Dean Napolitano

22nd November 2022

China’s rise casts shadow over Hong Kong’s teeming wetlands

Semi-autonomous city’s integration with southern China has sparked fears for rural areas known for their biodiversity.

Hong Kong, China – Barry Ma peers through the lens of his high-powered telescope and raises his arm as he points in excitement.

“Here!” he says in a hushed voice. “Look here.”

Ma has spotted a pair of little grebes — a duck-like bird, but an unrelated species — swimming on a pond in Hong Kong’s wetlands, nestled in the city’s rural New Territories.

An eco-guide for the World

Nikkei Asia • 19th April 2021

Hong Kong's security law sends chill through arts community

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's national security law had just taken effect last June when the city's film censors examined "Inside the Red Brick Wall" -- a documentary about the siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University during the 2019 protests.

Nikkei Asia • 26th April 2021

'Nomadland': Chloe Zhao first Asian woman to win best director Oscar

HONG KONG -- Chloe Zhao became the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for best director on Sunday, crashing through one of Hollywood's toughest barriers with her film "Nomadland," which also won best picture.

Only two other Asian directors have won the best-director prize: Taiwan-born Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi," and Bong Joon-ho of South Korea for "Parasite."

Nikkei Asia • 25th September 2019

Running out of options, Hong Kong protesters dig in

HONG KONG -- On June 9, Jason So joined the sea of people stretching from Hong Kong's Victoria Park to its seat of government at Admiralty. On that day, more than a million people took to the streets to protest against a proposed bill allowing criminal suspects to be deported from Hong Kong to the mainland, a law that many saw as emblematic of a wider, creeping erosion of the city's treasured civil liberties.

Nikkei Asia • 15th November 2019

Hong Kong's worst week of violence gives whiff of anarchy

A fire burns behind a protester in Hong Kong's Mong Kok area on Nov. 11. This week's violence suggests tensions in the city are quickly spiraling out of control. © Reuters

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong this week witnessed the fiercest violence since the anti-government demonstrations began, as university campuses became flash points for clashes between protesters and the police.

Nikkei Asia • 25th September 2019

Beijing blames US for spreading anti-China sentiment in Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- China attempted to reshape the dialogue on what it calls the "Hong Kong situation," saying on Wednesday that foreign powers were behind the ongoing violent protests in the city.

Nikkei Asia • 16th October 2019

Hong Kong chief says protests have brought 'technical recession'

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is seen on a screen as she reacts to protests by pro-democracy lawmakers, at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on Oct. 16. © Reuters

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday said the city has slipped into a technical recession since a series of protests began in June.

WSJ • 6th March 2015

A Hong Kong Art Exhibition Looks at Dissent

In the wake of Hong Kong’s mass civil disobedience last year, an art exhibition in the city is looking at Chinese dissent—seeing it as an inseparable part of Chinese culture and society.

The show carries the title “A Hundred Years of Shame: Songs of Resistance and Scenarios for Chinese Nations,” but while that might suggest a historical survey, the show focuses on contemporary artists commenting on contemporary society.

Nikkei Asia • 28th March 2018

Hong Kong embraces its role as a global art hub

HONG KONG -- As recently as a decade ago, Hong Kong was little more than an afterthought on the international art scene. While it had established itself as an important regional hub, and major auction houses had been here for decades, Hong Kong was not a city etched on the global art schedule.

Nikkei Asia • 30th November 2018

Trump-Xi summit to set stage for Chinese stocks in 2019

Deal or no deal? Investors will be looking for an answer to that question from Saturday's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, where trade is at the top of the agenda.

Financial Times • 21st January 2018

Funerals for the 21st century: Asia's new ways to say goodbye

From drive-thru cemeteries to 'green' burials, rituals are changing with the times.

WSJ • 11th November 2010

On Location With China's Movie Industry

As movie budgets in China grow, the film industry has adopted a system that's more similar to Hollywood.

WSJ • 1st September 2011

George Clooney at Venice Film Festival: 'Ides of March'

George Clooney's eagerly awaited political fable, "The Ides of March," about a high-stakes U.S. presidential primary campaign, kicked off the Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday, drawing an enthusiastic reception from audiences.

Discovery • 27th September 2017

Daniel Wu: Hong Kong's Baddest Movie Star

For nearly two decades, Daniel Wu has been one of Hong Kong’s hottest actors. But now, he’s breaking down barriers in the countryof his birth – the US.

Currently shooting its third season, Wu’s Into the Badlands is among a handful of Asian-American-led shows that have found success on mainstream American TV, where Asian-American actors rarely land leading roles. For every Fresh Off the Boat or Master of None (which even mocked the typecasting of Indian men on American TV) there have been indiff

WSJ • 18th September 2014

Translating Emotions—'Lilting' Is a Debut Feature Film

Watching a film that enlists an interpreter to translate most of the dialogue between its two main characters is a tall order for even the most accommodating audiences. But it is the hurdle of communication that propels the drama in director Hong Khaou's feature debut, "Lilting," about an uneasy bond between two strangers who share a common grief but not a common language.

British actor Ben Whishaw plays Richard, a young man mourning the sudden death of his boyfriend and reaching out to his dec

BBC • 17th January 2016

Finding the perfect luxury fit for your feet

Why these shoes are the ultimate in tailor-made ‘stealth luxury’

In a dusty workshop in an old industrial building in Hong Kong, John CW Lau, a director at Kow Hoo Shoe Company, oversees a team of four shoemakers. The quartet, ranging in age from late 60s to 95, meticulously craft custom-made shoes for some of the city’s most prominent businessmen. While across town in one of the city’s gleaming high-end shopping centres, Jean-Michel Casalonga of Berluti is hand delivering shoes to customers an