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Hong Kong has tumbled five places in the annual Reporters Without Borders Press (RSF) Freedom Index, entering the “red zone” – meaning a “very serious” situation – for the first time, alongside China. The city fell five places to 140th place, sandwiched between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. China fell six places to 178th place – […]

Former Hong Kong opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo has made her first public comment about her “prison experience,” days after she was released from jail. “My prison experience… Prison life was surreal, almost Kafka-esque to start with,” Mo wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “But I didn’t suffer the two major incarceration traumas, loneliness and […]

Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats (LSD) held a four-person rally outside the government headquarters on Labour Day, calling for the city’s working class to be afforded “dignity” amid economic uncertainties. “Our banners did not contain any large letters stating ‘Against Importing Labour’ or any other specific demands. That is because living with dignity sums […]

Hong Kong has raised its statutory minimum wage to HK$42.10, coinciding with the official end of a controversial arrangement that allowed firms to dip into pension funds for severance payments. The 5.3 per cent increase from HK$40 in hourly base pay took effect on Thursday, when Hong Kong marked the annual International Labour Day. Labour […]

By Matthew Walsh China said Friday it is evaluating a US offer for negotiations on tariffs but insisted Washington must be ready to scrap levies that have roiled global markets and supply chains before talks can begin. Punishing US tariffs that have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products came into force in April while […]

Twenty-one passengers were injured when a Citybus airport bus smashed into a road divider on Thursday in Cheung Sha Wan. Twelve women and nine men aged between 10 and 72 suffered minor injuries, police told HKFP on Friday. They were taken to Kwong Wah Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and Caritas Medical Centre – all were […]

China has lifted sanctions against five European Union parliament members that were imposed in a showdown over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims, the assembly said Wednesday. An EU parliament statement hailed the move as “a step in restoring parliamentary dialogue with China” but warned that it would remain vigilant on human rights questions. China and […]

In the 58th month since the Beijing-imposed national security law took effect in Hong Kong, the first batch of prominent democrats were released from prison after serving their jail terms following the city’s largest national security trial. Deviating from usual practice, the four democrats did not walk out of prison but left in private vehicles […]

A year ago Zhang Chundong helped the firm he manages expand into Vietnam, part of a wave of Chinese businesses to choose the booming manufacturing hub since the trade war of US President Donald Trump’s first term. Now the company — a distributor of forklifts made by China’s BYD — is struggling to achieve the […]

A Chinese national was arrested while operating a surveillance device near the offices of the Philippine election commission, authorities said Wednesday, less than two weeks before the country’s mid-term polls. The man was allegedly using an “IMSI catcher”, a device capable of mimicking a cell tower and snatching messages from the air in a one-to-three-kilometre […]

Hong Kong lawmakers have approved the 2025 Budget bill, which includes total government expenditure of HK$822.3 billion. The 2025 Appropriation Bill was passed on Wednesday after its third reading in the Legislative Council (LegCo). Financial Secretary Paul Chan told lawmakers that Hong Kong recorded a HK$80.3 billion deficit in the previous fiscal year, which was […]

Hong Kong police have arrested 99 people, aged between 13 and 74, following a citywide crackdown on drug trafficking over the past month. “The arrested persons included 74 men and 25 women,” Senior Inspector Ho Ho-ting of the police force’s narcotics bureau said in Cantonese during a press conference on Tuesday. “Among the 99 arrested, […]

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Donald Trump’s political ally David Perdue to be ambassador to China, a key trade partner that the Republican president has hit with punishing tariffs. Perdue, a 75-year-old multi-millionaire business executive, served as a Republican senator for Georgia from 2015 to 2021 — but failed in a bid for […]

Hong Kong national security police have arrested and charged a 22-year-old man under Article 23, the city’s homegrown national security law, after he allegedly published online posts with “seditious intentions.” The man was arrested on Monday in the Kowloon district, the force said in a statement released Wednesday. He was charged with one count of […]

Hong Kong’s corrections department has defended the use of private vehicles for the release of four former lawmakers who completed their jail terms for their involvement in an unofficial 2020 primary election. The Correctional Services Department (CSD) told HKFP on Tuesday that it would “make appropriate arrangements” for the release of prisoners based on factors […]

Staff at some Marks and Spencer (M&S) stores in Hong Kong have been using pen and paper to process details of orders for several days amid a cyberattack disclosed by M&S UK last week. The retailer’s Hong Kong app has also been suspended. “We are currently experiencing some technical issues, some systems are offline in […]

A Hong Kong activist behind a landmark lawsuit allowing trans people to be issued ID cards matching their gender identity has launched another legal challenge over the new requirements. In a writ seen by HKFP, Henry Tse’s lawyers submitted that the Immigration Department’s new policy still requiring “partial” gender-affirming surgery and ongoing hormone treatments was […]

A restaurant fire in northeastern China killed 22 people and injured three on Tuesday, Beijing’s state media said, with footage posted online showing fierce flames engulfing the building. The blaze erupted at lunchtime in Liaoyang City, about 580 kilometres (360 miles) northeast of the capital Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “The incident has resulted […]

Four Hong Kong activists who pleaded not guilty to offences linked to holding street booths in 2023 declined to make their arguments during their trial, with one saying that “the truth is already very clear.” Three members of the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats (LSD) – Chan Po-ying, Dickson Chau and Yu Wai-pan – as […]

A Hong Kong man has been arrested for voyeurism after being accused of secretly filming a female nursing student inside a hospital ward and sharing the content on social media. According to police, a 51-year-old male patient surnamed Tong was apprehended at Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po on Monday after hospital staff reported […]

By Nina Larson China is deploying a growing army of organisations masquerading as NGOs to monitor and intimidate rights activists at the UN, a new investigation by the ICIJ media consortium said on Monday. Dubbed “China Targets”, the fresh investigation involving 42 media organisations delves into the various tactics Beijing uses to silence critics beyond […]

An artwork by famed Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming, which includes figures in yellow raincoats, will not be reinstalled at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre despite the completion of the restoration work, the government has said. Ju’s sculpture “Lining Up” featured 10 figures standing in a line. Some wore black suits, two were in yellow raincoats, […]

Four former pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong have been released from prison after serving time for their involvement in an unofficial 2020 primary election. Claudia Mo, Gary Fan, Jeremy Tam, and Kwok Ka-ki were the first group of 45 democrats to be discharged from prison in the early morning of Tuesday after being sentenced in […]

A former employee at a Hong Kong care home for people with intellectual disabilities has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman five times last year after facing an additional charge of rape. Prosecutors on Monday slapped the fifth count of rape against Chung Pui-kei, 38, formerly an assistant warden at the Hong Chi Pinehill […]

The Hong Kong government’s proposed laws to curb smoking, including banning the possession of e-cigarettes in public, will have no impact on tourism, a legislator has said. David Lam, chairperson of the Panel on Health Services in the Legislative Council (LegCo), said on an RTHK programme on Monday that cases from other places around the […]

Hong Kong police have arrested 10 people for allegedly providing services related to surrogacy and sex selection of embryos overseas. A total of four men and six women – aged between 30 and 70 – were arrested during raids on an office in Central and their homes on Friday and Saturday on suspicion of violating […]

China and the Philippines on Monday defended their claims to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, after Manila accused Beijing of seeking to “intimidate and harass” with a state media report that suggested the area had been seized. The Sandy Cay reef lies near Thitu Island, or Pag-asa, where the Philippines stations troops […]

Keith Yip, director of crime and security, has been appointed deputy commissioner of police (operations), replacing Joe Chow, who was promoted to police chief earlier this month. Yip assumed his new role on Monday, weeks after Chow took up the post of police commissioner on April 2. Yip joined the police force as an inspector […]

A Hong Kong women workers’ group has called on the government to suspend the city’s “enhanced” labour import scheme, saying it has negatively affected employees’ working conditions. Around 15 members of the Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association (HKWWA) unfurled a banner and held signs outside the Central Government Offices (CGO) on Sunday, ahead of the […]

China’s coast guard said Sunday it had “dealt with” a situation involving six Filipinos who it accused of illegally landing on a disputed reef, after Beijing’s state media said the tiny sandbank had recently come under Chinese control. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions […]

Independent media outlet Channel C has halted operations a week after police arrested a director at the outlet’s parent company for alleged government loan fraud. Meanwhile, authorities say the outlet is behind on pension contributions totalling HK$230,000. In a response to local media enquiries on Saturday, the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme Authority said that the […]

China’s foreign minister has hit out at the “extreme selfishness” of tariffs, hinting at the steep levies imposed on Beijing by US President Donald Trump. “Certain countries” resort to “pressure and coercion, and trigger unjustified trade wars… This extreme selfishness only harms their credibility,” top diplomat Wang Yi told his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov, according […]

This feature is the first in HKFP’s Partners in Pride series, which looks at how same-sex couples navigate life, death and everything in between ahead of the government’s October deadline to enact a framework to recognise same-sex partnerships. Jennifer has always wanted kids. As a primary school teacher in Hong Kong, she is surrounded by children […]

When the Dalai Lama turns 90 in July, the Buddhist monk, who for many exiled Tibetans personifies dreams of a free homeland, will ask if they want a successor. For the charismatic Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader, his landmark birthday will be a time to encourage people to plan for an eventual future without him and address […]

US President Donald Trump has insisted Chinese leader Xi Jinping called him despite Beijing denials of any contact between the two countries over their bitter trade dispute. In an interview conducted on April 22 with TIME Magazine and published Friday, the US president did not say when the call took place or specify what was discussed. […]

By Mary Yang and Michael Zhang, with Isabel Kua in Beijing In a small church tucked into a side street in northern China’s Hebei province, a group of around 10 people gathered for their weekly meeting, the day after Pope Francis died aged 88. The Vatican on Monday announced the death of the Argentine pontiff, […]

By Irene Chan & Hans Tse Hong Kong resident Chris Wong, his wife, and their kid travelled with two other families to Zhuhai on Easter Sunday. They crossed the border and checked into a resort hotel to spend the remaining two days of the Easter break in the Chinese city, just across the Pearl River […]

Increasing Hong Kong’s Airport Express fares could drive passengers to choose other modes of transport instead, lawmakers have said. Speaking at a Legislative Council Panel on Transport meeting on Friday, lawmaker Dominic Lee cited figures showing that ridership of the Airport Express had only recovered to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. “Actually, airport statistics […]

The Hong Kong government is seeking to ban the possession of e-cigarettes and other alternative smoking products in public by the end of April next year, along with other proposed measures to curb smoking in the city. Anyone who possesses small amounts of alternative smoking products in public may face a fixed fine of HK$3,000 […]

A US push to approve deep-sea mining in domestic and international waters “violates international law”, China warned on Friday, after a White House order to ramp up permits. “The US authorisation… violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. President Donald Trump on Thursday […]

Hong Kong’s pro-establishment lawmakers have criticised the government’s proposal to increase parking fines to HK$400, warning the move will cause “resentment” amid a shortage of car parks. The Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Transport Department, and the Hong Kong Police Force attended a meeting at the legislature on Friday for a debate on the proposal […]

Hong Kong’s oldest and largest psychiatric hospital has fired three staff members after one of them was placed on a ward by two colleagues despite being drunk, according to local newspaper Ming Pao. The Hospital Authority on Friday admitted that staff members at Castle Peak Hospital had disrupted ward operations and “seriously breached disciplinary requirements.” […]

China’s top leaders called on Friday to step up support for the economy and oppose “unilateral bullying” in global trade, according to a meeting readout published by state media. The comments were a veiled rebuke of hefty tariffs recently imposed on China by US President Donald Trump, which have triggered a high-stakes tit-for-tat trade battle […]

A catering labour union has called on Hong Kong authorities to establish a mechanism to halt the controversial labour import scheme after finding that over 200 local employees reported being replaced by imported workers. The Eating Establishment Employees General Union said on Thursday that some employees reported being fired and replaced by non-local workers employed […]

Hong Kong’s equality watchdog has initiated legal action in the District Court on behalf of a secondary schoolgirl against her male classmate, accusing him of sexual harassment. “The Claimant alleged that a male classmate (the Respondent) sexually harassed her on many occasions from Form 2 to Form 4,” the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) said in […]

A Hong Kong police officer, whose finger was partly bitten off by a protester during the 2019 protests, has agreed to a HK$280,000 settlement. To Kai-wa confirmed in the High Court on Thursday that he would compensate Sergeant Keith Leung after biting off part of the police officer’s finger during a protest at Sha Tin’s […]

An increase in Hong Kong’s airport departure tax could hurt the city’s competitiveness, a lawmaker has said, after the government doubled down on plans to increase the levy from HK$120 to HK$200 despite criticism. Lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok said on a Commercial Radio programme on Thursday that amid competition from other destinations such as the Greater […]

By Matthew Walsh A Chinese rocket carrying three astronauts to the country’s space station blasted off from its remote launch site Thursday, the latest milestone in Beijing’s race to become a leading celestial power. Beijing has pumped billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years in an effort to achieve what President Xi […]

Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen has been allowed to leave the city to attend Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican. Zen, 93, left Hong Kong on Wednesday night after a court granted an application to temporarily return the retired bishop’s passport, his secretary told HKFP on Thursday. She said Zen would return to Hong Kong […]

A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) has found that the majority of its members said their working environment had changed for the worse over the past two years. Sixty-nine members took part in the FCC’s biannual Press Freedom Survey between December and February. It was the first FCC poll since […]