Latest news with #Cheng
HKFP
2 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Gov't will not intervene in press union chief Selina Cheng's unlawful termination suit against Wall St Journal
The Department of Justice will not intervene in Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) chairperson Selina Cheng's lawsuit against her ex-employer the Wall Street Journal over her alleged unlawful termination after taking on the union's leadership role. Cheng's lawyer Adam Clermont said in a LinkedIn post on Friday that the DoJ has confirmed it would not be intervening in the private prosecution against Dow Jones & Company, the publisher of the US newspaper, 'allowing our pursuit of justice to proceed unimpeded.' HKFP has reached out to the justice department for comment. Under the Prosecution Code, the Secretary for Justice is entitled to intervene in private prosecution cases, and can take over the proceedings or shut the case down. The next hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts, according to judiciary records. Cheng was fired from the Wall Street Journal last July, telling reporters she was informed her position at the press union would be 'incompatible' with her job and that she did not have permission to take on the role. When she was terminated, the chief editor of the Wall Street Journal's foreign desk told her that her job had been eliminated due to restructuring, Cheng, who covered China's automobile and energy sectors for the paper, said. Cheng filed a complaint to the Labour Department last November, after which it consulted the Department of Justice on whether to prosecute the Wall Street Journal. During a court hearing in February, the justice department requested an eight-week adjournment in February to consider whether it would intervene in the case. Freedom of the press Clermont said in the post: 'This decision underscores the robustness of Hong Kong's legal system, which empowers individuals to hold foreign corporations accountable for violating rights guaranteed under Article 27 of the Basic Law, including freedom of the press, freedom of association and trade union participation.' 'This case is a testament to Hong Kong's commitment to upholding labor rights and ensuring a stable, equitable society under the rule of law and free from foreign interference.' Under Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance, an employer who prevents an employee from undertaking trade union membership and activities, and who terminates the employment of an employee for exercising those rights, is liable to conviction. A spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, told HKFP last year that it could confirm that personnel changes were made, but would not comment on specific individuals. The spokesperson added that the paper 'has been and continues to be a fierce and vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong and around the world.'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Straits Times
The Chic Home: Rare pre-HDB terraced house is ceramist's creative sanctuary
This ceramist's house is a 1970s-era terraced house built by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to the Housing Board. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA SINGAPORE – Ceramist Maureen Cheng, who used to work in graphic design and publishing, initially moved house for a shorter commute. She chose a terraced house built in the 1970s by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to the Housing Board. Such units are not only extremely rare – fewer than 300 were built – but also more affordable than private terraced houses. Cheng, who is in her 50s and runs studio Maison MCeramics, is the proud owner of this 1,600 sq ft corner unit in Jalan Bahagia. After living in it for about a decade, she decided to overhaul it. With her background in the creative industry, she chose to redesign the place herself and engaged S.T. Design & Contract to execute the renovation works. Her vision was to create a home with a studio. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, how the spaces would work for her and which areas got the most sun, breeze and noise. The home owner adopted an open-concept design to maximise natural ventilation and views of the garden. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA She adopted an open-concept design to maximise natural ventilation and views of the garden. The living area and two bedrooms are located away from the boundary wall, which is adjacent to the main road. She went with a modern, timeless look with a black, white and grey palette, and low-maintenance materials. 'I love grey because it is neither black nor white and it can be feminine or masculine, depending on what you pair it with,' she says. The living room has a pair of lounge chairs instead of a sofa. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA She kept the original, nostalgic terrazzo flooring – a nod to the home's history – in the living area. Instead of a sofa, which Cheng felt would take up too much space, she opted for a pair of lounge chairs for herself and her mother. The living area has a view of the dining zone. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA A vintage teak extendable table by a Danish designer takes pride of place in the dining room. In its most compact configuration, it is a cosy table for two set against the wall. When fully extended into an elliptical form, it can seat up to eight people. This large kitchen island offers plenty of space for baking and cooking. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA The kitchen is the heart of the home. Cheng wanted an island, as the idea of facing a wall when cooking or baking did not appeal to her. With the oversized island, she and her mother can bake and cook together while enjoying the view of the side garden. The island also doubles as a workspace when needed. The pottery studio occupies the rear of the plot and has access to the garden. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA Cheng's studio is another important space within the home. She had the spot picked out from the start. It occupies the rear corner of the plot and opens up to the back garden with plenty of natural light. It also has access to a water point and space for a kiln. Every part of the pottery studio has been meticulously planned. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA Despite its compact footprint, every part of the studio has been meticulously planned, from a potter's wheel for throwing to a worktop for kneading clay. She also has a large table for hand coiling or slab work; and racks for storing clay and drying artworks. The home owner's bedroom has no windows, but is naturally lit by a skylight. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA Cheng and her mother's bedrooms are located beside the party wall shared with the neighbour, farthest away from the road. Her mother's room opens out to the rear terrace. Although Cheng's room has no windows, she added a skylight by replacing a section of the roof tiles with translucent ones that let in natural light. The en-suite bathroom attached to the home owner's bedroom doubles as a common bathroom. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA The renovation cost between $150,000 and $200,000, and took about a year to complete due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Cheng finally moved back into her home in 2022. The kitchen island is juxtaposed with softer, natural elements like the rattan and ceramics atop this cabinet. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA This article first appeared in Home & Decor Singapore. Go to for more beautiful homes, space-saving ideas and interior inspiration. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Travel eats: Exploring Canada's connection to Hong Kong's innovative cuisine
When it comes to Chinese food, Metro Vancouver prides itself on its expansive traditional Chinese restaurants. But how do we fare, comparatively? As I found out on a recent trip, Hong Kong trounces us. For starters, it has seven three-Michelin stars, 11 two-stars, and 38 one-stars, as well as 64 Bib Gourmands. This year, two Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong scored second and third spots at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. When it comes to innovative modern Chinese cuisine, we're barely out of the gate. Two cutting-edge Chinese restaurants I dined at in Hong Kong are run by Canadian-raised chef-owners. One, chef Vicky Cheng (Auberge du Pommier and Canoe in Toronto and Daniel in New York), operates Wing restaurant, which placed 11th in the World's 50 Best Restaurants last week and placed third on the Asia's 50 best list earlier this year. He also runs the one-Michelin-star VEA. While VEA offers Chinese food with a tweezered French personality, at Wing he focuses on China's Eight Great Cuisines with an haute approach — and sometimes eye-popping, as with a vibrant Harbin-style apple-wood smoked braided eggplant dish I had — a visual knockout. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Innovative Chinese cuisine is relatively new to Hong Kong, too, Cheng said. 'It's a culture that embraces tradition. It's got such a rich history and such respect for the masters that chefs don't dare change.' But since Cheng didn't train under Chinese chefs, he did dare when he opened VEA 10 years ago. 'I call it boundary-less Chinese cuisine. While it is not 100 per cent traditional, it is 100 per cent Chinese. When I opened VEA, it was very controversial. We were the first to do Chinese and French together. But now, it's getting more and more popular.' He's blown away by ingredients from Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. 'In my mind, Hong Kong's a better place for ingredients (than Toronto or New York). The amount of variety is insane. Some of the best produce I've ever had is from China. Most people have never had blueberries from Yunnan. Most haven't had a mango from Sanya, a small island we call the Hawaii of China,' he says. And now I have, thanks to my dinner at Wing, and I can tell you the blueberries gave me actual thrills! Big as marbles, sweet, and humbling. Ditto the cantaloupe, mango, and lychee, all seductively sweet and at their peak. At Hong Kong's wet markets, Cheng says 'there's always a sense of discovery.' A favourite ingredient is dried seafood. 'It's a true representative of Chinese cuisine' he says, holding a large, dried collagen and protein-rich fish maw (the swim bladder). 'It's been aging for 20 years and almost has a texture like mochi (when cooked),' he says. I had it in a dish with yellow fungus and rice with abalone sauce. He also showed me two giant dried sea cucumbers covered in white ash. 'After soaking for a week, it'll almost double in size,' he said. A braised version appeared later tucked inside a spring roll, marinated and moist, with a slight chew and elevated with a glossy sauce. The tasting menu at Wing included dishes with firefly squid and bull kelp, oysters, house-made transparent 'golden crystal duck egg,' 'drunken' abalone, silver pomfret with mandarin peel with fermented black beans, king crab with crispy cheung fun (steamed rice roll), white asparagus with shrimp paste cured pork. The wow! dish was a glazed, crisp-skinned smoked pigeon, dry-aged 43 days and smoked over sugarcane, served on hay, along with the roasted head, on which my husband crunched and munched. (Call me a coward. I have this thing about eating anything with eyes that stare back.) Chef Alvin Leung, a.k.a. Demon Chef, is another Canadian making a difference. He shocked and astonished the traditionalists with his two-Michelin star Bo Innovation (three-Michelin for a few years). He also runs Michelin-recommended Cafe Bau in Hong Kong, and other global restaurants, including R & D, an Asian fusion restaurant in Toronto. You might remember him as an outspoken judge on MasterChef Canada. When Bo Innovation opened in 2017 with its provocative 'X-treme' Cantonese cuisine, he enlisted molecular gastronomy moves and bad-boy creations such as — blush — Sex on the Beach, an edible condom filled with honey and ham. (Proceeds from the dish were donated to an AIDS organization.) It has, at times, been called the El Bulli of the East. But I visited his two-year-old Cafe Bau, which, unusual for Hong Kong is stubbornly a low carbon, farm-to-table enterprise. Over 90 per cent of products including beef, poultry, pork and seafood, are local and nothing is flown in. Wines arrive by sea rather than air. Rice is from an almost one hectare co-operative farm on nearby Lantau Island. The star of the eight-course tasting menu was a whole roasted local Ping Yuen chicken bred for taste, texture and higher fat content. It was brined in coconut milk, dry aged, stuffed with lemongrass, pandan leaves and rosemary. It arrived in a wooden box, whole and steaming. The server ceremoniously opened it as he would a crown jewel. Upon carving, it was served with the local rice and a velvety sauce with chicken marrow and cartilage. Other dishes included blue crab jelly with housemade foamed cheese and heirloom tomato jelly tomato; jinga shrimp gado gado layered in mille feuille; two kinds of housemade ravioli with Chinese stuffing; pan-fried local perch with banana emulsion and minestrone broth; and Pat Chun (a premium Hong Kong soy sauce) pork knuckle zampone with egg confit and stem ginger. Another mover-shaker adding magic to Chinese cuisine in Hong Kong is Vicky Lau. She studied and worked in New York as a graphic designer and brings artistry and French influences to her Chinese menu. She, too, runs sustainable kitchens at Tate, her two-Michelin star restaurant, and Mora, which opened four years ago, earning one star and a Michelin Green Star for its sustainable practices. At Mora, soy is the star ingredient. Lau even operates a soy milk and tofu factory in Hong Kong, using organic Canadian soybeans. (A taster of her silky soy milk was the best that has passed my lips!) Lau, named Best Female Chef by Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2015, wows guests with soy's versatility and low-impact soy products. The Mora tasting menu included dishes such as soy mascarpone, with pickled cucumber, green olive grains and soy yogurt foam whipped into a yubu tart shell; geoduck 'noodles' in a soy milk and clam broth, with seaweed and fresh yuba. Deep-fried tofu, even gentler souled than agedashi, was brightened with sesame sauce, dill oil, pine nuts and preserved radish. Chicken roulade got razzle-dazzled with mapo tofu sauce; mushroom rice became addictive with soybean paste, chicken fat, and Chinese ham. But Lau's Tate restaurant is an 'you eat with your eyes' haute experience, each of seven courses, an 'ode to' an ingredient. After three canapés, the Ode to Century Egg course arrives and it's beautiful — a circular presentation of Alaska king crab and century egg covered with rose rice vinegar jelly. Over it, a symmetry of tiny, gelled cubes, aubergine, and croutons. A forestry braised mushroom dish included wood fungus from Yunnan, tree moss and a prized foraged red mushroom from the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian province (it grows for only two weeks). A zucchini flower was stuffed with scallop, tofu, abalone, scallop, langoustine and nested on coconut scallop velouté. Ode to Sakura was a meringue shell with fragile meringue sakura blossoms, lychee rice pudding, sakura tea sauce and a raspberry sorbet. A dried lotus flower tea ceremony followed. 'The symbolism of the lotus flower is strength, integrity and beauty,' our server said. 'It's our way of saying thank you. Now I will manually blossom the flower.' And blossom, it did. What a lovely end, we thought. But the actual finale was a Chinoiserie cabinet filled with petit fours (including chocolate hazelnut lollipops, lemon tarts with marshmallow topping, fortune cookies, canelés, choux pastries) wheeled up to us. I hushed the five-year-old in me and asked for just one — the lemon tart, whereas two young women at another table, less worried about waist expansion, chose about a half a dozen each. miastainsby@
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Vehicle hits pedestrians near primary school in Beijing
Videos geolocated by AFP to an intersection in Miyun district in the northeast of the capital showed a grey SUV wedged against a tree as several motionless people were seen in the road. In one clip a bloodied young person was being given first aid by somebody in white overalls, while in others items of clothing were scattered around. Chinese authorities said the casualties were taken to hospital, but did not give details on numbers or their condition. "On June 26, 2025, at around 1 pm, a traffic accident occurred near the intersection of Yucai Road and Dongmen Street in Miyun district," police said in a statement. No.1 Primary School Miyun Beijing -- where children aged six to 12 go to class -- is located at the traffic junction. A 35-year-old man surnamed Han "collided" with people "due to an improper operation", the statement said, adding those injured were taken to hospital. "The accident is under further investigation," the statement said, without giving the number of injured. An AFP team on Thursday evening saw about 30 onlookers standing behind yellow and black concrete police barriers. A pick-up truck appeared to be being used to remove the remnants of the tree into which the vehicle had crashed. Shortly after arriving, the AFP journalists were told by police to leave the scene. A 19-year-old resident who gave his name as Cheng said he went to the intersection after hearing about the crash from his parents. "When I went down, the victims had already been taken away and the car was gone," he said, adding he saw lots of people and emergency vehicles in the area at about 4 pm. Spate of incidents China has seen a string of mass casualty incidents -- from stabbings to car attacks -- challenging its reputation for good public security. Last year a man who ploughed his car into a crowd of mostly school children in central China was handed a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve. In November 2024 the attacker named as Huang Wen repeatedly rammed his car into a crowd outside a primary school in Hunan province. When the vehicle malfunctioned and stopped, Huang got out and attacked bystanders with a weapon before being apprehended. Thirty people, including 18 pupils, sustained minor injuries. Some analysts have linked the incidents to growing anger and desperation at the country's slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified. In November last year, a man killed 35 people and wounded more than 40 when he rammed his car into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai, the country's deadliest attack in a decade.
NDTV
2 days ago
- NDTV
Vehicle Hits Pedestrians Near Primary School In Beijing
A vehicle crashed into pedestrians in an "accident" near a primary school in Beijing on Thursday, with footage shared online showing young people lying seriously injured in the street. Videos geolocated by AFP to an intersection in Miyun district in the northeast of the capital showed a grey SUV wedged against a tree as several motionless people were seen in the road. In one clip a bloodied young person was being given first aid by somebody in white overalls, while in others items of clothing were scattered around. Chinese authorities said the casualties were taken to hospital, but did not give details on numbers or their condition. "On June 26, 2025, at around 1 pm, a traffic accident occurred near the intersection of Yucai Road and Dongmen Street in Miyun district," police said in a statement. No.1 Primary School Miyun Beijing -- where children aged six to 12 go to class -- is located at the traffic junction. A 35-year-old man surnamed Han "collided" with people "due to an improper operation", the statement said, adding those injured were taken to hospital. "The accident is under further investigation," the statement said, without giving the number of injured. An AFP team on Thursday evening saw about 30 onlookers standing behind yellow and black concrete police barriers. A pick-up truck appeared to be being used to remove the remnants of the tree into which the vehicle had crashed. Shortly after arriving, the AFP journalists were told by police to leave the scene. A 19-year-old resident who gave his name as Cheng said he went to the intersection after hearing about the crash from his parents. "When I went down, the victims had already been taken away and the car was gone," he said, adding he saw lots of people and emergency vehicles in the area at about 4 pm. Spate Of Incidents China has seen a string of mass casualty incidents -- from stabbings to car attacks -- challenging its reputation for good public security. Last year a man who ploughed his car into a crowd of mostly school children in central China was handed a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve. In November 2024 the attacker named as Huang Wen repeatedly rammed his car into a crowd outside a primary school in Hunan province. When the vehicle malfunctioned and stopped, Huang got out and attacked bystanders with a weapon before being apprehended. Thirty people, including 18 pupils, sustained minor injuries. Some analysts have linked the incidents to growing anger and desperation at the country's slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified. In November last year, a man killed 35 people and wounded more than 40 when he rammed his car into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai, the country's deadliest attack in a decade. And in the same month, eight people were killed and 17 wounded in a knife attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Yixing.
