Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translator Lin King won the International Booker Prize on Tuesday for “Taiwan Travelogue”, a playful postcolonial novel with a culinary bent.
Taiwanese writer Yang Shuang-zi (right), who authored “Taiwan Travelogue,” poses with her translator Lin King on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the International Booker Prize 2026 award, announcement ceremony, at Tate Modern, in central London, on May 19, 2026. Photo: Brook Mitchell/AFP.
The prestigious awa
Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translator Lin King won the International Booker Prize on Tuesday for “Taiwan Travelogue”, a playful postcolonial novel with a culinary bent.
Taiwanese writer Yang Shuang-zi (right), who authored “Taiwan Travelogue,” poses with her translator Lin King on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the International Booker Prize 2026 award, announcement ceremony, at Tate Modern, in central London, on May 19, 2026. Photo: Brook Mitchell/AFP.
The prestigious award, which was handed out in a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern gallery, recognises works of fiction from around the world that have been translated into English.
“Taiwan Travelogue” is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award, and Yang, born in 1984, is the first Taiwanese winner of the prize, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Set in 1930s Japan-controlled Taiwan, the book poses as a translation of a rediscovered Japanese travel memoir penned by fictional writer Aoyama Chizuko.
It traces Chizuko’s travels and gastronomic adventures across the colonial outpost, and the intimate relationship she develops with her Taiwanese interpreter Chizuru.
“This is a book that surprises and isn’t perhaps what it seems like on the surface,” said chair of the judges Natasha Brown.
It “pulls off an incredible double feat: it succeeds as both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel,” said Brown. “It’s a captivating, slyly sophisticated novel.”
Taiwanese writer Yang Shuang-zi poses for a photograph during an appearance at SOAS in central London on May 18, 2026, on the eve of the 2026 International Booker Prize announcement. Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP.
The book beat out a story about a suburban witch by French novelist and playwright Marie NDiaye, as well as Brazilian Ana Paula Maia’s dystopian read about a brutal prison colony.
The other shortlisted works were “The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran” by German writer Shida Bazyar, “She Who Remains” by Bulgarian poet and writer Rene Karabash, and “The Director” by German-Austrian writer Daniel Kehlmann, the only male author on the list.
Organisers say the award gives the authors writing in languages other than English a significant boost in profile and sales.
Previous winners Han Kang, Annie Ernaux and Olga Tokarczuk have gone on to become Nobel laureates.
Also a writer of manga and video game scripts, this was Yang’s first book translated into English, by Taiwanese-American King.
They will share the £50,000 (U$67,000) prize money.
The book was first published in Mandarin in 2020 and won Taiwan’s highest literary honour, the Golden Tripod Award.
“The novel’s central themes of travel and food changed my life in two obvious ways: my savings went down; my weight went up,” Yang said.
The Hong Kong government has denied any link to the high-profile UK court case after its trade officer was convicted of spying on overseas activists.
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
“From the outset, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been clearly stating that the allegations in this case are absolutely not related to the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO), nor are
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
“From the outset, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been clearly stating that the allegations in this case are absolutely not related to the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO), nor are we party to the case,” a government statement sent to the media on Friday morning read.
“We firmly oppose any unfounded allegations against the HKSAR Government and the London ETO.”
The statement was issued shortly after Bill Yuen, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, and former UK Border Force official Peter Wai were found guilty under Britain’s national security laws of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Yuen and Wai – both British-Chinese dual nationals – were accused of spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists living in Britain.
From left: Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (HKETO) official Bill Yuen and former UK Border Force officer Peter Wai. Photos: Metropolitan Police.
Among those the pair were said to have surveilled was Nathan Law, who is wanted by national security police in Hong Kong with a bounty of HK$1,000,000.
Yuen and Wai were charged in May 2024 alongside a third person, UK immigration officer Matthew Trickett. A week after Trickett was charged, he was found dead in a suspected suicide.
According to a statement by UK counter-terrorism police, published after the guilty verdict on Thursday, Yuen had been receiving tasks from Hong Kong authorities and delegating them to Wai and Trickett.
Up to 14 years jail
Yuen and Wai were found guilty by a 10-2 jury verdict on Thursday. Wai was also found guilty of misconduct in public office in relation to abusing Home Office systems while working as a border control officer.
Yuen and Wai will be sentenced on a date yet to be determined. They face up to 14 years in jail.
A Chinese national flag and a Hong Kong SAR flag in Hong Kong. Photo: GovHK.
According to the Friday statement, Hong Kong has 15 overseas ETOs in different cities, including the UK capital.
The London office maintains “close liaison with interlocutors in government, business, think tanks and various sectors to enhance the bilateral ties between Hong Kong and the UK in areas including trade, investment, and arts and culture,” it said.
After the guilty verdict, the UK said that it would summon the Chinese ambassador.
“We will continue to hold China to account and challenge them directly for actions which put the safety of people in our country at risk,” UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis said on Thursday. “That is why the Foreign Office will summon the Chinese Ambassador to make it clear activity like this was, and will always be, unacceptable on UK soil.”
In a statement issued the same day, the Chinese embassy in London condemned the verdict, saying that the UK had manipulated the judicial process as part of its “political move.”
“Its sole purpose is to embolden those anti-China elements who are hiding in the UK and bent on destabilising Hong Kong, and to smear the Chinese government and the Hong Kong SAR government,” it said.
The landmark trial of Tiananmen vigil activists neared its conclusion in May, with both defendants and prosecutors delivering their closing submissions.
Tiananmen crackdown vigil on June 4, 2019. Photo: Todd R. Darling/HKFP.
The government allocated more money to the national security fund and lashed out at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) after the NGO once again placed Hong Kong low on its annual press freedom index.
Trial of Tiananmen vigil activists
The national security trial o
The landmark trial of Tiananmen vigil activists neared its conclusion in May, with both defendants and prosecutors delivering their closing submissions.
Tiananmen crackdown vigil on June 4, 2019. Photo: Todd R. Darling/HKFP.
The government allocated more money to the national security fund and lashed out at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) after the NGO once again placed Hong Kong low on its annual press freedom index.
Trial of Tiananmen vigil activists
The national security trial of Tiananmen vigil activists Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan heard closing arguments from the defendants and the prosecution. Lee and Chow were leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.
Lee’s defence lawyer, Erik Shum, spoke before a three-judge panel on May 18, urging the court not to merely “pay lip service” to human rights protections.
He argued that calls to “end one-party rule” in China should be considered legitimate political expression.
Lee, Chow, and the Alliance are facing a charge of “inciting subversion,” an offence under the Beijing-imposed national security law, over the group’s calls to end one-party rule in China during decades of candlelight vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars.
The 2018 candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. File photo: Kris Cheng/HKFP.
The Alliance had never proposed an “action plan” to mobilise supporters to topple the CCP, the lawyer said. “In the past 30 years, there has been no evidence showing that any person acted under the Alliance’s specific instruction,” Shum said in Cantonese.
In his closing submission, prosecutor Ned Lai argued the Alliance’s calls had exceeded the legitimate boundary of freedom of expression as the defendants intended to stoke hatred against Beijing.
“We say that their behaviour had crossed the line,” he said in Cantonese. “Freedom is not absolute.”
She urged the court to safeguard the “dignity and bottom line of the law” and warned the judges not to become “accomplices” in an alleged government crackdown on free speech.
Chow said the crux of the case was whether the law protects the “perpetual rule” of the CCP or the rights of people to advocate democracy.
“Ending one-party rule means putting an end to the status quo, in which those in power are not bound by the law,” she said in Cantonese.
Barrister Erik Shum. Photo: Erik Shum’s Chambers.
Barrister Priscilia Lam. Photo: Plowman Chambers.
Senior counsel Priscilia Lam, representing the Alliance, argued the prosecution had not been able to present evidence of the group’s alleged incitement to subversion.
“What did the Alliance do to incite people to subvert state power?” Lam said in Cantonese. “I have heard nothing on this after sitting here for so long.”
The Alliance disbanded in 2021 after authorities banned the vigil for two years, citing Covid-19 restrictions, and arrested its leadership on national security allegations. Chow and Lee have been behind bars since September 2021.
Another defendant, former lawmaker Albert Ho, pleaded guilty when the trial opened in January.
The three-judge panel said they hope to deliver a verdict in “mid or late July.”
Gov’t reacts to UK trial conviction
The Hong Kong government denied any link to a high-profile UK court case after its trade officer was convicted of spying on overseas activists.
From left: Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (HKETO) official Bill Yuen and former UK Border Force officer Peter Wai. Photos: Metropolitan Police.
“From the outset, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been clearly stating that the allegations in this case are absolutely not related to the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO), nor are we party to the case,” a government statement sent to the media on May 8.
The statement was issued a day after Bill Yuen, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, and former UK Border Force official Peter Wai were found guilty under Britain’s national security laws of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Yuen and Wai – both British-Chinese dual nationals – were accused of spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists living in Britain.
Among those the pair were said to have surveilled was Nathan Law, who is wanted by Hong Kong’s national security police with a bounty of HK$1,000,000.
Wanted activist arrested in Thailand
Hong Kong authorities declined to comment on reports that an activist wanted by the city’s national security police could face deportation to China after being arrested in Thailand for allegedly overstaying her visa.
Zhang Xinyan. Screenshot: Hong Kong Parliament, via YouTube.
Responding to media queries about concerns that wanted activist Zhang Xinyan could be transferred to China, the Security Bureau said on May 11 that it would not comment on news reports about law enforcement actions in other jurisdictions.
“Endangering national security is an extremely serious crime… no fugitive should harbour the illusion that they can evade criminal liability by fleeing Hong Kong,” the bureau said in a statement.
Zhang, 54, is wanted by Hong Kong’s national security police for allegedly committing subversion, a crime under Article 23 – also known as the city’s homegrown national security law.
She is among a group of 19 activists named in a round of arrest warrants issued in July 2025, with bounties between HK$200,000 and HK$1 million.
From February to June 2025, they were allegedly involved in the “Hong Kong Parliament,” a group of overseas activists who held unofficial polls outside the city to form a shadow legislature to “pursue the ideal of Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong.”
According to Human Rights Watch, Zhang holds refugee status issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The latest allocation thus brought the total amount to HK$18 billion.
In response to Ming Pao’s enquiry, the Financial Secretary’s Office said authorities will not disclose details of the funding, citing Article 14 of the national security law. It did not respond to whether the previous HK$13 billion funding had been depleted.
Worsening press freedom, FCC survey finds
Two out of three journalists say the working environment in Hong Kong has changed “for the worse” in the past year, according to the latest survey by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, released on May 11.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.
The 2026 FCC Press Freedom Survey, which received 78 responses from members, found that “67 per cent of respondents said the working environment for them as a journalist had changed for the worse in the last 12 months.”
The FCC pointed out that the survey “happened to take place” after Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was convicted and sentenced to jail, as well as Beijing’s national security office in Hong Kong, the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS), summoned representatives of several major foreign media outlets, shortly following the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire.
One respondent said that the warning by the OSNS to foreign journalists “should be seen as a watershed moment here in Hong Kong. It has created an increased chilling effect.”
Another respondent said that the 20-year sentence handed down to Lai “only further chills the local reporting environment.”
They also hit out after German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) awarded Lai, the jailed media tycoon, a press freedom prize on April 30.
Jimmy Lai in 2020. Photo: HKFP.
In RSF’s 2026 global press freedom index, released on April 30, Hong Kong was ranked 140th out of 180 countries and territories – the same position as last year. The press freedom NGO highlighted the 20-year sentence handed down to Lai, who was convicted last year under the security law.
In response, the Hong Kong government issued a press release on May 1. It said that it “strongly condemned the attempts by an anti-China organisation and foreign media to sugarcoat the criminal acts of national security offender [Jimmy] Lai Chee-ying and to slander, smear, as well as attack the HKSAR by releasing a so-called press freedom index and presenting a so-called ‘award’. Such despicable behaviours totally disregarded the rule of law and twisted the facts, which must be strongly condemned.”
In a separate statement on the same day, the LegCo Secretariat said it “strongly condemned the release of a so-called press freedom index by a foreign media organisation and presentation of a so-called award to the national security offender Lai Chee-ying to sugarcoat his criminal acts, and smear the press freedom and rule of law” in Hong Kong.
“To make it clear once again: defending journalism is not ‘anti-China’; it is pro–press freedom,” she said on May 2. “At RSF, we stand arm in arm with Hong Kong journalists. We will not be intimidated and we continue supporting all media in Hong Kong, with the hope that one day we will see positive change and that the city will return to its golden years as an exemplar and beacon of press freedom.”
Students Wong Kit-lun, 20, and Tang Ngai-pok, 23, as well as waiter Chan Hiu-chun, 23, appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on May 15.
West Kowloon Law Courts Building. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The trio stood in the dock beside Gallian Pang and Lee Chun-sum, who were also charged with conspiring to subvert state power – an offence under the Beijing-imposed national security law – on December 15.
The five men are among a group of 10 people – nine men and one woman – arrested on December 11 and 12 for alleged “unlawful drilling” – an offence under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the homegrown national security law, also known as Article 23. The arrests marked the first time authorities had invoked the unlawful drilling offence.
Last month, the prosecution accused Wong, Tang and Chan of conspiring with Pang, Lee and “other persons unknown between November 1, 2024, and December 11, 2025, to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts to subvert the state power.”
Wong faced an additional charge of possession of child pornography, an offence under the Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance.
The prosecution also charged Lee with allegedly possessing explosives and radio communications apparatus without a licence.
Prosecution and arrests figures
As of May 1, a total of 399 people have been arrested for “cases involving suspected acts or activities that endanger national security” since Beijing’s national security law came into effect, according to the Security Bureau. That figure includes those arrested under Article 23 and for other offences.
Of the 208 people and five companies that have so far been charged, 181 people and four companies have been convicted or are awaiting sentencing.
In total, 100 people and four companies have been charged under Beijing’s national security law, with 79 persons and three companies convicted. Thirteen people have been charged under Article 23, 11 of whom have been convicted.
China’s Wu Yize won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final on Monday.
China’s Wu Yize poses with the championship trophy after his victory over England’s Shaun Murphy in the World Snooker Championship final round at The Crucible in Sheffield, northern England, on May 4, 2026. Photo: Darren Staples/AFP.
Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
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China’s Wu Yize won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final on Monday.
China’s Wu Yize poses with the championship trophy after his victory over England’s Shaun Murphy in the World Snooker Championship final round at The Crucible in Sheffield, northern England, on May 4, 2026. Photo: Darren Staples/AFP.
Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
Wu is also the second youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990.
“I have been trying to go for this for ages. For the past few months, I have been living the same life. I’m so happy that I could play well today,” Wu said.
Wu’s father and mother wiped away tears of joy before joining him for the trophy presentation.
“My parents are the true champions. Since I made the decision to drop out of school, my dad has been by my side,” Wu said.
“My mum has also been going through a lot over the years, they are the source of my strength, I love them so much.”
Asked how he will celebrate, Wu said: “I just want to have a good sleep. I have been feeling nerves all the time since before the match, so now I just want to go to bed!”
Murphy, who has lost four World Championship finals since winning in 2005, added: “I hate being right, but we had a great game in China earlier this season. I came out afterwards and said he would be world champion one day.
Chinese snooker player Wu Yezi (right) and England’s Shaun Murphy pose with the coveted trophy at the World Snooker Championship final on May 3, 2026. Photo: World Snooker Tour.
“It’s just a real shame that it was today, but I couldn’t have given it any more. I played the best shots I could. I just didn’t get my chance.”
Wu’s title march
Wu led 10-7 after Sunday’s play and was 13-12 up following the first session on Monday.
But England’s Murphy pushed Wu all the way to the finish line, levelling at 16-16 with a gritty century break.
Wu recovered from 45-0 down to record a brilliant 91 clearance to go 17-16 ahead.
He moved 43-0 up with the title in his sights, but a missed black gave Murphy the chance to draw level again with a 75 break.
The balance of power in the final frame tipped Wu’s way when Murphy left a difficult red that the Chinese player stroked into the middle pocket, kick-starting a break of 85 that took him to the title.
It was the first World Championship final to go to the deciding frame since Peter Ebdon beat Hendry 18-17 in 2002.
China’s Wu Yize poses with the championship trophy during the awards ceremony in the World Snooker Championship final at The Crucible in Sheffield, England, on May 4, 2026. Photo: World Snooker Tour, via Facebook.
From Lanzhou in the north-west of China, Wu turned professional aged 17 and made a transformative move to England three years ago to join the growing stable of Chinese players based in Sheffield.
Initially living in a windowless flat and sleeping on the same bed as his father, Wu’s switch eventually paid dividends.
Runners-up finishes at the English Open and Scottish Open in 2024 laid the foundations for the emerging star’s march to the world title.
He beat John Higgins in the International Championship last year to clinch his first ranking title.
The youngest player in the world’s top 16, his run at this year’s World Championship included eye-catching wins against Mark Selby and Mark Allen.
Ronnie O’Sullivan once labelled Wu a “more dynamic” version of the legendary Steve Davis.
Like O’Sullivan and Davis, Wu can now call himself a world champion.
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British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art whose paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, has died aged 88, his publicist announced.
British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art whose paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, has died aged 88, his publicist announced.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, state media said Friday, his first trip abroad this year after hosting a series of leaders as Beijing asserts itself as a global diplomatic superpower.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 4, 2025. File photo: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State broadcaster CCTV said Xi would visit from June 8 to 9 at the invitat
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, state media said Friday, his first trip abroad this year after hosting a series of leaders as Beijing asserts itself as a global diplomatic superpower.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 4, 2025. File photo: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State broadcaster CCTV said Xi would visit from June 8 to 9 at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his first trip to Pyongyang in seven years.
Beijing is a vital source of political and economic support to North Korea, which is one of the most diplomatically isolated countries in the world and under heavy international sanctions.
“China is meeting leaders from around the world, coordinating positions and playing a mediating role,” Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, told AFP.
“As China’s international standing rises, Beijing is likely seeking to draw Pyongyang more actively into its diplomatic orbit as a partner in advancing a more multilateral order.”
The two leaders will “exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern”, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Friday.
The visit was “an opportunity to promote the development” of bilateral relations and “make greater contributions to regional and even world peace”, Mao said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. File photo: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Pyongyang depends on China for up to 95 percent of total trade and 85 percent of its exports, according to 2022 statistics from the National Committee on North Korea, a Washington-based think tank.
But North Korea has drawn closer to Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Pyongyang sending thousands of troops and weapons to support the war effort.
In return, analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology, food and energy, helping it circumvent sanctions over its banned nuclear programmes.
Xi’s choice of Pyongyang for his first overseas trip of 2026 is “a deliberate visual rebuttal to the prevailing read in Western capitals that Pyongyang had quietly migrated into Moscow’s orbit”, said Seong-Hyon Lee from the George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations.
Managing the relationship
Xi last met Kim in September, when he invited the North Korean leader and Putin as guests of honour to a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over imperial Japan in World War II.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre), flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, walks before the military parade marking China’s 80th anniversary of Victory Day at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on September 3, 2025. Photo: The Kremlin.
In 2019, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were welcomed to North Korea with great pomp and fanfare to celebrate the two countries’ “unbreakable friendship”.
Beijing’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a visit to Pyongyang in April that China and South Korea should “enhance coordination” on international and regional issues.
China’s interests include keeping an eye on North Korea’s nuclear programme, the advancement of which is “extremely rapid”, Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) told AFP.
“This aspect needs to be managed. If North Korea acts in a provocative and belligerent manner, it could trigger regional conflict, which could run counter to China’s interests,” Hong said.
Kim vowed an “exponential” increase in nuclear military capabilities on Wednesday as he visited a new atomic facility, Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
South Korea’s foreign ministry has said it hopes exchanges between North Korea and China contribute to peace and stability, and that China can play a constructive role.
Pyongyang has repeatedly shunned efforts by the South Korean government to improve relations, calling Seoul its most “hostile” adversary.
Analysts have viewed Xi’s recent diplomatic flurry as part of attempts to position China as a stable, strategic alternative to an unpredictable United States.
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