SCMP Hong Kong·Sunday, January 11, 2026

SCMP Hong Kong - Sunday, January 11, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Hong Kong plans to complete Kowloon waterfront promenade projects by 2028

Hong Kong authorities plan to complete several promenade projects linking the Kowloon waterfront by the end of 2028, extending the total length of pedestrian pathways on both sides of Victoria Harbour to 34km (21 miles). The Development Bureau said on Sunday that 14km, or 70 per cent of the 21km developable waterfront on the Kowloon side, had already opened, nearly two weeks after the long-awaited 13km promenade on Hong Kong Island was fully connected. Some sections are set for completion within

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31% of scam victims calling Hong Kong helpline had possible suicidal tendencies

Nearly a third of scam victims who sought counselling through a Hong Kong welfare group’s crisis hotlines last year had possible suicidal tendencies, according to a study by the organisation. The Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre said on Sunday that its hotline service handled 3,983 debt-related cases in 2025, with more than 31 per cent involving individuals at risk of suicide and requiring crisis intervention. “Many who fall victim to scams feel shame and guilt,” the centre said in its...

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8 hurt as coach with mainland Chinese tourists hits KMB bus in Hong Kong

Eight people were injured when a coach filled with tourists from mainland China crashed into the back of a KMB double-decker bus in Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin neighbourhood. Both vehicles were travelling along Lung Cheung Road towards Kwun Tong at about 11.40am on Sunday when the KMB bus slowed down near Wong Tai Sin Square. The coach reportedly failed to brake in time and slammed into its rear. Three passengers on the KMB bus – a man and two women aged between 63 and 80 – and five on the tour...

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Panda cubs, SpongeBob and Peppa Pig head to Hong Kong arts hub for balloon parade

Hong Kong’s first large-scale balloon float parade, featuring beloved icons such as SpongeBob SquarePants and the city’s baby panda cubs, attracted hundreds, including young children, to the West Kowloon Cultural District on Sunday. Families lined the paths of the West Kowloon Art Park as the parade of 16 giant helium balloons made a loop between the Hong Kong Palace Museum and contemporary art museum M+, accompanied by a youth marching band. The event brought together characters from popular...

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Hong Kong police hunt man who snatched HK$650,000 Rolex watch in Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong police are searching for a man who snatched a Rolex watch worth HK$650,000 (US$83,370) from a luxury shop in a busy shopping district while posing as a customer. The force said on Sunday it received a report at 12.46pm from staff at Prince Jewellery & Watch on Haiphong Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, saying that a mainland Chinese suspect snatched the watch during a viewing. The man had asked shop staff to let him see the timepiece about 10 minutes earlier, before grabbing the watch and fleeing

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How a legal loophole is failing Hong Kong survivors of long-term sexual abuse

It took Eva Chan* more than a decade to find the courage to walk into a police station and report the sexual abuse she had endured for about six years at the hands of a family member she had lived with as a teenager. Reporting the abuse when she was 16 was unimaginable. At the time, her mother had discovered what had been happening and had driven the perpetrator out of their home. “There’s no professional support, as school social workers might not handle these cases often and might not know...

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Hong Kong issues 4 tickets from 700 new site inspections under expanded smoking ban

Hong Kong health authorities have issued four fixed penalty tickets in newly designated no smoking areas, including outside hospitals, clinics and tram stops, following more than 700 inspections since the city expanded its tobacco control measures on New Year’s Day. Ten days into the enforcement of the broadened ban, tobacco control officers carried out more than 1,600 total inspections citywide, with more than 700 in sites newly brought under the prohibition, according to Director of Health Dr.

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Hong Kong must issue bonds as public works drive capital account deficit: Paul Chan

Hong Kong’s heavy investment in public works will keep its capital account at a deficit, highlighting the need for bond issuances to fund critical infrastructure and long-term development, the finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also revealed on Sunday that the next annual budget will be delivered on February 25. Looking at the current budget, he said that core spending on education, healthcare and social welfare accounted for nearly 60 per cent, even as higher stamp duty

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Why Hong Kong must resist pressure to loosen budget discipline

When he sits down later this month to finalise the budget for the coming financial year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will have some positive news in his pocket to balance against the many calls for additional spending. As some of those new demands are likely to be expensive and compelling, he will need all the help he can get. First, the good news. Hong Kong is heading for a surplus in public finances. In his 2025 budget, Chan forecast a deficit on the consolidated operating account of..

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Hong Kong police to release list of 161 Tai Po fire victims, some families told

Hong Kong police have informed some families who lost their loved ones in the tragic Tai Po fire that a full list of the 161 deceased will be made public, the Post has learned. Six weeks after the Wang Fuk Court fire, Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades, three residents who lost family members told the Post separately that officers contacted them by phone on Sunday to relay the plan. “Police called us and said they will release the list. They didn’t ask if we agree or not, or tell us when,” said...

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