Fukushima nuclear readings discrepancy, China’s middle class shun luxury spending, Hong Kong’s expat woes: SCMP’s 7 highlights

1. What’s wrong with radiation readings at the Fukushima power plant?

The numbers were within safety limits, but they did not add up. As Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant pumped seawater in and released treated waste water, some gamma radiation readings varied when they should have been roughly the same.

2. Where are the expats? Hong Kong’s talent drive fails to bring back foreigners

There has been an influx of mainland Chinese after Hong Kong pulled out the stops to woo talent, but foreigners have been slow to return. In the second of a two-part series, the Post examines what the impact will be if expatriates stay away.

3. Middle-class Chinese shun luxury spending amid hazy outlook

As an increasingly uncertain economic environment has them feeling the pinch, China’s middle class is becoming more conservative and cutting back on high-end purchases, according to the results of an annual survey.

4. US spy agency ‘hacked Huawei HQ’: China confirms Snowden leak

Nearly a decade after documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) hacked the servers of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, Beijing has officially acknowledged the attack.

5. Hong Kong loses pride of place for economic freedom to rival Singapore

Hong Kong has been dethroned for the first time in 53 years as the world’s freest economy by rival Singapore in a Canadian think tank’s international league table because of what was said to be Beijing’s greater interference in city affairs – a view dismissed by the government.

6. Let China pandas live in ‘natural habitat’, Thai critics urge as PM mulls loan

Conservationists, netizens and a former minister have opposed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s plan to loan a new giant panda from Beijing, urging that any additional resources be instead channelled towards Thailand’s elephants.

7. Strongest swimmers wanted: China sperm bank lures students with cash and prizes

A sperm bank in China has offered university students a cash-for-semen deal as the country grapples with the problem of falling birth rates.