Periscope

Large scale development projects need Environmental Impact Assessment reports, which are supposed to measure how much the projects would the environment and the wildlife living there. But many people say the process is deeply flawed, including conflicts of interest where a developer can hire one of their own branches to do the assessment.

Plastic flowers, toys and electronic products bearing the label “Made in Hong Kong” were sold around the world in the 1960s and 1970s back...

Hong Kong's Nepalese population has grown rapidly over the past two decades. Most Nepalis here are the children of former Gurkha soldiers who were responsible for Hong Kong's security during the colonial years. Many of ex-soldiers have retired to Nepal or moved to the UK, but their children have decided to make Hong Kong their home. Varsity learns about some of the problems they face.

A recent survey by The Economist named Hong Kong as the most "liveable" city in the world. The S.A.R. also came in tenth in a...

Does free information flow change political opinions of Mainlanders in Hong Kong? by Yan Li & Brian Wong Hui Kei, a 29-year-old freelance writer from Zhejiang...

Scenes of locals protesting against parallel traders outside Sheung Shui station caused a stir back in the Autumn and focused attention on complaints that the traders' activities have changed the character of the town. But as Varsity discovers, even before Sheung Shui became a hub for such trading activity it had already undergone dramatic transformation from a rural backwater into one of Hong Kong's so-called new towns.

With the increasing rent of industrial buildings, some local artists are forced to look for cheaper alternatives. The land lease and outdated regulations of industrial buildings are also causing them headaches.

Permanent, stable employment is quickly becoming a thing of the past as businesses around the world increasingly hire freelancers and casual labour. For some young people, working as freelancers in the so-called gig economy promises flexibility and freedom but some are fast discovering the flipside of casual work arrangements and are beginning to unionise.

Cases of improper fundraising and even fraud have raised public awareness about a lack of accountability and transparency in the way some charities are run. But a controversial proposal to establish a powerful charity commission to regulate charities was opposed by many groups who fear it could be used as a means to control charities. Although the plan has now been shelved, the debate highlights the difficulties of balancing accountability on the one hand and the autonomy of charities on the other.

People and groups loyal to the Communist mainland and Nationalist Taiwan used to battle for influence in colonial Hong Kong. But as the economic and political clout of the People's Republic China has risen, support for the Kuomintang cause has waned. The KMT presence has become even more low-key after 1997 but Varsity finds there are still nationalist die-hards in the S.A.R.