Hong Kong bar owners in ‘hunger strike’ over virus closures

HONG KONG — A group of bar, karaoke and mahjong parlor owners have gone on a symbolic hunger strike in Hong Kong over anti-coronavirus measures that have kept them shuttered for most of the last year.

The four-day protest started on the pavement outside the Hong Kong government’s headquarters on Sunday — the one-year anniversary of when authorities first ordered a round of closures to stem infections.

Those taking part are refusing food in shifts, more an act of protest than a full hunger strike.

“People are queueing for beaches… restaurants are full but only we are in pain and barred from opening,” Leung Lap-yan, founding president of the Licensed Bar and Club Association, told reporters.

Hong Kong’s bars — a major early source of infections — have been hit particularly hard by social distancing measures that have been tightened and relaxed depending on infection rates.

Over the last year, they have been fully closed for 230 days, opened with restrictions for 101 days, and allowed to run normally for only 24 days.

The latest closures have been in place since November, meaning bar owners missed out on the usual peak Christmas, New Year and Easter holiday seasons.

Densely populated Hong Kong was one of the first places to be hit by the coronavirus, but strict social distancing and universal mask wearing has helped keep infections to just over 11,000 with 205 deaths.

Those measures have caused economic devastation, however, and prompted accusations that authorities are more willing to relax curbs for politically connected industries.

Restaurants have remained open in recent weeks — with a cap on four people per table — while Hong Kong’s malls and theme parks have been packed.

Gyms have also been allowed to reopen despite being at the centre of a major recent cluster.

The protesting owners said their industries were willing to adopt stringent measures including capacity restrictions and even requiring customers to drink with a straw.

But so far they have not won any government approval to reopen.

Yuen Kwok-yung, one of the city’s top microbiologists, said on Monday that he understood people’s anger.

“But if you want a full restoration of business, you must have 28 consecutive days with zero local cases,” Yuen said.

“Otherwise, once the restrictions are gone, it will come back.”

Agence France-Presse 

Pet dog quarantined in Hong Kong with low levels of coronavirus

HONG KONG, China — A pet dog was quarantined at an animal center in Hong Kong after it tested positive to low levels of the new coronavirus, officials said Friday, in the first such case in the city.

The canine, which belongs to a 60-year-old woman infected with the virus, has no "relevant symptoms," the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.

But "nasal and oral cavity samples were tested weak positive to COVID-19 virus," a spokesman said, without explaining why they tested the animal in the first place.

The dog was collected from the owner's home on Wednesday, after the woman was diagnosed with the contagion and placed in a hospital isolation ward.

It would be closely monitored and undergo further tests to confirm if it really has the virus or if "this is a result of environmental contamination of the dog's mouth and nose," the department said.


The canine would be held until it returned a negative result.

While there is no evidence domestic animals such as dogs and cats can catch the virus or transmit it to humans, the department said pets of infected people should be quarantined for 14 days.

The financial hub has confirmed 93 cases of the new coronavirus, with two deaths earlier this month.

The epidemic, which emerged in central China in December, has infected more than 83,000 people globally.

Agence France-Presse

Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests

Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters clashed with riot police in the city's upmarket business district and on university campuses Tuesday, extending one of the most violent stretches of unrest seen in more than five months of political chaos.

The confrontations followed a particularly brutal day on Monday, when police shot a protester and a man was set on fire, prompting calls from western powers for compromise but further fury in China against the challenge to its rule.

"Hong Kong's rule of law has been pushed to the brink of total collapse," police spokesman Kong Wing-cheung told a press conference on Tuesday afternoon as he denounced the latest rounds of violence. -- Agence France-Presse

Hong Kong democracy activist injured in knife attack

HONG KONG, China — A man handing out leaflets for a Hong Kong pro-democracy protest was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant who slashed his neck and abdomen on Saturday, days after a leading activist was left bloodied in another street attack.

The injured 19-year-old, wearing black clothes and a black face mask, was knifed near one of the large "Lennon Walls" that have sprung up around the city during months of demonstrations, police said.

Local media images showed the man had been severely injured, with his inner organs visible where his abdomen had been cut in the afternoon incident in northeastern Tai Po district.

Footage posted on social media showed another man holding a knife shortly after the attack and shouting: "Hong Kong is part of China... (You) messed up Hong Kong".

Police confirmed a 22-year-old man had been arrested as well as giving the age of the victim, who was conscious when he was rushed to hospital for surgery.


"The man suddenly rushed to my friend and slashed (him) in the neck. Then my friend ran away towards this direction. After that he fell down and was stabbed in the abdomen with a knife," an associate of the injured man told media at the scene.

Plastered in colourful sticky-notes, posters and slogans, "Lennon Walls" have appeared in more than a hundred locations around Hong Kong, often in pedestrian tunnels or near subway stations.

Though the walls are seen as a peaceful protest method, they have also become flashpoints for violence.

In recent months, fights have broken out when groups of men who support the Hong Kong government have tried to tear the posters down, or between people with different political views.

On Wednesday Jimmy Sham -- a leading face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement -- was taken to hospital covered in blood after being attacked with hammers by unidentified thugs.

The Civil Human Rights Front, which Sham leads, had applied for permission to hold a peaceful rally on Sunday calling for an independent inquiry into police brutality and universal suffrage, but their request was rejected by the police.

However the march is still expected to take place despite the ban.

Hong Kong's more than four months of huge and increasingly violent protests were initially sparked by a now-scrapped bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

They have since snowballed into a wider movement calling for greater democracy and police accountability after Beijing and local leaders took a hard line.

Multiple pro-democracy activists have been attacked by pro-Beijing supporters in recent months, and Sham was also assaulted in August.

As the violence has escalated, hardcore pro-democracy protesters have also begun meting out their own street justice, beating people who vocally disagree with their goals or are viewed to be government loyalists.

source: philstar.com

NBA commissioner: Not league's job to weigh in on countries' political systems, values

MANILA, Philippines — The National Basketball Association will not police the stances of its players, employees, and team owners, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday, adding it is not the league's job to adjudicate on issues.

Silver issued the statement amid backlash over a tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morley indicating support for protests in Hong Kong that started as opposition to a since-shelved bill that would allow extradition to China.

Rockets superstar James Harden apologized on behalf of his general manager on Monday. “We love China. We love playing there. I know for both of us individually we go there once or twice a year," he bared.

"They show us the most support and love. So we appreciate them as a fan base and we love everything they’re about and we appreciate the support that they give us individually and as an organization.”

The NBA initially acknowledged that Morley's tweet, since deletedm 'deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable'. The statement itself also generated backlash for seeming to try to appease China, a huge market for the league.


"I recognize our initial statement left people angered, confused or unclear on who we are or what the NBA stands for. Let me be more clear," Silver said Tuesday.

He was careful to add the caveat that the NBA would not want to police its own personnel when it came to their views, saying, "the NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say on these issues. We simply could not operate that way."

Former Chinese star Yao Ming – a Basketball Hall of Famer – spent his NBA career with Houston.


Long relationship with China

The relationship between the NBA and China among other things consists of media rights, streaming, merchandise sales to the tune of a billion-dollar enterprise. 

"Over the last three decades, the NBA has developed a great affinity for the people of China," Silver said. "At the same time, we recognize that our two countries have different political systems and beliefs. And like many global brands, we bring our business to places with different political systems around the world."

Former NBA commissioner David Stern inked a deal almost 30 years ago with Chinese television to play NBA games on a tape-delayed basis.

League teams have also been travelling to China for exhibition or preseason games for the past decade. Some of these games were even scheduled for the coming weeks, making Morey's statement rather untimely.

And the NBA has long been an international league, with 108 players coming from outside of the United States at the start of the 2018 season.

This diversity is what Silver said was one of the league's strengths: "With that diversity comes the belief that whatever our differences, we respect and value each other; and, what we have in common, including a belief in the power of sports to make a difference, remains our bedrock principle."

"Basketball runs deep in the hearts and minds of our two peoples," Silver said. "At a time when divides between nations grow deeper and wider, we believe sports can be a unifying force that focuses on what we have in common as human beings rather than our differences."

The new NBA season kicks off on October 22, or October 23 in Manila time.

source: philstar.com

Clashes after peaceful crowd takes Hong Kong message to US consulate

HONG KONG, China — Pro-democracy activists jammed Hong Kong streets in a march to the United States consulate on Sunday in a bid to ramp up international pressure on Beijing, but hardcore protesters later clashed with riot police across the city's core.

Millions have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997.

The protests were lit by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland, seen by opponents as the latest move by China to chip away at the international finance hub's unique freedoms.

But after Beijing and city leaders took a hard line the movement snowballed into a broader campaign calling for greater democracy, police accountability and an amnesty for those arrested.

Sunday's protest featured another massive turnout for a movement that has gripped the semi-autonomous territory and plunged it into a political crisis.

Dense crowds of protesters spent hours slowly filing past Washington's consulate in the thick tropical heat. Many waved US flags, some sang the Star Spangled Banner, and others held signs calling on President Donald Trump to "liberate" Hong Kong.

In chants and speeches they called on the US to pressure Beijing to meet their demands and for Congress to pass a recently proposed bill that expresses support for the protest.

"More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested. We can't do anything but come out onto the streets. I feel hopeless," 30-year-old protester Jenny Chan, told AFP.

"I think aside from foreign countries, no one can really help us," she added.

In what has become a now familiar pattern, the main daytime rally passed off peacefully.

But as evening set in, riot police chased groups of hardcore protesters who blocked roads, vandalised nearby subway stations and set makeshift barricades on fire.

One fire burned at an entrance to the subway in the corporate district of Central, where a protester also smashed the station's exterior glass.

In the shopping area of Causeway Bay, officers fired tear gas outside another subway station.

Paramedics took away on a stretcher a man who collapsed after inhaling the gas, and police detained suspected protesters inside that station.

Beijing riled by criticism

Hong Kong is a major international business hub thanks to freedoms unheard of on the mainland under a 50-year deal signed between China and Britain.

But Beijing balks at any criticism from foreign governments over its handling of the city, which it insists is a purely internal issue.

Authorities and state media have portrayed the protests as a separatist movement backed by foreign "black hands", primarily aiming their ire at the US and Britain.

While some American politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for the democratic goals of the protesters, the Trump administration has maintained a more hands-off approach while it fights a trade war with China.

Trump has called for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis and urged China against escalating with a violent crackdown.

But he has also said it is up to Beijing to handle the protests.

Washington has rejected China's allegations that it is backing the demonstrators and Beijing has shown little evidence to back its claims beyond supportive statements from some politicians.

The protests show no signs of abating, and the city's unelected pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam has struck an uncompromising tone for much of the last three months.

On Wednesday, she made a surprise concession, announcing the full withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill which sparked the demonstrations.

Protesters across the spectrum dismissed the gesture as too little, too late, saying their movement would only end once the remainder of their core demands were met.

"Our government continuously takes away our freedoms and that's why people are coming out," a 30-year-old protester in a wheelchair who gave his surname as Ho told AFP on Sunday.

Analysts say it is difficult to predict what Beijing's next move might be.

Under president Xi Jinping, China has become increasingly authoritarian and dissent is being stamped out with renewed ferocity.

source: philstar.com

'Tiananmen Square' crackdown in Hong Kong would harm trade deal — Trump

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned China that carrying out a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters would harm trade talks between the two countries.

"I think it'd be very hard to deal if they do violence, I mean, if it's another Tiananmen Square," Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "I think it's a very hard thing to do if there's violence."

The months-long trade dispute between the US and China has been blamed for setting world financial markets on edge amid signs of a possible global economic slowdown.

Trump's comments came as Washington and Beijing look to revive pivotal talks aimed at ending their trade war.

Phone calls between both countries' deputies are planned for the next 10 days, and if those are successful, negotiations could resume, Trump's chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow said on Sunday.

Hong Kong has meanwhile been dealing with more than two months of protests and on Sunday saw a crowd that organizers said numbered some 1.7 million people march peacefully in the city despite rising unrest and stark warnings from Beijing.

Chinese state media has run images of military personnel and armored personnel carriers in Shenzhen, across the border from the semi-autonomous city.

In the bloody 1989 crackdown in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, China deployed tanks to end student-led protests, resulting in an estimated death toll of hundreds if not thousands.


If such a situation was repeated in Hong Kong, "I think there'd be... tremendous political sentiment not to do something," Trump said, referring to the trade negotiations with China.

Creeping authoritarianism

Under a deal signed with Britain, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to keep its unique freedoms when the former crown colony was handed back in 1997.

But many Hong Kongers feel those freedoms are being chipped away, especially since China's hardline president Xi Jinping came to power.

Trump stopped short of endorsing the protesters, saying, "I'd love to see it worked out in a humane fashion," and calling on Xi to negotiate with the dissidents.

Last week, China's state-run daily The Global Times said there "won't be a repeat" of Tiananmen Square in a rare reference to the crackdown.

Analysts say any intervention in Hong Kong by Chinese security forces would be a disaster for China's reputation and economy.

The weeks of demonstrations have plunged the financial hub into crisis, with images of masked, black-clad protesters engulfed by tear gas during street battles against riot police stunning a city once renowned for its stability.

The unrest was sparked by widespread opposition to a plan for allowing extraditions to the Chinese mainland, but has since morphed into a broader call for democratic rights in the semi-autonomous city.

Sunday's march, billed as a return to the peaceful origins of the leaderless protest movement, was one of the largest rallies since the protests began about three months ago, according to organizers the Civil Human Rights Front.

source: philstar.com

Young, educated and furious: A survey of Hong Kong's protesters

HONG KONG, China — The vast majority of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters are university-educated, almost half are in their twenties and nearly everyone loathes the police, according to an academic survey that sheds new light on the movement.

Ten weeks of demonstrations in the financial hub have seen millions of people take to the streets, increasingly violent clashes breakout between hardcore protesters and police and, more recently, flights grounded at the airport.

The rallies that began in opposition to a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China have morphed into a broader bid to reverse a slide in democratic freedoms.

Researchers from four of the city's universities surveyed participants across 12 protests—including mass rallies and "fluid" and "static" demonstrations—between June 9 and August 4 and found 54 percent were male and 46 percent were female.

Overall, 77 percent of the 6,688 respondents said they had a tertiary (higher) education, with 21 percent saying they had a secondary (high school) education.


The 20-29 age bracket was the most represented with 49 percent, compared to 11 percent under 20 and 19 percent aged between 30 and 39. Sixteen percent were 40 and above.

Exactly half (50 percent) considered themselves to be middle class, while 41 percent said they were "grassroots".

When asked why they were demonstrating, 87 percent said they wanted the extradition bill to be withdrawn, 95 percent expressed dissatisfaction with police's handling of the protests and 92 percent called for the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry.

The survey, called 'Onsite Survey Findings in Hong Kong's Anti-Extradition Bill Protests' was published on August 12 and led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Lingnan University, the Hang Seng University of HongKong and Hong Kong Baptist University.

source: philstar.com

Hong Kong leader Lam says China extradition bill 'dead'

HONG KONG — Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said a widely loathed proposal to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland "is dead" -- but again stopped short of protester demands to withdraw the bill.

The finance hub has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history following a month of huge marches as well as separate violent confrontations with police involving a minority of hardcore protesters. 

"There are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries (about) whether the government will restart the process with the Legislative Council," she said in a press conference.

"So I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead."

The rallies were sparked by a now-suspended law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

But they have since morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.

Public anger has soared against the city's pro-Beijing leaders and its police force after officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters outside parliament last month. 

Lam has made very few public appearances in recent weeks.

But on Tuesday she resurfaced to hold a press conference in which she made her most conciliatory comments to date. 

She described her administration's attempt to introduce the extradition bill as "a complete failure", agreed to meet students in public without preconditions and said she recognised that the city was facing an unprecedented array of challenges. 

"I come to the conclusion that there are some fundamental and deep-seated problems in Hong Kong society," she said. 

"It could be economic problems, it could be livelihood issues, it could be political divisions in society," she said.

"So the first thing we should do is identify those fundamental issues and hopefully to find some solutions to move forward."

But she shied away from other key protester demands, including calls for an independent judge to head up a commission of inquiry into police tactics, saying the city's current police complaints mechanism was conducting its own investigation.

Lam had previously suspended debate on the extradition bill and said her administration had no plans to reintroduce it into the city's Legislative Council (LegCo).

But protesters remain distrustful and have demanded she unequivocally withdraw the proposed law from the parliamentary agenda. 

Lam said she did not think protesters would believe her if she used the word "withdraw"

"To some extent, if it was withdrawn today, it could be brought back to LegCo three months later," she said.

"But maybe the residents want to hear a very resolute and decisive saying. So 'the bill is dead' is a relatively resolute saying," she added.

source: philstar.com

Protesters control key roads after historic Hong Kong rally

HONG KONG, China — Holdout anti-government protesters remained in control of a major arterial road in Hong Kong on Monday a day after organizers said two million people flooded the streets in a historic rebuke of the city's pro-Beijing leader.

Vast crowds marched for hours in tropical heat on Sunday calling for the resignation of chief executive Carrie Lam, who has been forced to suspend a widely loathed bill that would have allowed extraditions to the Chinese mainland.

Critics fear the Beijing-backed law will entangle people in China's notoriously opaque and politicized courts and damage the city's reputation as a safe business hub.

Throngs of largely black-clad protesters snaked their way for miles through the streets to the city's parliament—with the organizers' estimate for the crowd size doubling an already record-breaking demonstration the previous Sunday in the city of 7.3 million.

The estimate has not been independently verified but if confirmed it would be the largest demonstration in Hong Kong's history.

Police, who historically give far lower estimates for political protests, said 338,000 people turned out at the demonstration's "peak" Sunday.

By Monday morning the crowds had dramatically dropped to just a few hundred largely young protesters occupying a major highway outside the city's parliament and some nearby streets.

Small lines of police, who had virtually disappeared the night before, were pleading with the protesters to go home but made no attempt to force them on.

Public rage

Opposition to the extradition bill has united an unusually wide cross-section of Hong Kong in recent weeks, from influential legal and business bodies to religious leaders.

And while the spark for the last week of protests has been the extradition bill, the movement has since morphed into the latest expression of public rage against both the city's leaders and Beijing.

Many Hong Kongers believe China's leaders are stamping down on the financial hub's unique freedoms and culture.

They point to the huge 2014 pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement" that failed to win any concessions, the imprisonment of protest leaders, the disqualification of popular lawmakers and the disappearance of Beijing-critical booksellers, as recent examples.

In recent years, the city's pro-Beijing leaders have successfully resisted bowing to pressure from large street protests led by the city's pro-democracy activists.

But the sheer size of the last week's crowds, and unprecedented violent clashes on Wednesday, has forced Lam into a major climbdown.

On Saturday she indefinitely suspended the unpopular extradition bill and apologised a day later for the attempt causing "conflict and disputes".

But the U-turn has done little to mollify protesters.

The Civil Human Rights Front, which is organizing the rallies, has called on Lam to resign, shelve the bill permanently and apologise for police using tear gas and rubber bullets on Wednesday. They have also demanded all charges be dropped against anyone arrested.

The violent crowd control measures on Wednesday, used by police as protesters tried to storm the city's parliament to stop the bill being debated, have proved enormously costly for Lam's government.

Political allies—and even Beijing—distanced themselves from her as public anger mounted.

"I think she has lost any remaining credibility or legitimacy to rule in Hong Kong because of her own mishandling of this whole affair," Charles Mok, a lawmaker, told RTHK Radio.

Joshua Wong to walk free

The massive rallies—which come 30 years after the Tiananmen crackdown—also create a huge headache for president Xi Jinping, the most authoritarian Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.

Under the 1997 handover deal signed with Britain, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to keep unique liberties such as freedom of speech and its hugely successful independent common law courts for 50 years.

But the huge crowds this week illustrate how many Hong Kong's 7.3 million inhabitants believe China is already reneging on that deal and fear further sliding freedoms as the city hurtles towards that 2047 deadline.

Protest leaders have called for a strike on Monday and renewed demonstrations.

One of the city's most prominent protest leaders is due to be released from prison later on Monday morning.

Joshua Wong, who became the poster child of the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" protests, will walk free at 10:30 am (0230 GMT), his political party said.

Wong, 22, was jailed in May for two months on a contempt charge after pleading guilty to obstructing the clearance of a major protest camp back in 2014.

It was not clear whether his early release was a gesture from the authorities or procedure.

A release on Monday would mean he will have served exactly half his sentence, a common policy in Hong Kong for prisoners who exhibit good behaviour.

Chinese state media remained largely silent about Sunday's historic rally, with social platforms scrubbed clean of any pictures or mentions of the rally.

source: philstar.com

Massive clean-up in Hong Kong after typhoon brings trail of destruction

HONG KONG, China — Hong Kong began a massive clean-up Monday after Typhoon Mangkhut raked the city, shredding trees and bringing damaging floods, in a trail of destruction that has left dozens dead in the Philippines and millions evacuated in southern China.

The death toll in the Philippines, where the main island of Luzon was mauled with fierce winds and rain, rose to 65 overnight as rescuers pulled more bodies from a huge landslide in the mountain town of Itogon.

National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana told AFP that 43 other people are missing, and more than 155,000 people remain in evacuation centres two days after the typhoon struck.

After tearing through Luzon and pummelling Hong Kong and Macau, the storm made landfall in mainland China late Sunday, with two reported dead in Guangdong province.

Authorities there said they had evacuated more than three million people and ordered tens of thousands of fishing boats back to port before the arrival of what Chinese media had dubbed the "King of Storms".

In the high-rise city of Hong Kong, the government described the damage as "severe and extensive" with more than 300 people injured in Mangkhut which triggered the maximum "T10" typhoon alert.

The monumental task of cleaning up the city began as residents, some in suits and ties, struggled to get back to work on roads that remained blocked by felled trees, mud and debris.

Schools were closed, along with bus services, and travel disruption saw commuters piling onto platforms trying to board infrequent trains after trees fell on overhead lines.

Landslides and severe flooding affected some areas, with over 1,500 residents seeking refuge in temporary shelters overnight.

The storm, with gusts of more than 230 kilometers per hour (142 mph), sent buildings swaying and waters surging into homes and shopping malls, with some roads waist-deep in water.

Windows in tower blocks and skyscrapers were smashed as people cowered inside.

In the neighbourhood of Heng Fa Chuen, thousands of rocks and pebbles from the sea covered parkland along the coastline which had been battered by pounding waves.

The city's main Victoria Park had become an obstacle course with hundreds of trees down and many completely uprooted.

Emergency teams were sawing apart some of the biggest trees blocking roads and pathways across the city in a clean-up operation that is likely to take days.

In the neighboring gambling enclave of Macau, all 42 casinos shut down for the first time in its history as the storm approached.

They opened again on Monday but Macau was still in recovery mode after severe flooding hit parts of the city, forcing emergency workers to rescue people from their shops and homes using boats and jetskis.

As the storm moved past the enclave Sunday, streets became submerged under water gushing in from the harbour.

The government and casinos have taken extra measures in recent times,  determined to avoid a repeat of Typhoon Hato which battered Macau last year, killing 12 people and drawing accusations it was ill prepared for a major storm.

source: philstar.com

WATCH | Introducing: The ‘smart ring’ for the visually impaired

A ‘smart’ ring developed in Hong Kong aims to help the visually impaired by allowing them to answer phone calls with a touch of a finger. Reuters’ Amy Pollock has more.

Answering a phone call could become as simple as touching your ear.

Wear new smart ring Orii on your finger and connect to your phone using bluetooth… And pick up calls using bone conduction technology that sends sound vibrations through your hand straight into your ear. It’s a way of ditching the screen and paying attention to world around us, say its developers.

“We’re very well connected, very digital-savvy. We also know that in some way we want to shift our habits towards something else. We want to keep our heads up, we want to be able to stay more in the moment. I think this device represents a different way of using our devices,” Origami Labs co-founder Kevin Wong, saying.

Hong Kong-based start up Origami developed the Orii as a way of improving smartphone functionality for visually impaired users. They typically rely on screen reading software, but that has its problems.

“It’s loud and other people can hear it. Can you imagine it reading out your password? That’s inconvenient and inappropriate,” Origami Labs Technical Advisor, Peter Wong, saying.

Origami found its discreet device had wider appeal.

“So one thing that we discovered was that making screen-free tech was more than just about accessibility, But really about making something easier to use for all of us,” Kevin Wong, saying.

The Orii gives around one hour of continuous listening time, according to its developers. And it links up with voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant to complete calls, text messages and setting reminders.

source: interaksyon.com

Hong Kong confirms first Zika case

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of Zika, putting the Asian financial center on high alert for any spread of the mosquito-borne virus that has wreaked havoc in Latin America, the Caribbean and beyond.

At a media conference late on Thursday, Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Leung Ting-hung, said relevant measures had been taken to prevent the virus from spreading further.

He said the government's priority was controlling the mosquito population in Hong Kong.

"The patient is a 38-year-old woman with good past health. She has developed joint pain and red eyes since August 20," the department of health said in a statement.

It said it would report the case to the World Health Organization.

In February, a mainland Chinese man who flew into Hong Kong was diagnosed as having the Zika virus, according to local broadcaster RTHK, citing officials as saying there was little chance he could have caused an outbreak during his brief stay.

Zika was detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas. The virus poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. It has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in Brazil.

source: interaksyon.com

In Ecuador cyber heist, thieves moved $9 million to 23 Hong Kong firms

HONG KONG/CHICAGO  - Cyber thieves who stole $12 million from an Ecuadorian bank in 2015 routed the funds through 23 companies registered in Hong Kong, some of them with no clear business activity, according to previously unreported court filings and judicial rulings.

The court papers offer a first glimpse into where some of the money was moved after it reached accounts in Hong Kong.

The filings stem from a lawsuit filed in early 2015 by Ecuador's Banco del Austro (BDA) in Hong Kong against the web of companies that received or handled more than $9 million in stolen funds, bank records submitted to the territory's Court of First Instance show. The BDA lawsuit alleged the companies had been "unjustly enriched" and sought recovery of the money.

The remaining $3 million was routed to entities in Dubai and elsewhere, according to separate court filings in the U.S. Those transfers are not the subject of litigation in Hong Kong.

The cyber thieves allegedly used the SWIFT global messaging system to move the funds. SWIFT, a conduit for bank money transfers worldwide, also was the network used to move $81 million out of Bangladesh Bank in February.

According to the Hong Kong court filings, BDA submitted criminal reports to police in both Hong Kong and Ecuador about the transfers. The content of those reports was not part of the court record reviewed by Reuters. The attacks have caught the attention of global investigative agencies. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bangladesh authorities are leading a search for criminals behind the February heist, which ranks among the largest ever.

In the Ecuadorian heist, the money was transferred by Wells Fargo based on authenticated SWIFT messages, and both BDA and the U.S. bank now believe those funds were stolen by unidentified hackers, according to documents in a BDA lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo in New York this year.

It was not clear whether the Hong Kong Police have launched an official probe. A spokesman for the agency declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

The Ecuador attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The FBI and BDA also declined comment.

Initially, cyber thieves moved $9.139 million of the more than $12 million they stole from BDA into the Hong Kong accounts of four companies at HSBC and Hang Seng Bank.

At least $3.1 million of the funds were then routed from those four companies to 19 "second layer" bank accounts, meaning the funds made a second hop to another set of Hong-Kong registered companies, the papers show.

Not tied to real businesses

Hang Seng did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HSBC declined to comment on the details of the case but a spokesman said in an e-mail that the bank actively co-operates with law enforcement and has controls in place to know its customers and deter crime.

SWIFT, an acronym for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has said its core messaging system has never been breached.

A BDA lawyer said in the filings that the Ecuador bank knew none of the firms or people behind the four companies that initially received the funds. Most of the "second layer" accounts appeared not to be tied to real businesses, the lawyer added.

Hong Kong Deputy High Court Judge Conrad Seagroatt said in a December ruling in the case that the four initial recipients showed no prior history of business activity. "They all appear to be otherwise inactive corporate vehicles controlled by citizens of the People's Republic of China," Seagroatt wrote.

In March last year, BDA secured an order from the court to freeze the accounts of the four companies that intially received the funds, although it later settled with the recipient of the smallest transfer of $95,731.18 and withdrew its claim against that firm, the court record shows.

As of last month, complaints against five of the 23 defendants had been withdrawn or dismissed, and settlements with some defendants have taken place, court papers reviewed by Reuters indicate.

BDA has declined to speak with Reuters about the Hong Kong case or the related litigation in the United States against Wells Fargo.

source: interaksyon.com

Hong Kong votes in first election since democracy protests

Hong Kong, China - Hong Kong went to the polls Sunday for the first time since huge pro-democracy protests gripped the city, in a key test of public sentiment.

The spotlight is on the district elections to gauge whether support for the democracy movement can translate into votes and bring change to the political landscape.

Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being handed back by Britain to China in 1997, but there are fears that Beijing's influence is growing.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets for more than two months at the end of last year demanding fully free elections for the city's next leader, in what became known as the "Umbrella Movement".

The rallies were sparked after Beijing insisted candidates for the first public vote for Hong Kong's leader in 2017 would first have to be vetted by a loyalist committee.

Motivated by democracy movement
Some voters said the democracy movement had motivated them to cast their ballot.

"It's the little power we have," said 28-year-old administrator Kris Fong, voting in the northern district of Yuen Long.

Fong said she had chosen a pro-democracy candidate because she felt the city was being "manipulated" by Beijing. She had missed previous elections but said voting this year was more important.

"After last year's umbrella revolution I feel that, however insignificant our vote might be, it's our only legitimate way to tell the people... up north what we are thinking," said Fong, referring to powers in Beijing.

Student leader Joshua Wong, 19, the teenage face of the democracy movement, was eligible to vote for the first time.

"I finally cast the first vote of my life," he said in a Tweet.

"Feeling exhilarated."

Just over 3.1 million residents are registered, with a 21 percent turnout by early afternoon.

The figure was slightly higher than at the same stage four years ago. Turnout at the end of the 2011 vote totaled 41 percent.

Polls close at 10:30 p.m. (1430 GMT) and results are expected in the early hours of the morning.

Umbrella activists
Despite galvanizing widespread support at the beginning of the mass street protests, democracy activists were unable to win concessions on political reform from the authorities in China or Hong Kong.

The movement has since splintered and Sunday's vote sees the new generation of democrats stand against the old guard in some seats.

The younger candidates, many of whom cut their teeth during last year's mass rallies, have been dubbed "Umbrella Soldiers" by local media.

The umbrella became symbol of the movement as protesters used them to shield against the elements, and to protect against pepper spray and tear gas fired by police.

"The younger democrats are testing their strength," Sonny Lo, professor of social sciences at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, told AFP.

"All eyes are on whether the umbrella activists can win at least a few seats... their performance will point to a real generational change," Lo said.

There are 431 representatives for the 18 district councils -- currently pro-establishment parties hold a majority in every council.

Force for stability
Pro-government candidates are casting themselves as a force for stability.

Meanwhile, democrats are trying to overcome a sense of hopelessness since the failure of the movement to force reform.

Analysts say it is unlikely the democrats will significantly increase their seats, outgunned by the well-funded and better organized pro-government camp.

But young activists say making a stand is an important first step, even if they lose.

For some voters, however, local daily-life issues outweigh politics.

"I have no political affiliation as long as the person serves the public well in the district," said Matthew Mok, 76, a retired teacher voting in Tuen Mun district.

"I would vote for anyone, whether pro-Beijing or pro-democracy. Having competition is key."

source: interaksyon.com

Mandarin Oriental says hackers stole credit card data

NEW YORK — Hackers broke into the Mandarin Oriental luxury hotel group’s database and stole credit card information from “an isolated number” of its properties in the United States and Europe.

“The incident is a direct result of an unauthorized cyber-attack,” the Hong Kong-based group said in a statement Thursday.

“Unfortunately incidents of this nature are increasingly becoming an industry-wide concern and therefore we have also alerted our technology peers in the hospitality industry.”

The hotel group said the breach came from malicious software that was “undetectable by all anti-viral systems.”

Mandarin said it had removed the malware and was “coordinating with credit card agencies, law enforcement authorities and forensic specialists to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to fully protect our guests and our systems across our portfolio.”

The luxury lodging group did not identify the hotels affected but said none of them were in Asia.

“We can confirm that only an isolated number of hotels in the US and Europe have been affected,” the statement said.

“Moreover, from the information we have to date, the breach has only affected credit card data and not any other personal guest data, and credit card security codes have not been compromised.”

Part of the Jardine Matheson group, Mandarin Oriental operates some 45 hotels in 25 countries.

source: interaksyon.com

Hollywood comes to Hong Kong for glitzy ‘Transformers 4′ premiere

HONG KONG | Mark Wahlberg and the cast of the latest “Transformers” installment brought Hollywood glamor to Hong Kong Thursday for the world premiere of the sci-fi movie which was partly shot in the city.

Wahlberg, accompanied by co-stars Stanley Tucci and Nicola Peltz, said Hong Kong played a crucial role in “Transformers: Age of Extinction”.

“Hong Kong is basically another character in the film and it was an honour to work here,” the 43-year-old star said on the red carpet at the harbourside Cultural Centre.

“It’s just bigger and better,” Wahlberg said of the new film as excited fans screamed at the sight of him.

Director Michael Bay, known for his trademark blockbuster mayhem, said Hong Kong looked none the worse for the destruction wrought on its famous skyline in his movie.

“It was a great city to shoot in, I didn’t hurt it too much,” Bay joked.

“We totally destroyed that, we destroyed that, we hurt the Bank of China a little bit,” he said, pointing at the buildings that were damaged in the film.

But there was drama during the production in the city when two men confronted and attacked Bay, claiming they were owed HK$100,000 ($12,900) compensation for filming in the area.

A Hong Kong man was sentenced to more than two years in jail in February for assaulting and attempting to blackmail the “Armageddon” director.

The movie does not feature Shia LaBeouf, star of the three previous “Transformers” movies but that did not bother the hundreds of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood stars, watched over by a six-metre (20-foot) tall replica of Optimus Prime, the leader of the benevolent Autobots.

“Definitely Mark! Hi Mark, I love you,” Khristin Cadasaan from Manila, who was ecstatic after seeing Wahlberg on the red carpet, told AFP when asked which leading man she preferred to see in the series.

“It’s exciting because he’s one of my favorite Hollywood actors,” she added.

Movie website editor Cyrus Wong attended the premiere to see Bay, one of his favorite directors.

“Nobody can top his ability to make grand-scaled films… From when I was young until I was older his films have made a very big impression on me,” Wong, 28, said, while wearing a Transformers T-shirt.

After the attack in October last year, Bay wrote on his website: “Every vendor where we shot got paid a fair price for our inconvenience, but he wanted four times that amount. I personally told this man and his friends to forget it we were not going to let him extort us.”

“He didn’t like that answer. So an hour later he came by my crew as we were shooting, carrying a long air conditioner unit. He walked right up to me and tried to smack my face.

“But I ducked, threw the air unit on the floor and pushed him away. That’s when the security jumped on him. But it took seven big guys to subdue him. It was like a zombie in Brad Pitt’s movie ‘World War Z’ — he lifted seven guys up and tried to bite them.”

The movie opens on June 27 in the United States.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Transformers’ director Michael Bay attacked by thugs in Hong Kong

HONG KONG | Hollywood director Michael Bay has been attacked in Hong Kong while shooting the latest Transformers film in the city, suffering injuries to his face, reports said Thursday.

Police said they had arrested two men in the early hours of Thursday morning after the attack on a 48-year-old man named by local media as the “Armageddon” director, on location in the city filming “Transformers: Age of Extinction”.



The two men reportedly confronted Bay and his film crew in the city’s Quarry Bay district, claiming they were owed HK$100,000 ($12,900) compensation for filming in the area.

Police have now handed the case to specialist anti-triad units reserved for tackling Hong Kong’s notorious criminal gangs.

“When the movie crew was filming, one of the arrested persons was seeking HK$100,000 [from Bay], leading to a scuffle. Another arrested person suddenly attacked him,” police said in a statement.

While local media named the Hollywood director as the target of the attack, police would only confirm the victim as being a 48-year-old “Michael”.

“The right side of his face was injured, but he refused to go to the hospital,” the statement said.

The fourth installment of the “Transformers” franchise starring Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz is scheduled to hit theaters in June 2014.

Hong Kong’s striking Victoria Harbour is believed to be among the film’s locations, along with the city’s dense and bustling streets.

source: interaksyon.com

Boracay dragon boat team bags title in Hong Kong

BORACAY — The Boracay Dragon Boat All-Stars won the championship in the 500-meter mix category in the recently-concluded Dragon Boat Carnival in Hong Kong, China.

The international race, now on its 38th year, was held in Victoria Harbor last June 21-23. The said competition was organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association (HKDBA).

Organizers consider the race a mega event and an additional major tourism lure for Hong Kong.

The Boracay Dragon Boat All-Stars is composed of Filipinos and foreigners who are long-time residents of this resort island.

As of post time, the members of the Boracay Dragon Boat team are returning to the Philippines.

The race was joined by an estimated 6,000 paddlers from 199 teams from different countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Macau, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, mainland China, Dubai, Japan and Thailand.

The annual regatta began in 1976 as a fishermen’s boat race involving nine locals and one Japanese team and was the first international dragon boat race.

source: interaksyon.com

Tory Burch mixes good design with good fortune

MANILA, Philippines - Tory Burch is launching a special capsule collection in bright red, the traditional color of the holiday, symbolizing good fortune. It includes handbags, wallets, cosmetic cases and iPhone covers. These limited edition designs are now available at Tory Burch freestanding stores in Beijing, Tianjin, Hong Kong–IFC, Hong Kong–Harbour City, Hong Kong–Times Square, Makati City and Singapore. They will also be offered at 14 select locations in North America, including New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Toronto boutiques.

The Tory Blog will highlight Chinese New Year as well with a special feature. Visit blog.toryburch.com for more information.

This is the brand’s second year designing custom product for Chinese New Year, marking the important role of China in the company’s global expansion plan — it opened its Hong Kong office when the brand launched in 2004 and there are now eight stores in Greater China.

In the Philippines, Tory Burch is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) and is located at Greenbelt 5 and Rustan’s Makati.

source: philstar.com