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Pro-Beijing groups in Hong Kong are seeking to organise a carnival in part of Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park, where annual vigils were held for decades to mark the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The event period is set to cover the crackdown’s 35th anniversary on June 4. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) told HKFP on […]

A marine pyrotechnic display will take place across Victoria Harbour during next Wednesday’s May Day public holiday, kicking off a campaign of regular fireworks shows to boost tourism, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has announced. In a statement released on Thursday, the HKTB said the fireworks show will begin at 8pm on Labour Day […]

By Shaun Tandon China’s foreign minister warned Antony Blinken on Friday that US pressure could trigger a “downward spiral”, as the visiting secretary of state raised concerns on issues including support for Russia. In a sign of the importance of the relationship between the world’s top two economies, officials said Chinese President Xi Jinping would […]

Chinese tech giant ByteDance has said it has no plans to sell TikTok after a new US law put it on a deadline to divest from the hugely popular video platform or have it banned in the United States. US lawmakers set the nine-month deadline on national security grounds, alleging that TikTok can be used […]

The Hong Kong government has “strongly opposed” a resolution adopted by the European Parliament, which condemned the enactment of the city’s domestic security law and called for sanctions against Chief Executive John Lee and other government officials. The European Union had made “exaggerating remarks” and demonstrated “typical political hegemony and hypocrisy with double standards” with […]

Media mogul Jimmy Lai was fearless and “led by example” after the Beijing-enacted security law came into force, an activist testifying against the tycoon in his high-profile trial has said. Chan Tsz-wah, a paralegal who was charged alongside Lai and is now a witness for the prosecution, appeared at West Kowloon Law Courts Building on […]

Hong Kong’s treasury chief, in a meeting with a visiting UK minister, has reaffirmed that emigrants who want to withdraw their pensions from the city’s official fund cannot use their British National (Overseas) passports as proof of identity. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui also told Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK minister for […]

By Shaun Tandon US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Thursday on the United States and China to manage their differences “responsibly” as he went on a charm offensive ahead of expected tough talks. A day before meeting Beijing’s top brass to tackle thorny issues including Russia, Taiwan and trade, Blinken’s visit to Shanghai saw […]

Hong Kong’s official auditor has criticised the Post Office, public dental services, bus operators and a government-funded NGO for failing to include national security clauses in contracts with various suppliers. The Audit Commissioner released reports on Wednesday covering eight government sectors. While examining their spending and efficiency, it also urged various departments to safeguard national […]

Taiwanese president-elect Lai Ching-te named his cabinet and security team appointees on Thursday as he prepares to take office next month. China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control, has labelled Lai a “dangerous separatist”. Lai […]

The national security trial of three former leaders of a now-disbanded Tiananmen vigil group will not begin this year, a Hong Kong judge has said, more than two years since the group was charged. Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan, formerly of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, […]

A fundraising concert organised by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) has been forced to move online, after the live performance was axed due to “irresistible force,” the press group said. HKJA announced on Wednesday that the live concert scheduled for Sunday would take place online on May 8, after the show was called off […]

Radical groups broke into two university laboratories to steal chemicals for a bomb plot to murder police officers during the 2019 protests and unrest, the prosecution told a terrorism jury trial on Wednesday. Seven people are standing trial under the city’s anti-terrorism act at the High Court, with prosecutors – for the first time – […]

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai’s arrest dealt a “heavy blow” to pro-democracy advocacy group Stand With Hong Kong, causing it to lose its connections to US politicians, the media mogul’s national security trial has heard. Activist Andy Li was also arrested in the same police swoop on August 10, 2020, but the activist group had […]

By Robin Millard Asia was the world’s most disaster-hit region from climate and weather hazards in 2023, the United Nations said Tuesday, with floods and storms the chief cause of casualties and economic losses. Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the UN’s weather and climate agency said Asia was warming at a particularly […]

Hong Kong police have received over 28,000 tip-offs via the anti-terrorism hotline since its launch in June 2022, including reports of suspected possession of weapons and suspected harbouring of explosives. Police told HKFP on Wednesday that public vigilance against terrorism increased as the authorities heightened promotion and educational efforts, and encouraged residents to report suspicious […]

By Shaun Tandon US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in China on Wednesday as the United States ramps up pressure on its main rival over its support for Russia, while seeking to manage tensions between the two powers. The US diplomat will meet China’s top brass on Friday in Beijing, where he is […]

An NGO serving Hong Kong’s low-income residents has urged the government to delay the enforcement of a controversial waste charging scheme among disadvantaged tenants of “cage homes,” subdivided units and those in “three-nil” buildings. “Three-nil” buildings are generally those which lack an owners’ company, residents’ organisation or property management firm to manage the building. Alongside […]

The verdict in the sedition trial of Hong Kong news outlet Stand News and two of its former chief editors has been further postponed to the end of August, according to the judiciary. Non-profit digital news outlet Stand News ceased operations and deleted its website in December 2021 after its newsroom was raided by over 200 national security police […]

Beijing and Hong Kong have said that the US has “smeared” Hong Kong’s law enforcement actions after Washington published a report stating that the city had “significant human rights issues.” The 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the US Department of State on Monday was “unfounded and biased,” the Hong Kong government […]

Taiwan has vowed to remove 760 remaining statues of its late martial law-era leader Chiang Kai-shek, despite criticism that such moves “erase” the past. See also: HKFP Lens: Symbols of savagery or tributes to founder figure? Taiwan ponders fate of Chiang Kai-shek statues The island has long been divided over how – if at all […]

A government advisory body has conditionally approved a report on the environmental impact of building a technology hub near the city’s border with mainland China, despite criticism from green groups. The Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE), a government-appointed body, on Monday unanimously endorsed the government’s environmental impact assessment for the San Tin Technopole. See […]

Hong Kong restaurants have been slow to switch to eco-friendly alternatives following the single-use plastics ban enacted on Monday, with many still using disposables. Single-use plastics including straws and utensils are forbidden under the ban. Restaurants have a six-month grace period to comply with the new rules, under which the government will not take enforcement […]

An alleged bomb plot to murder police officers during the 2019 protests and unrest in Hong Kong could have caused heavy casualties, the prosecution has said in the city’s first trial under an anti-terrorism act. The prosecution on Tuesday began their opening statement at the High Court after a nine-member jury was selected on Monday […]