Hong Kong labour chief Chris Sun defends new minimum wage formula, saying emp...
Saturday, May 4,2024,08:39
Minister says mechanism will not affect city’s competitiveness because composition of the formula both protects the vulnerable and ensures affordability. .. read more..
Expand mainland Chinese solo traveller scheme, Hong Kong tourism leaders say ...
Saturday, May 4,2024,06:50
Simon Wong, president of Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, says visitor numbers below expectations compared with pre-pandemic levels. .. read more..
Hong Kong styrofoam giant goes from making 10 million boxes a month to eco-fr...
Saturday, May 4,2024,05:35
Yee Wah Global says it hopes to transform the ban into opportunity by investing in and researching alternative tableware. .. read more..
Cultural cringe: For Hong Kong and Asia overall, the ‘East-meets-West’ cliché...
Saturday, May 4,2024,03:00
By Brian Cheng West Kowloon Cultural District says this year’s International Cultural Summit will “demonstrate Hong Kong’s commitment to acting as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.“ The same phrase frequently crops up in campaigns by the Tourism Board and fellow government departments. It has become especially popular since it was mentioned in the […] .. read more..
Chinese comedy "The Last Frenzy" tops Chinese box office
Saturday, May 4,2024,02:44
BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese comedy "The Last Frenzy" claimed the top spot on the daily box office chart in the Chinese mainland on Friday, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed. The film, exploring life's choices in the face of death, raked in 84.53 million yuan (about 11.9 million U.S. dollars) on the third day of its release. The action thriller "Formed Police Unit," ranked se .. read more..
Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 46
Saturday, May 4,2024,02:00
In the 46th month since Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, the city held a raft of events to mark National Security Education Day. China’s top man on Hong Kong affairs urged it to prioritise economic development after the passage of a second security law. City officials continued to defend the homegrown […] .. read more..
Hong Kong must stop letting the well-off hog public rental housing
Saturday, May 4,2024,01:30
Generous income limits and rent subsidies mean well-off households are occupying public housing, forcing the poor to rent from the cutthroat private market. This needs to change. .. read more..
Hong Kong wakes up to flooding in New Territories amid first red rainstorm wa...
Saturday, May 4,2024,01:18
Observatory issued red rainstorm warning at 8.55am, as Sai Kung district recorded 140mm of rainfall. .. read more..
Closing of Hong Kong’s Kitec: venue was key stepping stone for musical acts o...
Saturday, May 4,2024,00:30
After 28 years, curtain is coming down on Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre, which offered ideal venue for acts, including boy band Mirror, as they progressed from halls to city’s biggest concert spaces. .. read more..
Hong Kong faces uphill battle to lure back Chinese tourists after pandemic an...
Saturday, May 4,2024,00:00
By Holmes Chan and Xinqi Su The Lo Wu arrival hall on Hong Kong’s border used to throng with visitors during mainland China’s “Golden Week”, but as the five-day tourism bonanza kicked off on Wednesday, the queues there were modest. Mainland Chinese visitors have historically been the lifeblood of Hong Kong’s retail and services sectors, […] .. read more..
Career and study expo to be held
Friday, May 3,2024,23:18
The Education Bureau will host the Information Expo on Multiple Pathways 2024 at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centres Rotunda 2 on May 10 and 11. The expo will provide senior secondary school students, parents and teachers with up to date information on various study and career pathways. Around 30 institutions and organisations will host booths at the event. These will provide information on locally acc .. read more..
Climbing carnival set
Friday, May 3,2024,23:18
The Cheung Chau Climbing Carnival will be held on May 5 for the public to experience the exciting atmosphere of bun scrambling. The event, one of the highlights of the 2024 Bun Carnival, will take place at the soccer pitch of Pak Tai Temple Playground from noon to 6pm. Those interested must be at least one-metre in height and can apply on the spot to climb the 14-metre-tall bun tower set up for the Bun Scrambling Competit .. read more..
Property sales rise 97.1%
Friday, May 3,2024,23:18
The Land Registry logged 9,880 sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in April, up 97.1% compared with March and 71.7% higher year-on-year. The total consideration for such agreements in April rose 124.6% from March, to $83.9 billion, while a 31.7% year-on-year increase was recorded. Of the agreements, 8,551 were for residential units, representing a 115.3% increase from March and an .. read more..
Grassroots youth exchanges funded
Friday, May 3,2024,23:18
The Home & Youth Affairs Bureau today announced the launch of a pilot scheme that provides further support to grassroots youth to participate in exchange activities outside Hong Kong under the Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland (FSYEM) and the Funding Scheme for International Youth Exchange (FSIYE) in 2024-25. The bureau and the Youth Development Commission earlier launched both exchange schemes targeting y .. read more..
Tse Chin-wan meets Japanese official
Friday, May 3,2024,23:17
Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan met Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries Takahashi Mitsuo and Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong Kenichi Okada today upon request and spoke about the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water in Japan. Mr Tse reiterated at the meeting that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has come to the view that there is currentl .. read more..
Chinese media revoke entries from South Asian journalism awards
Friday, May 3,2024,21:18
Beijing [China], May 4 (ANI): A Chinese media organisation, Caixin Media, is distancing itself from participating in Asia's high-profile journalism award, Nikkei Asia reported. According to the same news report, this move is being initiated by the Chinese media organisation due to rising domestic pressure on those seen to be cooperating with foreign entities. While quoting senior members Nikkei Asia report mentioned that .. read more..
Most countries in Asia see decline in press freedom
Friday, May 3,2024,18:05
Bangkok - Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, says press freedom in Asia continues to see a decline, with 26 out of 31 countries falling on its annual index. According to the group's latest press freedom index, Asia is the second-most difficult region for practicing journalism. Five countries in the region - Myanmar, China, North Korea and Vietnam - are among the world's 10 most dangerous cou .. read more..
Hong Kong urges industries to formulate their own safety codes after revising...
Friday, May 3,2024,16:58
The government has urged employers of outdoor workers to develop their own rules to prevent heatstroke after rolling out revisions to an official warning system that was slammed as ineffective and disruptive when introduced last year. The adjustments were made after stakeholders aired views to the Labour Department, Deputy Commissioner for Occupational Safety and Health […] .. read more..
Hong Kong students to choose how much of Chinese history exam to take
Friday, May 3,2024,15:26
Under shift taking effect next year, students will be given choice of writing one paper instead of current two when taking Chinese history exam for university entrance exams. .. read more..
Strive and Rise mentoring scheme found to give needy Hong Kong students a lif...
Friday, May 3,2024,15:10
In a bid to boost their social mobility, 2,800 Form One to Three students, mostly living in subdivided flats, were enrolled in first round of the programme. .. read more..
Press Freedom Day: 15 ways to support HKFP, and why we need your help in 2024
Friday, May 3,2024,15:00
Dear readers, On International Press Freedom Day, the HKFP team remains committed to reporting, on-the-ground, in one of the world’s most challenging, and rapidly-changing media environments. Nevertheless, our newsroom is facing a funding situation in 2024 whereby our expansion to nine team members coincided with a decline in regular Patron backers, resulting in two years […] .. read more..
Personal data of 110,000 people leaked after breach at Hong Kong’s Companies ...
Friday, May 3,2024,14:27
Case is third public body security breach in a week, after revelation of leaks at Electrical and Mechanical Services Department as well as the Consumer Council. .. read more..
Hong Kong lawmakers give green light to HK$6.8 billion Trunk Road T4 highway ...
Friday, May 3,2024,13:05
After four-hour Finance Committee meeting, 61 lawmakers endorse project linking Ma On Shan with Tsing Sha Highway and Shing Mun Tunnel Road. .. read more..
March temperature breaks record
Friday, May 3,2024,12:17
The Hong Kong Observatory said today that the citys weather in March was much warmer than usual, with the monthly mean maximum temperature of 23.9 degrees Celsius ranking as equal to the sixth highest on record for March. The maximum temperature in the month was 31.5 degrees Celsius, on March 24, the highest maximum temperature for March on record. Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and with a broad band of clou .. read more..
FS meets ADB President
Friday, May 3,2024,12:16
Financial Secretary Paul Chan arrived in Georgia yesterday afternoon for the 57th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which runs until May 5, and met the banks President Masatsugu Asakawa. They exchanged views on various issues including the regions green transition, climate finance and infrastructure development, as well as strengthening co-operation between Hong Kong and the ADB .. read more..
March retail sales drop 7%
Friday, May 3,2024,12:16
The value of total retail sales in March, provisionally estimated at $31.2 billion, was down 7% compared with the same month in 2023, the Census & Statistics Department announced today. After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the provisional estimate of the volume of total retail sales for the month was 8.6% lower year-on-year. Of the total retail sales value in March, online sales accounted fo .. read more..
Better deposit protection proposed
Friday, May 3,2024,12:16
An amendment bill to enhance the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) by raising the protection limit from the current $500,000 to $800,000 was published in the Government Gazette today. The Deposit Protection Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2024 also aims to strengthen the protection for depositors, maintain banking stability and keep up with international standards and the latest developments of Hong Kong. Secretary for Financial Se .. read more..
Revised columbaria rules mooted
Friday, May 3,2024,12:16
The Government today launched a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Private Columbaria Ordinance that seek to revise certain provisions and improve the private columbaria regulatory regime. Some of the proposed revisions relate to the operation of pre-cut-off columbaria, which are private columbaria that have been in operation since before the Governments initial announcement of its proposal to establish a l .. read more..
April warmest on record
Friday, May 3,2024,12:16
The Hong Kong Observatory today said the citys weather in April was much warmer than usual, with the highest monthly mean maximum temperature, monthly mean temperature and monthly mean minimum temperature on record for April. The three figures were 28.9, 26.4 and 24.5 degrees Celsius respectively. Under the influence of a number of troughs of low pressure, the month was also wetter than usual with total rainfall of 257.1 .. read more..
Hong Kong introduces green finance taxonomy to boost city’s fundraising crede...
Friday, May 3,2024,11:30
The HKMA has issued a ‘green taxonomy’ framework to help banks and investors determine the sustainability of economic activities, the latest effort to boost the city’s standing as a green finance centre. .. read more..
Hong Kong ringleader of bomb plot team ‘Dragon Slayer Brigade’ sought sustain...
Friday, May 3,2024,11:23
Mastermind Wong Chun-keung says he co-managed crowdfunding operation on Telegram channel in 2019 to buy firearms. .. read more..
Unlicensed dentist arrested by undercover Hong Kong police officer posing as ...
Friday, May 3,2024,11:20
Dental equipment and controlled medicine seized during a raid on Cheung Sha Wan flat where 71-year-old woman allegedly practised dentistry. .. read more..
‘Many problems’ from trial run of waste tax, Hong Kong official says, as pilo...
Friday, May 3,2024,11:03
Plans to introduce a problem-plagued waste charging scheme in Hong Kong will be reviewed by the end of May after a two-month pilot scheme and a report will be submitted to legislators, the government has announced. In response to a query from Ming Pao, the Environmental Protection Department said on Thursday the pilot scheme which […] .. read more..
Just half of residents at most sticking to rules on trial run of Hong Kong wa...
Friday, May 3,2024,10:54
Environmental Protection Department says garbage handling fees have added financial pressure to the operators of restaurants, businesses and nursing homes. .. read more..
Hong Kong tax revenue drops for second year amid stock market, property slump
Friday, May 3,2024,10:49
Hong Kong’s tax revenue dropped by HK$18.2 billion in the last financial year, the second straight year of decline, amid slumps on the stock exchange and in the property market. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) announced on Thursday that it had collected a provisional sum of HK$342 billion in tax revenue in 2023-24, five per […] .. read more..
Hongkonger conned out of HK$1 million by ‘lawyers’ who promised to help her r...
Friday, May 3,2024,10:39
Victim previously lost HK$80,000 in common online employment fraud after a man she met online convinced her to participate in ‘click farming’ tasks in exchange for commission. .. read more..
Hong Kong property deals double to near 3-year high as scrapping of cooling m...
Friday, May 3,2024,10:30
Hong Kong’s property transactions came close to a three-year high in April, with 9,880 units changing hands according to official data, as the removal of cooling measures continued to boost demand. .. read more..
China launches Chang’e-6 lunar probe to collect far side Moon samples in worl...
Friday, May 3,2024,10:22
By Hector Retamal with Qian Ye China launched a probe on Friday to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030. A rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 lunar probe blasted off from the Wenchang […] .. read more..
Hong Kong authorities urged to bar non-emergency workers from going to work a...
Friday, May 3,2024,09:33
Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims says only a work suspension can safeguard the safety of workers effectively. .. read more..
Hong Kong retail sales fall 7% in March, marking sector’s worst performance i...
Friday, May 3,2024,08:57
Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department show sales in March at HK$31.2 billion. .. read more..
Meaningless: fewer Hong Kong employers resorting to inflated job titles to at...
Friday, May 3,2024,08:35
Less than 30 per cent of Hong Kong businesses plan to use senior job titles to attract or retain talent, though the practice is more common in certain sectors, and could be at odds with younger workers’ expectations. .. read more..
Jimmy Lai trial: Prosecution witness denies fabricating evidence to reduce hi...
Friday, May 3,2024,08:26
A prosecution witness in the national security trial of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai has denied defence allegations that he had fabricated his court evidence in exchange for a shorter jail term after earlier lying to police. Paralegal Chan Tsz-wah on Friday insisted he was telling the truth after the defence challenged his credibility […] .. read more..
Chinese action thriller "Formed Police Unit" leads Chinese box office
Friday, May 3,2024,08:18
BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese action thriller "Formed Police Unit" topped the box office in the Chinese mainland on Thursday, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed. The film about Chinese peacekeeping police grossed 94.93 million yuan (about 13.36 million U.S. dollars) on the second day of its release on the mainland. It was followed by "The Last Frenzy," a Chinese comedy explorin .. read more..
Key prosecution witness hoped Jimmy Lai’s assistant would help him escape fr...
Friday, May 3,2024,08:13
Chan says he was hopeful Lai’s right-hand man Mark Simon would be able to ‘find some ways’ to get him out of Hong Kong after police released him on bail. .. read more..
Singapore's FDI up 10 pct in 2023
Friday, May 3,2024,08:05
SINGAPORE, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 214 billion Singapore dollars (158 billion U.S. dollars) last year, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year, said the Department of Statistics Friday. The Department of Statistics attributed the growth to increases in equity capital and retained earnings. The United States, Netherlands, Chinese mainland, Japan, and C .. read more..
Hong Kong customs seizes over 56,000 fake goods worth HK$16.9 million in join...
Friday, May 3,2024,06:20
Customs says two men arrested in connection with haul destined for overseas, with items including knock-off smartphones, phone accessories, watches, handbags and shoes. .. read more..
Wall St Journal to move Asia HQ from Hong Kong to Singapore
Friday, May 3,2024,05:49
The Wall Street Journal will shift its Asia headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore, it said on Thursday in a letter sent to staff and seen by AFP. The US newspaper said its decision comes after other foreign firms have reconsidered their operations in Chinese financial hub Hong Kong. WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in […] .. read more..
Hong Kong’s Paul Chan encourages regional bank members to use city’s fundrais...
Friday, May 3,2024,05:44
Finance Secretary Paul Chan on four-day trip to Georgia to attend Asian Development Bank’s 57th annual meeting. .. read more..
How can Hongkongers use public holidays strategically for longer breaks in 20...
Friday, May 3,2024,05:12
New public holiday schedule for 2025 offers chance for residents working Monday to Friday to enjoy 11 or 10-day holiday with smart use of annual leave. .. read more..
Hong Kong ranks low on global press freedom index as watchdog cites ‘unpreced...
Friday, May 3,2024,04:00
Hong Kong has again ranked low in a global press freedom index, as a watchdog cited an “unprecedented series of setbacks” including newsroom closures and journalist arrests under Beijing’s national security law. The city placed 135 out of 180 countries and territories in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s annual press freedom ranking, released on Friday […] .. read more..