Hong Kong (AFP) – On a winding Hong Kong street where shops keep a dizzying array of dried produce, one highly valued ingredient is still being sold despite being subject to an international ban: deep-fried …
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Hong Kong shops defy ban on trade in pangolin scales
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China mulls three years’ jail for anthem disrespect
Beijing (AFP) – Disrespecting China’s national anthem could carry a prison sentence of up to three years under a new draft law amendment, which may also affect Hong Kong and Macau, state media reported Tuesday. …
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Dark days for China’s democracy dream
Beijing/Hong Kong (AFP) – The death of Liu Xiaobo deprives China’s dissident movement of a crucial figurehead at a time when political activism on the mainland is being forced ever deeper underground, and pro-democracy forces …
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Hong Kong’s allure fading in mainland China
Beijing (AFP) – When Naomi Wu was a teenager, she and her friends would ride the train from mainland China to Hong Kong several times a year to shop for clothes and designer handbags. But …
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Hong Kong’s cultural influence on mainland China in decline
Beijing (dpa) – In Beijing’s main entertainment district, few people spending a recent afternoon shopping and snacking were able to name more than a few currently active Hong Kong actors or singers. Most could only …
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The one and many ways of being Chinese
This is the first in a series of essays for SupChina, a new platform featuring original reporting, commentary and a daily newsletter on China’s business, political and cultural news. SupChina – Although I possess only a Canadian …
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Hong Kong could withdraw from UN torture convention, leader suggests
By Christy Choi with reporting from Joanna Chiu Hong Kong (dpa) – Chief Executive CY Leung’s suggestion that he would consider removing Hong Kong as a signatory to an international torture convention has set off …
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South China Morning Post CEO confirms talks over possible sale
By Christy Choi and Joanna Chiu, dpa Hong Kong (dpa) – The venerable Hong Kong-based English broadsheet South China Morning Post confirmed it is in talks to sell stakes in the paper with a yet unidentified interested …
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What next for Hong Kong’s democracy movement?
Hong Kong (dpa) – Hong Kong lawmakers on Thursday successfully blocked a Beijing-backed election reform package that triggered the biggest unrest in years in the Chinese territory. Legislators voted to reject the controversial plan that …
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Here’s what’s next for Hong Kong’s embattled democracy movement
GlobalPost — Pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong have entered their third month, with protesters in parkas and toques now camped under Christmas lights. But while some vow to step up confrontations with police, protest leaders are …
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Hong Kong’s protests: Poor conversation
The city’s leader suggests democracy could give the poor too much power From the print edition, The Economist – IT WAS a scene that must have made China’s leaders squirm with uncomfortable memories. On October 21st senior …
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Hong Kong’s protests: Chipping away
From the print edition, The Economist – MORE than two weeks after failing to shift pro-democracy protesters with tear gas and pepper spray, police in Hong Kong have begun to step up pressure on the …
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Police and pro-democracy protesters clash in Hong Kong
Hong Kong (dpa) – Police were struggling to keep crowds off main roads in Hong Kong late Friday after nearly three weeks of demonstrations for open elections in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Protesters in the “Occupy” movement used …
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More argy-bargy: Hong Kong heats up again
The Economist, Analects – MASKED men attacked pro-democracy protesters for the second time in as many weeks on the morning of October 13th in Hong Kong’s Admiralty business district. The scuffles prompted bankers walking to work …
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Thousands return to Hong Kong streets in protest
Sylvia Hui and Joanna Chiu, Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Thousands of protesters poured into a main road in Hong Kong for a pro-democracy rally late Friday, reviving a civil disobedience movement a day …
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Hong Kong street brawl reveals limits of protest leadership
A large but mostly ‘leaderless’ movement is struggling to control supporters scattered throughout the city Al Jazeera America – Hong Kong protest leaders watched helplessly from afar as hostile mobs destroyed encampments and attacked demonstrators in …
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Protesters to HK boss: Quit or we occupy buildings
HONG KONG, Associated Press — Student leaders of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong warned Wednesday that if the territory’s leader doesn’t resign by the end of Thursday they will step up their actions, including occupying …
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Pro-democracy “Umbrella Revolution” spreads in Hong Kong
By Joanna Chiu with reporting from Erin Hale, dpa Hong Kong (dpa) – Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong said Monday they would continue their occupation of key parts of the metropolis, despite warnings from officials …
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Hong Kong Activists Start Bigger Protest Amid Standoff
By Joanna Chiu and Kelvin Chan for the Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong activists kicked off a long-threatened mass civil disobedience protest Sunday to challenge Beijing over restrictions on voting reforms, escalating …
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Hong Kong students on strike
See more of my coverage of Hong Kong and Macau for The Economist here. THOUSANDS of students in Hong Kong are boycotting classes this week to lie on sprawling lawns outside government headquarters and discuss topics such as “post-totalitarianism” and George Orwell’s …
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Hong Kong’s unofficial poll: The votes are in
Analects, The Economist – ORGANISERS announced on Sunday night that nearly 800,000 Hong Kong people had voted in a 10-day unofficial referendum to pressure Beijing to allow “genuine” universal suffrage in the city’s next elections. …
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Hong Kong referendum: Voting to vote
Analects, The Economist – MORE than 400,000 votes were cast online Friday in the first day of an unofficial city-wide referendum on democratic reforms in Hong Kong, according to organisers, who have alleged that forces …
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Bitcoin in Hong Kong: Still different
The Economist, print edition – INSIDE the world’s first Bitcoin store in Hong Kong, a visitor from Tokyo hands over a wad of thousand-dollar bills and waits for a clerk to process the transaction on …
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Where the Flame Still Burns
The Economist – DESPITE choking heat, a record number of more than 180,000 people gathered in Hong Kong tonight, according to organisers, for the annual candlelit vigil to remember people killed when the Chinese armed forces suppressed the …
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Remembering Tiananmen Square
The Economist, Analects–HONG Kong is braced for what may be the most politically charged protest since May 21st, 1989, when 1.5m people flooded the streets. That was eight years before the city returned to Chinese rule, …
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Journalism in Hong Kong: Beat the Press
From the print edition of The Economist – As he got out of his car on the morning of February 26th Kevin Lau Chun-to was approached by a man who stabbed him in the back and …
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Erwiana Sulistyaningsih abuse case
Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih returned home with “cuts, burns and bruises” all over her body on January 10, and has since accused her Hong Kong employer of inflicting the abuse. Police investigations have been …
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Exclusive: Money still can’t buy my love, says Gigi Chao after tycoon father doubles ‘dowry’ to HK$1b
Even a billion dollars would not be enough to find a man that Gigi Chao, the lesbian daughter of property tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung, would be willing to marry. “I don’t think my dad’s offering …
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Indonesian helper, 23, in critical condition after alleged beatings by Hong Kong employers
Hong Kong police have refused to pursue an investigation into the case of an Indonesian domestic helper who has been left in a critical condition after she was allegedly abused and beaten by her Hong …
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Boomtown for bitcoin?
With its appetite for entrepreneurship, cryptocurrency experts argue, Hong Kong is uniquely placed to exploit disruptive financial technologies. By Joanna Chiu and Danny Lee When 16-year-old Casper Cheng Tsz-chun of the New Territories started creating, …
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Chinese firms in Hong Kong ‘more open to diversity’
As mainland firms continue to expand into Hong Kong, leading female professionals say this offers an opportunity for more women here to earn seats in the boardroom. “Companies in China tend to learn very quickly …
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Hong Kong’s parallel trade: days of wine and milk powder
The Economist – Wine and milk, it really should go without saying, do not mix. These days bountiful supplies of both are sloshing about in Hong Kong, a special administrative region which enjoys lean rates of taxation on its …
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Hong Kong Silent on Snowden Extradition
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether a former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some local …
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Snowden says US targets included China cell phones
HONG KONG (AP) — A former National Security Agency contractor says that U.S. hacking targets in China included the nation’s mobile-phone companies and two universities hosting extensive Internet traffic hubs in the latest allegations as …
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Asylum plea by Snowden would not be fast-tracked, says UN refugee office
Edward Snowden will not be given preferential treatment if he applies for asylum in Hong Kong, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ office. And an asylum seeker warned Snowden may face a …
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Chief prosecutor Kevin Zervos urges victim ‘compassion’ for some first-time sex offenders
The city’s chief prosecutor says victims of indecent assault in some cases should show their attackers compassion if it is their first offence. “Men will actually respect women more if they see women showing compassion …
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Dealer who can make or break a family’s fortune: William Chak
Hongkonger William Chak Kin-man, who last month set a world record when he paid HK$74 million for a porcelain bowl that dates back about 300 years, is a celebrity on the mainland. Wherever he goes, …
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Exclusive: Hong Kong freemasons angered by cash controversy ‘cover-up’ / Assault trial of Freemason in 2012 ‘unusual’
“Hong Kong freemasons angered by cash controversy ‘cover-up'” Published in the South China Morning Post on April 28, 2013. It is an organisation synonymous with secrecy, but one trying hard to change its image. However, confidential documents …
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How HK$500 million manhunt led to a new Gigi Chao
After her father’s dowry offer became a global sensation, the low-key executive was forced out of the closet – emerging as a powerful activist This was published in the South China Morning Post on April …
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Unlucky in love…or just left out of the market?
The number of never-married women has increased in both Shanghai and Hong Kong over the last decade. But while these so-called leftover women are largely derided on the mainland, attitudes are different here, according to …
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Exclusive: Psychologists say quacks are posing as counsellors
Impostors are passing themselves off as psychologists and the government is doing nothing to stop them, advocates for the profession warn. “Anyone can call themselves a counsellor or a psychologist in Hong Kong,” said Dr …
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Treatment of torture claimants in breach of laws and treaties
Landmark ruling by top court over way torture claimants are screened when seeking sanctuary could lead to hundreds of cases being re-opened This was published in the Sunday Morning Post on January 27, 2013. The …
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Refugees at their wits’ end without status in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’ refusal to accede to the UN Refugee Convention is forcing asylum seekers into an existence of suffering and despair, critics say This Focus story was published in the Sunday Morning Post on Dec. …
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“SlutWalk” march challenges bias about rape victims
This was published in the South China Morning Post on November 26, 2012. Hundreds of conservatively dressed men and women marched yesterday in “SlutWalk”, a protest against social attitudes that blame victims of sexual assault …
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Larvotto, The Arch residents unhappy with response to window falls
This article was published in the South China Morning Post on October 24, 2012. Residents living in fear of breaking windows in two luxury high-rise apartment complexes say the Buildings Department and developers have ignored …
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Exclusive: Residents of luxury Hong Kong high rise terrified by falling panes of glass
This was published in the South China Morning Post on October 10, 2012. By Joanna Chiu and Amy Nip Residents in a luxury complex in Ap Lei Chau have threatened to withhold their rental payments …
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Oiling the wheels of China-Africa trade
This feature story, co-written with Lilly Zhang, was published in the South China Morning Post on August 23, 2012. Hong Kong will be a crucial cog in China-Africa ties–but it has to work on bridging …
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The Squalid Truth
We’ve all heard about the miserable lives of people in subdivided flats. But Joanna Chiu decided to go further. She realised she could only really understand the problem by moving in herself This was published …
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Most helpers in debt, charity’s surveys find
This was published in the South China Morning Post on July 31, 2012. Foreign domestic workers arrive in Hong Kong hoping that if they work hard and save their money they can return home with enough savings …
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Leading women in Hong Kong ponder the political glass ceiling
This was published in the South China Morning Post on July 27, 2012 A panel of leading local women discussed the “glass ceiling” that limits women’s roles in Hong Kong politics, touching on Margaret Thatcher …
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Helpers demand right to live away from employers
This was published in the South China Morning Post on July 12, 2012. Photo gallery to come. Domestic workers complained of being treated like “slaves” yesterday as they protested against a ban on living outside their employers’ homes, …
