• OPINION

  What's good for China isn't always good for Alibaba

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 16/12/2015

  » Late on Friday night, Alibaba's Jack Ma joined Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the latest tech billionaire to acquire his own newspaper, by purchasing Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) for US$266 million (9.6 billion baht).

• OPINION

  Nike shoes aren't performance-enhancing drugs

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 24/10/2023

  » World records in marathons have toppled like track hurdles in recent weeks. Tigst Assefa, the new women's record holder, beat the old one by more than two minutes. Kelvin Kiptum, the latest men's record holder, took 34 seconds off his predecessor's time. These are astonishing accomplishments. But not everybody is crediting the athletes. Instead, critics argue that Assefa and Kiptum couldn't have run at top speeds without a new generation of high-performance "super shoes". Some go so far as to equate the souped-up shoes to performance-enhancing drugs.

• OPINION

  Video game competitions should be in Olympics

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 30/09/2023

  » The hottest sports ticket in the Asia-Pacific right now isn't for a soccer match, an NBA exhibition game or even a swim meet. It's for the medal event debut of competitive video gaming, or esports.

• OPINION

  Xi paves the way for later retirement

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 01/03/2018

  » Chinese President Xi Jinping can hold off on retirement planning for a few more years, now that China's Communist Party has announced a proposal to eliminate a 10-year, two-term limit for the coveted job. That sets up the powerful 64-year-old to remain in office well into his golden years. He shouldn't be the only one.

• OPINION

  Is China's Arctic expansion plan a reason to worry?

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 01/02/2018

  » Last week, China said it plans to build a "Polar Silk Road" that will open shipping lanes across the largely pristine region at the top of the world. It's an ambitious idea for a country that lacks an Arctic border, and it has raised concerns around the world about China's ultimate intentions and its capacity for environmental stewardship. Although these are reasonable worries, they're almost certainly overblown.

• OPINION

  China's anti-addiction drive may ruin video games

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 11/07/2017

  » Shareholders of Tencent Holdings Ltd, the world's biggest video game company, panicked last week. People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, singled out Honour of Kings, Tencent's biggest game, for an unusually high-profile criticism.

• OPINION

  China's 220 million seniors may reshape the world

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 31/05/2017

  » For decades, Nestle SA has tried to get its infant milk powder into the hands of China's new mothers with promises of brighter, healthier babies. Now it's trying to do the same for the elderly. Last week, the company launched "Nestle YIYANG Fuel for brainTM senior milk powder", a formula designed to help China's seniors "refuel their brains and start a new smart life".

• OPINION

  China's skyscraper age is likely coming to an end

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 14/06/2017

  » At more than 610 metres, Shanghai Tower is the world's second-tallest building. It looms over its neighbours -- the world's ninth and 19th tallest buildings -- in a supercluster of supertall structures unlike any other in the world. The only problem? Finding people to work there: Only 60% of Shanghai Tower is rented out, and only a third of current tenants have actually occupied their leased space.

• OPINION

  China's Great Firewall yet another trade barrier

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 28/03/2017

  » The San Francisco-based photo-sharing site Pinterest would seem to rank low on the list of potential threats to China. Beloved by fashion designers, photographers, cooks and hobbyists, the seven-year-old website is a global hub for the sharing of images, trends and ideas on topics ranging from living-room design to what to cook at your Saturday barbecue.

• OPINION

  Why China's glass ceiling is harder than Taiwan's

  News, Adam Minter, Published on 14/01/2016

  » If, as many expect, the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen is elected as Taiwan's next president this weekend, she'll become the island's first female leader. Given that Taiwan granted suffrage to women less than a decade before the 59-year-old Ms Tsai was born, that in itself would be a remarkable achievement. What's equally striking is the contrast to mainland China, which regards the island as a renegade province. Not only has modern China never had a female leader, but unless deeply ingrained cultural and bureaucratic barriers are lifted, it's also unlikely ever to do so.

1 2 Next Last