https://www.scmp.com/rss/308888/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lawmakers from Hong Kong and Taiwan said their common ground was a desire for democracy and social justice, not “collusion for political independence” as Beijing had suggested. Hong Kong lawmakers Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Edward Yiu Chung-yim, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick and three legislators from Taiwan’s New Power Party made the appeal at a conference in Taipei on Sunday. It came after a spokesman from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on December 28 described the two-day event as “an attempt made by... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2060344/attempted-assault-protesters-and-police-escorts-await-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2060344/attempted-assault-protesters-and-police-escorts-await-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jan 2017 11:00:45 +0000 Taiwan police ramped up protection for Hong Kong student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and a few pro-democracy lawmakers after a failed attempt by a pro-China protester to assault him as he arrived in the island state in the early hours. Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je pledged that police would “protect all guests”, adding that violence had no place in a civilised society like Taiwan’s. Wong had been set to attend a seminar organised by a local political party over the weekend. About 200 protesters... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2060205/hong-kong-democracy-activist-joshua-wong-under-police?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2060205/hong-kong-democracy-activist-joshua-wong-under-police?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jan 2017 08:30:45 +0000 Two localist lawmakers who had their swearing-in oaths for the Legislative Council invalidated ­called on Saturday for Hong Kong to “insulate” itself from the ­mainland. Although they stopped short of openly advocating independence for Hong Kong at a seminar in Taipei, the latest comments by Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching could further antagonise Beijing. China’s leaders are wary of any “collusion” between separatist forces in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Tibet... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2039280/two-localist-lawmakers-urged-hong-kong-insulate-itself?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2039280/two-localist-lawmakers-urged-hong-kong-insulate-itself?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Oct 2016 15:00:45 +0000 Taiwan authorities expressed hope over establishing a formal crime-fighting mechanism with Hong Kong following the recent transfer of three suspects in the body-in-cement murder case from the island to the city. Legal scholars in Hong Kong, however, had differing views on how likely such a system could be implemented, while a well-placed Taiwan official told the Post that Hong Kong’s lukewarm response to the idea thus far was a far cry from the close relations the respective law enforcement... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1936127/taiwan-hopes-more-formal-crime-fighting-measures-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1936127/taiwan-hopes-more-formal-crime-fighting-measures-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Apr 2016 04:59:25 +0000 The unprecedented transfer of the three suspects wanted for the body-in-cement murder case could pave the way for a mutual legal assistance agreement between Taiwan and Hong Kong, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency told the Post yesterday. “We certainly hope a mechanism could be set up as soon as possible but it is the administration that decides on such matters,” Hsu Chien-lin, chief of the agency’s public affairs division, told the Post, alluding to the existing mutual legal assistance... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1935726/transfer-body-cement-murder-suspects-could-pave-way-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1935726/transfer-body-cement-murder-suspects-could-pave-way-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Apr 2016 06:45:15 +0000 Three fugitives wanted over the grisly ‘body-in-cement’ murder were back in Hong Kong police custody last night after a joint operation between agencies in the city and Taiwan. The men – aged 20, 23 and 26 – are accused of fleeing Hong Kong after the decomposing remains of jobless man Cheung Man-li, 28, were discovered encased in cement inside a box in a Tsuen Wan factory unit last month. Their return – in the absence of any formal extradition or surrender agreement between the two places – is a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1935405/taiwan-no-typhoon-shelter-body-cement-murder-suspects-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1935405/taiwan-no-typhoon-shelter-body-cement-murder-suspects-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Apr 2016 05:18:47 +0000 A young woman suspected of involvement in the body-in-cement murder case who fled to Taiwan last month returned to Hong Kong on Monday night and was promptly arrested in the first coordinated law enforcement effort of its kind since 1997. The initiative was the first time since the handover that a suspect wanted by Hong Kong authorities was sent back to the city from Taiwan, a veteran local policeman said. Three men who had fled with the woman to Taiwan were sent back to the city early... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1935264/breakthrough-body-cement-murder-case-taiwan-sends-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1935264/breakthrough-body-cement-murder-case-taiwan-sends-back?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Apr 2016 10:15:00 +0000 Su Po-chia, 26, has supported the ruling Kuomintang since he could first vote six years ago. He grew up in the Democratic Progressive Party heartland of Tainan but his parents worked for the government, a traditional source of KMT support. “Both my parents are civil servants … and since I was a child their views left me with the impression that the DPP was not good. That’s why I still voted for Ma Ying-jeou in 2012, rather reluctantly though,” Su said. But not this year. Su is among a growing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1901733/force-awakens-taiwan-vote-sunflower-generation-could-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1901733/force-awakens-taiwan-vote-sunflower-generation-could-be?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jan 2016 15:30:30 +0000 The two founders of a non-profit group have teamed up with a veteran carpenter to pass on the octogenarian’s decades-long craftsmanship to the next generation. With a maximum of seven students in each of four classes and courses lasting for months, applicants must wait for at least a year for a place. Those lucky enough to have secured a place in Lung Man-chuen’s carpentry class enter the warehouse in Fung Yi Street, To Kwa Wan, one of 13 parallel streets facing redevelopment opposite the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1894006/master-carpenter-passes-skills-lifetime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1894006/master-carpenter-passes-skills-lifetime?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2015 02:15:45 +0000 Nestled in the picturesque Tai Long Wan Tsuen, a village on South Lantau Island where no public transport is available and a permit is required if one is to drive there, the piggery-turned-dyeing house has attracted more than 2,000 people to pay for a trip there to have a taste of the most primitive ways of colouring a piece of cloth. Inspired by a trip to Taiwan to learn indigo dyeing, former photographer Max To Hok-chi, 31, began to convert a storeroom and piggery behind his family home into a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1893985/beaten-track-former-piggery-houses-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1893985/beaten-track-former-piggery-houses-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2015 02:00:00 +0000 What makes Gutenberg-era printing methods still relevant today is because people still value the tactile quality of letterpress printing which lends substance to the message conveyed, says the founder of possibly the city’s only commercial letterpress printing house. Since its inception in 2012, ditto ditto has printed wedding invitation cards, calendars, postcards and a lot more from a factory building in Wong Chuk Hang for customers who don’t mind waiting up to three weeks for delivery. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1893986/ink-metal-type-and-old-style-craftsmanship-print?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1893986/ink-metal-type-and-old-style-craftsmanship-print?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2015 02:00:00 +0000 The four-man band of designers known as madebyavision seeks to change people’s view and see that glasses, just like suits, need to be tailor-made. Set up in 2011 by 31-year-old former glasses designer Rif Lau Kin-tik along with three former colleagues who were in-house designers for major brands, the business joined the very few companies making spectacle frames locally. Most manufacturers moved their production units to the mainland in the 1980s. To date, madebyavision said it would focus on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1894075/hong-kong-eyeglass-frame-makers-believe-custom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1894075/hong-kong-eyeglass-frame-makers-believe-custom?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2015 02:00:00 +0000 There’s a certain indescribable quality to handcrafted products that make their new replacements churned out from mass production lines a bit “inhuman”, say young people who see business opportunities in bringing old-time crafts back to life. Be it the uneven inking on paper left by the lead types of a letterpress machine or the slightly unpredictable final colour when dyeing a piece of cloth using natural indigo, they say it is the human touch and story behind a product for which people yearn –... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1893983/texture-imperfection-meet-young-hongkongers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1893983/texture-imperfection-meet-young-hongkongers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2015 02:00:00 +0000 A journal that could be the only surviving first-hand account of Chinese involvement in the Normandy landings in 1944 has been discovered in a rundown flat in Sai Ying Pun. One of the biggest seaborne invasions in history, the D-day landings heralded the end of the second world war in Europe. The diary is that of Lam Ping-yu, a naval commander and one of 21 officers sent to Britain by China's then-Nationalist government in 1943 as they tried to rebuild China's naval forces annihilated during the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1887383/diary-found-may-be-only-first-hand-account?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1887383/diary-found-may-be-only-first-hand-account?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Dec 2015 19:00:00 +0000 Shue Yan University said it was out of "expediency" that 11 of its teaching staff members were graduates of one of three Philippine tertiary institutions implicated in helping fast-track students' doctoral degrees. The privately funded university added, however, that no plagiarism was detected upon review of the theses of employees who graduated from Bulacan State University. Shue Yan's clarification yesterday came amid a growing scandal stemming from claims the private Lifelong College was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1880657/staff-hong-kongs-shue-yan-university-got?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1880657/staff-hong-kongs-shue-yan-university-got?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Nov 2015 16:02:44 +0000 The six-month time bar for prosecuting those who sell first registration cars above the published retail price should be extended, said the auditor, after discovering that the Customs and Excise Department aborted investigations into one-fifth of suspected offenders. Under the Motor Vehicles (First Registration Tax) Ordinance, a registered distributor commits an offence if he sells a car for more than the approved published retail price without first obtaining the department’s consent. READ... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1880183/hong-kong-auditor-calls-extension-time-allowed-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1880183/hong-kong-auditor-calls-extension-time-allowed-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Nov 2015 09:15:00 +0000 A Hong Kong photojournalist detained at Bangkok’s main international airport for carrying a bulletproof jacket and helmet has been allowed to leave Thailand – but will have to return to face trial. Anthony Kwan Hok-chun, who pleaded not guilty last month, was again granted bail by the Samut Prakarn provincial court on Monday. He was permitted to leave Thailand until the next set of hearings from April 5, his lawyer Sirikan Charonesiri told the South China Morning Post. While the court granted... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1879660/hong-kong-journalist-granted-bail-body-armour-charge-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1879660/hong-kong-journalist-granted-bail-body-armour-charge-will?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Nov 2015 23:01:47 +0000 Police will deploy 1,200 officers next Tuesday - the same as for last year's Occupy protests in Mong Kok - when the Hong Kong soccer team clashes with China in the World Cup qualifiers, according to police sources. And with both sides winning last night, there will be a lot riding on the match with a place in the third qualifying round at stake. Force insiders said the security measure followed a risk assessment. "The deployment is necessary. It's a precautionary measure," one source said. READ... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1878290/strong-police-presence-set-crunch-soccer-match?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1878290/strong-police-presence-set-crunch-soccer-match?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Nov 2015 16:00:00 +0000 Two government departments, currently under the direction of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, will be outsourced to the new Innovation and Technology Bureau when it launches, the commerce secretary announced yesterday. Greg So Kam-leung told reporters that the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Office of the Chief Information Officer - two of nine government departments currently within his bureau's remit - would be reassigned after the new bureau's scheduled opening on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1877615/hong-kongs-new-innovation-and-technology-bureau-absorb-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1877615/hong-kongs-new-innovation-and-technology-bureau-absorb-two?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Nov 2015 16:01:37 +0000 Allegations of police brutality and inadequate oversight of the force, screening of asylum seekers and the plight of foreign domestic helpers will top the agenda when a delegation of NGOs and political activists makes a presentation to a United Nations committee next week. The UN Committee Against Torture will hold a two-day hearing next week to discuss how Hong Kong and mainland China are implementing the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1877092/democratic-party-will-raise-hong-kong-polices-occupy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1877092/democratic-party-will-raise-hong-kong-polices-occupy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:15:45 +0000 Hong Kong's tourism watchdog is ready to roll out reinforced measures to stem "forced shopping", including handing to mainland authorities the names of suspected "shadow visitors" who push tourists into spending at shops, lawmakers have heard. The Travel Industry Council may also make public the normal market prices of group tours from the mainland, according to the commerce minister. READ MORE: Customs move on 'forced shopping' in Hong Kong: arrest of sales supervisor of shop where mainland... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1876312/hong-kong-commerce-chief-unveils-plan-end-forced-shopping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1876312/hong-kong-commerce-chief-unveils-plan-end-forced-shopping?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Nov 2015 09:30:30 +0000 A new coalition of taxi drivers and operators is launching a smartphone app to allow passengers to hail cabs and rate drivers in a bid to address the sector’s long-running service woes and to head off competition from new operators like Uber. Claiming a membership of over half of the city’s 40,000-odd taxi drivers and 17 industry groups which own over half of the 18,138 taxis on the road, the Hong Kong Taxi Trade Council announced its plan to the media yesterday. The council’s committee said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1876053/hong-kongs-beleaguered-taxi-drivers-form-coalition-launch-app?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1876053/hong-kongs-beleaguered-taxi-drivers-form-coalition-launch-app?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Nov 2015 16:00:15 +0000 Responding to questions from the legislature about its official Facebook page, the police force yesterday would only say that it had garnered 48,000 "likes" since it was launched as a public relations move almost a month ago. The 28,000-strong force sidestepped questions from lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung covering areas such as how much money had been spent on running the page or the number of comments deleted. READ MORE: Hong Kong police 'friend' request: force launches Facebook page to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1875754/hong-kong-police-sidestep-questions-about-facebook-page?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1875754/hong-kong-police-sidestep-questions-about-facebook-page?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Nov 2015 16:00:30 +0000 The High Court will decide whether police officers have the authority to seize the mobile phones of people they arrest and access the content, after an application for a judicial review was granted. The Civil Human Rights Front, an alliance of pro-democracy groups that organises the annual July 1 march, sought court clarification after police arrested five members and seized their phones. The members were arrested on suspicion of breaching the conditions of a notice of no objection to last... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1875053/hong-kongs-high-court-rule-whether-police-can-seize-mobile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1875053/hong-kongs-high-court-rule-whether-police-can-seize-mobile?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Nov 2015 16:01:00 +0000 Bar owners across Hong Kong could be left crying into their beer if a legal challenge by the city's equal opportunities watchdog targeting the gender-based discounts offered at "Ladies' Nights" is successful. The Equal Opportunities Commission on Thursday filed a case at the District Court on behalf of a male complainant whose Chinese name transliterates as Yiu Shui-kwong accusing an unnamed karaoke and disco club of breaching sex discrimination laws by charging men more for a drink than women,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1874324/last-orders-ladies-nights-cheaper-drinks-women-sex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1874324/last-orders-ladies-nights-cheaper-drinks-women-sex?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Oct 2015 19:00:15 +0000 Torture in Hong Kong prisons is more common than the official figures suggest, says a human rights NGO, which will submit its report at a UN Committee Against Torture meeting next month. "The [Correctional Services Department] paints quite a rosy picture of the system," said Annie Lin of the Society for Community Organisation. "Even if you look at the breakdown of the statistics, it says that many complaints are actually false, some are just made up." Complaints against the department by people... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/1873901/torture-hong-kong-prisons-more-common-official-figures-suggest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/1873901/torture-hong-kong-prisons-more-common-official-figures-suggest?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Oct 2015 16:00:45 +0000 The release of wealthy Hong Kong businessman Wong Yuk-kwan from a 38-day kidnap ordeal in Taiwan was the result of a hush-hush police operation that pushed the boundaries of politically sensitive cross-strait diplomacy. Sources with a knowledge of the delicate moves required to secure the release of the 68-year-old chef-turned chairman of Hong Kong-listed Pearl Oriental Oil Company told the Post that cooperation between Hong Kong's organised crime and triad bureau and Taiwan's police was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1873559/cross-strait-co-op-how-hong-kong-and-taiwan-police-joined?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1873559/cross-strait-co-op-how-hong-kong-and-taiwan-police-joined?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:30:15 +0000 Tickets for the more than 10,000 seats to see next year's FIA Formula E Championship races in Hong Kong will be available at a "reasonable" price, the Legislative Council was told yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of Legco's panel on economic development yesterday, Commissioner for Tourism Cathy Chu Man-ling was responding to lawmakers' questions on how to guarantee locals would not be excluded from the first major international race in their hometown. "Some of the tickets will be made available... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1872520/revving-their-engines-hong-kong-officials-quizzed-tickets-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1872520/revving-their-engines-hong-kong-officials-quizzed-tickets-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Oct 2015 23:00:45 +0000 Little can be done to prevent maritime accidents caused by floating junk similar to a high-speed ferry crash on Sunday, a maritime expert and former ship captain says. “There are so many people living in the Pearl River Delta area. Unless you’re sailing in a swimming pool, you would never be sailing in waters free of trash,” said Tony Yeung Pui-keung, a training master who used to instruct captains plying the Hong Kong-Macau sea route on which Sunday’s accident happened. The smash involved a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1872583/marine-expert-says-ferry-accidents-one-macau-hong-kong-route?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1872583/marine-expert-says-ferry-accidents-one-macau-hong-kong-route?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Oct 2015 23:00:15 +0000 A new independent body needs to be set up to monitor conditions inside police holding cells as the force’s watchdog has no power to do so at present, said a local human rights NGO after announcing the government had failed its improvement pledge made in 2009. The issue is often overlooked due to the relatively short period detained persons stay in police cells, which by law should be no longer than 48 hours, according to Annie Lin, community organiser of Society for Community Organisation, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1871353/police-holding-cells-no-better-2009-says-hong-kong-human?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1871353/police-holding-cells-no-better-2009-says-hong-kong-human?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Oct 2015 06:00:15 +0000 The emotional family of a mainland Chinese tourist allegedly beaten to death in a dispute over “forced shopping” at a Hong Kong jewellery store today demanded a proper explanation for his death after identifying his body. Miao Chunqi, 54, died on Tuesday at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a day after he was allegedly dragged out of the Hung Hom store by a group of men and repeatedly kicked when he tried to play peacemaker in a fight between a colleague and a tour guide. “I will defend my own rights.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1870863/were-owed-explanation-emotional-family-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1870863/were-owed-explanation-emotional-family-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Oct 2015 08:30:15 +0000 A Shenzhen tour escort accused of killing a mainland Chinese tourist during a dispute at a Hong Kong jewellery shop did not hit the victim, a court heard today. Tour escort Liu Yang, 32, and Hong Kong tour guide Ricky Woo Yin-nam, 44, appeared before Kowloon City Court jointly charged with manslaughter for the killing of Miao Chunqi, 54, on Monday outside D2 Jewellery in Hung Hom. No plea was made. The prosecution said Liu acknowledged he had dragged the victim out of the shop but “denied... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1870811/shenzhen-tour-escort-denies-hitting-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1870811/shenzhen-tour-escort-denies-hitting-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Oct 2015 06:00:30 +0000 3.45pm: In Tsang's case, representing the prosecution today is also Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions David Leung SC. Solicitor Michael Vidler and barrister James McGowan represent Tsang. McGowan told magistrate So Wai-tak they had just received detailed allegations against Tsang and hence asked for no plea. Tsang said he "understood" after being read the charge. McGowan noted the case of the seven police officers accused of beating Tsang had been adjourned to November 17. He urged the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1869302/occupy-protester-ken-tsang-and-seven-police-officers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1869302/occupy-protester-ken-tsang-and-seven-police-officers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2015 05:00:15 +0000 Schoolchildren and passers-by fled in terror as a discharged psychiatric patient carrying two knives attacked and injured two pedestrians outside Western Police Station yesterday. Witnesses described a terrifying scene as about 30 officers rushed from the station after receiving a report at 7.45am that the man had wounded two passers-by. Police officers, some of whom drew their guns, subdued and arrested the suspect, 43, on Des Voeux Road West in Sai Ying Pun. The alleged attacker was discharged... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1869337/man-carrying-two-meat-cleavers-attacks-and-injures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1869337/man-carrying-two-meat-cleavers-attacks-and-injures?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2015 02:15:15 +0000 A decision by prosecutors to synchronise actions against an Occupy protester charged with assaulting police and seven officers who allegedly beat him up means the order of their trials could affect witness credibility, lawyers said yesterday. A complicating element in the legal drama is the dual identity of Ken Tsang Kin-chiu, who is in one case a victim and potential prosecution witness while in the other a defendant. He is due to appear in Eastern Court on Monday, the same day the seven... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/1868801/linked-cases-hong-kong-protester-and-cops?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/1868801/linked-cases-hong-kong-protester-and-cops?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Oct 2015 18:21:23 +0000 Hong Kong’s justice minister today again denied politics played any part in a decision to prosecute an Occupy activist hours after seven police officers he accused of beating him were formally charged yesterday. After a 90-minute session at Central police station yesterday described as “arrest by appointment”, Ken Tsang Kin-chiu, of the Civic Party and a member of the 1,200-strong election committee that elected Leung Chun-ying chief executive in 2012, described the surprise decision to press... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1868352/hong-kong-justice-minister-again-denies-politics-played?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1868352/hong-kong-justice-minister-again-denies-politics-played?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Oct 2015 06:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong's largest Buddhist group and one of the city's most influential monasteries have both attempted to distance themselves from a monastery embroiled in a suspected marriage-for-residency and embezzlement scandal. A senior monk at Po Lin Monastery yesterday used Buddhist-speak by saying "answering questions would only invite trouble" as he tried to fend off media questions about the Lantau monastery's role in the affair. Earlier this week, Mary Jean Reimer, one of the directors of Ting Wai... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1868327/hong-kong-buddhist-association-distances-itself?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1868327/hong-kong-buddhist-association-distances-itself?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Oct 2015 04:30:00 +0000 Seven police officers accused of beating up an Occupy activist 12 months ago were yesterday formally charged over the alleged attack in a day of unprecedented legal drama that saw their accuser also charged just hours later. But Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung rejected accusations the decision to charge activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu on the same day as the men suspected of attacking him was an attempt to divert public attention, insisting it was made in the interests of "fairness" to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/1868101/more-details-emerge-assault-cases-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/1868101/more-details-emerge-assault-cases-against?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 12:30:30 +0000 Seven police officers accused of beating activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu during the Occupy protests last year could face prison after police said all had been jointly charged with wounding or striking with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. One officer is also charged with one count of common assault. The charge of shooting or attempting to shoot, or wounding or striking with intent to do grevious bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. All seven officers have been released on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867789/seven-police-officers-charged-beating-occupy-activist-ken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867789/seven-police-officers-charged-beating-occupy-activist-ken?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2015 04:45:15 +0000 There were echoes of the bitter divisions sown during last year's Occupy protests on Wednesday as police and activists voiced vastly different views on the first anniversary of one of the most controversial incidents of the 79-day movement. Either today or tomorrow, seven police officers accused of beating activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu in Admiralty a year ago today will be formally charged and appear in court. The long-awaited decision to prosecute the officers - which has seen the Department of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867587/opinions-split-one-year-after-beating-hong-kong-activist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867587/opinions-split-one-year-after-beating-hong-kong-activist?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:00:15 +0000 The arrest of an illegal immigrant from Guizhou - allegedly a member of a four-man gang that plundered The Peak home of HSBC's Asia-Pacific chief - has sparked concern that would-be criminals from one of the mainland's poorest provinces could be eyeing Hong Kong as a source of quick riches. The man, 24, was arrested on Monday evening after he went to Sha Tin Hospital to seek treatment for arm injuries he allegedly suffered while scaling barbed wire to escape with eight watches and jewellery... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867334/guizhou-link-mooted-raid-hsbc-chiefs-hong-kong-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867334/guizhou-link-mooted-raid-hsbc-chiefs-hong-kong-home?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2015 17:45:15 +0000 The police watchdog has slammed the force for a lack of vigilance in granting bail to two mainland Chinese tourists accused of fighting with a Hong Kong tour guide, saying the pair absconded while the guide’s bail was “unnecessarily” extended. The tour guide filed a report to the police’s internal Complaints Against Police Office (Capo) after learning that a passer-by who tried to intervene in the incident had been released, while her bail period of one-month was extended five times after her... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1866547/hong-kong-police-watchdog-slams-force-granting-bail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1866547/hong-kong-police-watchdog-slams-force-granting-bail?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2015 05:45:45 +0000 Bereaved relatives of victims killed in the 2012 Lamma ferry disaster have hired a senior counsel to study the feasibility of private prosecution, after the Department of Justice's decision not to charge government officials implicated in the incident, a lawmaker says. Bringing a private lawsuit against the 17 Marine Department officials was not ideal, given the few precedents, resources required and lack of investigative powers exclusive to authorities, according to James To Kun-sun of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/1863190/families-lamma-ferry-victims-recruit-senior?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/1863190/families-lamma-ferry-victims-recruit-senior?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Oct 2015 08:00:45 +0000 The government has finally released the full report of the commission of inquiry into the Lamma ferry tragedy on the eve of the third anniversary of the disaster that killed 39 people. But victims' families pressing for full disclosure of a separate internal government report - which was partly disclosed to them in April last year under a confidentiality agreement - were told there was insufficient evidence to charge 17 Marine Department officials implicated. The families said they were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1863048/full-report-lamma-ferry-tragedy-finally-released-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1863048/full-report-lamma-ferry-tragedy-finally-released-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:00:45 +0000 Recent rows over how the MTR Corporation enforced its by-laws governing baggage size could have been prevented had the government honoured a promise in 2010 to review regulations of the railway operator, a lawmaker said yesterday. The regulations, known as the Mass Transit Railway By-Laws, were sometimes ambiguous and so outdated that, if strictly enforced, they could lead to more "absurd" situations, James To Kun-sun of the Democratic Party warned. Instances of ambiguous by-laws were the... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/1862545/outdated-mtr-laws-behind-recent-baggage-disputes-lawmaker-james-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/1862545/outdated-mtr-laws-behind-recent-baggage-disputes-lawmaker-james-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Sep 2015 16:00:00 +0000 Four property owners of a Sha Tin estate embroiled in an alleged rigged bid for a HK$260 million renovation project will ask the courts this afternoon to determine whether the current owners' corporation management committee is violating the law by delaying a meeting for its own re-election. Each owner at Garden Vista faces a bill of up to HK$350,000. Filing the claim with the Lands Tribunal on behalf of dozens of owners, the owners' representatives yesterday said they had lost all confidence in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1862374/high-stakes-hong-kong-property-owners-press-estate-management?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1862374/high-stakes-hong-kong-property-owners-press-estate-management?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Sep 2015 08:30:30 +0000 Two British women injured when a Mercedes-Benz ploughed into them on Aberdeen Street in Central on Saturday night were making progress in their recovery on Monday, according to a friend of the pair. Karen Thomas, the more seriously injured of the two after she was sent "flying into the air" from the car's impact, remained in the intensive care unit as of last night after undergoing an operation on her pelvis and another to clear internal bleeding in her brain, her friend Elektra Yu said. "She... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1862198/british-women-injured-soho-mercedes-benz-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1862198/british-women-injured-soho-mercedes-benz-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Sep 2015 16:00:59 +0000 They thought life at sea was the perfect shelter from the city’s sky-high property prices – now the Chan family is homeless after seeing their floating home and all their worldly possessions go up in flames in yesterday’s dramatic blaze in Shau Kei Wan. And the family of five is demanding a proper explanation for a delay in the arrival of fireboats at the Shau Kei Wan typhoon shelter, rejecting the claims of a fire commander that a blockage at the entrance to the shelter delayed their arrival.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1862095/familys-nightmare-dramatic-blaze-hong-kong-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1862095/familys-nightmare-dramatic-blaze-hong-kong-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Sep 2015 09:45:00 +0000 The mother of a teenager who will die unless she receives a double lung transplant by tomorrow pleaded yesterday for a donor family to step forward and save her daughter's life. "For those who have a good heart, please help my daughter," said a tearful Imelda Lo. "She's a very good daughter. I don't want to lose her." READ MORE: Hong Kong's donor dilemma: Call for review after doctors shelved dying man's liver transplant because donor had kidney cancer Jamella Mangali Lo is one of three or four... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1861951/hong-kong-mothers-emotional-plea-donor-save-dying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1861951/hong-kong-mothers-emotional-plea-donor-save-dying?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Sep 2015 18:30:45 +0000 For revellers packed into Victoria Park last night to enjoy the lantern carnival while celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, the event was even more special than usual. A rare celestial phenomenon meant the moon was at its closest possible distance to earth, making it look bigger than normal. Although the moon was veiled by layers of dark cloud, many said they were not disappointed in the slightest. And one year on from the start of the Occupy protests, student Michael Hui had even found a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/1861936/brightest-mid-autumn-festival-moon-years-leaves-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/1861936/brightest-mid-autumn-festival-moon-years-leaves-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Sep 2015 16:00:45 +0000