Society
Asian-inspired flavours take centre stage at HK gelato festival
- 2026-10-08
- Society
- By: Baguio AnneEdited by: Fu Rong
- 2026-10-08
https://youtu.be/JclqSdmYdas?si=Aj4NY2NJcgZ9LKZ_ Reported by Linnea Hedman, Anne Baguio Edited by Audrey FU Rong Video description: Hong Kong’s largest gelato festival, Ciao! Gelato Fest 2026, has returned to PMQ in Central, bringing together 20 gelato brands from Hong Kong, Italy, Macau and Portugal. The festival features more than 30 limited-edition and debut flavours, including Asian-inspired creations such as Hong Kong French toast, pineapple bun and mochi. The event attracted long queues and a diverse crowd during the National Day Golden Week, with visitors from Hong Kong, mainland China, and more. According to PMQ, daily visitor traffic increased by 12 % compared with last year, averaging 12,000 visitors a day. With free admission, Ciao! Gelato Fest takes place at PMQ from Oct. 1 to 4 and Oct. 9 to 11.
126-year-old Sincere to close Central store after lease renewal fails
- 2026-10-08
- Society
- By: SHI Puxuan Amy、MA Yifan ChloeEdited by: Fu Rong
- 2026-10-08
Hong Kong’s first Chinese-owned department store, Sincere, will close its Central store in early December after nearly 126 years of business, as it failed to renew its lease. The company is searching for new premises in Sheung Wan or Central for a new store, yet no suitable location has been found by Oct. 4, according to an official announcement by Sincere. Only a four-storey store in Mong Kok and an online store will be left in Hong Kong after the Central store closure. Lily Chan, 74, a customer who lives in Hong Kong Island, lamented the closure of Sincere’s Central store since it had been her top shopping destination for more than 50 years. “I started shopping in Sincere when I was only 20 years old,” she said. “Back then, few Hong Kong department stores like Sincere carried such a wide range of European brands, covering apparel, kitchenware, and furniture.” “I am unsure where I can go shopping after the store shuts down. The Mong Kok one is far from my home,” Chan added. Anny Lau, 42, said her family spanning from her parents down to her children had shopped here. “It carries memories for several generations since it is more than a century old,” she added. Ahead of the closure, the Central store is selling its remaining stock at discounted prices. A cleaner who has worked at the store for a year said customer numbers had been generally low, and only surged these days amid the sale. She declined to be named for fear of repercussions from the company. Sincere’s consolidated revenue dropped from around HK$146 million in 2023 to roughly HK$134 million in 2025, according to Sincere’s annual report. Heidi Cheung, 25, said she seldom shops at traditional department stores such as Sincere, as online shopping is more …
Over 300,000 tourists visit Hong Kong on first day of National Day Golden Week
- 2026-10-05
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Ng Wing Sum JodieEdited by: LEUNG Chi Ngai
- 2026-10-05
A total of 306,544 visitors from mainland and other countries entered Hong Kong on National Day, Oct.1, according to Immigration Department statistics. Despite scorching midday temperatures exceeding 34 degrees, tourists flocked to streets in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Central, many adorned with National flags and celebratory banners. Two tourists from Jiangsu, visiting Hong Kong for the first time, said even more national flags were hanging around where they came from. “Basically, every road is decorated with national flags, even in less-populated areas,” said Alina Shan, one of the tourists. The duo said they had long bookmarked Hong Kong after seeing recommendations on Xiaohongshu (RedNote). In Central, Liza Erata, 56, was hanging out with her daughter, enjoying their day off as local domestic workers. She said National Day felt like any other holiday, as she always has Sundays off. “We stayed here too long already, that’s why we got used to it.” Two Australians on a business trip, Max Penny, 18, and Sam Penny, 50, were walking with miniature national flags they got for free on the Star Ferry. Max said the festive vibes had been pretty good so far, but he was not used to Hong Kong’s heat, as it is currently winter in Australia. The Immigration Department estimates that more than 7.44 million, including Hong Kong citizens and visitors, will pass through the border during the seven-days National Day Golden Week.
Dare to taste? Sweden’s Disgusting Food Museum arrives in Hong Kong
- 2026-10-02
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Fu RongEdited by: Li Yinheng
- 2026-10-02
Presenting more than 80 unusual foods from 35 countries with their historical and cultural background, the Disgusting Food Museum opens up to the public from Sept. 29 till Nov. 26. “People should come with an open mind to see things that they haven’t really seen before,” said Andreas Ahrens, the CEO and founder of the Disgusting Food museum. Coming to the exhibition with a given vomit bag, visitors can tease up to eight selected foods at the end. The museum’s concept originated in Malmö, Sweden, had recorded 761 vomits over the eight years, and had tours to Los Angeles, Berlin, Bordeaux and Taipei, attracting more than 500,000 visitors. Follow the link below to watch the full reel: http://www.youtube.com/shorts/6pVvPC0A1bc Reported by Audrey FU, Linnea Hedman Edited by Henry Li Yinheng
HK Sign Language Day draws 2,400, as organisers push for public understanding
- 2026-09-20
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: YAM Long Hei JamieEdited by: LAU Ka Yan
- 2026-09-20
About 2,400 visitors joined the first day of Hong Kong Sign Language Day in Tsuen Wan on Saturday, as organisers hoped to encourage greater public understanding of Hong Kong Sign Language and deaf culture. The two-day event, organised by the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf, includes sign language workshops, stalls run by deaf people and interactive games. The event, featuring workshops that taught signs related to the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival, such as “moon cake”, “the moon” and “the moon rabbit,” comes ahead of the International Sign Language Day on Sept. 23. Cheung Hon-wah, director of the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf, said the event aimed to help the public discover how interesting sign language can be. “We want more members of the public to understand sign language and promote barrier-free communication,” he said. Cheung said he hoped the event would encourage more people to become professional sign language interpreters, urging the government to create more interpreter jobs in public services, such as hospitals, so the public would better recognise the need and in turn attract more people to the profession. “A deaf person needs sign language interpretation on many occasions, but we can find that the number of professional sign language interpreters is not enough,” Cheung said. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service lists 53 professional sign language interpreters in the city, a figure that falls short of the roughly 6,000 people who use Hong Kong Sign Language as their primary form of communication, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Deaf attendee Ah Tan said it is very difficult for deaf people to find jobs, and that support for deaf employment is insufficient. “Especially when the employer knows that you cannot hear, they will not know how to communicate with you,” Ah Tan said. She added …
Policy Address 2026: Government to relax regulations for cross-border yachts
- 2026-09-17
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: WU Sitan Elaine、PENG Yixin NaomiEdited by: LAU Ka Yan
- 2026-09-17
Video description: The Policy Address 2026 sets out new plans to take forward Hong Kong's yacht economy, including expanded Greater Bay Area cross-border cruising arrangements and streamlined certification for visiting yacht captains. Industry stakeholders are calling for further investment in supporting infrastructure and marine services to underpin the sector's long-term growth.
Policy Address 2026: Hong Kong government to call for private sector bids to build student housing
- 2026-09-16
- Society
- By: MA Yifan Chloe、SHI Puxuan AmyEdited by: CHEN Xiyun
- 2026-09-16
The Development Bureau will put the first student-hostel designated site up for sale this financial year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in today’s policy address. The tendered land will be from Kai Tak, Siu Lek Yuen, Shatin or Tung Chung East, according to the February release of LegCo, with no further details released. The land-selling initiative comes under the Hostels in the City Scheme, jointly launched by the Development Bureau and Education Bureau in July last year, and encourages dormitory developers from private sectors. The scheme was previously limited to the conversion of office buildings and hotels into student housings when introduced in the policy address last year. Ho Hang-kei, a professor researching housing policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said, developing new sites, as opposed to converting existing buildings, will compete for limited construction human resources in the market. He added that it may curb the number of building projects that can commence in the same period. “But in the medium term, I think that’s going to be quite an attractive position, given the steady stream of students and high occupancy rate,” he said. As of April, existing market-run student hostel projects have recorded an occupancy rate of between 98% and 100%, according to the report from Jones Lang LaSalle. Sun Yichen, 22, a master student at City University of Hong Kong, moved into the Yuè Residence in Kowloon in August this year since she failed to secure a place in the on-campus hall in June. Sun thinks that the hostel needs better security arrangements. “It’s very late for me to finish the class at 10 p.m. every night,” she said. “Temple Street draws heavy foot traffic after dark, and there is only one security guard on duty downstairs at the dormitory,” she added. TYR reporters …
Policy Address 2026: HK$10 billion loan ‘not enough’ for building new campus site, after John Lee announced the development of Northern Metropolis University Town
- 2026-09-16
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: ZHENG WU Anny、ZHENG Yuan ElaineEdited by: CHAU Wing Yau
- 2026-09-16
The new university town in the Northern Metropolis Development area will be expanded, Lee said today in the policy address, but universities, which are expected to fund new campuses, say the government is not offering enough money for building costs. In April, the government announced a low-interest loan scheme with HK$10 billion reserved to support universities in building campuses in the new development area. Dr Albert Chau, the Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the low-interest loan is “not enough”. “Our university may build new laboratories and buildings, and the required funding is substantial, despite a HK$10 billion loan for universities.” Nineteen universities have submitted proposals for building a new campus in NMUT, Choi Yuk-lin, the secretary for Education of Hong Kong, said in a press conference in June. If all the proposals are accepted, each university would receive an average of around HK$500 million. According to the University Engagement Office of HKBU, its new Jockey Club Campus of Creativity, which opened in 2024 on its Kowloon Tong campus, cost HK$2.22 billion for 7,430 square metres, far exceeding HK$500 million. Zhou Haoming, a post-graduate student at the University of Hong Kong, said he is concerned that universities may raise tuition fees to fill the funding gap. “Government loans are a policy concession, but the school will ultimately have to put up the money for construction,”he said. Chau said that the tuition fee at HKBU will only be raised to meet inflation and won’t be a major way to gather funding for expanding the campus site. “We have no reason to transfer the burden of university development to our students. We should set proper tuition figures which students can afford. This is our social responsibility,” Chau said. Universities are expected to seek funds by utilising reserves or …
Policy Address 2026: Government to step up Chinese-language support for ethnic minority students
- 2026-09-16
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Cao Beiyu、Man Cheok Lam LorraineEdited by: FENG Zhenpeng
- 2026-09-16
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government will adopt learning materials tailored for non-Chinese-speaking students and also provide them after-school Chinese language courses from Primary One to Secondary Three. The materials will help them pass two Chinese language standardised tests, which will help them integrate into the community and have more job opportunities. Based on the 2021 Population Census, ethnic minorities make up 8.4% of the population in Hong Kong. Among ethnic minorities under the age of 14, 35% to 38% are unable to read or write Chinese. Bahart Nangia, former director of the Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities and an Indian-Hong Konger, said, “language is the biggest barrier amongst ethnic minorities. Cantonese is not easy to learn.” He said for example, MTR staff may not be able to communicate in English if they need help. Chinese classes in schools are not “fully equipped to be teaching minorities with a cultural dynamic difference,” said Jeffery Andrews, one of the founders of the Diversity Hub, a multi-cultural community space in Hong Kong, as well as the first ethnic minority social worker in Hong Kong. Andrews said the government has put many resources into ethnic minority policies for the last 15 to 20 years but the framework for implementing Chinese as a second language in schools is still weak. Alishiba Matloob Aloosh, a Pakistani Hongkonger podcaster and a former TYR reporter who now works for RTHK Radio 3, said the government should put more effort into tackling the real adjustment issues behind why, even after learning the language, some people still find it hard to adapt in daily life. Discrimination, workplace barriers and difficulties with inclusion in schools and the community are all issues that need addressing. In the policy address, Lee said the scheme for ethnic minorities to serve …
Policy Address 2026: Hong Kong to support AI training for employees and SMEs
- 2026-09-16
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: YANG Shuyi、Yutong SuEdited by: Lou Zhengzheng、QIN Ziyang
- 2026-09-16
The policy address proposed several AI training programs to support employees in enhancing practical AI skills and optimized the existing AI support program for small and medium-sized enterprises. The government will release more than 200 training courses and activities under the “AI for All” programme before the first quarter of 2028. The government’s Employees Retraining Board will release an 18-month AI upskilling campaign in the first half of 2027, offering free online courses on workplace AI applications, expected to benefit at least 40,000 employees. Calvin Cheng, the Executive President of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association, said that with subsidies from the government and corporate training, employees would be more willing to spend time learning how to use AI. “Many employees hold conservative views against AI, fearing job displacement,” Cheng said. “Companies need to educate their employees that AI is not meant to replace them, but to help improve their work efficiency.” According to Peter Shum, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, a lack of clear AI strategies from management creates a gap with employees keen to adopt AI but remaining cautious due to data leakage and security risks. Microsoft’s May 2026 Work Trend Index reveals that only 19% of AI users in Hong Kong believe their leadership has set a clear and consistent AI strategy. “The market is flooded with information about AI for SMEs, leaving them confused and unsure of what to do,” said Cheng. “The government can provide some successful showcases as guidance for them.” According to the Census and Statistics Department, as of March 2026, there were approximately 360,000 SMEs, accounting for more than 98% of the enterprises in Hong Kong. “The government needs to prioritize supporting SMEs in the field of AI, because large companies have substantial financial resources to …