Phoebe Zhang

China

Senior Reporter at South China Morning Post

There’s no story too small. Believe in the power of narratives.

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Articles

Rattled by visa risks, Chinese students rethink US study plans

1 week ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

Chinese students studying or planning to study in the United States are finding themselves in the crossfire between US President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration action and Beijing’s firm pushback against US policies. In the past few months, media reports have emerged of hundreds of international students from dozens of American universities having their visas revoked for no apparent reason. They may face deportation under Trump’s aggressive push on illegal immigrants.
Opinion | The sad reality behind 1 million resumes sent to a Chinese company

1 week ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

At a time when Chinese authorities have announced a 5.5 per cent urban unemployment rate and more than 12 million fresh graduates are expected to enter the job market, a state-owned enterprise has got on everyone’s nerves for bragging how many people are hoping to join it. In a now-deleted WeChat post, China National Nuclear Corporation announced this month that “We received 1,196,273 resumes”, with a star-eyed emoji.
Chinese pay it forward with free meals to ease hardship, inspire hope in tough job market

2 weeks ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

In December 2019, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic stormed into China, Shenzhen restaurant owner Wang Yingmei encountered a sudden surge in jobless people who lingered by the door of her restaurant, asking diners for food. Worried her customers might feel bothered, Wang offered them money, but they said they did not want money, they wanted food. Among them, one young man stood out to Wang. He looked about 20, dressed in an ordinary T-shirt and trousers and held a bucket in his hands.
Chinese authorities warn of fire and road safety risks over traditional Ching Ming holiday

2 weeks ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

The Chinese authorities have issued fire and road safety warnings as millions of people travel to pay their respects to their ancestors over the Ching Ming, or tomb-sweeping, festival. Around 760 million journeys are expected to be made over the three-day holiday, which began on Friday, the transport ministry said. These include 84 million rail journeys and heavy congestion is expected on major roads during peak travel times.
‘Patriotic traffic business’: when China’s cyber nationalists cross Beijing’s red line

3 weeks ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang |Yuanyue Dang

Over the years, influencer Sima Nan rose to fame waging campaigns against enemies of the state. He began to gather atten in the 1990s, appearing on national television to attack qigong masters including Falun Gong, a spiritual group Beijing later outlawed as an “evil cult”.
China fines ultranationalist blogger Sima Nan US$1.2 million for tax evasion

1 month ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

Chinese authorities have fined ultranationalist blogger Sima Nan more than 9 million yuan (US$1.2 million) for tax evasion, state media reported. Tax authorities in Beijing had detected tax fraud through big data analysis and investigated his case, state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday. The authorities reportedly found that from 2019 to 2023 Sima had under-reported 4.62 million yuan (US$638,000) in taxes using methods such as concealing income and making false declarations.
Opinion | China’s youth must be taught bad behaviour will not be tolerated

1 month ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

The popular hotpot chain Haidilao is in the midst of a public relations crisis, and internet users are describing the matter as “pee-gate”. Last month, two 17-year-olds were dining at a Haidilao restaurant in Shanghai and, while drunk, got up on the table and urinated directly into the pot. A video of the incident went viral earlier this month and someone reported it to police. Local police have since detained the two teenagers.
China’s youth must be taught bad behaviour will not be tolerated

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Phoebe Zhang

NowThe man who ordered the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs is now in a cell at The Hague. Getting him there was far from a sure thing. The visit had been advertised for weeks. Former President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines was going to a rally in Hong Kong during the second weekend in March. But …
Mainland China names 4 Taiwanese in cyberattack, fake news accusations online

1 month ago | scmp.com | Phoebe Zhang

Beijing’s top spy agency has accused four members of the Taiwanese defence ministry’s Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) of conducting cyberattacks against the Chinese mainland and churning out fake news. In a social media post on Monday, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) published the names and photographs of the leaders and staff of ICEFCOM’s internet analytical centre and said they had been targeting the mainland with cyberattacks since at least 2023.
As the US backslides, can China claim moral high ground on women’s rights?

1 month ago | thestar.com.my | Phoebe Zhang |Meredith Chen

Standing before representatives from 189 nations 30 years ago, then US first lady Hillary Clinton delivered a speech in Beijing that defined the times. “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all,” she said at the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995. Hibaaq Osman remembers this moment clearly.