Hong Kong must do more to shatter the glass ceilings at its roots, moving beyond token diversity to ensure motherhood no longer derails women’s careers, advocates have said on International Women’s Day. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Sunday that women were “holding up more than half the sky” for Hong Kong as they…
Hong Kong customs officers have discovered HK$230 million (US$29.4 million) worth of gold and silver hidden in two air cargo shipments of household cleaning machines destined for Japan, making the largest seizure of precious metals on record. Senior Investigator Ho Ting-chun of the Customs and Excise Department’s syndicate crimes investigation bureau said on Thursday officers…
A Hong Kong court has sentenced the father of a wanted activist to eight months for attempting to cash out an insurance policy worth more than HK$88,000 (US$11,251) in his daughter’s name, rejecting suggestions that the sentence amounted to ‘collective punishment’ against a relative of a fugitive. Kwok Yin-sang, 69, became the first person jailed…
Japan’s plans to deploy missiles on its westernmost island, close to Taiwan, within five years will further add to the growing tensions with China, analysts say. Japanese defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the surface-to-air systems – designed to intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles – will be deployed to Yonaguni island, located about 110km (68 miles)…
A new government committee tasked with reviewing Hong Kong’s tax policies will consider updating them to allow for levies on the virtual asset sector and selected emerging industries, while providing incentives to attract business and investment, the South China Morning Post has learned. The SCMP learned of the development on Wednesday as experts called for…
Hong Kong’s finance chief will unveil new measures in his budget to strengthen the city’s growing intellectual property (IP) economy, focusing on nurturing top-tier talent and helping local tech firms evaluate their patents, the South China Morning Post has learned. The initiatives, expected to be announced on Wednesday, come as Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po…
Hong Kong authorities have banned poultry meat and products from parts of Japan and Denmark following reports of outbreaks of highly pathogenic strains of bird flu. The Centre for Food Safety said on Monday that imports of poultry products, including eggs, from Holbaek municipality in Denmark and Japan’s Iwate prefecture had been suspended with immediate…
An attack on a Hong Kong man in the Japanese city of Sapporo that triggered travel warnings from Chinese authorities was reportedly caused by a dispute over “dining etiquette”. According to Japanese media this week, a 50-year-old company executive was arrested by local police officers on suspicion of striking the tourist with a bottle on…
Authorities in Hong Kong have expressed concern to the local Japanese consulate after a resident was struck on the head with a beer bottle in Sapporo, and have called on Tokyo to better protect visitors from the city. Thursday’s statement followed a warning issued a day earlier by the Chinese consulate in Sapporo advising nationals…
Hong Kong’s hotels and tourist-area restaurants reported robust business during the Lunar New Year holiday, even as a surge in outbound travel by residents underscored the city’s increasingly visitor-driven festival economy. An industry leader said the city had also seen more mainland tourists partly because of ongoing diplomatic tensions between China and Japan. Hongkongers were…