The Hong Kong government has exercised its power under the city’s domestic national security law for the first time to ban two organisations deemed subversive. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Tuesday prohibited the operation of the Canada-based “Hong Kong Parliament” and the Taiwan-based “Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union” in the city. The ordinance…
Hong Kong’s leader has warned that authorities will not tolerate any attempts to sabotage relief efforts for residents affected by the city’s deadliest fire in decades, after national security police made arrests for alleged sedition related to the blaze. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also pledged to roll out systemic reforms and said…
A man was injured when a truck carrying pig carcasses crashed into a convenience store in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. Police said they received a report at 8.24am that a medium-sized truck had smashed into a shopfront on Gage Street in Central. The man, a customer at the store, sustained injuries to his forehead…
More than 2,000 people left homeless last week by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades have been settled in temporary housing and hotels, while some residents are choosing to stay with friends and relatives after deeming the offered locations too remote. Undersecretary for Home and Youth Affairs Clarence Leung Wang-ching said on Monday that 2,000…
In 2003, a decade after the humiliation of the Yinhe incident – when a Chinese container ship was left stranded for weeks after the United States jammed its Global Positioning System (GPS) – Beijing set its sights on bypassing the American satellite network. At first, it turned to the European Union, pledging €230mil (then US$260…
Local travel agencies have been urged to reschedule the departure times for short-haul trips that fall on the Legislative Council’s election day on December 7, as part of the efforts by the tourism sector to help boost voter turnout. But the Travel Industry Council on Tuesday also said it was not encouraging members to provide…
Hongkongers will be able to use facial recognition at more mainland Chinese checkpoints, while more professionals from additional regions across the border will be granted longer stays in the city under new policies announced by national immigration authorities on Monday. According to the National Immigration Administration, Hong Kong residents with a mainland travel permit will,…
Hong Kong government employees are not allowed to apply for “authorised absences” to attend official events related to the coming Legislative Council election, the Civil Service Bureau has stressed, after a union reportedly suggested its members could do so. The bureau on Thursday also stressed that civil servant unions should only invite government employees to…
When the Chinese government launched the “AI+” initiative in August, it was widely perceived as a new economic stimulus. However, observers may have underestimated Beijing’s true ambition. On October 10, senior officials and experts published a series of analyses in the official journal E-Government, offering the public its first comprehensive look at the initiative’s deeper…
Shenzhen resident Angela Lyu was excited about the recent news that Guangdong motorists will be able to drive and stay in Hong Kong for three days under a cross-border travel scheme, but balked at the prospect of high parking fees and a required detour. The “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles” scheme is due to open…