Hong Kong’s coroner is expected to hold an inquest this year into the Lamma ferry tragedy, some 12 years after the sinking which claimed 39 lives. It comes after the city’s Appeal Court supported calls by bereaved relatives for the hearing. The coroner’s court held a closed-door pre-inquest review on Thursday morning, local media reported. […]
By Holmes Chan For three decades Joe Lau has tied his racehorse training career to the rising and falling fortunes of the Macau Jockey Club, but in a few days it will all be over. On April 1, horse racing in the southern Chinese casino hub will be consigned to history after the club’s concession […]
Hong Kong’s new homegrown national security law will “unduly limit” human rights and freedom in the city, six UN experts have said as they urged authorities to review and reconsider the legislation. The new security law – commonly known as “Article 23” – targets five types of crimes including treason and insurrection, with sentences ranging […]
China on Thursday blamed Philippine actions for recent rising tension between the two sides in the hotly contested South China Sea. Beijing and Manila have a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the strategic waterway and there have been repeated confrontations between their vessels near contested reefs in recent months. “The provocations by the […]
A Hong Kong pro-establishment lawmaker who came in for criticism from the city’s leader has deactivated his Facebook page to review its content and delete “sensitive posts,” days after the new domestic security law came into force. The Facebook page of Paul Tse, who has served as a legislator since 2008, was temporarily suspended over […]
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is to introduce measures on tourist flow management on campus following an influx of visitors from the mainland. Local media have reported on the grounds being as “crowded as Disney,” with mainland tourists barging into lecture halls for photo-taking during lectures. The Pok Fu Lam campus has sky-rocketed in […]
The Hong Kong government has for the second time this month condemned the BBC’s reporting on the new security law. It is the latest in a string of press releases and letters lashing out at foreign media over their coverage of Article 23’s enactment last Saturday. A spokesperson on Wednesday night said a BBC report […]
China said Thursday it would lift punitive tariffs on Australian wine, as trade ties improve between the two countries after years of tension, with Canberra soon afterwards announcing it would drop its case against Beijing at the World Trade Organization. Duties were imposed on key Australian exports such as wine, barley and beef in 2020 […]
Hong Kong’s Civic Party, which was once the city’s second-largest pro-democracy party, has officially shut down after 18 years – joining dozens of other civil society groups which folded in the wake of a Beijing-imposed national security law. Members of the Civic Party – nicknamed “the barristers’ party” – voted last May to dissolve it […]
As one of the central events of Hong Kong’s Art Week, Art Central 2024 will open to the public on Thursday, marking a return to the Central Harbourfront for the first time since 2019. The annual art fair is celebrating its ninth edition showcasing artwork and programming from 98 innovative galleries, with works by 500 distinguished artists from […]
A Hong Kong student has been jailed for eight weeks over impersonating a TVB actor and withdrawing him from the city’s organ donation registry last May. Wong Tsz-ching, 20, appeared at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to criminal damage linked to a withdrawal application he made on the […]
Sanctions against individuals – or economic sanctions at the country level – were among the “immature ideas” Hong Kong activist Andy Li “floated” to an international parliamentary alliance days before the 2020 national security law came into force, a court has heard at the high-profile trial of media mogul Jimmy Lai. Li, the co-founder of […]