Category: HK Current Affairs

Hong Kong’s Press Freedom Getting Worse With Several Court Reporters Being Followed

On March 24, Hong Kong English-language online media “Hong Kong Free Press” (HKFP) reported that one of its court reporters was followed by two suspicious persons. The Hong Kong Journalists Association HKJA) issued a statement saying that many court reporters were followed or monitored by unknown persons, and some reporters suspected that the stalkers were…


Hong Kong Retains Fourth Place as Finance Centre, Falls out of Top Ten Fintech Hubs

According to the latest Global Financial Centre Index (GFCI) report jointly compiled by UK-based think tank Z/Yen and the China (Shenzhen) Institute of Comprehensive Development, Hong Kong ranks fourth out of 120 financial centers worldwide, as it did six months ago, with New York, London, and Singapore still in the top three. Although Hong Kong’s…


67% HongKong University Subjects Plunge in Global Rankings; Foreign Schools Put Off Cooperation Amid National Security Law

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), an internationally renowned higher education information agency, published its 2023 World University Discipline Rankings annual report. The global rankings consist of 15,700 subjects at 1,594 universities and educational agencies worldwide. Over 60 percent of the overall subjects of Hong Kong universities have fallen in the latest rankings. QS announces that Hong Kong…


Lights out at the Pearl of the Orient

Since the late 19th century, Hong Kong has been an international city. It has got some nicknames over time: the Emporium of the Far East, Malta of the Orient (due to Malta’s status as a maritime hub), and the Pearl of the Orient, with the last one remaining in vogue for the longest time, probably…


Hongkongers Hold First Protest in Years Under Strict Rules

HONG KONG—Dozens of people on Sunday joined Hong Kong’s first authorized protest since the lifting of major COVID-19 restrictions under unprecedentedly strict rules, including wearing a numbered badge around their necks. The rules set out by the police, who cited security reasons, came as the financial hub was promoting its return to normalcy after years…


Hong Kong 47 Trial: Former District Councilor Choose Good, Kindness, and Justice Over a Reduced Sentence

Owen Chow may be unfamiliar to the western world, but to Hongkongers, he was part of their battle for freedom. Chow is also one of the 47 democrats contacted by the National Security police and informed to report to the police station on Feb. 28, 2021. He was detained until June 22, 2021, when he…


Hong Kong Government Demands to Take Down American Artwork

A large LED display outside SOGO Department Store in Hong Kong Causeway Bay recently exhibited works of the Italian art institution Art Innovation Gallery as part of Art Basel 2023. Patrick Amadon, a renowned Los Angeles artist in the United States, was asked to submit a contribution. Still, Art Innovation Gallery said it was taken…


Thousands Evacuated as Fire Hits Warehouse in Crowded Hong Kong District

HONG KONG—About 3,600 people were evacuated from buildings in Hong Kong’s crowded Kowloon district on Friday as firefighters battled a blaze in a warehouse. There were no reports of casualties and the fire was put out in the evening five hours after it began in what is one of the world’s most densley populated areas….


Hong Kong Police Detain Key Pro-Democracy Politician on Subversion Charge

HONG KONG—Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested a veteran pro-democracy politician who was granted bail last August for medical treatment after spending more than a year in detention on a subversion charge. Albert Ho, 71, once led the city’s largest opposition group, the Democratic Party, and is a lawyer who runs his own law firm….


US Latest Report Addresses Uncertainty of Hong Kong Civilians’ Autonomy Under National Security, HKGov’s Continuous Abuse of Human Rights and Democracy

The U.S. Department of the State published the 2022 Country Report on Human Right Practices, including a  section on China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet, on March 20. The report pinpointed that in 2022, the Chinese Communist Party continued to violate the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, dismantling political freedoms…