Category Archives: Hong Kong

Coronavirus: first death outside China recorded as total fatalities pass 300

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Man from Wuhan has died in a Philippines hospital, says WHO, as Xi Jinping orders 1,400 more medical workers into Wuhan

The Philippines has reported the first death from the coronavirus outside China, adding to fears about the spread of the virus as more countries imposed travel restrictions.

The outbreak of the respiratory illness has killed 304 people in China since it was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year. Across China, there were 2,590 new confirmed infections on Saturday, bringing the total to 14,380, China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday. A study published on Saturday by scientists from the University of Hong Kong found that the virus may have infected as many as 75,815 people in Wuhan.

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Philippines races to trace those linked to first coronavirus death outside China

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A 44-year-old man from Wuhan travelled with a 38-year-old woman through Hong Kong and three provinces before his death

Officials in the Philippines are racing to identify people who had contact with a 44-year-old man who has become the first person to die from the new coronavirus outside China.

The man, who was from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak in China, had visited three provinces after arriving in the Philippines from Hong Kong.

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Hongkongers take no chances with deadly coronavirus – in pictures

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For Hong Kong people, the memories of the Sars outbreak are still fresh. In 2003 there were 1,755 Sars cases and 299 deaths (according to the World Health Organisation). With the threat of the coronavirus outbreak declared a global emergency, Hongkongers are taking all precautions. Most people are wearing masks, others goggles or double masks. Airports and the subways are screening passengers for high temperatures. People are buying masks, hand sanitiser and even food in bulk

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Coronavirus outbreak: China promises tougher crackdown to stop spread – as it happened

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Officials announce new measures to contain disease, including wildlife trade ban and bus suspensions, as confirmed death toll reaches 56

Jonathan Ashworth, the UK’s shadow health secretary, urged the government to reassure the public it is sufficiently prepared as the NHS is already struggling in the flu season.

He told the Guardian:

The NHS is currently under immense strain this winter with staff already working flat out and hospitals overcrowded. We need urgent reassurance from ministers they have a plan to ensure we have capacity in place to deal with Coronavirus should we need to,

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From loo roll to dumplings: Hong Kong protesters weaponise purchasing power

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The ‘yellow economic circle’ movement aims to promote locally owned businesses – and shun Chinese ones

Emily Mak works in finance but every lunchtime in the run-up to lunar new year on Saturday she heads to a bustling Hong Kong market street to distribute lai see packets to customers who have ordered them online.

Her packets – red envelopes used to hold a traditional new year gift of money for children – are emblazoned with pro-democracy messages. The profits of the more than 20,000 packets she has sold will be donated to young protesters experiencing hardship.

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‘Hong Kong is at a crossroads’: inside prison with the student who took on Beijing

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Political activist Joshua Wong was 20 when he was sentenced in 2017 to six months for his role in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy ‘umbrella movement’

The last words I said before I was taken away from the courtroom were: “Hong Kong people, carry on!” That sums up how I feel about our political struggle. Since Occupy Central – and the umbrella movement that succeeded it – ended without achieving its stated goal, Hong Kong has entered one of its most challenging chapters. Protesters coming out of a failed movement are overcome with disillusionment and powerlessness.

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Hong Kong could keep semi-autonomy for longer, says Lam

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Leader says ‘one country, two systems’ deal could continue if city shows loyalty to China

Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, has said the “one country, two systems” framework under which the city is meant to enjoy autonomy from China could be extended beyond 2047 if loyalty to Beijing is upheld.

In her first appearance at the Legislative Council since October, Lam answered a question from a lawmaker about what might happen in 2047, the year the semi-autonomous territory is meant to return to Chinese rule.

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One in four countries beset by civil strife as global unrest soars

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Researchers predict worldwide turmoil will continue in 2020, with Venezuela, Iran and Libya at greatest risk

A quarter of all countries experienced a dramatic surge in civil unrest last year in a worrying trend that is likely to continue into 2020, researchers have found.

Verisk Maplecroft, a leading risk analysis and strategic forecasting company, said in a report published on Thursday that 47 countries experienced a significant rise in the number of protests over the course of the past year. Hong Kong, Chile, Nigeria, Sudan, Haiti and Lebanon were among the states affected.

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Head of Human Rights Watch denied entry to Hong Kong

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Kenneth Roth was due to launch the organisation’s latest report in the Chinese-controlled city

The global head of Human Rights Watch says he has been denied entry to Hong Kong, where he was scheduled to launch the organisation’s latest world report this week.

Kenneth Roth, the group’s executive director, said that on Sunday he was blocked at Hong Kong airport from entering for the first time, having entered freely in the past.

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Taiwan re-elects Tsai Ing-Wen as president in clear message to China

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Win marks dramatic comeback for party that campaigned against unification with China

Tsai Ing-Wen has been re-elected as Taiwan’s president, as voters delivered a sharp rebuke to Beijing by choosing a leader who had campaigned on protecting their country from China.

As results came in on Saturday following a quiet day of voting in schools, temples, and community centres across the island, Tsai, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), quickly established a lead over her opponent, Han Kuo-yu, of the Kuomintang, which promotes closer ties with China.

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Hong Kong: nearly a third of adults report PTSD symptoms – study

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Research also finds heavy use of social media to follow socio-political events appears to increase risk on mental health

Nearly one in three adults in Hong Kong reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during months of often violent social unrest in the city, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal on Friday.

Related: Portraits of Hong Kong's masked protesters – in pictures

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Dozens held in Hong Kong after violence at parallel trading march

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Protests target mainlanders’ practice of bulk-buying goods to sell at profit in China

Petrol bombs have been thrown at a Hong Kong police station and dozens of people arrested after a march against parallel trading near the Chinese border.

The Democratic party said about 10,000 people marched peacefully in Sheung Shui district on Sunday, but violence erupted after police ordered protesters to disperse.

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China replaces top Hong Kong official as protests enter eighth month

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Beijing offers no explanation for appointing of Luo Huining to head its liaison office

China has replaced a top official in Hong Kong as anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory enter their eighth month.

Luo Huining, the former Communist party chief for Shanxi province, has been appointed head of China’s liaison office in Hong Kong, the official Xinhua news agency said.

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Mystery viral outbreak in Hong Kong revives fears of SARS epidemic

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City initiates ‘serious response’ level as sickness recalls deadly respiratory syndrome that killed 700 people


Hong Kong authorities has moved to “serious response” level as fears spread about a mysterious infectious disease that may have been brought back by visitors to a mainland Chinese city.

Five possible cases have been reported of a viral pneumonia that has also infected at least 44 people in Wuhan, an inland city west of Shanghai and about 900km north of Hong Kong.

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Hundreds arrested at huge New Year’s Day rally in Hong Kong

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Police detain 400 and fire teargas as anti-government protests continue into 2020

A huge New Year’s Day march in Hong Kong has ended in mass arrests and street clashes as the anti-government movement – now in its eighth month – continued into 2020.

Police detained about 400 people on charges including illegal assembly and possession of offensive weapons after the rally on Wednesday, which organisers said was attended by more than a million people. It was one of the largest numbers of arrests in a single day since the unrest began.

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Hong Kong braces for huge New Year’s Day march after night of unrest

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Marchers begin to gather after New Year’s Eve violence saw police fire teargas and activists set fire to barricades

Thousands have gathered in Hong Kong to take part in a what is expected to be a huge New Year’s Day march, hours after police fired teargas on pro-democracy protesters marking the start of 2020.

The city has been battered by more than six months of unrest with marches attended by millions, as well as confrontations in which police have fired teargas and rubber bullets – and protesters have responded with petrol bombs.

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Hong Kong braces for fresh protests during new year festivities

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Official issues stark warning to protesters planning to target shopping and business districts

Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes between police and protesters since Christmas.

Events dubbed “Suck the Eve” and “Shop with You” are set for New Year’s Eve on Tuesday in areas including the party district of Lan Kwai Fong, the picturesque Victoria Harbour, and popular shopping malls, according to notices on social media.

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Hong Kong recession to continue as protests hit economy – business live

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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

The pick-up in UK mortgage approvals in November is a “significant surprise”, says Howard Archer of the EY Item Club.

He suspects that some home owners may have been keen to move before the general election, as a hung parliament could have created more economic uncertainty in 2020.

Those gains in Hong Kong and China today have lifted Asian stock markets to their highest levels in 18 months today.

Global stock markets have gained another $700bn this week in thin trading on santa rally. All equities now worth $87.1tn, just $200bn shy of a fresh life-time high and equal to 100% of global GDP so stocks have entered bubble territory. pic.twitter.com/JgXmKPDWCN

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Hong Kong police use pepper spray against people in ‘shopping protest’ – video

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Police used pepper spray and batons against protesters in a village on the border with mainland China and arrested dozens of people. More than 100 protesters marched through a shopping centre in rural Sheung Shui, part of a series of demonstrations intended to disrupt business that have been taking place since Christmas Eve

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Violent clashes in Hong Kong on Christmas Eve – video

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Police clashed violently with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong after they stormed Harbour City mall in Tsim Sha Tsui on Christmas Eve.

Batons and pepper spray were used against thousands of demonstrators inside the shopping centre and on the streets as people inside the malls threw umbrellas and other objects at police.

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