8 AM Latest News: 13 Arrested for Manslaughter in Hong Kong Tai Po Fire, VAT on Contraceptives Next Year, 570M Yuan Vanke Equity Stake Frozen for 3 Years

Notification of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po: 13 people have been arrested on manslaughter charges. The fire retardancy of the shed nets fails to meet the standards in many places, and the investigation is still ongoing.

DeepSeek Releases Two Official Versions of Models

Luo Yonghao Denies That Sending Products to Enterprises Earns More Than Live Streaming

Yu Minhong Becomes the Legal Representative of Dongfang Zhenxuan Company

SF Express Launches "Timeout Compensation" Service: The Cost Is Borne by the Company, and Couriers Don't Need to Bear It

"Zootopia 2" Becomes the Highest-Grossing Imported Film in Mainland China This Year

Singaporean Middle School Students Will Be Banned from Using Smartphones and Smartwatches at School Starting Next Year

Police in Hong Kong have arrested 13 people in connection with the Tai Po fire on the charge of manslaughter

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government briefed the public on the latest situation of the search and rescue operation and investigation into the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on the afternoon of December 1. Police have arrested 13 people on the charge of manslaughter. The investigation is still ongoing, and more arrests are not ruled out. After on - site investigations and evidence collection by the police, samples of shed nets were collected from seven locations in the burning building, and they did not meet the fire - retardant standards. (Xinhua)

From next year, value-added tax will be levied on contraceptive drugs and devices, and the preferential policy of VAT exemption will no longer apply

Starting from January 1, 2026, the sale of contraceptive drugs and devices will be subject to value-added tax in accordance with the law, and the preferential policy of VAT exemption will no longer be available. Article 15 of the current Interim Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Value-Added Tax stipulates that contraceptive drugs and devices are exempt from VAT. However, in Article 24 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Value-Added Tax, which will come into effect on January 1, 2026, the item of "contraceptive drugs and devices" is no longer included in the VAT exemption items.

The cancellation of the VAT exemption policy will have a direct impact on the production and sales enterprises of contraceptive drugs and devices. Enterprises need to re - evaluate their cost structures, adjust their pricing strategies, and may face the challenge of intensified market competition. With the levy of VAT, the market prices of contraceptive drugs and devices may rise, thus increasing the purchase costs for consumers. Starting from January 1, 2026, the sale of contraceptive drugs and devices will require the issuance of corresponding special VAT invoices or ordinary invoices in accordance with VAT regulations. (Sina Finance)

570 million yuan of Vanke's equity has been frozen for a period of three years

On December 1st, the AiQicha APP showed that recently, Vanke Enterprise Co., Ltd. had a new piece of equity freezing information. The enterprise where the equity is located is Shenzhen Vanke Development Co., Ltd. The amount of frozen equity is 570 million yuan, and the freezing period is three years. The enforcing court is the Intermediate People's Court of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province.

Shenzhen Vanke Development Co., Ltd. was established in June 1994, with Zhou Rong as its legal representative and a registered capital of 600 million yuan. The company's business scope includes real - estate development and operation within the scope of legally obtained land use rights, domestic commerce, supply and marketing of materials, hotel management, conference services, catering services, and real - estate brokerage. Shareholder information shows that the company is jointly held by Vanke Enterprise Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary Shenzhen Vanke Financial Consulting Co., Ltd. (NBD, Jiemian News)

Hou Yi, former CEO of Hema, embarks on a new venture and enters the live - streaming e - commerce field

On the evening of November 30th, Hou Yi, the founder and former CEO of Hema Fresh, officially announced the launch of a brand - new entrepreneurial project called "Laocai Ruixuan", making a comeback in the public eye through live - streaming e - commerce.

Hou Yi said in a video on his account "Hou Yi's Insights" that people can call him "Laocai", which means an expert in buying groceries. He loves food and often cooks at home. After retiring last year, he has been thinking about combining his hobbies with future entrepreneurship. Many friends suggested that he could re - define the best Chinese ingredients and dishes with his endorsement and introduce these products to consumers. So he created a live - streaming channel called "Laocai Ruixuan", including a mini - program and a private domain.

At 7 p.m. that night, the first live - streaming session of "Laocai Ruixuan" started. Although it was briefly interrupted due to screen adjustments, it still attracted a large number of consumers after resuming. Jiemian News checked the "Hou Yi's Insights" account, which showed that it had 3,144 followers and 2,347 likes. There were 20 good products on sale in the product showcase of "Hou Yi's Insights". The first live - streaming session of "Laocai Ruixuan" on November 30th lasted nearly two hours. (Jiemian News)

China CDC: The overall influenza activity in the country has entered a moderate epidemic level, and some provinces have reached a high epidemic level

The monitoring results recently released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that the positive rate of influenza among influenza-like cases in outpatient and emergency departments across the country has approached 45%. The overall influenza activity in the country has entered a moderate epidemic level, and some provinces have reached a high epidemic level. Currently, China has entered the high-incidence season of respiratory infectious diseases, and the overall epidemic situation is on the rise. Influenza activity will continue to increase. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly reminded that vaccination is the most effective and economical way to prevent infectious diseases. As the level of influenza activity rises, eligible people who have not been vaccinated against influenza should get vaccinated as soon as possible. (Jiemian News)

CATL Issues Salary Increase Notice, with Grassroots Employees Getting a Monthly Raise of 150 Yuan

Some netizens have reported that CATL recently issued a salary increase notice. The notice states that in order to better attract and retain new and old employees, continuously improve work efficiency and product quality, and enhance the company's competitiveness, the company's management has decided to adjust the salaries of employees at levels 1 - 6 starting from January 1, 2026.

According to the notice, this policy applies to employees at levels 1 - 6 of CATL New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and its wholly - owned subsidiaries. The basic salary of employees at levels JG1 - 6 will be increased by 150 yuan, while other salary structures and standards remain unchanged. The salary adjustment policy will take effect on January 1, 2026. It is understood that the salary increase by CATL this time involves employees at the grassroots level. CATL's financial report last year showed that the total number of employees in the company was 132,000, and the average annual salary was 236,300 yuan, a increase of 10,600 yuan compared to 2023. (Kuaikeji)

DeepSeek Releases Two Official Versions of Models

36Kr learned that on December 1st, DeepSeek released two official versions of models: DeepSeek-V3.2 and DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale. The official web version, App, and API have all been updated to the official DeepSeek-V3.2. The Speciale version is currently only available in the form of temporary API services for community evaluation and research.

Luoyonghao Denies Earning More from Product Launches for Enterprises Than from Live Streaming and Responds to the Podcast's Popularity

On December 1st, Luoyonghao posted an announcement that the annual science and technology innovation sharing conference "Luoyonghao's Crossroads" (2025) will be held in Shanghai on December 30th this year. In the post, Luoyonghao responded to the podcast's popularity: After the launch of the "Luoyonghao's Crossroads" podcast, it has achieved remarkable results that have caught the attention of the whole network. However, we believe it can do more, be stronger, and have a greater impact. More importantly, it should be cooler and have more social value.

Meanwhile, he also said, "People always think that going to other technology companies to launch products might earn me far more than doing live - streaming e - commerce. This is a popular misconception. Over the years, many business tycoons have mistakenly thought that I could make their mediocre products shine during product launches. So they invited me to join their companies as partners in charge of marketing and product launches back then. This is a huge misunderstanding." (Caixin Technology)

China's annual express delivery volume exceeds 180 billion pieces for the first time

Reporters learned from the State Post Bureau that since the beginning of this year, China's express delivery volume has exceeded 180 billion pieces for the first time, reaching a record high, reflecting the strong momentum of China's continuous economic improvement. The latest data from the State Post Bureau shows that as of November 30, China's express delivery volume this year has exceeded 180 billion pieces, surpassing the 175.08 billion pieces in the whole year of 2024. (CCTV News)

Yu Minhong Assumes the Position of Legal Representative of Dongfang Zhenxuan Company

36Kr learned that according to the Aiqicha App, recently, industrial and commercial changes have taken place in Dongfang Zhenxuan (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. Sun Dongxu has stepped down as the legal representative, executive director, and manager, while Yu Minhong has taken over as the legal representative and manager and also serves as a director. Dongfang Zhenxuan (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. was established in December 2021 with a registered capital of 10 million yuan. Its business scope includes corporate image planning, conference and exhibition services, and the wholesale of edible agricultural products. Shareholder information shows that the company is wholly owned by Dongfang Youxuan (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.

Chinese citizens can travel to Russia visa-free before September 14, 2026

It was learned on December 1st local time that according to an order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day, Chinese citizens can travel to Russia for tourism and business purposes without a visa until September 14, 2026 (inclusive). The visa-free period is 30 days. (CCTV News)

SF Express Launches "Late Delivery Compensation" Service: The Company Bears the Cost, and Couriers Are Exempted

SF Express stated that starting from December 1st, it will launch a "late delivery compensation" service. As long as customers place orders for SF Express Priority on official SF Express channels such as mini - programs or apps, if the delivery is delayed due to SF Express' transportation reasons, they will receive "cash" compensation. The service will be initially launched in 10 cities including Shenzhen and Qingdao and is expected to eventually cover the whole country. SF Express said that in terms of determining liability for compensation, it will not simply blame individuals. Based on the big - data system, the company will conduct intelligent analysis and break down the responsibilities for all links in the express delivery process, and solve problems through technological and management upgrades. Moreover, the cost of this compensation will be fully borne by the company, and couriers will not be responsible for any compensation or indemnity. (Jiemian News)

Box office of "Zootopia 2" exceeds 1.9 billion yuan in 5 days, becoming the highest - grossing imported film in the Chinese mainland this year

According to data from Dengta Professional Edition, as of 19:38 on November 30th, just 5 days after its release, the box office of the movie "Zootopia 2" has exceeded 1.9 billion yuan, making it the highest - grossing imported film in the Chinese mainland this year. Previously, on November 29th, according to Dengta Professional Edition data, as of 22:00 that day, the single - day box office of "Zootopia 2" exceeded 700 million yuan. The film surpassed "Avengers: Endgame" to become the imported film with the highest single - day box office in the history of the Chinese mainland film market, and it is also the film with the highest single - day box office outside the Spring Festival holiday. On the same day, according to Maoyan Professional Edition data, the number of single - day moviegoers for "Zootopia 2" exceeded 17.324 million, breaking the record for the single - day number of moviegoers for an animated film in Chinese film history. (Jiemian News)

Nestle China Responds to the Merger of Infant Nutrition Business with Wyeth: Existing Business Operations Will Not Be Affected

Nestle China has confirmed that the Wyeth Nutrition business and Nestle's infant nutrition business in the Chinese market will officially establish the Nestle Nutrition business on January 1, 2026. Joel Seah will become the person in charge of this business. "Infant nutrition has always been our core business, and we will continue to increase investment in brands and channels. During the business adjustment process, the company strictly complies with laws and regulations. The adjustment will not affect the existing business operations. Wyeth Nutrition (China) Co., Ltd. and Wyeth (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. will continue to operate, and brands such as Wyeth Enfamil and S-26 will continue to serve Chinese consumers," Nestle said. (21st Century Business Herald)

Singaporean middle school students will be banned from using smartphones and smartwatches at school starting next year

According to a report by Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, the Singapore Ministry of Education announced in a statement on November 30 that starting from January next year, all middle school students in Singapore will be prohibited from using smartphones and smartwatches during class, recess, and after - school remedial classes to encourage students to develop good habits of using electronic devices and promote offline interaction. Under the new rules, students must store their smartphones and smartwatches in designated areas such as lockers or schoolbags while at school. Schools may allow students to use smartphones if necessary. In addition, to encourage students to go to bed earlier, the Singapore Ministry of Education will also adjust the settings of the management application in middle - school students' personal learning electronic devices starting from January next year. The automatic shutdown time will be advanced from 11 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (Observer.com)

Trump Has Determined the Candidate for the Next Fed Chair

US President Donald Trump said on November 30 that he has selected the candidate for the next Federal Reserve Chair and will announce the decision soon. When interviewed by reporters and asked whether he would nominate Kevin Hassett, the current director of the White House National Economic Council, to succeed Jerome Powell as the Fed Chair, Trump declined to confirm the news. (Sina Finance)

Trump: Refugee Admission Suspension May Last 'a Long Time'

U.S. President Donald Trump said on November 30 that the U.S. government's decision to suspend processing asylum applications may last "a long period of time," and he hasn't decided on the specific duration yet. Trump told reporters on Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, that the above measure "has no time limit but may last a long time." He said, "We have enough problems. We don't want those people. Do you know why? Because many of them are worthless and they shouldn't be in our country." (CCTV News)

French President Hopes to Extend "Mobile Phone Ban" to High Schools

Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he "most likely" will extend the mobile phone ban, which has been implemented in kindergartens, primary schools, and junior high schools, to high schools starting from the next academic year. French Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye said that "the measure is under study." In 2018, the French National Assembly voted to pass a bill on "banning students in kindergartens, primary schools, and junior high schools from using mobile phones on campus." According to the regulations, primary and junior high school students are not allowed to use mobile phones either in class or during extracurricular activities, unless it is for teaching purposes or special needs of disabled children. Supporters believe that students' excessive use of mobile phones can distract them in class, affect physical activities during breaks, and even expose them to harmful information such as violence and porn. (CCTV World News)

Google Introduces Gemini 3 AI Model to Google Search

Google has introduced the Gemini 3 AI model to Google Search, covering nearly 120 countries and regions and supporting English. Starting today, the Nano Banana Pro feature will be launched in AI mode for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in more countries. (Cailian Press)

John Giannandrea Steps Down as Head of Apple's AI Strategy, Former Microsoft Executive to Take Over

Apple announced on December 1st local time that John Giannandrea, the senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy, will step down from his current position and serve as a company advisor until his retirement in the spring of 2026. Meanwhile, well - known AI researcher Amar Subramanya has joined Apple as vice president of artificial intelligence. Subramanya will lead key areas, including Apple's foundation models, machine learning research, and AI security and evaluation. Subramanya previously served as the corporate vice president of artificial intelligence at Microsoft and spent 16 years at Google, where he was the engineering lead for Google's Gemini Assistant before leaving. (Jiemian News)

Nvidia invests $2 billion to acquire a stake in Synopsys and establishes a partnership with the company

Nvidia has invested $2 billion to purchase shares of Synopsys, a chip design software company, as part of an engineering and design partnership between the two sides. The two companies said in a statement on Monday that Nvidia bought these shares at a price of $414.79 per share. Synopsys closed at $418.01 last Friday. (Sina Finance)

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower, while popular Chinese concept stocks showed mixed performances

36Kr learned that at the close on December 1st, all three major U.S. stock indexes declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.38%, and the S&P 500 Index declined 0.53%. Large technology stocks showed mixed trends. NVIDIA, Apple, and Netflix rose more than 1%, and Amazon rose 0.28%. Google, Meta, and Microsoft fell more than 1%, and Tesla dropped 0.01%. Popular Chinese concept stocks showed mixed performances. Alibaba rose more than 4%, Pony.ai and Weibo rose more than 3%, Baidu rose more than 2%, and Pinduoduo rose more than 1%. NIO fell more than 5%, and Li Auto, XPeng Motors, and Tiger Brokers fell more than 2%.

Accenture Partners with OpenAI to Provide ChatGPT to Thousands of Employees

Consulting firm Accenture announced that it will establish a partnership with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT Enterprise to its tens of thousands of IT professionals to seize the growing market demand for artificial intelligence (AI) services. (Sina Finance)

GAC Aion Apologizes: "Sunroof Picture" Was a Content Review Error, Aion UT super Has No Sunroof Configuration

On December 1st, regarding the Aion UT super jointly launched by GAC, CATL, and JD.com, the three parties jointly organized a "Listening to Advice" symposium. At the meeting, the three parties announced four major measures, including an additional 2,600 yuan service package, adding more cities for invoice issuance, a more flexible refund and cancellation policy, and launching a "50 yuan for 1,000 kilometers" mileage increment package in December. Regarding the users' concern about "whether there is a sunroof", Yang Long, the vice president of GAC Group's Aion BU and the chief user officer of the Aion brand, said that a "sunroof picture" appeared in the introduction of the cooperation ecosystem content on the Aion community, which was a content review error. It was discovered and immediately corrected three days after the product's launch, and a self - inspection of all official content was completed. He expressed deep apologies for this. "From the day of the launch, it can also be clearly seen in the product configuration tables on various platforms of the three parties that there is no sunroof configuration." (Jiemian News)

Masayoshi Son Responds to Selling All NVIDIA Stocks: Urgently Needs Money to Build Data Centers

According to a report on December 1st, Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank Group, admitted that if SoftBank had "unlimited funds" when advancing its AI plans, he would never have sold NVIDIA's stocks. It was only because of the need to heavily invest in a series of projects such as OpenAI that he had to part with them.

This is Masayoshi Son's first response to SoftBank's decision to sell all of its NVIDIA holdings. He said at the FII Priority Asia forum in Tokyo that the company needs funds to build data centers and promote multiple AI - related investments. "I almost cried when I sold NVIDIA's stocks." (Bloomberg)

*ST Suwu: Received Decision on Termination of Company's Stock Listing

36Kr learned that *ST Suwu issued an announcement stating that the company received the "Decision on Termination of Listing of Jiangsu Wuzhong Medicine Development Co., Ltd.'s Stocks" issued by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on December 1st. The Shanghai Stock Exchange decided to terminate the listing of the company's stocks. The starting date for the trading of the company's stocks in the delisting arrangement period is December 9th, 2025. The delisting arrangement period is 15 trading days, and the estimated last trading day is December 29th, 2025.

LinkDoc Pharmaceuticals

36Kr learned that on November 30, documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed that LinkDoc Pharmaceuticals (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. - B submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The joint sponsors are CITIC Securities and CCB International.

HashKey

36Kr learned that according to the documents of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, HashKey Holdings Limited (hereinafter referred to as: HashKey) has passed the listing hearing of the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. J.P. Morgan, Guotai Junan Securities (Haitong) and Guotai Junan International are its joint sponsors.

ECallMobi

36Kr learned that on November 30, documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed that Shanghai ECallMobi Technology Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CSC International as the sole sponsor.

Deepseek Elected as NetEase Youdao Dictionary's Word of the Year 2025, with Over 8.67 Million Searches Throughout the Year

36Kr learned that on December 1st, NetEase Youdao Dictionary announced its Word of the Year 2025 - "deepseek". Data shows that the word "deepseek" was searched for over 8.67 million times throughout the year. A Youdao Dictionary official revealed that the search trend of "deepseek" was "phenomenal" - it was relatively flat at the beginning of the year but soared after February. Almost every technological breakthrough brought about a new wave of search enthusiasm.

Elon Musk's Prediction: AI Will End the U.S. "Debt Crisis" in Three Years

During a podcast that aired on November 30th, Elon Musk stated that there is only one solution to the U.S. debt problem: artificial intelligence. Musk further pointed out that artificial intelligence has not yet increased productivity enough to drive economic output growth to exceed inflation, but this situation is about to change. "I estimate that within three years or less, the output of goods and services will outpace the inflation rate," he added. (Cailian Press)

HSBC Partners with Mistral AI to Accelerate the Adoption of Generative AI

On December 1st, HSBC and French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI announced a strategic partnership to enhance and accelerate the adoption of generative AI across the bank for employees to use in various tasks, from financial analysis to translation. The statement said that future focus areas will include customer-facing innovations, such as improving credit and lending processes and strengthening fraud and anti-money laundering checks. (Jiemian News)

SoftBank Group CEO: There are no obstacles to achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

SoftBank Group CEO said that there are no obstacles to achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). (Cailian Press)

OpenAI Invests in Thrive Holdings to Accelerate the Popularization and Application of Enterprise-level AI

On December 1st, OpenAI announced its investment in Thrive Holdings, aiming to accelerate the popularization and application of enterprise-level artificial intelligence, with an initial focus on the accounting and IT service sectors. OpenAI will establish R & D, product, and engineering teams within Thrive Holdings' affiliated companies to improve speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness while enhancing service quality. (Jiemian News)

Data analytics firm Databricks aims to raise $5 billion with valuation doubling in a year

Data analytics firm Databricks is in talks for a new round of financing. According to investment documents disclosed by The Information, the company plans to raise approximately $5 billion, with a target valuation of $134 billion. Based on this valuation, Databricks' price - to - sales ratio is about 32 times its expected revenue of $4.1 billion in 2025, reflecting the high pricing given by investment institutions in the AI infrastructure field. If this round of financing is successfully completed, the company's valuation will rise significantly from $100 billion in the previous round of financing in September this year, far higher than the valuation of $62 billion at the end of 2024. (Sina Finance)

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