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Friday Writers

70 articles published

Budget boost re-ignites the buzz in Hong Kong property scene

HONG KONG PEOPLE raced to search for “stamp duty” on Google within minutes of Wednesday’s government pledge to make home-buyer easier and cheaper. But at the exact same time, people selling their apartments raced to raise their prices. Ultimately, the changes brought a lot of energy back into the housing market—expect some hard bargaining to…

March 1, 20240Comments ByFriday Writers

News

Hong Kong and Shenzhen North are learning from each other

SHENZHEN NORTH HAS become a popular place for Hong Kong people, who head there by high-speed rail for food, shopping and entertainment. The journey takes just 18 minutes, and about 30 trains travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen North every day. But at the moment, the station itself (below, image by Gareth Jones/ Wikimedia Commons)…

September 21, 20230Comments ByFriday Writers

News

China scientists report progress on hyperloop project

SCIENTISTS IN CHINA are making progress towards creating a working hyperloop system, a new report says. They have been quietly working on the project since 2010, two years before entrepreneur Elon Musk made headlines with a speech about the subject in 2012. Initial small-scale tests on a 210 meter track in Datong, Shanxi province, have…

January 24, 20230Comments ByFriday Writers

Chinese history Features

Slaughter in four minutes: Britain’s invasion of Tibet

IT WAS ARGUABLY the most mismatched war in history. The British invaded the Chinese state of Tibet in 1903, leading to the deaths of an estimated 2,700 Tibetans. And just five British officers. This extraordinary story has three main elements: First, the presence of a western superpower, known for its unmatched weaponry, acting…

December 12, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

News

Friday Beyond Spotlights returns for in-depth conversations

NO! HONG KONG IS NOT a cultural desert. On the contrary, it has a world-class range of museums, orchestras, and arts events, says Winnie Tam, chairperson of the amazing new Palace Museum, which has received rave reviews from visitors. Ms Tam will be the featured guest in the inaugural episode of season two of Friday…

December 1, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

News

Hong Kong firm beams ‘tech helper’ into classrooms

IMAGINE THE SCENE. A teacher is in a classroom in Europe or Africa or Asia teaching computer coding skills to children. Then there’s a problem. A tough query or technical issue brings the lesson to a halt. What to do? The educator quickly types a request on his keyboard. Ping! Answers arrive. The ability to…

November 14, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

Chinese history Culture

The mystery Hong Kong tea trader who helped win a war

THE TEA TRADER had no tea leaves to buy or sell. But he didn’t mind. Young merchant Liao had far more serious matters on his mind. In January of 1938, he'd opened a tea import-export business called the Yuehua Company (粵華公司) at 18, Queen’s Road in Victoria, the main city and central business district of…

October 6, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

Chinese history Culture Hong Kong News

The strange tale of the King of Lantau Island

The last Emperor of the Southern Song was a fleeing young royal family member who lived in the Hong Kong town of Mui Wo on Lantau island. He’s been long forgotten now, but the opening of a new metro station named after a monument to him and his brother has revived interest in his astounding…

October 4, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

Features

The banana trader who saw the future of shopping

A BANANA SALESMAN stepped into a department store called David Jones & Co and saw the future. This was 1890s Sydney, and the man, Ma Ying-piu (馬應彪), had never seen anything like it. In front of him was a huge space in which people bought an unimaginably wide variety of goods, and above were multiple…

September 29, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

Features

Memories of Hu Fa-kuang shared at mega bookfair

SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE. Large areas of crumbling old buildings in Kowloon needed to be knocked down and replaced, everyone agreed. This was in the late 1980s, and the Hong Kong government, run by the British, said they would inject HK$100 million into a group called the Land Development Corporation. Problem solved? No, not…

August 1, 20220Comments ByFriday Writers

Friday Writers

Budget boost re-ignites the buzz in Hong Kong property scene

Hong Kong and Shenzhen North are learning from each other

China scientists report progress on hyperloop project

Slaughter in four minutes: Britain’s invasion of Tibet

Friday Beyond Spotlights returns for in-depth conversations

Hong Kong firm beams ‘tech helper’ into classrooms

The mystery Hong Kong tea trader who helped win a war

The strange tale of the King of Lantau Island

The banana trader who saw the future of shopping

Memories of Hu Fa-kuang shared at mega bookfair

Can Europe dare to do the smart thing, and partner with China in Africa?

Australia’s government lives in a Pentagon-penned fiction of US primacy

How the HK Bar Association lost its way – and was guided back on track