https://www.scmp.com/rss/510039/feed Regina is a journalism major at Chinese University of Hong Kong and will graduate in summer 2021. She is interning at the South China Morning Post en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com “If the Bank of China suddenly vanishes one day, or a Star Ferry mystically lands at Kai Tak, don’t panic […] the culprit will be the world’s most unorthodox magician, David Copperfield,” the South China Morning Post reported on July 22, 1988. “Famous for spectacular and mind-boggling stunts, he is soon to make his debut in Hong Kong […] and will perform at the Hongkong Coliseum from September 2 to 8.” On August 30, the Post reported that the “world-famous magician […] arrived in Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3148330/when-magician-david-copperfield-arrived-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3148330/when-magician-david-copperfield-arrived-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Sep 2021 02:15:21 +0000 “Wild natives are preparing to attack 21 Hongkong sailors whose ship ran aground off the Andaman Islands nine days ago,” the South China Morning Post reported on August 11, 1981. The ship was bound for Australia and “the sailors are the crew of the Panamanian registered 16,000 ton vessel Primrose”. A day later, with no news of the sailors’ safety, a spokesman for Regent, the ship’s agent in Hong Kong, was quoted by the paper as saying that “the master of the cargo vessel had issued an SOS... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3147493/when-wild-natives-threatened-attack-21-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3147493/when-wild-natives-threatened-attack-21-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Sep 2021 02:15:08 +0000 “Police mounted a massive dragnet over the Colony yesterday after safe-crackers escaped with $3 million worth of diamonds,” the South China Morning Post reported on August 25, 1971. The heist occurred in “Room 425 of Alexandra House, which is also used as the Israeli consulate […] staff found a number of locks and a safe broken when they arrived for work”. The paper stated that “the Diamond Importers Association held an emergency meeting last night”, and a spokesman “issued an urgent warning to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3146839/hong-kong-diamond-heist-day-safe-crackers-stole?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3146839/hong-kong-diamond-heist-day-safe-crackers-stole?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Aug 2021 02:15:08 +0000 “A China Airlines jet crash-landed at Chek Lap Kok and overturned in flames last night, killing two passengers and injuring 211 others on board,” the South China Morning Post reported on August 23, 1999. The flight from Bangkok to Taipei “landed during a No 8 signal hoisted for Typhoon Sam”. On August 24, the Post reported that a report to Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration “raised the possibility of miscommunication between the pilot and co-pilot”, with the co-pilot, a Mr Liu, cited as... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3145526/when-china-airlines-crash-landing-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3145526/when-china-airlines-crash-landing-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Aug 2021 02:45:15 +0000 “Members of the Round Table No 5 have come up with a novel way of raising money for charity – by organising a rickshaw derby,” the South China Morning Post reported on August 1, 1975. The event was scheduled to take place in Victoria Park on August 16. Round Table member Dr Ted Pryor was quoted by the paper saying that “the event would probably be recorded in the Guinness World Records as it is undoubtedly the first time such a contest will be held”. The article reported that six teams... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3144136/when-hong-kongs-first-rickshaw-derby-1975?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3144136/when-hong-kongs-first-rickshaw-derby-1975?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Aug 2021 02:15:11 +0000 Following the discovery of the mineral beryl in Hong Kong in early 1955, “several other ore-bearing veins have been found, and it is estimated that in one area alone in the New Territories the deposits are worth several million dollars”, reported the South China Morning Post on August 2 that year. The article quoted the Far Eastern Economic Review as saying that “beryl is the main source of beryllium bronzes, an extremely important metal used for a variety of purposes”, such as “the manufacture... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3143194/when-soldier-thought-he-had-struck-it-rich-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3143194/when-soldier-thought-he-had-struck-it-rich-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Aug 2021 02:18:53 +0000 The calls to take immediate action against climate change have grown in volume as the coronavirus pandemic has dragged on. A 2020 survey, by management consultancy firm Accenture, found 60 per cent of global consumers have made more “environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical purchases” since the discovery of Covid-19. However, plenty of us are still not consuming in an environmentally conscious way – think about the polystyrene boxes and plastic takeaway meal bags we have used during the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3142829/what-you-can-do-limit-climate-change-practical-ways-adjust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3142829/what-you-can-do-limit-climate-change-practical-ways-adjust?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jul 2021 20:15:16 +0000 A retaining wall behind a residential block in Po Hing Fong, below Caine Road, gave way during heavy rains, and seven houses “were reduced to a heap of ruins”, the South China Morning Post reported on July 18, 1925. In one case, “when the retaining wall gave away, the ground floor was pushed outwards from the rear and the upper floors dropped through on the front of the block, cutting off all exits and reducing the houses [...] to a rubble heap”. Rescuers immediately set to work digging for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3142233/when-wall-collapsed-heavy-rain-hong-kong-1925?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3142233/when-wall-collapsed-heavy-rain-hong-kong-1925?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jul 2021 02:15:08 +0000 Chen Tse is lucky to have survived a heart attack after he passed out alone at home. Had it not been for the social workers who check in on him regularly “I would have died,” the 73-year-old former cosmetics salesman says. They were able to send him to hospital just in time. Chen is one of nearly 300 people each year who receive free help from the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals’ Be-with Bereavement Support Service, launched in 2012. When his wife of 40 years, Chang Chin-chien, died in 2018, Chen... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3142506/i-was-very-sad-and-felt-lost-how-support-service-helps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3142506/i-was-very-sad-and-felt-lost-how-support-service-helps?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jul 2021 05:14:25 +0000 “A headmaster was arrested yesterday, suspected of having murdered his school accounts clerk and burning her body,” reported the South China Morning Post on July 15, 1993. The High Court subsequently heard that headmaster Wong Sai-ming, from Good Shepherd Primary School, in To Kwa Wan in Kowloon, Hong Kong, killed Lau Yung-mui on July 13, before a morning board meeting to discuss missing funds. Having struck Lau with a piece of concrete and then strangled her, Wong “hid her body in the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3141619/when-head-teacher-killed-clerk-hong-kong-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3141619/when-head-teacher-killed-clerk-hong-kong-school?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jul 2021 02:15:16 +0000 “An investigation is under way into yes­­terday’s hydrofoil accident, which resulted in two deaths and 82 passengers, including the captain of one of the vessels and a crewman being taken to hospital,” the South China Morning Post reported on July 12, 1982. The Macau-bound Flying Flamingo carrying 125 passengers and the Hong Kong-bound Flying Goldfinch with 32 on board – both owned and operated by the Hongkong and Macau Hydrofoil Co – had collided 4.3 nautical miles west of Fan Lau on Lantau... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3140738/when-two-hong-kong-high-speed-ferries-collided?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3140738/when-two-hong-kong-high-speed-ferries-collided?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jul 2021 02:15:16 +0000 Most people might consider French fries as just a side dish to a burger and would not visit a restaurant simply to eat them on their own. But when we told our friends that we were going in search of Hong Kong’s best, many excitedly told us what kinds they liked – some said they loved crispy fries, some preferred fluffier ones, while a range of other details factored into their opinions. We were surprised to learn that good French fries can actually keep customers visiting a restaurant. Whether... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3140726/best-french-fries-hong-kong-mcdonalds-and-shake-shack-frites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3140726/best-french-fries-hong-kong-mcdonalds-and-shake-shack-frites?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jul 2021 23:15:15 +0000 There won’t be any pianos, violins, flutes or bassoons at an upcoming concert; in fact, there will be no traditional musical instruments at all. Instead, 120 of Hong Kong’s young musicians have used electronics to create and play their melodies. Divided into quartets, the students will perform their original compositions on July 10 at Tsuen Wan Town Hall’s exhibition gallery. In a break with tradition, each student will play his or her music on an electronic tablet. The idea of using tablets and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3140331/young-composers-perform-their-music-ipad-tablets-e-concert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3140331/young-composers-perform-their-music-ipad-tablets-e-concert?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jul 2021 09:15:07 +0000 Father Ray Kelly, the singing Irish priest from Britain’s Got Talent, is headlining a new festival of hymns in Hong Kong this winter. The parish priest from County Meath, Ireland had his first brush with fame in 2014 when a video of him singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah went viral online and was seen by around 80 million people. Since then, he has been a show-stealing contestant on Britain’s Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars. Organisers of the inaugural Hong Kong Hymnos Festival say that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3140119/singing-priest-britains-got-talent-headline-festival-hymns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3140119/singing-priest-britains-got-talent-headline-festival-hymns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jul 2021 07:15:06 +0000 Hong Kong husbands are in distress. A Facebook group titled “My wife married Mirror and left my marriage in ruins” has gone viral this week. Its members take issue with the Hong Kong boy band – whose 12 members, they claim, have stolen the hearts of their wives (and, in some cases, also the hearts of their mothers and sisters). Set up on July 3, the Facebook “concern” group attracted more than 200,000 members in its first three days. “I don’t hate Mirror, but I just feel that fellow men need a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3140011/hong-kong-husbands-say-boy-band-mirror-are-ruining?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3140011/hong-kong-husbands-say-boy-band-mirror-are-ruining?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jul 2021 10:45:07 +0000 “Tickets in Hong Kong’s first Govern­ment-sponsored lottery may be put on sale early next summer and the draw made next August if plans go smoothly,” the South China Morning Post reported on December 28, 1961. Financial Secretary J.J. Cowperthwaite was quoted in the Post on February 15 the following year as saying he looked to the lottery as a means of “reducing the burden of compulsory taxation which might otherwise be imposed”, and he expected “social welfare activities could be completely... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3139851/when-hong-kong-introduced-its-first-lottery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3139851/when-hong-kong-introduced-its-first-lottery?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jul 2021 02:14:05 +0000 After months of turmoil and disruption, Hong Kong businesses need a boost. Luckily for the city’s permanent residents, that’s resulted in a government-run HK$5,000 voucher scheme to spend on anything from sneakers and smartphones to bus fares, coffee and cosmetics. This free money, which will come in instalments, can only be spent, not saved, and you cannot collect it all in one go. You can, though, save up the whole HK$5,000 and spend it at all once – depending on how you choose to receive the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3139634/how-spend-your-hk5000-voucher-and-where-youll-find-special-offers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3139634/how-spend-your-hk5000-voucher-and-where-youll-find-special-offers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jul 2021 10:15:57 +0000 The tutorial film opens with a shot of dried flowers in a studio. A woman in an apron ties up her hair. She gets a call from a customer and starts arranging the flowers in front of her. The audience can’t see what sort of shoes she is wearing, but for Miggy Cheng Sau-Han – who has dressed many film characters including Kara Hui Ying-hung in Rigor Mortis (2013) – it would only make sense if the woman was wearing flip-flops. “Because she’s busy, and she needs to deliver the flowers to the customer... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3138408/filmmaking-hong-kong-explained-series-talks-and-tutorials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3138408/filmmaking-hong-kong-explained-series-talks-and-tutorials?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2021 04:41:42 +0000 Airbnb is looking for guinea pigs. Specifically, nomadic, remote-working guinea pigs. The “Live Anywhere on Airbnb” programme is seeking 12 individuals prepared to travel and live in accommodation listed on the site for 10 months, until July 2022, and in return help the online marketplace tailor its product for what it sees as an increasingly important market segment: the digital nomad. A diverse set of participants is sought, including creatives, empty-nesters and young families. “Whether it’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3137240/airbnb-seeks-12-digital-nomads-live-10-months-any-listing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3137240/airbnb-seeks-12-digital-nomads-live-10-months-any-listing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jun 2021 20:15:00 +0000 A mainland China-born, Julliard-trained violin virtuoso who has lived in Hong Kong for a quarter of a century hopes to send a message about the city’s diversity through music when the string orchestra she founded eight years ago gives a celebratory concert featuring a variety of influences. Yao Jue, 56, won first prize in the Chinese National Violin Competition at the age of 16 and received a full scholarship to study in the United States, first at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, then... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3136638/concert-celebrating-chinese-communist-partys-centenary-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3136638/concert-celebrating-chinese-communist-partys-centenary-show?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jun 2021 02:45:00 +0000