The best original reporting from the Hong Kong Free Press team.
LATEST
Exclusive: Hongkongers are on the right side of history, says artist Ai Weiwei – ‘I am very proud of them’
Hong Kong artists can still find ways to express themselves despite the challenges posed by growing political censorship, leading Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei believes. After years of delay, the city is set to open its M+ museum, touted as Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture, on November 12 as part of the […]
Hongkongers have renewed passion for live music after Covid closures, says singer Cehryl ahead of Clockenflap gig
Multi-talented singer-songwriter-producer Cehryl is set to appear with a full band at Clockenflap’s day-long mini-festival in the heart of the city this Saturday. The Hong Kong-born singer holds a unique place in the local music scene with her dreamy, reflective, genre-bending beats. The 25-year-old moved back home in 2019 after studying music and performing in […]
Exclusive: Wikipedia bans 7 mainland Chinese power users over ‘infiltration and exploitation’ in unprecedented clampdown
The foundation that oversees Wikipedia has taken unprecedented action to ban seven mainland Chinese users from its websites globally and revoke administrator access and other privileges for 12 other users, following an HKFP report of alleged threats to Hong Kong users. HKFP revealed in July that mainland Chinese Wikipedia editors allegedly threatened to report Hong […]
Hong Kong green groups say rare porpoise threatened by construction off Lantau, gov’t urged to close permit ‘loophole’
Vulnerable finless porpoise in Hong Kong may be driven away from their “favourite habitat” by construction work for an incinerator off southern Lantau, local green groups have warned. The concerns came as the government is set to allow work on four submarine cables to take place during the marine mammals’ peak season, despite such timing […]
INTERVIEWS
‘No remorse’: Raphael Wong, the jailed Hong Kong democrat who refuses to stay silent
“Your Honour, I have nothing to be ashamed of and no remorse for what I did on that day.” With those bold words spoken in a courtroom last month, Raphael Wong, former leader of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), made it clear that he was not about to compromise his beliefs to catch a […]
Interview: Kiwi Chow sees his Cannes protest doc as an ’emotional vent’ for Hongkongers
Hong Kong director Kiwi Chow, who startled the city by premiering protest documentary Revolution of Our Times at the Cannes Festival last month, said he wants his film to act as an “emotional vent” for Hongkongers amid “trauma” from the 2019 unrests and fears arising from the national security law. The 152-minute documentary, which chronicled […]
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‘A breath of relief’: Hong Kong exile artists find their feet, and a way forward, in Taiwan
Like so many others in recent months, manga artist Tony Lau Kwong-shing packed up his Hong Kong life this summer and bid his friends and family farewell. The moment he touched down on Taiwanese soil “was a breath of relief,” said the 31-year-old, who arrived in Taipei in mid-July. He had been very open about […]
Hong Kong’s community newspapers scramble to overcome loss of district council support
Inside his 60-square-feet bedroom, Hongkonger Gavin Liu found it almost impossible to move: The narrow space between his bed and the door was crammed with 6,000 copies of the latest edition of Northbound. The North District community newspaper, led by Liu as the editor-in-chief, is among dozens of small local publications that sprang up in […]
Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 14
After 14 months under Hong Kong’s national security law, critics say that civil society is crumbling – a charge Chief Executive Carrie Lam denied on Tuesday. Nevertheless, in the space of a month, the city’s largest teachers’ union and its largest pro-democracy coalition have disbanded, university student leaders have been charged with “advocating terrorism,” and the […]
Small businesses fear a struggle to survive when Hong Kong factory estates are knocked down for housing
Many small businesses fear they will struggle to survive after the Hong Kong government announced plans to demolish four public factory estates with over 2,000 tenants to build public housing. Tenants of Sui Fai Factory Estate in Fo Tan, Yip On Factory Estate in Kowloon Bay, Wang Cheong Factory Estate in Cheung Sha Wan, and […]
Hong Kong’s Central Market comes back to life but conservationist takes issue with ‘gentrification’
Hong Kong has reopened one of its oldest wet markets after three years of construction, rehabilitation and preservation costing more than HK$500 million so far, but one leading local conservationist has given it only a guarded welcome. The Central Market Revitalisation Project has sparked controversy since it was announced by the then-chief executive Donald Tsang […]
Hong Kong’s leading paralympic contender hopes the city has room for another round of athletic heroes
Hong Kong para badminton player Daniel Chan Ho-yuen has set his heart on clinching a historic medal in Tokyo. He hopes Hongkongers who cheered on local athletes during the city’s best-ever medal haul at the Olympic Games will extend their support to para athletes as well. The grand opening ceremony of the quadrennial Paralympic Games, […]
‘It’s about self-censorship’: Hong Kong counsellors struggle to navigate security law concerns
The Beijing-imposed national security law in force for over a year has cast a shadow over many professions in Hong Kong. Teachers and lawyers are coming under increasing pressure from authorities on how to behave, while civil servants and district councillors must swear oaths of allegiance to the government. Some clinical psychologists and school counsellors […]
Concerns over cushy land deals for private clubs spark new probe into city’s oldest sporting association
Like many other private clubs in the city, Hong Kong’s largest non-profit sports club, the South China Athletic Association (SCAA), operates on heavily subsidised land granted by the government. One of the key conditions connected to such favourable treatment is to promote sport in the city, something the SCAA has contributed to over the years. […]
Shifting narratives: How the Hong Kong gov’t attitude to July 1 protest organiser soured over the years
Hong Kong’s umbrella pro-democracy protest coalition the Civil Human Rights Front announced its final shut down on Sunday. The decision to draw the curtain came after the city’s police chief said some protests it organised in recent years may have violated the national security law, even though the group had – for years – cooperated […]
Analysis: How almost everyone running for Hong Kong’s new election committee will get a seat automatically
Almost everyone running for the Hong Kong electoral body which has the power to select the city’s next chief executive and its lawmakers will effectively be elected automatically, an analysis by HKFP has revealed. Also, according to a veteran political analyst, the recent Beijing-inspired overhaul of the city’s electoral system has ensured that coordination among […]
Filling the vacuum left by the filleting of local Hong Kong politics
By Amelia Chan The words “District Councillor” on the front door of Matthew Lam’s office have been covered up. On July 8, he resigned over concerns that – as a result of a new government-imposed oath-taking requirement – the authorities might demand repayment of the salary he has earned during 18 months in elected office. […]
Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 13
The start of the second year under the national security law has seen a man sentenced to nine years in prison, a national security police raid on another university, and five people arrested over a series of “seditious” children’s picture books about sheep. HKFP continues its roundup on how the city’s space for dissent is […]
Senior pilots say Cathay contracts amount to age discrimination
Senior pilots have accused Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific airline of age discrimination after they were made to sign one of two versions of a work contract with differing retirement ages — or face termination — last October, as the airline tightened its belt amid the Covid pandemic. They said the practice meant pilots have been […]
Interview: How YouTube meditation vids helped Hong Kong’s Edgar Cheung become Olympic fencing champion
Hong Kong men’s foil fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long – who became an Olympic champion in Tokyo on Monday, ending the city’s 25-year gold medal drought – credits meditation for the feat which has made him a household name. Fervent crowds in Hong Kong hailed the 24-year-old as a “Fencing God” and marvelled at his ability […]
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