Hong Kong

A Beijing-backed civil servant, Carrie Lam, was chosen to be Hong Kong's next leader on March 26 amid accusations that Beijing is meddling and denying the financial hub a more populist leader perhaps better able to defuse political tension.

Hong Kong has been exploring options for investments in Bulgaria in the area of infrastructure, the Deputy Representative for Economic and Trade Affairs of that Chinese region for the European Union Sam Hui told the Bulgarian National Radio.

He said that Hong Kong could play a special role and was looking for opportunities for furtherance of cooperation with partners in Bulgaria.

A former leader of Hong Kong was sentenced on Feb. 22 to 20 months in prison for misconduct after failing to disclose plans to rent a luxury apartment for his retirement from a businessman applying for a broadcasting license.

It was a stunning downfall for Donald Tsang, 72, who served as Hong Kong's leader, or chief executive, from 2005 to 2012.

Hong Kong's tough pro-Beijing number two Carrie Lam announced her bid to lead the deeply divided city on Jan. 12 after stepping down from her current post.  

Lam is deputy to Hong Kong's unpopular leader Leung Chun-ying and rose through the ranks as a career civil servant before taking public office.  

U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's will sell a controlling stake in its China and Hong Kong business for up to $2.08 billion to a consortium including state-owned Citic and the Carlyle Group, it was announced on Jan. 9.

Hong Kong's leader said Nov. 7 he would "fully implement" a ruling by Beijing which effectively bars two elected pro-independence lawmakers from the city's legislature after they deliberately misread their oaths of office.

Giant panda Jia Jia is seen eating her birthday cake made from ice and vegetables as she celebrates her 37-year-old birthday last year in Hong Kong. 

The world's oldest ever giant panda in captivity died on Oct. 16 aged 38 at a Hong Kong theme park, officials said.

Hong Kong rebel lawmakers swore, shouted, banged drums and railed against "tyranny" Oct. 12 when they took their oaths of office in the city's parliament, as calls grow for a split from Beijing.

Several pro-independence candidates won seats in Hong Kong's legislative election which saw a record turnout of 2.2 million voters in the Chinese-controlled city on Sept.4, a result likely to further strain ties with Communist Party rulers in Beijing. 

According to the latest World Competitiveness Scoreboard of the Institute for Management Development released on Monday, the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy has improved.

Bulgaria occupies the 50th position out of 61 countries ranked in the scoreboard, which is an improvement of five positions compared to last year.