Hong Kong

Since the start of the year, a special pastoral team set up by Cardinal Chow has been active, dedicated to ministering to the thousands of Mandarin-speaking people who have arrived in the city in recent years. The team leader, Fr Bruno Lepeu, told the Sunday Examiner: “Friendship and care rooted in God’s love”. Of particular significance are the initiatives for young cross-border students and the parents of children attending Catholic schools.

In a message written from prison, the lawyer on trial alongside Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho for the 4 June vigils in Victoria Park speaks of the importance of resilience in remembering the 1989 massacre in Beijing, whilst the Hong Kong authorities cover the void left by the crackdown with a sea of market stalls. “4 June is a matter of principle, our most reliable safeguard against the perpetuation of dictatorship and the cult of power.”

The activist is currently held at a detention centre over her visa. The UNHCR office in the Thai capital had granted her protection status. Hong Kong authorities accuse her of "subversion" under the territory’s national security law. Her "crime" is membership in the Hong Kong Parliament group of exiles.

The activist and former trade unionist spoke at his subversion trial regarding his role in the Hong Kong Alliance, which organised vigils in memory of the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre. He faces up to 10 years in prison. In his defence, he quoted Mao Zedong and former Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang opposing one-party rule.

The city of Milan has officially added to the list of the Righteous who stood against genocide the name of a PIME missionary who aided Jews during the Nazi persecution, before departing for the Chinese metropolis where he went on to serve the local community for 60 years, until his death in 2007. Father Gianni Criveller, editorial director of AsiaNews, commemorates him.

In all the reports from Beijing's official media on the 20-year prison sentence handed down on 9 February to the Hong Kong entrepreneur, a public interview from 2019 is deliberately misrepresented. To justify the harsh sentence with words that the founder of Apple Daily never said. Instead, they are silent about what he said that day about the link between his Christian faith and the struggle for freedom and justice.

After five years, the landmark trial under the national security law ended. The founder of Apple Daily was charged with conspiracy and sedition. Chief Executive Lee praised the “severe” sentence that brings “relief to all”. Cardinal Zen was in the courtroom with Lay’s wife. Eight other defendants were also sentenced. Attention now turns to the trials of Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho.

More than a thousand people who survived the Tai Po Towers fire that killed 161 people on 26 November 2025 have submitted a petition to the Legislative Council and China’s Liaison Office demanding on-site redevelopment, rejecting financial compensation. For them, leaving would mean betraying the memory of what happened.

After five years in prison and a one-sided trial lasting 156 hearings, the “exemplary” sentence was handed down today to the Catholic entrepreneur, publisher of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. The sentence has yet to be determined, but the two offences carry a life sentence. At 78, he will spend his fifth consecutive Christmas in prison. Chief Executive John Lee rejoices. The International Press Association: “Independent information repressed”.

During the devastating fire at the Wang Fuk Court complex, 28-year-old Filipina Rhodora Alcaraz protected a three-month-old baby with her own body. The tragedy, with more than 150 deaths so far, highlights the role of Southeast Asian domestic workers in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, outrage is growing as expressions of condolence are offered, but Beijing has warned that any protest will be repressed.

The devastating fire that destroyed much of a public housing complex in Tai Po has exposed the fragility of Hong Kong's housing system, characterised by overcrowding, negligently managed construction sites, and thousands of senior citizens and domestic workers trapped in hard-to-evacuate high-rise buildings. PIME missionary Fr Franco Mella slams the authorities for the way they manage the real needs of the population. Meanwhile, fears are growing that the tragedy could reignite tensions with Beijing on the eve of the 7 December local elections.

The fire that broke out in Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po affected buildings surrounded by bamboo scaffolding, which is still used in many construction sites in Hong Kong. The buildings, which reach up to 31 storeys, house many families and elderly couples. Rescuers continue to search for those trapped.