7 d. ago Hong Kong housing estate flat owners drop contractor linked to deadly Tai Po blaze

Owners of a private housing estate in Tuen Mun have voted overwhelmingly to terminate their renovation contract with Prestige Construction and Engineering Company – the same contractor responsible for works at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. At a general meeting held on Friday night at Elegance Gardens, 96.45 per cent of 1,655 effective undivided shares held by flat owners voted to terminate the contract. Several owners who spoke to the Post said they no longer...

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong housing estate flat owners drop contractor linked to Tai Po blaze

Owners of a private housing estate in Tuen Mun have voted overwhelmingly to terminate their renovation contract with Prestige Construction and Engineering Company, the same contractor responsible for works at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. At a general meeting held on Friday night at Elegance Gardens, 96.45 per cent of 1,655 effective undivided shares held by flat owners voted to terminate the contract. Several owners who spoke to the Post said they no longer...

Politics

8 d. ago Hong Kong hospital A&E department visits fall 12% after new fees take effect

Visits to accident and emergency (A&E) departments at Hong Kong’s public hospitals have dropped by nearly 12 per cent since a new pricing regime took effect, while the number of people benefiting from fee waivers has tripled. The Hospital Authority said on Friday that in the first week after the new fees regime was implemented on New Year’s Day it had seen a “significant decrease” in average daily A&E attendance, while more low-income families and underprivileged groups were being...

Politics

8 d. ago Cold snap deepens as Hong Kong temperatures plunge to 2 degrees

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in many areas of Hong Kong dropped to single digits on Friday morning, with some reaching 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (35.6 to 37.4 Fahrenheit), according to the city’s weather forecaster. The Hong Kong Observatory said that at 7am, Ta Kwu Ling in the New Territories recorded a low...

Politics

9 d. ago Hongkongers shiver as winter monsoon drives temperatures down to 5.9 degrees

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. A winter chill lingered over Hong Kong on Thursday morning, with temperatures dropping to 12 degrees Celsius across the city and to as low as 5.9 degrees in some northern districts under clear skies and significant radiative cooling. The Hong Kong Observatory recorded minimum temperatures...

Politics

9 d. ago Hong Kong’s humidity reaches lowest level recorded for single day in January

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. The humidity in Hong Kong on Thursday dropped to the lowest level ever recorded for the month of January, the local forecaster said, while warning that Friday would bring a second consecutive day of frost. Under the influence of a winter monsoon, the relative humidity plunged to 17 per...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong drops charges against surgeon ruled unfit to face fatal botox trial

Hong Kong prosecutors have dropped 21 charges against a 93-year-old plastic surgeon over a fatal botox injection in 2018, citing an earlier court ruling that he was unfit to stand trial because of dementia. Dr Franklin Li Wang-pong, who was released unconditionally by the High Court last year over the unlawful killing of a top banker, was separately indicted for allegedly misleading police and failing to maintain a register of dangerous drugs at his clinic after the botched procedure came to...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong temperatures to dip to 12 degrees Celsius as northeasterly monsoon arrives

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected to drop to as low as 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday due to an incoming northeasterly monsoon, according to the city’s weather forecaster. The Hong Kong Observatory said temperatures on Sunday ranged from 14 to 19 degrees Celsius,...

Politics

1 week ago Temperatures in Hong Kong to dip to 12 degrees as northeasterly monsoon arrives

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected to drop to as low as 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday due to an incoming northeasterly monsoon, according to the local forecaster. The Hong Kong Observatory said temperatures on Sunday ranged from 14 to 19 degrees, while a fresh surge...

Politics

2 w. ago Hongkongers urged to get flu vaccinations as city braces for winter virus wave

Hong Kong health authorities have urged the public to get the latest seasonal influenza vaccine ahead of the next virus wave, as temperatures in the city dropped to their lowest so far this winter. The Centre for Health Protection’s appeal on Saturday coincided with similar calls by an infectious disease specialist, who expressed concerns over the low vaccination rates in the population. The warnings came as the mercury at the Hong Kong Observatory dropped to as low as 11.4 degrees Celsius (52.5...

Science

2 w. ago Hongkongers urged to get flu shots as city braces for winter virus wave

Hong Kong health authorities have urged the public to get the latest seasonal influenza vaccine ahead of the next wave of the flu virus, as temperatures in the city dropped to their lowest so far this winter. The appeal by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) on Saturday coincided with similar calls by an infectious disease specialist, who expressed concerns over the low vaccination rates in the population. The warnings came as temperatures at the Hong Kong Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui dropped...

Science

2 w. ago Hong Kong interbank rates forecast to drop on expected US monetary easing in 2026

The US Federal Reserve under a new chairman in 2026 is expected to press ahead with interest rate cuts of up to 75 basis points, a move that would lower Hong Kong’s interbank-linked loan costs but leave prime lending rates stuck at their historical low, according to analysts. The Fed and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) both reduced their key policy rates by a total of 75 basis points in 2025, following a full percentage-point rate cut in 2024. Hong Kong’s base rate now stands at 4 per...

Politics

3 w. ago Chill to deepen on Boxing Day as Hongkongers wake up to cold Christmas

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Hongkongers woke up to a cold Christmas Day, but the weather is expected to get even colder on Boxing Day, with temperatures set to drop further to 13 degrees Celsius (55.4 Fahrenheit). The Hong Kong Observatory said on Thursday that the city was “appreciably cooler” under the influence of...

Politics

3 w. ago Cool Christmas break for Hong Kong as temperatures to reach as low as 14 degrees

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in Hong Kong will drop to as low as 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 Fahrenheit) over the Christmas holiday due to an approaching north-easterly monsoon, according to the Observatory. The forecaster on Wednesday said the “replenishment of the northeast monsoon” would reach the coast...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong welfare group scraps ban on Tai Po survivors keeping donated appliances

A Hong Kong welfare group has dropped a controversial policy barring displaced Tai Po fire residents in its temporary accommodation from taking in-room appliances and furniture when they move out. SideBySide made the U-turn hours after an outcry from affected residents, who argued that the ban was unreasonable because the items had been donated to them by the community. The ban was applied to the government transitional housing project in Tai Po, Good House, managed by SideBySide. One of the...

Events