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An elderly resident of a private housing estate slated for redevelopment has been allowed to collect her belongings from her former home after a Hong Kong court set aside an order to evict her. The ruling would allow Tam Wai-lan to re-enter the premises of Tai Hang Sai Estate to take back her belongings, according […]

By Peter Catterall China recorded one of its slowest rates of economic growth in decades last year, data showed Friday, as leaders nervously eye a potential trade standoff with incoming US president Donald Trump. Beijing has in recent months announced its most aggressive support measures in years in a bid to reignite an economy that […]

Hong Kong authorities have condemned outgoing US President Joe Biden’s order to extend “safe haven” protections for Hongkongers, calling the move a “malicious attack.” In a statement on Thursday night, the government said it “strongly disapproves of and condemns the malicious attack by the United States (US) through signing a memorandum, which… expands the Deferred […]

Enquiries about suspected data fraud increased by more than 40 per cent last year, the city’s privacy watchdog has said. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) said in a statement on Thursday that it received 1,158 enquiries relating to suspected personal data fraud last year, up from 793 the year before. […]

Jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai has told his national security trial that he paid a retired US army general to give advice to former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen regarding the attitude of Donald Trump’s first administration to the self-ruled island. The court heard on Thursday that Lai, 77, engaged Jack Keane, a former vice chief […]

Another Hongkonger trafficked into Southeast Asia has returned to Hong Kong, Secretary for Security Chris Tang has said, as families of victims met with a dedicated task force that held discussions with Thai authorities this week. The security chief confirmed media reports that one of the detainees returned to the city on a Thursday morning […]

By Amber Wang Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC on Thursday announced a better-than-expected net profit for the fourth quarter as it benefits from booming demand for AI technology. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world’s largest contract maker of chips that are used in everything from Apple’s iPhones to Nvidia’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence hardware. The firm […]

The government has put out some details about its plan to eliminate substandard mini-flats. But a question remains. According to a newspaper contribution by the relevant minister, there are believed to be 110,000 subdivided flats – where an already miniature flat is further split up for multiple occupation – in Hong Kong. It is estimated that 220,000 […]

An off-duty Hong Kong policeman attempted to grab a firearm from a colleague inside a police station after he was arrested for allegedly taking upskirting photos, police have confirmed. The scuffle, which occurred inside the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on Wednesday, injured the suspect – a constable who works for the national security department […]

Hong Kong police will roll out a rapid testing device for detecting a newly emerging drug called “space oil,” ahead of its ban amid authorities’ warnings that the narcotic is harming the city’s youth. Police demonstrated the device at a press conference on Tuesday, local media reported. The device – resembling a Covid test kit […]

President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered a two-year extension of a program allowing Hong Kong residents living in the United States — many of whom fled repressive Chinese rule — to stay beyond the expiry of their visas. The extension, just weeks before the program was due to run out, is likely to add to […]

Hong Kong recorded 44.5 million visitors in 2024, according to provisional government figures, falling short of earlier forecasts and lagging far below the record high of 65 million in 2018. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) on Wednesday announced that the city welcomed 44,502,787 visitor arrivals last year, 31 per cent more than in 2023. […]

Hong Kong police have arrested a beautician for allegedly luring two young women to Southeast Asia, as authorities grapple with attempts to rescue trafficked Hongkongers held captive in the region. Police on Wednesday arrested the 32-year-old woman on suspicion of conspiring to commit deception. She allegedly lured two young women, aged 23 and 21, to […]

In the days leading up to a proposed US government ban on the social media platform TikTok, American users have turned to another Chinese-owned app, Xiaohongshu. The United States passed a law last year forcing the popular video platform’s owner ByteDance to either sell it or shut it down by January 19. With that deadline […]

Hong Kong’s housing minister has rejected the “alarmist and pessimistic sentiment” in a report by the UK’s Guardian, which suggested that city’s proposed subdivided housing regulations had “run into trouble.” The newspaper’s report, titled “Doomed to fail? Hong Kong’s attempt to tackle ‘shoebox housing’ runs into trouble,” highlighted the exclusion of “coffin homes” from a […]

Hong Kong’s Housing Authority (HA) has suggested criminalising the abuse of public housing units to enhance the deterrent effect. The proposed maximum penalty would be one year of imprisonment and a fine of HK$500,000. Speaking on RTHK on Wednesday morning, Cleresa Wong, chair of the subsidised housing committee of the HA, said the authority had […]

Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, will say Wednesday that China cheated its way to superpower status and that the “liberal world order” long cherished by the US elite should be discarded. Rubio will face fellow senators at his confirmation hearing in what is likely to be among the least contentious sessions […]

Hong Kong saw 35 heat records broken in 2024, the Observatory has said, as it highlighted a warmer than ever winter and autumn. Last year was already the city’s hottest year since records began 140 years ago. Aside from May, all months in 2024 logged higher temperatures against the average in the three decades between […]

Apple Daily’s lease did not require pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to declare the operations of a consultancy firm at the newspaper’s premises, Hong Kong’s appeals court has heard as the tycoon sought to overturn a fraud conviction. Lai appeared before judges Jeremy Poon, Anthea Pang, and Derek Pang at the Court of Appeal on […]

Former university professor Khaw Kim Sun has been found guilty and sentenced to life for a second time following a retrial, in which he was convicted of murdering his wife and daughter with a carbon monoxide-filled yoga ball in 2015. A seven-member jury in High Court on Tuesday unanimously found Khaw, a Malaysian-born anaesthesiologist formerly […]

A Hong Kong task force sent to Thailand is “trying their best to help” trafficked Hongkongers illegally held in Myanmar, Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday. “The Security Bureau’s task force is… trying all their best to help those who are being kept in captivity in Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar in this case,” Lee […]

Hong Kong authorities have said they are investigating the collapse of scaffolding at a construction site that left 11 workers injured, including one still in critical condition, on Monday. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said in a Facebook post on Monday night that the Labour Department was looking into the incident, which took […]

The Philippines said Tuesday it was alarmed by Chinese coast guard patrols which are growing closer to the country’s shore. Beijing claims most of the South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The Philippines said China’s deployment this month of a “monster” coast guard vessel demonstrated Beijing’s “increasing […]

Chinese officials are exploring a potential sale of US TikTok operations to billionaire Elon Musk as the video-sharing platform faces an American law requiring imminent Chinese divestment, Bloomberg News reported Monday. The report, citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, outlined one scenario being discussed in Beijing where Musk’s social media company X would purchase […]