hongkong
A government-appointed task force has proposed introducing minimum living standards for Hong Kong’s notorious subdivided flats as part of government efforts to phase out “low-quality” units in a city with some of the world’s least affordable housing. Chief Executive John Lee, who introduced the plan in his last Policy Address, received the taskforce’s report on Thursday. He said he had proposed additional items based on recent consultation findings, and asked for a further report to be submitted in a month. “I hope to build a system to eradicate substandard subdivided flats in Hong Kong and im...
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong man accused of writing “seditious” graffiti on bus seats is set to indicate his plea next month in the city’s third case under a new security law. His lawyer has told the court he did not expect it to go to trial. Chung Man-kit appeared before Chief Magistrate Victor So at the West Kowloon Magistrates Courts on Thursday afternoon. The 29-year-old has been detained for almost two months pending trial since he first appeared in court on June 25. He faces three counts of “doing with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention” and two counts of “destroying or d...
Hong Kong Free Press
A team from Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority (HA) has visited Kuala Lumpur to try to recruit Malaysian nurses in hopes of easing a significant manpower shortage in Hong Kong’s public hospitals, with 2,559 nurses resigning or retiring last year. The authority hosted recruitment briefing sessions on Monday and Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, introducing a new policy to allow non-locally trained nurses to work in Hong Kong, according to a statement on Wednesday. “The response was very positive, with many participants expressing interest in coming to Hong Kong for career development,” Simon Tang, the HK’s ...
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong jury has unanimously found a Swedish businessman guilty of raping his former domestic worker. Patrik Tobias Ekstrom, 35, was convicted on one count of rape and one count of non-consensual buggery on Thursday in a case relating to an incident in October 2022 involving his then-domestic worker, identified only as X. The seven-member jury reached a unanimous decision after deliberating for almost five hours. Upon hearing the verdict, Ekstrom appeared calm. His bail was revoked and he was remanded in custody pending sentencing. Under Hong Kong law, rape and non-consensual buggery are p...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s second largest public housing provider has announced a 10 per cent rent rise as it faces a rising repair bill for ageing estates. The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), an independent and non-profit organisation which operates 20 rental estates citywide, announced on Wednesday it had approved the increase. “Well-off tenants” – those whose income and assets exceeded certain thresholds – will start paying the new rents in October, while the others will be exempt until January. The new measures will see tenants in Group A estates, which cater to low-income families, pay an extra HK$230...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s corruption watchdog has arrested seven people linked to a listed company for suspected fraud following a cross-border operation involving Macau authorities. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a press release on Wednesday that it mounted an operation with Macau police as well as with Hong Kong’s market regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission. The watchdog arrested seven people allegedly involved in fictitious transactions and false accounting amounting to HK$120 million. Among them were the company’s chairperson and an executive director. “The inve...
Hong Kong Free Press
Panda-themed meals could give Hong Kong’s struggling restaurant industry a leg up, an industry veteran has said, as he lamented the hundreds of restaurant closures over recent months. Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades President Simon Wong told Metro Radio on Tuesday that the restaurant industry could ride on what has been dubbed a “panda economy” — a strategy floated by government officials after the city saw the birth of giant panda twins last week. Hong Kong is also expecting a pair of adult pandas from mainland China to be delivered this National Day, on October 1. Wong...
Hong Kong Free Press
Chief Executive John Lee has said Hong Kong will “spare no effort” in training local sporting talent, after the city made history at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by bagging two gold and two bronze medals. A group of Olympic athletes received a warm welcome from the public on Wednesday morning when they rode on an open-top double-decker from the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin to Central. Supporters braved the rain to meet the Hong Kong representatives including fencing champion Vivian Kong and star swimmer Siobhan Haughey, who clinched two bronze medals in Paris last month. They waved th...
Hong Kong Free Press
Beijing has told Hong Kong-based foreign consular officials to seek approval from the Chinese authorities 10 days in advance before they pay any business visits to the Greater Bay Area (GBA) – including Macau and cities in Guangdong – according to a letter obtained by HKFP. The letter from the Commissioner’s Office of China Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR, dated August 1, stated that – if any foreign consular official needed to perform official duties “outside their consular districts within GBA,” they should obtain “prior consent.” To seek consent, the consulates will need to send a not...
Hong Kong Free Press
There was “clear evidence” that a domestic worker who has accused her former employer of rape did not consent to sex, the prosecution has argued in a Hong Kong court. The trial of Swedish businessman Patrik Tobias Ekstrom continued at the High Court on Wednesday, with the prosecution and the defence giving their closing submissions. The 35-year-old faces charges of rape and non-consensual buggery. The case relates to an alleged incident in October 2022 involving Ekstrom’s then-domestic worker, known only as X. Earlier that day, his wife, who he had been arguing with, left for Japan with their ...
Hong Kong Free Press
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