A Hong Kong man has been jailed for one year and four months over his links to a fundraising platform that supported protesters in 2019. District Court in Wan Chai. File photo: Almond Li/HKFP. Yu Yan-yuk, currently a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, appeared at the District Court on Wednesday afternoon, local media reported. He earlier pleaded not guilty to money laundering but was convicted in March after trial. He was among four people linked to Spark Alliance, a crowdfunded organisation that financed bail applications for those arrested during the 2019 protests and unrest, w ..read more

Hong Kong police on Thursday checked the identity cards of fans queueing outside an event for pro-democracy singer Anthony Wong, citing crowd control. Hong Kong police inspect fans queueing outside an event of pro-democracy singer Anthony Wong on April 18, 2024. Photo: supplied. Wong and lyricist Chow Yiu-fai were holding an autograph session organised by art group The House of Hong Kong Literature in in Sham Shui Po on Thursday evening when police officers arrived, a fans present at the scene told HKFP. According to Louis Lee, around two dozen people were queueing to get inside the venue at ..read more

A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to four years and seven months in jail over rioting and wounding others during the Yuen Long mob attack at the height of the 2019 protests and unrest. Tang Siu-hung, a 42-year-old driver, was prosecuted last July along with three others, four years after an incident on the night of July 21, 2019, when dozens of men wearing white shirts attacked commuters in Yuen Long MTR station after protests on Hong Kong Island. Tang pleaded guilty to rioting and conspiracy to wound with intent. District Court in Wan Chai. File photo: Hans Tse/HKFP. During senten ..read more

To celebrate its 45th anniversary, the MTR Corporation is launching an exhibition, “Station Rail Voyage,” which showcases retired trains and over 100 railway artifacts at Hung Hom Station. The first-generation electric train “Yellow Head” of the East Rail Line is showcased at the “Station Rail Voyage” exhibition, presented by the MTR Corporation. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Running from next Wednesday to the end of the year, the exhibition presents retired trains including the “Yellow Head,” a locomotive which marked the start of the electrified service on the East Rail Line, train components, as w ..read more

Beijing on Thursday accused the United States of hypocrisy in response to accusations by President Joe Biden that China is “xenophobic” and “cheating” on trade. A China flag flies in Hong Kong, on October 1, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “I would like to ask him: are you talking about China or the US itself?” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, when asked about the comments. In a speech Wednesday to union members, Biden called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing it of cheating as he courted blue-collar voters on an election campaign trip to the battleground state of Pennsylvani ..read more

Hong Kong’s housing minister has defended an estimated HK$4.39 billion price tag for managing 30,000 temporary flats which are planned for the city, saying this would cover maintenance, cleaning, and other amenities. The units will be part of the Light Public Housing (LPH) scheme, which aims to boost the city’s short-term housing supply by providing prefabricated flats that will be retired after five years of use. A Light Public Housing mock-up unit at Kai Tak. Photo: GovHK. The bureau’s estimate amounts to operational costs of around HK$1,000 per month for each temporary unit. The scheme, an ..read more

The Hong Kong government has defended its monthly spending of HK$3.75 million to maintain defunct Covid-19 isolation centres after one legislator described the bill as “shocking.” Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn meets the press on October 30, 2023. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn addressed lawmakers in the Legislative Council on Wednesday as meetings to discuss the financial year’s budget continued. As part of initial questions asked by lawmakers ahead of the meetings, legislator Chan Hoi-yan had asked the Development Bureau how much the cit ..read more

Hong Kong police have arrested a woman on suspicion of sharing test papers from the city’s university entrance examination online. The documents were leaked on Chinese social networking site Xiaohongshu, local media reported. A HKDSE examination hall. File photo: GovHK. A 23-year-old woman surnamed Lau was detained on Wednesday for allegedly breaching the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance, police said in a statement on Thursday. She was granted bail pending investigation and must report to the force in mid-May. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA ..read more

Hong Kong’s government says it approved spending of over HK$192 million since 2023 on “mega events” designed to attract tourists, and had put rules in place to guard against potential conflicts of interest. A Chubby Hearts balloon pops up in Kennedy Town on February 14, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. In a written response to lawmakers on Wednesday, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said the committee overseeing the “Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund,” which is intended to attract major events to the city, had strict requirements on declaration of interests. Beneficiaries “must follow the p ..read more

Taiwan’s incoming president Lai Ching-te has made Time Magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential People of 2024”, which the island hailed Thursday as a recognition of its “democratic achievements”. Taiwan president-elect William Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party delivers his victory speech in Taipei, Taiwan, on January 13, 2024. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. Vice President Lai, who won the January presidential election to succeed Tsai Ing-wen, will take office on May 20 at a time of growing tensions between Taiwan and China. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territ ..read more