China defence experts vanish online, Thai coconut cartel crisis: 5 weekend reads you missed

A weekend news roundup from the South China Morning Post highlighted significant developments in Asian tech and geopolitics. The most striking report detailed the unexplained disappearance of the online profiles for three senior Chinese defense experts—Wu Manqing, Zhao Xiangeng, and Wei Yiyin—from the official website of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. These individuals are specialists in critical fields like nuclear technology, radar systems, and missile engineering. Their simultaneous removal from public view, without official explanation, has sparked speculation about internal shifts, security concerns, or personnel changes within China's strategic defense sector.

In a separate but equally notable tech story, Hong Kong residents are embracing 'OpenClaw', an open-source AI agent framework. Unlike standard chatbots, OpenClaw agents are designed to perform actual tasks and automate workflows in the real world, acting as a 'supercharged digital assistant'. Early adopters in Hong Kong report that the tool has become an integral and helpful part of their daily routines, akin to a 'family member'. However, this adoption comes with a significant caveat: users emphasize that such powerful autonomous agents 'must be watched', highlighting growing public awareness of the risks and responsibilities that come with deploying advanced AI.