The best original reporting from the Hong Kong Free Press team.
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Queuing, blank placards and shopping: how Hongkongers innovated acts of resistance during security law clampdown
On Thursday, Hong Kong marks its first National Security Education Day since Beijing imposed a controversial new law last June. Despite growing restrictions on political activity and freedom of expression, city residents have continued to carry out acts of resistance. HKFP takes a look at how Hongkongers are continuing to make their voices heard. Queueing […]
Some 3,200 individual voters involved in selecting Hong Kong’s powerful new election committee compared to 239,000 before
Only about 3,000 individual voters will be involved in selecting Hong Kong’s revamped and much more powerful election committee compared to 239,000 previously, after a political overhaul ordered by Beijing goes into force. In 2020, 239,193 individual voters were registered to select the 1,200-member election committee. Under the new system, only about 3,200 individuals remain […]
Interview: Singapore’s smiley-face activist Jolovan Wham says he just wanted to make a point
Singaporean activist and social worker Jolovan Wham, whose silent protests including a smiley face display have landed him in court in the tightly-regulated city-state, says he is just trying to push back against a deeply entrenched culture which frowns on dissent. “All we want to do is to be able to speak out and to […]
Interview: Pro-Beijing Bauhinia Party will bloom in Hong Kong’s new political climate, says co-founder
China’s sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s political system have majority support in the city, according to the co-founder of Hong Kong’s newest political party who says the overhaul will benefit newcomers like his own Bauhinia Party. Business executive Charles Wong, in an interview with HKFP, also denied his party is geared towards mainland-born residents of […]
INTERVIEWS
Interview: Veteran journalist Stephen Vines on Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy against the world’s largest dictatorship
Hong Kong’s reputation as an international city with guaranteed liberties and freedoms is crumbling nine months after Beijing imposed a national security law on the region in response to the pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in late 2019. In his latest book Defying the Dragon: Hong Kong and the World’s Largest Dictatorship, veteran journalist […]
Interview: The Taiwanese politician on the frontline of democracy, 17 km from mainland China
Wen Lii was approached by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after it suffered significant losses in the 2018 mid-term elections and began looking for fresh candidates. He was offered the chance to stand in Taipei but turned them down. Instead, the former policy researcher asked to run in Taiwan’s smallest electoral district: the Lienchiang […]
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Artist navigates red lines to take his protest message to the streets of Hong Kong
Street artist Vladimir Grankovsky carefully adds the brushstrokes of the banned protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” and his painting of a pro-democracy protester standing in front of a full moon springs to life. The Ukrainian turns his finished work around for inspection by a crowd of around 20 people watching him […]
Hong Kong’s self-styled ‘voice of reason’ says Beijing-imposed electoral shake-up is ‘the worst’ things will get for the city
Pro-establishment lawmaker Michael Tien says that the centrally-imposed overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system is as far Beijing will go in terms of tightening its grip on the city, and that pragmatists like him will emerge as the biggest winners in a revamped Legislative Council (LegCo). “This is the worst [things will get],” Tien said […]
Canine crimewatch: New city-wide push aims to end Hong Kong’s dog poisoning shame
Morbid reminders of one of Hong Kong’s most notorious serial killers line Bowen Road, urging people to remain vigilant: “Beware of Dog Poisoning” read the signs. But after a recent spate of canine deaths, animal lovers have taken matters into their own hands by starting a “neighbourhood watch” group. Mia Fong founded Gamma.hkg — named […]
Transports of delight: Hong Kong bus fanatics rescue old seats and revamp them for the office
Hong Kong’s bus fanatics have a passion for spotting different models and collecting parts. Now three young men have taken their hobby to the next level – converting old bus seats into some of the most unique desk chairs in town. The makeover takes place in a 700-square feet workshop in Tuen Mun in the […]
Protest sketches by local artist not distributed in Hong Kong over security law fears
A book of sketches of the 2019 pro-democracy protests by local artist Fong So will not be distributed in Hong Kong for fear of the national security law, the artist told HKFP, saying freedom of the press and artistic expression are being eroded in the city. The work “A Defiant City: 239 sketches of Hong […]
Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 9
Nine months after it imposed controversial national security provisions on Hong Kong, Beijing has passed another law which will have lasting implications for the city – an election overhaul aimed at ensuring only “patriots” can administer the Special Administrative Region. Fears over increased cultural censorship have also emerged following a pledge by the city’s leader […]
Explainer: How Beijing cracked down on Hong Kong’s elections
On March 30, in a move they said was designed to ensure ”patriots” administered the city, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) in Beijing changed the annexes of the Basic Law to alter Hong Kong’s electoral system. Critics say the shake-up is a step backwards, reducing democratic representation. HKFP answers 10 key questions about […]
Hong Kong volunteers turn out to restore Happy Valley’s historic Hindu cemetery
For decades, the Hindu cemetery in Happy Valley, tucked behind the community’s large temple on Wong Nai Chung Road, had fallen into disrepair. Overgrown vegetation and dirt engulfed almost all the gravestones, some of which had come loose and sunk into the mud from years of erosion. The cemetery’s war memorial, honouring Indian soldiers who […]
The last merchants of Hong Kong’s Yue Man Square
“It was my father’s last wish for me to inherit the store,” says Mr. Hui, the owner of On Kee Leather Goods, one of the last remaining stores in Yue Man Square, Kwun Tong. Hui is one of just three remaining merchants and two tradesman in the square, after it was scheduled for redevelopment. Unveiled […]
HKFP Guide: Writing to prisoners in Hong Kong
There are currently over 200 pro-democracy figures behind bars or in custody, according to prisoners’ rights group Wall-fare. In all, there were – on average – 7,752 people serving time in Hong Kong in 2019, the latest year statistics are available. Many people choose to post letters to people within the Hong Kong prison system […]
‘Can’t touch this!’: Hong Kong artists reflect on how a pandemic changes lives
[Sponsored] The theme of WMA’s upcoming art exhibition is the Covid-19 pandemic. The title – “Can’t Touch This!” – is partly inspired by American rapper MC Hammer’s hit 1990 song U Can’t Touch This, as well as a parody version relating to coronavirus by a high school principal in Alabama. On the one hand, the title […]
Who were the democrats said to have attended the closed-door consultation on Hong Kong’s electoral overhaul?
A senior Beijing official says pan-democrats were among over 1,000 people consulted about Hong Kong’s planned electoral overhaul during a three- day closed-door event in the city. Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Zhang Xiaoming, who made the comment on Wednesday, did not name the opposition figures who were said to […]
The Hongkonger and her spouse struggling to save democracy in Myanmar
Hongkonger Zoe and her partner Hein – a citizen of Myanmar – decided back in 2014 to move from the United States to the Southeast Asian country in hopes it was ready to take off after almost half a century of military rule. The junta which had been in power since 1962 stepped aside to […]
Video: Clock ticking on Hong Kong’s landfills amid huge shortfall in recycling
By Geoffrey Knoell As Hong Kong’s population grows, so does the amount of waste generated. Landfills are reaching capacity, yet there is a still a huge shortfall in recycling. HKFP speaks to District Councillor Paul Zimmerman and Executive Council Convenor Bernard Chan about whether waste charging is the answer.
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