1/ Hong Kong's Victoria Park - the iconic venue for the only annual commemoration on Chinese soil of the Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989 - stands empty and barricaded at 8pm on Friday, the first time in 32 years.
2/ Hundreds of police officers were deployed at Victoria Park on Friday evening in anticipation of people showing up for the city's annual Tiananmen Massacre vigil in defiance of a police ban.
3/ Hundreds of black-clad activists roamed the streets around the park holding electronic candles as police sought to disperse them, unfurling flags warning they were in breach of the law. Police widened their cordon around the park and kept people and onlookers moving.
4/ Activist Raphael Wong of the League of Social Democrats was stopped and searched by police just before 8pm near the park.
5/ Wong Yat-chin, a member of the activist group, Student Politicism, was arrested after police warned the group about setting up a street booth in Mong Kok.
6/ Some people chanted pro-democracy slogans including "liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times," which the authorities say is illegal under the security law.
7/ Near Victoria Park water fountain, police asked reporters not to block the exit, saying people inside needed to come out.
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2/ Hongkongers who travel to 30 European countries including France and Germany will need to apply for prior authorisation from the first half of next year, the EU has said.
3/ The new policy requires visitors to Europe from 59 currently visa-exempt countries or territories, including Hong Kong and Macau, to apply online for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) ahead of their trips.
1/ Exclusive: The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has not arranged an election study tour to Taiwan this year, despite running previous trips to witness the self-ruled island’s presidential and parliamentary polls.
2/ The university cited periodic “changes in destinations.” However, a source told HKFP that manpower shortage, as well as politics, were among the considerations.
Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
3/ A source at the Centre of Development and Resources for Students said they were unaware of any direct pressure, but that they felt they should be "careful in this kind of political atmosphere."
1/ Facebook group Free Food Flow, which facilitates food swaps between Hongkongers, began as a university project 10 years ago. It now has more than 60,000 members.
2/ Members donate food items - including homemade cakes, leftovers, pre-packaged snacks, takeaway food from fast food chains that people could not collect in time, even one single apple - for others to collect.
3/ Food waste accounted for 30 per cent of all municipal solid waste dumped in the city’s landfills in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Department. That is an average of 3,437 tonnes of food waste per day.
2/ Small instant-photography stalls have long been part of the vibrant scene at Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, frequented by tourists – and sometimes locals – who want high-resolution snapshots of themselves against Hong Kong’s iconic skyline and Victoria Harbour.
3/ But the government recently stopped issuing licences to photographers offering such services outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, meaning all those operating there must now do so unofficially.
2/ Hong Kong's Covid-19 face mask mandate was in place for more than 2.5 years, leaving some young children with no memory of life without masks.
3/ “Masks have become a part of them. It will take time for them to get used to life without masks,” kindergarten principal Reann Lau told HKFP, “especially the younger ones.”
Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong appeared on Saturday at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in front of designated national security judge, Principal Magistrate Peter Law. They now face up to six months in jail and a HK$100,000 fine. hongkongfp.com/2023/03/04/bre…
At next Sat's sentencing, the trio face up to six months in jail and a HK$100k fine.
Principal Magistrate Peter Law ruled that the notice issued by police was legal, & that only the info at the point when the police chief made his decision was relevant to the matter of legality.