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Hong Kong performing arts groups needed more venues, industry veterans have said after the government released a blueprint for arts development identifying a lack of performance venues as one of the city’s weaknesses. The experts also called for more measures to incentivise private sector support for the city’s arts scene. The Culture, Sports, and Tourism […]

Jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai has told a court that he “must have discussed” the issue of imposing sanctions on Hong Kong officials with US ex-secretary of state Mike Pompeo when he met the former official in 2019 amid large-scale pro-democracy protests and unrest. The 76-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two counts of taking […]

Landlords of substandard subdivided units could see fines of HK$300,000 or prison sentences of up to three years under penalties proposed by the Hong Kong government. The Housing Bureau said in a Chinese-language consultation document submitted to the legislature on Wednesday that the government aimed to phase out subdivided units that measured less than eight […]

Four Hong Kong democracy campaigners who were jailed for up to seven years and nine months in the city’s largest national security case to date have sought to challenge their convictions and sentences. The High Court on Tuesday received appeal applications from activist Owen Chow, former lawmaker Helena Wong, ex-district councillor Clarisse Yeung and former […]

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour. The firm will sell its factory in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi as well as a test track in Turpan to a Chinese company, a spokesperson said in a […]

By Isabel Kua and Oliver Hotham Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said Wednesday, the latest official to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said the investigation […]

The Hong Kong government has slammed US lawmakers over claims that the city is playing an “increasing role” as a hub for illicit financial activities, calling the allegations “grossly unfounded.” In a statement released on Tuesday, the government said it “strongly disapproves of and firmly rejects malicious slander of Hong Kong’s reputation as an international […]

Hong Kong police have arrested 46 people allegedly involved in an illegal money lending scheme, in which they posed as phone retailers and offered loans to domestic workers with annual interest rates as high as 400 per cent. Police said on Tuesday that 17 men and 29 women, aged 20 to 76, were arrested on […]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) has called on people to get tested for HIV as it revealed an increase in the proportion of patients getting diagnosed at advanced stages of the infection. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Bonnie Wong, a consultant for the CHP’s Special Preventative Programme, said there had been a […]

A Hong Kong man has been convicted of rioting and conspiring to wound with intent, after a court ruled that he had armed himself with a stick during the Yuen Long mob attacks in 2019. Tang Ka-man, 46, was remanded in custody on Tuesday pending sentencing, after he was found guilty of two charges linked […]

China warned Tuesday that “no one will win a trade war” after US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to impose sweeping tariffs on goods from China and elsewhere in response to illegal drug trade and immigration. “China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy […]

Hong Kong will impose limits on loans that can be taken out at licensed money lenders in response to what an official called “excessive borrowing” among domestic workers and low-income residents. Christopher Hui, the secretary for financial services and the treasury, wrote in his blog on Monday that the government plans to limit the size […]

US lawmakers urged the government Monday to rethink banking ties with Hong Kong, citing its “increasing role” in money laundering, sanctions evasions and reported funneling of banned technology to Russia. Since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the semi-autonomous Chinese city in 2020, “Hong Kong has shifted from a trusted global financial center […]

Hong Kong’s top court has ruled in favour of same-sex married couples’ housing and inheritance rights, handing a landmark victory to the city’s LGBTQ community following government appeals against previous court rulings. The Court of Final Appeal handed down the verdicts on Tuesday, marking the end of years-long court battles waged by LGBTQ activists as […]

Two Hong Kong men have been arrested on suspicion of illegally streaming overseas football matches at a restaurant. It marks the first time local authorities have made arrests following new communication rights granted to copyright owners last year. The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department raided a restaurant in Tung Chung on Sunday night, after […]

Jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai has denied that he instructed staff of his now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper to urge the West to impose sanctions on Hong Kong, his national security trial has heard. The 76-year-old tycoon continued to give evidence on Monday in front of handpicked judges. He faces two counts of conspiracy to collude […]

Hong Kong national security cases will be barred from being heard remotely under a bill to introduce court proceedings with real-time remote communication link-ups. Gazetted by the government on Friday, the Courts (Remote Hearing) Bill will also exclude criminal trials and juvenile court proceedings from remote hearings. The first reading of the bill at the […]

Beijing is ramping up scrutiny of “common” disputes such as those involving marriages and property, the justice ministry said, as the public reels from a recent string of deadly attacks. China has witnessed a spate of violent incidents in recent months — from mass stabbings to car rammings — a rare development for a country […]

A final round of talks on a treaty to end plastic pollution opened on Monday, with the diplomat chairing the difficult negotiations urging nations to “meet an existential challenge.” The meeting opens just hours after a chaotic end to the COP29 climate talks in Baku, which agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing […]

A Hong Kong lawmaker has called plans to mandate voluntary work for people on government welfare a “half-punitive” scheme, saying most welfare recipients have personal reasons why they are not working. Speaking to HKFP on Monday, social welfare lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said that not many subsidy recipients are “lazy.” Many may not be able to […]

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of flying drones in a restricted zone where a Chinese army assault vessel was docked during a five-day visit. A 35-year-old man surnamed Wong, and a 18-year-old man surnamed Yeung, were apprehended at the China Merchants Wharf near Kennedy Town on Friday and Saturday. They were suspected of […]

By Nick Perry, Laurent Thomet and Shaun Tandon The world approved a bitterly negotiated climate deal Sunday but poorer nations most at the mercy of worsening disasters dismissed a US$300 billion a year pledge from wealthy historic polluters as insultingly low. After two exhausting weeks of chaotic bargaining and sleepless nights, nearly 200 nations banged […]

By Robert Godden Many of the world’s largest financial institutions have made bold promises to promote responsible investing and combat human trafficking. Yet behind these commitments lies exploitation much closer to home, literally.  In the Asian financial hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore, where many of these institutions have offices, migrant domestic workers – often […]

Hong Kong’s largest national security case came to a close on Tuesday as 45 prominent pro-democracy advocates were jailed for up to 10 years over taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion. The offence centred on an unofficial primary election held in July 2020 that aimed to help them win a controlling majority in […]