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— Jasmine Lee

On Today’s Tide

1. Art | Political cartoonist leaves Hong Kong.

2. COVID-19 | Restriction relaxation still planned for May.

3. Weather | Bad weather for the long weekend.

4. Events | Prove your art world survival skills with this board game!

Behind the paywall:

1. Bonus | What you didn’t know about Ah To.

2. Education | Penalties proposed for students who put university reputation at risk.

3. National Security Law | 11 pro-democracy figures to plead guilty to subversion.

4. Business | Hong Kong has fewer multimillionaires than before.

5. Crime | Door spitter sent to jail, upskirting study, doxxing arrest, and more.

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Political cartoonist leaves Hong Kong

Art

ah_to_hk

A post shared by 阿塗漫畫™ (@ah_to_hk)

Just a day after learning that a senior pollster left Hong Kong for the UK, pro-democracy cartoonist Ah To announced his departure to what looks like the UK (one can see London’s scenic backdrop in his latest Instagram post). Ah To is known for his satirical cartoons covering local politics over the last 11 years and has felt the pressure mounting against him and his work due to the shift in Hong Kong’s political atmosphere in recent years. On Facebook, he would not be able to continue making his art while living in HK without “great mental stress”, and he has “no alternative but to leave.”

“Thinking about my family members in Hong Kong who I may not see again, my comrades who are in jail or pending trial, the readers who have been supporting me and my wife who was forced to flee with me… I feel very guilty,”

— Ah To, political cartoonist

Other artists who have left Hong Kong for similar reasons include manga artist Tony Lu and performance artist Kacey Wong.

When Ah To wasn’t drawing satirical cartoons on politics he worked on an endearing side project, which Cyril will share behind today’s paywall.

Cross your fingers for eased restrictions next month

COVID-19

Are you ready for a summer of fewer COVID restrictions? The government will be keeping (for now) to its plan to continue letting up social distancing measures towards the end of May.

"We will continue to press ahead with the three-stage relaxation that I have announced on March 21, unless there is a sudden surge in Covid-19 infection cases, but that looks quite unlikely based on our observations and the experts' advice.”

— Chief Executive Carrie Lam

Keeping my fingers crossed for you all 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 347 additional #COVID19 cases, of which 205 were detected by nucleic acid tests and 142 were identified via rapid antigen tests

news.gov.hkHK reports 347 COVID-19 casesThe Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 347 additional COVID-19 cases, of which 205 were detected by nucleic acid tests and 142 were identified via rapid antigen tests.

12:13 PM ∙ Apr 26, 2022

COVID-19 in Hong Kong

• New cases: 347 (84 fewer than Monday)

  • 205 detected by PCR test

  • 142 detected by RATs

  • 12 imported infections

  • Deaths: 7

• Testing is required for those who were present at 40 specified places.

• Overnight lockdowns: Six COVID-19 cases were found in block 13 of Yuet Wu Villa in Tuen Mun and Cypress House of Kwong Yuen Estate in Sha Tin.

• The medical teams performing the at-home COVID vaccinations for the elderly and disabled have begun serving the 7,900 people who have already made their appointments.

• 160,000 employers are expected to apply for the upcoming round of the employment support scheme pandemic wage subsidies. Registration opens on Friday.

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Storm’s a-coming!

The weather is usually Cyril’s bit on the weekends, but this can’t wait. Expect a windy and rainy long weekend and for temperatures to go down to a low of 21 degrees by Monday as the Observatory predicts a tropical cyclone will be passing through the city.

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Events and deals

Support Harbour Times, our friends and partners by attending these events! Let everyone know who sent you by tagging @harbourtimes

• TODAY | Science Talks are Women Talks

Part 1 of Science Talks are [Women] Talks kicks off today! Join a panel of speakers this afternoon to engage in the conversation of “Women in Climate Science”. Speakers include professors from the University of Hong Kong and a senior researcher from the Centre of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology.

Date: 27 April (Wed)
Time: 4:30pm to 6:00pm (HKT) | 10:30am to 12:00pm (CET)

Register here

• THURSDAY | Board Game: Surviving the Art World

Think you have what it takes to make it in the cutthroat art world? You can prove it tomorrow night at this upcoming board game event, brought to you by Goethe-Institut Hong Kong. (tag us on Instagram and Twitter if you go @harbourtimes).

When: 28 April (Thursday), 7-9 PM

Where: Library, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong

Get your tickets

For more local events, check out yesterday’s High Tide.

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