Hong Kong's Rapidly Evolving Societal Trendsactive

More than 70 per cent of Hong Kong working professionals use artificial intelligence (AI) tools on a weekly basis, more than double the global average, but junior staff also harbour deeper anxiety over job security amid its growing adoption, a survey has found. The study conducted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) surveyed 3,722 working professionals in the city between March and April this year, with more than 60 per cent of them aged between 30 and 49. Some 72.7 per...

The Hong Kong Bar Association has filed a judicial challenge against a disciplinary panel’s decision to clear barrister and former opposition lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee of professional misconduct over her participation in a 2019 anti-government protest. The association’s council on Friday applied for a judicial review of the disciplinary tribunal’s decision that Ng’s conviction for taking part in an illegal gathering was not so serious as “to bring the profession of barrister into disrepute...

Hong Kong police have arrested eight people over an alleged compensated-dating scam syndicate that cheated victims, including teachers and healthcare workers, out of HK$6.2 million (US$790,000) by telling them they had to pay a “legal fee” to formalise contracts to become “sugar babies”. Police said on Monday that they had investigated 80 cases involving scammers who used compensated dating as a pretext to lure victims between February and July this year. The largest individual loss was...

Hong Kong police have arrested 147 people after uncovering a triad syndicate suspected of setting up centres to coordinate bank accounts and handle HK$600 million (US$76 million) in allegedly illicit proceeds. Police said on Sunday that they had conducted a citywide operation code-named “Rapidhorse” over the previous two days against the syndicate allegedly operating drug and illegal gambling dens in Kowloon and the New Territories. The operation involved undercover detectives, the force...

Hong Kong parents should have their children vaccinated against respiratory infections as the city faces a triple threat from influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a medical expert has said. Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, an honorary clinical associate professor in the University of Hong Kong’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, warned on Saturday that the current summer flu season had yet to reach its peak. His remarks came four days after the city recorded its first...

A University of Hong Kong (HKU) virologist has been spared a criminal conviction for assaulting a man and damaging his mobile phone at a railway station last year. Eastern Court on Friday placed Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran on a two-year bind-over order and instructed him to pay HK$800 (US$102) in damages, after he admitted attacking a stranger at Hong Kong MTR station on August 17, 2025. The 48-year-old associate professor, who heads the university’s pathogen evolution lab, could be fined HK$2,000...

A study concluded that walking in intervals once a week can significantly improve body fat reduction and cardiorespiratory fitness in adults with central obesity, comparable to exercising three times a week. The research was conducted by academics from the School of Public Health at the Faculty of Medicine LKS of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) and was published in the journal Nature Communications. According to the authors, their work provides solid scientific evidence supporting the therapeutic use of walking once a week as a practical exercise method for adults with central obesity, especially for those with time limitations. When talking about central obesity, they refer to the excessive accumulation of fat in the abdominal and waist area. On the other hand, in broader terms, obesity itself is a chronic condition characterized by excessive fat accumulation that harms health. Excess adiposity, especially when deposited in the abdominal area, is associated with negative outcomes for the body, such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and a higher risk of mortality. For the recent study, the researchers wondered if interval training — that is, alternating periods of vigorous exercise with active recovery exercises of lower intensity — once a week could be as e…

Top scorers who have secured places at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical school have expressed a desire to pursue both clinical care and medical research, with one student, inspired by her doctor, saying she wants to pass on “hope and courage” to society. Their comments followed the release of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) results on Wednesday. About 34 percent of students who applied through the university admissions system secured tertiary education...

About 34 per cent of students who applied through Hong Kong’s university admissions system have secured tertiary education places this year, marking a slight drop from last year amid stiffer competition. When the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) results were shared on Wednesday, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) each said they had offered places to half of the 24 top scorers in this year’s Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE)...

Doctoral researcher Hu Qi still has about two years left in his programme at the University of Hong Kong, but headhunters are already reaching out to pitch specific jobs and ask when he will graduate. Hu, who specialises in artificial intelligence agent security, is currently interning at a Chinese tech giant where his team leaders regularly ask about his post-graduation plans, urging him to sign on full-time the moment he finishes his degree. His experience reflects a growing sense of urgency...

Four former Hong Kong warehouse workers have been jailed for up to seven years for conspiring to steal more than 800 unsold Chanel handbags and wallets worth at least HK$8.7 million (US$1.1 million). The High Court on Monday sentenced the four defendants over two foiled plots to steal from the French fashion house’s storage spaces at the Goodman Interlink warehouse in Tsing Yi between June 2016 and February 2017. The 691 handbags and 123 wallets were obsolete merchandise from Chanel’s 2014-15...

Hong Kong transport authorities have ordered the operator of a major road link feeding the airport to explain its handling of an accident that paralysed traffic during evening rush hour, leaving commuters fuming. Traffic between Lantau Island and Kowloon was snarled for more than three hours after a medium goods vehicle overturned following a collision with another vehicle on the Cheung Tsing Highway in Tsing Yi on Wednesday. Police said they were alerted at 7.36pm and the drivers of the two...

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has revised its tender clauses to require bidders make a statutory declaration they have not engaged in collusion on a project, as part of a wider move to criminalise bid-rigging following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Senior Counsel Jat Sew-tong, chairman of the Competition Commission, also said on Thursday the body was considering proposing to raise the maximum penalty for the proposed criminal offence from seven to 10 years. Tendering practices came...

Targeted viral surveillance of transit passengers at just two major aviation hubs, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, could speed global detection of new variants by about three days, a university study has found. Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, chair of public health virology at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said on Wednesday that the approach would help authorities stay ahead of emerging threats. “Strengthening local surveillance in all regions remains the foundation of global health...

Mainstream media, particularly in Hong Kong, have historically been conservative in their research and development spending. Media executives prefer to shop for off-the-shelf solutions, treating technology as back-office support rather than a core growth engine. This mode of operation now faces an existential challenge amid the explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI), large language models and Web3 technologies. Concurrently, these developments offer Hong Kong’s media industry fresh...

Hong Kong taxi drivers will be able to identify streets with high rider demand using a big data prediction model powered by artificial intelligence (AI) as soon as mid-2027, according to a cab payment start-up and a university that developed the system. The StreetSights system is the result of a collaboration between Dash and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which said on Thursday that their interim research results were up to 90 per cent accurate in forecasting demand and...

At least six universities in Hong Kong have moved into office buildings or shopping centres over the past three years as classroom space has tightened amid rising non-local enrolment, according to the latest data. Among them is the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which spent HK$345.4 million (US$44 million) in 2025 to acquire a 31,410 sq ft campus in Admiralty for its business school teaching centre. The university unveiled the centre on Tuesday on the fourth floor of...

A state-of-the-art greenhouse gas monitoring instrument spearheaded by a Hong Kong university has officially commenced operations aboard China’s Tiangong space station, following its successful installation by the city’s first home-grown astronaut, Lai Ka-ying. The Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory (Musico) – often dubbed the “Eye for Space” – will remain in orbit for at least two years, according to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which led the development of the...

Hong Kong’s third medical school has recruited about 300 teachers and expects its annual student intake to eventually rise from 50 to more than 200, its dean has revealed. Professor King Li King-chuen, founding dean of medicine at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, also said on Saturday that the medical school had identified a teaching hospital for internships and clinical training, with details expected to be announced within weeks. Li, who assumed the role at the new medical...

Hong Kong doctors have performed the world’s first robotic living-donor liver transplant as part of a pioneering microsurgery programme, researchers have revealed. Sharing results of the clinical trial on Wednesday, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) team said surgeons at Queen Mary Hospital had completed 48 procedures since June 2025, with no long-term or post-operative complications. Microsurgery, which requires surgeons to operate under high-powered magnification on structures as fine as 0.1...

Hong Kong is experiencing a rise in seasonal influenza cases, particularly among children and the elderly, as waning vaccine protection weakens community immunity, a leading infectious disease expert has warned. Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, chair professor of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, issued the warning on Saturday and urged high-risk groups who have not received a seasonal flu jab to get vaccinated. The remarks came a day after health authorities said an influenza B...

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog aims to submit proposals to criminalise bid-rigging as early as September, paving the way for the government to table legislative amendments by the end of the year, following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Senior Counsel Jat Sew-tong, who assumed the role of chairman of the Competition Commission last month, said on Friday that the watchdog would also launch a study into the city’s auto fuel market amid a surge in prices. The market has faced long-standing...

Becoming an astronaut and exploring space has been the dream of generations of young people and Hong Kong has welcomed this pioneering moment. Dr Lai Ka-Ying, who studied computer science at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has become the first astronaut from Hong Kong, and the fourth female astronaut from China, to journey into space. As a payload specialist, she will operate the observatory designed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to track greenhouse gas...

A global data leak involving learning platform Canvas has exposed the personal information of more than 72,000 students and staff across Hong Kong educational institutions, with authorities warning of further threats targeting those affected. As of Tuesday, seven local educational institutions had reported data breaches to the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, including major universities such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Polytechnic University and City...

The Hong Kong Bar Association has proposed criminalising bid-rigging by introducing a “double-track” approach to the Competition Ordinance, describing it as a quick fix to increase deterrence and encourage more whistle-blowers to expose industry malpractice following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Under the current civil regime established in 2015, the ordinance only punishes individuals involved in serious anticompetitive acts, such as bid-rigging, with fines. But the new proposal calls...

China is sending a new type of explorer to the moon – a robot with a humanoid upper body and four wheels. The lunar rover, developed by a team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), is designed to act as an AI-powered porter for the Chang’e-8 mission, scheduled for 2029. The 100kg (220lbs) robot will transport, deploy, and install instruments and sensors at their designated lunar locations after the Chang’e-8 probe lands. It is also tasked with collecting samples of the moon’s…

Medical claims paid by Hong Kong insurers could double within a decade, a study has warned, raising concerns over the sector’s sustainability. The findings, released on Tuesday, showed total medical claims in the city rose by over 60 per cent between 2019 and 2023, driven largely by a surge in inpatient bills, especially for day procedures. “If such an increase continues at the same rate, it will raise serious concerns about the affordability of private health insurance for both employers and...

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has launched a public consultation on food delivery platform Keeta’s proposed measures to ensure a fair market environment, after previously raising concerns about its exclusivity clauses. The Competition Commission said on Tuesday it had begun consulting on three commitments offered by Keeta under Section 60 of the Competition Ordinance, which would become legally binding if accepted. The commission noted that the platform had confirmed earlier this month that...

A university in Hong Kong that is establishing the city’s third medical school has broken ground for an interim teaching and research complex, which will be completed in mid-2028 to welcome the first batch of students. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) president Nancy Ip Yuk-yu also revealed on Tuesday that the institution had hired seven clinical professors for the new school, with many others from overseas expressing interest in joining the team. The first intake of 50...

The developer of Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay has proposed allowing unrestricted taxi access and adding four new ranks in the resort-style seaside community on Lantau Island, submitting a paper to the District Council despite recent resident backlash. In the paper submitted to the Islands District Council, Hong Kong Resort Company said the current lack of point-to-point public transport “severely impacts residents’ daily lives” and that it had received hundreds of messages of support for the...

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has launched a five-year study into why Chinese people often enjoy long lifespans, and hopes to recruit 500 residents aged 90 or older for biomarker analysis using advanced blood testing technologies. HKUST president Professor Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, who is leading the research, said Hong Kong urgently needed to uncover the healthy ageing process as it had become a “super-ageing society” in 2024 under United Nations standards, with more than 20...

A man was killed after receiving an electric shock from a lamp post while wet following a visit to a beach on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, with staff at a nearby resort saying the light had not been checked for 10 years. Police received a report at 8.32pm on Wednesday that a man surnamed Chan, 57, had been left unconscious after touching a lamp post. “When the deceased tried to reach for some wild berries, his hand touched a lamp post next to the resort, and his body froze as if hit by an electric...

CLP Power, Hong Kong’s largest electricity supplier, will raise its fuel cost adjustment (FCA) next month – the first increase in more than a year – citing changes in actual fuel prices. Starting from April 1, the FCA will rise from 39.2 HK cents to 39.8 HK cents per kilowatt-hour, an increase of 0.6 HK cents, according to the power supplier’s website on Wednesday. CLP serves Kowloon, the New Territories and Lantau Island. With the basic tariff included, the net electricity charge for April will...

Hong Kong’s largest international school group plans to raise tuition fees by an average of about 4.1 per cent for most of its primary and secondary divisions next academic year, pending approval by authorities. Parents with children enrolled in kindergartens operated by the English Schools Foundation (ESF) may face a higher fee rise, with a proposed increase of 5.8 per cent. At Discovery College in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island – one of ESF’s private independent schools – secondary school...

A university in Hong Kong has launched an Alzheimer’s disease screening programme using a locally developed blood-based testing technology – the first of its kind globally – which will benefit 6,000 underprivileged elderly people over five years. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting one in 10 Hongkongers aged 60 or above, with incidence increasing with age, according to a Department of Health report in 2025. Announcing the “NeuroCare Community Project” on Monday,...

Global investors should take a fresh look at China, where rapid technological advancement is converging with declining geopolitical risk relative to other regions, senior investment executives said at the Milken Institute’s Global Investors’ Symposium on Monday. The event in Hong Kong brought together 500 business leaders and senior executives from the investment, banking, finance, technology and consumer sectors under the theme “Capital in a Changing World”. “I think we should seriously think...