All articles tagged with #hong kong
Prosecutors in Hong Kong argue that the 2023 murder of model Abby Choi was a premeditated act driven by a dispute over a luxury apartment. Court testimony reveals that her ex-husband, Alex Kwong, and his in-laws purchased tools to dismember her body days before her death. The trial, which began in September, is expected to last several weeks and involves charges of murder and preventing lawful burial.
Prosecutors detailed how Abby Choi’s ex-husband and in-laws purchased tools for her 2023 murder. The trial highlights a premeditated plot driven by a property dispute.
Asian stock markets ended mixed on Friday, October 1, 2026, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 3% to an 11-week low near 23,900 points. The decline was driven by rising global bond yields and elevated oil prices, which weighed on risk appetite ahead of key U.S. employment data. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9%, while South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.5% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8%. Mainland China and India remained closed for holidays. Investors focused on U.S. nonfarm payrolls, expected to show 89,000 jobs added, and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, which hit 5.34% before easing slightly.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham requested that President Donald Trump raise the case of imprisoned Hong Kong dissident Jimmy Lai during his upcoming summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The British delegation suggested that Lai could reside in the United Kingdom if released. Although Trump previously agreed with the call for Lai's freedom, Beijing has not indicated willingness to comply. This diplomatic push follows a 20-year sedition sentence handed to Lai this year and highlights ongoing tensions regarding political prisoners in Hong Kong.
A murder trial has commenced in Hong Kong for the ex-husband and in-laws of socialite Abby Choi, three years after her dismembered body was found. The defendants face life imprisonment if convicted, with the high-profile jury trial expected to last 45 days.
A jury trial commenced on Monday in Hong Kong for Alex Kwong, his brother Anthony, and their father Kwong Kau, who are accused of murdering socialite Abby Choi in February 2023. The defendants face life imprisonment if convicted of murder and preventing lawful burial. The case, which shocked the low-crime financial hub, is expected to last 45 days, with prosecution opening statements delayed due to extensive forensic DNA testing.
The murder trial of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong, his brother Anthony, and their father Kwong Kau began on September 21, 2026. The three defendants face charges for killing and dismembering Choi in 2023, with proceedings expected to last until December. A jury will determine their guilt under Hong Kong’s common-law system, with a mandatory life sentence possible for a murder conviction.
A young woman from Jiangxi province, China, crossed into Hong Kong to attend a music festival, triggering a government review of her family’s eligibility for welfare benefits. The incident has sparked a national debate over the limits of discretionary spending for low-income households and the reach of China’s surveillance systems.
Two pro-democracy figures, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, were jailed for seven years and seven years plus three months respectively for incitement to subversion linked to Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigil under the national security law; former lawmaker Albert Ho received five years two months. The sentencing marks one of the last major NSL trials, highlights the crackdown on dissent, and comes as the Hong Kong Alliance dissolved in 2021 and public commemoration of 1989 protests wanes under Beijing’s security framework.
Three pro-democracy activists who led Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigil were convicted under the Beijing-imposed national security law and sentenced to five years to seven years and three months in prison, with the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China fined HK$1.5 million; the verdict signals another tightening of dissent restrictions in Hong Kong and comes as Tiananmen commemorations have been increasingly curtailed since 2020.
Three leaders of the dissolved Hong Kong Alliance were sentenced to up to seven years in prison under the national security law for inciting others to subvert state power tied to annual Tiananmen vigils; Lee Cheuk-yan got seven years, Chow Hang-tung seven years and three months, and Albert Ho five years, with the group also fined HK$1.5 million as authorities broadened penalties for dissent in Hong Kong.
Three organizers of Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigil were sentenced to multi-year prison terms for inciting subversion under the city’s national security framework, with a combined fine for the group, underscoring Beijing’s crackdown on dissent and the end of the vigil tradition in Hong Kong.
A diner in Hong Kong found a newborn pink, hairless rat in a Wa Jer Restaurant takeout meal. Local health authorities seized the food, cited unsatisfactory hygiene conditions after inspecting the premises, and the restaurant was shut for cleaning as investigators probe how the rodent ended up in the sauce.
Russian gold shipments via Hong Kong have surged as Western sanctions push bullion toward Asia, with almost 100 tonnes imported to Hong Kong in the first seven months of 2026, a record, and much of it destined for mainland China; the development highlights Hong Kong’s rising role as a bullion trading hub and signals a broader shift of the global gold trade away from London and New York, while raising compliance challenges for Western banks and refineries.
A Hong Kong court upheld Cardinal Joseph Zen’s 2022 conviction over fundraising for the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, a case tied to Beijing’s security crackdown that has curbed protests and shaken civil liberties in the territory. Zen and others say the case underscores broader limits on freedoms, including religious liberty, even as authorities defend the security law as necessary for stability.