The three founders of 2014's Occupy Central movement engaged in what was merely a "conspiracy to inspire", not one to create a public nuisance - the actual charge they were convicted of five years later - their lawyers have argued on appeal. Opening

China's top court has awarded a record 159 million yuan (US$24.6 million) compensation payout to a chemical producer in a trade secrets case, a ruling that comes after Beijing has repeatedly vowed to improve protection of intellectual property rights

A Chinese university lecturer in Britain was viciously attacked last week, renewing fears of violent anti-Asian racism in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Peng Wang, who teaches financial management at the University of Southampton, was att

The number of homes expected to be produced under Hong Kong's land-sale programme has plunged to an 11-year low, prompting the government to address the shortfall by advancing the tender of a newly reclaimed site even though the railway station servi

President Joe Biden's nominee to lead US trade policy told senators on Thursday that the principles behind the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - the multilateral Pacific trade deal pursued by the Obama administration then rejected by former president

As the European Union looks to hit ambitious climate targets, policymakers are getting more vocal about a potential fork in the road: China. In a speech touting the bloc's "industry strategy" this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Le

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called on the US government to fast track development of emerging technology including artificial intelligence (AI) to catch up to China's lead. The United States is "one or two years ahead of China, not five or 10" and

The European Union escalated its criticism of Beijing's political crackdown on Hong Kong on Monday, but stopped short of rolling out major sanctions on the city's officials for the continued squeeze on opposition figures. Hong Kong was high on the ag

China is placing greater emphasis on food security and self-reliance to feed its 1.4 billion people, according to its annual blueprint for rural policies amid the pandemic, with an emphasis on utilising new agricultural technologies. The new plan put

It was the kind of broadside that might be expected between bitter adversaries, not close friends and allies. "New Zealand, frankly, is tired of having Australia exporting its problems," said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as she took her country's c

The European Union and United States must prepare for "long-term strategic competition with China", US President Joe Biden said in a foreign policy address on Friday, one of the clearest signs yet of how the new US administration views and intends to

The executive director of Vancouver's Little Mountain Place care home has resigned from the facility where 41 elderly residents recently died after being infected with Covid-19, in British Columbia's deadliest outbreak of the pandemic, the South Chin

Nearly four years after an Australian current-affairs television programme aired a report alleging that Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was a corrupt lobbyist acting for the Chinese government, his name was finally cleared. The Australi

The US House of Representatives has reintroduced sweeping legislation that would ban the import of all goods sourced in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, over concerns of widespread, state-backed forced labour there. Lawmakers filed the bill,

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a virtual meeting on Thursday with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan, a group of Pacific allies known as "the Quad" that Washington sees as a vital countering force against an increasingly asse

A new law in China that makes it harder for couples to divorce has sent husbands and wives rushing to file applications to dissolve their marriages. Divorce lawyers have been inundated with requests from couples to file for divorce once their 30 days

Hong Kong's Security Bureau has accused the Bar Association of causing "unnecessary misunderstanding" after the barristers' group voiced concern over a proposed legislative amendment it said would empower immigration to ban anyone from leaving the ci

The Biden administration raised new concerns on Saturday over the possibility of Chinese government interference in the World Health Organization's (WHO) recent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan. "We have deep concerns about

Iron ore is mined raw material used to make crude iron, also known as pig iron, and nearly all of it is used to make steel. Roughly 1.5 tonnes of iron ore are required to produce one tonne of steel. The higher the iron content in the ore, the higher

Crime syndicates in Asia's drug-producing Golden Triangle region have likely begun producing ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine, enabling them to avoid restrictions on importing precursors such as pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. The developmen

China is threatening to outcompete the United States on infrastructure and public transport, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, as he sought support from lawmakers for a spending bill for US upgrades. Addressing reporters in the Oval Office bef

When Canada unveiled new details of its open work permit scheme for Hongkongers this month, it framed the action as part of a defence of democratic values, against Beijing's "controversial national security law". Canada stood "shoulder to shoulder wi