Some of the Future Cities Project Readers’ Group and Paper Review regulars have chosen their favourite books of 2025. If you're looking for stocking fillers, or just great books, read on.

This month marked the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China. Pro-Beijing politicians have been determined to present Hong Kong’s integration into China as a success. In particular, they have been extolling their…

Every year on 1 July, Hong Kong marks Handover Day – the anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from Britain to China. Handover Day marches were once a regular feature of Hong Kong life. But for the second year in a row, police have…

(ATF) While Covid-19 may have ravaged much of the world economy, it has failed to put a dent in demand for fine wine in Asia and globally. At recent online auctions in Hong Kong, Sotheby’s raised US$15.4 million over three days and Acker raised $7.1…

Hong Kong celebrated National Security Education Day last week. A few days later, we found out what the lesson was: you disobey the CCP and its friends at your peril. Prominent members of the pro-democracy movement such as Jimmy Lai, owner of Apple…

The Chinese Communist Party has been busy pushing through electoral and legal ‘reforms’ in Hong Kong that give it unprecedented powers. The changes to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) are designed to ensure that a chamber that at least once…

The authoritarian assault on Hong Kong is almost complete. Its democratic institutions and press have been neutered. With democrats out of the picture, sycophants have come to the fore. One pro-Beijing lawmaker has reportedly shown his devotion by…

There are many reasons put forward for justifying the offer of sanctuary to thousands of Hongkongers in Britain, ranging from colonial obligations to an envious glance at potential investment. But there is a simpler reason to admit millions of…

The coming year is likely to be a protracted stalemate between Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the stubborn elites protected by a thuggish police force. The public looks likely to keep the pressure up with more demonstrations. The democracy…

The elections in Hong Kong at the end of November swept out the establishment majority from district councils, with the opposition pro-democracy movement making unprecedented gains. But soon after the result, it became clear just how much of a battle…

The absence of any political imagination or willingness to compromise means that the government of Hong Kong has nothing to offer its population except more violence. The protesters are demanding that the autonomy of Hong Kong and universal suffrage…

Hong Kong authorities are turning to increasingly fierce and repressive measures, as their frustration at their inability to quell protest in the city mounts. The leadership has now invoked colonial-era emergency powers that many compare to martial…

Hongkongers have been a model of forbearance in the face of intense provocation from the police and their Triad gangster friends – but patience is thinning. Moreover, the consequences of police aggression are likely to go far beyond Hongkonkers’ loss…

Hong Kong’s protesters are terrorists, paedophiles or prostitutes. They are mindless vandals backed by foreign money, probably funnelled through the CIA. That’s a selection of the more hysterical smears coming from Beijing and its local allies as…

In a leaked speech to a group of businesspeople last week, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, reportedly said that if it were up to her, she would withdraw the government’s hated extradition bill that has ignited weeks of protest and unrest. In…

After several weeks of protests against Hong Kong’s controversial extradition bill, one question is on many people’s minds: how long will it be before China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) intervenes against pro-democracy protesters and the world…

In Hong Kong, the political elites are struggling to insulate themselves from popular opinion. In a remarkable turn of events, local media report that the government may delay bludgeoning through a law that threatens free expression and trashes the…

Winemaker Olivier Sublett likes to call his new rice drink a Bordeaux-style French saké. Called Le Guishu, it is gaining fans across Asia. Mischa Moselle connects with the winemaker. Rice wine from France – it’s not a phrase that trips off the tongue…

Recent research shows the consumption of cinnamon can reduce blood sugar levels but this popular spice is no magic bullet against diabetes and obesity

Charles Lewis Tiffany created the first raised setting for a diamond on a ring in 1886, setting off a trend that’s being marked with display at The Landmark in Central featuring an 8.8 carat diamond ring