Latest news with #Hongkongers'
Time Out
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Part of the old Kowloon Walled City has reappeared in its original location
Hongkongers' fascination for the old Kowloon Walled City is still going strong, fuelled by the popularity of Soi Cheang's martial arts epic Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. There is now a massive movie set exhibition of the 2024 film that has been constructed where the Kowloon Walled City actually used to sit, within what is now the Kowloon Walled City Park. The 'Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey' exhibition recreates key scenes from the film and is Hong Kong's largest-scale movie set exhibition to date. If you've seen the film or been to the previous Twilight of the Warriors exhibitions that were held in the airport or the Airside mall, you'll recognise iconic locations such as the No.7 Restaurant, the barbershop, the dental and bone-setting clinics, the grocery store, repairshop, and more. There will also be some new sights including a fishball factory, a communal well, and a plastic-moulding workshop. Care has also been taken to reconstruct the old precinct's narrow alleyways, with floor tiles repurposed from old buildings and a bustling street market that has been set up to present an authentic taste of the Walled City in the 80s. From the moment visitors step past the ceremonial flower board and through the iron arch designed to reference that period in history. The vibes are also enhanced by large-scale projections that display life in the Walled City through the day and night, accompanied by low-flying planes roaring over the area like they used to do in the past when Kai Tak Airport was still in use.
South China Morning Post
27-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong banks urged to use government database to combat deepfake applications
Hong Kong banks should use a government platform to verify new customers, experts have said, after eight people were arrested for allegedly using deepfake software to alter lost identity cards to set up new accounts. Advertisement Experts told the Post that the inability of banks to verify personal data during the application process and their reliance on photos had made them vulnerable to scammers. 'The banks themselves don't have the [identity] data of all Hongkongers. They have no way to verify all Hongkongers' faces,' said Francis Fong Po-kiu, the honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation. 'If the identity card and the name are both fake, but they match, then it's possible to fool electronic verification processes.' Last week, police announced the arrest of eight people accused of opening bank accounts using deepfake images pasted onto identity cards previously reported lost. Advertisement The force said that 30 out of the 44 recorded attempts to open new accounts had been successful, resulting in more than HK$1 million (US$128,900) being laundered.
Time Out
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Labubu 3.0 is being released via lucky draw in Hong Kong
Just as we thought Hongkongers' attention spans were shifting more towards other collectibles like Crybaby, Pucky, or Chiikawa, Labubu returns to grab us all by the throat once again. Popmart is launching the third edition of their globally famous Labubu series on April 25, and here's how you might get first dibs. Since Popmart is a Chinese brand, they've already dropped the goods for the mainland Chinese market online on the evening of April 24. As you might expect of viral items, the plushie monsters have already been seen on second-hand shopping platforms like Carousell with wildly inflated prices – the blind boxes cost RMB99 on the official website, but are being sold for as much as HK$1,500 at the moment. Buying Labubu 3.0 in Hong Kong is slightly different, as sales will be conducted via lottery. Hongkongers have until noon on April 25 to sign up on Popmart for their lottery, and the results will be announced at 5pm the same day. Chosen customers will then need to physically go to their pre-chosen Popmart store by 9pm on Saturday, April 26, to make their purchases. We are also unable to buy singular Labubu blind boxes and must purchase a carton of six in one go, priced at $720. Each customer can only buy one carton. Following on from the viral pastel-coloured plushies of version one's 'Tasty Macarons' series and the seated version two's 'Have A Seat' series, version three is named 'The Monsters Big Into Energy' series. Featuring tie dye-like gradient colours, the coat of Labubu 3.0 is longer and furrier than previous editions. Its eyes, one tooth, claws, and two-toned ears will also reflect its overall colour scheme. They come in six regular colours – red, light orange, peachy pink and yellow, blue, light green, and purple – while the rare secret colour will be black and grey fur with rainbow eyes and teeth.
South China Morning Post
05-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hongkongers' water usage drops by 12% compared with Covid-19 pandemic peak
Hongkongers' water usage has dropped by 12 per cent compared with during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, a city official has said. Advertisement Director of Water Supplies Roger Wong Yan-lok also said on Saturday that the government was still deciding how much to adjust prices by, about nine months after his organisation floated the idea. He added that the department had learned from the hotel, catering and construction sectors that a gradual approach to such changes was important. Wong said the average daily domestic water consumption per capita among Hong Kong households had decreased from 151 litres during the pandemic's peak to the present level of 133 litres. The department had earlier launched schemes targeting the top 1 per cent of high water consumers to reduce their usage and help the city save up to 500,000 cubic metres of water in 2025. Advertisement Water utilities in the city are currently priced at up to HK$9.05 (US$1.16) per cubic metre and have been frozen since 1995. The government also waived 75 per cent of water and sewage charges for non-domestic households during the pandemic.
South China Morning Post
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How culture, politics and people inspire this Hong Kong artist
Artist Chow Chun-fai first became aware of journalist Sharon Cheung Po-wah from her 2000 interaction with the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin . During a press conference in Beijing, when Cheung quizzed Jiang over the endorsement of Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa for a second term, the Chinese leader famously berated her, calling her questioning, as a journalist, 'too simple, sometimes naive'. It is a moment that has since achieved meme status with the Hong Kong public, both in journalism circles and beyond. Advertisement 'It's not just how Cheung was bold enough to ask the question, but also that the leaders revealed their true emotions,' says Chow. 'I don't know if that was my first encounter with her, but it definitely was the most memorable.' Over the past two decades, Chow, 45, has built a reputation as a quintessentially Hong Kong artist. A graduate of Chinese University's Department of Fine Arts, he is best known for his ongoing series 'Painting on Movies' , depicting scenes from films that often uncannily reflect public sentiment. One of his most recognised works, from 2007, features a still from Infernal Affairs (2002), with Tony Leung Chiu-wai's character stating, 'I want my identity back' – an allusion to the then nascent struggles of Hongkongers' relationship with their hometown. One of Chow Chun-fai's most recognised works is based on a scene from the film Infernal Affairs for his series Painting on Movies. Photo: courtesy SC Gallery Chow has also drawn on his experience as a taxi driver, having inherited his father's taxi licence when he was still in school. In recent years, he's been taking inspiration from the political upheaval of 2019 for his series 'Portraits from Behind', and has depicted lost street corners and cultural landmarks in his 'Map of Amnesia' exhibition Cheung, formerly of the South China Morning Post and Cable TV, left her trade during the pandemic and studied for an arts degree, initially seeing it as a way to indulge her interest in drawing. But when artist and educator Kurt Chan Yuk-keung complimented her on her curatorial skills, she parlayed her passion into promoting local artists who could benefit from her background in marketing and journalism. In 2022, she founded SC Gallery, in Wong Chuk Hang, and has since put on a slew of group and solo exhibitions, working with artists such as Gum Cheng Yee-man, Oscar Chan Yik-long and Cheng Ting Ting. For 'Interview the Interviewer II', a series of paintings that will be on display at Art Basel Hong Kong's Insights sector, Chow assumes the role of the interviewer, drawing from materials accumulated by Cheung during her time as a political reporter, to interpret and re-present recent Hong Kong history through the lens of someone on the front lines of important moments in the city. Chow Chun-fai's painting of a still from news footage showing a 1999 meeting between US president Bill Clinton and premier Zhu Rongji, subtitled 'I love American people, thank you.' Photo: courtesy SC Gallery Among the works is a still from news footage that shows a 1999 meeting between former United States president Bill Clinton and former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, subtitled I love American people, thank you. Given where Sino-US relations stand today, it recalls a simpler geopolitical era, one near-unimaginable today.
