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China’s economy likely expanded at its slowest pace this year, according to an AFP survey ahead of data Friday, as authorities struggle to reignite consumption amid a chronic debt crisis in the property sector. Officials have in recent weeks unveiled a string of measures to reignite the world’s number-two economy and bring an end to […]

Visitors to a new aquarium in China were left furious this week after discovering one of its top aquatic stars was a robot, despite it being marketed as such. Xiaomeisha Ocean World in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, opened on October 1 but was quickly slammed for its high prices, long queues, and poor conditions for its […]

The Hong Kong government will offer a monthly subsidy of HK$5,000 to up to 1,000 elderly social security recipients if they want to move to care homes in China’s Guangdong Province, the city’s leader said. Chief Executive John Lee announced the three-year pilot scheme, for subsidising elderly recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) retiring in […]

Hong Kong is to relaunch a scheme to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by offering easier loan repayment terms, as part of a range of measures to boost the business sector. Chief Executive John Lee said in his third Policy Address on Wednesday that firms would be allowed to apply for a delay of […]

Hong Kong will pass a law to phase out subdivided flats smaller than eight square metres (86 sq ft) and ensure they have windows and a toilet, Chief Executive John Lee has announced. But the city’s infamous “coffin homes,” which are regulated – and effectively legalised – by a separate law passed three decades ago, […]

Chief Executive John Lee has urged Hong Kong’s tourism, food and beverage and taxi sector to provide better religious, language and catering support for Muslim visitors from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The city’s leader was delivering his third Policy Address at the legislature on Wednesday, having sought to shore up business from Middle […]

Hong Kong will add 13 mainland Chinese and overseas universities to its Top Talent Pass Scheme, as the city strives to position itself as an “international hub for high-calibre talent.” The scheme aims to attract people with rich work experience and good academic qualifications, Chief Executive John Lee said during the 2024 Policy Address on […]

Nationals of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will enjoy relaxed rules when applying for multiple-entry visas for travel or business, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced on Wednesday. As part of a push to foster closer ties with countries in Southeast Asia, the government will also extend the validity period of multiple-entry visas for the […]

Hong Kong will cut tax on liquor with an import price of over HK$200 to boost tourism and consumption of high-end food and beverages, the city’s leader has announced in the 2024 Policy Address. The existing 100 per cent tax on the import price of liquor with an alcoholic strength of more than 30 per […]

Chief Executive John Lee set out priorities for the city at the legislature on Wednesday, as he delivered the 2024 Policy Address. This year’s address came amid ongoing economic difficulties and weak domestic consumption that have hit many businesses across different sectors in the city. Against this backdrop, Lee indicated that the speech would focus on “developing […]

One of Hong Kong’s last remaining pro-democracy groups, the League of Social Democrats (LSD), rallied outside government headquarters in Admiralty on Wednesday morning, the day of Chief Executive John Lee’s third Policy Address. The LSD called for dual universal suffrage and for people’s constitutional rights and freedoms to be protected, including the right to vote, […]

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has found cases of multiple supermarket products being downsized over the past three and a half years, with some amounting to a de facto price hike. It has urged greater product information transparency against “shrinkflation.” The Consumer Council on Tuesday said it had surveyed 62 supermarket products with volume or weight […]

Authorities should lower the threshold for Hong Kong-based mainland Chinese talent to move their capital from mainland China to the city, a pro-Beijing party has urged as growing numbers of professionals arrive from across the border. Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), announced on […]

Professional networking platform LinkedIn has suspended training its artificial intelligence (AI) models on Hong Kong users’ data in a move welcomed by the city’s privacy watchdog. LinkedIn halted the use of Hong Kong user data last Friday, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) said in a Tuesday statement. The watchdog last week expressed concern […]

Thousands of US and Filipino marines launched 10 days of joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, a day after China held huge drills around Taiwan. The annual Kamandag, or Venom, exercises are focussed on defending the north coast of the Philippine’s main island of Luzon, which lies about 800 kilometres (500 […]

A Hong Kong secondary school teacher has been arrested on suspicion of installing a hidden camera in a girls’ school washroom. He was also suspended from all duties and barred from entering the campus and contacting any students or staff members. Hong Kong police arrested a male teacher from St. Mary’s Canossian College (SMCC) after […]

Hong Kong leader John Lee has addressed the deaths of monkeys kept at a zoo in the city, saying the “problem must be contained” after a ninth animal died and the health of a 10th was being monitored. The government issued a statement late Monday disclosing the death of another white-faced saki kept at the […]

The head of the BBC warned Monday that Russia and China were exploiting funding cuts that have forced Britain’s public broadcaster to scale back its much-lauded World Service network. Tim Davie said in a speech that financial constraints affecting the BBC World Service were allowing Moscow, Beijing and other actors to “fill the gaps”, including […]

A Hong Kong construction company has been accused of owing HK$60 million to subcontractors working on a university student accommodation project, as workers mounted a protest to call for unpaid wages. About 40 workers staged a protest on Monday morning at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where they were building a […]

Hong Kong’s health minister has vowed to step up training for intern doctors, after public hospitals reported two medical blunders involving trainees in four months. The Hospital Authority will enhance training on inserting nasogastric tubes for intern doctors this month following two medical mishaps at public hospitals, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Sunday. […]

China imposed sanctions on two prominent Taiwanese on Monday over alleged “separatism”, after it launched large-scale military drills around the self-ruled island. Businessman Robert Tsao and lawmaker Puma Shen are now barred from entering mainland China or the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong, said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for Beijing’s Taiwan affairs […]

Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has congratulated Sam Hou-fai on becoming chief executive-elect of Macau after running uncontested for the position. A former top judge, Sam on Sunday received 394 votes in favour of his candidacy from a committee of around 400 pro-establishment electors responsible for choosing a leader for the city’s 687,000 people. Macau […]

By Amber Wang with Sam Davies in Beijing China deployed fighter jets and warships to encircle Taiwan on Monday, in drills Beijing said were aimed at sending a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces on the self-ruled island. Beijing has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control and Monday’s drills represent its […]

Hong Kong authorities are investigating the deaths of eight monkeys found dead at a Hong Kong zoo, which was partly closed on Monday for disinfection, with necropsies launched to ascertain the cause of the animals’ deaths. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) issued a statement shortly after midnight on Monday to announce the deaths […]