SCMP China·Sunday, January 4, 2026

SCMP China - Sunday, January 4, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

US scrambles geopolitics with stark attack on Venezuela

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were transported to New York by helicopter, ship and plane within hours of their capture for arraignment in a US federal court as the world woke up Sunday to a new era of brazen US military might. In a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida shortly after the raid on Maduro’s compound in Caracas, US President Donald Trump held forth on the strength and precision of the US military, warned that other politicians could follow..

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Venezuela crisis: how Trump’s ‘Donroe’ doctrine could challenge China’s Latin America ties

China’s influence in Latin America may be significantly tested by the US revival of the Monroe Doctrine, as Washington’s attack on Venezuela is set to have a chilling effect on the region’s engagement with Beijing, analysts warn. In a surprise precision operation on Saturday, the US military struck Venezuela, captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and placed them in detention in New York. Without giving a timetable for elections, US President Donald Trump said the US would run...

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Will Beijing look to US capture of Venezuela’s Maduro for lessons on Taiwan?

The US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro will be closely studied by Beijing, which has signalled its ability to target Taiwan’s leadership in the latest PLA exercises near the island, according to analysts. The operation – carried out on Saturday by the US Army’s elite Delta Force, the military’s top special missions unit – was described by Chinese analysts as a “textbook” strike with high precision and minimal casualties. “The planning and execution were highly refined,” said Fu...

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US ‘kill line’ shocks Chinese social media as economic woes shatter illusions

A series of social media posts highlighting the economic insecurity facing ordinary Americans has triggered an intense debate in China about social problems in the United States and shattered some long-held perceptions. Many of the posts from influencers described the vulnerabilities as a “kill line”, a term used by Chinese video gamers to describe the health threshold below which a character can be instantly defeated. The term has now been repurposed to describe a financial and social tipping..

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‘Straddle the middle ground’: Europe’s hard choice over US attacks against Venezuela

US military strikes and forced regime change in Venezuela have left European countries in a diplomatic bind, as they distance themselves from Washington’s actions while hesitating to criticise them outright. The world reacted with shock after the Trump administration launched “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and transported them to the United States for detention at a New York facility. China has strongly condemned the US actions

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Nobel Prize jurist Thomas Mikael Oliveberg joins top medical school in southern China

After working in Europe for 35 years, Mikael Oliveberg, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) and a judge of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, has taken a full-time position at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in China. Oliveberg has left Stockholm University after nearly two decades as a tenured professor with its Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He was welcomed to his new post by Li Lang, Guangxi Medical University’s vice-president, at a...

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China urges US to immediately release Maduro, ‘stop subverting Venezuelan regime’

China has expressed “serious concern” over the US capture and forcible removal of the Venezuelan leader, calling on Washington to ensure the personal safety of Nicolas Maduro and his wife and “release them immediately”. The United States launched military attacks on Venezuela on Saturday, capturing President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were detained in New York after being flown out of Caracas. Hours after the operation, President Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela until...

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New KMT chair hopes to take peace message to Beijing while on Taiwan political tightrope

A plan by the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party to visit Beijing this year, hoping to meet President Xi Jinping, has fuelled hopes of better dialogue amid soaring cross-strait tensions. But while supporters have hailed Cheng Li-wun’s planned trip as a chance to ease frictions across the Taiwan Strait, critics warn that it risks signalling alignment with Beijing as it increases military pressure on the island. Cheng, who was elected chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT) in October, has...

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China’s wealthy swap real estate for insurance, gold as retirement looms

Since 2020, Li Jiang, a veteran manufacturing entrepreneur from Guangdong, has been selling off his properties one by one – a move that once puzzled many of his friends. For decades, real estate had been the ultimate “anchor” for retirement planning and wealth transfer among China’s high-net-worth families. At his peak, Li concentrated much of his wealth in property, owning seven assets ranging from CBD apartments to high-end suburban villas. These were intended partly for retirement and partly.

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China’s emission-free tech boosts productivity 3-fold, debunks Trump’s green burden theory

A groundbreaking Chinese innovation is turning one of climate policy’s oldest assumptions on its head: that cutting emissions inevitably hurts the economy. Critics including US President Donald Trump have long dismissed green regulations as a drag on industry, claiming they raise costs and cut production. Even the European Union is now reconsidering its phase-out targets for fossil fuel vehicles, using the negative economic impact as justification. But new research from a team led by the Chinese

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