offering a US$1 million reward for ex-president Evo Morales, who is the subject of an arrest warrant.
Claure, in a post on X late on Saturday, said he would think about the reward, above a photograph of a wanted poster for Evo Morales, implying, but without saying as much, that the reward would be for information leading to the former president’s arrest. Claure, a former COO of SoftBank, now manages his own investment fund and family office.
The billionaire has been wading deeper into Bolivia’s election cycle, commissioning nationwide polls and saying he will back a yet-to-be-decided right-wing candidate to defeat the ruling socialist MAS party. On Saturday he said the government of Luis Arce, a former ally of Morales turned rival, is making the country a joke and said that Bolivia was seen as uninvestable.
A Bolivian court last month ordered the arrest of the former president, who is being investigated for allegedly having a child with a minor. The government has accused groups linked to Morales of responsibility for attacks on the police.
Morales, speaking on his Sunday radio show, responded that Claure was either crazy or foolish, La Razon reported. Morales has not left the Tropico region of Bolivia’s Cochabamba since October because of the arrest warrant against him, but he remains politically active in that area.
The country is suffering an economic crisis amid shortages of fuel and foreign currency. At the same time, the ruling socialist party is divided between supporters of President Arce and those loyal to Morales.
Arce last year was forced to deny that he had faked a coup against his government in a bid to shore up his popularity. The fiscal deficit was near 11 per cent of GDP last year, Finance Minister Marcelo Montenegro said on Thursday, and year-on-year inflation reached 12 per cent in January.
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Training of nurses in Hong Kong must change with times, school head says
By Sammy Heung
Nursing education in Hong Kong can be reformed by incorporating a STEM curriculum and enhancing community care training, preparing students with essential skills to address the challenges of an ageing population, the head of a university school has said.
Professor Janelle Yorke, head of the nursing school at Polytechnic University (PolyU), said one of the challenges was to ensure the curriculum “stays modern and keeps evolving” according to changes in society. STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“[Because of] the changing landscape of the way we live and healthcare, people are living longer, so there’s an ageing population in Hong Kong. So how do we educate and train our nurses to deliver high-quality care for older people?” she said.
One way in which PolyU’s nursing school is addressing the challenge is by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in its curriculum.
The chair professor of nursing said while encouraging students to incorporate STEM into their work, she would teach them to think from the perspective of patient care.
“What you need to think of as a nurse is: what is the unique contribution of nursing science and practice to that digital technology, to the science, to the mathematics? And to me, it was about always putting the patient at the centre.”
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By Sammy Heung
Nursing education in Hong Kong can be reformed by incorporating a STEM curriculum and enhancing community care training, preparing students with essential skills to address the challenges of an ageing population, the head of a university school has said.
Professor Janelle Yorke, head of the nursing school at Polytechnic University (PolyU), said one of the challenges was to ensure the curriculum “stays modern and keeps evolving” according to changes in society. STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“[Because of] the changing landscape of the way we live and healthcare, people are living longer, so there’s an ageing population in Hong Kong. So how do we educate and train our nurses to deliver high-quality care for older people?” she said.
One way in which PolyU’s nursing school is addressing the challenge is by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in its curriculum.
The chair professor of nursing said while encouraging students to incorporate STEM into their work, she would teach them to think from the perspective of patient care.
“What you need to think of as a nurse is: what is the unique contribution of nursing science and practice to that digital technology, to the science, to the mathematics? And to me, it was about always putting the patient at the centre.”
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Study points finger at China’s air pollution as lung cancer cases in never-smokers rise
By Holly Chik
Despite drops in tobacco use worldwide, the incidence of lung cancer among people who have never smoked is increasing, with higher risks for younger generations and women – particularly in China – a global analysis led by the World Health Organization has found.
The main culprit is air pollution known as PM, or particulate matter, in the form of tiny solid particles and liquid droplets.
“Our findings suggest that the largest incident burden of lung adenocarcinoma attributable to ambient PM pollution is in East Asia, especially in China,” the scientists involved in the study wrote.
The researchers, from the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and Guangdong Medical University in China, published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine on Monday.
Lung cancer in never-smokers is estimated to be the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, occurring almost exclusively as adenocarcinoma and most commonly in women and Asian populations, according to the report.
Adenocarcinoma is a subtype of lung cancer that begins in mucus-producing cells. It is the most common type diagnosed in current or former smokers, as well as people who have never smoked.
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By Holly Chik
Despite drops in tobacco use worldwide, the incidence of lung cancer among people who have never smoked is increasing, with higher risks for younger generations and women – particularly in China – a global analysis led by the World Health Organization has found.
The main culprit is air pollution known as PM, or particulate matter, in the form of tiny solid particles and liquid droplets.
“Our findings suggest that the largest incident burden of lung adenocarcinoma attributable to ambient PM pollution is in East Asia, especially in China,” the scientists involved in the study wrote.
The researchers, from the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and Guangdong Medical University in China, published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine on Monday.
Lung cancer in never-smokers is estimated to be the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, occurring almost exclusively as adenocarcinoma and most commonly in women and Asian populations, according to the report.
Adenocarcinoma is a subtype of lung cancer that begins in mucus-producing cells. It is the most common type diagnosed in current or former smokers, as well as people who have never smoked.
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Hong Kong biotech start-up Alephoson eyes international trial for eye-drug delivery
By Eric Ng
A Hong Kong biotech start-up is working with a number of university partners to conduct global clinical trials that could lead to a better way of delivering drugs for prevalent eye diseases.
Alephoson Biopharmaceuticals, established in 2019, has developed a technology to combine a proprietary cell-penetration peptide (CPP) compound with biologic medication that is currently used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetes-related macular edema (DME).
If planned clinical trials are successful, this could result in the commercialisation of a medication that can be administered via eyedrops instead of an injection into the cavity at the back of the eye, according to Benjamin Lee, a founder and CEO of Alephoson, which is based in the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park.
“As a research-and-development-focused company, we are forging partnerships with university hospitals in Hong Kong, mainland China, Asia and the United States on our planned clinical trials,” Lee said.
“Upon completion of a preclinical toxicity study in around 12 months, our target is to request authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct Phase 1 and 2a investigational drug trials by the first quarter of next year.”
The idea of using CPP as a drug delivery system originated from Professor Wei Gang, an Alephoson co-founder, who is deputy director of the Department of Pharmaceutics at Shanghai’s Fudan University.
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By Eric Ng
A Hong Kong biotech start-up is working with a number of university partners to conduct global clinical trials that could lead to a better way of delivering drugs for prevalent eye diseases.
Alephoson Biopharmaceuticals, established in 2019, has developed a technology to combine a proprietary cell-penetration peptide (CPP) compound with biologic medication that is currently used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetes-related macular edema (DME).
If planned clinical trials are successful, this could result in the commercialisation of a medication that can be administered via eyedrops instead of an injection into the cavity at the back of the eye, according to Benjamin Lee, a founder and CEO of Alephoson, which is based in the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park.
“As a research-and-development-focused company, we are forging partnerships with university hospitals in Hong Kong, mainland China, Asia and the United States on our planned clinical trials,” Lee said.
“Upon completion of a preclinical toxicity study in around 12 months, our target is to request authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct Phase 1 and 2a investigational drug trials by the first quarter of next year.”
The idea of using CPP as a drug delivery system originated from Professor Wei Gang, an Alephoson co-founder, who is deputy director of the Department of Pharmaceutics at Shanghai’s Fudan University.
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Hong Kong’s Cathay calls for tapping transit passengers to create tourism dollars
By Cannix Yau
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has suggested the government tap transit passengers as part of a strategy to generate more tourism dollars for the cash-strapped city.
The company’s spokesman told the Post that in a budget consultation session with the government last month, the carrier’s management suggested authorities roll out targeted measures to cash in on the city’s largely untapped transit passengers to cater to the airport’s expansion, boosted by the launch of its three-runway system in November.
“One of our suggestions is for authorities to attract more transit passengers to travel to Hong Kong during the break between flights,” he said. “Given the launch of the three-runway system of the airport, the move could help boost its development with more tourists being lured to transit via the city.”
The three-runway system marked the beginning of the airport’s push to expand passenger capacity in stages by 50 per cent to 120 million passengers annually.
The carrier also advised the government to break into newly emerging markets such as the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia by attracting their leisure and business visitors to the city through large-scale events such as financial summits, the spokesman added.
“Through these mega-events, we aim to invite their entrepreneurs and industry leaders to visit the city … This will further enhance Hong Kong’s status as an aviation hub,” he said.
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By Cannix Yau
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has suggested the government tap transit passengers as part of a strategy to generate more tourism dollars for the cash-strapped city.
The company’s spokesman told the Post that in a budget consultation session with the government last month, the carrier’s management suggested authorities roll out targeted measures to cash in on the city’s largely untapped transit passengers to cater to the airport’s expansion, boosted by the launch of its three-runway system in November.
“One of our suggestions is for authorities to attract more transit passengers to travel to Hong Kong during the break between flights,” he said. “Given the launch of the three-runway system of the airport, the move could help boost its development with more tourists being lured to transit via the city.”
The three-runway system marked the beginning of the airport’s push to expand passenger capacity in stages by 50 per cent to 120 million passengers annually.
The carrier also advised the government to break into newly emerging markets such as the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia by attracting their leisure and business visitors to the city through large-scale events such as financial summits, the spokesman added.
“Through these mega-events, we aim to invite their entrepreneurs and industry leaders to visit the city … This will further enhance Hong Kong’s status as an aviation hub,” he said.
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Heating up down under: Chinese buyers are buying more expensive properties in Australia
By Cheryl Arcibal
Mainland Chinese demand for Australian real estate is surging and investors are buying more expensive properties, according to agents.
If the first five days of the Lunar New Year were any indication, more mainland Chinese investors would complete home purchases this year than they did a year earlier, said Peter Li, the general manager of Plus Agency in Sydney.
“Inquiries from mainland Chinese buyers increased by 20 per cent during the holiday period,” he said. “In the past five days, we have secured 12 deposits for properties in the Sydney suburbs and they were for bigger homes.”
Li’s agency has an overseas office in Shanghai. He said mainland Chinese buyers were looking at homes priced above A$1 million (US$627,000), higher than what they had budgeted previously.
One of his clients is “a wealthy family in mainland China that bought a A$5 million home with five bedrooms in Chatswood”, a suburb that is about 15 minutes away from Sydney’s central business district.
“Their initial budget was A$3.5 million for a duplex house, but they changed their mind and bought a more expensive home,” Li said.
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By Cheryl Arcibal
Mainland Chinese demand for Australian real estate is surging and investors are buying more expensive properties, according to agents.
If the first five days of the Lunar New Year were any indication, more mainland Chinese investors would complete home purchases this year than they did a year earlier, said Peter Li, the general manager of Plus Agency in Sydney.
“Inquiries from mainland Chinese buyers increased by 20 per cent during the holiday period,” he said. “In the past five days, we have secured 12 deposits for properties in the Sydney suburbs and they were for bigger homes.”
Li’s agency has an overseas office in Shanghai. He said mainland Chinese buyers were looking at homes priced above A$1 million (US$627,000), higher than what they had budgeted previously.
One of his clients is “a wealthy family in mainland China that bought a A$5 million home with five bedrooms in Chatswood”, a suburb that is about 15 minutes away from Sydney’s central business district.
“Their initial budget was A$3.5 million for a duplex house, but they changed their mind and bought a more expensive home,” Li said.
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Philippines in Brics – would joining mend ties with China?
By Sam Beltran
“Host talks, not bases.” With those words, a senator in the Philippines made the case for joining Brics, a move he said would boost the country’s neutrality and position it as an advocate for a multipolar world.
But the proposal has ignited fierce debate, with critics cautioning that closer ties with a bloc in which China is a leading member could weaken Manila’s hand in its long-standing territorial row over the South China Sea.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, the Senate minority leader and a former chair of the foreign relations committee, made the case last week, saying that Brics offers a “viable alternative” to the current Western-dominated global order.
“Let the Philippines apply to join Brics,” Pimentel said in a Senate speech, arguing that membership could help the country embrace a balanced foreign policy. “The march to a multipolar world is inevitable as such is consistent with human nature. We should support the idea of a multipolar world.”
Brics, which started with Brazil, Russia, India, and China, has since expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Iran, and most recently Indonesia – making the proposal more urgent in the senator’s view. He said he envisioned the Philippines as “a friend to all nations” and saw its potential as a “neutral venue for talks, especially those involving the settling of disputes”.
“It is my dream that the Philippines should host talks, not bases,” Pimentel added, referring to the military sites in the country that had hosted American troops under the bilateral Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement.
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By Sam Beltran
“Host talks, not bases.” With those words, a senator in the Philippines made the case for joining Brics, a move he said would boost the country’s neutrality and position it as an advocate for a multipolar world.
But the proposal has ignited fierce debate, with critics cautioning that closer ties with a bloc in which China is a leading member could weaken Manila’s hand in its long-standing territorial row over the South China Sea.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, the Senate minority leader and a former chair of the foreign relations committee, made the case last week, saying that Brics offers a “viable alternative” to the current Western-dominated global order.
“Let the Philippines apply to join Brics,” Pimentel said in a Senate speech, arguing that membership could help the country embrace a balanced foreign policy. “The march to a multipolar world is inevitable as such is consistent with human nature. We should support the idea of a multipolar world.”
Brics, which started with Brazil, Russia, India, and China, has since expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Iran, and most recently Indonesia – making the proposal more urgent in the senator’s view. He said he envisioned the Philippines as “a friend to all nations” and saw its potential as a “neutral venue for talks, especially those involving the settling of disputes”.
“It is my dream that the Philippines should host talks, not bases,” Pimentel added, referring to the military sites in the country that had hosted American troops under the bilateral Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement.
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Hangzhou emerges as new tech hub with ‘Little Dragons’ like DeepSeek, Unitree
By Wency ChenAnn Cao
Hangzhou, the capital of China’s southeastern Zhejiang province, is rapidly gaining recognition as a leading technology hub in the country with the rise of local start-ups known as the “Six Little Dragons”.
Among the hottest of the start-ups right now is DeepSeek, which captured global attention this year for its cost-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) models. The others include robotics firms Unitree and Deep Robotics, video game studio Game Science, brain-machine interface innovator BrainCo, and 3D interior design software developer Manycore.
Authorities in Hangzhou, perhaps best known as the home of tech giant and Post parent company Alibaba Group Holding, acknowledged the group of start-ups in a New Year’s message to the local business community last month.
“It’s an honour to be dubbed as one of the ‘Six Little Dragons’,” Deep Robotics product manager Zheng Dongxin said in an interview on Thursday.
Last December, Deep Robotics’ quadruped robot was adopted by Singapore Power Group for power tunnel inspections, making it the first Chinese four-legged robot deployed overseas for industrial use. The company has also ramped up efforts to develop humanoid robots, with a new product launch expected in the second and third quarters this year, Zheng told the Post.
He credited his company’s success to Hangzhou’s “atmosphere of innovation”, fostered through favourable government policies such as tax incentives, industrial park development, and financial backing.
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By Wency ChenAnn Cao
Hangzhou, the capital of China’s southeastern Zhejiang province, is rapidly gaining recognition as a leading technology hub in the country with the rise of local start-ups known as the “Six Little Dragons”.
Among the hottest of the start-ups right now is DeepSeek, which captured global attention this year for its cost-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) models. The others include robotics firms Unitree and Deep Robotics, video game studio Game Science, brain-machine interface innovator BrainCo, and 3D interior design software developer Manycore.
Authorities in Hangzhou, perhaps best known as the home of tech giant and Post parent company Alibaba Group Holding, acknowledged the group of start-ups in a New Year’s message to the local business community last month.
“It’s an honour to be dubbed as one of the ‘Six Little Dragons’,” Deep Robotics product manager Zheng Dongxin said in an interview on Thursday.
Last December, Deep Robotics’ quadruped robot was adopted by Singapore Power Group for power tunnel inspections, making it the first Chinese four-legged robot deployed overseas for industrial use. The company has also ramped up efforts to develop humanoid robots, with a new product launch expected in the second and third quarters this year, Zheng told the Post.
He credited his company’s success to Hangzhou’s “atmosphere of innovation”, fostered through favourable government policies such as tax incentives, industrial park development, and financial backing.
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