Category: HK Current Affairs

Hong Kong Couple Suspected of Donating Money to British Politicians on Behalf of CCP Banned From UK, Pending Appeal

The Guardian recently revealed that the British government banned a wealthy Chinese couple from entering the UK last in 2022 because the two had donated money to British politicians on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which was not conducive to the public interest of the UK. The details of the incident came to…


‘Glory to Hong Kong’ Injunction May Have Global Impact, Rights Groups Urge Tech Giants to Oppose

Twenty-four global human rights groups recently wrote a letter to the CEOs of six online platforms, including Apple, Google, and Meta, urging them to oppose the Hong Kong government’s request for a ban on the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” (hereafter referred to as “Glory”), stating that the ban will have a “disastrous impact”…


The ‘Unlucky No. 4’ in the First Dragon Boat Festival Post Pandemic

The Dragon Boat Festival returned triumphantly to Hong Kong on June 22 after a few years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven districts in Hong Kong, including Stanley, Aberdeen, and Tai O, organized large-scale dragon boat races this year. Additionally, unaffiliated with the Government Tourism Bureau, various local villages held smaller yet culturally…


HRMI Report: Hong Kong Scores Only 3.2 in Empowerment

The New Zealand-based non-governmental organization Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) recently released its latest report on the human rights performance of various countries. Hong Kong scored “very bad” in several human rights categories, while China scored very bad in nine out of ten human rights and civil liberties categories. According to HRMI’s latest data for…


Cathay Pacific Flight Incident Injures 11 in Hong Kong

HONG KONG—Eleven people were injured on Cathay Pacific’s flight CX880 at Hong Kong’s international airport early on Saturday after the carrier aborted takeoff due to a technical issue, Cathay said in a statement. The flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was carrying 17 crew and 293 passengers. It performed “an aborted takeoff in accordance…


Sluggish Recovery Post COVID for Chinese Film Industry

June was a big month for the Chinese movie industry, with the glitzy Shanghai International Film Festival proclaiming a rebound for the industry post-COVID. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Fresh Wave International Film Festival sounded a more sobering note as organizers not-so-subtly highlighted Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship. The two festivals provided a perspective on a movie…


Pro-Democracy NGO Demands Explanation After HSBC Terminates Its Business and Members Accounts

On June 19, The League of Social Democrats (LSD) sent an open letter to HSBC’s CEO Noel Quinn, asking him and HSBC to explain the unwarranted cancellation of the bank accounts of LSD and some of its members. In February, HSBC notified the LSD of the termination of three of its bank accounts. At the…


Hong Kong Drops to 7th Place in World Competitiveness Rankings 2023, Dropping From 1st Place in 2017

Local media reported that the International Institute for Management Development had released its latest “World Competitiveness Yearbook 2023,” in which Hong Kong is ranked seventh globally, down two places from fifth in 2022. Hong Kong’s global ranking has been trending downward year by year, having been ranked first in 2017 and second in 2018. Hong…


Hong Kong’s Freedom of the Press Eroded After Enactment of National Security Law: Report

On June 14, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford released its Digital News Report 2023. The report pointed out that after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), Hong Kong’s press freedom continued to be eroded, and the ranking of press freedom dropped significantly. The…


HKU Study: 30% of Secondary School Students Reported Decline in Mental Health During Pandemic

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) of HKU held a press conference on June 17 to release the results of its study on “Strengthen Family Relationships” and to present awards for the “Wellbeing Guardians” program in primary schools across Hong Kong. According to Professor Paul YIP Siu-Fai, Director of…