Asia - South China Morning Post

South Korea’s rival political parties are set to appoint special prosecutors to investigate allegations that the Unification Church bribed and lobbied politicians across the ideological divide, a rare move that observers have said could test the country’s constitutional separation of religion and politics.

On Monday, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said it would accept a proposal from the conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) for the team of special prosecutors to...

As 2025 draws to a close, it marks an important milestone in the reconfiguration of the global economic system. Every century is defined not only by changes in technological leadership and shifts in global power, but also by the restructuring of the global financial system. The 20th century was the century of the US dollar, but with the arrival of the 21st century, the contours of the global macroeconomic system have begun to change.

A recent International Monetary Fund study, “Playing with...

The Japanese government is floating the idea of requiring anyone applying for permanent residency to have reached a certain standard of Japanese language skills and undergo instruction on how to be a good citizen.

Media reports on the proposals from the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have provoked fierce online debate among both Japanese and foreign residents.

While many insist it is a fair and reasonable commitment for anyone planning to live in the country long term, others...

China recently announced it would impose an export licensing regime on around 300 steel products starting January 1. The move, while seemingly technical, sends a clear signal Beijing is attempting to address a key source of trade friction with its emerging market partners.

To understand the policy’s intent, it needs to be placed in the broader context of China’s trade position this year.

As global trade protectionism intensifies, China’s exports have shown remarkable resilience. Even as...

The British university system is facing a steep decline, a crisis in the making for over a decade. In the last year, universities have announced over 12,000 job cuts. A report by the Office for Students warns that 40 per cent of England’s universities are facing budget deficits this year, with courses and departments at risk of closure. A great deal of uncertainty has now gripped the university sector.

Several factors account for this degradation. Historically, the university sector was funded...

India’s decision to suspend visa services from Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong after a fresh bout of political violence underscores how difficult it may be for bilateral ties to return to normal any time soon, analysts have said.

The suspension, announced on Sunday, followed protests triggered by the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, a youth leader linked to last year’s student-led uprising, who was shot in Dhaka on December 12 and later died from his injuries at a hospital in Singapore after...

Mass cheating in online exams has resurfaced during finals at South Korean universities, exposing institutions’ incomplete preparedness and ongoing struggles to establish effective online test controls and guidelines for students’ artificial intelligence (AI) use.

According to Seoul National University, on Sunday, the results of a final exam for a general education course offered by its College of Natural Sciences were invalidated after signs of cheating were detected among nearly half of the 36...

Fresh allegations of violence threatened to derail peace efforts on Monday as Cambodia claimed Thai F-16s bombarded Siem Reap and Preah Vihear, undercutting an earlier announcement by Malaysia that the two sides had agreed to a Christmas Eve ceasefire meeting.

Cambodia’s defence ministry said the Thai military shelled areas of Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces.

“At 4.18pm, the Thai military deployed F-16 fighter jets to bombard further deep into the Cambodian sovereign territory in the area...

A Malaysian court on Monday granted rapper Namewee a full acquittal from his drug use charge after the prosecution presented a negative urine test in court.

Namewee’s lawyer, Joshua Tay, confirmed the acquittal with This Week in Asia.

Tay told the Kuala Lumpur magistrates’ court that since the pathology report was negative, there was no prospect of recharging his client, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee.

“The appropriate order should be a discharge and acquittal,” Tay said.

Magistrate S...

Lion dancers, drummers, stilt walkers and unicyclists flooded the streets of George Town on Sunday as the northern Malaysian city staged its annual Chingay parade, a century-old procession best known for performers balancing towering flagpoles on their chins and fingertips.

This year’s spectacle carries added weight. Malaysia and Singapore have jointly nominated Chingay for recognition on Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a move organisers hope will elevate the tradition onto the...