“I am bisexual, I am gender-fluid and I am also disabled,” says Chris Yau. The 38-year-old Hongkonger has muscular dystrophy, a disease that causes muscles to weaken over time, but doesn’t need a wheelchair at the moment. He is also bisexual and identifies as genderqueer, meaning he does not subscribe to conventional gender identities. “On […]

In the beginning of the year, some observers talked of the coronavirus as “the great equaliser.” The phrase was meant to highlight how the pandemic would affect everyone — rich and poor, Black and white, urban and rural. Almost a year later, the expression seems overly optimistic. As the outbreak continues its assault across the […]

On a cold night in January 1951, 19-year-old soprano Barbara Fei Ming-yi took the stage at Queen’s College in Hong Kong to perform two traditional folk songs from Shanxi, China – Embroidered Purse and Aunt Li – for her her first solo. Her father, who suffered from heart disease, obtained permission to leave the hospital and […]

An environmental photographer and journalist, Arati Kumar-Rao hopes to inspire change by documenting the impact of climate change across marginalised communities in South Asia. Since 2014, India-based environmental photographer, writer and National Geographic Explorer Arati Kumar-Rao has been documenting the impacts of climate change in South Asia. She travels widely across the region, having spent […]

Growing up in Sham Shui Po, a working-class neighbourhood in Hong Kong, Valerie Chan* spent a lot of time alone. Her parents worked long hours at garment factories, struggling to make a living, while her older brother was busy with secondary school.  “My parents were very good to me and my brother, despite earning so […]

On a warm spring morning in 2016, everything seemed normal as Paul Cheng Ka-pui served customers at his 7-Eleven on Pitt Street in Yau Ma Tei. But by the afternoon, the 39-year-old would be fighting for his life. A few hours after lunch on 8 March, Cheng spotted a man in his store who was […]

For Nicole Tung, photographing conflict zones is not just a job but a duty. The 33-year-old photojournalist, who was born in Hong Kong, has been covering issues in Africa, Asia and the Middle East since 2011. Tung’s career began after she graduated in journalism and history from New York University. Keen to report on the […]

During her nearly two-decade-long career as a special education teacher in Mumbai and Hong Kong, Faride Shroff came to the realisation that many of her students have struggled to find work after graduating. Without any income, some of her former students have had to rely on their family or the government for support, which left […]

Record-breaking Typhoon Haiyan, which swept across the Central Philippines in November 2013, claimed some 6,000 lives and displaced more than four million people. Yolanda, as it was known locally, decimated entire towns and villages, leaving in its wake fallen trees, toppled power lines, and trails of debris. Nearly six years on, the recovery in Estancia, […]

This June, the US Department of State released the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, which downgraded Hong Kong from its Tier 2 position in 2019 to the Tier 2 Watch List. Essentially, this means that Hong Kong failed to “demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period,” states the report. The report criticises […]