Hong Kong’s new budget is positioned to foster high-quality, inclusive growth through innovation and finance. Ahead of projections, a surplus of HK$2.9 billion (US$370.8 million) is now expected, largely due to the stronger-than-expected stock market and tax receipts. Reflecting a sound fiscal approach and forward thinking, the 2026-27 budget will maintain an operating surplus and…
One in three Hong Kong adults have moderate to severe symptoms of depression, almost triple the rate from 2012, with Generation Z respondents who spent a lot of time on screens affected the most, a survey has found. The biennial study, conducted by the Mental Health Association NGO and the Chinese University of Hong Kong…
The world’s largest social media companies have been accused Monday of pushing highly addictive apps on children as a landmark social media trial began in earnest in a California court. The case is being heard before a jury in Los Angeles. The trial is being treated as a bellwether case, meaning its outcome could influence…
With more than one in three Hongkongers estimated to be 65 or older by 2050, the city must decide whether to spend the coming years improving an overburdened healthcare system or to entirely transform the structure to address the silent epidemic of mental health crises among the elderly. Hong Kong is expected to have the…
A group of Hong Kong students has created an award-winning initiative that uses artificial intelligence to help elderly couples fulfil their travel dreams, with the city leader’s wife highlighting the technology’s role in volunteer services. Janet Lee Lam Lai-sim, the spouse of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, lauded the achievement at the Hong Kong Volunteer…
The Hong Kong Red Cross has raised HK$420 million (US$54 million) to support victims of the deadly Tai Po blaze, launching a three- to five-year relief plan covering the financial, mental health and medical needs of those affected. Almost a month after the fire at Wang Fuk Court – which killed at least 161 people,…
One of Asia’s largest philanthropic organisations, the Shaw Foundation, has pledged to continue supporting small charities in Hong Kong and urged the public to do the same, after making a generous donation to victims of last month’s catastrophic fire in Tai Po. The foundation made a HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) contribution to help victims of…
Hong Kong has been talking more openly about youth mental health than ever before – and with good reason. Student suicides climbed to a decade high of 32 cases in 2023, and there were 28 more last year. The number of students struggling with mental health issues rose 27 per cent between 2023 and 2024….
A project offering counselling to teenagers with depression and anxiety in Hong Kong will be expanded next year to reach more students, after about half of those it has helped showed no further signs of mental health problems, according to a local charity. Mind HK, the charity running the three-year initiative, also offers psychological support…
The B.C. government is issuing new guidance for physicians when it comes to treating youth with overlapping cases of mental health and substance use challenges, clarifying the use of involuntary care in the process. In a guidance document issued Friday, the province directs physicians to notify parents, and potentially involuntarily detain youth if they’re unable…