HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s jobless rate surged to 5.9% in the three months ending May 31, surpassing the 5.5% peak during the global financial crisis in 2009 and marking the highest level since 2005 in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak. The unemployment rate for the March-to-May period compares […]
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US fears for Hong Kong’s religious freedom under security law
WASHINGTON — China’s new national security legislation could be used to crush religious freedom in Hong Kong, said Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, in a Nikkei interview. “The people of Hong Kong, to date, have had a very open religious-freedom society,” said Brownback, a close ally […]
Bailout of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific gets investors’ scrutiny
HONG KONG — A day after the Hong Kong government said it would spend about $5 billion to bail out Cathay Pacific Airways, the city’s leading airline, analysts remained skeptical on the company’s long-term outlook, even though the rescue plan will address some short-term cash issues. Shares in Cathay jumped 19% […]
US to cut Hong Kong’s special status, as Cold War tensions flare
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will eliminate a “full range of agreements” it has with Hong Kong that grants special status, a day after China decided to impose control over the territory’s security. “This was a plain violation of Beijing’s treaty obligations,” the president said, […]
Hong Kong’s special trade status with the US: Five things to know
HONG KONG — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement on May 27 that Washington would no longer treat Hong Kong as autonomous from China has not immediately changed the city’s relationship with the U.S., but it could have a major impact on trade and investment ties. The U.S. is […]
Beijing Diary: Red flags for Hong Kong’s future
The Chinese government is battling to contain the coronavirus outbreak that has infected tens of thousands and killed more than 4,000 people, while spreading worldwide. Nikkei’s bureau chief in China, Tetsushi Takahashi, is on the ground in the capital and is filing dispatches on what he sees. Wednesday, May 27 […]
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park faces closure as pandemic takes its toll
HONG KONG — Ocean Park, Hong Kong’s signature amusement park, could go out of business by the end of June, as the novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the city’s tourism sector to a standstill, the park’s chairman said on Monday. A government-proposed emergency aid package of 5.4 billion Hong Kong […]
Hong Kong’s Li & Fung plots future as global supply chain frays
HONG KONG — Even though Li & Fung had been a Hong Kong fixture for more than a century, CEO Spencer Fung never anticipated a cushy job when he took over the world’s largest sourcing company in 2014. Still, the problems plaguing the company’s sprawling empire, built to connect retailers […]
Hong Kong’s new labor unions aim to reshape political landscape
HONG KONG — While protests in Hong Kong have quieted as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts public life, some pro-democracy activists have set up new trade unions with the hope of reshaping the city’s political landscape. Ivan Law Cheuk-yiu, a 28-year-old nurse, is co-founder of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, or […]
Hong Kong’s army of volunteers disinfects the city, house by house
Gillian Wong, a petite, semiretired accountant in her sixties, leads the way into the dilapidated buildings, her eyes struggling to adjust to the dim light. Yan, a kindergarten teacher, follows, her bag weighed down by a 5-liter bottle of alcohol rub. The last member, Keith Tse, a construction worker on […]