SCMP Hong Kong·Thursday, December 18, 2025

SCMP Hong Kong - Thursday, December 18, 2025

10 stories~15 min

Listen to this episode

Hear all 10 stories summarized and read aloud.

▶Play on Tera.fm

Stories Covered

Power outage briefly leaves 5,000 Hong Kong households in darkness

A power outage briefly plunged Hong Kong’s Kowloon City, a densely populated neighbourhood, into darkness on Thursday, with traffic lights malfunctioning, people trapped in lifts and about 5,000 households affected. Police said they received a report at 4.18pm that people were trapped in a lift at Kowloon City Plaza and that the shopping centre was in total darkness. The case was later classified as “assistance not required”. At 5.04pm, another report was filed with the force about...

Read original →

Hong Kong Palace Museum says Egyptian exhibition will be most profitable show yet

A display of hundreds of ancient Egyptian artefacts will be the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s most profitable exhibition yet, the institution has said, while also revealing that nine other shows are in the pipeline for next year. Director Louis Ng Chi-wa said on Thursday about 76,000 people had visited “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums” in the first four weeks of its run. “We expected it would be popular, but it is even more popular in terms of both visitor numbers and demand.

Read original →

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific investigates wrong taxiway use at Manila airport

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways is investigating an incident in which one of its planes used a wrong taxiway in Manila, causing delays to two other flights, according to the airline. The airline said on Thursday it was cooperating with relevant authorities in an investigation into the incident involving flight CX918 from Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Hong Kong on Wednesday. “During taxi for departure, the aircraft made incorrect use of a taxiway,” a spokesman...

Read original →

Beijing, Hong Kong slam G7 over criticism of Jimmy Lai trial verdict

Beijing and Hong Kong have slammed the G7 for “trampling the city’s rule of law” after the group criticised the guilty verdict handed down at former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial and demanded his immediate release. The strongly worded statements on Thursday were in response to a joint call from the foreign ministers of the G7 and the European Union’s high representative, who condemned Lai’s prosecution while expressing ongoing concerns about “deteriorating rights,...

Read original →

Hong Kong Bar Association backs making bid-rigging a crime after deadly fire

The Hong Kong Bar Association will propose targeted legislation to criminalise bid-rigging and make key construction safety guidelines legally binding following the city’s deadliest fire in seven decades. The association formed a task force to review existing legislation after last month’s Tai Po blaze, with one of the preliminary goals being to criminalise bid-rigging, currently classified as “serious anti-competitive conduct” under the Competition Ordinance and punishable only by fines,...

Read original →

Wall Street Journal accuses Hong Kong union head of abusing legal process

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has accused the head of a Hong Kong journalists’ union of abusing the legal process by holding the newspaper criminally liable for her dismissal only after her “extortionate” HK$3 million (US$385,500) proposal for settlement was rejected. Lawyers for Dow Jones Publishing Co (Asia) told Eastern Court on Thursday that Selina Cheng Kar-yue’s complaint alleging the American news outlet violated Hong Kong labour laws was driven by private interests and bad faith. “We’re.

Read original →

Hong Kong to become Asia’s leading aircraft recycling hub, John Lee vows

Hong Kong’s leader has vowed to turn the city into a leading Asian hub for aircraft recycling and parts trading, with a new locally based training centre set to offer four aviation technician courses next year. The Aircraft Engineering Training Centre was jointly launched on Thursday by the Airport Authority’s Hong Kong International Aviation Academy and French aeronautical services company the Elior Group, a subsidiary of the Derichebourg Group. Attending the launch ceremony, Chief Executive...

Read original →

Chinese University of Hong Kong appoints veteran administrator as vice-president

A leading university in Hong Kong has appointed a veteran academic administrator to be its vice-president in administration – the third person in the role in as many years – after his predecessor resigned less than 12 months into the job. Albert Chow Hing-pong’s tenure at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will begin in the first half of 2026 for a term of three years, according to a statement issued by the institution on Thursday. “I look forward to leveraging my experience in public...

Read original →

Flat owners hit by Hong Kong fire to receive annual HK$150,000 rental subsidy

Flat owners displaced by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in seven decades will receive an annual subsidy of HK$150,000 (US$19,280) each for two years to rent homes in the private market, under the latest government relief measure worth HK$1.2 billion. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing‑hing also said on Thursday that both flat owners and tenants of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po would receive a one‑off subsidy of HK$50,000 to support their relocation. Thousands of displaced residents are currently...

Read original →

Hong Kong logistics group’s CEO buys US$17 million home as wealthy accumulate assets

A top executive of a multinational logistics group has bought a luxury flat in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels West for HK$132 million (US$16.9 million), adding to a growing list of wealthy buyers acquiring high-end homes as prices soften. Cherry Hill Investment, an entity linked to Arnold Lee, acquired the 2,772 sq ft, four-bedroom apartment at The Legacy, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development and New World Development, according to Land Registry records. The transaction was completed on...

Read original →