Good morning,

Unfortunately I won’t get the chance to write High Tide on the 31st so I’ll say it now… Happy New Year everyone! It’s been an amazing six months writing High Tide, I hope you have all enjoyed it just as much as I have!

~ Sze Yu

On Today’s Tide

1. Politics | Stand News raided by police, forced to halt operations

2. COVID-19 | Hong Kong removes all quarantine exemptions for aircrew from non-mainland flights

3. Events | Celebrate a merry New Year’s Eve in the West Kowloon District’s Art Park.

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4. Crime | Hong Kong police arrest three more child protection workers for child abuse

5. Other news and updates

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Stand News raided by police, forced to halt operations

This Wednesday, more than 200 national security police raided the headquarters of pro-democracy news outlet Stand News. Seven arrests (including acting Chief Editor Patrick Lam) were made on suspicion of ‘conspiring to publish seditious publications’, and $HK 61 million worth of assets were frozen by authorities.

At least four current Stand News staff were also taken in by police for questioning. Stand News published a notice at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday announcing it was ceasing operations immediately.

Steve Li, senior superintendent of the Police National Security Department, accused Stand News of publishing “seditious materials” and lobbying foreign officials.

COVID news

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 14 additional imported #COVID19 cases involving nine men and five women

news.gov.hk14 imported virus cases foundThe Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 14 additional imported COVID-19 cases involving nine men and five women.

12:34 PM ∙ Dec 29, 2021

Coronavirus in Hong Kong

• New cases: 14 (imported)

Hong Kong removes all quarantine exemptions for aircrew from non-mainland flights

Crew working on non-mainland China passenger flights will lose all quarantine-related exemptions effective midnight on Wednesday, according to SCMP. All non-mainland flights to and from Hong Kong will have to be operated by a closed-loop aircrew, who will be required to spend up to two weeks in quarantine.

On Tuesday, the government had already instructed aircrew operating cargo flights to quarantine in a hotel for the first three days after returning to Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Zero-COVID strategy has taken an especially heavy toll on Cathay Pacific, with the global airline having suffered HK$29.2 billion in related losses over the past two years.

Countdown to 2022 in West Kowloon

Events / Exhibitions etc.

We want to make sure that what we advertise is interesting for our readers, so if you go to an event that you saw here, let us know by taking a selfie and tagging us on Twitter or Instagram ( both @harbourtimes ).

We’ll throw in a free month of Paid High Tide for yourself or a friend!

• Hong Kong WinterFest 2021

You can catch the end of the year at WinterFest in the West Kowloon Cultural District’s Art Park. It’s free for all visitors, and I hear there’s a giant Christmas tree you can get all your pics for the gram in front of.

When: 31 December, 11 AM - 6 PM (last admission at 5:30)

Where: Harbourside Lawn West, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District

• Affordable Art Gallery

Alisan Fine Arts-Aberdeen has organised an exhibition of ‘affordable art‘ for the month of December. The works of 12 artists including Cai Wen-You, Chinyee, Barbara Edelstein, and more are on display Room 2305, Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Road, Aberdeen.

The exhibition will end on 31 Dec 2021. For more information visit the event website!

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That’s all we have for you today on Free Tide!

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