Life not worth living without Internet, Hong Kong youngsters say

October 7th, 2009 HONG KONG - A piece of graffiti by Hong Kong's self-proclaimed "King of Kowloon" has sold for a record 500,000 Hong Kong dollars ($65,000), auction house Sotheby's confirmed Wednesday. The piece by the late Tsang Tsou-choi, featuring rows of Chinese calligraphy on canvas, attracted fierce bidding in Sotheby's Asian art auction Tuesday.

September 8th, 2009 HONG KONG - A bank Wednesday marked its 150th anniversary in Hong Kong by launching what it claimed to be the world's first 150-dollar bank notes. Standard Chartered Plc, one of three note-issuing banks in the wealthy city of seven million, has printed 1 million of the 150-Hong-Kong-dollar notes, worth $19.35 each.

September 7th, 2009 HONG KONG - Eleven people were injured when a man threw acid during an altercation Sunday in a bustling market district, the fourth such attack in Hong Kong this year. Local television reports said victims had to be carried on gurneys to ambulances, their heads covered in bandages.

August 13th, 2009 HONG KONG - A 109-year-old tea has gone on sale at Hong Kong's first international tea fair, a media report said Thursday. Just 10 grams of the pu-erh tea, which takes its name from Pu'er county in Yunnan province in south-west China, costs 8,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,025), the South China Morning Post newspaper said.

May 21st, 2009 HONG KONG - A disgraced Hong Kong politician burned $70,000 on the advice of a feng shui master who told him it would help him avoid jail for vote-rigging, a news report said Thursday. Gilbert Leung told a court that he was advised by the feng shui master to burn 15 1,000-Hong-Kong-dollar bills worth US$129 each every night for a year if he wanted to stay out of jail - an act that would have cost him more than US$700,000, the South China Morning Post reported.

April 29th, 2009 HONG KONG - English football premier league team Liverpool was Wednesday accused of pricing itself out of the market making 'outrageous' demands to play in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong Football Association source told the South China Morning Post the team's planned exhibition at the Hong Kong Stadium in July had been scrapped because of the financial demands.

April 23rd, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong lawmakers Thursday approved a tax on every plastic bag handed out by supermarkets in the city as of July in a move to cut the mountain of waste created by the bags. The tax of 50 Hong Kong cents (6 US cents) will be levied from July 1 in a total of 2,000 shops, including every major supermarket, in the high-rise city of seven million.

April 19th, 2009 Winners at the 28th Hong Kong Film AwardsHONG KONG — A list of winners in the top categories at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards announced Sunday at the Hong Kong Cultural Center: Best film: "Ip Man" Best director: Ann Hui, "The Way We Are" Best actor: Nick Cheung, "The Beast Stalker" Best actress: Paw Hee-ching, "The Way We Are" Best supporting actor: Liu Kai-chi, "The Beast Stalker" Best supporting actress: Chan Lai-wun, "The Way We Are" Best screenplay: Lou Shiu-wa, "The Way We Are" Best cinematography: Arthur Wong, "Painted Skin" Lifetime achievement award: Josephine Siao

April 2nd, 2009 HONG KONG - A wealthy businessman is suing his former lover for the return of property worth more than 10 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.28 million) accusing her of breaching a sex pact, a media report said Thursday. Shoe tycoon Patrick Tang, 66, claimed Karen Lee, 39, agreed not to have sex with anyone else and in return he bought her four homes between 2002 and 2005, the Standard newspaper said.

March 28th, 2009 HONG KONG - Plans to build a museum in Hong Kong dedicated to the life of fabled kung fu actor Bruce Lee are moving ahead with proposals for an international design competition, a media report said Saturday. The project involves the restoration of Lee's former house in the Kowloon Tong district of Hong Kong plus the possibility of building an adjacent cinema and library, the South China Morning Post said.

March 4th, 2009 HONG KONG - Youngsters in Hong Kong are risking deafness by turning personal stereos up too loud to drown out the sounds of the city, according to a survey. Nearly one in four young people listen to iPods and other personal stereos at such a high volume that they risk damaging their hearing because the high-rise city is so noisy, the study concluded.

February 1st, 2009 HONG KONG - Police in Hong Kong Monday were investigating a 12-year-old schoolboy who posted naked pictures of himself online and offered himself as a gigolo for women as old as 45. The boy gave himself the nickname Little Leung and offered sexual services to 'females between the ages of 10 and 45' on an adult friendship forum, the Hong Kong Standard reported.

January 30th, 2009 HONG KONG - Cigarette consumption in Hong Kong is up almost 14 percent since a smoking ban was introduced in the city two years ago, a news report said Saturday. Government figures quoted by the South China Morning Post show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were bought in 2008, compared to 3.33 billion the previous year.

January 20th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares fell by almost three percent Wednesday as overnight losses on Wall Street and profit warnings from Chinese companies listed in the city deepened market gloom. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index ended the day down 376.14 points, or 2.9 percent, at 12,583.63.

January 4th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks continued their positive start to 2009 Monday with a second day of gains, rising by almost 3.5 percent. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 520.5 points, or 3.46 percent, to close at 15,563.31.