A 34-year-old chef has been arrested for allegedly dripping an unknown liquid on three female pedestrians near Hong Kong’s Tai Wai MTR station in separate incidents during the Christmas and Lunar New Year holiday periods. The first incident took place on Christmas morning, when a woman crossing a footbridge on Mei Tin Road felt liquid…
The acquisition price for properties damaged in Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po fire will be “far lower” if homeowners reject the government’s buy-back offer and authorities are forced to use legislation to acquire the remaining properties, a senior official has said. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun on Sunday dismissed claims that the government was…
When an ibuprofen dance challenge went viral on the Chinese social media platform Douyin in late 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic, shares of the country’s leading ibuprofen maker surged more than 200 per cent in two weeks. Now profits at Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical are plunging, and it is not alone, as drug makers are hit…
Hong Kong must exercise fiscal prudence, carefully weighing social needs while maintaining adequate reserves to guard against unforeseen circumstances, the finance chief has said as he outlined the principles of the budget he will deliver on Wednesday. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday also revealed the purple cover of the coming 2026-27 budget, saying…
Hong Kong authorities froze HK$261 million (US$33.4 million) in suspected criminal proceeds linked to money laundering and drug trafficking last year, but experts say it may take as long as seven years for any of the funds to reach government coffers. According to data from the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit, run by police and customs,…
When Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Xia Baolong recently described Hong Kong’s executive-led system as a distinct governance model, he elevated it from an administrative arrangement to constitutional doctrine. A doctrine is not merely about structure. It is about how governance power is exercised. In Hong Kong’s executive-led system, that exercise begins with…
These retailers – which sell gold coins and bars, rather than ornamental pieces – have taken up ground-floor store spaces that were left vacant during the city’s post-pandemic recovery. Their rapid expansion has been followed by the return of high-end jewellery vendors, a development that has helped stabilise rents in some of the city’s most…
Hong Kong’s coming annual budget must address critical bottlenecks in technology and talent attraction to pave the way for the city’s first five-year development framework in line with national priorities, according to observers. The budget, to be delivered by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday, is more than a fiscal exercise. It is viewed…
Severe same-day schedule cuts at Thailand’s two largest airports left hundreds of Hong Kong-bound travellers scrambling on 21 February. According to airline communiqués, Cathay Pacific withdrew flight CPA674 from Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi to Hong Kong less than six hours before departure, citing operational constraints. The last-minute move coincided with four additional cancellations by Malaysia Airlines, MYAirline and…
Some homeowners displaced by the deadly Tai Po blaze were disappointed by Hong Kong authorities’ decision to buy back their flats instead of resettling them at the original site, even as the acquisition offer was described by surveyors as “generous”. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun unveiled the long-term resettlement plan on Saturday, offering options…