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Olivia Rosenman

Olivia Rosenman

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Wei Jingsheng, the Chinese human rights activist, was released from jail on this day in 1997 and promptly deported to the United States on medical parole, never to return to China.

Frederick Lugard, a British soldier and mercenary famed for his exploration of Africa, also did a stint in Hong Kong, serving as governor in the early 20th century.

As the rugged Eddard Stark so often says in fantasy television show Game of Thrones, "Winter is coming."

The American humorist talks about how he doesn't like Chinese food, progressing from a typist to a writer, reading out loud, and spitting on the floor  

Sir Henry Pottinger, whose name has been immortalised by the steep, stone-stepped street in Central, served as the first governor of Hong Kong. It was Pottinger who led the Royal Navy to victory in Humen, Canton, ending the first opium war and prompting the Treaty of Nanking. The agreement was inked 172 years and two days ago, on August 29, 1842. What is less known is that the lieutenant general and baronet hailed from County Down, in Northern Ireland. The coastal county was namechecked in the song Around the World, which was a chart-topper in 1957 for Bing Crosby …

Hong Kong has a protective system of defences to weather tropical cyclones. These defences continue to evolve, which is vitally important because experts predict the city will see even fiercer storms in the coming decades that will test engineering skills.

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