A former student leader jailed for rioting in the city’s legislature on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China during the 2019 protests has been released from prison after serving her sentence. Althea Suen, a former head of the University of Hong Kong’s students’ union, walked out of the Lo Wu Correctional Institution at around […]

A Hong Kong bookstore whose staff were arrested by national security police two weeks ago has announced its closure. “Our store will be closing after our lease expires. Thank you for walking with us, through wind and rain, for 50 years since our opening,” Greenfield Bookstore said in social media posts in the early hours […]

Prosecutors in Taiwan have detained an Nvidia employee as part of an investigation into the smuggling of the US tech giant’s AI chips to China, a source familiar with the case told AFP on Tuesday. The man was detained after investigators raided his home and workplace on July 24, the Keelung District Prosecutors Office said […]

The ex-leader of Hong Kong’s opposition Democratic Party, Wu Chi-wai, has been allowed to stay in the UK for six months, following reports that he faced deportation after he was briefly detained at the border last week. “I know that, throughout this event, many Hong Kong people and friends everywhere have been working tirelessly during […]

A taxi driver facing a HK$8.4 million injury lawsuit over ramming into a passerby during the 2019 unrest said protesters were attacking him at the time, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Driver Henry Cheng testified at the High Court on Friday, the fourth day of the hearing, to defend himself against the […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Brazilian counterpart on Monday that he supports the country in “opposing external interference”, Beijing’s state media said, reporting a call between the leaders. The conversation between Xi and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva comes less than three months before a tense election in Brazil pitting the incumbent against […]

University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) President and Vice-Chancellor Zhang Xiang has said he will step down in 2028 and return to the laboratory to focus on research. The 62-year-old Chinese-American mechanical engineer said in a letter to the university community that he had informed the governing HKU Council of his decision, so a successor could […]

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of making a bomb hoax after police received a report last Thursday about a threat posted online. The man, a Hong Kong resident, was arrested on Friday in Kowloon City district, police said in a Saturday statement. Citing sources, local media – including Sing Tao Daily and […]

Part of an HKFP series about the impact of the AI-era in Hong Kong. “You won’t be getting the Gayle treatment in my post-winning Oprah lifestyle,” reads a subtitle file on the screen of freelance translator Kelly Ng’s laptop. Neither Oprah, nor the talk show host’s long-time collaborator Gayle King, is a household name in […]

Hong Kong is set for a stormy weekend with Tropical Cyclone Noul expected to make landfall between southern China’s Huizhou and Jieyang early on Sunday. The Observatory raised the T1 standby signal at 8:40pm on Friday, with the cyclone moving west-northwest across the Luzon Strait. “Tropical Cyclone Noul will enter within 800 kilometres of Hong […]

MTR services on the Tsuen Wan Line were disrupted on Friday for around an hour owing to a monkey on the tracks. It is the second primate-related transit incident in as many days. Police and staff from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department responded to reports of the monkey sighting at around 9am at Tsuen […]

The United States said Thursday that it would impose new tariffs on 60 trading partners over forced labor concerns, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by President Donald Trump earlier this year. The levies, effective Friday, range from 10 percent to 12.5 percent and impact major economies like China, India and the European Union. […]

Four police officers have lost their bids to overturn their convictions and sentences for framing a street sleeper for possessing drugs and covering up evidence of their actions six years ago, with the judges ruling that they had abandoned the rule of law. The Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled against the four police officers, […]

A top White House official on Wednesday accused Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI of covertly copying Anthropic’s most advanced model to build its Kimi K3. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a post on X that the United States had “information that Moonshot AI distilled Anthropic’s […]

A High Court judge with a history of plagiarism will be reprimanded for yet another incident in which he copied large parts of a party’s submissions into his judgement. The Judiciary said in a reply to HKFP on Wednesday that High Court Judge Wilson Chan will receive a “serious reprimand” from Chief Justice Andrew Cheung […]

A Hong Kong court has convicted an 18-year-old man of sedition after he scrawled “seditious words in a commercial building bathroom on three occasions. Leung Kai-lok was caught during a national security police stakeout. Magistrate Victor So handed down judgement on Wednesday morning at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court, Sing Tao Daily reported. The magistrate did […]

“Unfounded smears” about a UK court case that found a Hong Kong trade officer guilty of spying on overseas activists will not affect the government’s plans to expand trade offices in other countries, the city’s commerce chief has said. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau said in a Tuesday interview with news channel […]

A Hong Kong judge previously reprimanded for plagiarism has been caught copying again, making it the third known incident over the past three years. High Court judge Wilson Chan was accused by the plaintiff in a case he presided over of lifting the defendant’s opening and closing arguments. Those paragraphs comprised 95 per cent of […]

The United States condemned “dangerous and aggressive actions” by China following a clash with the Philippine navy in the South China Sea, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Manila on Tuesday for a meeting of Southeast Asian nations. “China’s troubling pattern of provocations against the Philippines’ legitimate maritime operations undermines regional peace […]

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) has headed to Beijing for a week-long study tour to learn about China’s development, the president of the legislature has said. Starry Lee, president of the Legislative Council, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that this is the first time an entire class of lawmakers has gone to Beijing […]

Relatives of Chinese passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing 12 years ago in one of aviation’s greatest enduring mysteries, showed up at a Beijing court on Tuesday to demand answers. The court began hearing their appeal against an earlier ruling to order compensation, which the families say disregarded crucial questions. The Boeing […]

More than half of homeowners of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court have signed contracts selling their flats to the government under a buyback plan, the city’s leader John Lee has said. Chief Executive Lee said on Monday that 53 per cent of Wang Fuk Court homeowners had signed the sale and purchase agreement, adding that […]

Over 30 per cent of sanitation workers are not being informed by employers when the Labour Department’s heat stress warnings are raised, a survey has found. The Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (HKFLU) said at a press conference on Monday that it had surveyed 546 sanitation workers between May and July, local […]

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has conducted a spot inspection after reports of a rat infestation at a Ka Wai Estate ParknShop supermarket in Hung Hom. A Threads post shared on July 15 appeared to show rodents scurrying around the produce at around midnight. The supermarket said it had disposed of the affected […]

A High Court judge will retire early this week after he was found to have committed plagiarism in his judgements at least five times over the past three years. High Court Judge Wilson Chan tendered his retirement at the request of Chief Justice Andrew Cheung. It will come into effect on Friday, the judiciary said […]

Hong Kong authorities are investigating a fatal workplace accident involving a worker who fell from a height at the airport in Chek Lap Kok. Police received a report from the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO) at around 8am on Monday that a worker had fallen from a six-metre platform while carrying out maintenance work […]

By Azan Aziz Marwah, Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights The long-awaited reform of sexual offences is back on the agenda after the government launched its (brief) one-month public consultation on July 7. The consultation covers a wide range of proposals tackling the inadequacies and outdated language of the Crimes Ordinance. The proposed improvements to […]

A Canadian citizen of Chinese origin suspected of carrying out “espionage on behalf of a third country” while on an internship at NATO has been arrested in Belgium, authorities said on Saturday. The intern, who worked at the US-led defence alliance’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, was arrested on Thursday, the Federal […]

China banned exports of products with the potential for dual civilian and military uses to 14 European Union companies on Friday, citing national security concerns. The move comes a day after the EU imposed similar export restrictions against 51 new entities, including Chinese and Hong Kong companies, which it accused of supporting Russia’s war in […]

Hong Kong authorities have been checking for “banned books” delivered from Taiwan, a Taiwanese official has said, prompting publishers on the self-ruled island to self-censor before shipping titles. Liang Wen-chieh, deputy minister of Taiwan’s top cross-strait policy body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), told a press conference on Thursday that Hong Kong’s national security authorities […]

An air conditioning repairman has been handed a suspended two-month jail sentence for inciting a boycott against last year’s “patriots only” Legislative Council election. Appearing before Magistrate Shirley Cornelia Hung at the West Kowloon Law Courts on Friday, Wong Kin-kwok admitted to sharing a Facebook post by overseas activist Alan Keung calling on people not […]

Hong Kong police have arrested a man and raided a mainland Chinese dental care chain’s consultation centre in the city over alleged illegal practices. The arrest on Thursday came after a dentist group warned Hongkongers about the risks of seeking treatment over the border in Shenzhen, as a growing number of mainland clinics seek to […]

The former leader of Hong Kong’s opposition Democratic Party Wu Chi-wai has reportedly entered the UK to seek asylum after being detained at Heathrow Airport, where he was initially told he would be deported, according to media reports. The Times first reported on Thursday, citing friends, that Wu had arrived in the UK to seek […]

Hong Kong adults who have full mental capacity will be able to set advance directives from next Friday to refuse treatment or rescue when terminally ill, the Hospital Authority (HA) said. The HA hosted a press conference about the Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Ordinance on Wednesday, a new law effective from July 31. The […]

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Wednesday she raised concern over Beijing’s test of a nuclear-capable missile in the South Pacific, calling the launch “destabilising” in a meeting with her Chinese counterpart in Manila. The remarks came a day after the envoy slammed China’s “dangerous conduct” following a clash between Philippine and Chinese sailors at […]

Police officers searched people at Yuen Long MTR station on Tuesday evening, seven years since white-clad men stormed the concourse and indiscriminately attacked passers-by and protesters returning from a demonstration earlier that day. According to reports by local independent media, about a dozen plainclothes police officers were at the MTR station on Tuesday afternoon. Among […]

Police have arrested 78 people during a Hong Kong Island anti-triad operation, targeting an underground “mini-casino” in North Point and a gang organising illegal racehorse betting. Forty-two men and 36 women were arrested between July 7 and Monday, Vincent Lo, senior inspector of police said in a media briefing on Tuesday. The arrestees were aged […]

Hongkongers gathered for a dance-off final in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday, with Bobby, a dancer showcasing Bruce Lee-inspired moves, winning the event. The final of Red Bull’s Dance Your Style global competition will be held on October 24 in Switzerland. Sunday’s contest outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre saw 16 of the city’s top […]

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for two years and four months for inciting subversion by promoting a pro-Taiwan political party through online posts and putting up posters in public places Waiter Chan Ho-hin, 23, was sentenced at the District Court on Monday following his guilty plea earlier this month. Judge Stanley Chan said […]

The World Cup brought an additional HK$500 million in revenue to Hong Kong’s bars and restaurants, an industry rep has said, despite games being held in the middle of the night due to the time difference. Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades, said on an RTHK radio show […]

The Hong Kong men’s foil team has claimed a historic silver medal at the Fencing World Championships after narrowly losing 44-45 to world number-one Italy on home soil. The team, consisting of Ryan Choi, Edgar Cheung, Harris Ho and Leung Chin-yu, reached the finals at the AsiaWorld-Expo for the first time on Tuesday after beating […]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the BBC to investigate reports of bullying at its Hong Kong bureau after five long-serving journalists were dismissed. According to the press group, five journalists were made redundant on June 17. They were given two working days to sign a settlement after being kept behind at a […]

Beijing accused US artificial intelligence companies on Monday of using Chinese examples to train their models, days after Washington threatened sanctions on Chinese firms for allegedly stealing American technology. “It is understood that many American artificial intelligence enterprises have distilled Chinese models during their research, development and training processes,” the Chinese commerce ministry said in […]

Hong Kong authorities euthanised over 700 wild boars last year, with the population halving since the government reinstated a capture-and-kill programme in late 2021, official figures have shown. According to a Legislative Council (LegCo) document issued on Monday, boar populations have plunged since November 2021, when the government reinstated culling over a sterilisation programme that […]

A Hong Kong court will rule in September on an alleged illegal firing of a former Wall Street Journal reporter after she took up a leadership role at a press union in 2024. Selina Cheng has initiated a private prosecution against Dow Jones Publishing, the parent company of her former employer WSJ, for her alleged […]

A Chinese university is looking into reports that a gene-editing trial caused the death of a six-year-old girl, which was not disclosed in the published research, the school said on Sunday. The girl, given the pseudonym “Mei”, died last year around a week after receiving a spinal infusion of trillions of viruses designed to penetrate […]

The former leader of Hong Kong’s opposition Democratic Party, Wu Chi-wai, has reportedly been restricted to a one-week stay in the UK after he was briefly detained at the border last Wednesday. According to The Associated Press, Wu went to the UK to see his wife and son in London but was only granted seven-day […]

Typhoon Noul made landfall in China early Sunday morning, state media reported, lashing a stretch of the southern coast with strong winds and rain in the fiercest storm to hit the country this year. Severe weather forecasts for Noul had spurred authorities to evacuate more than 340,000 people and suspend work and rail services, with […]

US President Donald Trump is under pressure to respond to the increasing success of Chinese AI models that many companies prefer to the more powerful, but pricier, US versions from Anthropic or OpenAI. The issue came to the fore this week with the release of Kimi K3 by Moonshot, which White House officials say was […]

Beijing condemned fresh US tariffs imposed on China and 59 other countries over alleged forced labour concerns Friday, and warned Washington against waging a trade war. The US levies range from 10 to 12.5 percent, with China slapped with the highest rate. “We oppose all forms of unilateral tariff measures,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin […]

Family members of victims of Hong Kong’s 2012 Lamma ferry disaster, in which 39 people died, have withdrawn a legal challenge against a coroner’s verdict after reportedly being denied legal aid. High Court Judge Queeny Au-Yeung on Wednesday dismissed an application for a judicial review of January’s coroner’s verdict, after the four bereaved family members […]

The Philippines accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannon and using a “dangerous manoeuvre” on Thursday to block vessels bringing aid to Filipino fishermen near a disputed South China Sea reef. The incident took place near Scarborough Shoal, hours before Manila hosted a regional security forum attended by the top diplomats of both China […]

A university student who identified with the “incel” – or “involuntary celibate” – community has denied a charge of sending messages threatening to murder others at his school, as his trial began on Wednesday. Du Maosen, 22, appeared at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts for the first day of his trial over online posts he […]

The Taiwanese subsidiary of a Hong Kong logistics firm has reportedly told clients it will not ship “prohibited books” to the city to comply with the Beijing-imposed national security law. Taiwanese media outlet Formosa Television (FTVN) first reported on Tuesday that Hong Kong firm Jaguar Logistics’ Taiwan branch had issued a notice to clients on […]

Victims of transnational online scams in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand lost up to $114.1 billion last year, a UN report said on Tuesday, with estimated losses at least tripling from 2023. Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia and Myanmar, has emerged as a regional hub for crime syndicates running fake romance and cryptocurrency […]

A British tourist has been jailed for six years for blackmail and perverting the course of justice, after initially reporting a man in 2024 for allegedly raping her. Isabel Rose, 26, was handed the sentence at District Court on Wednesday morning. She wore a white top and a black blazer. Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching […]

China summoned the Philippine ambassador on Tuesday following a clash at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, which sparked condemnation of Beijing by Manila’s allies. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital global trade route, despite an international ruling that found its claims have no legal basis. Multiple […]

Hong Kong’s labour authorities have issued nine penalty tickets and 110 warnings since a citywide construction site smoking ban took effect last Friday, the labour commissioner has said. The enforcement action came as the authorities inspected 200 construction sites after the ban took effect, Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui told RTHK on Monday morning. “Even […]

Taiwan detected a sharp rise in the number of Chinese ships entering waters around the island democracy last month, a Taiwanese coast guard official said, as Beijing intensifies pressure on Taipei. China deploys military aircraft, warships and coast guard vessels around Taiwan on an almost daily basis to assert its claim of sovereignty over the […]

Tech firms are racing to roll out advanced smartphones that use artificial intelligence to do everything from ordering food to composing messages upon a simple voice command. Wide adoption of phones running on so-called AI agents would be a revolution, but would also take control away from major apps, which aren’t always happy about it. […]