Internationally, 2024 was known as the year of elections, with the United Nations estimating that half of the world’s population has headed to the ballot box over the past 12 months.
Lai Ching-te (centre) from the Democratic Progressive Party, waves at supporters during a rally in Taipei, Taiwan, on January 13, 2024, after winning the presidential election. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Taiwan’s general elections on January 13 were among the first closely watched votes, and HKFP was on the ground to report as Lai Ching-te was named president-elect, earning the ruling Democratic Progressive Party a historic third term in office.
Frozen grass at Tai Mo Shan on January 23, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
A rare white-coloured sparrow seen at Sun Yet Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun on February 9, 2024. The bird could have a genetic condition known as leucism or albinism. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
A Valentine’s Day-themed installation – part of the government’s recently announced “mega events” push to drive tourism – had internet users questioning whether it was just a lot of hot air when the government revealed it had given HK$7.8 million for the floating balloons.
A Chubby Hearts balloon pops up in Kennedy Town on February 14, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
A composite image of Tai Hang Sai Estate, in Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong, in March 2024. The handmade sign in the image on the right reads: “We want proper resettlement.” Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
On March 19, the opposition-free legislature unanimously passed homegrown security legislation, making treason, insurrection and sabotage punishable by up to life in prison, and rejecting Western criticism that the law would further restrict the city’s freedoms. The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known better as Article 23, came into effect just four days later.
Hong Kong lawmakers and government officials gather for a group photo after voting through Article 23, the city’s new security law, on March 19, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Repainted LED flowers outside the East Kowloon Cultural Centre on March 25, 2024. The HK$500,000 government-funded installation, which was originally all white, was criticised for resembling funeral flowers. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
In early April, the sold-out Hong Kong Sevens kicked off at the Hong Kong Stadium, marking the international rugby tournament’s return to pre-pandemic popularity and its swansong at the popular Causeway Bay sporting venue.
Team Hong Kong march into the field during Hong Kong Sevens at the Hong Kong Stadium, in Causeway Bay, on April 5, 2024. This year marked the final time the event was held at the Hong Kong Stadium, which is set for redevelopment. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Officials and lawmakers celebrated the topping out of the expansion of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council expansion in April. Already , the construction was deemed necessary after Hong Kong revamped its electoral system last in 2021, adding 20 seats to its 70-seat legislature but sharply reducing the number of those directly voted for by the public.
Chief Executive John Lee and lawmakers pose for photos with a roasted pig during the topping-out ceremony for the expansion of the Legislative Council headquarters on April 23, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Police officers outside Victoria Park, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on June 4, 20204, the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Formerly the site of mass vigils to remember those killed when China’s People’s Liberation Army dispersed protesters in Beijing in 1989, the park was all but empty of mourners this year, with some choosing to mark the date in more private ways.
A couple sleeps in a seaside park at Kwun Tong, June 19, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Cleaner Pattie takes a drink to cool down while working in Hong Kong’s New Territories. She shared her experience of working outdoors in extreme heat as the city sweltered through a summer that was “much hotter than usual.” Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Students celebrated the end of their secondary education on July 17, when they received the results of their Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examinations. More than 90 per cent of candidates achieved a passing grade in a new subject that replaced the city’s liberal studies curriculum.
Students at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the HKDSE public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
A farmer harvests rice under extreme heat in a paddy field in Hong Kong’s Tai Po area on July 25, 2024. Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Olympic fever gripped the city in late July, as Team Hong Kong made history in Paris, bringing home two gold and two bronze medals. Despite the time difference, Hongkongers packed out shopping malls to cheer on their favourite athletes.
People gather at a mall to watch a live stream of Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung participate in the quarter final of the Olympic Games in a shopping mall at Kwun Tong, April 29, 2024. Edgar Cheung won his second gold at the Paris Olympics. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
B-boy C Plus poses for a photo in a dance studio in Tai Kok Tsui, on July 31, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Despite criticism from green groups, the government has vowed to forge ahead with the development of San Tin Technopole, a planned tech hub that is central to its Northern Metropolis mega development on the northern edge of the city’s border with mainland China.
A construction site in Kwu Tung, in the New Territories on August 13, 2024. Shenzhen’s skyscrapers can be seen in the background. The government plans to build a Northern Metropolis – a housing and business hub – along Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, estimated to cost more than HK$224 billion. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Pok Fu Lam villagers wave a fire dragon amid a heavy downpour at Wah Fu Estate during Mid-Autumn Festival, on September 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
On September 26, two Hong Kong journalists were sentenced to jail for “conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications” after becoming the first media workers convicted for sedition since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen was handed 21 months in prison, while the outlet’s former acting chief editor Patrick Lam was initially sentenced to 14 months, but walked free due to time already served and his poor health.
Ex-Stand News acting chief editor Patrick Lam leaves District Court at 7.30 pm on September 26, after District Judge Kwok Wai-kin reduced his initial sentence for “conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications,” on health grounds and allowed him to walk free. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
In November, people gathered in a Yuen Long village to thank the deities for their blessings during the preceding decade and to look forward to peace and prosperity for the next 10 years. Falling between the 11th and 12th lunar month, this year’s festivities culminated with the burning of giant paper effigies, symbolising a fresh start for the next 10 years.
Villagers burn paper offerings at the end of the once-a-decade Jiao Festival in Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long, on November 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hong Kong’s largest national security case came to a close with the sentencing of 45 of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy figures on November 19 over their involvement in an unofficial primary election. Legal scholar Benny Tai received 10 years in prison, the longest sentence yet meted out under Beijing’s security law, while the shortest jail terms handed down were four years and two months. Several of those jailed have since announced their intention to appeal.
People shelter from the wind and rain outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on November 19, 2024, ahead of the sentencing hearing for 45 pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong’s largest national security case. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Music and arts festival Clockenflap returned from November 29 to December 1, with Japanese math-rock legends toe, Taiwan’s Gigantic Roar, and the inimitable Jack White closing out the 2024 edition of the music festival.
A concertgoer crowd surfs to Hong Kong post-hardcore band An Id Signal’s set at Clockenflap, on December 1, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
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