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Inside China Tech

South China Morning Postwww.scmp.com
Inside China Tech is brought to you by the South China Morning Post's on-the-ground reporters who explore China's ever-evolving tech scene, bringing essential tech background, trends, and analysis from China straight to listeners.
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Episodes

Post-Covid-19 world: are online services set to take over?

The world is witnessing an unprecedented growth and transformation of online services and consumption as a result of the Covid-19 crisis – are online services taking over the globe completely, and what changes will stick around? Further, will the rollout of ultra-fast 5G networks enhance this trend?

Jun 03, 202027 min

How technology has changed the way we die and mourn

People around the world are adapting how they mourn their loved ones amid the coronavirus pandemic. Live-streaming funerals are being organised, while social media accounts of the dead are being transformed into virtual memorial pages. However, one's digital presence can be vulnerable. On this episode, we look into how technology has changed the way we die and mourn. Music courtesy of DK (Unfinished Farewell) Cover design courtesy of Jiabao Li

May 12, 202031 min

Online learning: Has the pandemic democratised education in China?

In China, one way or another, at least 260 million students and 15 million teachers had to migrate their entire offline learning and teaching activities online. Digital educational centres, applications and tools have seen a surge in demand. National curriculum classes are being recorded by teachers across all forms, and are being broadcasted on TV for free. We look into the technologies that facilitate this migration and ask: are we closer to education equality in China?

Apr 04, 202020 min

TikTok vs Douyin: why does China have its own TikTok?

We're digging deep into China's version of TikTok called Douyin. How different is Douyin from its international version TikTok? Why are there two almost-identical apps out there? And how are Chinese people using Douyin differently from users of TikTok? To truly understand Douyin, we attended a weekend class that costs about US$1,400 in Shenzhen, China, about how to get rich on the app.

Mar 11, 202023 min

How China has turned to tech like never before to combat the coronavirus

The impact of the countrywide lockdown on the economy has the potential to cut China’s GDP growth in the first quarter from 6 to 4.5 per cent. However, new tech opportunities and markets are emerging under the pressure of the public health emergency and tech companies in China are pulling out all the stops in helping the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease as well as facilitating the continuation of people’s daily life under the lockdown.

Feb 26, 202024 min

Life under coronavirus lockdown: personal accounts from two tech reporters

Two of the Post's tech reporters are among the hundreds of millions of people whose lives have been directly affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Reporter Celia Chen, who’s based in Shenzhen, China, and couldn’t go back home to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province and the epicentre of the outbreak, talks about how her family spent this Lunar New Year bonding over news and mobile apps. Another tech reporter, Jane Zhang is going to tell us about being trapped in her hometown Enshi, Hubei.

Feb 11, 202018 min

What on earth is TikTok? We spent a day with a TikTok star

To better understand how TikTok works in domestic and international markets, our producer Yang Yang went to visit TikTok stars with millions of followers - one is a 16-year-old who initially moved to Los Angeles to develop an acting career; the other, coming up in the next episode, is a family of toddler triplets living on the outskirt of Zhuhai, a city in Southern China.

Jan 21, 202020 min

How to (re)introduce plant-based meat to China

China is no stranger to vegetarian food. If anything, the Chinese have invented countless vegetarian dishes that imitate meat throughout their centuries-old history of Buddhism. In this episode, we try Impossible Meat, we try its counterpart in China, we talk to people who sell it and who study the market, and we ask - how should companies introduce, or perhaps reintroduce, meatless meat to China?

Dec 31, 201919 min

Leaders in Tech: Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang on what's trending and what's next

E-commerce giant Alibaba started trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on November 26, 2019. The company raised a whopping US$13 billion, making it the largest share launch of the year, beating out Uber and Lyft. On the back of its listing, we got a chance to speak to Daniel Zhang, executive chairman and chief executive of Alibaba, while he was in Hong Kong. Zhang spoke about how technology is transforming companies and reshaping consumer buying habits, with increased consumption now…

Dec 09, 201918 min

Singles’ Day explained

On November 11, also known as Singles’ Day, more than US$38 billion was spent in 24 hours on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms alone — that’s more than Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day combined. But what really sets Singles’ Day apart from other shopping fests? Why are people shopping on a day that’s not even a holiday? And … is that Taylor Swift at Alibaba’s Singles’ Day gala? Senior tech reporter Zen Soo and podcast producer Yang Yang spent the day where it all began: at Alibaba’s…

Nov 25, 201915 min

What can China’s DNA tests really tell you?

What are China’s DNA testing companies doing differently? What do your DNA test results really mean? We speak to 23Mofang’s CEO, and a geneticist from the University of Hong Kong, to find out.

Oct 16, 201926 min
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