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AdvertisementJapanThis Week in AsiaPoliticsJapan’s retreat from global health funding hands China diplomatic openingTokyo’s over 52 per cent funding cut to a global body fighting Aids and malaria risks damaging its hard-won reputation as a ‘peace nation’
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJulian RyallPublished: 11:14am, 15 Dec 2025Updated: 11:18am, 15 Dec 2025Japan’s sharp reduction in funding for a leading international body fighting infectious diseases risks damaging Tokyo’s credibility and long-held “peace diplomacy”, in a move analysts say could give China an opening to expand its influence across developing nations.The Switzerland-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, established in 2002, has saved an estimated 70 million lives in more than 100 countries by boosting testing capacity, surveillance systems, community networks and medical training.
At a meeting in Johannesburg last month, Japan pledged “up to” 81 billion yen (US$520 million) in contribut..

AdvertisementTikTokChinaPoliticsSoft power – hard work: can China harness social media apps to rewire its global image?After the US migration to RedNote, experts say transforming engagement into influence will require a ‘light touch’ from Beijing
Reading Time:7 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMeredith ChenPublished: 11:10am, 14 Dec 2025Mary Roettger was just one of millions of Americans seeking a social media life raft when she warily logged onto China’s RedNote platform for the first time in January.As fears loomed over a threatened US ban on TikTok, the Florida writer braced for a clumsy, spam-filled experience full of “negative people”.Instead, she was struck by a starkly different culture. Roettger was “blown away with the amount of tenderness and excitement” of the online community suddenly before her.
Advertisement“That was new,” said the 27-year-old, who shared on RedNote her poems, pictures of her cat and videos taken during casual strolls. “It was people speaking with people, not..

AdvertisementChina’s private sectorEconomyChina EconomyChina’s growing young billionaire class masks innovation hurdles, analysts sayTechnological innovation – one of Beijing’s top priorities – is helping to drive wealth creation, report says
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMandy Zuoin ShanghaiPublished: 11:00am, 14 Dec 2025While China continues to produce many young self-made billionaires, showcasing its economic dynamism, observers have urged the creation of a more supportive environment, saying that innovation is still being held back.
About 98 per cent of the super-rich in mainland China, with assets valued at US$1 billion or more, are relatively young first-generation entrepreneurs, reflecting the vitality and wealth-creation power of its economy, Swiss bank UBS said in a recent report.
However, Beijing’s tendency to strengthen state ownership and the lack of a loss-proof mechanism – which would shield innovative risk-takers from severe repercussions for failures – hav..

Indian-origin semi driver Kamalpreet Singh, believed to be an illegal immigrant, staying in the US without any valid documentation, was released on bond after he was charged with vehicular homicide. The bond amount was set at $100,000. A major outrage started against Indian-origin drivers behind the wheel in the US, taking lives recklessly and then walking free. 29-year-old Robert B Pearson was killed as his car was crushed between two trucks on SR 167. Troopers said three vehicles were traveling in lane one when two of them stopped for traffic and a third failed to slow in time. A 2020 Freightliner Cascadia semi driven by 25-year-old Kamalpreet Singh of Elk Grove, California, struck the rear of a blue 2010 Mazda 3 sedan that had stopped behind a white 2016 Peterbilt truck. The Freightliner overrode the back of the Mazda and pushed it under the rear of the Peterbilt. Karoline Leavitt Calls Indian Trucker Illegal Alien After Deadly California Road Accident Kill Three The engine of Rober..

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been receiving lists of travelers who are coming through airports to cross-check with their list of people who ICE thinks should be deported, making the work easier but in a controversial way. The New York Times reported that since March, the list of air travelers has stopped being confidential and ICE has been receiving such lists several times a week. White House did not deny the co-ordination between the two departments as DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said: “The message to those in the country illegally is clear: The only reason you should be flying is to self-deport home.” ‘Muslims Sucking Our Resources’: Republican Andy Ogles Tells Trump To Deport All Muslim Immigrants A DHS spokesperson said this is not new. “Back in February, Secretary [Kristi] Noem reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country and do so without identification,” the spokesperson added. “Under Presi..