What did Hongkongers Google the most in 2017? Typhoon Hato, star boxer Rex Tso and TV show The Exorcists Meter, according to Google’s Top Trending Searches of the year.
Hong Kong’s top keyword searches on Google this year included TVB’s paranormal drama “The Exorcists Meter,” “iPhone 8” and another TVB series titled “My Unfair Lady.”
Typhoon Hato – Hong Kong’s first Hurricane Signal No. 10 since 2012 – topped the local news search, followed by the chief executive election in March that saw the selection of incumbent leader Carrie Lam, and Hing Tak School, which became embroiled in scandal after revelations that the school took “shadow students.”
The most searched for person in current affairs and sports news was professional boxer Rex Tso, who secured 22 consecutive victories in October after beating Kohei Kono to retain the WBO international super flyweight title. “Home-grown professional athletes continue to make Hong Kong proud. Hongkongers’ growing passion and support for sports is shown through Search,” Google observed.
Following Tso is pro-democracy figure Howard Lam Tsz-kin, who in August claimed he was abducted by mainland agents in Hong Kong, and former chief executive Donald Tsang. Tsang faced corruption charges this year and became the first former leader of the city to be convicted in a criminal trial.
In international current affairs, Hongkongers searched for deceased Chinese dissent and Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo, Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un who was assassinated under mysterious circumstances, and American president Donald Trump.
In the international news category, the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, Catalonia, and Hurricane Irma were the most Googled news items.
The slang terms that topped searches in Hong Kong were “KOL” – an abbreviation for key opinion leader, referring to individuals with large followings on social media, “DQ” meaning disqualification, popularised after six lawmakers had been stripped of their seats since last November, and “LOL” – which simply stands for laugh out loud.
