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 protests: Ebbing but maybe not ending
Analects, The Economist – THE number of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong has shrunk from tens of thousands at the demonstrations’ peak to a few hundred scattered across three districts of the city, as people return …
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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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Profile: Prominent figures in the Hong Kong democracy movement
Hong Kong (dpa) – Over the past week, thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong have blocked government buildings as well as major roads in five key districts of the Chinese territory. The protests have been …
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Hong Kong students shelve talks with government after mob attacks
By Joanna Chiu and Benjamin Garvey Hong Kong (dpa) – Protest leaders shelved scheduled talks with the Hong Kong government Friday after opponents to pro-democracy demonstrations destroyed a rally site and drove away protesters in …
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What Beijing really fears: Hong Kong protests spreading across the country
HONG KONG, GlobalPost — Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters turned their backs on the Chinese flag Wednesday morning as it was flown over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor in celebration of the country’s National Day holiday. Tens …
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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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Hong Kong protesters try to win over tourists
HONG KONG (AP) — The luxury boutiques of Hong Kong’s Tsim Shai Tsui district are so mobbed with vacationing Chinese customers that store owners have put up red velvet ropes to control the crowds. Pro-democracy …
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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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Chinese internet giant Alibaba launches Asia IPO roadshow
Hong Kong (dpa) – Chinese online retailer Alibaba Group kicked off its Asia roadshow Monday in Hong Kong, to promote an initial public offering that could become the biggest in history. The internet giant continues with a …
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Chipping In – Protests in Macau
The Economist – KNOWN for its casinos and conservative society, the city-state of Macau is a magnet for the rich in search of decadent fun. It is rarely the site of political protest. But on August 25th …
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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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Hong Kong’s politics: No paper tiger
Analects, The Economist – PEOPLE in Hong Kong have responded with alarm, and some defiance, to a white paper issued by China’s leaders about the city’s political future. In rallies outside Beijing’s representative office in Hong …
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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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Stop the Traffic
Commentary for Herizons magazine. Views expressed are my opinions only. Before I moved to Hong Kong, I had planned to write about the domestic helpers whose cheap live in labour helped the city’s economy flourish from …
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Hong Kong begins destruction of huge stockpile of seized ivory
Hong Kong (dpa) – In a bid to curb the illegal poaching of elephants, Hong Kong on Thursday began incinerating 28 tonnes of confiscated ivory, the largest amount destroyed anywhere in the world. Secretary for …
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Book Review: Leftover Women, by Leta Hong Fincher
Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China by Leta Hong Fincher Zed Books 4 stars Joanna Chiu In China’s biggest cities, well-educated women in their 20s are turning down promotions at work or …
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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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China tightens watch on growing e-commerce sector
E-commerce has been growing by leaps and bounds on the mainland but the laws regulating this sector are only just beginning to catch up. In the space of just three years, online sales on the …
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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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Bangkok residents debate democracy ahead of looming city shutdown
Reporter Joanna Chiu took to the streets to find out what city residents think of the latest political developments Thousands of anti-government protesters will march through Bangkok this week to build momentum ahead of their …
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Chat app accused of censoring Chinese users
Mobile phone users in Hong Kong may not be surprised to hear that one of the three most popular mobile-chat applications in Asia systematically censors politically-sensitive content and may also have network security flaws. A …
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Beijing’s antigraft crackdown forces foreign firms to rethink business practices in China
Creating guanxi – relationships or connections – used to be a reliable way for multinational firms to break into the China market. Several big names, including two of the world’s largest financial institutions – JPMorgan and Zurich …
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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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China’s emerging women’s movement
In the stifling heat of Shanghai last June, Xiaoyan walked through a subway passage wearing a black cotton sheath from head to toe with only her eyes showing. Her friend wore a black face covering …
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Business is buzzing for online sales of sex toys
With China expected to overtake the US in online spending this year, university graduates have found success by abandoning traditional career paths to start internet sex-toy companies. When Chris Wu was studying abroad at the …
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Lawyer provides advice to China’s LGBT community
Born in 1974 during the last days of the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Dan grew up in a society where being gay was regarded as a crime and a mental illness. Back then, the only information …
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China’s women professionals challenge workplace inequality
Women professionals on the mainland face more sex discrimination now than they did 20 years ago, studies say, and support groups inspired by Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In are sprouting up in Beijing …
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Weekend getaway to Taiwan’s east coast
Within a few hours of touching down in Taipei, my train pulls into a place where palm trees sway between rice paddies, and sloping mountain ranges trace the vibrant green coast. Minutes after stepping off the …
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Beijing can ‘help bring stability’ in Middle East
China stands a good chance of becoming an effective mediator in Middle East conflicts but its increasing importance in the region threatens America’s interests , a leading Middle East scholar and former adviser to US …
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Chinese gay rights forum breaks new ground
Gay rights have come a long way in the mainland since homosexuality was a crime, until 1997, or classified as a mental illness, until 2001. Last month, Beijing hosted its second annual conference for LGBT …
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China’s Constitutional Crisis
The Atlantic magazine — In 2008, a group of Chinese intellectuals drafted a manifesto demanding deep reforms and calling for the implementation of constitutionalism in China whereby the Party’s power would be restrained by a higher …
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Underground Christianity: Lamb of God
“You see: the more persecution, the more the church grows,” said Pastor Samuel Lamb in 1993. Before he was jailed for 20 years in 1958, fewer than 400 worshippers attended his underground church, Damazhan. When …
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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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Bo Xilai trial coverage
Follow SCMP’s live coverage here. My contributions to SCMP’s coverage: “Diehard supporters make their presence felt outside Jinan court” By Keith Zhai and Joanna Chiu A heavy police presence was not enough to stop some …
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Beijing tells Asean to be realistic in hopes for South China Sea code of conduct
All parties with territorial disputes over the South China Sea should have “realistic expectations” and take “a gradual approach” to a proposed code of conduct aimed at defusing maritime tensions in the region, China’s foreign …
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In China, ‘Leftover Women’ Get Plastic Surgery
Newsweek/The Daily Beast – Cosmetic procedures are exploding in China, as more and more women go under the knife to get ahead. Some pay fortunes to get their bones broken for longer legs. She asked …
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Exclusive: Bo Xilai’s son Bo Guagua continues his studies at Columbia University
Bo Guagua, the son of disgraced former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai, appears to be enrolled in the prestigious Columbia Law School at Columbia University, according to public records available on the school’s website. The …
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Africa and Latin America admire the Chinese – but majority don’t welcome their customs
China has worked to strengthen its economic presence in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America during the past decade, but while the majority of people in both regions appreciate the influx of Chinese science and technology, …
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Beijing moves to improve ties with India and Pakistan
When Beijing hosted both the Pakistani prime minister and Indian defence minister for rare back-to-back visits this month, many observers focused on how the meetings supported China’s bid to strengthen economic and military ties with …
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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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Students do holiday drill in the demilitarised zone
While Kim Jong-un was threatening America, HK school party on an eight-day trip to North Korea saw smiling faces … and lots of statues Most parents would probably hesitate about allowing their children to visit …
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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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Book review: Shanghai Lalas
Shanghai Lalas: Female Tongzhi Communities and Politics in Urban China by Lucetta Kam Yip-lo HKU Press This review was published on February 17, 2013 in the South China Morning Post The lives of lalas and transgender people …
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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 …
