Quiet Fronts

Regional desk

East Asia

Under-covered stories from East Asia, ranked by the gap between importance and coverage.

01East AsiaHK2d agoUnder-covered

Hong Kong murder suspect faces retrial after jury deadlocks on psychosis defence

A Hong Kong court has ordered a murder suspect to face a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict on whether he committed the crime while suffering from a delusion that authorities were harassing him with electromagnetic waves. The 23-day High Court trial of former software developer Matthew Choi ended with a hung jury on Wednesday. Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping discharged the seven-member panel, saying the case was not so complex as to warrant the jurors, who had debated behind closed...

Global importance87
World coverage0

1 source · no Western pickup

02East AsiaHK6d agoUnder-covered

Inside a paper coffin: how Hongkongers can prepare for the end of life

In the final instalment of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on ageing in Hong Kong, Emily Hung looks at how living funerals, advance directives and family mediation are helping older residents plan for death, as experts warn low death literacy can leave families facing conflict and emotional debt. When Hongkonger Regina Luk Sau-ying was 65, she invited 20 friends to watch her climb into a paper coffin. “I thought I was open-minded about death, but I found myself quite nervous – as if...

Global importance87
World coverage0

1 source · no Western pickup

03East AsiaCN2d agoUnder-covered

China offers Colombia quake relief as new president’s US pivot leaves Beijing waiting

China said on Wednesday it would help Colombia recover from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country’s west on Monday, killing more than 200 people. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing would do what it could in suitable ways, in line with what Colombia requested, in response to questions from Xinhua and Telesur at a briefing in Beijing. Guo said no Chinese nationals had been reported killed or injured in the disaster, and that the embassy in Bogota was “working to...

Global importance85
World coverage0

1 source · no Western pickup