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The second day of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby games kicked off at the Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday, the centerpiece of the sprawling HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports Park. Fans gathered in the brand new stadium to watch the games, with the victory of the Hong Kong men’s and women’s teams among the highlights […]

By Sara Hussein A powerful earthquake centred in Myanmar has killed more than 150 people in the war-torn country and neighbouring Thailand and caused widespread damage. Here is what we know: Powerful, and shallow The 7.7-magnitude quake hit northwest of Myanmar’s Sagaing at 12:50 pm (0650 GMT) on Friday at a shallow depth of 10 […]

Taiwan faces a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts warn, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts told AFP that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due […]

I generally hesitate to say anything about what appears in the Chinese-language press, because it reaches me only second-hand, and in translation. But recent commentaries in Ta Kung Pao have me puzzled. I do not participate in controversies about China, for or against. Such matters are not very interesting, and in any case, as a marooned Brit, […]

In the third month of 2025, Hong Kong’s apex court handed down landmark rulings: quashing the convictions of three Tiananmen vigil activists and upholding jailed activist Tam Tak-chi’s conviction and prison term. Jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai ended his testimony; his trial has been adjourned until August, when the court will hear closing arguments from […]

By Sebastien Berger and Hla Hla Htay with Thanaporn Promyamyai in Bangkok and Montira Rungjirajittranon in Chiang Mai A massive earthquake on Friday turned a major hospital in Myanmar’s capital into a “mass casualty area”, while at least three people were killed and dozens trapped in neighbouring Thailand when a skyscraper collapsed. The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor […]

Hong Kong customs officers have announced the seizure of 145 kilograms of suspected gold bars, worth around HK$110 million, in a Japan-bound air cargo, breaking the record for the largest bust of its kind. “This is the largest gold bullion smuggling case detected by Customs on record in terms of the seizure volume and market […]

The head of Hong Kong’s corruption watchdog has urged the public not to incite blank or invalid votes ahead of the Legislative Council elections in December, warning that authorities will enforce the law “resolutely.” Danny Woo, the commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), told reporters on Thursday that he hoped the elections would […]

By Isabel Kua and Peter Catterall Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday warned of “severe challenges” to global trade, vowing to open the country’s door “wider and wider” to foreign firms as Beijing faces down a mounting trade war with the United States. Meeting executives including hedge fund boss Ray Dalio and Samsung Electronics chief […]

Hong Kong has slammed the United Kingdom over a twice-yearly report that raised concerns about “transnational repression,” published after the city issued arrest warrants for UK-based pro-democracy activists last December. The city’s government “strongly condemns and rejects the UK’s attempt through a so-called six-monthly report to make misleading and irresponsible remarks about Hong Kong matters, […]

Hong Kong’s health authorities have declared that the winter influenza season, that began in early January, “has come to an end.” However, they are urging residents to remain vigilant in anticipation of a flu season this summer. Hong Kong recorded 488 severe cases and 330 deaths among adults during the flu season, which lasted for […]

China rebuffed on Thursday a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that he might offer to reduce tariffs on the country to get Beijing’s approval for the sale of popular social media platform TikTok. Trump said this month the United States was in talks with four groups interested in acquiring TikTok, with the app facing […]

A Hong Kong court may issue a warrant to arrest a PhD student fined last year for indecent assault, due to his failure to appear at a court hearing on Thursday. Appearing before Magistrate Li Chi-ho at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, the prosecution was seeking a heavier sentence for 26-year-old Lai Changwei, according to […]

A former Hong Kong bank executive has launched an appeal against his guilty conviction and 31-month jail sentence for rioting during the Yuen Long mob attack in 2019. Jason Chan, a 42-year-old former vice president at Deutsche Bank, was among seven men found guilty by District Judge Stanley Chan last December and jailed last month. According to local […]

Hong Kong recorded a total of 1,359 child sexual abuse cases during the past two years, with 7 per cent of the cases linked to the internet, the city’s police have said. Police told HKFP on Thursday that they recorded 696 cases of sex crimes against children in 2023, while the figure fell by around […]

Hong Kong police are searching for a foreign domestic worker suspected of abusing an elderly woman, according to local media reports. In a statement issued on Wednesday night, police said they received a report on March 18 from a woman who said that her 81-year-old mother had been assaulted inside a flat in Lai Tak […]

The centrepiece of Hong Kong’s annual Art Week – Art Basel – has returned to the city’s exhibition centre in Wan Chai, showcasing 240 galleries from 42 countries and territories. More than half of the galleries are from Asia-Pacific. A total of 23 new galleries from India, Australia, Kosovo, Guatemala, Nigeria, South Africa, the US, […]

Beijing authorities kept up their pressure on CK Hutchison on Wednesday, resuming criticism of the Hong Kong conglomerate’s sale of its Panama Canal ports. The business empire built by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing offloaded its global ports business outside China this month to a group led by giant asset manager BlackRock for $19 billion in […]

Hong Kong’s security chief has again slammed Ming Pao after the newspaper ran an editorial defending a reporter who asked the official why his trip to Thailand earlier this month went unannounced. On March 7, Secretary for Security Chris Tang rebuked the Ming Pao journalist for asking why his visit to Thailand was not published […]

Art Central has returned to Hong Kong’s harbourfront for its 10th edition. The art fair will be open to the public from Thursday until Sunday at the Central Harbourfront, showcasing 108 galleries and over 500 artists from more than 40 countries and territories. Supported by the government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, visitors can […]

A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to life for murdering his three-year-old daughter in 2020 by violently shaking her to death. Lau Ka-ping, 42, appeared at the High Court on Wednesday, nearly a week after a seven-member jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict following a trial that lasted over 20 days. Delivering the sentence, […]

China poses the top threat to American interests and security globally and is making “steady” progress towards having the ability to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan, an annual US intelligence report warned Tuesday. Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets” were indicators of its growing threat to US national […]

Hong Kong plans to slash bonuses and raise job qualification requirements for Native-speaking English Teachers (NETs) working at local schools. In a Legislative Council paper published on Tuesday, the Education Bureau said it was “proactively reviewing” the NET scheme. The government’s scheme places NETs in all public primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong with […]

Operators of subdivided units may be given a three-year grace period to renovate their flats to comply with new regulations meant to phase out substandard dwellings, according to proposals laid out by Hong Kong’s housing authorities. In a document submitted to the Legislative Council on Tuesday, the Housing Bureau and the Housing Department propose that […]