World News by Wild Rose

In the second instalment of a four-part Health Matters series on traditional Chinese medicine, Aidyn Fitzpatrick investigates the drug-interaction risks of combining Chinese remedies with Western medicine, and how Hongkongers can protect themselves from avoidable complications. An elderly woman with a mechanical heart valve was taking warfarin, a blood thinner to prevent and treat blood clots, when she began using the Chinese herb danshen, often marketed for “blood circulation”. Her blood lost...

Hong Kong district councillor Peggy Wong Pik-kiu has resigned from office and several other community roles citing health reasons, following mounting controversy over her team’s alleged proxy-vote collection before last year’s fatal Wang Fuk Court inferno. Wong, a directly elected district councillor for the Tai Po South constituency, also stepped down from her duties as a member of the Tai Po South Area Committee and captain of the Tai Po Kwong Fuk and Plover Cove sub-district care teams. The...

A government-hosted Mid-Autumn Festival light show at a nullah in Hong Kong has sparked widespread online criticism, with revellers complaining of foul smells and poor execution. Social media was awash with criticism on Saturday, just hours after the opening night of the two-day “Yuen Long Flood Barrier and Nullah Improvement Scheme – Mid-Autumn Light Show” organised by the Drainage Services Department. The event was billed as an inaugural initiative to transform the Yuen Long Nullah into a...

When Dyan Agonoy left the Philippines to work as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, she had to leave her family behind. “I’ve missed a lot of my kids’ milestones, our special occasions. I’m always the only one missing from the pictures,” she said. Agonoy left university, married young and started a family. Without the bachelor’s degree required for many jobs, she took up domestic work abroad. Gelanie Aguilario faced a similar plight. She twice tried to earn a bachelor’s degree – first in political...

Hong Kong’s health minister has rejected claims that authorities favour mainland nurses over local candidates, saying locally trained professionals have “very good chances” of finding work even as public hospitals struggle to recruit. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Friday that the Hospital Authority had hired 95 per cent of local applicants for nursing positions over the past year. The figure rose to 99 per cent among applicants with registered nurse qualifications. He said that more...

Hong Kong’s first astronaut has delivered a Mid-Autumn Festival blessing to residents from outer space, expressing her deep affection and longing for her home city. “Looking at the moon from here and looking down at the earth, I increasingly miss my family and friends in Hong Kong,” Lai Ka-ying said in a Mandarin speech recorded in China’s Tiangong space station. “On this occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, I wish people across the country good health and a happy family, as well as a happy and...

Efforts to detect multiple cancers through a single blood draw are gathering momentum after US regulators endorsed the technology for the first time, although experts say wider adoption in Hong Kong still faces challenges as doctors remain cautious about its clinical value. In a landmark decision for the emerging field of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel on Thursday voted in favour of US company Grail’s “Galleri test”, recommending it...

Former Hong Kong television actress Leila Tong Ning has been sued for allegedly breaching her management contract by abandoning her professional duties while suffering from depression and dyeing her hair without her agency’s consent. The High Court writ, filed by agency Tenjinmura Ongaku Limited, also accuses the 44-year-old former Television Broadcasts (TVB) artist of “coercive conduct” and accepting commercial engagements without the company’s approval after their relationship broke down in...

Hong Kong authorities have charged an animal welfare activist after a stray dog captured during an investigation into a suspected fatal canine attack on a cyclist in Yuen Long was found to have a microchip registered in his name. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and police have been conducting operations to capture stray dogs in the area following the suspected attack on Sunday. Police suspect a pack of dogs attacked a 27-year-old woman, who was found unconscious beside a...

Child abuse can impair victims’ development and increase their risk of long-term health problems such as obesity and heightened inflammatory responses, a Hong Kong NGO has said, calling for a tiered prevention strategy to strengthen protections. Against Child Abuse on Wednesday shared the results of an overview of local studies from recent years on the effects of abuse on children, while calling for more resources and enhanced measures to safeguard youngsters. One cited study, published in 2024,...

Hong Kong police have found no foreign or toxic substances in a brand of bottled drink linked to the illness of 16 students from a secondary school in Kwun Tong, saying the reported “pinholes” are likely to be perforated lines in the plastic wrapping. The update came a day after 16 students from Maryknoll Secondary School reported feeling unwell after drinking free bottles of “Scream” sports drink during lunch at Tuesday’s athletics meet at Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground in Wong Tai Sin. The...

Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will launch yuan-denominated gold futures early next year, while the city’s de facto central bank plans to introduce more yuan products and platforms to support the diversification and digitalisation of the currency’s internationalisation, speakers at a banking summit said on Wednesday. “We have recently reactivated our gold contract in the US dollar. But in the future, perhaps sometime early next year, we will be coming up with a...

The death of a cyclist in a suspected canine attack in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long on Saturday night has sparked fierce discussion on social media, with users sharing similar encounters and debating how to stay safe. The woman was discovered along Pok Wai South Road in the early hours of Sunday. She had suffered lacerations to her head, face, neck, arms and legs, with the wounds to her head and neck believed to have been fatal. Nearly a month earlier, a 33-year-old dog handler was found dead near her...

Hong Kong’s Labour Department has terminated Kwai Chung-based catering firm Happy Up Corporation’s application to import workers after it failed to meet the required local hiring ratio. The company has also been barred from applying to import workers for a year. A department spokesman said on Tuesday that the administrative sanctions had taken immediate effect under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) following an application previously submitted by the company. He added that...

Senior police official Kelvin Kong Hok-lai has been named head of the force’s National Security Department, succeeding Andrew Kan Kai-yan, who began pre-retirement leave on Tuesday. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu appointed Kong as deputy police commissioner (national security) under Article 16(2) of the national security law. The appointment took effect immediately after Kong took the oath of office. Lee said Kong, formerly the director of national security, had served with the Hong Kong...

The rivalry between Hong Kong and Singapore to attract global talent is heating up again. Bloomberg's Venus Feng and Cindy Wang size up the merits of the Asian finance hubs. (Source: Bloomberg)

Property firm New World Development Co. is in talks to sell its 50% stake in a Hong Kong hotel to Singapore’s UOL Group Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

When Tung Chee-hwa died, the obituaries predictably described a Hong Kong shipping mogul who became the city’s first postcolonial chief executive. How his government navigated the Asian financial crisis and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic and its retreat from Article 23 were highlighted. There was less attention paid to the political hybrid he embodied. Tung sat as vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference,...

Four companies are lining up to raise as much as a combined HK$14.4 billion ($1.8 billion) in Hong Kong listings, all set to begin trading on Sept. 29.

Mainland China’s stock exchanges have stepped up lobbying of companies and regulators to prioritise domestic listings after Hong Kong stole their thunder in fundraising activities in recent years, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The domestic exchanges recently met representatives of some mainland companies planning Hong Kong listings, especially first-time issuers and firms in sectors supported by national policies, a source said. “Exchanges emphasised the benefits of listing...

The professional body for Hong Kong barristers has dismissed as “premature and largely academic” calls by solicitors for legal changes so fellow lawyers can gain recognition as senior counsel and rights to represent clients in higher-level courts. The Law Society, the governing body for the city’s solicitors, is calling for the higher status for its members as lawmakers scrutinise the latest round of omnibus legislative updates in Hong Kong. But the Bar Association, the body for barristers,...

Competition between mainland China and Hong Kong for hi-tech initial public offerings presents emerging technology firms with a dual-track strategic choice rather than a zero-sum battle, according to an executive at a national cross-border innovation platform. “There is naturally a degree of competition,” Lu Peng, general manager of Beijing-based Zhongguancun International, said in an interview on Thursday, referring to how tech firms select their primary listing venue. “However, the two markets...

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders sent condolences from Beijing as Hong Kong bade farewell to the city’s first postcolonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa, at a sombre yet poignant state funeral on Sunday. A report by the official Xinhua News Agency praised Tung, who died on September 8 at the age of 89, as “an outstanding contributor to ‘one country two systems’, a renowned patriot, an outstanding social activist and a close friend of” the Communist Party of China. “While Tung was...

Hong Kong firms will benefit from expanded non-discriminatory treatment and investment guarantees in 10 Asean states after a protocol amending an investment agreement with the bloc was signed on Sunday. The protocol was signed in Manila – where Asean economic ministers are meeting – ahead of dedicated trade consultations between Hong Kong and the bloc. Undersecretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bernard Chan Pak-li signed the protocol for Hong Kong, alongside Philippine Trade Secretary...

Hong Kong’s education authorities have urged a local secondary school to review its rules and guidelines for events after a post alleging the school banned Cantonese in graduation videos sparked outrage online. In a response to the South China Morning Post on Sunday, the government said the school has activated its crisis management team to follow up on the issue and sent an email to all teachers and students to clarify the matter. “The Education Bureau has urged the school to review the...

Hong Kong police suspect a dog attack may have caused the death of a woman who was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday, the South China Morning Post has learned. A force spokesman said the woman was found unconscious beside a bicycle on Pok Wai South Road at 12.42am. She was taken to Pok Oi Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2.09am. A source said that a preliminary review of surveillance footage appeared to show the woman being chased by multiple dogs while cycling...

The United States Congress has reportedly launched a probe after a shipment of sensitive F-35 fighter jet parts was said to have been unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong and went missing, with the city’s authorities declining to comment on the case. A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said over the weekend that it would not comment on individual cases, a day after US media outlet Politico published the report. Citing three anonymous sources, Politico said the F-35 parts were shipped from...

Hong Kong is bidding farewell to its first post-colonial chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, on Sunday at a state funeral – only the third time a Hongkonger has received such an honour since the 1997 handover. Tung, who died at the age of 89 on September 8, led Hong Kong through a series of ups and downs, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 Sars outbreak and the V-shaped economic recovery that followed. Sunday’s funeral follows a vigil held the previous day at the Hong Kong Funeral...

This weekend, Hong Kong mourns the loss of former chief executive and elder statesman Tung Chee-hwa. The shipping tycoon who became the city’s first leader after its transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997 died on September 8 at the age of 89, leaving a legacy of determined stewardship and dedicated public service. This weekend, a state funeral will be held to honour Tung, who was also a former vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). There will be a...