Lianhe Zaobao

Nanyang Sin-Chew Lianhe Zaobao (南洋·星洲联合早报; Nányáng Xīnzhoū liánhé zǎo bào; literally "Nanyang Sin-Chew United Morning Paper"), commonly abbreviated as Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报; Liánhé zǎo bào; literally "United Morning Paper"), is the largest Singapore-based Chinese-language newspaper with a daily circulation of about 200,000. Published by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), it was formed on March 16, 1983 as a result of a merger between Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh, two of Singapore's oldest Chinese newspapers.

The paper establishes itself as a serious broadsheet with extensive local news coverage while international news tend to be largely centered on the East Asia region, especially China. Zaobao has an extensive East Asian correspondent network spanning Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. It is SPH's flagship Chinese daily, the only Chinese-language morning daily in Singapore. As with all Chinese-language publications currently based in Singapore, it uses simplified Chinese characters.

The newspaper is establishing a regional presence for itself, with subscriptions for its print edition from Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong as well as organisations such as the United Nations. Its regionalisation drive was given a shot in the arm especially when the online version of the paper Zaobao.com was launched in August 1995 under the name of "Lianhe Zaobao Online". Today it serves as a news portal drawing news not just from the Lianhe Zaobao, but also from other Chinese newspapers in the region, numbering as much as 100 sources in total. From 8 September 2016, the portal also presents news from two other Singapore Press Holdings Chinese-language newspapers, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News. Lianhe Zaobao is the only Chinese-language overseas newspaper which can be purchased in major cities of mainland China.

Format
The paper is published daily by SPH and usually hits newsstands and homes by 5 am local time. Zaobao is currently published in four segments. The first comprises breaking news (焦点新闻) and local news under ZaobaoSINGAPORE (早报新加坡), followed by a sports section (早报体育). The second comprises ZaobaoChina (早报中国), the daily editorial, commentaries, letters to the press, other international news from the ASEAN, followed by a finance section ZaobaoBUSINESS (早报财经). A supplementary lifestyle, arts and entertainment segment is named zbNOW (早报现在). A minor segment comprises obituaries and classified advertising.

The Sunday edition is titled zbSunday (早报星期天), with a tabloid-format lifestyle supplement pull-out zbWeekly (早报周刊).

Print Sources

 * , Our 70 years: history of leading Chinese newspapers in Singapore (1993), Published by Singapore Press Holdings