Asian funerals go green, high-tech at Hong Kong trade fair

Death is inevitable but it doesn’t have to be bad for the environment.

Caskets made of paper and wicker coffins on display at a recent Hong Kong funeral industry trade highlighted a trend toward “green burials” in an industry booming as Asia’s population rapidly ages.

Chinese businessman Alex Sun’s company, Shandong Ecoffin International, makes wicker and seagrass coffins, which first became popular in the West and are now catching on in Asia. Basket-weaving dates to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) in northeast China’s Shandong province, where Sun’s factory uses fast-growing willow reeds to make caskets that are an eco-friendly alternative to wood.

No surprise: Beijing's pick Lam chosen as Hong Kong's leader

The candidate favored by China's Communist leadership was chosen as Hong Kong's new leader on Sunday, in the first such vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the semiautonomous Chinese city's election system in 2014.

A committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites selected Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's former No. 2 official, as the financial hub's chief executive even though she was far less popular than her main rival. Lam received 67 percent of the votes cast by the 1,194-member committee.

Ex-Hong Kong leader gets 20 months in jail for misconduct

A former leader of Hong Kong was sentenced Wednesday 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 hosts Valentine's Day with 25,000 LED roses

It's like a romantic scene out of one of South Korea's sappy soap dramas — tens of thousands of illuminated roses forming an impressive backdrop for the lead actor and actress to declare their love for each other.

The Light Rose Garden, a public art installation featuring a sea of white roses made with light-emitting diode, or LED, is also a perfect venue for Valentine's Day in Hong Kong.