2 h. ago Hong Kong’s jobless rate holds steady at 3.8% as economy, consumption improves

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.8 per cent over the past three months, with authorities expecting that stronger economic growth and stable local consumption will continue to support the labour market. Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that movements in the unemployment rate in different industry sectors varied for the October to December period, but the magnitudes were generally small. The underemployment rate rose slightly by 0.1...

Politics

2 h. ago Hong Kong’s jobless rate holds steady at 3.8% amid growth outlook

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.8 per cent over the past three months, with authorities expecting that stronger economic growth and local consumption will continue to support the labour market. Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that movements in the unemployment rate in different industry sectors varied for the October to December period, but the magnitudes were generally small. The underemployment rate rose slightly by 0.1...

Politics

3 h. ago Dead porpoise with suspected stillborn calf found in Hong Kong waters

A dead porpoise, suspected to have been carrying a stillborn calf, was discovered in Hong Kong waters on Tuesday. The mammal was spotted by boat captain Vincent Tong Chi-kin in the waters near Ap Chau on Tuesday morning, while his vessel was conducting coastal cleaning for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. “We spotted a grey-black object when steering from Lai Chi Wo to Ap Chau. It turned out to be the body of a mammal when we got close,” he said. He added that the six-foot (1.8...

Events

4 h. ago Hong Kong inquest verdict into ferry crash ‘will be ellipsis ... not full stop’

Alice Leung Shuk-ling has spent more than a decade seeking the truth behind a ferry crash in 2012 that killed her younger brother and 38 others, and she expects a Coroner’s Court verdict due Wednesday to be merely an ellipsis – not a full stop – in her quest. Leung, 40, said she never expected last year’s 44-day inquest on the Lamma IV crash would unearth all the answers families of the deceased had demanded for years. But she believed the inquest had a “symbolic meaning” for those who wanted to...

Events

4 h. ago Families of Hong Kong ferry crash victims say verdict won’t bring closure

Alice Leung Shuk-ling has spent more than a decade seeking the truth behind a ferry crash in 2012 that killed her younger brother and 38 others, and she expects a Coroner’s Court verdict due Wednesday to be merely an ellipsis – not a full stop – in her quest. Leung, 40, said she never expected last year’s 44-day inquest on the Lamma IV crash would unearth all the answers families of the deceased had demanded for years. But she believed the inquest had a “symbolic meaning” for those who wanted to...

Events

5 h. ago Hong Kong strives to be ‘fortress’ that safeguards digital security, I&T minister says

Hong Kong is striving to become a “fortress” that safeguards digital security, the city’s innovation and technology (I&T) minister has said, noting that cyber warfare is not just a confrontation of technologies but a “full-spectrum contest” that transcends geographical boundaries and integrates artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at a conference organised by the Digital Policy Office at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Tuesday, Secretary for Innovation, Technology...

Politics

5 h. ago Hong Kong strives to be ‘fortress’ that safeguards digital security: I&T chief

Hong Kong is striving to become a “fortress” that safeguards digital security, the city’s innovation and technology (I&T) minister has said, stressing that cyber warfare is not just a confrontation of technologies but a “full-spectrum contest” that transcends geographical boundaries and integrates artificial intelligence. Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong made the remarks at a conference organised by the Digital Policy Office at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition...

Events

6 h. ago Academic innovation can help budding entrepreneurs overcome future challenges

As globalisation and technological advancements continue to reshape the way we live and work, educational institutions must also evolve to help equip students with the right mindset and skills to tackle the challenges in our rapidly changing world. Academic innovation has been the guiding principle at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), in the city of Suzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, which is an international, research-focused joint venture between Xi’an Jiaotong University...

Politics

8 h. ago Hong Kong to feel colder than 11 degrees Celsius overnight due to higher humidity

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 11 degrees Celsius (51.8 Fahrenheit) overnight into Wednesday morning under the influence of an intense winter monsoon, but the weather will feel colder than recorded levels due to rising humidity across the city. The Hong Kong Observatory...

Politics

9 h. ago Operation Santa Claus: Hong Kong charity to help minority youth become sports coaches

A charity founded in 1979 to support Vietnamese war refugee children in Hong Kong will this year launch a programme to train ethnic minority youth as sports coaches for mainstream youngsters. Treats’ “EM-SPARK” project will train 30 ethnic minority youngsters aged 15 to 18 to coach 3,504 mainstream primary school students and community members in kin-ball, a team game where players work together to keep a giant ball in the air, and taspony, a tennis-like sport played with a larger softball and...

Sport

9 h. ago Operation Santa Claus: Hong Kong charity to train ethnic minority teens as coaches

A charity founded in 1979 to support Vietnamese war refugee children in Hong Kong will launch a programme this year to train teenagers from ethnic minority groups as sports coaches for mainstream youngsters. Treats’ “EM-SPARK” project will train 30 ethnic minority youngsters aged 15 to 18 to coach 3,504 mainstream primary school students and community members in kin-ball, a team game where players work together to keep a giant ball in the air, and taspony, a tennis-like sport played with a...

Politics

11 h. ago Hong Kong professions ready for new child abuse law but ‘some challenges remain’

Hong Kong professionals mandated to report suspected child abuse cases under a new law taking effect on Tuesday are largely ready, but some have said challenges remain in working with parents from different cultural backgrounds and detecting online crimes targeting youngsters. Under the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance, more than 100,000 people across 25 professions in the social welfare, education and medical sectors are required to report suspected maltreatment of those aged under...

Society

11 h. ago ‘No room for refusal’: Hong Kong professionals brace for tough calls under child abuse law

Hong Kong professionals mandated to report suspected child abuse cases under a new law taking effect on Tuesday are largely ready, but some have said challenges remain in working with parents from different cultural backgrounds and detecting online crimes targeting youngsters. Under the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance, more than 100,000 people across 25 professions in the social welfare, education and medical sectors are required to report suspected maltreatment of those aged under...

Society

13 h. ago Mainland China’s art grads sculpt career ‘passports’ in Hong Kong

For years, many of mainland China’s art students dreamed of working or studying in Europe. After hours spent poring over the works of the continent’s masters as part of their degree requirements, living where their pieces are preserved, displayed and appreciated would seem a natural fit. But with funding and hiring freezes striking numerous overseas art programmes and museums, that path grows less appealing by the day. Now, rather than relocate to a new continent to further their studies, more...

Politics

18 h. ago Hong Kong authorities ‘very concerned’ as dozens face eviction from subdivided flats

Hong Kong authorities are “very concerned” about subdivided flat tenants facing eviction from a Cheung Sha Wan building by March, after the landlord’s plans to upgrade the premises to comply with new rules left dozens in need of temporary housing. The Housing Bureau said on Monday that it was in contact with 109 households in the Yee Wa Building on Un Chau Street, with 72 expressing a need for transitional housing. The remaining 37 households said they were considering applying for such housing...

Politics

18 h. ago ‘It’s like asking us to die’: Hong Kong subdivided flat tenants seek aid as eviction looms

Hong Kong authorities are “very concerned” about subdivided flat tenants facing eviction from a Cheung Sha Wan building by March, after the landlord’s plans to upgrade the premises to comply with new rules left dozens in need of temporary housing. The Housing Bureau said on Monday that it was in contact with 109 households in the Yee Wa Building on Un Chau Street, with 72 expressing a need for transitional housing. The remaining 37 households said they were considering applying for such housing...

Events

20 h. ago Hong Kong justice minister slams sanctions threat, accusations against judges

Hong Kong’s justice minister has refuted “unfounded” accusations against the judiciary regarding several highly charged national security cases, stating that none of the judges had failed to fulfil their duties and that their independence remains strong. In his address at a ceremony on Monday to mark the start of the legal year, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok also slammed the threat of sanctions against the city’s judges and “illegitimate pressures” placed on overseas judges to...

Events

22 h. ago Hong Kong Housing Authority members urge clarity on Tai Po rental site swap

Members of Hong Kong’s Housing Authority have urged the government to clarify how a proposal to resettle residents displaced by the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po at a site designated for public rental flats will not impact the thousands currently on the waiting list. They made the call on Monday during a meeting of the public body, during which Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin identified the site, also in Tai Po, as a “good choice” for the long-term resettlement of the 5,000-odd...

Politics

25 h. ago Rule of law in Hong Kong ‘more robust than outcome of any single case’: chief justice

Hong Kong’s rule of law is “more robust and enduring than the outcome of any single case”, the city’s chief justice has declared after former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was found guilty in a landmark national security case that drew international scrutiny and criticism. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung on Monday also warned that any calls for the early release of a defendant based on his occupation or political causes were a strike against the city’s rule of law, and that any threat of...

Society

26 h. ago Hong Kong Stocks Slide As China Growth Cools And Tariffs Loom

Hong Kong Stocks Slide As China Growth Cools And Tariffs Loom  Finimize

Politics