This year, HKFP checked in on the pro-democracy “yellow economy,” met those fighting for the city’s wartime history, and learned how some Hongkongers are finding solace in farming, in “new age” counselling and in community bookshops. Our team also investigated the demise of the city’s iconic pink dolphins, took a deep dive into China’s deep-sea gold rush, and found out how Hongkongers are supporting political prisoners.

Our best original features of 2022 – from our staff in Hong Kong, and our freelance team in Taiwan…

‘Rice with 2 sides:’ How Covid-19 dine-in bans helped a Hong Kong working class staple gain popularity, online and offline
Hongkongers take to the land to cultivate a sense of identity, as political expression withers
Earth’s final frontier: China and the deep-sea gold rush set to cause environmental catastrophe
‘They haven’t gone away’: 3 years on, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy ‘yellow economy’ has paled, but support remains
Why Hong Kong’s underage trans teens want age limits for the city’s gender clinic scrapped
Healing Havens: Young Hongkongers find relief and refuge in crystals and informal ‘New Age’ counselling
Small mercies: Low-profile groups struggle to support Hong Kong prisoners a year after the fall of Wall-fare
Amid exodus and societal shifts, Hong Kong’s independent bookstores offer freedom of thought, community
The Battle of Hong Kong – and the battle for Hong Kong’s history
‘It’s like we are being left to die’: Hong Kong tackles deadliest Covid wave
Why are Hong Kong’s rare pink dolphins disappearing?
Old soldiers never die – even in post-Handover Hong Kong

Best of Taiwan features:

Taiwanese train to survive the unthinkable amid threats of invasion by Beijing
In Taiwan, an exhibition exploring the afterlife of East and Southeast Asia captures the spirit of the island
In Taiwan, blue-collar migrant workers find labour policies that leave them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation
HKFP’s Top 100 stories of the year, by traffic – click to view.
  1. Giant screen falls on stage during concert by Hong Kong boy band Mirror, two performers injured
  2. Earth’s final frontier: China and the deep-sea gold rush set to cause environmental catastrophe
  3. In Pictures: Jumbo Floating Restaurant towed out of Hong Kong after 46 years
  4. Hong Kong’s iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant sinks in South China Sea
  5. Foreign domestic worker spends 2 nights in Hong Kong park after contracting Covid, as NGO warns of ’emerging crisis’
  6. ‘All our close friends are leaving’: Covid chaos pushes more expats to join Hong Kong exodus
  7. Covid-19: Hong Kong tightens social distancing – bars, gyms, pools closed, dine-in ends 6pm
  8. Hong Kong to scrap Covid flight bans from April 1; timetable for relaxing social distancing unveiled
  9. Hong Kong dad pays HK$33K for glittery golden Teletubby after son accused of smashing it
  10. Covid-19: Compulsory tests for all Hong Kong residents, schools to halt early for summer
  11. Covid-19: Hong Kong Hospital Authority urges understanding as shocking photo emerges of bodies stored on ward
  12. Hong Kong gov’t urges patients to see Chinese medicine doctors before taking medication after reported case of liver failure
  13. Covid-19: Hong Kong enacts 2 person limit in public, fines doubled, private gathering limits, vaccine required for malls
  14. Hong Kong to extend Covid-19 laws until September and raise fines for violating testing requirements
  15. FactWire: Sinovac limits Hong Kong’s protection against infection from Omicron, analysis suggests
  16. ‘Chaotic’ policies, fear & overloaded hospitals: Why some Hongkongers are keeping their Covid infection from the gov’t
  17. Hong Kong to cut Covid-19 hotel quarantine for arrivals to 3 days from Friday
  18. Video: ‘Dead body’ in Hong Kong bin turns out to be discarded sex doll
  19. Hong Kong toy shop returns HK$33K to family following uproar over damaged Teletubby
  20. Hong Kong and Singapore virus response a tale of two very different cities
  21. Hong Kong Budget – HK$10,000 consumption vouchers for all eligible residents in 2 instalments
  22. Covid-19: 17 million locked down in Shenzhen as virus cases double nationwide
  23. ‘A madhouse’: Overstays, suicide attempts, chaotic management at Hong Kong’s overloaded Penny’s Bay Covid facility
  24. Covid-19: Over HK$78,000 raised for domestic workers fined for breaching Hong Kong’s 2-person gathering limit
  25. Covid-19: Hong Kong to reopen beaches, pools on Thur, no masks for outdoor exercise; bars to reopen May 19
  26. Hong Kong to shorten 21-day Covid-19 quarantine to 14 days for incoming travellers
  27. Shooting in Hong Kong’s Central district leaves 3 injured
  28. HKFP Guide: Hong Kong’s latest Covid-19 social distancing rules – frequently asked questions
  29. ‘A very stupid idea’: Hong Kong frontline medics decry ‘dynamic Covid-zero’ as putting politics before public health
  30. Hong Kong to undergo citywide compulsory Covid testing, schools to halt early for summer
  31. Covid-19: Hong Kong may impose a China-style lockdown says health chief, two weeks after Lam ruled it out
  32. Dancer injured while performing at Hong Kong boy band Mirror concert ‘conscious’ and able to communicate, father says
  33. Covid-19: Hong Kong mortuaries reaching capacity, 19 testing centres closed as gov’t forced to loosen measures
  34. ‘Uncle Roger’ apologises and deletes video featuring fellow YouTube star who criticised China
  35. Covid-19: Departures from Hong Kong more than triple in 2 weeks amid Omicron outbreak
  36. Covid-19 in data: 7 charts showing Hong Kong’s deadly Omicron outbreak
  37. Squat toilets and power adapters: Inside Hong Kong’s first Covid isolation facility, built with China’s help
  38. Hong Kong contact tracing app LeaveHomeSafe stops alerting users about restaurants visited by Covid patients
  39. HKFP Guide: Covid-19 rapid antigen tests – how accurate they are, which to choose and more
  40. Covid-19: Incoming health chief considers cutting hotel quarantine for arriving travellers to 5 days
  41. Explainer: Hong Kong’s ‘3+4’ Covid-19 hotel quarantine arrangements for international arrivals
  42. Infected and unemployed, a 6-person Hong Kong family’s 2-week Covid-19 home quarantine ordeal
  43. HKFP Lens: Hong Kong struggles to contain Covid outbreak as hospitals run over-capacity
  44. HK$107k fundraiser for domestic workers facing Covid fines axed after official says campaign may be illegal
  45. HKFP Guide: What to do if you test positive for Covid-19 in Hong Kong – frequently asked questions
  46. Covid-19: Hong Kong issues red QR codes to confirmed cases, amber codes for international arrivals
  47. Hong Kong will return to ‘dynamic Covid-zero’ contact tracing and compulsory testing after fifth wave, says gov’t medic
  48. Hong Kong man arrested after being spotted with girlfriend’s wrapped-up body on street
  49. Covid-19: Hong Kong gov’t ‘strongly condemns’ inaccurate photo of quarantine facility toilets
  50. Maskless World Cup scenes spark anger in zero-Covid China
  51. Video: Hong Kong TVB drama ignites ‘brownface’ row with Filipina role
  52. ‘Stockholm syndrome’: Why some Hongkongers are in no rush to return, despite new Covid travel rules
  53. 16-year-old attacked by 3 men atop IFC building in Central
  54. Hong Kong refuses to disclose data on Covid-19 patient vaccine types, despite concerns over Sinovac Omicron efficacy
  55. Covid-19: Hong Kong hotel quarantine requirement for arrivals axed from Monday
  56. Explainer: How to measure Hong Kong’s mass exodus
  57. HKFP Guide: Hong Kong’s Covid-19 vaccine pass – frequently asked questions
  58. Explainer: Hong Kong’s Covid-19 entry requirements and restrictions
  59. Temperatures drop to 3.9°C on Hong Kong’s highest peak, rain expected over weekend
  60. Covid-positive domestic worker, baby left to wait overnight outside Hong Kong hospital
  61. 8-month high in Covid-19 cases as instances of Omicron variant rise in Hong Kong
  62. Hong Kong bans 23 flight routes during April – long-haul arrivals a rarity, as Covid travel rules continue to bite
  63. Covid-19: Hong Kong kindergartens & primary schools to halt in-person classes, new bail-outs for businesses
  64. Is it legal for Hong Kong to make you pay for Covid-19 hotel quarantine?
  65. Explainer: Understanding the Hong Kong gov’t’s Covid-19 data, and the big jump in daily cases
  66. Covid-19: Top Hong Kong gov’t official to be quarantined after 100-person birthday party for Chinese official
  67. Hong Kong consumption vouchers: First HK$5,000 to arrive in existing accounts in April
  68. Russia-Ukraine war gives a glimpse of China’s new world order, and of Beijing’s faltering reputation
  69. Covid-19: Full lockdown urged as HKU predicts 28,000 daily cases, gov’t officials to meet mainland authorities
  70. Bitter bagel business battle brings accusations of harassment and thuggery to K-Town
  71. ‘Rice with 2 sides:’ How Covid-19 dine-in bans helped a Hong Kong working class staple gain popularity, online and offline
  72. Covid-19 detected in all Hong Kong districts, hours-long queues for tests, over 1,900 cases in past week
  73. ‘Who died?’: UK’s Observer pairs recipes with funeral joss paper in ‘cursed’ Lunar New Year series
  74. Covid-19: Quarantine for 170 guests at Chinese official’s b’day party, inc. 13 senior Hong Kong officials & 19 lawmakers
  75. Covid-19: Hong Kong to distribute self-testing kits, ‘close contacts’ to eventually be allowed to quarantine at home
  76. Kitchen barge of Hong Kong’s Jumbo Floating Restaurant sinks, as lawmakers urge gov’t to help keep fleet afloat
  77. Covid-19: No quarantine-free travel in the short-term, Hong Kong’s new health chief says
  78. Wordle: As word puzzle takes over the internet, Hong Kong professor creates Cantonese version
  79. Covid-19: Hong Kong to bar unvaccinated from eateries, gyms, cinemas, amid fears over fifth wave and Omicron
  80. Hong Kong to reopen to non-residents; Covid flight suspension rules to ease from May
  81. Hong Kong cuts no. of Covid-19 PCR tests for arrivals from 4 to 2 starting next Mon
  82. Hong Kong schools see over 5,000 teachers leave this academic year, marking 50% increase in ‘drop-out’ rate
  83. Hong Kong extends tough Covid measures into Lunar New Year, inc. 6pm dine-in ban; cancels flower markets
  84. Covid-19: Hong Kong to ban unvaccinated from schools, libraries and museums next month
  85. Covid-19: Hong Kong mulls stricter social distancing rules, hospitals set up triage plan in face of record cases
  86. Fixating on zero Covid is ‘useless’ says top Hong Kong microbiologist, focus on vaccination rate instead
  87. Covid-19: Hamsters abandoned in streets as Hong Kong announces mass cull, NGOs ‘shocked, concerned’
  88. Covid-19: Almost half of Hong Kong’s population infected in the fifth wave – HKU study suggests
  89. Covid-19: Hong Kong reports a record 164 cases; social distancing measures to be extended till February 17
  90. Covid-19: Carrie Lam says she removes mask at press events so Hongkongers can see and feel her emotion
  91. Foreign domestic workers: The unsung heroes of Hong Kong’s pandemic deserve our respect
  92. ‘A true trailblazer’: Tributes pour in for acclaimed int’l DJ and producer Janette Slack
  93. ‘Treat us fairly’: Meet the domestic worker YouTuber raising awareness of helper rights
  94. Covid-19: Hong Kong records 6,116 cases as isolation periods reduced; authorities avoid questions over city-wide testing
  95. Near misses: Top Hong Kong officials evade Covid-19 as staff, wives, drivers contract disease
  96. Covid-19: Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam urges ‘calm’ as reports of lockdown spark panic buying
  97. Covid-19: 5-day lockdown for 2,700 people in Hong Kong residential building over Omicron outbreak
  98. End of the line: Hong Kong railway fanatics prepare to bid farewell to the last of their beloved electric trains
  99. Covid-19: Hong Kong health system ‘overloaded’, 40 medical staff test preliminary positive, as city records 1,325 new cases
  100. Hong Kong to cut Covid-19 hotel quarantine for arrivals to 3 days from Friday

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Founded in 2015, Hong Kong Free Press is an impartial, non-profit, award-winning English-language newspaper. Run by journalists, backed by readers and 100% independent, HKFP is governed by a public Code of Ethics. If there are uncertainties relating to safety or security, we may use an "HKFP Staff" byline. More on our Ethics & Policies.