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Krystal News Future Creators AI × Blender International Creative Summer Camp Concludes Successfully │ Young Creators from Multiple Countries Gather in Hong Kong to Explore AI and 3D Creation
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Partners Shenzhen University Partners with Krystal Institute Affiliate: Jointly Building a Collaborative Platform for Creative Intelligence Industries, Partnering to Create a New Future Ecosystem
Krystal News China's AI Summit Concludes: IAICC & BCON 2025, Shenzhen Dual Conferences Successfully Completed, Gathering Over 1,500 Attendees to Chart New Blueprints for Creative Intelligence
Krystal News 3D Creative Talent Showcase Competition 2025: Advancing Open-Source Education through Chinese Culture and Technological Innovation
Condolence points to be set up for Tung Chee-hwa Members of the public can pay their respects to Hong Kong's first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa by signing condolence books across the city starting on Friday. The condolence points -- Moreton Terrace Activities Centre in Causeway Bay, Kai Tak Community Hall and Sai Lau Kok Garden in Tsuen Wan --will open between 9am and 9pm on Friday and Saturday, and from 9am to noon on Sunday. Tung passed away on September 8 at the age of 89. A private vigil will take place on Saturday at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point, followed by a public memorial service on Sunday. Edited by Raymond Yeung
Universities 'compelled' to seek funding for new towns A lawmaker on Wednesday welcomed the government's financial backing for universities to set up satellite campuses in the Northern Metropolis, but said institutions still need to have long-term funding plans once they get off the ground. Under the city's Five-Year Plan, three university towns totalling more than 1,000 hectares are to be developed in the Northern Metropolis. Chief Executive John Lee has pledged land premium concessions and loans, while the institutions involved will "mobilise their reserves and/or employ flexible funding modes" such as issuing bonds to bring in market and social capital. Legislator Lau Chi-pang, also a university professor, said the move will compel institutions to find ways to finance the university towns. "The financial support will basically be sort of seed money for universities to give a start to the project. I guess universities and the government will have to put their hands together to look for money because we are talking about huge space in the Northern Metropolis," he said. "It will be a very extended period of development, so it costs quite a lot of money." The Hung Shui Kiu university town will be the pioneer among the three, with institutions scheduled to move as soon as next year. Lau said the estimate is pragmatic. "Because the Hung Shui Kiu area is good enough to provide a space for a few universities to start their business here," he said. "I guess this is a stage that wouldn't have any problem with budgeting or development." Edited by Raymond Yeung
Blueprint offers certainty, clarity: business groups Local business representatives welcomed Hong Kong's inaugural five-year plan, saying the initiatives offer strategic guidance and add certainty amid a volatile global landscape. Announcing the plan on Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee vowed to strengthen the city's status as a global offshore renminbi hub, with concerted efforts to establish a commodity trading ecosystem. Business sector lawmaker Jonathan Lamport said the blueprint aligns closely with the national 15th five-year plan and offers investors and companies an indication of which industries they can explore. "The centres are actually highly interconnected. For example, [if] you're building a commodity and gold trading ecosystem, [it] directly boosts the physical warehouses in the Northern Metropolis," he said. "That also means that we're now promoting the commodities...and gold vaults in Hong Kong. "And this is good for... how we always say, 'how to [go] from a super connector, to...a golden partner'. So people can come here, set up a company to do this kind of business." Jacob Kam, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, described the five-year blueprint is "forward-looking". "From accelerating the Northern Metropolis, driving tech innovation, and bolstering our financial core, to deepening Greater Bay Area integration...this will help drive robust economic growth and create broader opportunities for the business community, ultimately shaping a brighter future for Hong Kong," he said. Looking ahead, the chamber called for more public investment in yacht and marina infrastructure to support the growth of high-value marine tourism. The Federation of Hong Kong Industries said the five-year plan enables industries to gain a "clearer understanding" of the city's future industrial layout. "More importantly, the five-year plan and the policy address have proposed several directions closely related to industrial development," chairman Anthony Lam said. "These include accelerating the construction of the Northern Metropolis, promoting new industrialisation, developing artificial intelligence applications, building a commodity trading ecosystem, and creating high-value-added supply chain services." Lam added that the federation will identify new growth drivers and work with the sectors to improve the city's industrial competitiveness. Edited by Raymond Yeung
Evening News on TV32 - Sep 16 Top stories for Wednesday, Sep 16, 2026 - Hong Kong gets its first five-year plan, designed to make the city more open, liberal and prosperous - An economic breakthrough and a boost to Northern Metropolis development are among the goals - Baby bonuses, a water pipes upgrade and AI safety measures are among the announcements in John Lee's Policy Address
Saudi jets pound Houthis in wake of lightning advance Saudi warplanes pounded Yemen, the Houthis said on Wednesday, as the Iran-backed fighters solidified their gains after a lightning advance that has extended Tehran's reach in the Middle East war and further disrupted global oil supplies. In a sign of the worsening conflict in a new theatre, the United States tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from travelling within 32 kilometres of the Yemen border. The Houthis, who since last week have swept through Yemeni towns along the Red Sea coast and seized islands in the Bab el-Mandeb strait at its mouth, released battlefield video overnight of fighters seizing armoured vehicles from Saudi-backed forces. Warplanes flew overhead and huge explosions billowed into the sky from desert dunes. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Houthis had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. No immediate evidence was presented and Saudi officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Saree said the Saudis had carried out up to 450 air strikes on Yemen this week. Officials in the Saudi-backed government that controls southern Yemen have acknowledged that their forces and those of Saudi Arabia were conducting air strikes on Houthi positions, though Riyadh itself has not confirmed them. The Houthis have fired repeatedly into Saudi Arabia over the past week causing alarms in cities in the south and west. An attack blamed on Iran-aligned fighters in Iraq last week also knocked out Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, the main route used to divert exports away from the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. Riyadh said its air defences had shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, an attack it said crossed a "red line" of threatening shrines sacred to all Muslims. Saree denied the Houthis had targeted Mecca and said the Saudi reports were a set-up for propaganda purposes. The extension of the war into Yemen threatens to worsen the global energy supply shortage caused by the six-month-old US-Israeli war on Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The price of Brent crude hovered around US$108 a barrel on Wednesday, close to its highest level since May. The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel fuel in the United States hit another all-time high above US$6.30 a gallon for the first time. Traders say a prolonged closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline could cut off as much as four percent of global oil supply. Saudi Arabia has not said when operations might resume, but US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that crude oil should be flowing through the pipeline within days. (Reuters) Edited by Tony Sabine
Lawmakers back measures to boost childbirth Two lawmakers have voiced support for the 11 key measures announced by Chief Executive John Lee in his Policy Address to boost childbirth rates. The measures include extending the existing HK$20,000 bonus for a new baby for another three years as well as an extra HK$30,000 for every baby after the first. Parents who buy a home within one year before the baby is born or two years after the birth will receive a HK$20,000 stamp duty deduction. Judy Chan from the New People’s Party said the stamp duty deduction showed that the government is trying everything it can to support new parents. “Besides education or healthcare, I think housing is also quite a main consideration for each family. It is quite a new concept for Hong Kong to have such measure. So I think any new parents, they would definitely welcome this measure,” she said. “And I'm sure it will help a lot, at least it will send a really positive message and telling the society that the government is trying everything.” DAB lawmaker Nixie Lam said alongside the cash incentives, she was pleased to see a greater emphasis placed on childcare services. According to the Policy Address, the government will establish three new childcare centres and remove the quota for the School-based After School Care Service Scheme from the next academic year. “The bonus is one of the 'happy money', happy lai see money, but most importantly is when they go to work,” Lam said. “We're talking about 70 percent of the parents (who) are at-work parents. “They need to rely on either helpers or their parents or sometimes most importantly, if they don't have other help they need to have some sort of government-funded community childcare facilities to help them to boost that confidence to have child-bearing.” At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the chief executive explained why the latest measures are tailored towards parents who already have a child, rather than those who have chosen to remain childless or are still undecided. “I think we can help those who already have one child, then it will be much easier to encourage them to have a second child. That is why I want to put the resources at the most appropriate place, by emphasising the government policy of encouraging a second child," Lee said. Edited by Edmond Fong
Wang Yi urges Iran and US to reopen Strait of Hormuz China encourages Iran and the United States to remain rational, exercise restraint, return to the Islamabad memorandum and "engage in substantive consultations," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday. "We urge all parties to take effective measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at an early date" to safeguard the stability of international energy transport and supply chains, Wang said, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that China "does not want to see regional tensions to spill over further into Yemen and the Red Sea." He said the continued prolongation of the US-Iran conflict is not in the common interest of the parties concerned and the international community. Tehran and Washington should "rebuild the negotiation mechanism based on the consensus reached so far," Wang told Abbas Araghchi, who is on a one-day visit to Beijing. The talks between the two diplomats came a week ahead of an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that Xi and Trump would continue discussions on Iran. Beijing, the main buyer of Tehran's oil, had repeatedly stressed the need to restore normal and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but has largely refrained from directly challenging Tehran's threats to shipping. "The current situation once again demonstrates that the existing security architecture in the Middle East is inadequate and needs to be reformed and strengthened," Wang said on Wednesday. China stands ready to promote peace, fairness and justice in the region, and its policy towards Iran has remained consistent and stable, he added. (Reuters/Xinhua) Edited by Tony Sabine
Wang Yi urges Iran and US to reopen Strait of Hormuz China encourages Iran and the United States to remain rational, exercise restraint, return to the Islamabad memorandum and "engage in substantive consultations," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday. "We urge all parties to take effective measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at an early date" to safeguard the stability of international energy transport and supply chains, Wang said, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that China "does not want to see regional tensions to spill over further into Yemen and the Red Sea." He said the continued prolongation of the US-Iran conflict is not in the common interest of the parties concerned and the international community. Tehran and Washington should "rebuild the negotiation mechanism based on the consensus reached so far," Wang told Abbas Araghchi, who is on a one-day visit to Beijing. The talks between the two diplomats came a week ahead of an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that Xi and Trump would continue discussions on Iran. Beijing, the main buyer of Tehran's oil, had repeatedly stressed the need to restore normal and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but has largely refrained from directly challenging Tehran's threats to shipping. "The current situation once again demonstrates that the existing security architecture in the Middle East is inadequate and needs to be reformed and strengthened," Wang said on Wednesday. China stands ready to promote peace, fairness and justice in the region, and its policy towards Iran has remained consistent and stable, he added. (Reuters/Xinhua) Edited by Tony Sabine
