Every year, US$50 billion is spent globally on developing new cancer treatments and technologies. Despite the constant stream of advancements, the disease was still the second leading cause of death worldwide in 2018, claiming an estimated 9.6 million lives, according to the World Health Organisation. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Sweden. In Hong […]
Jo Soo-Tang wears many hats. She’s a mother, an avid philanthropist and a social entrepreneur. Above all, she’s a champion of positive change – be it through the work she does with the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation (HKAHF), which provides medical treatments to financially disadvantaged people across Asia; Splash, a charity that offers free […]
Last October, Canadian Dr Donna Strickland became the first woman in 55 years to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Before her, the award has gone to just two other female laureates in the field: Maria Goeppert-Mayer in 1963 for her discovery of the nuclear shell model; and Marie Curie in 1903, along with her […]
Language plays an important role in increasing awareness about sexual and gender minorities, who have been marginalised throughout history and, still today, do not have access to equal rights and protections in Hong Kong. Just like any other developing situation, LGBT+ terms continue to evolve alongside society’s understanding of sexual and gender identity issues. For […]
“I think it was his outsider status, and that sense of always searching,” says Katherine Lo, founder and president of Eaton Workshop, a new hotel brand with locations in Washington DC and Hong Kong. In the co-working space of Eaton DC, we’re discussing Lo’s personal connection to Holden Caulfield, the angst-riddled protagonist of American classic […]
In January 2020, Emoji standardiser Unicode Consortium unrolled a lineup of 117 new Emojis to the excitement of social media users around the world. Nestled among the new beetle, baby seal, potted succulent and fondue icons were a series of gender-inclusive options. The expanded collection includes male, female, agender and androgynous Emojis feeding babies and […]
Article updated on 5 October 2020. Four years ago, a 22-year-old university graduate from Madagascar named Anna Rakoto* saw an online advertisement for a fashion retail job in Fuzhou, China, and eagerly applied. With guaranteed training, a decent salary, and potential connections to major international brands, it seemed like a dream. Her application was quickly […]
In Hong Kong, the concept of intersectionality is relatively new. Yet the overlapping categorisations of race, class, gender and sexuality that together create interdependent systems of discrimination is a reality with which queer ethnic minorities are deeply familiar. Every day, news reports detail instances of discrimination on the basis of race, gender or sexuality, and […]
In Dalian, a port city in northeastern China, rows of headless nude dolls hang above the factory floor, as workers crouch between their legs and use scissors to perfect the folds of silicone vulvas. In another room, labourers apply permanent makeup and affix silky wigs atop dolls’ heads. These human-like figures are the specialty of […]
In a wooden shed built on the beach of Infanta, a semi-rural town in the Philippines with about 70,000 residents, men and women lie on mattresses placed on the floor. They are here to receive traditional Chinese therapies such as acupuncture, cupping, and scraping. Others wait to pick up various forms of herbal medicine. Situated […]