Hong Kong - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Hong Kong has every right to implement the “long overdue” Article 23

THERE was a time, a time not too long ago, when Hong Kong was regarded as the outpost of the West on China’s door-step. And then, a little over 26 years ago, the stranglehold of the colonial masters – Great Britain – over Hong Kong came to an eventual end when the territory was handed over back to its rightful owners, the Peoples Republic of China. Under Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous rule, the Western interests gradually dissipated. Reports of the so-called “Hong Kong’s fall from grace” have become a constant in the Western mainstream media. At the heart of the negative…

Jan

2024

By JESSIE PANG and DOROTHY KAM

Hong Kong tycoon Lai pleads not guilty in national security trial

WORLD

HONG Kong tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty in a landmark trial, where he is accused of endangering China's national security, as prosecutors laid out details of what they said was collusion with foreign forces. Lai, a leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party, faces two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces - including calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials - under a China-imposed national security law. "Not guilty," Lai said three times as each charge was read, appearing calm as he sat in a glass dock surrounded by guards and a…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Singapore and Zurich world’s most expensive cities

WORLD

SINGAPORE and Zurich tied for the world's most expensive city this year, followed by Geneva, New York and Hong Kong, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said as it cautioned that the global cost-of-living crisis was not yet over. On average, prices have risen by 7.4% year on year in local currency terms for over 200 commonly used goods and services, a drop from the record 8.1% increase last year but still "significantly higher than the trend in 2017-2021," it said in a report. Singapore regained the top of the rankings for the ninth time in the past eleven years due…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Family and friends mourn murdered model in Hong Kong

WORLD

FAMILY and friends of Abby Choi, a Hong Kong model who was murdered in a gruesome case in February, gathered at a memorial hall in the city on Sunday to pay their final respects. The vigil took place at Po Fook Memorial Hall in the Tai Wai area of Sha Tin district, adhering to Buddhist traditions. The murder of the 28-year-old influencer shocked the world after parts of her remains were found in a village house in Hong Kong. A funeral ceremony on Monday morning will be followed by a cremation at a monastery on the city's Lantau Island. Thomson…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

‘So many bodies piled up’: Hong Kong funeral services overwhelmed by COVID

WORLD

JESSIE PANG TRADITIONAL wooden coffins are running short in Hong Kong as authorities scramble to add mortuary space in the global financial hub's battle against COVID-19, which is swamping funeral parlours. "I have never seen so many bodies piled up together," said funeral director Lok Chung, 37, who has been working round the clock, with about 40 funerals organised in March, up from roughly 15 in an average month. "I have never seen family members so upset, so disappointed, so helpless," Chung, wearing a sober grey suit with a black polo T-shirt, told Reuters. Since the fifth wave of coronavirus…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Hong Kong locks down thousands for compulsory COVID-19 testing

WORLD

CLARE JIM HONG KONG's government locked down an area of Kowloon peninsula yesterday after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, saying 10,000 residents must stay home until they have been tested and the results largely determined. The first such measure the city has taken since the pandemic began has occurred in the densely populated neighbourhoods of Jordan that is home to many ageing, subdivided flats in which the virus could spread more easily. The government said there are 70 buildings in the restricted area, which is close to the International Commerce Centre (ICC), and it aims to finish the process…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Hong Kong imposes 21-day quarantine for visitors, adds South Africa to banned list

COVID-19

HONG KONG has extended a compulsory quarantine by an extra seven days to 21 days for all visitors outside China, effective Friday, in stepped-up efforts to prevent a new variant of the novel coronavirus from spreading. Authorities also banned all people who have stayed in South Africa in the past 21 days from boarding for Hong Kong. Hong Kong has already banned all flights arriving from the United Kingdom from Monday and the city said on Wednesday two students who returned from the UK were likely to be infected with the new super-virulent strain of COVID-19. In a statement midnight…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE -U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown – sources

WORLD

HUMEYRA PAMUK and MATT SPETALNICK THE United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong, according to three sources, including a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The move, which could come as soon as Monday, will target officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as President Donald Trump's administration keeps up pressure on Beijing in his final weeks in office. President-elect Joe Biden takes over on January 20. The State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Germany criticizes China for dismissal of Hong Kong opposition lawmakers

WORLD

GERMANY, holder of the European Union's rotating presidency, has criticized China for the dismissal of several pro-democracy opposition lawmakers from the city assembly in Hong Kong. A foreign ministry spokesman said the decision to remove four opposition members of Hong Kong's legislative council was the latest step of a "deeply worrying" trend which was aimed at undermining pluralism and freedom of expression. The Chinese parliament earlier adopted a resolution allowing the city's executive to expel lawmakers deemed to be advocating Hong Kong independence, colluding with foreign forces or threatening national security, without having to go through the courts. Shortly afterwards,…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters march to oppose postponed elections, new law

WORLD

JESSIE PANG HUNDREDS of protesters took to the streets in the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong on Sunday to demonstrate against a new national security law imposed by China and the postponement of legislative elections. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam postponed the September 6 election for seats in the city's Legislative Council for a year in July because of a spike in coronavirus cases. The move dealt a blow to the pro-democracy opposition who hoped to win a historic majority in the Council, where only half the seats are directly elected and the other half are appointed members who…