Latest news with #HongKong-related
RTHK
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTHK
Culinary theme gives Book Fair throng a lot to chew on
Culinary theme gives Book Fair throng a lot to chew on The 35th Hong Kong Book Fair will run from July 16 to 22. Photo: RTHK Book lovers flocked to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Wednesday in a bustling opening day for the annual Hong Kong Book Fair. This year's event, themed "Food Culture, Future Living," uses cuisine as a cultural bridge. Through curated culinary literature, the fair invites visitors to explore the world and savour diverse experiences right from the dining table. A major draw is the "World of Art and Culture" zone, featuring the interactive exhibition "Book a Table, Food for Thought." Visitors whom RTHK spoke to expressed excitement about its eight distinct tables, showcasing global works on food, healthy living and culture. "There is a lot of people from around the world [here], and then you can get [an] approach to the cultures there. If I want to go to Turkey for travel, then I can get to know more about there," said a woman, Ngai. "There are a lot of dining tables here and then you can know more about [cultures]. It is a bright idea, like a new idea here, in the book fair." The scale of the fair impressed first-time visitor Mylnikova, director of a library in the United States. "My library is located on a nature reserve and we have a collection of tropical and exotic trees with fruits, so I'm interested in books [and] world studies on tropical trees with fruits," she said, hoping to find valuable additions for her institution. "I'm [also] looking for artists' books, self-published by artists." Local interests were also prominent, with a woman, Lee, hoping to purchase dessert cookbooks alongside Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education reference materials for her children. Booksellers that RTHK spoke to expressed optimism about sales. A woman, Cheung, from Joint Publishing, highlighted the company's focus on Hong Kong-related works and new titles commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. "I think people will likely be interested in that area," she said, adding that she hopes sales, contingent on visitor turnout, would exceed last year's. Eli Lau, from Sup retail, echoed this positive outlook, saying she expects steady sales and a weekend boost. "We remain optimistic this year: you can already see many customers arriving early," she added. The 35th Hong Kong Book Fair will run until Tuesday, July 22.
RTHK
02-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats Police say they received 440,000 intelligence reports on cyber threats targeting Hong Kong last year. Photo: RTHK Police have called on critical infrastructure operators to bolster their defensive efforts against cyber threats, after a number of firms were deemed to be vulnerable. The force said it inspected 90,000 assets controlled by critical infrastructure firms last year and discovered more than 4,500 loopholes in their systems. Officers identified three types of loopholes which are particularly risky. "First of all it's the employees' log-in credentials, that they are leaked or stolen because they don't have a very good mechanism in ensuring that these kind of credentials are in a high level [of protection]," senior superintendent Carmen Leung said. "And second, some organisations did not properly manage their domain and subdomain, allowing attacker to hijack those unused subdomains and create highly convincing phishing or scam websites. "And for the third part, we noticed some organisations having some misconfigured cloud storage service and unintentionally exposed their internal system in a web-facing environment." She said these organisations took remedial measures after being warned by the force, and no harm was done to their major services. Police said they received 440,000 tip-offs regarding Hong Kong-related cyber threats last year. The top three industries to be targeted were banking and finance, communication, and government departments. Superintendent Baron Chan stressed that a "useful and powerful preventive mechanism" is in place. "Luckily, under our protection mechanism, we collect these intelligence in a very earlier stage and we do analysis and then share [them] among our stakeholders, so that these intelligence can be used by different sectors, even though they are not the targets of these bad actors," he said. Police said they recorded 7,680 technology crime cases from January to March, up 1.1 percent year on year. The cases, most of which involved online shopping, inflicted losses of more than HK$1.43 billion. Officers urged shoppers to make use police's Scameter app to check the validity of recipients before making financial transactions. Police also issued their first ever cybersecurity report, which can be viewed online. It covers SAR and global cybersecurity trends, together with predictions in the coming year.
RTHK
02-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats Police say they received 440,000 intelligence reports on cyber threats targeting Hong Kong last year. Photo: RTHK Police have called on critical infrastructure operators to bolster their defensive efforts against cyber threats, after a number of firms were deemed to be vulnerable. The force said it inspected 90,000 assets controlled by critical infrastructure firms last year and discovered more than 4,500 loopholes in their systems. Officers identified three types of loopholes which are particularly risky. "First of all it's the employees' log-in credentials, that they are leaked or stolen because they don't have a very good mechanism in ensuring that these kind of credentials are in a high level [of protection]," senior superintendent Carmen Leung said. "And second, some organisations did not properly manage their domain and subdomain, allowing attacker to hijack those unused subdomains and create highly convincing phishing or scam websites. "And for the third part, we noticed some organisations having some misconfigured cloud storage service and unintentionally exposed their internal system in a web-facing environment." She said these organisations took remedial measures after being warned by the force, and no harm was done to their major services. Police said they received 440,000 tip-offs regarding Hong Kong-related cyber threats last year. The top three industries to be targeted were banking and finance, communication, and government departments. Superintendent Baron Chan stressed that a "useful and powerful preventive mechanism" is in place. "Luckily, under our protection mechanism, we collect these intelligence in a very earlier stage and we do analysis and then share [them] among our stakeholders, so that these intelligence can be used by different sectors, even though they are not the targets of these bad actors," he said. Police said they recorded 7,680 technology crime cases from January to March, up 1.1 percent year on year. The cases, most of which involved online shopping, inflicted losses of more than HK$1.43 billion. Officers urged shoppers to make use police's Scameter app to check the validity of recipients before making financial transactions. Police also issued their first ever cybersecurity report, which can be viewed online. It covers SAR and global cybersecurity trends, together with predictions in the coming year.
Russia Today
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
China announces retaliatory sanctions against US officials
Beijing has decided to sanction individuals in the US as retaliation for Washington's recent measures against six Chinese officials in Hong Kong. China is targeting members of the US Congress, government officials, and NGO leaders 'who have acted egregiously regarding Hong Kong-related issues,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun announced during a regular briefing on Monday. He described the move as a rebuke to American 'interference' in the affairs of the autonomous city. In late March, the US State Department accused Beijing of using its laws to 'intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists' in Hong Kong, forcing them to leave the territory. The US imposed sanctions on those it deems responsible, including Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Paul Lam and five security-related officials. The Chinese government has yet to disclose the specific persons targeted by the new restrictions. Hong Kong operates under a legal and political framework shaped by its 156 years of British rule, which concluded in 1997. Throughout the 2010s, the city experienced multiple waves of violent protests, which activists claimed were a response to Beijing's encroachments on traditional freedoms, culminating in the unrest of 2019. Beijing alleges that those events were orchestrated by Western powers seeking to undermine Chinese sovereignty. In response, the national government passed a new security law in 2020, granting local authorities more power to address security threats. The legislation drew condemnation from the US and other Western nations, which claim it violates the terms of Hong Kong's handover to China. Tensions between the US and China are currently high in the face of new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration on imported goods from a variety of countries. China, widely seen as the primary target of the measures, has refused to make concessions and has urged other nations to resist US pressure. In addition to commercial disputes, Washington and Beijing are at odds over Taiwan, a self-governing Chinese island that relies on the US for its defense. While China advocates peaceful reunification, it has warned that any attempt to declare formal independence could trigger armed conflict. China contends that certain elements within the US government are pushing Taiwan toward this outcome.
HKFP
22-04-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
China to impose retaliatory sanctions on US lawmakers, gov't officials, NGO heads over Hong Kong issues
China will enact retaliatory sanctions against members of US Congress, government officials, and heads of NGOs who have 'acted egregiously' on Hong Kong-related issues, Beijing has announced. 'In response to the U.S.'s illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese officials in Hong Kong, China decided to impose sanction[s] on the U.S. [C]ongress members, government officials and heads of NGOs who acted egregiously on #HongKong-related issues,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun posted on X on Monday. The US placed sanctions on six Hong Kong and Beijing officials last month for their involvement in what it called 'transnational repression' and the implementation of the Beijing-imposed national security law. The six officials included Secretary for Justice Paul Lam; then police commissioner Raymond Siu; and Dong Jingwei, a Beijing official appointed to oversee the city's national security affairs. Both Hong Kong and Beijing slammed the latest US sanctions earlier this month. At a press conference on Monday, Guo Jiakun called the US sanctions 'unlawful, unilateral, and indiscriminate,' accusing Washington of interfering in Hong Kong's and China's internal affairs. He also said the US sanctions had violated 'principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations.' Guo warned that any wrongful actions taken by the US would be met with 'resolute retaliation.' In its statement last month, the US State Department cited the extraterritorial application of the national security law to 'intimidate, silence, and harass' 19 democracy advocates overseas, including those living in the United States. Hong Kong has issued arrest warrants for 19 individuals currently residing overseas over national security allegations, including pro-democracy activist Joey Siu, a US citizen, as well as others who were granted political asylum in the country, with HK$1 million bounties on their heads. In August 2020, after Beijing imposed the national security law, the US imposed sanctions on 11 officials in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive John Lee, who was then the city's security chief. Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
