Hong Kong Free Press

By Ludovic Ehret Beijingers praised Vladimir Putin’s “charisma” on Thursday and expressed hopes that China would deepen ties with Moscow as the Russian leader paid a two-day visit. Putin’...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/a-pariah-in-the-west-how-russias-vladimir-putin-finds-fans-in-beijing/

The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) has said he will not seek another term after three years in the post since his re-election “may not be the best option” for the embatt...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/hong-kong-press-group-chief-wont-seek-another-term-cites-growing-pressure-and-smears/

Hong Kong’s government has defended its decision to approve a limited taxi fare increase against criticism from both passengers and drivers, saying it took the views of both sides into consider...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/hong-kong-govt-defends-latest-taxi-fare-rise-against-criticism-from-both-sides/

By James Edgar Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations’ ties as a stabilising force in a chaotic world as they met Thursday in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/russias-vladimir-putin-meets-chinas-xi-jinping-in-beijing-to-seek-more-support-for-war-effort/

Hong Kong’s public hospitals expect to hire 250 non-locally trained doctors this year, a senior official has said as he expressed confidence in addressing a manpower shortage in the sector thro...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/hong-kong-to-hire-250-non-locally-trained-doctors-this-year-hospital-authority-chief-says/

Hong Kong’s iconic bun festival attracted tens of thousands of visitors to Cheung Chau on Wednesday, a public holiday marking Buddha’s Birthday. The Jiao Festival and bun scramble returned to...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/hkfp-lens-hong-kongs-bun-festival-draws-crowds-to-cheung-chau/

A strange, indeed barely believable, controversy has erupted over a question which appears hardly disputable: whether Hong Kong still enjoys the degree of press freedom that it did before 2020. �...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/16/we-should-not-be-expected-to-pretend-that-press-freedom-in-hong-kong-has-survived-recent-changes-intact/

By Beiyi Seow US President Joe Biden blasted Beijing Tuesday for “cheating” rather than competing as he unveiled steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports like electric vehicles and semiconductor...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/15/beijing-hits-back-after-us-president-joe-biden-hikes-tariffs-on-chinese-electric-vehicle-and-chips/

Zines come in a wide array of shapes and sizes. Among the extensive collection curated by Samantha Chao, a zine librarian at the Asian Art Archive (AAA) in Hong Kong, certain zines were smaller t...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/15/hong-kong-zine-librarian-samantha-chao-on-the-importance-of-keeping-an-accessible-archive/

Google has blocked Hong Kong users from accessing pro-democracy protest song Glory to Hong Kong on YouTube following a court order. It comes days after Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said the gov...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/15/glory-to-hong-kong-blocked-by-google-youtube/

By Rod Parkes “Tell good stories about Hong Kong,” the government constantly exhorts the media and the public in the face of much perceived criticism of the territory. In the archetypal “go...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/15/the-past-has-a-future-again-hong-kongs-heritage-museum-will-continue-telling-good-stories-about-the-city/

By Beiyi Seow The United States is hiking tariffs on US$18 billion worth of imports from China, targeting strategic sectors like electric vehicles, batteries, steel and critical minerals, the Whi...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/15/us-hikes-tariffs-on-us18-billion-of-china-imports-including-electric-vehicles-and-chips/

The defence should be allowed to call a witness to the stand for a second time “in the interests of justice,” the lawyer for jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai has argued at the landmark national ...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/jimmy-lai-trial-recall-witness-to-the-stand-in-the-interests-of-justice-lais-lawyer-argues/

The licensing body for Hong Kong’s social workers will be overhauled to allow government appointees to command a majority, after the welfare chief said changes were needed to “better protect ...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/hong-kong-to-overhaul-social-workers-licensing-body-to-include-govt-appointed-majority/

The UK government said on Tuesday it had summoned China’s ambassador Zheng Zeguang, a day after three people were charged in the latest Beijing-linked alleged espionage case. The foreign minist...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/uk-summons-chinese-envoy-over-after-3-arrested-for-alleged-spying-activities-linked-to-hong-kong/

By James Edgar Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China this week on the invitation of leader Xi Jinping, Beijing’s foreign ministry said Tuesday. Putin will be in Beijing from Thursda...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/russias-putin-to-visit-beijing-this-week-upon-invitation-of-chinese-leader-xi-jinping/

Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has dismissed “unwarranted accusations” that the city funded the surveillance of overseas activists wanted by national security police, after a government employ...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/hong-kongs-john-lee-dismisses-claims-of-overseas-activist-surveillance-following-uk-spying-arrests/

A group of current, and former, foreign politicians say they have demanded to be called as witnesses in the landmark national security trial of media mogul Jimmy Lai. Members of the Inter-Parliam...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/jimmy-lai-trial-group-of-current-and-former-foreign-politicians-demand-to-be-called-as-witnesses-bbc/

Hong Kong welcomed almost 3.4 million visitors in April, according to provisional figures from the Tourism Board. Though it represents a 17.3 per cent increase in visitors compared to last April,...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/hong-kong-arrivals-up-20-year-on-year-in-april-says-tourism-board-but-figures-still-lag-behind-pre-pandemic-era/

The Tourism Board will give HK$200 vouchers to visitors from eight Chinese cities who will soon be able to come to Hong Kong under an expanded solo travel scheme, allowing them to experience the ...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/hk200-vouchers-for-mainland-chinese-visitors-entering-hong-kong-under-newly-expanded-solo-travel-scheme/

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has charged two women for allegedly bribing a HSBC counter service officer with an unspecified amount of money in connection to a bank account opening. The ...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/14/hong-kongs-anti-corruption-watchdog-charges-2-women-for-allegedly-bribing-bank-staffer-over-hsbc-account-opening/

A judge presiding over Jimmy Lai’s national security case has warned the prosecution not to make unfounded allegations against the media mogul’s lawyers, after a prosecutor suggested that the...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/jimmy-lai-trial-nat-security-judge-tells-prosecution-to-avoid-wild-allegations-against-the-defence/

Hong Kong has logged fewer phone scam cases in the first quarter of 2024 but losses soared to HK$789 million, with mainland Chinese students in the city being increasingly targeted by swindlers, ...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/hong-kong-logs-fewer-phone-scam-cases-in-first-quarter-of-2024-but-losses-soar-to-hk789m/

The government is “anxious” to see Google’s response to its request to remove a protest song – Glory to Hong Kong – from their platforms, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam has said. Lam, t...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/glory-to-hong-kong-govt-anxious-to-see-google-respond-to-request-to-wipe-illegal-protest-song-says-justice-chief/

Three suspects went before a UK court Monday on charges they assisted Hong Kong’s intelligence services, the latest in a recent series of alleged espionage cases in Europe with Chinese links. T...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/breaking-uk-charges-3-for-allegedly-assisting-hong-kong-intelligence-services/

China is targeting citizens studying abroad for their political activism, rights group Amnesty International said Monday, with some students reporting harassment of family members back home. Chin...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/china-targets-overseas-citizens-for-political-activism-says-rights-group-amnesty-in-new-report/

Hong Kong’s weightlifting and powerlifting body has apologised after its chair referred to competitor “countries” at an event that included Taiwan and Hong Kong. It comes after the governme...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/weightlifting-body-apologises-after-chair-refers-to-competitor-countries-at-event-involving-taiwan-and-hong-kong/

The addition of eight Chinese cities to Hong Kong’s solo travel scheme will be “a timely boost” for the hotel and retail sectors, a veteran industry representative has said. The move by Bei...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/8-more-mainland-chinese-cities-to-join-hong-kongs-solo-travel-scheme-a-timely-boost-says-hotels-rep/

Hong Kong authorities intend to increase the number of government-appointed members in a body that reviews social workers’ licenses, local media have reported. The potential move came after the...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/13/more-govt-appointed-members-to-join-social-workers-licencing-body-as-welfare-chief-cites-need-to-better-protect-nat-security-reports/

Nobody is offering any official results, but it seems the first test of the proposed solid waste charging regime was not a success. The scheme, under which we will all have to buy bags from the g...

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/05/12/hong-kongs-bin-bag-plan-a-matter-of-trust/