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SCI & TECHSep 7Didi to apply for driverless vehicle tests in Hong Kong this yearMainland Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will apply to test autonomous vehicles in a Hong Kong urban area this year, a government adviser has revealed, with the trial runs potentially being expanded later on to cover more new development areas. The announcement followed a visit to Didi’s Beijing headquarters last Wednesday by Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan and a group of lawmakers. Gary Zhang Xinyu, a member of the Transport Department’s working group for promoting...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 7Hong Kong Positioned to Become a Leading Hub for Nature and Blue FinanceHong Kong is strategically positioned to become a leading hub for nature and blue finance. This indicates a focused effort on sustainable financial development within the region.portal.sina.com.hk · Hong Kong
WORLDSep 7Hong Kong’s local schools should not have to brace for the worstThe vast majority of Hong Kong’s students are back in school now. With traffic expected to be horrendous last week, it was good that the government sounded the warning early, urging residents to allow more time for their morning commute. The government did more than that, actually. The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre was working at its highest operational tier at 6.30am on September 1 to monitor and coordinate public transport and traffic flow. Deployment of staff on the ground ensured...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 7Hong Kong’s yuan pool is growing. Can it turn liquidity into global demand?Hong Kong’s top financial regulators have urged local banks to make greater use of the city’s growing pool of offshore yuan liquidity, while also flagging the need to prepare for a coming wave of autonomous AI systems used in the financial sector. Speaking at the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) Distinguished Speaker Luncheon, Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), called on lenders to leverage their international networks to expand the Chinese...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 7European chamber chief in Hong Kong heads to Brussels to ‘reset city’s image’The head of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (EuroCham) aims to “reset” perceptions about the financial hub during the organisation’s first-ever “door-knock” mission to Brussels, emphasising that the city remains “significantly, fundamentally” distinct from its mainland Chinese counterparts. With Hong Kong set to unveil its first five-year plan on September 16 – the same day the mission begins – chairman Johannes Hack told the South China Morning Post that the city lacked a clear...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 6Hong Kong to review bookings for famous Sai Kung trail after high no-show rateHong Kong authorities will review a new reservation system for a Sai Kung trail famed for its dramatic volcanic rock columns after the National Day “golden week” in October, following large numbers of no-shows during the first two trial runs. Only 1,560 registered and walk-in patrons arrived at Po Pin Chau on Saturday and Sunday, despite 3,230 people having made bookings under the real-name reservation system. Lawmakers and a district councillor have called for more on-site quotas, clearer...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 6Curiosity beats perfect statements, UK elite universities tell Hong Kong studentsElite British universities are prioritising authentic curiosity and academic resilience over rigid test prep and “perfect personal statements”, top admissions officials have told an education summit in Hong Kong. Representatives from the “golden triangle”, including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, spoke on day two of the Global Education Summit, co-organised by the South China Morning Post and HSBC Premier. The session focused on studying...South China Morning Post
HEALTHSep 6‘There are trade-offs’: how Hong Kong patients can use telemedicine wiselyIn the fourth instalment of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on Hong Kong’s growing wellness trends, Lo Hoi-ying examines how telehealth is reshaping access to care, as practitioners warn it cannot fully replace in-person diagnosis. Hong Kong housewife Chan Ket-yee, nearly 60, has battled severe eczema on her neck and underarms for decades. Splitting her time between the United Kingdom and the city, Chan saw a dramatic improvement after visiting a Hong Kong public dermatologist, whose...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 6Hong Kong to propel belt and road market expansion, finance chief saysHong Kong will step up support for belt and road enterprises seeking to expand into new markets and tap regional growth, reinforcing its role as a pivotal business hub and platform for deeper exchanges, the city’s finance chief has said. In his weekly blog on Sunday, Paul Chan Mo-po also pointed to strong growth in emerging markets and developing economies in recent years, citing International Monetary Fund projections of a further 3.8 per cent and 4.5 per cent expansion respectively over the...South China Morning Post
HEALTHSep 6Hong Kong open to classifying heatstroke as an occupational disease: labour chiefHong Kong labour authorities are open to classifying heatstroke as an occupational disease, the city’s labour chief has said, acknowledging the revamped heat warning system would have triggered stronger alerts on two exceptionally hot days last month. Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum said retrospective modelling showed the revised system would have issued a black warning on August 8 and a red alert on August 9, when the Observatory recorded 36.9 degrees Celsius (98.4 Fahrenheit) at its...South China Morning Post
DISASTERSep 6Fatal cycling accidents in Hong Kong more than double in first half of 2026Fatal cycling accidents in Hong Kong more than doubled in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier, with nine deaths recorded, as police point to cyclists ignoring traffic signals and road signs. Overall, there were 59 fatal traffic accidents in the first six months of the year, killing 63 people, up more than 40 per cent from a year earlier. Fatal cases involving bicycles surged 125 per cent, accounting for nine of those deaths. “Most cyclists tend to ignore traffic signals and road...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 6Calls for Hong Kong anti-stalking law after man acquitted of following teen girlLawmakers and a government adviser have called for anti-stalking legislation to close a loophole that makes prosecuting repeated harassment difficult in Hong Kong, following the acquittal of a man who followed a teenage girl to her secondary school classroom. Some experts said the government should revisit a proposal for such legislation raised 26 years ago, after the magistrate who acquitted the defendant of a loitering charge also noted the absence of laws to criminalise stalking under certain...South China Morning Post
DISASTERSep 6Elderly hiker airlifted to hospital after collapsing at scenic spot in Hong KongAn elderly man has been airlifted to hospital after collapsing while hiking at a popular scenic spot in southern Hong Kong. Police said they received a report at 9.13am on Sunday from a passer-by about an incident involving a man in his seventies at Yuk Kwai Shan on Ap Lei Chau An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, while a Government Flying Service helicopter took him to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan. Yuk Kwai Shan, also known as Mount Johnston, is a scenic spot...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 6Russian gold floods through Hong Kong in wake of western sanctionsShipments hit record high with almost 100 tonnes imported from Russia in first seven months of this yearFinancial Times
BUSINESSSep 6Red tape, high cost: can Hong Kong’s new yacht scheme chart a smoother course?Retired harbour pilot Alex Yu Chi-leung sailed his 50-foot wooden yacht, Bowline, from Causeway Bay in Hong Kong to Dongao Island in Zhuhai under a new cross-border yachting scheme last week, but bureaucratic hurdles and shallow waters tempered the excitement of the leisure trip. It was Yu’s first voyage under the scheme, but it could also be his last unless mainland Chinese authorities improve certain requirements. “If the procedures are simplified – because right now they are too numerous,...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 6Signalling fault disrupts Hong Kong high-speed rail service, delaying 15 trainsAt least 15 high-speed cross-border train services were delayed after a signalling fault prompted a 45-minute disruption of northbound services in Hong Kong on Sunday morning. The Transport Department said at around 8.30am that the MTR Corporation had notified authorities that high-speed rail services would be delayed due to a “signal fault”. At around 9.15am, the department said the MTR had resolved the signal issues, and high-speed rail services were gradually resuming normally. It said...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 6Why Chelsea football shirts are making Hong Kong fans nervous about crypto lawsEnglish Premier League football club Chelsea’s lucrative new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with a stablecoin issuer has left Hong Kong fans and retailers concerned about whether wearing or selling the top counts as illegal promotion under digital currency laws. Chelsea signed the deal with Circle to feature its USDC stablecoin brand on player jerseys for the 2026-27 season in late August, just three months after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned Premier League clubs about...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHSep 5Shoppers interact with Hong Kong’s first robot shopkeeperHumanoid robots have begun serving shoppers at convenience stores in Hong Kong.Al Jazeera [en]
SCI & TECHSep 5Hong Kong’s first astronaut Lai Ka-ying to give live lecture from spaceHong Kong’s first astronaut Lai Ka-ying and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members will deliver a live lecture from space for students and teachers in the city and neighbouring Macau. Hong Kong authorities revealed on Saturday plans for live broadcasts of “Tiangong Class” to take place soon, without specifying the date and time. The activity, jointly organised by the Hong Kong and Macau governments and the China Manned Space Agency, includes an expert lecture, an in-orbit demonstration and a...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 5Safety or hostility? Dog owners split over Hong Kong’s crackdown on leash rulesHong Kong authorities’ intensified enforcement against dog owners who fail to control their pets has drawn mixed reactions, with supporters welcoming improved safety and critics warning it is stoking panic and hostility. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department carried out inspections and enforcement operations across the city on Saturday following a spate of dog attacks in recent weeks. Among those walking their pets at the West Kowloon Cultural District despite the heat were...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 5Hong Kong mega bridge’s popularity takes toll on helicopter, ferry services: lawmakerThe number of vehicles using a mega bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau hit a record high last year, the South China Morning Post has learned, with a lawmaker saying the boom has taken a heavy toll on ferry services and a long-running helicopter service. Transport Department figures obtained by the SCMP showed that vehicle flow via the popular Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge reached a record high of 5.21 million last year, up more than 19 per cent from 4.36 million in 2024. The 2025...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 5Driver dies after Tesla collides with 2 cars on Hong Kong expresswayA driver has died after a Tesla collided with a seven-seater on Hong Kong’s Island Eastern Corridor. Police received a call at 10.37am on Saturday alerting them to a crash involving two private cars driving west along the corridor. The force said the driver of one private vehicle was sent to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai while unconscious. The driver was later certified dead at 12.08pm. It was not immediately clear which of the drivers died. The force said the incident remained under...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 5Visitors urge Hong Kong to ease restrictions as Sai Kung trail registration beginsHundreds of Hong Kong residents and visitors braved the heat on Saturday morning to visit a popular Sai Kung trail overlooking hexagonal rock columns, as a trial reservation system requiring real-name registration came into force, with some calling for the restrictions to be eased. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced the arrangement last month, capping visitor numbers at 2,000 per designated day between 9am and 5pm for the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 5Hong Kong’s leader outlines 3 key new growth drivers ahead of first 5-year planHong Kong’s leader has identified financial services, innovation and technology, and education as three key new growth drivers ahead of the unveiling of the city’s inaugural five-year development blueprint and annual policy address. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Saturday that Hong Kong’s first five-year plan would outline broad strategies, set clear development directions and align with the nation’s 15th five-year plan, while the policy address would focus on specific measures. He...South China Morning Post