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China has accused Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of escalating “hostility” and pursuing independence, as the self-ruled island prepared to celebrate its National Day. China, which split with Taiwan at the end of a civil war in 1949, regards the island as part of its territory that must eventually be reunified, by force if necessary. Lai, […]

American chain Garrett Popcorn has announced plans to close all five branches in Hong Kong, 13 years after it opened its first store in the city. “Garrett Popcorn Shops will be cooking our last batches in Hong Kong this month. Thank you for the past 13 years of Garrett Popcorn Shops in Hong Kong,” the […]

The United States and China on Tuesday raised concerns about trade between the world’s two biggest economies, with China’s commerce minister urging Washington to lift sanctions on his country’s firms “as soon as possible”. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao’s call with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was described by Beijing as “candid, in-depth and pragmatic”. […]

Four Hongkongers, including 19-year-old twins, have been convicted of rioting over a protest in July 2019 as a judge inquired whether there had been any delays in prosecution. Dai Ka-ping, formerly a member of the Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union, his twin brother Dai Ka-ching, Chow Chi-wai and Yuen Yan-lam were found guilty of […]

A pro-Beijing party has proposed that the government launch a monthly savings plan that would help young adults purchase subsidised flats in the city’s expensive property market. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) outlined their proposed initiative, which it called the Youth Home Ownership Saving Scheme, at a press conference on Monday. The […]

A US web-hosting company has been issued a notice by Hong Kong police asking it to take down the website of Flow HK, a media outlet co-founded by pro-democracy activists who have left the city, on national security grounds. Automattic, the company behind web content management system WordPress, told HKFP on Monday that it had […]

China said on Tuesday it would impose anti-dumping measures on brandy imported from the European Union, marking the latest salvo in an escalating trade row between Beijing and Brussels. The two are major economic partners but have butted heads in recent months over Beijing’s generous subsidies for its domestic industries. Brussels argues that the support […]

Health product chain CR Care will close all 19 of its Hong Kong branches next month, citing “external uncertainties” and various “operational challenges.” In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday, the chain store – owned by mainland conglomerate China Resources Pharmaceutical Group Limited – said all of their shops in Hong Kong will close from […]

Kiribati’s pro-China president has said his nation “does not welcome” Beijing’s recent test firing of a ballistic missile in the Pacific, rare criticism from a staunch regional ally. In a social media post, Taneti Maamau’s office stated that the South Pacific nation was not warned about the firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in late […]

Boutique music and arts festival Shi Fu Miz returns next month with a new concept, bringing an eclectic and forward-thinking line-up to locations on Hong Kong and Cheung Chau Island.  Shi Fu Miz media sponsor HKFP is giving away three pairs of tickets to the seventh edition of the festival on November 8 to 10. All you […]

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority (HA) has appealed to mainland Chinese authorities to help locate a lung needed for an urgent donation, while also searching locally. The patient in need of a lung transplant is in a critical condition at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the HA said in a statement released on Monday. Local media […]

Ten former childcare employees have been jailed for up to five years and four months, marking the final sentences for those charged in a child abuse scandal uncovered at a residential home in late 2021. A total of 12 ex-care home workers appeared at the District Court on Monday morning after they were earlier convicted […]

Lingnan University students’ union was “never a part of” the university, the institution’s president has said. In an interview with Sing Tao Daily published on Monday, President Joe Qin was asked about Lingnan University’s relationship with its students’ union. He responded that the student body was “an independent registered group” and could not be controlled […]

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for 16 months for inciting violence by asking on social media how to kill then-city leader Carrie Lam in 2020. Pun Tak-shu was put behind bars by District Judge Stanley Chan on Monday, after he was found guilty last week of one count of “incitement to cause grievous […]

By Matthew Walsh Top Chinese economic policymakers are expected to flesh out a raft of growth-boosting policies on Tuesday, after the announcement of long-awaited stimulus measures last month sparked a blistering stock market rally. Beijing has struggled to kickstart the economy as officials target around five percent growth this year — a goal analysts say […]

The Philippines and South Korea committed Monday to deepening maritime cooperation, their presidents said, in the face of China’s assertion of its claims over the South China Sea. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos met in Manila and agreed to closer ties between their coast guards. Yoon said they […]

The Hong Kong government is seeking alternative sites for the multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded office of former chief executive Carrie Lam ahead of the expiry of its lease next May. Earlier this year, authorities revealed that it cost an estimated HK$9.17 million to run Lam’s office in the 2023-24 fiscal year, with over half of that […]

Hong Kong denied entry to about 23,000 people in the first nine months of the year, the immigration chief has said, with 85 per cent of them considered to have “suspicious aims” for entering the city. Director of Immigration Benson Kwok told a Commercial Radio programme on Sunday that the people being denied entry amounted […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday told his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un that Beijing hoped to “deepen friendly… cooperation” with Pyongyang, as the two leaders exchanged messages to mark a major diplomatic anniversary. China and North Korea are traditional socialist allies, and Beijing has long provided crucial support for Pyongyang’s diplomatically isolated government. […]

China said Saturday that it has evacuated 215 of its nationals from Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out intense bombardments since last month, resulting in over 1,100 deaths. This week, Israel said its troops launched “ground raids” into parts of southern Lebanon, a stronghold of  Iran-backed Hezbollah, following days of heavy strikes on areas […]

Hsieh Chih-Hung was just 20 years old when he was arrested for a crime he did not commit and sentenced to death. Accused in June 2000 of killing an 18-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man in Taiwan, he soon found himself on the stand on double murder charges. “My family, they tried everything they could […]

By Rebecca Bailey and Celia Cazale At a laboratory in Beijing, purple and green hybrid-species grapes are laid out on a board for testing, part of the strategy China’s nascent wine industry is using to try to combat climate challenges. Scientists are using genetics and artificial intelligence to address imperfect weather conditions, as well as […]

By Daisy Cheung The recent incident in North Point involving the death of a man with mental disorder at the hands of police responding to an emergency at his home is tragic, but unfortunately not uncommon worldwide. In jurisdictions all over the world, police often act as first responders in cases involving mental health crises, […]

Workers removed felled trees and swept up shattered glass in southern Taiwan on Friday as Typhoon Krathon was downgraded to a tropical depression after killing two people and injuring hundreds more. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) lifted its typhoon warning early Friday as the storm slowly dissipated after slamming into the island the day before, […]