Announcement: HKFP wins HK$105K backing from Google’s News Equity Fund

Hong Kong Free Press has won backing from Google’s News Equity Fund in recognition of its original reporting on the city’s underrepresented communities.

The sum of HK$105,615 will be largely be spent on new multimedia gear and marketing for a fundraising campaign, as we expand the team and invest further in our local coverage.

HKFP is among 450 newsrooms across 52 countries and territories that received backing.

This year, HKFP expanded its team with two new recruits, and will add a third new staffer next week – our first, full-time in-house photojournalist. We also invested heavily in video and graphics in 2022, and revamped our newsletter and Instagram presence.

It is the second time HKFP has won support from the tech giant. It secured over HK$613,000 in 2019 to help build an open source fundraising tool, usable by all newsrooms and NGOs. NewsStream was launched last year and made available to the public.

Editor’s note: As with previous support, funding is only accepted by HKFP on the basis of a formal agreement which forbids any editorial interference. This policy is baked into our Ethics Code and applies to all contributors and advertisers.

2022 features on hong kong’s underrepesented communities

Hong Kong’s minorities share their stories and struggles through audio-guided tour of city

“I hope people can realise how much ethnic minority history there is in Hong Kong… it’s an important part of Hong Kong,” said Hadia Saqib, who helped translate recordings for an audio-guided walking tour of places of significance to the city’s ethnic minority groups.

by Hillary Leung 10:00, 12 September 202220:24, 12 September 2022

In Pictures: Hong Kong’s only Sikh temple reopens as a place of worship, community and more

The Khalsa Diwan Sikh temple, housing a dining hall that offers free vegetarian food for all, has reopened in Wan Chai following a five-year redevelopment project.

by Hillary Leung 10:00, 12 November 202214:02, 16 August 2023

A minority within a minority: Three ethnic minority queer teens navigate pride journey in Hong Kong

“Something about being queer, and an ethnic minority, makes you feel like you’re somehow different,” Moira Daphne Gonzales Toledo said, “[T]he general population of ethnic minorities is already less than the locals, so when you add in the factor of queer, it’s like so much more less.”

by Almond Li 10:00, 9 July 202217:52, 14 July 2022

After escaping exploitation, trafficked domestic workers in Hong Kong face another hurdle – legal recognition

Research carried out by Justice Centre Hong Kong in 2016 found that 17 per cent of the migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong were in forced labour, and 14 per cent of those had been trafficked.

by Fiona Cheung 10:00, 4 September 202212:46, 5 September 2022

Hong Kong 25: Migrant domestic workers have long fought against reversals of their rights. They’re not stopping

Migrant domestic worker activists today are fighting against the same policies as they were before the Handover. Empowered by small victories and recent outpourings of public support, they vow to continue, even amid a crackdown on civil society.

by Mercedes Hutton 10:27, 3 July 202213:18, 14 July 2022

Why Hong Kong’s underage trans teens want age limits for the city’s gender clinic scrapped

From a young age, Liam Mak felt that the sex he was assigned at birth was incongruous with his gender identity, but it was not until he turned 18 that he was able to receive gender-affirming hormone treatment at a public hospital.

by Kylie Yung 18:58, 19 June 202211:55, 22 November 2023

Pride month: Hong Kong’s voguing scene celebrates diversity without judgment

Two passionate performers prepare for the 2022 Kiki Ball and share with HKFP what the voguing scene means to them.

by Vanesse Chan 10:00, 11 June 202213:50, 22 November 2023

‘I didn’t know’: Hong Kong’s complex Covid-19 rules see domestic workers fined HK$10,000 for missing arrival tests

“[Hong Kong’s Covid-19 rules are] difficult for anyone who travels inbound, let alone migrant workers,” An An, the organising secretary of Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, said.

by Hillary Leung 10:00, 6 November 202222:37, 5 November 2022

Driven by desperation: Without the right to work, refugees in Hong Kong face impossible choices

There are approximately 14,000 asylum seekers in Hong Kong but often, it is only upon landing in the city that these individuals realise how few rights they are granted. Forbidden from working, some have even turned to crime.

by Guest Contributor 10:00, 20 February 202216:15, 19 June 2023

Beauty standard-bearer: Hong Kong model and singer Lezlie Chan takes a stand for body positivity

“In mainstream media, it seems like girls who are [outside] of the standard don’t exist. Even if they do, their existence is considered not normal, or not beautiful,” model Lezlie Chan tells HKFP.

by Almond Li 09:30, 22 May 202216:14, 5 December 2022

‘Treat us fairly’: Meet the domestic worker YouTuber raising awareness of helper rights

Contrinx, who taught herself Cantonese, pleads for fairness but stresses that not all employers are bad people.

by Dawna Fung 09:00, 17 April 202217:17, 20 June 2023

Covid-19: Panic buying leaves Hong Kong’s refugees with little to eat, as fifth wave sends food prices soaring

Limited to where they can shop and living off the equivalent of about HK$40 a day, the fifth wave and recent panic buying have hit the city’s refugees and asylum seekers particularly hard.

by Mercedes Hutton 17:47, 4 March 202217:48, 4 March 2022

HKFP Guide: How to support Hong Kong’s refugees, domestic workers & most vulnerable during Covid-19

HKFP rounds up fundraising campaigns, calls for in-kind donations, volunteering opportunities, and mental health services offering support to the city’s most marginalised communities.

by Mercedes Hutton 11:00, 26 February 202218:57, 9 March 2022

Foreign domestic worker spends 2 nights in Hong Kong park after contracting Covid, as NGO warns of ’emerging crisis’

“I think the way the Omicron wave is going, this is just the tip of the iceberg and this will be an emerging problem over the next few weeks,” Manisha Wijesinghe, executive director of HELP for Domestic Workers, told HKFP.

by Candice Chau 19:33, 17 February 202219:06, 18 February 2022

How Covid left its mark on Hong Kong’s Chungking Mansions

“We don’t want money, we want to open the restaurants at night-time… If not, everyone will leave Hong Kong,” says restaurant tout Jacky.

by Yaqi Yang 10:00, 5 April 202213:02, 6 April 2022

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