TOP STORIES
No neutral journalism, Ukrainian War journalist says
- 2026-05-02
- By: Lan Xinbei、ZHOU ShiqingEdited by: Lan Xinbei、ZHOU Shiqing
- 2026-05-02
A Ukrainian war reporter said she doesn't believe in neutral journalism, speaking at the 20th International News Festival in Perugia, Italy on April 17. In a panel discussion on Ukrainian war reporting, Mariya Frey, member of the managing board of Ukraine’s national public broadcasting company Suspilne Ukraine, showed a photo of female journalist Oleksandra Novosel wearing a blue protective jacket, carrying a camera and recording equipment while shuttling through the "kill zone" only 20 kilometers away from the front line. “Her base was bombed twice, and Russia was only trying to drive away the journalists,” Frey said. The environment the speakers depict is suffocating, with about 40% of Ukrainian media institutions suffering heavy damage and requiring 500 million euros for recovery, one said, adding that the financial stress is even greater after the United States Agency for International Development cut funding to Ukraine. The new equipment requirement in the Ukrainian work package for journalists is a washing machine, Freya added. When the artillery fire cuts off water and electricity, Ukrainian journalists have to take a shower and wash clothes in the office. “Due to power outages, the journalist team even built shower rooms and bought washing machines in the office, which is our safe house,” she added. Despite the challenges, Freya said independent media in Ukraine has won unprecedented trust, with Suspiline Ukraine's audience trust reaching 79%. “People search for information like they search for food,” said panel speaker Ola Myrovych, CEO of Lviv Media Forum, an NGO supporting media development. “The media has become a critical infrastructure.” Panel speaker Olha Syrotiuk, who coordinates a Ukraine programme at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom said, “We have already won because we have preserved the news industry in the midst of gunfire. What is needed now is to invest …
Forced Out, Still Reporting: Women Journalists in Exile
- 2026-05-02
- By: WEI Yanfangru、Zhou XinyingEdited by: WEI Yanfangru、Zhou Xinying
- 2026-05-02
“I have to leave.” The phrase echoed through a panel on women journalists in exile at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia. For three women journalists from Nicaragua, Myanmar and Russia, departure was not a professional repositioning. It was the result of political violence, escalating threats and the erosion of space for independent reporting. Gender often determines how repression is experienced and survived, the journalists on the all-women panel said on April 16. The conversation unfolded against a global media environment that has grown increasingly hostile. UNESCO’s World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development Report 2022–2025 documents a 10% global decline in freedom of expression since 2012. It also reported that self‑censorship among journalists increased by 63 percent. In 2025, a record number of 130 journalists and media workers were killed on the job, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. For many others, violence ended in exile. Abigail Hernandez, a Nicaraguan journalist and founder and director of La Sala – mujeres en la redacción in Costa Rica, which brings together women-led Central American media outlets in a shared workspace, said exile for her began before she crossed the border. Hernandez spent six months in constant internal displacement, moving between safe houses while being followed and intimidated by men in civilian clothes. “It’s not the police, it’s not the— but we know it’s the police and they are military,” she said. Hernandez described how repression was gendered. Threats targeted her body and appearance, turning political intimidation into something deeply personal. “The message is that in prison your face, your body, your supposed beauty will be destroyed,” she said. She left Nicaragua after receiving a warning that made clear her arrest, or worse, was imminent. Harassment, abuse and online attacks are routine risks for women journalists. Last year, 75 …
Fans flock to Causeway Bay to celebrate Hong Kong star Keung To’s birthday
- 2026-05-01
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: CHEUNG Ka Yi Ann、ZHENG WU AnnyEdited by: CHAN Hiu Ying
- 2026-05-01
Cantopop star Keung To had his 27th birthday on April 30. Thousands of fans gathered in Causeway Bay to join the annual celebration. The fan club organised various events, including a free tram ride day and a charity birthday celebration. Themed decorations and billboards across the district also drew supporters to celebrate and take photos. Follow the link below to watch the full reel: https://youtube.com/shorts/n_aeHlGeFFE?si=quVbZ6OhahRuSDLm
Primal Race held during the Hong Kong Sevens weekend
- 2026-04-29
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: FENG ZhenpengEdited by: Fu Rong
- 2026-04-29
Primal Race debuts in Hong Kong from April 17 to 19, colliding with the Hong Kong Sevens tournament in Kai Tak Sports Park. It offers people in Hong Kong a chance to qualify for the Primal Race World Championship. Follow the link below to watch the full reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXoCoSVE7nb/?igsh=MXVyNGJwdzUxbGkxeQ== Reported by: Stephen Feng Zhenpeng Edited by: Audrey FU Rong
More than a public holiday, Brisbane honours mateship and sacrifice on Anzac Day
- 2026-04-29
- The Young Reporter
- By: CHAU Wing YauEdited by: Yu Yan Pui
- 2026-04-29
Brisbane marked the 110th anniversary of Anzac Day on April 25, 2026. Thousands gathered in the city to commemorate those who served in the Australia Defence Force and those who sacrificed. Anzac Day began as a commemoration of Australians and New Zealanders who served at Gallipoli in the First World War. It has evolved into a national day of remembrance for all who have served and fallen in wars. Before the parade, dawn services across the suburbs and at Anzac Square in the CBD included the laying of wreaths, the sounding of the Last Post and a minute of silence. The Anzac Day Parade started at 9:45 am Adelaide Street, with Australian Defence Force veterans, descendants and school cadets marching in tribute until midday. Reported by Anny Chau Wing-Yau Edited by Jennifer Yu Yan-pui
Abused and abandoned, shared bikes raise questions of accountability
- 2026-04-29
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: LEUNG Chi Ngai、CHAN Hiu YingEdited by: ZHANG Yiping
- 2026-04-29
The scene at Tsuen Wan Riviera Park on Feb. 18 was not what morning joggers expected. 13 shared bikes from Locobike, the city’s largest bike-sharing operator, were found soaking in sea water, lodged against the breakwaters. This is not an isolated incident. On Jan. 15, video footage went viral on Threads showing a cyclist deliberately throwing a Locobike into a river. “These are basically rubbish,” said Wong Wai‑tung, a Tai Po district councillor. "The way you leave bikes like this; I no longer see them as something valuable.” Vandalism of shared bikes has been a recurring problem in Hong Kong since 2017, when the first shared-bike service, Gobee.bike, launched in the New Territories – the city’s largest region with the most extensive network of cycling tracks. Within four days of launch, four bikes were found dumped in the Shing Mun River. The operator shut down a year later, citing lack of profit. Shared bikes offer a greener transport mode for residents, but regulating shared bikes remains an uphill battle. Wong helps handle complaints regarding dumped and illegally parked shared bikes in Tai Po. “We sometimes receive reports from residents, especially at weekends, saying they’ve seen shared bikes in the river or left blocking pavements,” Wong said. “There are about two to three such complaints every month.” The problem is more severe in districts with larger cycling networks in the New Territories, such as Tuen Mun, Tseung Kwan O and Shatin, he added. There are now two active shared bike operators in Hong Kong — LocoBike, which has operated since 2017, and HelloRide, launched in 2025. According to Echo Lu, a HelloRide spokesperson, more than 300 HelloRide bikes have been damaged in the past year, about 10% of its fleet. “The challenges in Hong Kong are more complex than in other …
What does Lamma Winds’ closure mean for Hong Kong’s renewables strategy?
- 2026-04-28
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: AU YEUNG JimEdited by: SIU Tsz Hang
- 2026-04-28
Joe Chen, 40, and Bibi Chung, 35, climbed up a 15-minute slope to reach the Lamma Winds – Hong Kong’s first wind power station – in Lamma Island, on a quiet Tuesday. They took pictures in front of the turbine, trying different angles to fit the entire 71-metre-tall wind farm into a single frame. This is probably the last time they can do so. In a press release issued in late March, the wind farm’s operator, HK Electric, said the turbine had reached its lifespan of 20 years in February. The company added most key components are no longer in production, paired with market availability and site limitations, meaning a new commercial scale turbine cannot be installed in the same location. It will therefore be decommissioned for public safety later this year, according to its website. “Last time we came here, the wind blades were still moving,” Chen said. “It is no longer moving now.” Lamma Winds was built in 2006, the first of its kind in the history of Hong Kong. It is also the first commercial-scale renewable facility built by a power company in Hong Kong. According to HK Electric, Lamma Winds was designed with a capacity of 800 kW. The construction cost was HK$15 million, and it took five years to complete. The power giant said the wind turbine has generated 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity over its 20 years. Wong Kam-sing, former Secretary for the Environment, said the decommissioning would not change the scale or direction of the city’s renewable energy development. “Based on the government’s 2050 strategy plan, onshore wind farms are actually not part of our future development strategy,” Wong said. “Lamma Winds is mostly a demonstration of the technology we had 20 years ago, therefore it has no special relationship with Hong …
Survivors and advocates call for comprehensive sexual offence law reform
- 2026-04-26
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: YAM Long Hei JamieEdited by: SIU Tsz Hang
- 2026-04-26
Advocates and sexual offence survivors on Saturday urged the government to pursue broader legal reforms beyond current proposals at the Sexual Offense Reform Forum. This call came ahead of a government plan to launch at public consultation on the reform of the city’s sexual offense laws later in 2026. The forum examined whether proposed reforms adequately address the realities faced by sexual violence survivors. Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Women’s Coalition on Equal Opportunities and the Equality Rights Project at the HKU Faculty of Law, the event attracted around 200 participants from online and in person. Jessie, a representative of a sexual offence survivors’ advocacy group, called for stronger reforms to Hong Kong’s consent laws, outlining three key changes not included in the Law Reform Commission’s recommendations. Three changes include: silence or lack of resistance must not be interpreted as consent; if consent was never sought, the accused cannot rely on a claim of “honest but mistaken belief” in consent; and the law should provide a clear statutory definition of both consent and the absence of consent. “I went through sexual assault, reported it to the police, and attended court. In the end, the defendant was acquitted because of how the law is written,” Jessie said. She said the defence repeatedly questioned why she did not physically resist, asking why she did not hit, bite or kick the offender, call for help, or leave the scene. “The defence turned the victim’s trauma responses into a weapon,” she said. “This tactic of using trauma against the victim, questioning clothing, lack of resistance, or why the victim did not leave the scene, is very common in court.” Jessie was also asked to recall precise details of the assault, including the number of times penetration occurred, how long it lasted, and how …
Visitors flock to Hong Kong Museum of Art for Claude Monet’s masterpieces
- 2026-04-26
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Baguio Anne、Pann Hnin Nay ChiEdited by: YAM Long Hei Jamie
- 2026-04-26
Visitors filled the Hong Kong Museum of Art on Friday for a garden art exhibition featuring two original masterpieces by French Impressionist Claude Monet. “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” features 106 artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago, Beijing’s Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles in Paris, alongside pieces from the museum’s collection. Highlights include Monet's Water Lilies and Water Lily Pond from the Art Institute of Chicago. Other masterpieces include Zhang Daqian's Entrance of Bade Garden and Splashed-colour Landscape, as well as Wen Zhengming’s Spring Ablution at the Orchid Pavilion and sculptures such as The Enceladus Fountain and The Water Theatre from the Palace of Versailles. Despite rainy weather, crowds filled the galleries by midday, with long queues for popular works and interactive activities. Vasilisa Popov, 28, from Russia, said she came to the exhibition after reading it online, drawn by Monet. “I work in the culture sphere back home, so art is very special to me,” she said. “I’m actually flying back today, but I made sure to come here before leaving.” Glenda Wilson, 70, from New Zealand, called it a trip highlight and “beautifully courageous, really well put together, and fantastic.” She had visited the museum days earlier but returned for the show. “It’s the opening day and people love to see Monet,” she said of the crowds. Helen Kwok, 74, a regular visitor at the HKMoA, had seen Monet’s works at a 2016 Monet exhibition in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. “I’d like to see Monet, but also the other various garden paintings from Versailles.” First-time visitors Few, 23, and Pakke, 26, from Thailand, celebrated Few’s university graduation here in Hong Kong. Though new to art, they said they enjoyed the exhibition, especially the French paintings of gardens. Pakke added that …
Kai Tak Calling: Hong Kong Sevens Marks 50th Anniversary
- 2026-04-25
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Fu Rong、ZHENG XinyiEdited by: FENG Zhenpeng
- 2026-04-25
The annual HSBC Hong Kong Sevens returned to Kai Tak Sports Park on April 17, marking its 50th-anniversary. The opening day drew around 34,000 spectators to witness the start of the three-day tournament. Reported by: Audrey Fu Rong, Sofina Zheng Xinyi Edited by: Stephen Feng Zhenpeng
