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A man who ploughed his car into a crowd of mostly school children in central China last month was handed a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve, state media reported Monday. In November, the attacker, named as Huang Wen, repeatedly rammed his car into a crowd outside a primary school in Hunan province, state […]

China will raise its deficit in order to boost spending next year, its finance minister said Tuesday according to state media, as Beijing looks to prop up its struggling economy. The world’s second-largest economy has for years battled sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt. Beijing unveiled a […]

Hong Kong’s environmental authorities have issued HK$2,000 penalty notices to two restaurants within the first two months of a disposable plastics ban. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said on Monday it had received 62 complaints about businesses that were not complying with the ban since it officially took effect on October 22 after a six-month […]

Hong Kong has for the first time adopted facial recognition technology at a land border checkpoint, a scheme the government aims to expand to other checkpoints. Officials hosted an opening ceremony for the reprovisioned Chung Ying Street Checkpoint in the border town of Sha Tau Kok on Monday afternoon. Eric Chan, the chief secretary for […]

Hong Kong national security police have issued a fresh round of arrest warrants for six people living overseas, including self-exiled activists, a former pollster and an ex-actor. A reward of HK$1 million has been offered for information leading to their arrests. Police on Tuesday announced the arrest warrant against activist Tony Chung, the former convenor […]

The Hong Kong government has cancelled the HKSAR passports of seven “absconders” using under the city’s homegrown security law, including former lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok who are now based overseas. Secretary for Security Chris Tang on Tuesday invoked his powers under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – known as Article 23 – and […]

TikTok’s breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China. In Washington, the platform has been accused of espionage. The European Union suspects it was used to sway Romania’s presidential election in favour of a far-right candidate. Explainer: Why is TikTok banned in […]

The Philippine military said Monday it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system to protect its maritime interests, some of which overlap with regional power China. The US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally, and decided to leave […]

Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector has benefited from the recent resumption of multiple-entry visas for Shenzhen residents, an industry veteran has said. The winter solstice period has seen a recovery in business nearing pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, they added. Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades, told RTHK on […]

Interest in providing foster care has surged with inquiries increasing 35 per cent year-on-year between April and November this year. It follows official moves to more than double foster families’ monthly allowances from HK$5,000 to HK$11,000. Since April, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) also raised the monthly reward for families providing “emergency foster care” from […]

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has received 17 complaints, after some local football fans failed to meet legendary players from Real Madrid CF, as promised for an exhibition match with ticket packages costing almost HK$7,000. As of 11 am on Monday, the Consumer Council had received 17 complaints involving an amount of HK$125,017, with a single […]

Hong Kong authorities have found some 100,000 illegal structures at around half of the city’s village houses inspected so far. They plan to allow a grace period for houses with minor unlawful structures, given the sheer caseload. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said that the illegal additions were found at 60,000 village homes in Hong […]

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for four years and one month over rioting and wounding others with intent during a mob attack in Yuen Long in 2019. Tang Ka-man appeared at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Monday. He was found guilty last month after a trial. The case relates to a […]

A US report which alleged that Hong Kong’s unique system had been “withered away,” leaving it “nearly indistinguishable” from mainland cities, has been condemned by the local government and Beijing. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) – a US government body monitoring human rights conditions in China – published its annual report on Friday. It […]

China said Sunday it “firmly opposed” US President Joe Biden’s approval of US$571.3 million in defence assistance for Taiwan. The White House said Friday that Biden had authorised the drawdown “of up to $571.3 million in defence articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan”. […]

From a plot of land that she has occupied for 38 years while farming fish in Hong Kong’s San Tin area, Lai Kam-dai has watched as Shenzhen grew into a major city across the Sham Chun River.  “This is new,” Lai said in Cantonese, pointing at the skyline across the border from Hong Kong. Shenzhen’s […]

By Joe Jackson As Britain’s new Labour government bids to reset long-fraught ties with China amid a suspected spy scandal, another issue could mar relations: Beijing’s controversial plans to open the largest embassy in the UK. China has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the British capital’s upmarket Marylebone district, […]

What, I wonder, is a mega event? This question arises from a Legislative Council answer provided by our newly minted Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law. Law gave a glowing report on her branch’s efforts to boost tourism. You might even wonder, reading her update on the situation, what her predecessor did wrong. […]

US President Joe Biden on Friday approved US$571.3 million in defence assistance for Taiwan, the White House said, as the Democrat prepares to leave office ahead of the January inauguration of Donald Trump. The United States does not official recognize Taiwan diplomatically, but it is the self-ruled island’s strategic ally and largest supplier of weapons. […]

Innocent Mutanga only had a few books, some money and clothes when he fled from Zimbabwe to Hong Kong in 2013 to escape political persecution. He had chosen this destination mainly for its visa-free entry, and as he described it, it was “Jackie Chan’s place.” Hong Kong was not an entirely foreign land to the […]

By Holmes Chan A decade ago, the elegant cobblestone streets of Macau’s Tap Seac Square were jam-packed with people clamouring for change and government accountability — the high-water mark for the former Portuguese colony’s political awakening. Now, as Macau marked the 25th anniversary of its handover to China this week, the city’s democracy movement is […]

The president of Hong Kong’s legislature has denied that lawmakers wasted time by tabling “empty” motions in 2024, as he praised them for passing almost 50 per cent more bills in the first three years of their term than their predecessors did in the same period. Andrew Leung on Thursday also said it was “too […]

Police have arrested 39 people over allegedly staging traffic accidents to fraudulently claim subsidies from a government assistance scheme. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) said on Friday the 39 were arrested for fraud and conspiracy to defraud. They were suspected of obtaining payments from the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) scheme, which provides funds for […]

Public hospitals in Hong Kong have adopted new guidelines to “clarify facts” and inform affected patients before disclosing medical blunders. But a patients’ concern group said the mechanism may “rationalise” the withholding or delayed release of information. The Hospital Authority (HA) would no longer announce medical mishaps first, instead following a new “three-step” mechanism that […]