8 h. ago Tape review – reverential Hong Kong remake of Richard Linklater drama of toxic masculinity

Linklater’s ahead-of-the-curve adaptation of a 1999 play about an alleged rape is reconfigured to try and reflect current concernsRichard Linklater’s 2001 movie Tape, and Stephen Belber’s 1999 play that preceded it, were ahead of the curve in their targeting of male sexual violence, blurred lines of consent, performative apologies and self-victimising aggressors. Now comes a remake from Hong Kong for the post-#MeToo era. It makes a few updates, such as situating the film in an Airbnb apartment (instead of a motel room), where two old high-school friends convene. But, somewhat too reverential towards the original, this new version from director Bizhan Tong doesn’t do enough either conceptually or aesthetically to dig down into today’s shifted gender battle lines.In Tong’s scenario, flippant lifeguard and small-time drug-dealer Wing (Adam Pak) invites his straight-laced school buddy Chong (Kenny Kwan) over to shoot the breeze at his apartment. Initially they smoke spliffs and banter t...

Events

4 d. ago Hong Kong responds to damning report by denying it has any political prisoners at all

Hong Kong’s correctional services department denies claims of violence and neglect in prisons

Events

4 d. ago Ten Years: has the hit film’s dystopian vision of Hong Kong in 2025 become a reality?

In 2015, a scrappy group of film-makers tapped into the ‘anxiety of what the city would become’ under Beijing’s increasing influence. Now screening at the Hong Kong film festival UK, it resonates in new waysA taxi driver struggles to keep working as his native language of Cantonese is sidelined for Mandarin. Petty gangsters do the work of the authorities amid a violent debate about a national security law. Supporters of Hong Kong independence are jailed.In 2015, a scrappy group of Hong Kong film-makers imagined what their semi-autonomous city could look like under the increasing influence of the Chinese Communist party (CCP). Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Female snooker star makes history at English Open with highest break to beat 33

Onyee Ng broke a record that had previously stood for 33 years after Allison Fisher managed a 133 break during the 1992 Dubai Classic qualifiers, with the Hong Kong star hitting 137 but still losing in her English Open first-round clash against Liam Highfield

Politics

5 d. ago Hong Kong criticised for rejecting bill giving ‘bare minimum’ rights to same

Legislative council voted down a bill that was introduced to comply with an order from the city’s top courtHuman rights groups have accused the Hong Kong government of failing to provide the “bare minimum” of rights to same-sex couples after it rejected a bill that was introduced to comply with an order by the city’s top court.The city’s unicameral legislative council (LegCo), on Wednesday rejected the bill by a vote of 71-14 after the second reading, following months of debate in the city between opponents who said it threatened family values and advocates who said the government was out of line with the majority of residents who supported same-sex relationships. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Hong Kong rejects bill that would have given limited rights to same

Only 14 of 86 lawmakers supported the bill, which would have granted limited rights to same-sex couples who married or entered civil unions overseas

Politics

7 d. ago Jimmy Lai’s son gives Hong Kong dire warning: ‘Release my father or see him become a martyr’

Sebastien Lai says international community must send China message that its repressive actions have ‘very real consequences’

Events

7 d. ago Report points to alarming rates of sexual and physical violence in Hong Kong prisons

Report finds juvenile detainees subjected to rampant sexual violence while in prison

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong judge rules in favor of lesbian couple's parental recognition in landmark case

A Hong Kong judge has ruled in favor of a lesbian couple’s parental recognition of their son born through reciprocal in vitro fertilization in a landmark case

Events

8 d. ago Mapped: Tropical Storm Tapah forces evacuations in China and shuts schools in Hong Kong

Public transport largely suspended, with buses, and ferries halted and trains running at longer intervals

Events

9 d. ago Digital gold could soon shake up London’s precious metal markets

Digital gold could soon shake up London’s precious metal markets  CNBC

Politics

1 week ago ‘A gilded temple to the new world order’: inside the former US embassy that is now a super

Even the cheap rooms cost £1,400 a night at London’s bling-heavy hangout for high net worth individuals. From mega-basement spa to gaudy rooftop bar, our writer takes a tourRumours have long swirled about what lies beneath the great 1960s fortress of the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square. There have been lurid fables of cold war bunkers, secret service shooting ranges, CIA interrogation chambers and even escape tunnels to Hyde Park. But none of these fictional fantasies quite compare to the underground lair that has now been excavated below the imposing block, in its new incarnation as one of the fanciest hotels in London.Owned by the royal family of Qatar, and operated by an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, belonging to one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest dynasties, this former outpost of US imperialism has become a gilded temple to the new global order. Reborn as the Chancery Rosewood, it is a beacon of luxury designed to attract the cream of the world’s ul...

Politics

1 week ago Bloomberg: London Metal Exchange delayed trading start in Asia by 90 minutes on Wednesday

Bloomberg: London Metal Exchange delayed trading start in Asia by 90 minutes on Wednesday  investingLive

Politics

2 w. ago Tourist dies at Hong Kong Disneyland after passing out on ride

Filipino man, 53, collapses on Frozen Ever After ride

Events

2 w. ago Tourist dies at Disneyland after passing out next to wife on Frozen ride

A 53-year-old man from the Philippines died after losing consciousness while on the Frozen Ever After ride in the theme park's Hong Kong site on Friday.

Events

2 w. ago Ronaldo remains the face of the Saudi soccer league as the season kicks off

Cristiano Ronaldo remains the face of the Saudi soccer league as the season kicks off

Sport

2 w. ago Final arguments conclude in Jimmy Lai national security trial

Government-picked judges consider verdict in high-profile case against Hong Kong media mogul and activistFinal arguments have concluded in the national security trial of the pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.Government-picked judges are retiring to consider their verdict in the case, seen internationally as a crucial test of the rule of law in the city. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Final arguments conclude in Jimmy Lai national security trial in Hong Kong

Government-picked judges consider verdict in high-profile case against pro-democracy media mogulFinal arguments have concluded in the national security trial of the pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.Government-picked judges are retiring to consider their verdict in the case, seen internationally as a crucial test of the rule of law in the city. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong awaits verdict as landmark national security trial concludes

The final arguments have concluded in the national security trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper founder Jimmy Lai

Events

2 w. ago Final arguments in publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial conclude in Hong Kong

The final arguments have concluded in the national security trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper founder Jimmy Lai

Events