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Two men, including a former parliamentary researcher, pleaded not guilty at a London court on Friday to charges of spying for China. Christopher Cash, 29, and Christopher Berry, 32, were charged in April under the UK’s counter-espionage Official Secrets Act. Both denied the accusations during a hearing at the Old Bailey court. Cash previously worked […]

A Hong Kong court passed prison sentences on two journalists convicted of sedition in September, the 51st month since the Beijing-imposed national security law came into force. It was the first such case against media workers since Hong Kong’s return from British to Chinese rule in 1997. September also saw the first people jailed under […]

Hong Kong’s public housing policy was aimed at supporting “traditional families founded on opposite-sex marriage,” a government lawyer has told the city’s top court in an appeal over housing rights for same-sex couples married overseas. Heterosexual couples in Hong Kong had an “exclusive” right to apply for the Public Rental Housing scheme (PRH) and purchase […]

Boutique electronic music festival Midori is returning to spectacular private farm in rural Hong Kong next weekend for an even bigger instalment. HKFP catches up with Omni Agency co-founder Adam Wright who – along with events outfit Y2K – is behind the intimate three-day event. The one-time music journalist explains how he pulls off a […]

A Hong Kong beauty group has announced its plans to “take over” parts of shuttered gym chain Physical Fitness, which abruptly closed 23 fitness and health centres in early September leading to thousands of consumer complaints. PerFace, a medical and beauty company, said in a statement on Friday that it would “take over” certain fitness […]

Hong Kong’s airport has said it had no record of anybody falling through a gap between a train and platform on its premises, after media reported an incident last year involving a child allegedly slipping through the crevice before being rescued. In a statement on Thursday night, the Airport Authority said it had already conducted […]

A Hong Kong man has been found guilty of inciting others to wound over online comments made after a knife attack on a police officer three years ago. Deputy District Judge Amy Chan convicted Yung Cheong-ming at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Friday. Yung’s comments, which he posted on online forum LIHKG, related […]

By Raziye Akkoc EU countries are expected to confirm Friday hefty tariffs on electric cars made in China, a move dividing the bloc as some states led by Germany fear sparking a trade war with Beijing. The European Commission provisionally approved additional duties in June after an inquiry concluded that Beijing’s state aid to auto […]

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has announced it would scale down plans to build a research and innovation hub on a green belt after the project was met with opposition from nearby residents. HKU plans to build a Global Innovation Centre (GIC) in Pok Fu Lam and earlier applied to the Town Planning Board […]

Hong Kong’s government might evict elderly public housing tenants who do not “regularly and continuously” live in their flats, as part of a drive to crack down on abuse of subsidised housing. The crackdown is aimed partly at elderly people who retire to mainland China, where the cost of living is cheaper, but who hold […]

A Hong Kong man found guilty of breaching social distancing rules during a protest four years ago has lost an appeal against his conviction. David Li Kwok-wing, 22, appeared at the High Court’s Court of Appeal on Thursday. His case relates to an incident in August 2020, when people gathered to mark the anniversary of […]

A Beijing-backed newspaper being sued by Hong Kong’s jailed pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai is resisting his calls for a jury to hear the libel case. Lai, who is separately on trial for conspiring to collude with foreign forces and sedition under a Beijing-imposed national security law, brought the libel case almost four years ago against […]

Vietnam’s foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China’s “brutal behaviour” during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars’ worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands — an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway […]

Taiwan has deported two Chinese nationals for harassing people staging a demonstration for Hongkongers in Taipei on Tuesday, China’s National Day. Taiwan’s government said on Thursday it had revoked the visas of a Chinese couple after they harassed people at a protest held in Taipei’s Ximending district by the Hong Kong Outlanders group and other […]

China should set a “strong but achievable” target of slashing emissions at least 30 percent by 2035 when it submits updated climate commitments in coming months, a report urged Thursday. Signatories to the 2015 Paris climate accord must announce by next February their updated roadmaps to achieve the treaty’s goal of limiting global temperature rises. […]

A Hong Kong man has dropped a bid to appeal against his conviction and eight-week jail term for insulting the Chinese national anthem at an international volleyball game last year. The High Court heard on Thursday morning that Chan Pak-yui, who was sentenced in mid-August, would not be pursuing his appeal. The decision came after […]

Three Hongkongers have been evacuated from Lebanon as Israel intensified its military operations against Hezbollah. Israel launched a ground offensive into southern Lebanon on Tuesday in what it called a limited incursion targeting Hezbollah’s “infrastructure.” Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in combat the following day. Hong Kong’s Immigration Department said on Wednesday night that three […]

The Hong Kong government should promote debate in society about the city’s economic transformation, and encourage public assemblies in order to rebuild its international image, a former senior official has said. Hong Kong has faced international criticism in recent years following the legislation of two security laws – one imposed by Beijing in 2020 after […]

Hong Kong’s wealth gap has widened, with 619,000 households found to be living below the poverty line and the city’s richest earning 81 times more than its poorest, a study by Oxfam’s local office has found. More than 1.39 million people in Hong Kong were living in poverty in the first quarter of 2024, marking […]

A Hong Kong man has been found guilty of inciting violence over a social media post asking how to kill former city leader Carrie Lam. Pun Tak-shu, 64, was found guilty of one count of incitement to cause grievous bodily harm with intent before District Judge Stanley Chan at the District Court on Wednesday, over remarks […]

By James Edgar Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, state media reported Wednesday, the day after he took office in Tokyo. Relations between the countries have worsened as China builds its military presence around disputed territories in the region, and as Japan boosts security ties with the United States […]

Hong Kong’s security chief has accused a former lawmaker of “glorifying” jailed Stand News editor Chung Pui-kuen in an opinion piece published by Ming Pao. Secretary for Security Chris Tang on Monday wrote to the chief editor of the newspaper to rebut an opinion piece by Margaret Ng titled “Kuen, hang in there,” which was […]

Electronic music festival Midori is returning to spectacular private farm in rural Hong Kong next weekend for an even bigger three-day event. Tickets are available now. Set in a beautiful valley during the public holiday weekend, Y2K and Omni Agency’s intimate event showcases an A-list selection of Hong Kong house, techno and bass music DJs, […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin he was ready to “expand” cooperation, as the two leaders exchanged congratulations on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, state media said. Xi said China was “ready to join Putin to constantly expand all-round pragmatic cooperation between (our) two countries”, state news agency Xinhua […]