DeepSeek begins limited testing of vision mode
Technology

DeepSeek begins limited testing of vision mode

Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry. DeepSeek on April 29 began limited testing of a vision mode, with some users gaining access on both its web version and app after updating. The new option appears alongside the existing Fast Mode and Expert Mode, marking DeepSeek’s first move into multimodal capabilities rather than a simple OCR-style text recognition feature. [TechNode reporting]

May 6, 2026
Beijing Guoan head coach hopes Chinese players to show best in World Cup qualifiers
Policy & Regulation

Beijing Guoan head coach hopes Chinese players to show best in World Cup qualifiers

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of China's decisive away match against Indonesia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers on Thursday, Beijing Guoan head coach Quique Setien extended his best wishes to the national team, particularly Guoan players Zhang Yuning and Lin Liangming, in an interview with Xinhua. "I believe it's an honor for Guoan players to put on the jersey of China's national team. They definitely have the determination and motivation to show their best. The process of realizing dream is always unforgettable, and I hope they can cherish this opportunity," said the 66-year-old Spaniard. China currently sits at the bottom of Group C with six points, level with Bahrain and three points behind fourth-placed Indonesia. To keep their playoff hopes alive, China must win against both Indonesia and Bahrain, with the latter match scheduled for June 10 in Chongqing, southwest China. Setien was appointed head coach of Beijing Guoan in December 2024. The Chinese Super League (CSL) club, which has a history spanning more than three decades, remains unbeaten after 12 CSL matches this season, recording seven wins and five draws to sit third in the 16-team league. "Our coaching staff prepared a lot for this season.

May 6, 2026 · 2 dk okuma
Chinese companies suing governments the world over
Business

Chinese companies suing governments the world over

Support us Picture: David Gray / Getty via The Conversation The Chinese-owned firm that operates the Port of Darwin isn’t happy about the federal government’s push to return it to an Australian owner. Now, the situation is escalating, with the stage set for an international legal showdown. The Albanese government has been in talks with Landbridge Group, whose parent company is headquartered in Shandong province, China, to return the port to an Australian owner, following an election promise. But in late April, Ye Cheng, the Chinese billionaire who founded Landbridge, initiated proceedings against Australia at a World Bank tribunal, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The government has said it will defend the claim. This case may take years to resolve. But it’s not the only example of a Chinese company taking on a national government, claiming to be unfairly excluded based on national security or other concerns. Right now, many of these cases are still pending. But these rulings could have major financial implications if they provide a route for Chinese firms to demand compensation from governments for any losses caused by political decisions.

May 6, 2026
Can South Korea’s most advanced fighter, the KF-21, compete with China, the US and Europe?
Business

Can South Korea’s most advanced fighter, the KF-21, compete with China, the US and Europe?

Recent roll-out puts South Korea in elite group of countries capable of indigenously developing advanced supersonic combat aircraft The roll-out marked the start of mass production for the 4.5-generation fighter, with an initial 40 Block I units to be completed for the South Korean Air Force by 2028. According to Bence Nemeth, a senior lecturer in defence studies at King’s College London and executive director of the King’s Centre for Defence Economics and Management, the KF-21 could be competitive in overseas exports but entered the market “late and in a crowded field”. Nemeth said South Korea’s advantages were likely to be its cost, quality, delivery speed and willingness to offer industrial cooperation. But he added that procuring fighters was also about political alignment and wartime supply chain reliability. “The KF-21 will therefore need aggressive marketing and credible long-term sustainment guarantees,” Nemeth argued.

May 6, 2026
Indonesia caps ride-hailing commission fees at 8% in ‘radical correction’ of sector
Business

Indonesia caps ride-hailing commission fees at 8% in ‘radical correction’ of sector

The new commission scheme shows the state’s support for ride-hailing drivers, but may not necessarily boost their incomes, observers say The move could mark a significant shift in one of Southeast Asia’s biggest on-demand economies, where millions of drivers for platforms such as Gojek and Grab have become a highly visible labour force and, analysts say, a potent political bloc. Last week, Prabowo announced a presidential decree that would lower the commission fees ride-hailing companies charge drivers for each order, from 20 per cent to 8 per cent. Drivers would also get universal healthcare and work accident insurance, he said. “It’s not right that you [drivers] are the ones sweating, but they [the companies] are getting the money. Sorry, if they [the companies] don’t want to comply, don’t bother doing business in Indonesia,” Prabowo said in front of drivers during a May Day rally in Jakarta on Friday.

May 6, 2026
Hong Kong home sales surge to 2-year high, boosting overall transactions
Business

Hong Kong home sales surge to 2-year high, boosting overall transactions

A total of 8,692 transactions in all sectors were concluded last month, up 12.3 per cent from March’s 7,737 deals A total of 8,692 transactions across homes, offices, shops, car parking spots and industrial spaces were concluded last month, up 12.3 per cent from March’s 7,737 deals, according to data released on Tuesday by the Land Registry. The total sales value rose 17 per cent to about HK$72.9 billion (US$9.3 billion). Sales of new and second-hand residential units climbed 16.7 per cent month on month to 7,368 in April, the highest since April 2024 when 8,551 units were sold, the data showed. The sales value in April increased about 15.4 per cent over March to HK$63.67 billion. “The number of new home sales registrations has rebounded significantly, coupled with stable performance in the secondary market and commercial and industrial properties, resulting in a continued boom in the market,” said Derek Chan Hoi-chiu, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. A steady recovery in the city’s residential market was spurring a wider recovery for the city’s office and retail segments, according to Morgan Stanley.

May 6, 2026
Education Bureau steps in after Hong Kong school’s phone ban sparks backlash
Business

Education Bureau steps in after Hong Kong school’s phone ban sparks backlash

Students at Kwun Tong Maryknoll College protest stricter phone rules imposing demerits and confiscation Hong Kong education authorities have contacted a school after its newly tightened rules and penalties on mobile phone use triggered an outcry among students. Under the new measures, due to take effect in the coming weeks, Form Three and Four students at the boys’ school Kwun Tong Maryknoll College will be banned from using mobile phones on campus, with devices stored in lockers and accessible only during designated time slots. The rules also stipulate that no other items may be kept in the lockers, and playing mobile games at the school entrance is prohibited. “Violators will receive four demerits each time. The school will conduct regular inspections, if a phone is found on a student, it will be considered a violation and the phone will be confiscated,” it said. Form Three and Four students were reportedly targeted because they accounted for more breaches related to mobile phone use on campus. The school said the measures aim to “promote student self-discipline, reduce classroom distractions, and lower the risk of mobile phone loss and theft”.

May 6, 2026
China unveils new naval defence systems as drones change nature of war at sea
Business

China unveils new naval defence systems as drones change nature of war at sea

The PLA has been working to improve its defences after the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East highlighted the threat of anti-ship drones The Chinese navy has unveiled a new anti-drone air defence system, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The CCTV report on Monday said a “finalisation test” – which certifies that a weapon system’s design meets all operational requirements – had been successfully carried out in the Bohai Sea. In effect, this means that it has been given the official green light for mass production and deployment. During the test, the system intercepted multiple drones conducting “high-difficulty” ultra-low-altitude and stealth attacks in a “realistic” combat simulation, the report said. “These manoeuvres were designed to comprehensively test the weapon system’s interception capabilities under complex electromagnetic environments and ultra-low-altitude penetration conditions,” it added.

May 6, 2026
Hong Kong ‘block trade king’ exploited bank lapse to make HK$1.7 million, court told
Business

Hong Kong ‘block trade king’ exploited bank lapse to make HK$1.7 million, court told

Prosecutors allege Simon Sadler and Daniel La Rocca used confidential information about planned block trade to sell more than 1.7 million Esprit shares A prominent hedge fund manager took advantage of a bank’s “wholesale collective failure” to prevent illicit trading, making HK$1.7 million in a single day by using confidential information to sell shares in a Hong Kong fashion house nine years ago, prosecutors alleged on Tuesday. British-born investor Simon Sadler is on trial at the District Court alongside the now-defunct Segantii Capital Management and former employee Daniel Anthony La Rocca Jnr over alleged insider dealing in the shares of Hong Kong-listed Esprit on June 14, 2017. Once dubbed Asia’s “block trade king”, Sadler founded Segantii in 2007, building the Hong Kong investment firm into one of the region’s largest hedge funds, with nearly US$5 billion in assets in its heyday. Opening their case on Monday, prosecutors argued that Sadler and La Rocca sold more than 1.7 million Esprit shares that day and took short positions after learning that a major shareholder planned to offload its entire stake.

May 6, 2026
China targets top spot in supercomputing with fully domestic, CPU-only machine
Business

China targets top spot in supercomputing with fully domestic, CPU-only machine

Lingsheng or LineShine, built from home-grown CPUs, is designed to surpass America’s El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer Known as Lingsheng or LineShine, it is designed to reach 2 exaflops – or two quintillion calculations per second – edging past the 1.8-exaflop El Capitan, the current record holder at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Unlike other exascale supercomputers, which rely on graphics processing units (GPUs), LineShine will run entirely on central processing units (CPUs). AI rush turns everyday data storage into ‘digital gold’ for Hong Kong consumers It uses 47,000 CPUs across 92 compute cabinets, according to its chief designer Lu Yutong from the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, China’s southern tech hub. Huang Xiaohui, the centre’s deputy director, told a conference in Shenzhen on April 24 that LineShine had achieved full-stack independence, from underlying hardware to core software, as a fully domestic supercomputer. “By the end of 2025, we completed full system deployment and activation, with sustained performance exceeding 2 exaflops.

May 6, 2026
20% of Hongkongers feel ‘lonely’, with 520,000 self-isolating, survey finds
Business

20% of Hongkongers feel ‘lonely’, with 520,000 self-isolating, survey finds

Social welfare charity survey highlights unspoken isolation, with many unwilling to confide in family, friends or even AI chatbots One in five people in Hong Kong feels “lonely”, with about 520,000 self-isolating and unwilling to confide in family, friends or even AI chatbots, a survey has found. The Hong Kong Family Welfare Society on Tuesday released the survey results, which also showed the city’s family well-being index at 6.09, slightly up from 6.06 in 2024. The NGO conducted the survey between January and February, randomly polling 2,112 residents aged 18 and above who lived with family members. The findings showed that 19.8 per cent of respondents, or about one in five, were classified as “lonely”. This was higher than the World Health Organization’s global rate of around 16 per cent, or one in six people experiencing loneliness worldwide. “The figure is worse than the World Health Organization’s general rate, as we have roughly one in five people classified as lonely,” said Teresa Cheung Wing-shan, a senior manager at the NGO.

May 6, 2026
Philippine VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment case heads to plenary vote amid coercion claims
Business

Philippine VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment case heads to plenary vote amid coercion claims

Duterte-Carpio’s camp has accused administration allies of pressuring legislators to support the impeachment or risk withdrawal of funds Under the constitution, the articles of impeachment can be sent to the Senate if backed by at least one third of House members, turning the question of numbers into the central drama of Tuesday’s session. The plenary vote is expected on Monday next week at the earliest, but if at least 106 signatures are already attached, the articles can be sent to the Senate immediately without the nominal voting on the floor by each lawmaker. The move pushed one of the country’s most powerful political figures – Marcos’ 2022 running mate and the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte – nearer to a trial that could threaten her 2028 presidential run and deepen the feud between the two dynasties. On Monday, the House justice committee voted 55-0 to impeach Duterte-Carpio on four grounds.

May 6, 2026