Page 13 - Hong Kong

Japan registers 415 new Covid deaths, highest ever tally in a single day

Japan said it had 216,219 newly confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, which marks a rise of 4 per cent from a week earlier

Hong Kong eases Covid curbs, does away with vaccine pass, tests

Hong Kong will scrap some of its COVID-19 restrictions, including PCR tests for inbound travellers and vaccination requirements to enter certain venues, the city's leader said on Wednesday. For most of the pandemic, Hong Kong has aligned itself with China's zero-COVID strategy, requiring stringent COVID-19 tests and isolation for close contacts of infected cases as well as for incoming travellers. But the mainland has relaxed measures in recent weeks, and Hong Kong is preparing for the January reopening of its border with China, which had previously imposed harsh restrictions and snap lockdowns to stamp out the virus. Our society as a whole has built an extensive and high-level barrier of immunity (to COVID-19), said Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee at a news conference. Over 80 per cent of the city has at least three doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Close contacts of those who test positive for COVID-19 will also no longer need to isolate in Hong Kong, he said, and there will no longe

Hong Kong to scrap mandatory Covid-19 test for international travellers

This comes two days after China announced an end to the coronavirus quarantine rule for inbound travellers from January 8

WTO rejects US move for 'Made in China' labeling on Hong Kong goods

World Trade Organization arbitrators concluded Wednesday that the United States was out of line in requiring products from Hong Kong to be labeled as Made in China, a move that was part of Washington's response to a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters there in 2019 and 2020. A WTO dispute panel found the US violated its obligations under the trade body's rules and rejected Washington's argument that U.S. essential security interests allowed for such labeling. The panel said the situation did not pose an emergency that would allow for an exemption under the trade body's rules. The United States or Hong Kong could appeal the ruling to the WTO's appeals court. However, the Appellate Body is currently inactive because the U.S. has almost single-handedly held up appointments of new members to the court amid concerns it had strayed beyond its mandate. As a result, any such appeal would go into an arbitration void and remain unsettled. The United States trade representative's office all

Indians flocking both foreign and local getaways as travel recovers: Airbnb

The traveller is also expanding his travel horizons, looking to explore new getaways abroad

World's play store: India scripts a local toy story, turns a net exporter

India is likely to extend the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to domestic toy manufacturers after Chinese toys were found to be "unsafe"

Democracy on 'verge of collapse' in Hong Kong with Civic Party set to fall

The democracy in Hong Kong is on the "verge of collapse" with principal opposition party, Civic Party winding up operations

HK jails pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai over fraud for 5 yrs 9 mths

A Hong Kong court sentenced a pro-democracy media tycoon to five years and nine months in prison on Saturday over two fraud charges linked to lease violations, the latest of a series of cases against prominent activists that critics say are aimed at crushing dissent in the city. Jimmy Lai, who was arrested during a crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement following widespread protests in 2019 and under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing, was also fined 2 million Hong Kong dollars (USD 257,000). His media company, Next Digital, published the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. The publication was forced to close following the arrests of its top executives, editors and journalists last year. In October, Lai was found guilty of fraud for subletting part of the office space to a secretarial firm, which was also controlled by him, between 2016 and 2020. The second fraud count was for letting the same firm use the media outlet's office space in an alleged br

Hong Kong remains divided over recent Covid-19 protests in China

The recent wave of protests against China's anti-virus restrictions was a ray of hope for some supporters of Hong Kong's own pro-democracy movement after local authorities stifled it using a national security law enacted in 2020. Thomas So, who joined about a dozen students from the Chinese mainland staging a rare protest this week at the University of Hong Kong, is among them. If mainland China falls apart, I wouldn't say it's none of my business, said So, who held up an electric candle and a blank sheet of paper symbolising defiance against censorship at the protest. When I support the values of democracy and freedom, I hope China will have these too. So hopes that in reopening a window for people to gather and have their voices heard, the protests might auger a fresh chance for Hong Kong's languishing pro-democracy movement. Some in Hong Kong, a former British colony on China's southern coast, sympathize with mainland protesters' calls for greater freedoms after nearly three ye

Hong Kong newspaper publisher's national security trial postponed

The trial of a Hong Kong newspaper publisher who was arrested in a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement was postponed on Thursday after the territory's leader asked China to effectively block him from hiring a British defense lawyer. Jimmy Lai, 74, faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by the ruling Communist Party on the former British colony. The government objected after judges on Monday approved Lai's plan to hire Timothy Owen, a veteran human rights lawyer.

Hong Kong official warns protests against China restrictions hurt security

Hong Kong's security minister on Wednesday warned that the city's protests against China's anti-virus restrictions were a rudiment of another colour revolution and urged residents not to participate in activities that might hurt national security. Chris Tang said some events on university campuses and the city's streets had attempted to incite others to target China's central government in the name of commemorating a deadly fire in the country's far west last week. This is not a coincidence but highly organised, he told reporters at the legislature. Protests erupted in major mainland cities over the weekend after the blaze that killed at least 10 in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, prompted angry questions about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by COVID restrictions. Crowds angered by severe restrictions called for leader Xi Jinping to step down in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. Smaller protests also emerged at the Chinese ..

As rents plummet, Hong Kong loses top spot for luxury shopping to New York

Manhattan's Upper Fifth Avenue is now the priciest street globally for shopping, Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui district comes second

Morgan Stanley plans fresh round of layoffs globally in coming weeks

Some cuts will come from capital markets teams in Hong Kong and mainland China, and most of the rest are expected to be from other teams focusing on China business, both onshore and offshore

Hong Kong braces for Storm Nalgae's impact; businesses forced to close

Severe tropical storm Nalgae edged closer to Hong Kong on Wednesday and forced businesses to close, but a finance summit that's meant to restore the city's image as an international financial hub pressed ahead. As the city braced itself, temporary shelters were opened and theme parks were closed. The Hong Kong Jockey Club scrapped the evening's horse race. The Hong Kong Observatory raised its No. 8 typhoon signal, the third-highest warning under the city's weather system, Wednesday afternoon as Nalgae's maximum sustained winds hit 90 kilometres (56 miles) per hour. The warning, which prompted workers to return home, would remain in force until 6 pm. Whether the signal would be downgraded later would hinge on the strength of the storm and its distance from the city, the observatory said. Nalgae killed more than 130 people in the Philippines days ago before moving closer to China's southeastern and southern coastal regions. Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China's rule

As China-US ties worsen, Hong Kong bankers fear for their careers

The defiant tone President Xi Jinping took toward the US got those hardworking financiers scared.

China's property debt crisis enters new phase as bond havens crumble

China's property debt crisis is entering a new phase as even developers that had long been considered safer rapidly tumble into distress

Xi Jinping's third term heightens fear among colonised countries

His return as China's President has heightened fears among vulnerable countries like Tibet, East Turkistan (Xinjiang), Southern Mongolia, Manchuria and Hong Kong

China builders slide to record lows as top chairwoman Wu Yajun steps down

A sudden resignation by the founder and chairwoman of a top Chinese builder has added to concerns over China's ailing property sector, fueling a further selloff

Hong Kong customs seize record meth haul worth $140 million: Official

Hong Kong customs seized 1.8 metric tonnes (2 tonnes) of liquid methamphetamine in the city's biggest-ever meth bust, authorities said Saturday. The drugs, which were seized October 23, had been concealed in bottles labelled as coconut water in a cargo shipment that arrived in Hong Kong by sea, according to a government statement. The haul is estimated to be worth 1.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD 140 million). Authorities found that 1,800 bottles out of the total 7,700 bottles contained liquid meth. The bust is the largest on record among meth cases in terms of the amount and market value. Authorities are still investigating the case, and no arrests have been made. The stash of drugs were bound for Australia, and had been shipped from Mexico via Hong Kong, according to authorities who spoke Saturday at a news conference. In Australia, the market value of the drugs could reach about HK dollar 8 billion (USD 1 billion). The cargo had raised suspicion as it was unusually large f

Guangdong: The Chinese province with more EV chargers than all of the US

The coastal region, which borders Hong Kong, has built hundreds of thousands of public charging points - the EV equivalent of gas pumps - over the past few years