Hong Kong Local
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:46:37 +0800Sixteen more Covid cases emerge from gym cluster
Sixteen people connected to a Sai Ying Pun gym have come down with Covid-19, one day after a fitness trainer there contracted the disease.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the Ursus Fitness cluster now stands at 17, of which seven are st...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:37:17 +0800Govt department chiefs rush to back election move
Senior Hong Kong officials put out a flurry of statements on Thursday afternoon expressing their delight at the NPC's approval of Beijing's plan to overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system.
Several, including the director of fire services, the commissi...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:52:07 +0800UK says electoral changes undermine trust in China
Britain’s foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Thursday that the decision by the National People’s Congress to make sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system will undermine international confidence and trust in China.
Raab’s comment...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:48:05 +0800Overhaul will cut back the politics in Legco: CE
Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday expressed her administration's "sincere gratitude" to the National People's Congress for approving Beijing's plan for a drastic overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system, saying the changes will fix the problem o...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:40:38 +0800Three men jailed 40 months for stealing toilet rolls
Three men have each been sentenced to 40 months in prison after pleading guilty to robbing a supermarket of 600 rolls of toilet paper in February last year when the Covid-19 pandemic began.
The District Court heard that on February 17 last year, on...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:31:31 +0800HK overhaul approved without a single opposing vote
The National People’s Congress (NPC) on Thursday officially endorsed a proposal to “refine” Hong Kong’s election system, at the conclusion of its annual plenary session.
The plan, which officials say will make sure the SAR is ruled by "patri...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:26:48 +0800Govt to list out who shouldn't get Covid jabs
The government is set to release guidelines on various groups of people who should not take coronavirus vaccines, sources tell RTHK, at a time of growing scepticism about the safety and efficacy of the jabs.
RTHK understands that the guidelines, mai...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 14:57:51 +0800WSJ rebukes 'Hong Kong illusionist' Paul Chan
The Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has lashed out at Financial Secretary Paul Chan for claiming Hong Kong has a “high degree of autonomy”, accusing Chan of “invoking a system that no longer exists”.
In a letter written by C...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 13:26:43 +0800Ousted lawmaker backs BN(O) documents ban for MPF
A member of the MPF Schemes Advisory Committee, disqualified pro-democracy lawmaker Kenneth Leung, said on Thursday that it makes sense for the authorities to refuse to accept BN(O) passports and visas as proof that someone is leaving the territory a...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 12:24:47 +0800Gym staff should get tested once a week: expert
An infectious diseases expert has called for staff at high-risk premises such as gyms to be tested for the coronavirus every seven days, instead of two weeks.
Leung Chi-chiu made the suggestion on Thursday after a cluster of cases emerged at a gym i...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 12:04:54 +0800HK's aviation sector still promising: new airline
A director of the Greater Bay Airlines, Stanley Hui, said the Hong Kong-based start-up carrier "surely" has the financial capabilities to develop, despite the unprecedented challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has posed to the aviation industry.
Hui sa...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 12:00:35 +0800High Court nixes bail for councillor Ng Kin-wai
The High Court on Thursday revoked the bail granted to Yuen Long district councillor Ng Kin-wai – one of the 47 pro-democracy figures charged with subversion under the national security law.
National security judge Esther Toh ordered that Ng be r...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 11:18:03 +0800Ted Hui's Australia move 'nothing to do with China'
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui is welcome to campaign on political issues in Australia and his arrival is not a matter for China, the chair of the Australian parliament's intelligence committee said on Thursday.
In the first comments from ...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 10:43:11 +0800Security law suspect Helena Wong granted bail
The High Court on Thursday granted bail to former Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong, one of a group of 47 pan-democrats charged with subversion under the national security law.
She was ordered to pay cash bail of HK$200,000 and surrender all he...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 09:06:11 +0800Court hearing challenge to activists' bail
The High Court is hearing a challenge by prosecutors to a lower court’s decision to grant bail to 11 pro-democracy activists charged under the national security law.
Dozens of people lined up for the bail hearing, some as early as 1 am. There’s...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 08:51:27 +0800Woman dies after being trapped against column
Police are appealing for witnesses after a 52-year-old petrol station attendant died after being trapped against a column following a car accident.
The accident happened on Sunday morning in Tin Sum in Sha Tin, when a private car, driven by a 28-ye...
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 08:23:30 +0800Take-up rate for Sinovac Covid jab increases
The head of the community vaccination centre in Jordan, which offers the Sinovac Covid-19 jab, says there has been an increase in people turning up for their bookings in the past two days. The take-up rate dropped following reports of deaths and illn...
Wed, 10 Mar 2021 22:24:10 +0800Electoral changes are an attack on HK rights: UK
Britain said on Wednesday that proposed changes to Hong Kong's electoral system would be another attack on the freedoms of its former colony, and that London had raised its concerns directly with Beijing.
"Such measures, if introduced, would be a fu...
Wed, 10 Mar 2021 18:59:10 +0800BN(O) documents can't be used to withdraw MPF
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority stressed on Wednesday that people cannot use a British National (Overseas) passport or the BN(O) visa for those relocating to Britain as proof they are leaving the territory and are therefore eligible to...
Wed, 10 Mar 2021 18:46:59 +0800Eight guilty of breaching gathering ban with protest
Eight activists from the Labour Party and the League of Social Democrats were on Wednesday given 14-day suspended prison sentences, after being found guilty of breaching the government's public gathering limit by staging a protest on Labour Day last ...