Inside China

SCMP journalists in Shanghai report on the ongoing lockdown in the Puxi district. Thomas Yau discusses rising tensions among residents amid supply shortages, why he’s bartering noodles for toothpaste and anger directed at local neighbourhood committees. Tracy Qu analyses China's food delivery companies responding to the food crisis while authorities seek to quell social media unrest. Shanghai-based sustainability expert Richard Brubaker analyses supply chain bottlenecks and when the West will…

China’s most-populous city Shanghai has plunged its people into a historic half-half lockdown, starting with all districts east of the Huangpu River to be followed by similar measures for all areas west. Post reporter Holly Chik speaks with Shanghai bureau chief Daniel Ren from lockdown about how residents are coping, and to explore the economic impact on the finance and manufacturing base. Video journalist Thomas Yau is on the other side of the river, where there is panic buying and rising…

SCMP’s Mimi Lau presents the latest update on Hong Kong's Omicron surge, with reporter Gigi Choy discussing images of the sick and elderly in beds on the streets outside overcrowded hospitals;, William Zhang updates efforts from mainland China to send assistance and reports on people trying to flee across the border. Tara Joseph from AmChamHK talks about the ongoing exodus of expats; HK resident Vivian Lin shares her experience of being stranded in Melbourne, unable to return to the city.

Hong Kong is desperately implementing new Covid-19 rules and penalties in an effort to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. The SCMP’s Hong Kong reporter Gigi Choy explains how one case became hundreds, chief Asia correspondent Bhavan Jaipragas unpacks Singapore’s experience of “living with Covid-19”, and epidemiologist Dr Ben Cowling returns with a forecast for what happens next, and whether Hong Kong’s “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy can be resuscitated. Presented by Mimi Lau.

Hear about Hong Kong’s fifth wave of the pandemic. Microbiologist Dr Siddharth Sridhar unpacks Hong Kong's 2020-era zero Covid policy as the reality of low vaccinations in the elderly and the Omicron variant hits; Hong Kong Veterinary Association president Dr Owen Swan reveals the science and emotions behind the order to cull thousands of hamsters, SCMP journalists Chad Bray and Gigi Choy report on the exodus of Hong Kong's finance sector and the quest to track Hong Kong's omicron spread.

As the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday loom, Mimi Lau looks at Beijing's desperate measures to maintain its zero-Covid policy amid new outbreaks in Tianjin and Henan province. Holly Chik unpacks the claim that Covid-19 is entering China by mail; Shanghai-based journalist Thomas Yau on what it's like to travel through China right now, and Bernice Chan details the massive changes to Hong Kong's famed restaurant industry amid a harsh 6pm lockdown policy. Get our Listening Post…

SCMP journalist Xinmei Shen is joined by her fellow technology reporters Josh Ye and Jane Zhang to unpack and analyse the numerous crackdowns Chinese authorities have launched on the nation's tech sector this year. They start with a record-smashing antitrust fine, then move on to explore how new regulations for gaming, after-school tutoring and data privacy impacted Chinese society as well as Wall Street.

Mimi Lau talks with SCMP deputy sports editor Josh Ball about the diplomatic snub announced on the Beijing Winter Olympics; historian Nicholas Sarantakes recaps the saga of the 1980 Moscow Olympic boycott and other political actions over the decades, and analyses the impact of Joe Biden’s decision on the American public; Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, looks at past commercial boycotts and pressure on the Olympics and the IOC's ongoing role in the Peng Shuai story.

SCMP digital editor Jarrod Watt speaks with Professor Ben Cowling, Chair Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong. Cowling has been on previous episodes of Inside China, but in this special feature he discusses the Omicron variant, the need for travel bans, the science behind 21 day quarantine, and delves into his experience of Hong Kong quarantine. Hear about air purifiers, "selfish masks" and his predictions for Hong Kong and mainland China in…

SCMP reporters Mimi Lau, Simone McCarthy and Josephine Ma discuss the latest coronavirus news from inside mainland China and around the world. Hear what we know about the variant called Omicron, the new pandemic treaty agreed to at an historic World Health Assembly meeting, and hear about how China stands on the verge of a new policy on booster shots as well as the latest updates on advances and trials for monoclonal antibody treatments to treat Covid-19 infections.