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History

The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

After pardoning his son Hunter, President Joe Biden will commute 1,500 sentences and pardon 39 people in the biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history. Photo: Getty Images

Biden unveils biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history

It is the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history, exceeding Barack Obama’s 330 before he left office in 2017.

3 hours agovideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | Seoul must stop using North Korea threat as an excuse to suppress democracy

5 hours agovideocam

Lessons from China's history

Recap | Taylor Swift, Elon Musk and Salman Rushdie were foreshadowed in ancient China

12 Dec 2024 - 12:00PM

Will ties between Japan and South Korea worsen if Yoon Suk-yeol is ousted?

Japan is concerned that South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung might take over Yoon given his stance against Tokyo, analysts say.

12 Dec 2024 - 8:00AMvideocam

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Lima last month. Photo: dpa

How director Jia Zhangke captures China’s rise in his gritty films

Jia used footage filmed over 20 years – as well as unused footage from previous movies – to create his latest work, an ode to China’s rapid development.

11 Dec 2024 - 6:15PM

Japan’s atomic bomb survivors receive Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo

The Nihon Hidankyo group aims to energise nuclear disarmament efforts with their powerful testimonies amid rising concerns.

10 Dec 2024 - 9:12PMvideocam

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TV shows and streaming video

Why 1979 song Below the Lion Rock is like a Hong Kong anthem

Named after a peak below which hunkered squatter villages, the song for RTHK by Joseph Koo and James Wong Jim resonated in 1970s Hong Kong.

10 Dec 2024 - 7:41AM

Kowloon City with Lion Rock in the background. Photo: Sam Tsang

Rare Roman coin sells for US$2.09 million at Geneva auction

Historic item was minted in 43-42 BC and features a portrait of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar. It was originally priced at US$843,000.

10 Dec 2024 - 4:49AM

Insiders’ guide to Tainan, Taiwan: where history, art and cuisine come alive

Taiwan’s fourth city has plenty to satisfy the inquisitive visitor, especially in the walkable district of Anping, which is brimming with culture.

10 Dec 2024 - 3:48PM

David Bowie’s record-breaking shows in Hong Kong in 1983

Despite complaints about audience behaviour, Bowie’s sold-out performances at the Coliseum were a resounding success 41 years ago.

8 Dec 2024 - 4:15AM

British pop superstar David Bowie stunned Hong Kong with record-breaking concerts in 1983. Photo: Sam Chan

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Like Musk for Trump, a benefactor aided rise of China’s first emperor

Political contributions are not new – 2,300 years ago a rich merchant helped the father of China’s first emperor gain power, and his son.

7 Dec 2024 - 8:15AM

Elon Musk with US president-elect Donald Trump. Musk gave US$132 million to help Trump get elected and the Republicans win control of Congress. Political contributions nearly 2,300 years ago helped China’s first emperor assume power. Photo: Reuters/Pool

Travel news and advice

5 things about Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral you probably didn’t know

Notre Dame reopens this weekend after 5 years of renovations following a fire in 2019. Here are some lesser known facts about the cathedral.

7 Dec 2024 - 10:59AM

Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Can Hong Kong reclaim its role as Asia’s gateway to the Americas?

As China expands trade and investment in Latin America, a proactive Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to connect all parties involved.

6 Dec 2024 - 9:30AM

Recap | Michael Jackson misdirects, Princess Di disappoints fashionistas and Bill Clinton makes history

Relive celebrity moments that captivated a city when Michael Jackson, Charlie Chaplin, Princess Diana, Roger Moore and Bill Clinton visited Hong Kong.

6 Dec 2024 - 6:15AM

Michael Jackson, his minders and other visitors taking a roller coaster ride at Ocean Park during the pop superstar’s private trip to Hong Kong in 1987. Entertainer Dr Penguin (with moustache) sits behind him. Photo: SCMP

The Philippines

Duterte’s supporters mocked for copying Philippines’ 1986 ‘people power’ protest

The rally in support of the Duterte family at the EDSA Shrine, the symbolic site of the 1986 uprising, has fizzled out within a week.

5 Dec 2024 - 3:48PMvideocam

A helicopter releases confetti over the People Power monument during the 21st anniversary celebration of the 1986 People Power Revolution in Manila in 2007. Photo: Reuters

A Moana holiday sailing in Tahiti offers tastes of Polynesian tradition

Inspired by Disney’s Moana? Channel the Polynesian princess in Tahiti, where traditional vessels take visitors on cultural journeys by water.

5 Dec 2024 - 5:21AM

Yoon’s martial law bid seen as ‘political suicide’ as impeachment looms

As South Korea’s political crisis deepens, the world will closely monitor the outcome of the impeachment motion filed against Yoon Suk-yeol.

5 Dec 2024 - 5:23AMvideocam

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Why Yoon’s martial law bid poses ‘severe’ threat to South Korea’s democracy

Seoul’s lawmakers are calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation or impeachment after his failed attempt to impose martial law.

4 Dec 2024 - 8:17PMvideocam

Protesters hold placards calling for the resignation of South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

In South Korea, Yoon’s ‘reckless’ martial law bid evokes its dark history

The president’s failed gamble, called an ‘international embarrassment’, reflects South Koreans’ determination to defend democracy.

4 Dec 2024 - 2:30PMvideocam

The giant pandas in Hong Kong before An An and Ke Ke

The latest panda craze is not the city’s first, far from it – Le Le and Ying Ying made their Hong Kong debut in 2007.

4 Dec 2024 - 2:08PM

SCMP Highlights

Recap | See gallery of ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ film set exhibition

Life-size replica of the iconic Kowloon Walled City from the hit martial arts gangster film features a towering 6.5m recreation of sets.

9 Dec 2024 - 10:44AM

The exhibit features a 6.5-metre-high double-storey set and a large “Kowloon Walled City” neon sign. Photo: Sam Tsang

Architecture and design

Those ‘lucky cat’ figures? They’re not what you think

Numerous myths surround the maneki neko, but one thing is certain: these wealth-magnet felines are of Japanese origin, not Chinese.

3 Dec 2024 - 10:15AM

Cat figurines, called maneki neko, on display at Tokyo’s Gotokuji Temple. Photo: X

Chinese culture

Why the coming Year of the Wood Snake could be lucky

With 12 animals and 5 elements, the Year of the Wood Snake comes around every 60 years, and 2025’s may be more favourable than 1965’s.

7 Dec 2024 - 8:37AM

Why Hong Kong’s nature has captivated locals and visitors for centuries

Hong Kong’s outstanding natural habitat has long been a source of fascination for locals and professional botanists alike.

2 Dec 2024 - 9:00PM

The Philippines

‘From terrorism to tourism’: after Abu Sayyaf horrors, is Sulu ‘100% safe’?

Sulu was battered by years of clashes between the militants and Philippine troops, but visitors are slowly returning due to better security.

2 Dec 2024 - 4:43PM

A beach at Patikul, Sulu, Philippines, a town previously controlled by the Abu Sayyaf militant group. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Recap | Hong Kong’s hidden past reveals a tragic death, gay love and spies

PostMag writer Jason Wordie explores 1930s Hong Kong and discovers vintage guidebooks, LGBTQ acceptance and a tragic death in four Then & Now columns.

2 Dec 2024 - 5:34PM

A US sailor sits in a sedan chair in Hong Kong in the 1930s. Such rides were recommended to tourists in the Chinese Nationalist government’s publication ‘Tourists Guide: The Colony of Hong Kong and Vicinity’ from the era. Photo: Getty Images

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Language Matters | How long before apateu is an English word, given Rosé and Bruno Mars’ APT?

Many Korean words have recently been added to English, and ‘apeteu’ may follow them now APT is a global hit with music fans.

2 Dec 2024 - 4:10PM

When a blackmail plot ended in Australian tourist’s murder

Fifty-four years ago, Ronald Alan Coombe was found stabbed to death in his hotel room after a confrontation with a fellow countryman, Graham Edwards.

1 Dec 2024 - 6:15AM

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