20 Years, Covered
A look back at two decades of reporting in the city.
Since our inception way back in 1991, HK Magazine’s reporters have strived to bring you the stories that matter to people who love Hong Kong and care about the city we live in. Over the years, we’ve seen it all. In the 90s, we were here for the Asian Financial Crash, and we wore our red hats to commemorate the handover. We saw the city grind to a halt in the grip of SARS, and watched as everyone got into a flap over bird flu. We laughed as the Obscene Articles Tribunal tried to declare the Statue of David obscene, and cheered when Article 23 was shelved after a million-strong march in 2003. Now, we take a look back at some of the most important and memorable stories in our long history. Here’s to another 20 years.
Is Hong Kong Safe from AIDS?
November 1992
In the early 90s, the whole world was in the grip of AIDS panic. So little was known about the disease and fear and misinformation was rife. In Hong Kong especially, talk of such matters was considered taboo (remember, homosexuality was only legalized in 1991). HK Magazine confronted the issue head-on, got the facts behind the city’s infection rates and dispelled the myths surrounding the disease in one of the first stories to look the issue head-on in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s Monopolies
September 20, 1993
HK Magazine was only a couple of years out of the gate, but already the editors were going up against the big guns with this story about the business monopolies that run Hong Kong. Inside, the writer laid out exactly how many businesses the hongs—Swire, Jardine and Hutchinson—own, and how completely they permeate our daily lives. Though then-governor Chris Patten asked the Business Council to “put at the top of its agenda the development of a comprehensive competition policy for Hong Kong,” it seems that 17 years on, things are pretty much the same.
The Premier Issue
June 1991