https://www.scmp.com/rss/143229/feed Joanna Chiu is a contributor to Goldthread. She's been based out of Beijing and Hong Kong as a foreign correspondent covering social issues, politics and culture in China for AFP and DPA, and has written for outlets like The Economist, Foreign Policy, South China Morning Post, Quartz, and Mashable, among others. She is the chair of NüVoices, an editorial collective celebrating the work of women writers and creators on China subjects. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Fangfang Chen’s son and daughter expected her to stay home in smoggy Beijing and provide on-call babysitting when they had children of their own—but she had other ideas. She and her husband headed south. “The retirement age in China is so early—55 for women, and 60 for men. What should we do with all this time? Better go on vacation!” Chen told Goldthread. Inhaling deeply, the 63-year-old former accountant stretched her arms high above her head in a lush garden. We were at one of the “Longevity... https://www.scmp.com/travel/people-village-are-living-super-long/article/2161859?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/people-village-are-living-super-long/article/2161859?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Aug 2018 09:15:15 +0000 At 5:30 am, Rong Jinhua ties her apron behind her back and bends over a charcoal-fired stove in the small kitchen, checking that her gravy base for today’s bowls of Guilin rice noodles is slow-boiled to perfection. Rong runs a little one-room restaurant in Yangshuo, a county in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi. Each noodle shop’s gravy recipes are closely guarded secrets. Rong’s version boasts over 20 different ingredients and spices, ratios of which she has continuously tweaked since she... https://www.scmp.com/food/what-goes-20-ingredient-bowl-soft-rice-noodles/article/2156494?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/what-goes-20-ingredient-bowl-soft-rice-noodles/article/2156494?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jul 2018 08:45:00 +0000 The roll-out of a new system to screen refugees is mired in confusion and a lack of transparency, says a report out today. More than half of 260 protection seekers canvassed say they urgently need clarification on how to file a claim, according to  Justice Centre Hong Kong, formerly the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre. "No one knows how the new system  works and we're so afraid about our futures,"  asylum seeker Ansaari, from Somalia, said. "My first priority was to survive so I ran here, but... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1516770/refugee-screening-system-slammed-confusing-shambles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1516770/refugee-screening-system-slammed-confusing-shambles?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 May 2014 20:45:00 +0000 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 even quitting their jobs, fearing they might become too old or too successful to find a husband. Their insecurities are stoked by government campaigns accusing single women of being sexual degenerates with unrealistically high expectations of men. Tsinghua University sociologist Leta... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1502526/book-review-leftover-women-leta-hong-fincher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1502526/book-review-leftover-women-leta-hong-fincher?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 May 2014 05:55:44 +0000 Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih said yesterday that she would not be travelling to New York for an event organised by Time to celebrate being named among the magazine's 100 most influential people in the world this year - as she cannot afford the trip. Erwiana, 23, has gone from being the alleged victim of abuse at the home of her Hong Kong employer to being listed alongside Pope Francis, Russian President Vladimir Putin and American pop star Beyonce as a global... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1496761/erwiana-named-one-worlds-100-most-influential-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1496761/erwiana-named-one-worlds-100-most-influential-people?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Apr 2014 08:30:15 +0000 The head of the association representing the world's newspapers told an international conference in Hong Kong yesterday that he was concerned about the decline of press freedom in the city and said the government must act to ensure a "free and independent society". Tomas Brunegård described freedom of expression as a basic human right and called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to "take firm actions to safeguard press freedom". His comments came a day after the release of a study indicating... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1495754/world-newspaper-association-chief-concerned-about-press-freedom-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1495754/world-newspaper-association-chief-concerned-about-press-freedom-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Apr 2014 04:20:09 +0000 Rights group Vision First says a defamation lawsuit filed against it by a government contractor is a welcome opportunity for public scrutiny of the contractor's work with asylum seekers. International Social Service Hong Kong Branch (ISS-HK) holds a contract from the Social Welfare Department to fulfil the government's legal responsibility of providing basic food and housing support to asylum seekers. Vision First and other groups have for months accused ISS-HK of failing to live up to its... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1489965/asylum-seeker-group-says-defamation-case-chance-probe-welfare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1489965/asylum-seeker-group-says-defamation-case-chance-probe-welfare?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Apr 2014 21:27:28 +0000 The next stop might be “Horse Urine” or “Oil Pond’ depending on how literal you want your MTR journey to be. Justin Cheuk, a 20-year-old London-based university student, has created an alternative Hong Kong MTR map with station names translated literally into English that has gone viral on the internet. “A few were quite difficult to translate. And there were a few where, once I figured out what they meant, I was quite surprised,” said Cheuk. He decided to create the map earlier this month when... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1482796/student-minds-language-gap-mtr-station-names?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1482796/student-minds-language-gap-mtr-station-names?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Apr 2014 03:53:40 +0000 The creator of an alternative map of Hong Kong's MTR system, where Cantonese names are translated into their literal English versions, is looking for help with tricky translations so he can update his work. Justin Cheuk, 20, who is studying international relations at Durham University in the UK, created the map earlier this month when it occurred to him that the origin of the names of many MTR stations were a mystery to non-Chinese speakers It has since attracted thousands of views to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1482767/nine-dragons-bamboo-basket-bay-what-hong-kongs-mtr-station-names-mean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1482767/nine-dragons-bamboo-basket-bay-what-hong-kongs-mtr-station-names-mean?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Apr 2014 03:30:45 +0000 More questions emerged yesterday about how Indonesian authorities are treating former domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, whose Hong Kong employer is being prosecuted for allegedly abusing her. Erwiana's supporters yesterday accused Jakarta's Ministry of Foreign Affairs of pressuring her to appoint a lawyer from the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong. The accusations came a day after they claimed Erwiana was being "held hostage" in the consulate after arriving in Hong Kong to give evidence... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1471774/erwiana-supporters-accuse-indonesia-pressuring-her-appoint-consulate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1471774/erwiana-supporters-accuse-indonesia-pressuring-her-appoint-consulate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2014 11:45:00 +0000 Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, the domestic helper allegedly abused by her employer, returned to Hong Kong yesterday afternoon to help with evidence in the trial. Her return was marred by a disagreement at the airport about where she would stay. At one point, Erwiana and her lawyer refused to leave the terminal for the Indonesian consulate. We don’t know why [officials] are putting so much pressure on [Erwiana] EMAN VILLANUEVA Police allegedly told them if they did not co-operate they would be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1466985/erwiana-returns-hong-kong-looking-healthy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1466985/erwiana-returns-hong-kong-looking-healthy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Apr 2014 06:45:30 +0000 They were armed, but not very dangerous.With pillows at the ready, some still in their pyjamas, they marched into battle. An hour later it was all over. There were no winners and no losers, just scores of happy faces. The city's fourth annual Pillow Fight Day was held on Saturday, attracting several hundred people to Chater Garden in Central in the biggest turnout yet. Tom Grundy, 31, a local blogger who organised the event, said: "It's a nonsensical, noncommercial, non-political expression of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1466824/flurry-feathers-hundreds-join-hong-kongs-annual-pillow-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1466824/flurry-feathers-hundreds-join-hong-kongs-annual-pillow-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Apr 2014 01:15:45 +0000 Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, the domestic helper allegedly abused by her employer, will return to Hong Kong next week to help with evidence for the woman's trial. "According to Erwiana's lawyer in Indonesia, Hong Kong police asked Erwiana to return for a medical examination in Hong Kong. She will be here from April 7 to April 13," said Eni Lestari, spokeswoman for the Justice for Erwiana and All Migrant Domestic Workers Committee. Ramon Bultron of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants said Erwiana... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1463947/erwiana-return-hong-kong-assist-assault-case-against-former-employer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1463947/erwiana-return-hong-kong-assist-assault-case-against-former-employer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Apr 2014 10:45:07 +0000 Attacks on high profile Hong Kong media figures have had a “chilling effect” on both local and foreign media, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club has warned. Francis Moriarty, head of the FCC’s press freedom committee, urged overseas governments to watch, monitor and comment on the situation, though he conceded there was little they could do to protect journalists in Hong Kong. His comments followed an assault on two senior executives of Hong Kong Morning News Media Group by masked men in broad... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1462469/foreign-journalists-call-greater-international-scrutiny-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1462469/foreign-journalists-call-greater-international-scrutiny-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Apr 2014 08:48:22 +0000 Furious passengers were forced to spend the night on a grounded plane with little food and water after it was diverted from Hong Kong to Shenzhen due to Sunday's violent storms. The Dragonair flight from Shanghai, with around 250 passengers and 15 crew on board, was due to land in Hong Kong just after 9.30pm on Sunday. Bad weather forced pilots to divert the plane to nearby Shenzhen. But on the tarmac, the passengers were barred from leaving as the airport's terminals were already full of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1461715/fury-hong-kong-bound-passengers-forced-spend-night-plane-grounded?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1461715/fury-hong-kong-bound-passengers-forced-spend-night-plane-grounded?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:26:15 +0000 Hong Kong's laws on human trafficking are too narrow and fragmented to protect victims, says a report published today. It says the city's focus on trafficking for prostitution means it is failing to address the wider problem of forced labour. The report, by the Justice Centre Hong Kong and Liberty Asia, says the government should broaden its definition of trafficking and pass comprehensive new laws to stamp out the practice. "As an important regional hub and both a destination and transit... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1455777/hong-kong-under-fire-human-trafficking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1455777/hong-kong-under-fire-human-trafficking?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Mar 2014 21:30:15 +0000 The University of Hong Kong and support groups will use a US$3 million grant from Google to gather evidence to prosecute employment agencies and moneylenders who exploit domestic helpers and harass employers. Researchers led by anti-slavery charity Liberty Asia are building a high-technology cloud database to collect past and future cases of abuse from groups that assist domestic helpers. If they discover evidence or patterns of abuse, they will share their findings with Hong Kong authorities to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1454451/hku-and-anti-slavery-charity-liberty-asia-combine-fight-helper-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1454451/hku-and-anti-slavery-charity-liberty-asia-combine-fight-helper-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:45:00 +0000 Dozens of protesters, some dressed in Red Guard uniforms, marched through Mong Kok yesterday urging mainland visitors to "love their country and party" - and stay at home. They waved copies of Mao's "little red book" and chanted slogans like, "Love your motherland, use products that are made in China" as they gathered at the sitting-out area in Dundas Street. Some also waved Chinese and Communist Party flags. They said the aim of the march was to reignite patriotic feelings in mainlanders. "If... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1444313/parody-protesters-march-urge-mainlanders-reignite-their-patriotism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1444313/parody-protesters-march-urge-mainlanders-reignite-their-patriotism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Mar 2014 08:54:23 +0000 A draft law which would force transgender people to undergo full sex-change surgery before marrying in their chosen gender is too “simplistic” and “restrictive”, the Equal Opportunities Commission says.  The Security Bureau introduced the proposed amendment to the Marriage Ordinance last Friday in response to last year’s landmark Court of Final Appeal ruling granting a woman born a man the right to marry.  If passed, the amendment would write into law the government policy of recognising... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1440988/transgenders-should-not-have-undergo-sex-change-getting-married-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1440988/transgenders-should-not-have-undergo-sex-change-getting-married-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Mar 2014 04:00:00 +0000 The government is poised to stoke a public debate on whether transgender people unwilling to undergo full sex-change surgery should have the same rights as "post-operative" transsexuals. On Friday, the Security Bureau published a bill to amend the city's marriage ordinance - the first concrete action taken since last year's landmark Court of Final Appeal ruling granted a male-to-female transgender person known only as W the right to wed her boyfriend. If passed, the bill would enshrine in law a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1438216/draft-law-define-who-transgender-expected-provoke-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1438216/draft-law-define-who-transgender-expected-provoke-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Mar 2014 21:30:30 +0000 Hong Kong will overhaul its regulatory system for foreign domestic helpers and revise punishments for unscrupulous employment agencies that are currently set "too low", the labour and welfare secretary told the South China Morning Post on Thursday. The Labour Department would step up surveillance of agencies and hire "retired police officers to join the ranks of inspectors to show the bad apples we mean business", added Matthew Cheung Kin-chung. Before helpers come, they are often already... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1436581/hong-kongs-maid-agencies-face-tough-new-rules-after-erwiana-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1436581/hong-kongs-maid-agencies-face-tough-new-rules-after-erwiana-case?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:15:30 +0000 The first group of maids hired from Myanmar arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, pronouncing themselves happy and excited to be in the city but saddled with a HK$16,000 agency debt that will take half their salaries for the first year. For many of the 19 domestic workers from the former closed state, it was the first time they had set foot outside their country. "I wanted to come here because I need money for my family. I made US$150 (HK$1,150) a month at home in a hotel as a receptionist," Thida... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1433980/pictures-first-domestic-workers-myanmar-arrive-hong-kong-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1433980/pictures-first-domestic-workers-myanmar-arrive-hong-kong-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:15:30 +0000 After cavorting about on the roofs of 15 skyscrapers in Hong Kong, including the 78-storey, 374metre-high Central Plaza in Wan Chai, two daredevils from Ukraine and Russia plan to return to the city next month to get to the roof of the IFC, some 400 metres above ground. Thrillseekers Vitaliy Raskalov, 21, and Vadim Makhorov, 24, have taken photographs and videos atop some of the most famous landmarks on the planet, including the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids of Giza. This month, a video showing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1432776/hong-kong-youve-never-seen-it-daredevil-duo-scale-citys-highest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1432776/hong-kong-youve-never-seen-it-daredevil-duo-scale-citys-highest?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2014 13:30:00 +0000 Lawmakers and 67 local advocacy groups have cast doubt on Hong Kong's progress in meeting its international obligations to improve women's rights. The comments came in a report to the United Nations ahead of a review of the city's progress on meeting the provisions of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.  The report was coordinated by the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor.  "Hong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1432047/report-un-casts-doubt-progress-womens-rights-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1432047/report-un-casts-doubt-progress-womens-rights-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:15:45 +0000 Defying the rains, protesters gathered outside Commercial Radio's offices in Hong Kong early in the morning to demand an explanation as to why host Li Wei-ling, who had been critical of the government, was fired. Li's sacking came less than three months after she was bumped off the prime-time breakfast slot On A Clear Day and asked to move back to the less prominent Tipping Point programme which she had joined early in her career with the company. 9am: Around 20 members of the NeoDemocrats and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1426971/protesters-demand-answers-after-commercial-radio-host-li-wei-ling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1426971/protesters-demand-answers-after-commercial-radio-host-li-wei-ling?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Feb 2014 02:31:25 +0000 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 mainland soared from US$3 billion to US$64 billion in 2012, a figure that took the United States a decade to achieve. The mainland became the world's second-largest online retail market last year, with business-to-consumer (B2C) growth expected to average up to 34 per cent over the next five years, according... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1414590/china-tightens-watch-growing-e-commerce-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1414590/china-tightens-watch-growing-e-commerce-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jan 2014 20:30:00 +0000 Indonesia says Hong Kong should consider changing its laws to force local domestic worker employment agencies to register with Jakarta's consulate in the SAR in an effort to help curb the abuse of helpers. Top foreign ministry official Tatang Budie Utama Razak also expressed concern about the lack of support for Indonesian workers from agencies, saying they "just care about money". Tatang, the director for legal aid and protection of Indonesian nationals overseas at the country's foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1412683/indonesian-official-wants-citys-maid-agencies-register-consulate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1412683/indonesian-official-wants-citys-maid-agencies-register-consulate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2014 11:30:45 +0000 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 of any amount of money would be able to attract a man I would find attractive," she told the South China Morning Post after her father announced he had doubled the HK$500 million "dowry" that he had earlier offered in an effort to find her a husband. In an interview with the Malaysian newspaper Nanyang... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1411617/billion-dollars-man-who-marries-my-lesbian-daughter-gigi-chao-upset?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1411617/billion-dollars-man-who-marries-my-lesbian-daughter-gigi-chao-upset?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:15:30 +0000 Hong Kong is facing external pressure to bolster the basic rights of the city's 300,000 migrant domestic workers in the wake of the alleged abuse of an Indonesian maid by her employer. An Indonesian politician said the country's parliament would pursue a new law protecting its citizens coming to work in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, a United Nations monitor urged the Hong Kong government to relax the two-week rule for maids seeking new contracts and step up inspections to ensure adequate accommodation... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410956/external-pressure-hong-kong-builds-over-abused-indonesia-maid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410956/external-pressure-hong-kong-builds-over-abused-indonesia-maid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2014 03:12:54 +0000 Indonesian President Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed "anger and concern" yesterday over the alleged torture of one of his country's domestic helpers in Hong Kong as new allegations of abuse emerged. He made a phone call to the helper, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, and her father, Rohmad Saputra, at the hospital in Indonesia where she is being treated for her injuries and pledged to cover her medical costs. It also emerged yesterday that police in Hong Kong are aware of four more cases of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410402/torture-employer-linked-alleged-abuse-five-different-hong-kong-maids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410402/torture-employer-linked-alleged-abuse-five-different-hong-kong-maids?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:12:46 +0000 Hong Kong police started interviewing Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih — who alleges she was beaten by her employer — in her hospital back home on Tuesday morning. They may also take a statement from her Indonesian recruitment agency later in the day, according to a local police source. Chief Inspector Chung Chi-ming of Kwun Tong district crime squad, said: "We have started interviewing Erwiana and her condition is such that she was able to answer our questions fully." "We will... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410212/hong-kong-police-take-statement-erwiana-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410212/hong-kong-police-take-statement-erwiana-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2014 05:00:45 +0000 Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih was forced to break contact with her family for six months and was barred from leaving her employers' flat, her parents have claimed. Erwiana's father, Rohmad Saputro, spoke to the South China Morning Post at the Amal Sehat Islamic Hospital in Sragen, East Java, where his 23-year-old daughter is receiving treatment. Describing the steps that led to her virtual "imprisonment" in her employers' Tseung Kwan O flat, he said through a translator: "My daughter... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410136/indonesian-maid-erwiana-was-prisoner-employers-home-father-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1410136/indonesian-maid-erwiana-was-prisoner-employers-home-father-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2014 01:30:15 +0000 Brain injuries have left Erwiana Sulistyaningsih unable to walk and struggling to see, her doctor in Indonesia says, adding that it is too early to tell whether the damage is permanent. "Erwiana was beaten on the head for a period of at least six months. She couldn't have received her injuries any other way," said Dr Iman Fadhli, who has been treating the maid since she fled Hong Kong and the employer she claims tortured and abused her. Erwiana told medical staff her head was often slammed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1409707/indonesian-maid-abuse-case-beaten-head-least-6-months-doctors-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1409707/indonesian-maid-abuse-case-beaten-head-least-6-months-doctors-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jan 2014 08:55:49 +0000 A woman accused of wounding two Indonesian domestic helpers - including one who says she suffered prolonged torture - was in police custody last night after being arrested at the airport. Lo Wan-tung, 44, was intercepted at the Immigration Department counter as she sought to take a flight to Thailand at about 4pm yesterday. The arrest came amid widespread outrage at the alleged treatment of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, who is recovering in hospital in Java from multiple injuries. Erwiana said she... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1409690/ex-boss-tortured-domestic-worker-arrested-trying-board-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1409690/ex-boss-tortured-domestic-worker-arrested-trying-board-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jan 2014 08:30:00 +0000 The Indonesian domestic helper who claims she suffered eight months of torture at the hands of her Hong Kong employer may sue the city's government. Lawyers asked about the case of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, who is in hospital back home, claim the city's human rights laws could have been breached. Under Article 3 of the 1997 Bill of Rights Ordinance, the government has a duty to protect people from torture and "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment". Cynthia Ca Abdon-Tellez, head of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1409319/indonesian-maid-centre-torture-ordeal-row-could-sue-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1409319/indonesian-maid-centre-torture-ordeal-row-could-sue-government?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jan 2014 21:15:00 +0000 An Indonesian domestic helper who claims she worked for the employer accused of torturing Erwiana Sulistyaningsih revealed yesterday that she had suffered similar beatings and death threats in 2010. The claims came as Hong Kong police sources revealed officers would visit Erwiana, 23, in Indonesia. A migrant workers' group working with Erwiana said her wounds were healing, though she still suffered from headaches caused by blows to the head. At a "Justice for Erwiana" protest outside the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1406833/she-threatened-throw-me-balcony-second-domestic-helper-alleges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1406833/she-threatened-throw-me-balcony-second-domestic-helper-alleges?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jan 2014 05:47:57 +0000 A woman employer accused of torturing an Indonesian maid in Hong Kong allegedly threatened to kill the helper's family if she told anyone about the beatings, it was claimed last night. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, who alleges she suffered months of abuse in Hong Kong, is recovering in hospital in Sragen, on the main Indonesian island of Java, after returning home last week. Dita Indah Sari, spokeswoman for Indonesia's minister of transmigration and manpower, said the helper planned to return to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1406219/indonesian-helper-received-death-threats-hong-kong-employers-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1406219/indonesian-helper-received-death-threats-hong-kong-employers-who?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jan 2014 09:11:59 +0000 Gay rights groups are calling for Southern Television Guangdong to publicly apologise for using hidden camera footage of an undercover reporter meeting with a male sex worker. The news program aired over three consecutive nights from January 6 to January 8, purporting to investigate the rising rate of HIV infections among young Chinese. It blamed the rise on the growing popularity of online dating websites and sex workers who do not use condoms.  The sex worker in question recognised himself in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1406115/gay-rights-groups-outraged-over-networks-hidden-camera-footage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1406115/gay-rights-groups-outraged-over-networks-hidden-camera-footage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jan 2014 08:45:30 +0000 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 Kong employers. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is currently undergoing treatment at an Indonesian hospital after leaving Hong Kong following eight months of alleged abuse, said the Hong Kong branch of the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers. A police spokeswoman said the case has not been turned over... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1404697/indonesian-helper-23-critical-condition-after-alleged-beatings-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1404697/indonesian-helper-23-critical-condition-after-alleged-beatings-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:52:49 +0000 Pressure is building on Hong Kong to destroy its 33-tonne ivory stockpile after confiscated ivory was crushed on the mainland for the first time on Monday. Hong Kong has previously rejected destruction as an option. A spokeswoman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it was "aware of steps in other places to destroy forfeited ivory" and was "reviewing the effectiveness of existing disposal measures". She said a revised proposal to destroy Hong Kong's confiscated ivory... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1400463/hong-kong-consider-destroying-33-tonne-ivory-stockpile-after-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1400463/hong-kong-consider-destroying-33-tonne-ivory-stockpile-after-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jan 2014 01:32:48 +0000 Thousands of anti-government protesters will march through Bangkok this week to build momentum ahead of their planned January 13 shutdown of the capital.  Protesters are vowing to prevent government officials from going to work in the run up to the scheduled February 2 elections, in a bid to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.  Anti-government protests have been roiling Bangkok since November, triggered by a proposed amnesty bill that would facilitate the return of Yingluck's brother and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1399065/bangkok-residents-debate-democracy-ahead-looming-city-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1399065/bangkok-residents-debate-democracy-ahead-looming-city-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2014 10:00:00 +0000 The bitcoin revolution is shifting to the east, say the Americans behind the world's first cash machine for the virtual currency, as they prepare to open a second one - in Hong Kong. Robocoin's second teller machine could be ready for business by the end of this month, in time to take advantage of strong interest in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year. Hong Kong beat off stiff competition from New York and Singapore, said Robocoin chief executive Jordan Kelley. There was so much enthusiasm for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1397788/hong-kong-get-worlds-second-bitcoin-atm-say-makers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1397788/hong-kong-get-worlds-second-bitcoin-atm-say-makers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jan 2014 21:15:30 +0000 When 16-year-old Casper Cheng Tsz-chun of the New Territories started creating, or "mining" for, bitcoins two years ago using his father's computer, he never imagined that the value of the digital currency would reach a high of US$1,242 a piece. Nor did he foresee that governments the world over would debate the risks and merits of the digital currency that operates free from government regulation . Cheng is one of a growing number of bitcoin enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who believe that Hong... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1396917/virtual-currency-entrepreneurs-fight-future-bitcoin-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1396917/virtual-currency-entrepreneurs-fight-future-bitcoin-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2014 14:30:00 +0000 Along Kowloon's teeming Nathan Road, it is common to see multiple Luk Fook jewellery stores on the same block. A top Hong Kong-based jeweller, Luk Fook Group has 1,189 shops around the world, with 1,132 shops (79 self-operated and 1,053 licensed) on the mainland, 42 in Hong Kong, 10 in Macau, one in Singapore and three in North America, with a newly opened store in Sydney, Australia, to cater to mainland tourists. But all of this is not enough for Danny Wong Ho-lung, the ambitious likely... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1392730/heirs-crown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1392730/heirs-crown?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Dec 2013 16:45:00 +0000 It is a family brand that has sought to infuse Italian passion, elegance and heritage into its leather handbags and stilettos. Now, it has its sights set on making China its largest market within the next five years. Furla, founded by accessories trader Aldo Furlanetto in 1927, launched its first retail store in Hong Kong a year ago and has since opened 10 more, in addition to two in Macau and 30 in 15 cities on the mainland. It plans to open at least 100 stores in four years. With an Italian... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1391335/furla-weaves-china-dream-amid-affordable-luxury-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1391335/furla-weaves-china-dream-amid-affordable-luxury-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2013 16:45:15 +0000 Any change to rules governing Hong Kong's financial system must enshrine appropriate checks and balances that safeguard the interests of all market participants, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Chan Ka-keung said yesterday. "For a new structure to come about, you have to first convince the market to believe in it. If a consultation on listing reform takes place, it needs to provide very specific recommendations to protect the interests of company management, big shareholders... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1389373/chan-softens-line-reform-ipo-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1389373/chan-softens-line-reform-ipo-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2013 17:42:05 +0000 When a housewife from Henan learned her son-in-law had not touched her daughter since the wedding, she knew her suspicions had turned out to be true. "I told her before the wedding: 'You found a man who cooks and cleans and dresses himself? He must be gay.' I was right, of course." Lan Yueliang, who now runs an online support group for wives of gay men in China (called tongqi), was one of the speakers who shared stories at the first annual Rainbow China Forum in Hong Kong last month. It was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1376380/mainland-chinese-parents-gay-children-rally-lgbt-rights-hong-kong-forum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1376380/mainland-chinese-parents-gay-children-rally-lgbt-rights-hong-kong-forum?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Dec 2013 21:15:38 +0000 Allowing the private sector to play a bigger role in society can help China achieve stable growth next year, says credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service. "The government will not allow massive privatisation to happen but it will allow state capital to flow more freely and allow the private sector to take funding pressures off state-owned enterprises. Otherwise, the [current] rate of growth in the mid-7 per cent won't be sustainable," said Kai Hu, vice-president of Moody's corporate... https://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1373282/private-sector-crucial-sustain-china-growth-moodys-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1373282/private-sector-crucial-sustain-china-growth-moodys-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:00:25 +0000 Mainland companies swept the board yesterday in the Hong Kong Institute of Directors annual awards for best directors of listed firms in the city. "Mainland companies have been sweeping the categories for listed companies for the past several years, and I'm not surprised [with this year's result]," said Kelvin Wong, the chairman of the institute, which also gives awards to private companies and non-profit organisations. "The mainland companies which are serious about achieving long-term growth... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1372355/hong-kong-listed-mainland-chinese-companies-dominate-directors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1372355/hong-kong-listed-mainland-chinese-companies-dominate-directors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Dec 2013 21:29:40 +0000 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 study by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, set up to research internet censorship, found that the Line messaging application (or "app") censors sensitive keywords on any account registered with a Chinese phone number - even when the user is located outside the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1370549/chat-app-accused-censoring-chinese-users?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1370549/chat-app-accused-censoring-chinese-users?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Dec 2013 21:15:00 +0000