Property investors rush to cash in on China’s new ‘mini-Hong Kong’

Investors are snapping up property near a proposed US$45 billion business zone in the Chinese boom town of Shenzhen, betting that the government’s plans to further open its capital markets with a “mini-Hong Kong” will spur real estate values.

Trapped to ‘get rich’

Mainlanders are flooding into Hong Kong to sign up for a multilevel marketing scheme that is banned in several countries. To many critics, it looks like pyramid selling

Scrapping the one-child policy won’t boost China’s birth rate

Mainland families started having fewer children even before the draconian restriction was imposed, and they won’t have more if Beijing removes it

China railroaded into fast-train technology trap

Fast-train firms paying heavily for technology transfer decisions

Bar raised for foreigners’ families keen to stay here

MOM’s move is the latest in a series of moves by various ministries to sharpen the privileges of being Singaporean and restrict the influx of foreigners which has strained the city’s infrastructure and caused locals considerable angst in the last few years

George Carlin - Religion is bullshit

Raymond Chapman 4 weeks’ jail for kicking cop

A Briton who reeked of alcohol kicked a police officer on the leg after being arrested for allegedly molesting a woman.

Alarm at poor quality of tap water

Experts cast doubt on claims by officials that things have improved markedly in the past three years

Game theory and the South China Sea conflict

Sometimes it is not to any player’s advantage to be in a dominant position, as Beijing’s competing maritime claims with its neighbours demonstrate

Chinese scientists create snowfall in a lab

Team in Shanghai were able to manipulate air using lasers; technique could be used to fight climate change

Japanese envoy to China recalled

As tensions over Diaoyu Islands mount, ‘temporary’ return of ambassador is seen by some as sign Tokyo is under pressure over his Beijing-friendly stance

Japan Recalls Ambassador to China Amid Rising Tensions

Japan temporarily recalled its ambassador to China on Sunday in response to renewed friction over a disputed island group, at a time when it faces fresh discord with its allies South Korea and the United States over women forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War II.

Anti-graft brochure has much to say

Written advice to judges on how to turn down bribes notable for what it tells us about culture of corruption

Tougher for PRs to sublet flats

New rules cap duration of lease and limit who can rent out HDB homes

Tourism officials forced to pull racy ad from buses

City of Lichuan in Hubei set out to attract visitors with a campaign in neighbouring Chongqing, but the words could be read as insulting and obscene

Asians return to roots in their living spaces

The Eastern look has always been popular in the West, but now young Asians want their homes to reflect their culture. Top designers are ready to help

Jiun Ho says that balance and harmony are the key when he designs spaces.

Muriel Brandolini used hand-made lamps in different sizes for a unique look in one project.

For a New York dining room Muriel Brandolini designed, she wanted a three-dimensional look that still had traditional Asian elements.

Chinese look to buy ‘a slice of heaven’

French vineyards and chateaux are drawing a lot of interest from well-heeled buyers in China, but they shouldn’t try to drive too hard a bargain

Beijing firm in talks for Hawker rescue

Two-year-old Chinese start-up partly owned by Beijing city government in discussions to take over beleaguered 80-year-old US aircraft manufacturer

Macau’s gambling junkets risk losing their game

The shadowy companies that bring China’s millionaires to the gambling tables of Macau are facing their toughest time since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, and some of the smaller players may soon drop out of the game for good.

The vertical movement

China's economic future will increasingly be shaped by high-rise factories that will produce knowledge-based products, says SHAHID JAVED BURKI