The Young Reporter
Gender-neutral toilets, Hello Kitty and Gundam highlights at the Osaka Expo
- 2025-05-29
- The Young Reporter
- By: LI Sin Tung、CHEN Yik NamEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2025-05-29
What is the Osaka Expo? The Osaka World Expo opened on April 13, and it is the first post-COVID Expo. Over 160 countries, regions, and organizations are exhibiting their futuristic displays in over 80 pavilions, each with distinctive architectural designs. It is the second Expo in Osaka. The last one was in 1970. This year, it is in Yumeshima, or “dream island”, a reclaimed industrial waste burial site in Osaka Bay. The theme is “designing future society for our lives”. Each pavilion is divided into four zones: Connecting Lives, Saving Lives, Empowering Lives and Future Life. Osaka Expo will run for 184 days until 13 October, 2025. What is the Grand Ring? The Grand Ring, designed by Fujimoto Sou, is the largest wooden architectural structure in the world, measuring 20 metres high and having a 2-kilometre circumference. It is constructed using a fusion of modern construction methods and traditional Nuki joints, such as those used in the construction of Japanese shrines and temples. The Grand Ring cost about 35 billion yen (HK$1.9 million) to build and used around 27,000 cubic metres of wood. “You can get such a great view of so many pavilions from the Grand Ring,” said Asa, a 30-year-old visitor from Saga, Japan. Asked about the “waste of money” discussion of the Grand Ring, Asa said she does not think there is anything wrong with the spending. “It is a big international event, so these expenses are necessary,” she said. A Hong Kong visitor, Steven Gong, 40, said the cost of the architecture is not worth it. “It is beautiful, but it is also a waste of resources and money if it cannot be reused,” he said. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition will consider recommendations from private enterprises and public organisations on how to …
Number of visitors at the Osaka Expo hits record high
- 2025-05-29
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: ZHANG Yiping、CAO JiawenEdited by: CAO Jiawen、ZHANG Yiping
- 2025-05-29
The Osaka Expo drew approximately 139,000 visitors on May 23rd, breaking the record for the highest number of visitors on a single day, despite ongoing complaints over confusing booking systems and long waiting times. The total number of visitors exceeded 5 million on May 26th, 44 days into the six-month event, according to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition. But that still falls short of expectations, as the Expo is projected by the association to have a total of 28.2 million visitors (150,000 daily). “The waiting time for each pavilion is very long,” said a Japanese couple, Kayo Aoshima and Yoshiaki Aoshima, aged 82 and 78. “We went to the Arab Pavilion, where we had to wait for more than 30 minutes.” Kayo added. Pavilions at the Expo have different admission strategies. While a few only allow for those who have booked in advance to enter, others allow on-site queuing. With each ticket, visitors can make one reservation for one pavilion or event through a lottery system seven days before their visit. They can also reserve or adjust bookings during the three days leading up to their visit, which operates on a first-come, first-served basis. “We have visited many pavilions, such as the USA, Colombia, and the Netherlands, ” said David Aragon, 40, a Mexican tourist.“We had to wait for around one hour at each one of them.” “Maybe more info outside the pavilions to know what is inside and exactly where we can enter something,” added Aragon. Nishijima Ryo, chief of Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, who was overseeing work at the Future of Life Pavilion, explained why only visitors with reservations could be admitted. “In this pavilion, you can wear an earphone device and experience the exhibition,” he said. “The number of machines is limited, so we limit …
Piu Sik parade returns to Cheung Chau on Buddha’s birthday
- 2025-05-09
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: AO Wei Ying VinciEdited by: AU YEUNG Jim
- 2025-05-09
Some 20 floats paraded down the streets of Cheung Chau along with children dressed up as celebrities on the annual Jiao Festival on May 5, the Buddha’s birthday. The parade kicked off at Pak She Street at 1:30pm, passing through New Hing Street, Tai Hing Tai Road, Secondary School Road, Chung Hing Street, Tai Choi Yuen Road, Tai Sun Back Street, Hing Lung Main Street, New Hing Back Street, and concluded at Pak She Street again at around 4:30pm. Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, also known as the Bun Festival, is a Hong Kong folk festival that’s supposed to give thanks to the deities. This year, characters from mainland Chinese animation Ne Zha 2 were a hit. Children also dressed up as National Games athletes, members of the “KK Park” scam group in Myanmar that detained Hong Kong residents, and the Hong Kong police’s anti-scam mascot “Little Grape.” The children in costumes, known as Piu Sik, sat on stilts carried by adults during the parade. One of the performers included a girl wearing a sun hat and an orange shirt holding up a sign, to warn the public against scam farm jobs. Spectators lined the streets under the scorching sun and in the humidity. “This is my first time at the parade. My favourite “Piu Sik” is Ne Zha because I liked the movie a lot,” said Xuan, 10, a Beijing tourist in Hong Kong with his parents during the “Golden Week” holiday in the mainland. “I think this year’s Piu Sik parade is not exceptional since I have attended this event for 20 years already,” said Poon Lai-yin, 50, a Tin Shui Wai resident. “I hope I don't have to wait too long for the ferries when I leave. The arrangement last year was really messy.” On-site police announced crowd …
Navigating Hong Kong malls with sight impairment
- 2025-05-07
- Society
- 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.
Closure of Deliveroo Reveals Unfair Work Conditions, Users Concerned about Delivery Fee
- 2025-05-04
- Society
- 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
As Australia’s Indigenous Languages Disappear, Experts are Working to Save Them
- 2025-04-30
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: CHAU Wing YauEdited by: KURNIAWAN Trista Vania
- 2025-04-30
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.
Local organic agriculture thrives with support from government and consumers
- 2025-04-28
- Culture & Leisure
- 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 …
Hong Kong’s Low-Altitude Economy departs amid challenges
- 2025-04-25
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: ZHAO Runtong、Yichun Fang、WANG RuoshuiEdited by: XIA Fan、BO Chuxuan
- 2025-04-25
Remark: This news story is part of our experimental project using AI technology to transform the financial journalism practicum. However, all content has been reviewed by humans (our student journalist team) to maintain our high standards of accuracy and fairness before publication. Details about our AI usage can be found in our 'Making of' article. Reflecting on their impressive experiences, Tiffany Wong, project director at Hong Kong-based drone performance company OWOWWW, recalled a major event in late 2023. Their team orchestrated a dazzling display featuring 1,000 units for a luxury brand’s fashion showcase at the Cultural Centre Plaza—a first for the city at that scale and spent only ten days preceding the flying approval. Wong explained that while drone flight approvals were initially challenging due to regulatory uncertainty, the process has become more efficient, reflecting growing recognition of the low-altitude economy. Low-altitude economy(LAE), referring “to economic activities in airspace below 1,000 metres, presents a wide array of application scenarios including rescue, surveys and delivery of goods and passengers,” according to the paper prepared by the Legislative Council Secretariat for discussion last year. In the 2024 Policy Address, in order to “unlock the low-altitude airspace as a new production factor”, the government set up a Low-altitude Economy Development Working Group led by the Deputy Secretary of Finance, and the group soon announced the establishment of the LAE Regulatory Sandbox, a safe zone for trial LAE concepts before full implementation, last November. This year, on Mar. 20th, 2025, the first batch of the Sandbox including 38 pilot projects were announced and launched, covering emergency rescue, logistics, inspection, surveillance and low-altitude infrastructure, which will conduct scenario simulations through implementation to collect data and experience. Having successfully organised nine drone shows last year with a record of nearly 1,000 drones per show, OWOWWW supported …
Hong Kong Kai Tak Terminal crawls to make progress amid Singapore’s busy cruise schedules
- 2025-04-25
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: BO Chuxuan、Haoming ZhouEdited by: BO Chuxuan、XIA Fan
- 2025-04-25
Standing on a chilly winter morning, Wang Wei-de, a Taiwanese cruise passenger, is looking for brunch with local flavour with his family at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. “It feels deserted here. I didn’t expect the restaurants won’t open until 11:30 am,” said Wang, whose Cruise ship arrived at 7:30 am on Jan. 22. Upon arriving in Hong Kong for the first time, Wang was disappointed by the transporting and ancillary facilities at KTCT. “It would take too much time on the way to MTR if we’re going downtown,” said Wang, who decided not to head downtown because of time limitations, “shuttle bus is only free for one way, and other alternatives are expensive.” With HK $950 spent on one meal and local cookies in the terminal, Wang and his family ended up hanging in stores inside the terminal with no consumption. KTCT was often complained about by tourists for the lack of supporting transportation facilities, and many businesses have also closed down due to a lack of business. The government has responded positively to the problem by increasing the number of free shuttle bus routes and distributing $50 liquefied petroleum gas coupons to taxis, which saw an improvement. However, taxi drivers soon complained about the insufficient passengers and attributed the problem to poor government coordination and communication. The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, completed in 2013 at the cost of about $8.1 billion, carries the Hong Kong government's aspiration to become an Asian cruise hub. On Dec. 30, 2024, an action plan for the development of cruise tourism was released by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, reflecting the government's commitment to using the terminal as a venue for conventions and exhibitions, as well as cultural, creative, and community leisure activities, to make full use of the facilities after almost three …
Kowloon City celebrates Songkran Festival
- 2025-04-24
- Society
- 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