Mercedes Hutton

Jan 8, 2025 | hongkongfp.com | Mercedes Hutton

Conservationists have confirmed the presence of a Eurasian otter, once thought extinct in the wild in Hong Kong, in northern Lantau waters. While the discovery brought “hope for this locally critically endangered species,” it also raised questions about government plans to develop Lantau’s northern shore.

Jan 7, 2025 | hongkongfp.com | Mercedes Hutton

Hongkongers who plan to visit or transit through the UK will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from Wednesday. Passport holders from 54 countries and territories – including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan – will require an ETA to enter the UK from Wednesday. Hongkongers with British National (Overseas) passports will also need an ETA, as will babies and children. Transit passengers are required to have a valid ETA, even if they do not intend to pass through UK border control.

Dec 10, 2024 | hongkongfp.com | Mercedes Hutton

The chair of a US Senate committee has introduced a bill that would end Hong Kong’s special treatment under US law. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Hong Kong Policy Act of 2024 on Monday.

Nov 30, 2024 | hongkongfp.com | Mercedes Hutton

When Anushka moved to Hong Kong from India in 2021, she could never have imagined the fate that awaited her. She knew that her first 21 days in her new home would be spent in isolation, part of the city’s stringent Covid-19 curbs in place at the time. Beyond that, she said, she expected “positive things.”The fate which awaited her – rape at the hands of her employer and the subsequent loss of her job, financial security and independence – was unimaginable.

Nov 19, 2024 | hongkongfp.com | Mercedes Hutton |Hans Tse

Detained pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is set to take the stand for the first time on Wednesday in his high-profile national security trial. The 76-year-old founder of the shuttered Apple Daily newspaper stands accused of two counts of taking part in a “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under Beijing’s security law, and one count of conspiring to publish “seditious” materials under a colonial-era law. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.