12 h. ago Why are mainland Chinese tourists posing in front of MTR stations in Hong Kong?

Surrounded by a stream of passengers on an MTR platform in Hong Kong on a regular weekday, a couple paused to pose for photos next to a station sign to mark their journey. “We took photos at most of the metro stations we visited, just to record our metro route,” said Arale, a 36-year-old tourist who was visiting the city with his wife, Qing, 37, for the first time. Recording such a visual diary is part of a popular trend on Chinese social media in which people travel around Hong Kong to take...

Politics

40 h. ago Hong Kong Group That Lobbied for Chinese Labor Rights Shuts Down

Hong Kong Group That Lobbied for Chinese Labor Rights Shuts Down  The New York Times

Politics

54 h. ago WeChat Pay records fourfold rise in mainland tourist taxi payments in Hong Kong

WeChat Pay Hong Kong has recorded a fourfold increase in mainland Chinese tourist payments for taxi services in the city from last year and growing usage among locals and visitors alike, according to parent company Tencent. Vice-President of Tencent Financial Technology Daniel Hong Danyi said on Thursday that the number of transactions from mainland tourists paying for taxi fares through WeChat Pay had seen a fourfold increase year on year. “We saw that previously, many mainland tourists coming...

Economics

54 h. ago Xpeng and Chinese EV peers aim to win over Hongkongers amid global push

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng aims to start offering Hong Kong consumers smart cars featuring semi-autonomous driving systems next year as it gears up to take on Tesla’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature outside mainland China. He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of the Guangzhou-based carmaker, said in Hong Kong on Thursday that testing of its Xpeng Navigation Guided Pilot (X NGP) driver-assistance system in the city would take only two months before sales could begin. However, he added...

Politics

58 h. ago China’s Ant International to seek stablecoin licence in Hong Kong

Fintech firm Ant International, the global affiliate of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, said it would apply for a stablecoin issuer licence in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies comes into effect in August. “We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International said in a statement on Thursday. “We plan to apply for the fiat-referenced stablecoins issuer’s...

Politics

58 h. ago Ant International and Ant Digital to seek stablecoin licences in Hong Kong

Singapore-based Ant International and the Hangzhou-based Ant Digital, two affiliates of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, have announced plans to apply for stablecoin issuer licences in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies takes effect in August. “We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International, a spin-off of Ant’s global operations, said in a statement on...

Politics

3 d. ago Chinese EV battery maker Eve Energy jumps on Hong Kong IPO bandwagon

Eve Energy, China’s fifth-largest producer of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, plans to raise fresh capital on the Hong Kong stock exchange, following the lead of its bigger rival Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) as international investors show a growing appetite for the country’s industrial gems. The Shenzhen-listed company said on Tuesday that its board had endorsed a fundraising plan aimed at bolstering its international expansion, but details about the share offering were still in the...

Science

3 d. ago Hong Kong must ‘seize opportunities’ to attract talent amid US student visa woes

Hong Kong should capitalise on the opportunities arising from US-China tensions to attract more talent to its academic and tech sectors, heads of the city’s top medical schools have said, ahead of a visit to the world’s largest biotechnology event in Boston. Representatives from the medical faculties of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will join the delegation of the government-funded Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong to mark July 1 anniversary with 71,000 free MTR tickets: John Lee

More than 70,000 free MTR tickets will be up for grabs on July 1 as part of citywide celebrations to commemorate the 28th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, the chief executive has said. City leader John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Tuesday he would bring forward his annual policy address by a month to September, in light of the Legislative Council election scheduled for the end of this year. Public consultation is set to kick off on Monday next week. He said the government would...

Politics

5 d. ago Overseas judges leaving top Hong Kong court ‘only natural’: ex

The recent departure of several overseas judges from Hong Kong’s top court was “only natural” as those in the first batch appointed nearly three decades ago are already aged 80 years or older, a former justice chief has said. Elsie Leung Oi-sie, the first secretary for justice after Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, when the judges joined the court, also said on Monday that the city should look into cultivating judicial talent locally to reduce reliance on outsiders. Leung, who...

Events

6 d. ago Chinese legends, Disney characters compete in Hong Kong dragon boat race

Competitors marked the final day of Hong Kong’s International Dragon Boat Races on Sunday by donning an array of colourful costumes that included beloved characters from animated films and Chinese folklore. Hongkongers, expats and a team of visiting Canadian paddlers were among those taking part in the fancy dress competition held on the event’s second day. The races were organised by the city’s Tourism Board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association. Toronto’s Water Vipers dragon boat...

Politics

6 d. ago Chinese legends, Disney characters compete in Hong Kong dragon boat races

Competitors marked the final day of Hong Kong’s International Dragon Boat Races on Sunday by donning an array of colourful costumes that included beloved characters from animated films and Chinese folklore. Hongkongers, expats and a team of visiting Canadian paddlers were among those taking part in the fancy dress competition held on the event’s second day. The races were organised by the city’s Tourism Board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association. Toronto’s Water Vipers dragon boat...

Politics

7 d. ago Social media giant RedNote opens Hong Kong office, its first outside mainland

Chinese social media giant RedNote has opened an office in Hong Kong, its first outside mainland China, a move the city’s finance chief hopes will provide a boost to local businesses and the platform’s international expansion. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Saturday that he had personally invited the company, also known as Xiaohongshu, to set up a base in the city. “When I visited Shanghai at the end of last year, I made a special visit to Xiaohongshu’s headquarters,” Chan wrote on...

Politics

8 d. ago China Renaissance’s investment in stablecoin issuer Circle pays off

China Renaissance, which has funded many leading Chinese technology firms, made another winning bet after shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group more than doubled on their debut in New York. The Chinese investment bank said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday that it had invested in Circle, which was founded in 2013, in 2018 through its Huaxing New Economy Fund. The investment reflected its “strong confidence in the growth prospects of the digital asset industry”,...

Economics

9 d. ago Chinese app firm Newborn Town sets up in Hong Kong for AI, global push

Hong Kong-listed Chinese app company Newborn Town will open a global headquarters and set up an artificial intelligence (AI) research centre in Hong Kong as a pivotal step in its overseas expansion strategy. “The landing of the global headquarters in Hong Kong marks a new stage in the company’s globalisation strategy and an important milestone of our company’s development,” said chairman Liu Chunhe at an opening ceremony in Hong Kong on Thursday. Newborn Town said it would focus on developing AI...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to tour in Beijing and Tianjin next week

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to tour in Beijing and Tianjin next week  The Standard (HK)

Politics

1 week ago My Take | Hong Kong’s stablecoin ambitions offer Chinese yuan a way into the crypto world

My Take | Hong Kong’s stablecoin ambitions offer Chinese yuan a way into the crypto world  South China Morning Post

Politics

1 week ago Chinese Shares Fall in Hong Kong on New Trade Frictions With US

Chinese Shares Fall in Hong Kong on New Trade Frictions With US  Bloomberg

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong ramps up effort to attract mainland concertgoers for longer stays

Hong Kong is actively seeking to entice mainland Chinese visitors with concert and hotel packages, the tourism minister has said, amid concerns about tourists not staying longer and overcrowded border facilities. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said on Saturday that authorities would do more to attract tourists to stay overnight or for longer periods in the city, such as by offering concert deals, hotel packages and discounts on other offerings. “From a tourism...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong ramps up efforts to attract mainland concertgoers for longer stays

Hong Kong is seeking to entice mainland Chinese visitors with concert and hotel packages, the tourism minister has said, amid concerns about tourists not staying longer and overcrowded border facilities. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said on Saturday that authorities would do more to attract visitors to stay overnight or for longer periods in the city, such as by offering concert deals, hotel packages and discounts on other offerings. “From a tourism perspective,...

Politics