INFO · Search
· Chinese version · Subscribe

News

Society

Navigating Hong Kong malls with sight impairment

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: CHEN Yik Nam、LI Sin Tung、CHAN Wing Yiu、Cheuk Chi Maggie YEUNGEdited by: Jenny Lam
  • 2025-05-07

Accessible facilities, especially tactile paths for the blind are either inadequate or improper in most of the malls, no matter in Hong Kong or Shenzhen. Despite the government regulations on accessibility for people with sight impairment, related malls’ respondents and government departments avoid replying directly.  

Society

Closure of Deliveroo Reveals Unfair Work Conditions, Users Concerned about Delivery Fee

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: ALISHIBA MATLOOB、Wing Chi HOEdited by: Chun Lim LEUNG
  • 2025-05-04

After nine years, British food delivery giant, Deliveroo, officially ceases operations in Hong Kong. As the platform shuts down, riders and users are left with the impacts of shrinking wages and legal gaps, rising delivery fees, and fewer choices. Our reporter Gigi Ho reveals how the remaining platforms may be driving a deeper crisis in worker protections, given in example in Keeta’s "K-GO", a system that promises more orders in exchange for lower pay. (April 7, 2025) Reporter: Ho Wing-chi, Alishiba-Matloob Editor: Chun Lim LEUNG

Society

As Australia’s Indigenous Languages Disappear, Experts are Working to Save Them

Indigenous languages in Australia are endangered. Australia has more than 250 Indigenous languages and around 800 dialects, but only 150 are still spoken today, according to the Australian Insitute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, From European colonisation in the 18th century until the mid-20th century, Aboriginal communities were forbidden to speak their Indigenous languages. Now, most fluent speakers are elders and younger generations often don’t speak them at all. Last month, the Australian government unveiled its 2025 budget which included AU$ 3.6 million to continue digitising at-risk audio and video collections of Indigenous languages. We spoke to experts working on preserving and revitalising these languages for the next generation.

Culture & Leisure

Local organic agriculture thrives with support from government and consumers

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: Cheuk Chi Maggie YEUNG、MAO AnqiEdited by: CHAN Wing Yiu
  • 2025-04-28

At 5am, Tsang Hing-yi, a 65-year-old farmer starts his daily routine by exercising. After some aerobics, he heads to the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Organic Farm, where he has worked as an employee for the past 14 years. “Work is not just harvesting but fertilising, weeding and digging,” he said. “During summertime, I need to have at least five outfits ready to change into because the heat is intense.” Nestled in the mountains in Yuen Long, the farm provides fresh organic vegetables to local customers, and adapts to seasonal changes tailored to the time of year, yielding an annual harvest of 20 tons, according to its website. “People need agriculture and cannot survive without it. This is very practical because all food is grown on farms,” Tsang said. “I will definitely keep doing it with motivation.” The Rural Sustainability Programme, a collaborative project by the University of Hong Kong, addresses the importance of local farms, aims to diversify the food supply, reduces carbon emissions and focuses on rural conservation. Government data shows that in 2024, local farms produced an average of 42 tons of vegetables daily, contributing 1.8% of Hong Kong’s fresh vegetable supply. Hong Kong's agriculture relies heavily on intensive land use and production. Out of the total 1,104 square kilometres of land, only 7.3 square kilometres are dedicated to crop cultivation, according to the government. Despite the limited land available for farming, some people, including Tsang, still insist on doing it. Founded in 2010, HKFYG Organic Farm is the only organisation that is certified by the US Department of Agriculture and Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Limited.  According to the latter, 122 local farms have received accreditations from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, a worldwide organisation advocating organic agriculture that sets standards of …

Society

Kowloon City celebrates Songkran Festival

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: SIU Tsz Hang、CHENG Tsz Sen SeanEdited by: AO Wei Ying Vinci
  • 2025-04-24

Songkran Festival, a Thai New Year celebration, made its comeback in Kowloon City April 11 to 13. "Day X Night Vibes @ 18 Districts – Thai Festival: Songkran 2025", featured a water splashing, a pop up food market, Thai dance performances, Thai costume experiences, Muay Thai demonstration and boxing match. The highlight was a parade heading toward Tak Ku Ling Road. Reported by Henry Siu Tsz-hang, Sean Cheng Tsz-sen Edited by Vinci Ao Wei-ying

Largest Tin Hau Festival in Hong Kong Celebrated in Yuen Long

  • 2025-04-21
  • The Young Reporter
  • By: CAO Siyuan、YAM Long Hei JamieEdited by: HWANG Saewon
  • 2025-04-21

The Shap Pat Heung Tin Hau Festival parade, a three-hour procession from Yuen Long Town to Tai Shu Ha's Tin Hau Temple, featured 37 performing teams and attracted numerous visitors on April 20. The parade started at 10 a.m., featuring teams with paper flower tributes, as well as dragon and lion dances plus cultural performances. The parade, organised by Yuen Long's Shap Pat Heung village is the largest Tin Hau Festival celebrations in Hong Kong and is a tradition that dates back over half a century. Emily Yeung, a bank clerk, is a member of a temple performance team from Yuen Long. “I don’t live in Yuen Long, but I come to this temple to worship,” she said. This is her fourth year in this Tin Hau Festival parade. She volunteered because of her religious beliefs. “Because the movements are not very complicated, I don't need to practice for a long time every year. We only rehearsed two or three times,” she said. Spectators lined Hok Yip Road to watch the performance, and cheered from time to time. “This event is really colorful and interesting.We can even touch the dragon,”said Peter Schulz, a 57-year-old German visitor traveling with his family. “I also like the different movements of the dragons. They are very powerful,” Schulz said. “It is very colourful. I like the culture and it is very beautiful,” said Peter’s daughter, Clara Schulz. A 14-year-old lion dancer, Wu Yong-cong, has been learning the dance for two years. His lion dance teacher invited him to participate in the parade. “The festive atmosphere here really attracts me, and participating in the performance also brings me great satisfaction.” Wu said. A restaurant owner, Ms Ng, aged 80, wishes for peace and prosperity through this parade. “Although there are many visitors in Yuen Long, …

Society

Humanoid robots shines at InnoEX

A humanoid robot dances to music. Others clap to the beat, or make eye contact through vision sensors with the audience. These bots are all the rage at the third sci-tech exhibition InnoEX at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from Apr.13 to 16 this year. Co-organized by the Technology and Industry Bureau and Hong Kong Trade Development Council and themed with “Innovate, Automate and Elevate”, this exhibition spotlights robotics, low-attitude economy, AI, smart mobility, and cybersecurity, according to the official news release. “These robots can already be applied in certain scenarios like playing football games. They can identify objects and take actions like shots and dribbling.” said Liu Weitong, 32, head of commercialization at Booster Robotics. “Humanoid robots can provide basic services like guidance and performance, but it will take at least two to three years for the industry to provide mature products for factories or families,” she added. She explained  the limited load-bearing weight of the robot's arm is such that they cannot be used in  large-scale industrial production. The algorithms at the current level also cannot fully guarantee the safe use of robots in the home. “Similar to human beings, robots set their goals based on basic logic, such as ‘who am I, where am I right now, and where I should go,” said Calvin Chiu, the COO of Novautek Autonomous Driving Limited, an exhibitor at InnoEX. “The AI algorithm helps humanoid robots understand the surroundings and connect the decoded information with their goal to guide their action,” Chiu said. Existing algorithms, he explained, can only let humanoid robots accomplish the goal based on training data. “We still need time to make humanoid robots more widely available to the public,” he said. Over 500 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions joined the exhibition this year. New …

Culture & Leisure

Preserve the collective memories of public housing estates

The percentage of the Hong Kong population currently living in public housing estates is 33.5%, and some of them are scheduled for redevelopment in the coming years. A series of initiatives have been triggered to preserve the memories, stories, and uniqueness associated with the estates before they are redeveloped. Aiko Kan Pui-shan, 35, who grew up in Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung, has travelled to 230 public housing estates so far. Believing the most important and nostalgic thing about public housing estates is their memories, she set up a social media account to share her travels with the public. “I hope to make more videos of the public housing before they are redeveloped. It would be a pity if nothing is left and we forget what the estate looks like,” said Kan. Kan is also the author of Exploring Hong Kong’s Public Housing, a book that tells the history and anecdotes of the estates’ origins. She uses hand-drawn maps to portray the scenery and introduce it to a wider audience. “I published the book to share what I have seen and heard from my travels to public housing because I believe that books are something that can be passed on forever,” said Kan. “It is a good opportunity to present to the public what I have in mind for the housing estates.” “I believe that every era has a collective memory. If it has to be torn down in the future, or if it has to face redevelopment, I can say it symbolises the end of an era,” she added. In 1954, following the devastating Shek Kip Mei shantytown fire that left 53,000 residents without a home, the Hong Kong government took its initial step towards providing housing solutions. It commenced the construction of bungalows and resettlement blocks, which …

Culture & Leisure

Snap Back in Time: The Film Photography Craze Sweeping Hong Kong

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: LEUNG Chi Ngai、CHEN ZiyuEdited by: CHAN Wing Yiu、CHEN Yik Nam
  • 2025-04-16

Old fashioned roll film cameras are the new craze among young people in Hong Kong. Social Media Posts that carried the hashtag of “film photography” reached over 86,000 in total.  Film cameras, first sold and popularised by the American company, Eastman-Kodak Co. In 1888, images captured by a roll film camera needed to be processed in a dark room.  The process is called albumen print, papers need to be printed with a layer with egg white and salt to ensure the smoothness of the surface. After the chemical reaction between silver nitrate and salt is exposed to the sun, a print is finally complete. Tang Pik-san has been using film photography since 2022 . It costs him HK$500 every month. “The biggest difference between film and digital cameras is that you can’t check the photo result immediately, which makes the photograph process mindful to me. I can simply focus on the composition of the photograph,”  Tang said. The cheapest digital camera is around HK$3,000, while a disposable film camera costs around HK$100.  Developing the film costs around HK$50, Tang said starting  film photography is relatively cheaper.   College student, Stephen Fu, 20, tried film photography for the first time four years ago. “At first it was just for fun, then I realized that film photography is completely different from digital photography. It was slower, quieter, which I love,” Fu said. For Fu, the biggest charm of the film camera is the connection between the user and the camera. “Film cameras make me think carefully every time when I press the shutter, making the time of shooting more precious,” he said. The sale of film cameras in the Chinese market increased by 3.6% over the past two years, according to The Film Camera Report 2025. The sale of products related to photographic …

Society

Popularity soars amid the venue challenge for local pickleball and padel

Chu Fuk-ling and Jack Zhu vigorously swung their paddles, and the ball swiftly crossed the net. They secured third place in the men's doubles at the Hong Kong round of the 2024 Pickleball World Championships in December. “Pickleball has evolved in terms of speed and technical variety in recent years, and players now not only master the standard forehand and backhand shots but also frequently employ techniques such as drop shots, which are used to surprise opponents,” said Ho King-choi, a coach with the Pickleball Association of Hong Kong, China.  Racket sports, such as pickleball and padel, are gaining popularity among people of all ages, leading to an increase in various programmes and clubs aimed at promoting these emerging sports in Hong Kong. However, when it comes to venue allocation, pickleball benefits from government support, which provides more accessible public venues, while padel does not. Pickleball has been around since 1965, but it has picked up in popularity over the last few years. A bit like a combination of tennis and badminton, two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a hollow plastic ball over an 86-centimetre-high net until someone wins. In the US, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport, with more than one million children playing and has the largest participation rate from those aged 25 to 34, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association report in 2024. Hong Kong has more than 12 public venues for playing pickleball, and the city ranked among the top 11 in regional search popularity for pickleball, according to Google Trends.  Joanna Hiew, a pickleball player, was watching the finals of a pickleball tournament and said anyone can participate in the competition as long as they form a team. “The tournament of pickleball is usually flexible, with the team of the …