https://www.scmp.com/rss/327306/feed Mandy is a summer intern on the Hong Kong desk. She holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Unattached for more than two years, Joe, 30, was thrilled when he had a perfect first date in late August. They connected on the dating app Bumble, met, and got along so well the Hongkonger, who works in human resources, thought he might be heading for a serious relationship. Within weeks, however, it was over. She sent him a curt text message saying: “I don’t want to continue any more.” Though disappointed, Joe (not his real name) guessed it was because he had revealed he was anti-police and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3041932/new-hong-kong-dating-game-i-you-are-you-yellow-or-blue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3041932/new-hong-kong-dating-game-i-you-are-you-yellow-or-blue?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Dec 2019 05:00:10 +0000 Wan Ka-man grew up in remote and tranquil countryside with clean air and the Hong Kong Wetland Park, a 60-hectare wildlife reserve, within walking distance. But it is a bit of a hassle to reach other parts of the city. “It takes at least an hour, no matter where I want to go, because I need to take buses first and then the West Rail line,” Wan, a 25-year-old resident of Tin Shui Wai, says. But since late July, the distant town in the northwestern New Territories has been swept up with the rest... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3025907/dark-nickname-oysters-and-wetlands-tin-shui-wai-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3025907/dark-nickname-oysters-and-wetlands-tin-shui-wai-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Sep 2019 02:00:15 +0000 “Compared with Central, the only thing Tsuen Wan doesn’t have is luxury stores,” Eva Chan Yee-wah jokes. For the 26-year-old Tsuen Wan resident, her neighbourhood is time-worn yet vibrant and well-established. “My friends and I seldom leave here to hang out, because we’ve got everything – tons of shopping malls, great food, a museum and a library, even bars for those who crave nightlife.” But things have somehow changed since a month ago. “Now I don’t go out alone at night any more,” says Chan,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3025147/mahjong-parlours-and-fujian-gangsters-how-peaceful-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3025147/mahjong-parlours-and-fujian-gangsters-how-peaceful-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Aug 2019 02:00:08 +0000 When the Filipino pop song Tala echoes across the stage of the World of Dance Hong Kong competition, performer Jhoshwa Ledesma Gomez gets goosebumps right away. Dressed in black and white, the 23-year-old Filipino feels the urge to scream while dancing to the song, along with the other 30 members of his dance crew Southeastwood. And they do just that. “So many teams from famous studios and brands came to the show, and we were just us, a bunch of kids who had been practising outside the MTR... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3022193/hong-kong-hip-hop-crew-got-feeling-their-bodies-means-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3022193/hong-kong-hip-hop-crew-got-feeling-their-bodies-means-all?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Aug 2019 03:00:09 +0000 Every day in a 600 sq ft tenement building flat crammed with bunk beds, a group of 20-somethings used to make room for their guitars and drums, and rehearse until the afternoon sunshine dimmed. A child of the 1960s, James Tang Hong-sum remembers those times, and a home filled with music, and a host of different characters. “Our home would become a hotspot, as neighbours, street vendors, even police officers, all gathered to listen,” the 58-year-old says. “Strangely, no one ever complained about... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3021232/child-sixties-record-collection-and-hong-kong-museum-owners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3021232/child-sixties-record-collection-and-hong-kong-museum-owners?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Aug 2019 08:30:07 +0000 Giraffe Leung Lok-hei has visited up to 30 banks in the past two years, most of the time carrying a single HK$100 (US$13) note with him. The 26-year-old remembers queuing for up to nine hours to exchange the money for a mass of 20-cent coins, a rare request that often perplexes members of staff. “They would ask: ‘Are you a vendor? What do you use the coins for?’” “And I would answer: ‘For art’,” Leung says, laughing. “Then comes the lonely and tiresome journey dragging a suitcase full of copper... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3021231/hong-kong-artists-baffling-hk100-request-spawns-nostalgic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3021231/hong-kong-artists-baffling-hk100-request-spawns-nostalgic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Aug 2019 03:00:14 +0000 On his first day of work at a mental health rehabilitation centre, carer See Wai-chung recognised a familiar face among the patients – the vice-principal of his primary school. “He acted exactly like the gentle, soft-spoken man in my memory. There was nothing wrong from his appearance,” recalls See, who later found out the man was seriously depressed. See says the encounter spurred him to reach out to patients with respect and sincerity. Mental health in Hong Kong at worst level in 7 years:... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3018333/carer-mentally-ill-day-musician-and-painter-night?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3018333/carer-mentally-ill-day-musician-and-painter-night?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2019 18:00:07 +0000 With a giant hedgehog statue welcoming customers at the door, Kuri Cafe is yet another animal-themed restaurant in Hong Kong – this time featuring the quill-covered species. Touted as the city’s first hedgehog cafe, it is home to 13 palm-sized African pygmy hedgehogs aged from three months to two years, all adopted via an online pet forum by the cafe’s two owners. “It’s quite hard for these cuties to become close to humans, because they are timid and easily frightened in nature,” says Ken Yuen... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3017467/hong-kongs-home-hedgehogs-kuri-cafe-follows-paws-dog-and-cat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3017467/hong-kongs-home-hedgehogs-kuri-cafe-follows-paws-dog-and-cat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jul 2019 07:00:06 +0000 Dressed in black and his face covered by a bulky helmet, HIV-positive Duncan Lam Chun-chung opened up about his struggles on television last year. At one point, the 39-year-old, who volunteered to appear on a talk show hosted by Canto-pop singer Eman Lam Yee-man, suddenly announced through a voice changer: “I can take off the helmet.” And he did just that, with a faint smile, though he said he had been preparing himself mentally for that moment for ages. “I hoped by revealing my identity to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3015580/facing-discrimination-and-ignorance-hongkongers-living-hiv?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3015580/facing-discrimination-and-ignorance-hongkongers-living-hiv?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jun 2019 04:00:13 +0000 At an entrepreneurship competition hosted by Google in 2014, fresh graduate Nelson Chan Ho-hin got a thrill out of listening to the contestants’ pitches. “Some ideas in the field of recycling and environment protection really impressed me, and I thought they had the potential of creating a social impact,” the 27-year-old recalls. “So I wondered: is there a way of letting more people see these ideas?” As a young aspiring programmer, Chan did not take long to find the answer: build a crowdsourcing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3014567/crowdsourcing-conscience-hong-kong-programmers-help-society?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3014567/crowdsourcing-conscience-hong-kong-programmers-help-society?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Jun 2019 01:00:14 +0000 A year after being paralysed in a car accident, former military pilot Ajmal Samuel in 1988 injected himself with an overdose of opiate and cocaine, hoping to never wake up again. Aged 23, the Pakistani soldier was in the middle of 15 operations within two years. The chronic pain from his injured nerves felt like “somebody jabbing a knife into my legs”. “That was a dark time in my life. It just occurred to me that I’m not a hero, [or] invincible,” recalls Samuel, who was stationed in Kashmir when... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3012566/pakistani-former-pilot-fights-back-brink-inspire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3012566/pakistani-former-pilot-fights-back-brink-inspire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2019 23:45:09 +0000 Big Big Grey Bear still remembers the sleepless nights in 2017 when she was tormented by suicidal thoughts and googled “mental health help” countless times online. “I was going through a divorce that year, and was seriously depressed. Simply reaching out takes a huge amount of courage,” says the 30-year-old, who prefers to use a nickname. She was first diagnosed with clinical depression six years ago, largely rooted in her childhood experiences of domestic violence. What frustrated her even more... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3011659/roadsign-search-engine-mental-health-services?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3011659/roadsign-search-engine-mental-health-services?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2019 01:30:11 +0000 When housewife Susan (not her real name) was woken by a call at 10am on a breezy Saturday in January last year, she did not know her life was about to be thrown into turmoil. The call was from her husband’s phone, but at the other end of the line was a policeman. The officer told Susan that her husband had tripped and injured his head while playing golf. The freak accident has left him in a coma since that fateful day and taken Susan, 47, on an emotional roller-coaster, forcing her to adjust to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3010502/untold-stories-struggling-hong-kong-mothers-bless-so-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3010502/untold-stories-struggling-hong-kong-mothers-bless-so-free?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 May 2019 03:00:03 +0000 Artist Lau Kwong-shing is taking in a surreal moment as he sits in front of a wall adorned with pencil sketches while dozens of fans line up for his autograph. He is holding a solo exhibition at Gallery Z in Shek Kip Mei. On his career milestone, Lau, 29, a college dropout, says: “A former teacher came up to me and said: ‘You’ve really grown up’. “And to think that just hours before the event, I was terrified that no one would show up.” The exhibition, which will last till May 18, represents... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3009313/how-hong-kong-manga-artist-caught-eye-dutch-company-behind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3009313/how-hong-kong-manga-artist-caught-eye-dutch-company-behind?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2019 03:00:11 +0000 Cartoonist Yu Yuen-wong was at the height of his powers in 2005 when he made enough money to buy his own flat – a 700 sq ft home in Tseung Kwan O worth HK$2 million (US$255,000). It was meant to be a love nest for him and his then girlfriend, whom he planned to marry. Little did he know that in four years his dreams would come crashing down after an industry slump. “My life is like a manga story about adventure, [and] in the beginning I was very lucky,” says Yu, now in his 40s. His good fortune... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3008775/hired-japanese-toy-giant-bandai-create-manga-series-digimon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3008775/hired-japanese-toy-giant-bandai-create-manga-series-digimon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 May 2019 03:00:10 +0000 At a health exhibition in Wan Chai, visitors crowd around a “clinic for self-diagnosis” – a wall that lists a ream of common ailments. There is no doctor or nurse on site to consult. The conditions are not all exactly medical – they include forgetfulness, sloppiness and cellphone addiction. Patients can diagnose themselves according to the details given, and wrap coloured strings around knobs on the wall, each shade representing a source of help they usually turn to, such as parents or... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3007830/chronic-illness-dont-struggle-silence-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3007830/chronic-illness-dont-struggle-silence-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Apr 2019 08:30:10 +0000 Higher education is often seen as the pathway to a successful corporate career, but fresh graduate Peter Chan Kin-yan has his sights set on a path less travelled – promoting the practice of meditation. “In Hong Kong, results are highly valued, so it is hard to ask people to sit down and feel the flow of their thoughts. That’s why we need to get innovative,” Chan, 23, says. He secured his degree in psychology from the University of Hong Kong last June and soon set up Treehole HK, a start-up that... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3007831/mtr-meditation-anyone-hong-kong-start-offers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3007831/mtr-meditation-anyone-hong-kong-start-offers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Apr 2019 00:45:08 +0000 Waking up trembling in the freezing dark, Anson Lui Ching-fan notices a hole in his sleeping bag, out of which down feathers are escaping, fluttering like snowflakes in his tent he shares with three fellow explorers. It is Lui’s fourth night on the icebound Lake Baikal, where in February temperatures drop to below minus 40 degrees Celsius. Hastily shuffling into all the layers of clothes he has to hand, the 30-year-old adventurer can’t help but think: “I don’t want to die here.” “I stay awake... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3006947/adventures-frozen-wilderness-hong-kong-mans-trek?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3006947/adventures-frozen-wilderness-hong-kong-mans-trek?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Apr 2019 01:30:11 +0000 Sitting in a humble studio in the corner of a shopping centre in Kowloon City, tailor Fung Yau-choi recalls the hustle and bustle of cheongsam stores in the 1950s. “Back then, cheongsam was for everyone, from distinguished ladies and madams to backing dancers at nightclubs,” he says, referring to a traditional Chinese dress style known for its feminine body-hugging features. “There were at least 20 tailor’s shops in Causeway Bay alone, and in the busy days, a master needed to make up to three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3005861/master-dying-art-traditional-dressmaker-recalls-golden-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3005861/master-dying-art-traditional-dressmaker-recalls-golden-era?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2019 10:15:06 +0000 At the age of 18, on the cusp of what he hoped would be a dazzling future, Raymond Sun Jingrui was stricken with blindness and found his life suddenly changed. “It was like falling from the sky down to earth. I thought I had been thrown on the scrap heap,” he says. Locking himself away at home for four years, the Guangzhou youngster finally worked his way through all the mental torment, developing an interest in psychology in the process. But Sun soon realised the only realistic career open to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3005824/offering-young-people-disabilities-clearer-path?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3005824/offering-young-people-disabilities-clearer-path?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2019 04:00:15 +0000 “F*** you, Hong Kong separatist dog.” Teacher Nick Tse Wai-lok, 35, recalls a recent message he received on his WeChat at 3am, and the shock he felt after realising who sent it. It was from a former student at an international school in Guangzhou, where he taught at four years ago. “We hadn’t spoken in ages. It was totally unexpected,” says Tse, a Hongkonger who has been teaching chemistry in Guangdong province since 2011. He had been vocal on Chinese social media about Hong Kong politics, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3004787/greater-bay-area-opens-hong-kong-teachers-can-they-accept?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3004787/greater-bay-area-opens-hong-kong-teachers-can-they-accept?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Apr 2019 00:00:07 +0000 As a child who lived in the Kwun Tong Resettlement Area, one of Hong Kong’s oldest public housing communities, artist On Tai Yau-on, 39, counts many cherished memories from that time as inspiration. Among scenes he hopes to recreate are an iron gate and wooden door that were seldom locked, candy vendors wandering dank corridors and a dim sum place below his block where neighbours would hang out. But, instead of putting this on canvas, Tai intends to relive his childhood by actually building such... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2189016/artist-helps-hong-kongs-elderly-revisit-their-youth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2189016/artist-helps-hong-kongs-elderly-revisit-their-youth?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2019 04:03:40 +0000 The NGO tasked with promoting the values of the Commonwealth and improving lives in its member states is holding its first Asian conference in Hong Kong this month, with a focus on issues affecting young people. The Royal Commonwealth Society will welcome 45 delegates from 12 countries including Singapore, Malaysia and India. Discussions are planned on education, skills and employment, which Peter Mann, chairman of the society’s Hong Kong branch, said were highly relevant to the city. “A lot of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2188252/first-royal-commonwealth-society-conference-hong-kong-bring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2188252/first-royal-commonwealth-society-conference-hong-kong-bring?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Mar 2019 02:03:39 +0000 When Singaporean Ski Yeo Poh Lian visited Hong Kong for the first time in 1996, the 12-year-old was dazzled by a simple but typical street scene: people walking everywhere, all the time. Two decades later, Yeo can barely recall her first memories of Ocean Park or Victoria Harbour. But this first impression, taken from looking out a bus window, has stayed vivid. “Look how fast locals walk, even the elderly. It shows the speed of this city, full of energy,” Yeo, now 35, said. “Hong Kong is not... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2187277/singaporean-tour-guide-wants-visitors-travel-local-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2187277/singaporean-tour-guide-wants-visitors-travel-local-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Feb 2019 01:03:37 +0000 The long night begins for Lee Wing-shan just when the grand banquet comes to an end. For more than six months, the 28-year-old has been spending most weekend nights alone, washing dozens of dishes in a small office pantry borrowed from a friend. “I had my doubts; I wondered how I could carry on with this business,” says Lee, who founded We-Use in 2016. The dishware rental company provides reusable cutlery and tableware for events such as banquets, fairs and marathons, delivering the items and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2186329/hong-kong-start-dishes-smart-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2186329/hong-kong-start-dishes-smart-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Feb 2019 07:34:51 +0000 As Hong Kong’s public hospitals reel from the flu season crisis, overburdened nurses are taking to social media to vent their frustration, but also to share positive tales and remind themselves amid the thankless chaos why they took on the task of caring for the sick. Lupita (not her real name), 39, has seen it all in her nine years working in emergency wards – from heart attack patients to those suffering from paralysis, as well as some who are so sick they keep vomiting. She has also fielded... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2184666/i-feel-i-can-work-death-hong-kongs-weary-nurses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2184666/i-feel-i-can-work-death-hong-kongs-weary-nurses?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Feb 2019 03:31:15 +0000 David Vetter,Mandy Zheng,Rachel Leung David Vetter,Mandy Zheng,Rachel Leung When Wong Ka-lok started his fortune-telling business in Hong Kong in 1992, few college-educated people took him seriously. Some even called him a fraud. Now, university students are some of his most loyal customers. The reason for the change, he says, is increasing pressure at work and higher career expectations compared to previous generations. Some have trouble finding the right job. Others feel directionless. So they come to Wong for advice, just as they might consult a career adviser or... https://www.scmp.com/culture/directionless-millennials-hong-kong-are-flocking-fortune-tellers-advice/article/3000212?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/directionless-millennials-hong-kong-are-flocking-fortune-tellers-advice/article/3000212?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Oct 2018 10:11:50 +0000 Carrying a black canvas bag and wearing a dark blue shirt, Yeung Chin-kwun looks like any other boy hanging out in the park. Except the bag contains five pounds of medical equipment, and the young heart underneath his shirt cannot beat by itself. The 12-year-old Hongkonger has a mechanical pump made of metal – a ventricular assist device, or VAD – implanted in his chest. “He was born with heart disease,” his father, who declines to be named, explains. “It’s a miracle that he’s still alive at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2161092/miracle-boy-heart-defect-who-got-hong-kongs-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2161092/miracle-boy-heart-defect-who-got-hong-kongs-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Aug 2018 04:00:35 +0000 As the gates of hell open and ghosts roam among the living – or so followers of a Chinese custom believe – Hong Kong welcomes the annual Hungry Ghost Festival with the familiar smell of burning incense and paper. The Chinese believe the seventh month of the lunar calendar is when the living and spirit realms are linked. The 15th day of this month – which falls on Saturday this year – is known as the Hungry Ghost Festival where supernatural activity peaks. The day is also called Yu Lan, Ullambana... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2161261/why-you-should-not-take-selfies-and-should-always-be-kind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2161261/why-you-should-not-take-selfies-and-should-always-be-kind?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Aug 2018 02:31:38 +0000 The air quality in Hong Kong on Friday worsened progressively with the city’s pollution index hitting the highest level of 10+ at nine monitoring stations by evening and posing a “serious” health risk. By 10pm, the level had dropped to between 8 and 9 at those stations, meaning there was a “very high” health risk from pollutants in the air. The highest reading at night was at Tai Po, followed by stations such as Central/Western, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, Eastern, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, Tseung... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2161236/air-quality-hong-kong-declines-day-tuen-mun-worst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2161236/air-quality-hong-kong-declines-day-tuen-mun-worst?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:30:45 +0000 By giving out covers for umbrellas at buildings it manages, the Hong Kong government is “taking the lead in producing plastic waste”, a local green group declared on Thursday. Greeners Action said it investigated 83 buildings managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department from July to August, and found 60 of them – or just over 7 in 10 – gave out plastic bags for umbrellas on rainy days. Most bag handout points lacked any guidance for users, beyond one displaying a sign asking people to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2161075/giving-out-umbrella-covers-when-it-rains-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2161075/giving-out-umbrella-covers-when-it-rains-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Aug 2018 12:43:00 +0000 The gender pay gap is a well-known fact that’s been documented across the world. Several theories have been floated for its existence – a difference in ambition, childcare responsibilities and good old-fashioned misogyny.   But a new survey in Hong Kong, a city with strong legal protections against discrimination, reveals that employers may simply be prejudiced against working moms.  Fewer than half of Hong Kong employers want to hire women with children, according to a study by the Equal... https://www.scmp.com/business/hong-kong-employees-dont-want-hire-women-children-survey-finds/article/2161016?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/hong-kong-employees-dont-want-hire-women-children-survey-finds/article/2161016?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Aug 2018 10:00:45 +0000 Fewer than half of Hong Kong employers, when asked about their ideal job candidates, want to hire women with children even if they are just as competent as other applicants, a study by the Equal Opportunities Commission has found. While 8 per cent of 630 workers with caregiving responsibilities felt they were treated ­differently because of their family status in the past two years, about 20 per cent of them said they had quit their jobs before. Of 1003 employees surveyed, 630, or 62 per cent,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2160912/half-hong-kong-employers-do-not-want-hire-women-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2160912/half-hong-kong-employers-do-not-want-hire-women-children?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Aug 2018 16:00:45 +0000 An Indonesian domestic helper was killed by a falling tree branch on Tuesday, putting the spotlight again on long-unresolved questions about Hong Kong’s struggle with tree management and inability to improve safety through legislation. Jumiati Supadi, 48, was struck on the head by the 4½-metre-long branch, weighing 30kg, as she was walking with her employer at around 7.30am along New Clear Water Bay Road in Sau Mau Ping. She was rushed to United Christian Hospital and certified dead soon... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2160585/woman-killed-four-metre-long-falling-tree-branch-sau-mau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2160585/woman-killed-four-metre-long-falling-tree-branch-sau-mau?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Aug 2018 01:30:00 +0000 For more than a year, artist Ma Yujiang, 30, spent his nights in 24-hour McDonald’s outlets in Hong Kong. On average he saw about 15 regular McSleepers frequenting each of the three branches he visited. And he fondly recalls preferring to spend the night with strangers rather than going back to his lonely home. “It’s weird, but sleepers at each McDonald’s have formed their own communities with certain rules,” the mainland native says. Such rules include regular sleepers occupying sofas in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2160100/artist-stays-overnight-three-hong-kong-mcdonalds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2160100/artist-stays-overnight-three-hong-kong-mcdonalds?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Aug 2018 04:45:00 +0000 To Chiu-sung holds up a 20cm tall, three-storey cardboard mansion of 16 rooms, each with an old-fashioned air conditioner installed outside the window. “These are subdivided flats, the star item this year,” explains the 65-year-old owner of Chun Shing Hong, a paper offerings shop in Sai Ying Pun which opened 35 years ago. The paper miniatures are selling fast one week ahead of the Hungry Ghost Festival – the Chinese version of Halloween – a time when believers say the gates of hell open,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2160243/life-after-death-subdivided-flat-why-paper-replicas-are-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2160243/life-after-death-subdivided-flat-why-paper-replicas-are-big?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Aug 2018 02:46:17 +0000 A key pro-establishment party has warned it could join the opposition’s call to invoke the legislature’s special powers to investigate construction scandals clouding Hong Kong’s most expensive rail project as public discontent mounts over the handling of the saga. Lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, said on Thursday that should the government refuse to extend an inquiry to cover concerns over sinking residential blocks caused by... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2160083/hong-kong-lawmaker-willing-join-opposition-call?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2160083/hong-kong-lawmaker-willing-join-opposition-call?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Aug 2018 14:59:56 +0000 Nearly a thousand people paid their respects to late Hong Kong singer-songwriter Ellen Joyce Loo on Monday, eight days after she fell to her death at her Happy Valley residence at the age of 32. Mourners queued in silence outside Hong Kong Funeral Home, dressed mostly in black with some donning masks. Groups of 30 people each time were allowed into a memorial room, where a photo of the artist and paintings done by her were placed. The displays were surrounded by flowers sent by her friends and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2159530/nearly-thousand-mourners-show-funeral-service-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2159530/nearly-thousand-mourners-show-funeral-service-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Aug 2018 13:15:30 +0000 Over the past two years, food stall owner Po Sing-wa has seen a number of changes on bustling Cheung Chau Island. Among them one trend stands out: heaps of plastic forks and food containers that are too eye-catching to ignore, especially after weekends when holiday makers visit the island famous for street snacks such as fishballs. “They’re everywhere, not only in rubbish bins but also in the baskets of bikes parked along the streets,” the 35-year-old island native says. Po and his staff... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158831/cheung-chau-island-food-vendors-join-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158831/cheung-chau-island-food-vendors-join-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Aug 2018 03:01:10 +0000 The family of security guard Ng Shung-hei, who was stabbed to death while on duty last Sunday, have accused the government of not offering them any support after his death. On Friday, members of the 59-year-old water treatment plant employee’s family said no government officials had called to express their condolences, let alone offering any help. “It’s been five days [since Ng’s death],” his daughter, Ng Sin-ying said. “I’ve called government departments and lots of organisations, but all I’ve... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/2159248/just-tell-me-why-my-father-died-daughter-dead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/2159248/just-tell-me-why-my-father-died-daughter-dead?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Aug 2018 14:00:30 +0000 Two Hong Kong tourists were killed in a car crash in Perth in Western Australia last week, immigration authorities confirmed on Thursday. The women – both teachers – aged 54 and 59, were killed at the scene after the Toyota Camry they were travelling in collided with a four-wheel drive vehicle towing a trailer on Brand Highway at Bookara last Thursday. The two drivers, aged 53 and 42, were injured, one of them critically, according to Australian news reports. A spokesman for the Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/2158911/two-hong-kong-women-killed-perth-car-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-law-and-crime/article/2158911/two-hong-kong-women-killed-perth-car-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Aug 2018 03:15:45 +0000 Rocketing charges from recruitment agencies bringing foreign domestic helpers to Hong Kong mean the workers are spending over a third of their monthly wages to pay back loans and fees, more than double the amount five years ago, a survey shows. And coupled with the higher cost of living in the city, this means helpers had less for remittances and savings than before – an average of HK$1,700 (US$218) a month in 2017, or 32 per cent of their income, down from 54 per cent five years ago. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2158525/hong-kongs-domestic-helper-groups-push-25-cent-pay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2158525/hong-kongs-domestic-helper-groups-push-25-cent-pay?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Aug 2018 13:15:45 +0000 The buskers have gone, the noise has dropped but not everyone is happy now that a Hong Kong pedestrian zone notorious for its decibel levels has closed. This weekend – the first without street performers in 18 years – Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok is again open for vehicles round the clock – and is now just another crowded street indistinguishable from any other shopping area in the city. “It feels like it’s just a normal weekday now,” Ray Wong, manager of a phone accessory store on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2158324/peace-returns-raucous-hong-kong-pedestrian-zone-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2158324/peace-returns-raucous-hong-kong-pedestrian-zone-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Aug 2018 06:00:45 +0000 Hong Kong’s annual mooncake craze is already in full swing, as customers queue up for coupons for the delicacy at Maxim’s Cake stores across the city. While coupons offered at the stores sold out in two days, resellers have inflated prices dramatically, from the initial offering price of HK$228 to about HK$330 per coupon, according to shopping agents from mainland China. Mooncake coupons give a discount on the price of a box of mooncakes, and ensure buyers can pick up their desserts the day they... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2158209/mooncake-madness-descends-cross-border-trade-delicacies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2158209/mooncake-madness-descends-cross-border-trade-delicacies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Aug 2018 06:31:20 +0000 Every day Hongkongers throw away 450 tonnes of leftover soup ingredients – a weight equivalent to about 1,000 cows, according to a study by a local NGO. The unwanted dregs make up a hefty 40 per cent of all household food waste in the city. The shocking figures were revealed last week by Food Grace which said the “colossal” problem was being forgotten amid the push to tackle other rubbish such as plastics. But now a professional Cantonese chef is encouraging cooks to get creative instead of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158108/how-cantonese-soups-create-40-cent-hong-kongs-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158108/how-cantonese-soups-create-40-cent-hong-kongs-food?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Aug 2018 06:01:16 +0000 For 16-year-old Victor Wong Long-in, home is where the heart is, and also where his six turtles, five horned frogs, four house geckos, a ball python and a corn snake reside. The high-school student shares his 800 sq ft flat in Hong Kong with his parents and a mini zoo. An aquarium and a wooden cabinet – which hold his unusual pets – dominate their living room, and he keeps these carefully locked. “Everyone knows I am into reptiles especially,” Wong says. “I treat them as my family.” Wong is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2158232/why-are-more-hongkongers-going-wild-exotic-pets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2158232/why-are-more-hongkongers-going-wild-exotic-pets?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Aug 2018 00:30:00 +0000 Hong Kong’s MTR subway system is one of the cleanest, quietest, and most efficient in the world. But that doesn’t mean it’s spotless, a new study has found. Commuters on the city’s MTR trains bring in unique bacteria from the areas they live in, creating a cocktail of germs that passengers are exposed to throughout the network by the end of every day, according to the study led by the University of Hong Kong. About five million passengers – and the bacteria they bring on board – use the railway... https://www.scmp.com/health/hong-kong-study-shows-mtr-subway-lines-have-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/article/2158174?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/health/hong-kong-study-shows-mtr-subway-lines-have-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/article/2158174?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Aug 2018 09:15:15 +0000 Commuters on Hong Kong’s MTR trains bring in bacteria that are unique to the areas they live in, creating a cocktail of germs that passengers are exposed to throughout the network by the end of every day, according to a University of Hong Kong-led study. About 5 million passengers – and the bacteria they bring on board – use the railway system’s 11 lines daily, with lines serving the New Territories close to the Shenzhen border having bacteria with more antibiotic resistance genes during the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158031/diverse-bacteria-hong-kong-mtr-living-reflection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158031/diverse-bacteria-hong-kong-mtr-living-reflection?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Aug 2018 10:45:15 +0000 Sending several hundred 15cm (six-inch) figurines of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to the United States was a proud but somewhat surreal moment for businessman Joe Chan Cho-nam. The 33-year-old owns a company, QMiniMe@Unusually, which makes hand-tailored figurines, the only firm of its kind in Hong Kong to cater to both the retail and mass production markets. The company, established in 2003, has two mini-shops tucked away on the upper floors of local shopping malls but enjoys a much larger... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2157256/little-donald-trump-all-days-work-hong-kong-figurine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2157256/little-donald-trump-all-days-work-hong-kong-figurine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jul 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Health care booking agents are cashing in on China’s vaccine scandal by promising pricey appointments to mainland parents seeking jabs for their children in Hong Kong, with at least one company doubling its fees. Some private clinics in the city claimed to be fully booked for vaccinations for the next two months. Checks by the Post found companies specialising in reservations for Hong Kong health care services were in big demand, with many saying on social media they could readily secure... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2157263/health-care-booking-agents-cash-chinas-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2157263/health-care-booking-agents-cash-chinas-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jul 2018 10:00:45 +0000