https://www.scmp.com/rss/16022/feed Naomi worked as a reporter at the South China Morning Post from 2015 to 2019. She has previously written for CNN International in Hong Kong, and Mizzima news in Myanmar. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A tale about star-crossed lovers overcoming insurmountable odds is a standard storyline in the world of Korean soap operas. But the soaring popularity of Crash Landing On You in South Korea and across Asia proves it takes more than a typical love story to make a regional smash hit. Crash Landing On You presents the unlikely tale of a South Korean heiress caught in a freak paragliding accident that hurls her across the border to North Korea right into the arms of a dashing, elite North Korean... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3074153/crash-landing-you-wins-over-hong-kong-taiwan-fans-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3074153/crash-landing-you-wins-over-hong-kong-taiwan-fans-being?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2020 13:00:13 +0000 Twice in his life has 26-year-old Lee Hyeon-woo considered himself really lucky. The first time was when he was accepted into one of South Korea’s most prestigious art universities, and the second was when he found an apartment in Seoul – even though it was mostly underground. Semi-basement apartments, known as banjiha in Korean, have been thrust into the spotlight by the success of Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite , which made history this year as the first foreign-language film to scoop... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3074017/what-its-really-live-south-koreas-parasite-style-semi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3074017/what-its-really-live-south-koreas-parasite-style-semi?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2020 06:00:17 +0000 In this bonus episode of the Behind the Tariffs podcast series, attention turns to what has changed in the year since the US-China trade war began. Finbarr Bermingham and Naomi Ng look at what the world can expect following the underwhelming outcome of the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Osaka G20 meeting, and find out how the ongoing battle of tariffs and trade barriers will have an impact on the 2020 US presidential election. Arnold Kamler, CEO of the largest bicycle... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3018179/us-china-trade-war-what-now-and-what-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3018179/us-china-trade-war-what-now-and-what-next?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jul 2019 09:25:04 +0000 In China, “dama,” which literally means big mama, is a derogatory term used to refer to middle-aged women. They’re commonly portrayed as rude, boisterous and fans of group travel as well as square dancing. For years, so-called dama performers have been singing and dancing in a park in Hong Kong. But these shows have effectively been banned after protesters accused the women of staging noisy, indecent performances.  The government said on Tuesday it would stop accepting applications from those... https://www.scmp.com/politics/hong-kong-closes-tuen-mun-park-areas-suggestive-performances-following-protest/article/3018010?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/hong-kong-closes-tuen-mun-park-areas-suggestive-performances-following-protest/article/3018010?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jul 2019 10:10:57 +0000 The curtains will close on song-and-dance performances in a Tuen Mun park, authorities have said, after thousands protested against nuisance caused by mostly middle-aged women from mainland China. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced on Tuesday that they would no longer accept applications from groups to put up acts at two self-entertainment zones in Tuen Mun Park which were formerly designated public areas for performers. “The Tuen Mun district council has agreed to shut down... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3017924/its-curtains-mainland-dama-singers-tuen-mun-park-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3017924/its-curtains-mainland-dama-singers-tuen-mun-park-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2019 12:43:47 +0000 Organisers promised on Saturday that the next major protest against the Hong Kong government’s extradition bill – this time with the aim of appealing to mainland Chinese visitors for understanding – would be “peaceful, rational and graceful”. They dismissed concerns about the risk of violence and chaos seen at past protests, with at least 2,000 people expected to march on Sunday afternoon from the city’s tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui to the West Kowloon station of the cross-border,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017559/organisers-promise-next-major-protest-against-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017559/organisers-promise-next-major-protest-against-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jul 2019 16:13:58 +0000 Hongkongers must “stand strong in solidarity with each other” and brace for a long, drawn-out battle to oppose the extradition bill – that was the message from a group of Education University students and alumni who gathered to mourn two protesters on Saturday. The sentiments were echoed by more than 100 students and alumni at a vigil at the university in Tai Po to remember the two women – an undergraduate and a former student – who died last month. The gathering was one of two events on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017548/stand-strong-and-brace-long-battle-over-extradition-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017548/stand-strong-and-brace-long-battle-over-extradition-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jul 2019 12:47:32 +0000 Student leaders at eight Hong Kong universities issued a joint statement to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Friday, saying a dialogue she initiated would only take place if she promised to organise public town hall meetings and exonerate extradition bill protesters facing charges. The students laid down the conditions for talks with the city’s leader as the Hong Kong Bar Association also called for the government to communicate openly with society at large. It was revealed on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017412/student-leaders-eight-hong-kong-universities-tell-carrie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017412/student-leaders-eight-hong-kong-universities-tell-carrie?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jul 2019 09:00:08 +0000 Idle spaces and storerooms in some public housing estates have been converted into more than 200 flats for needy families amid a dire shortage of affordable homes in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, the Housing Authority introduced estates with shared flats for the elderly that had accompanying warden offices, quarters for welfare workers and storerooms, among other facilities. Because of a rising number of disputes between some elderly residents over the years, the authority has been converting the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3017159/unused-spaces-and-storerooms-hong-kong-public-housing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3017159/unused-spaces-and-storerooms-hong-kong-public-housing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jul 2019 12:24:40 +0000 In a matter of hours, Hong Kong’s legislative headquarters was smashed open, ransacked and defaced with graffiti in a shocking takeover by young protesters on Monday that could cost “more than HK$10 million” and take weeks to repair. A day after a mob stormed the city’s political centre – crashing through glass panels and trashing security systems – the Legislative Council building was in disarray and sealed off by police. The grounds were strewn with barricades, helmets, umbrellas,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016996/hong-kong-protesters-damage-legislative-council-building?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016996/hong-kong-protesters-damage-legislative-council-building?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 13:45:40 +0000 Beijing’s authority overseeing Hong Kong affairs has condemned the violence of protesters who stormed and vandalised the Legislative Council and called on the government to restore social order as soon as possible. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, along with Beijing’s liaison office in the city, joined the pro-establishment camp in condemning Monday’s violence, even as pro-democracy groups and opposition lawmakers struck a softer tone, saying the government was also to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016920/beijing-authorities-and-local-business-chambers-condemn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016920/beijing-authorities-and-local-business-chambers-condemn?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 08:02:24 +0000 Hong Kong’s trashed legislative headquarters will be out of action for the next two weeks with all meetings cancelled as violent protests drew renewed global attention to political unrest in the city. Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, expressing his sadness and deep regret over the incursion, said on Tuesday the building’s entrance, meeting facilities and security system were vandalised during the incident, with crucial infrastructure brought down. While the government’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016861/hong-kong-clean-begins-police-take-control-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016861/hong-kong-clean-begins-police-take-control-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 01:23:39 +0000 Scientists are seeking to strike a delicate balance between man and nature by creating “eco-shorelines”, concrete seawalls that can protect marine life and set an environmentally friendly example for Hong Kong’s future land-reclamation projects. Under a government-funded project, experts at the University of Hong Kong and Polytechnic University are currently testing specially designed, eco-friendly concrete blocks and panels that can be attached to seawalls at three coastal locations in the New... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3016700/hong-kong-marine-ecologists-lead-eco-shoreline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3016700/hong-kong-marine-ecologists-lead-eco-shoreline?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jul 2019 04:00:14 +0000 The Hong Kong government will close down the city’s main convention centre on Sunday because of “safety and security reasons” – as concerns intensify that protesters might disrupt a flag-raising ceremony near the Wan Chai facility on Monday. The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre said on its website on Saturday that the government decided to shut down the complex a day before the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China. The closure has forced an event at the exhibition... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016626/government-orders-closure-hong-kong-convention-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016626/government-orders-closure-hong-kong-convention-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jun 2019 11:53:15 +0000 Several lawmakers and a group of conservationists were barred from entering a Central harbourfront site on Saturday morning, some 11 hours after riot police cleared a site that now belongs to the People’s Liberation Army. Opposition lawmakers Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, Ted Hui Chi-fung, and Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, along with a handful of members from the Protect the Harbourfront Alliance concern group, were kept outside a fence as about 30 police officers stood guard at the 0.3-hectare... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016616/protesters-and-police-tense-new-stand-site-pla-dock-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016616/protesters-and-police-tense-new-stand-site-pla-dock-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jun 2019 06:57:45 +0000 Thousands of riot police are on standby and an unprecedented lockdown has begun to discourage any major disruption by extradition bill protesters ahead of one of the most important official events of the year for Hong Kong – the July 1 anniversary of the city’s handover to Chinese sovereignty. Sources told the Post on Saturday that around 5,000 riot personnel would be ready for any trouble, while the government announced that the city’s main convention centre in Wan Chai would be sealed off from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016603/hong-kong-puts-5000-riot-police-standby-ahead-flag-raising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016603/hong-kong-puts-5000-riot-police-standby-ahead-flag-raising?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jun 2019 04:08:04 +0000 Emission caps for Hong Kong’s power plants could be cut by as much as 40 per cent after 2024 when officials hope to generate more than half the city’s energy with natural gas to improve air quality. The government has proposed to tighten caps in the electricity sector for three main sources of air pollutants – sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and respirable suspended particles (RSP). The new targets would tighten emissions by 40 per cent, 29 per cent and 20 per cent (of SO2, NOx, RSP)... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3016230/hong-kongs-power-plants-facing-40-cent-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3016230/hong-kongs-power-plants-facing-40-cent-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2019 23:30:13 +0000 A planned underground zone beneath a major Hong Kong park should set aside shops for local companies and be linked to a nearby arts hub, legislators said on Tuesday. During a Legislative Council development panel meeting, lawmakers supported a government proposal to develop a 538,000 sq ft, three-storey space under Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui. The development, on an area covering about 25 per cent of the 13-hectare park, will create all-weather pedestrian walkways, community facilities, shops,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3016050/kowloon-park-underground-zone-should-boost-local-brands-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3016050/kowloon-park-underground-zone-should-boost-local-brands-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 13:38:19 +0000 What does it take to get an exclusion from US tariffs? More to the point, what do a breast pump, a soldering iron, a guitar tuner and a salad spinner have in common? Each of these items has been granted an exclusion from tariffs by the Office of the US Trade Representative, and Naomi Ng heads off on a hunt for the Hong Kong engineer who owns the patent for the salad spinner. Her search brings her to the office of Gigi Wong, and an education in what the salad spinner can tell us about... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015837/behind-tariffs-how-salad-spinner-can-reveal-truth-tariff-exclusions-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015837/behind-tariffs-how-salad-spinner-can-reveal-truth-tariff-exclusions-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:45:10 +0000 One woman in Philadelphia is trying to live the American dream as an innovator, manufacturer and CEO of her own company. Another woman in Hong Kong is running a company established by her father, exporting gaming hardware to the US. Both have found that their businesses may no longer be viable as a result of the trade war - either because of tariffs or from a slightly more oblique concept known as “non-tariff barriers”. Listen in as Sherrill Mosee talks us through her decision to have her unique... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3016008/behind-tariffs-handbags-game-controllers-and-battle-over-intellectual?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3016008/behind-tariffs-handbags-game-controllers-and-battle-over-intellectual?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:40:10 +0000 If the US-China trade war has a no-man’s land, then maybe it’s somewhere near a truckstop not far from the Lo Wu border crossing that regulates traffic between mainland China and Hong Kong. Finbarr Bermingham travels up to a once-busy truckers’ diner to meet Kwok Yip-biu, who has driven trucks back and forth over the border for 30 years. Kwok recalls the “golden era” of Hong Kong as a gateway for trade into and out of mainland China, and how, lately, the trade war has put the brakes on the local... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015841/behind-tariffs-trucks-trade-services-and-hong-kongs-trade-war-conundrum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015841/behind-tariffs-trucks-trade-services-and-hong-kongs-trade-war-conundrum?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:40:08 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s decision to place tariffs on goods made in China has, unsurprisingly, led to the relocation of many American companies from China. But most are not moving back to the US - instead they are heading to Vietnam, along with other lower cost hubs. And not only are US companies moving out of China and into Vietnam, Chinese companies are, too. Join us on a journey to Ho Chi Minh City, where we find Chinese companies that have moved south of the border to avoid the tariffs... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015831/behind-tariffs-solar-cells-and-exodus-chinese-companies-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015831/behind-tariffs-solar-cells-and-exodus-chinese-companies-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:35:08 +0000 Roughly 95 per cent of the bicycles sold in the United States are imported from China, and tariffs on steel and aluminium are combining with tariffs on bicycle components to force companies to make some tough decisions. Kent International is an American bicycle manufacturer and distributor in the direct line of fire of the trade war. Listen as Kent CEO Arnold Kamler recounts his company’s history of importing bicycles from Taiwan, then Southeast Asia, and eventually mainland China through the... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015825/behind-tariffs-how-bicycles-link-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015825/behind-tariffs-how-bicycles-link-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:35:05 +0000 The trade war between the United States and China did not start with US President Donald Trump. In this episode, let South China Morning Post journalists Naomi Ng and Finbarr Bermingham take you on a journey back to where it all started, to find one of the root causes of the multi-billion dollar trade spat between the US and China. You will hear a trade lawyer make a revelation about multinational corporations and tariffs, and answer the crucial question: who actually pays a tariff? You’ll also... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015820/behind-tariffs-washing-machines-and-roots-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3015820/behind-tariffs-washing-machines-and-roots-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:10:05 +0000 More than 30 million oysters have been restored to New York’s waters since 2014. That could now have an impact 8,000 miles away, in Hong Kong. The oysters, planted as part of the New York “Billion Oyster Project,” have brought noticeable improvements in water quality. Anecdotal evidence points to a thriving habitat attracting more marine life and protecting the coastline from storm surges. “Our biggest goal is to get New Yorkers to recognize that they live in a marine environment,” said founder... https://www.scmp.com/science/new-york-oyster-plan-could-help-clean-hong-kongs-waters/article/3015846?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/science/new-york-oyster-plan-could-help-clean-hong-kongs-waters/article/3015846?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2019 09:29:58 +0000 A plan to deploy millions of oysters along Hong Kong’s coastlines could help clear up the city’s waters to nurture a more vibrant ecosystem, according to a proposal by a marine ecologist. Inspired by the success of New York’s “Billion Oyster Project” – an initiative aimed at restoring the shellfish to New York’s harbour – a team of researchers from the University of Hong Kong aims to plant between 5 and 10 million oysters within the next three to five years. Education will also be a core... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3015724/millions-oysters-citys-coastline-could-help-clean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3015724/millions-oysters-citys-coastline-could-help-clean?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2019 02:00:10 +0000 Hong Kong’s civil service unions have called on a pro-Beijing lawmaker to confirm whether she shouted expletives at the city’s chief executive over the government’s handling of the botched extradition bill. In a statement released on Saturday, the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association and the Federation of Civil Service Unions, urged Alice Mak Mei-kuen, a lawmaker for the Federation of Trade Unions, to come forward. The unions, which combined have about 130,000 members, demanded that Mak... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3015675/hong-kongs-civil-servant-unions-demand-lawmaker-alice-mak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3015675/hong-kongs-civil-servant-unions-demand-lawmaker-alice-mak?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jun 2019 13:06:41 +0000 “Be water, my friend” – the famous saying of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee became the clarion call of young protesters waging their fight against the extradition bill as they staged a shape-shifting guerilla game that crippled Hong Kong government operations on Friday. Tech-savvy demonstrators – who had been deliberating their tactics on online forums and encrypted channel Telegram in an apparently leaderless movement – moved in unexpected waves. They rolled from one spot to another as... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3015627/be-water-my-friend-protesters-take-bruce-lees-wise-saying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3015627/be-water-my-friend-protesters-take-bruce-lees-wise-saying?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2019 23:00:14 +0000 A Hong Kong river has antibiotics exceeding safe levels by up to five times, a global study has found, with researchers raising concerns that it could contribute to the growing problem of superbugs. Kai Tak River, in the heart of a key redevelopment area in east Kowloon and flowing into the Victoria Harbour, was the ninth most antibiotic-polluted in the study of pharmaceutical contamination in streams, which covered 165 rivers in 72 countries. Experts urged more monitoring, saying there was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3014711/breeding-ground-superbugs-hong-kong-rivers-unsafe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3014711/breeding-ground-superbugs-hong-kong-rivers-unsafe?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2019 10:00:03 +0000 At least 6,000 people, mostly mothers, according to organisers, staged a sit-in at a public park in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district on Friday night against the government’s controversial extradition bill. The crowd, dressed in black and holding carnations, filled up almost the entire open space of the 13,600 sq m Chater Garden in Central. “We’re just a group of ordinary mothers who love our children,” said barrister Linda Wong, mother of an eight-year-old son. During the three-hour... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3014613/mothers-stage-sit-hong-kong-park-calling-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3014613/mothers-stage-sit-hong-kong-park-calling-government?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jun 2019 15:58:03 +0000 Protesters campaigning for the withdrawal of the controversial Hong Kong extradition bill returned to MTR stations on Friday, dressed in black and urging passengers to disrupt services, students to skip classes and office workers to go on strike. After causing delays on the MTR on Thursday, demonstrators called for services to be disrupted at Kowloon Tong and Central stations, while hundreds of people dressed in black appeared in a silent protest at Kowloon Tong. Seven members of pro-democracy... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3014459/hong-kong-protesters-return-mtr-stations-urging-passengers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3014459/hong-kong-protesters-return-mtr-stations-urging-passengers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jun 2019 03:17:06 +0000 Zero tolerance will be shown to those responsible for two petrol bomb attacks outside police stations, Hong Kong’s police chief said a day after the twin firebombings shocked the city. Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung on Saturday strongly condemned the attacks, stressing that arson was a serious crime that carried a maximum penalty of life in prison. “No matter what agenda these people have, I absolutely will not tolerate such violent acts and will investigate with the full force of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3013681/arson-attacks-hong-kong-police-stations-had-nothing-do?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3013681/arson-attacks-hong-kong-police-stations-had-nothing-do?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Jun 2019 11:00:28 +0000 Four men with triad backgrounds were arrested on Friday in connection with two petrol bomb attacks on Hong Kong ­police that insiders condemned as a “declaration of war” on the city’s 30,000 law enforcers. The suspects, aged 22 to 60, were apprehended separately after police intercepted a black Mercedes-Benz in North Point they had been hunting for after a predawn attack at their headquarters in Wan Chai and a second in the afternoon at the Happy Valley station. The same make and model of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3013507/firebomb-hurled-patrol-van-early-morning-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3013507/firebomb-hurled-patrol-van-early-morning-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:09:04 +0000 An ancient rock carving at Cape Collinson on the east of Hong Kong Island that probably dates back to 3,000 years ago could become a declared monument, according to a government proposal. The carving, about 160cm tall and 260cm wide, features a geometric pattern and design that resembles those stamped on Bronze Age artefacts unearthed elsewhere in the territory, according to an appraisal by the Antiquities and Monument Office released on Thursday. The rock, located on a relatively inaccessible... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3013506/bronze-age-rock-carving-cape-collinson-could-be-declared?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3013506/bronze-age-rock-carving-cape-collinson-could-be-declared?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2019 01:35:49 +0000 District councillors on Tuesday slammed an “unrealistic” proposal to put a 30km/h speed limit on roads in Sham Shui Po to make the district more pedestrian-friendly and raised fears of more traffic congestion. The Transport Department chose the district, one of the city’s oldest, as one of two trial locations officials hoped to transform into more walkable areas. One of the eight pedestrian-friendly initiatives proposed was to introduce a speed limit of 30km/h – as opposed to 50km/h for ordinary... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3013101/pedestrian-friendly-plan-cut-speed-limit-one-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3013101/pedestrian-friendly-plan-cut-speed-limit-one-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2019 13:15:18 +0000 Authorities in Hong Kong have failed to save a rare, pre-war Chinese tenement block from the wrecking ball, despite weekly attempts to get in touch with the owners of the historic property for the past five months, the Post has learned. The Buildings Department has approved a proposal submitted by the owners of a 86-year-old walk-up in Sham Shui Po for it to be demolished. “Despite various attempts to approach the owners … [we] have not received any response. Notwithstanding, we will continue to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3012709/rare-example-pre-war-hong-kong-architecture-be-destroyed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3012709/rare-example-pre-war-hong-kong-architecture-be-destroyed?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2019 08:15:07 +0000 Unusual features such as noise-reducing balconies and large storage rooms in government-built homes have not dampened interest in the latest batch of subsidised flats, even though they take up floor space and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The features, designed to cope with noise levels on estates built near major roads, included balconies that took up as much as 10 per cent of the internal floor space and storage rooms as big as kitchens. As of 5pm on Thursday, the city’s largest... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3012410/noise-reducing-balconies-and-large-storage-spaces-do-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3012410/noise-reducing-balconies-and-large-storage-spaces-do-not?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2019 05:44:41 +0000 To many tourists, Choi Hung Estate is a new must-see spot because of its picture-perfect rainbow-coloured walls. For Tiffany Chen Ho-ting, however, the old public housing estate is a part of Hong Kong that can speak volumes about the city’s ordinary people. The 26-year-old Chen, a third-generation public housing resident, hopes to show tourists a different view of the “Instafamous” residential estate and others like it – and reveal characteristics of these properties that go beyond their... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011845/new-generation-hong-kong-tour-guides-takes-visitors-real?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011845/new-generation-hong-kong-tour-guides-takes-visitors-real?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 May 2019 03:00:16 +0000 Government officials cleared one of the first hurdles in their bid to build artificial islands off Lantau, after lawmakers gave an initial nod to a HK$550 million funding request to conduct studies for the reclamation project. During a Public Works Subcommittee meeting at the Legislative Council on Saturday, lawmakers endorsed the funding request so it could move onto the final stage of approval at the Finance Committee. Twenty lawmakers voted for it, 16 voted against after almost three hours of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011813/hong-kong-leaders-vision-new-city-coast-lantau-island-moves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011813/hong-kong-leaders-vision-new-city-coast-lantau-island-moves?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2019 13:23:12 +0000 The Hong Kong Aviation Club has suspended all its flying operations while an investigation into the death of one of its members in a helicopter crash in the New Territories takes place. The club said it was saddened by the death of Andrew Wong Fai-hung, 49, in the accident on Sunday near the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, a conservation and education centre in Tai Po. President Ronald Maurer said in a statement on Wednesday the group was working with authorities to determine the cause of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011443/hong-kong-aviation-club-grounds-all-flights-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011443/hong-kong-aviation-club-grounds-all-flights-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2019 04:20:25 +0000 A plan to create underground space below Kowloon Park could disrupt Hong Kong’s “green lung” for three to seven years, according to a new government proposal. Released on Wednesday, the proposal estimated that around 25 per cent of the 13.3-hectare Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui could be developed into three-storey underground spaces. The spaces would provide about 9,000 square metres for community facilities and public-use areas, as well as roughly 14,000 square metres of pedestrian... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011397/hong-kong-government-proposal-develop-underground-areas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011397/hong-kong-government-proposal-develop-underground-areas?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:20 +0000 Almost 400,000 subsidised flat owners could be allowed to rent their flats to needy families under a modified scheme aiming to help low-income Hongkongers living in dismal conditions and waiting for a public flat. A Housing Society scheme allows about 13,000 residents who have owned their subsidised flats for 10 years or more to rent spare rooms to low-income families who have been in the queue for public rental housing for at least three years. The response to the scheme by the city’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011191/proposed-changes-scheme-which-allows-needy-hongkongers-rent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3011191/proposed-changes-scheme-which-allows-needy-hongkongers-rent?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2019 12:56:52 +0000 Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s largest developer by value, has been prosecuted for allegedly failing to provide sufficient information when selling flats by tender, the first such case in a government bid to target opaque sales practices. In a press release on Friday, the Sales of First-hand Residential Properties Authority said a summons had been served to an unnamed developer for a project in Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po. A source confirmed the case involved SHKP’s project, St Martin. “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3010681/sun-hung-kai-properties-prosecuted-over-lack-information?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3010681/sun-hung-kai-properties-prosecuted-over-lack-information?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2019 09:23:09 +0000 Parents and carers could be jailed for up to 20 years for failing to protect children or vulnerable adults from death or serious harm under a new offence recommended by the Law Reform Commission on Thursday. The recommendation aimed to plug a loophole in the existing law wherein abusers of children, elderly or mentally disabled people can escape conviction because of difficulties in gathering evidence and the inability or refusal of witnesses and victims to recount details. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3010563/hong-kongs-law-reform-commission-recommends-change-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3010563/hong-kongs-law-reform-commission-recommends-change-law?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2019 14:12:03 +0000 Hong Kong’s pest control teams are unable to catch rodents because they use old-style trapping methods including sweet potatoes for bait, critics said on Wednesday, a day after three new cases of the rat hepatitis E infection in humans were revealed. Other complaints included a lack of support for private housing estates to tackle rats. Officials stepped up cleaning efforts on Wednesday morning at the public housing Yau Oi Estate in Tuen Mun – where a 74-year-old man infected with the virus, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3010368/hong-kongs-pest-control-methods-slammed-cleaning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3010368/hong-kongs-pest-control-methods-slammed-cleaning?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 May 2019 13:06:21 +0000 Lau Chiu-kwong’s day job for almost the past three decades has been running a local shop at a public housing estate in Ngau Tau Kok, but he also juggles another role – being a “guardian angel” for elderly people with dementia. Lau recalled a 70-year-old woman who bought a pack of 10 toilet rolls at his store, only to come back several hours later to buy the same thing. “I didn’t think she would have used up all the toilet roll so quickly, so I just told her she already bought them and sent her... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3010022/1400-unseen-guardian-angels-helping-protect-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3010022/1400-unseen-guardian-angels-helping-protect-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 01:00:17 +0000 Mainland China has suspended the transport of all live pigs to Hong Kong, causing pork prices to soar by as much as 40 per cent on Saturday, after the city confirmed its first case of African swine fever. Pork traders said on Saturday evening they would stand guard overnight to prevent officials from entering the city’s main slaughterhouse to cull some 6,000 pigs which they believed were safe for consumption. The transfer of at least 3,500 pigs, which were to be processed at the city’s three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3009855/live-pig-imports-hong-kong-suspended-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3009855/live-pig-imports-hong-kong-suspended-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2019 13:11:16 +0000 Hong Kong’s Anglican Church cleared a major hurdle in its bid to build a 25-storey private hospital in the city’s business hub, after the town planning watchdog on Friday shot down a government proposal to impose a lower height limit on the building. The Town Planning Board agreed to stipulate a height limit equivalent to around 25 storeys on the historic Bishop’s House compound in Central, where the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui – as the church is known locally – wanted to build the not-for-profit... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3009777/anglican-churchs-plan-25-storey-hospital-central-clears-huge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3009777/anglican-churchs-plan-25-storey-hospital-central-clears-huge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2019 12:39:10 +0000 A planned 25-storey private hospital in Hong Kong’s business hub could be sent back to the drawing board if a proposed height restriction is endorsed. The Planning Department has called for a height limit on the historic Bishop’s House compound in Central, where the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui – the city’s Anglican Church – wanted to build the not-for-profit hospital. Two options were proposed for the site, one stipulating a height limit equivalent to 25 storeys, but the other only 20 storeys. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3009609/proposed-height-limits-planned-private-hospital-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3009609/proposed-height-limits-planned-private-hospital-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2019 00:30:11 +0000 A law allowing Hong Kong’s leader to give workers a day off after extreme weather or natural disasters is not needed, officials said on Tuesday, despite calls for the government to better protect labour rights. Deputy security minister Sonny Au Chi-kwong told a security panel meeting at the Legislative Council there was no need for such a law at present. “The government’s mechanism [to prepare for and respond to] super typhoons has been effective, although there is room for improvement on work... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3009249/state-emergency-law-following-extreme-weather-events?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3009249/state-emergency-law-following-extreme-weather-events?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2019 12:25:29 +0000