The best original reporting from the Hong Kong Free Press team.
LATEST
In Pictures: ‘Thank you Hongkongers’ – Apple Daily’s printing presses come to a halt after 26 years
A bright red notice on Apple Daily’s mobile app tells subscribers that content will no longer be accessible after 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. “Good luck, and goodbye,” it ended. Although most photos in the app can no longer be displayed, the text of several articles published just before the news outlet’s midnight shutdown remained viewable. The […]
Hong Kong’s Apple Daily limps towards the end of an era as newsroom suffers exodus of staff
Hong Kong’s only pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, is limping towards the end of its life pending a last-ditch attempt to have its seized assets unfrozen as insiders report a mass exodus of staff following an earlier company announcement that it might stop publishing as early as Saturday. On Monday, the newspaper’s board of directors announced […]
‘When in doubt, take a walk:’ artist Sampson Wong seeks beauty in Hong Kong’s urban jungle
Not too many Hongkongers spare a glance at their everyday surroundings as they get on with their lives, but academic and artist Sampson Wong wants them to discover the beauty lurking behind the concrete jungle of their neighbourhoods. Wong, along with photojournalist Eric Tsang, created a YouTube channel entitled When in Doubt, Take a Walk […]
HKFP Guide: How to apply for Hong Kong’s new HK$5,000 spending vouchers
Officials have designated four electronic payments providers to dole out consumption-boosting vouchers: Octopus Hong Kong, AliPayHK, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK. The distribution methods vary between Octopus and the latter three e-payment methods. Registration for the scheme opens on July 4. Here’s everything you need to know about getting the vouchers what you […]
INTERVIEWS
Interview: Green is the colour for Taiwan’s pioneering ‘weed lawyer’
With her dyed green hair and a passion for weed, Zoe Lee is not a typical Taiwanese lawyer. Running her own law firm and an award-winning podcast, the 32-year-old has made a name for herself pushing for the legalisation of marijuana in Taiwan. “I was always really interested in cannabis, since I was in school. […]
Compromise will lead to an ‘infinite expansion of the red line,’ says head of group behind Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Massacre vigil
Hong Kong barrister Chow Hang-tung told HKFP she would find some way to commemorate the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, a week before her reported detention by police on Friday. It comes as authorities again ban the commemorative candlelight vigil organised by the group she heads amid what she calls a climate of fear. […]
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Inside Apple Daily: Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy daily prints 500,000 copies despite raid, seizures and arrests
Hong Kong pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily continued its operations and printed 500,000 copies of Friday’s paper after its headquarters were raided by the police and five senior executives were arrested on suspicion of violating the national security law. The tabloid said that at least 44 computers and hard disks were seized by police during Thursday’s […]
Strife among local and expat pilots as Hong Kong Immigration leaves work visas hanging
Nearly 300 expatriate pilots working for Cathay Pacific and other airlines in Hong Kong have been waiting for months to hear whether their work permits will be renewed, raising fears they may have to leave the city they once called home. Local pilots made redundant when the flag carrier’s subsidiary Cathay Dragon collapsed last October […]
Investigation: HK$500 fine after Hong Kong landowner cleared trees in Lantau country park
The government has handed down a HK$500 fine after trees were illegally removed next to an expansive private plot in a Hong Kong country park. The penalty came 16 months after villagers and activists first reported land clearing activities to the authorities. In January 2020, villagers living near Pui O and conservation activists saw construction […]
From street-side slaughter to hipster haven: Re-making the oldest wet market in Hong Kong
The oldest market in Hong Kong snakes down Graham Street in Central district, a riotous sensory overload of colours and aromas. When it was established around 160 years ago, the British colony of Hong Kong was less than 20 years old. The wet market’s starting point on Queen’s Road was not much more than a […]
‘It can happen anywhere and anytime’: Hongkongers in the UK face hate crimes as pro-China groups accused of stirring up hostility
The distinctive sound of bouncing ping-pong balls is the first indication that you’re approaching the headquarters of Hackney Chinese Community Services (HCCS) in east London, a charity founded by Chinese residents in 1985 to support local East Asian families. Tuesday is table tennis day and almost everyone I meet there has a disturbing personal experience […]
Living in a lockdown nightmare: How Covid-19 compounds the problem of Hong Kong’s notorious sub-divided flats
Maria recalls being consumed with fear and anxiety as she heard the news about a new virus that had broken out in Wuhan, China, and had made its way to the streets of Hong Kong. “I was very scared. We didn’t know what would happen,” Maria told HKFP. “I was thinking too much and became […]
Video: ‘I want to take as many steps as possible’: Hongkongers defy ban on Tiananmen Massacre vigil
Wearing black, clutching flowers and candles, and waving mobile phone flashlights, Hongkongers found ways to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre on Friday despite police warnings and heavy law enforcement deployment across the city. With the Victoria Park vigil banned, hundreds gathered in the surrounding streets to mark 32 years since the crackdown. Police made at least […]
From hopelessness to ‘infinite possibilities’: Jailed over 2019 demo, Owen Au ponders the future of Hong Kong student activism
Student movements in Hong Kong should seek to “decentralise” as distrust in those who run the city’s universities grows, according to activist Owen Au who has just been jailed for six months over an unlawful assembly in 2019. The call from the former Chinese University (CUHK) student union president comes as he was convicted and […]
Video: Hong Kong Quidditch evolves from Harry Potter into inclusive sport
As one of the only mixed-gender sports available, Quidditch has moved on from its fictional roots in the Harry Potter series and evolved into a legitimate sport that helps promote gender equality in sports. Elvis Yu speaks to Kait Macdonald, a player on the Hong Kong Quidditch Team, for HKFP.
Interview: exiled activist Sunny Cheung says Hongkongers overseas must keep fighting to preserve city’s values
Last June 4, tens of thousands of black-clad Hongkongers pushed past metal barriers around Victoria Park to attend Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigil commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. In so doing, they defied a police ban which authorities said was necessary to protect public health during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was […]
Explainer: Hong Kong’s hollowed-out pro-democracy camp – who’s left and what’s next?
The ravages of the national security law, oath-taking diktats, jailings and heavily restructured elections have left Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition camp in ruins. With its key members either in jail, in exile or out of politics due to the hostility of the environment, HKFP takes a look at where the major parties now stand, and […]
Explainer: 7 ways Beijing reduced democratic representation in Hong Kong’s elections
On Thursday, Hong Kong lawmakers overwhelmingly approved sweeping changes to the city’s elections in a bid to ensure the power to govern the semi-autonomous region lies only in the hands of “patriots.” The Beijing-led electoral shakeup has been hailed by government officials and pro-establishment figures as a way to shut out “anti-China” forces from the […]
Love at first bite: Hong Kong’s humble street food inspires an encyclopaedia
Hong Kong’s iconic yellow and white siu mai dumpling, which for decades has been a satisfying go-to street food for those in search of a quick bite, is about to get a fitting tribute – its own encyclopaedia. The everyday snack embodies a greater cultural significance, enthusiasts argue, as they document the origins and fun […]
Interview: Author Joanna Chiu on how the West tried to curry favour with an expansionist China
When journalist Joanna Chiu returned to her hometown of Vancouver in 2018 after seven years of reporting from Beijing and Hong Kong, she expected to leave the China story behind. Instead, she quickly discovered that it extends far beyond Beijing’s borders. “I thought when I went back to Canada… the China story would be a […]
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