Salon.com > Hong Kong

Security secretary to women in Hong Kong: Drink less and you won’t get raped

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:36:00 +0000

In comments that have already stirred criticism among women's rights advocates, Hong Kong's security secretary Lai Tung-kwok announced in a press conference on Wednesday that women can help prevent rape by not drinking "too much" alcohol.

“Some of these cases … involved the victims being raped after drinking quite a lot of alcohol,” Tung-kwok told reporters. “So I would appeal that young ladies should not drink too much.”

Tung-kwok's comments come in response to a government report showing that rape cases in Hong Kong have increased 60 percent from the previous year. In addition to the spike in reported rapes, sexual assaults rose by 18 percent.

Anti-sexual assault advocates are concerned that his remarks will have a chilling effect on women hoping to report an assault, who may now fear they will be blamed, as the Wall Street Journal reports:

China up in arms over Newtown coverage

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:30:00 +0000

HONG KONG — On Dec. 14, the same day that Adam Lanza shot up Sandy Hook Elementary School, there was a rampage at another elementary school in China's central Henan province that left 23 young children bleeding and wounded.

Amid that horror, Chinese netizens gave an outpouring of condolences for Americans affected by the Newtown tragedy. Throughout the weekend, thousands of Chinese shared online images of lit candles and heartfelt expressions of sympathy for the 20 children and seven adults who were killed in Newtown, Conn.

“Today is a sad day for the entire world,” wrote Weibo-user Zheng Yuanjie, one of many who linked the Connecticut attack to China’s own tragedy.

On Monday, the hashtag “Honoring Ordinary Heroes” stayed at or near the top of the most popular topics on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, with many users praising the teacher Victoria Soto, who died saving her students from the gunman. Little gloating or schadenfreude over America's loss was anywhere to be found.

Dozens killed in Hong Kong ferry crash

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:21:00 +0000

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested six crew members from the two boats involved in a collision that killed at least 37 people in Hong Kong's deadliest accident in more than a decade.

Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hung said crew members from both boats were detained on suspicion of endangering passengers by operating the craft unsafely, but he provided no other details.

Salvage crews were raising the Lamma IV, which sank after colliding with a ferry Monday night as it carried partygoers to a fireworks show celebrating China's national day. A body found aboard the vessel Tuesday afternoon raised the death toll to 37.

More than 100 people from the party boat were rescued and sent to hospitals. The ferry was damaged but completed its journey, and some of its passengers were treated for injuries.

The ferry collided with a boat owned by utility company Power Assets Holdings Ltd., which was taking its workers and their families to famed Victoria Harbor to watch a fireworks display in celebration of China's National Day and mid-autumn festival.

Police didn't know the exact number of people aboard the boat at the time of the accident and were interviewing survivors to determine if others were missing. Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has ordered a full investigation.

Romney fundraiser planned Thursday in Hong Kong

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney plan a campaign fundraiser for him Thursday in Hong Kong as U.S.-China trade friction becomes an issue in the White House race.

Romney supporters already have raised more than $385,000 for him in Hong Kong, a world financial center that has been administered by China since Britain turned it over in 1997.

Romney accuses China's government of trade, currency and intellectual property abuses, and says President Barack Obama has failed to confront Chinese officials as the abuses worsened.

Obama supporters say the administration has stood up to China and accuse Romney's former firm, Bain Capital, of aiding the shift of American jobs to China.

Hong Kong tycoon: Marry my daughter, please

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Poor Gigi Chao. Just a week after the 33-year-old Hong Kong socialite revealed she is married to her female partner of seven years, her tycoon father has launched a public campaign to marry her off to a man.

Cecil Chao, a Hong Kong shipping magnate and property developer, is offering a HK$500 million ($65 million) marriage bounty to the man who captures Gigi's heart, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.

"I don't mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind-hearted," Cecil was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong daily.

Gigi last week revealed she married long-time partner Sean Eav in France earlier this year. Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Hong Kong.

Her father, the 76-year-old owner of Cheuk Nang (Holdings) Ltd., rejected suggestions that Gigi is a lesbian, and described reports she had gotten hitched as "false," the SCMP said.

"Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks. She is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work," he said.