We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Was Xi’s stance on North Korea military ties also a message for US, Russia? During his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said both sides should “enhance exchanges in diplomacy, law...

A mechanical technician has died after being found injured and unconscious while carrying out an inspection on an amusement ride at a Hong Kong theme park. Police received a report at 9.08am on Friday that the 63-year-old worker was found unconscious in Ocean Park’s mountain area with injuries to his head and shoulders. Emergency personnel transported the victim to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai at around 9.30am. He was pronounced dead at 10.33am following unsuccessful resuscitation efforts. The...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Was Xi’s stance on North Korea military ties also a message for US, Russia? During his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said both sides should “enhance exchanges in diplomacy, law...

A mechanical technician has died after being found injured and unconscious while carrying out an inspection on an amusement ride at a Hong Kong theme park. Police received a report at 9.08am on Friday that the 63-year-old worker was found unconscious in Ocean Park’s mountain area with injuries to his head and shoulders. Emergency personnel transported the victim to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai at around 9.30am. He was pronounced dead at 10.33am following unsuccessful resuscitation efforts. The...

The Philippines defence minister was defiant on Friday after Beijing sanctioned him for what it termed “irresponsible remarks” as the two nations grapple over the disputed South China Sea. Gilberto Teodoro as well as his spouse and child will be banned from entering China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement on Thursday. Philippines’ Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro delivers a speech as he attends the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31, 2026. Photo: Philippines’ Department of National Defense, via X. It added that “organisations and individuals in China” will not be allowed to “engage in any transaction, cooperation or other activities with him and his spouse and child”. The two countries have in recent years regularly dealt with flare-ups in tensions over the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims the strategic waterway nearly in its entirety, despite an international ruling that said its assertions are baseless. In a statement early Friday, Teodoro said he had been sanctioned for “speaking truth”. “Their own countrymen and the others under their control suffer far worse,” he said. “I will just keep doing my duty and uphold our nation in the face of the wickedness they are committing here and even in our seas.” Manila reacted to the sanctions late Thursday by saying that “the Philippines views it as an unfriendly act that further complicates the bilateral relations”. China regularly deploys navy and coast guard vessels to bar the Philippines from important reefs and islands in the area. The Chinese statement said Teodoro’s rhetoric “undermines China’s legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations”, without specifying to which remarks it referred. At a summit in Singapore last month, Teodoro criticised Beijing’s activities in the disputed waters, saying Manila “will not sacrifice our territorial integrity and sovereignty”. Asked last week about Teodoro’s remarks at the summit, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that he “is known to vilify China”. “All he cares is selfish personal gains to the point that he would perform political theatrics even when people’s well-being is at stake,” Mao said.

A viral stress-relief “Natasha” doll trending on Chinese social media has been deemed “absolutely diabolical” by members of Hong Kong’s Black community. Resembling a small child, the most popular version is dark-skinned and features exaggerated racial characteristics. Buyers have filmed themselves beating, stretching, boiling and stomping on the toy. The viral stress-relief “Natasha” doll trending on social media in China. Photo: HKFP screenshots. “No design is created, marketed, and sold in isolation of thought and purpose. The design, manufacturing, and selling of a Black baby doll to abuse at one’s whims is at the root of the existence of movements like Black Lives Matter,” Monique Franz, a writer and founder of Kinsman Avenue Publishing – a non-profit which advocates for underrepresented voices – told HKFP. Monique Franz, a writer and founder of Kinsman Avenue Publishing. Photo: Monique Franz. “By inviting people to take out their stresses on a Black body, we invite populations to abuse our Black bodies at their whims, robbing us of our actual humanity. While this is a game to others, Black people are experiencing widespread global abuse, which is the result of portrayals of us in such degrading ways,” added Franz, who is African-American. Jayne Jeje, an African-American entrepreneur and advocate based in Hong Kong. Photo: Jayne Jeje. Made from slow-rising memory foam or soft thermoplastic rubber, the dolls remain freely available on e-commerce sites such as Taobao, and have been trending on social media platforms like RedNote and Douyin. Jayne Jeje, an African-American entrepreneur, advocate, and long-term Hong Kong resident, told HKFP that such trends do not come out of nowhere. “There seems to be an endless fascination with Black hair, Black skin, Black lips, Black bodies, and Black culture, yet people are shocked when we speak up,” she said. “Some of the viral videos are absolutely diabolical. I’d find them offensive no matter who was being depicted, but this is deeply personal because I am proud of my beautiful dark skin. I refuse to accept the idea that it is something to be squeezed, slapped, mocked, or turned into entertainment for the masses,” she added. Spotted in Hong Kong Londiwe Ngubeni – a South African actress and vocalist who lives on Lantau – told HKFP that she spotted a child with a Natasha doll at a Mui Wo supermarket. “At first, I thought she simply liked the toy. Then she began stretching, squeezing, poking the eyes and hitting the doll. When I asked why, she said it was a ‘stress reliever.’ How is relieving stress by hurting a brown baby doll acceptable?” Londiwe Ngubeni, also known as MsLolo, a Hong Kong-based actress, vocalist and model. Photo: Londiwe Ngubeni. Ngubeni said she was furious and disappointed. The child “said her friend had given it to her. What message are we teaching children when dehumanising a Black child becomes a plaything?” Londiwe Ngubeni spotted a child with a Natasha doll at a Mui Wo supermarket. Photo: Londiwe Ngubeni. She urged manufacturers and retailers to be held to account over “products that reinforce racist attitudes.” Innocent Mutanga of NGO Africa Center Hong Kong said the trend “risks normalising the dehumanisation of Black bodies… This is particularly disturbing as this dehumanization is directed towards Black children, demonstrating a lack of empathy for Black people, no matter the age.” He said the China Consumers Association and State Administration for Market Regulation had stepped in to remove violent videos, with schools in mainland China banning the doll. Although Mutanga said guidance was issued to e-commerce sites in mainland China, the product was still available on Taobao when HKFP checked on Thursday. Innocent Mutanga. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Mutanga urged teachers, parents and community leaders across the Greater Bay Region to link up with the Africa Centre to step up education, as people may lack “exposure to African cultures and histories.” “Natasha” dolls remain available on China’s shopping platform Taobao, on June 11, 2026. Photo: HKFP screenshot. Chinese social media has played host to similarly abusive trends involving Black children before. In 2022, a BBC investigation found that children in sub-Saharan Africa were being paid to perform in Chinese online videos that often involved degrading or abusive content.

China to legislate on preschool education

China to legislate on preschool education

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the king's eldest daughter, collapsed in December 2022 while exercising her dogs.

Prosecutors argued that Yoon ordered the operation to provoke Pyongyang and create a pretext for martial law.

Seoul court sentences former leader for sending military drones into North Korea.

Amnesty International and Oxfam released reports this week documenting a rise in state-backed Israeli settler violence.