131-478: VTech Holdings Limited (an abbreviation of Video Technology Limited or simply VTech ) is a Hong Kongese company of children's electronic learning products. It is the world's largest manufacturer of baby monitors and cordless phones . It was founded in October 1976 by Allan Wong (Chi-Yun) and Stephen Leung. The company was originally named "Video Technology Limited" in reference to the company's first product,
262-596: A home video game console . In 1991, it was renamed "VTech Holdings Limited" to reflect a wider portfolio of products. The company was first listed in Hong Kong in June 1986 under the name "Video Technology International (Holdings) Limited". It was privatised and delisted from The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 1990. VTech obtained a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1991. In 1992,
393-470: A profit warning in March 2001 and launched a broad restructuring plan. By the financial year 2002, the company had turned around the business and returned to profitability . Today, VTech's core businesses remain cordless telephones and electronic learning products. Its contract manufacturing services – which manufactures various electronic products on behalf of medium-sized companies, have also become
524-463: A proposed extradition amendment bill permitting the extradition of fugitives to mainland China. The protests are the largest in Hong Kong's history, with organisers claiming to have attracted more than three million Hong Kong residents. The Hong Kong regional government and Chinese central government responded to the protests with a number of administrative measures to quell dissent. In June 2020,
655-402: A 2021 thematic report by the Hong Kong government, after excluding foreign domestic helpers, the real number of non-Chinese ethnic minorities in the city was 301,344, or 4% of Hong Kong's population. About half the population have some form of British nationality , a legacy of colonial rule; 3.4 million residents have British National (Overseas) status, and 260,000 British citizens live in
786-721: A consequence of losing the First Opium War . The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II . The territory was handed over from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under
917-524: A diverse ecosystem; over 3,000 species of vascular plants occur in the region (300 of which are native to Hong Kong), and thousands of insect, avian, and marine species. Hong Kong has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cwa ), characteristic of southern China, despite being located south of the Tropic of Cancer , although closely bordering on a tropical climate . Summers are long, hot and humid, with occasional showers and thunderstorms and warm air from
1048-845: A four-year term. Twenty are directly elected from geographical constituencies , thirty-five represent functional constituencies (FC), and forty are chosen by an election committee consisting of representatives appointed by the Chinese central government. Thirty FC councillors are selected from limited electorates representing sectors of the economy or special interest groups, and the remaining five members are nominated from sitting district council members and selected in region-wide double direct elections . All popularly elected members are chosen by proportional representation . The 30 limited electorate functional constituencies fill their seats using first-past-the-post or instant-runoff voting. Twenty-two political parties had representatives elected to
1179-476: A key role in planning and implementing the 1996 initial public offering of a successful stock and company launch strategy. Under her guidance, the spin-off raised US$ 3 billion. Later in 1996, Fiorina was appointed president of Lucent's consumer products sector, reporting to president and chief operating officer Rich McGinn. In 1997, she was named group president for Lucent's US$ 19 billion global service-provider business, overseeing marketing and sales for
1310-647: A major source of revenue. The company has diversified geographically, selling to North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. VTech was among the pioneers of the ELP industry, beginning in 1980 with a unit designed to teach children basic spelling and mathematics . Today VTech makes both individual standalone products and platform products that combine a variety of consoles with different software . Its V.Smile TV Learning System, which
1441-606: A neat bit of accounting magic, money from the loans began to appear on Lucent's income statement as new revenue while the dicey debt got stashed on its balance sheet as an allegedly solid asset". Lucent's stock price grew 10-fold. In 1997, Lucent acquired Milpitas -based voicemail market leader Octel Communications Corporation for $ 1.8 billion, a move which immediately rendered the Business Systems Group profitable. The same year, Lucent acquired Livingston Enterprises Inc. for $ 650 million in stock. Livingston
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#17327904558131572-491: A neutral zone to safeguard its status as a free port. The colonial government prepared for a possible attack, evacuating all British women and children in 1940. The Imperial Japanese Army attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 , the same morning as its attack on Pearl Harbor . Hong Kong was occupied by Japan for almost four years before the British resumed control on 30 August 1945. Its population rebounded quickly after
1703-498: A premium; the newly combined entity would have been headquartered in Murray Hill. However, these negotiations collapsed when Schacht insisted on an equal 7–7 split of the merged company's board of directors, while Alcatel chief executive officer Serge Tchuruk wanted 8 of the 14 board seats for Alcatel due to it being in a stronger position. The failure of the merger talks caused Lucent's share price to collapse, and by October 2002
1834-409: A second language. Slightly over half the population (58.7%) speaks English , the other official language; 4.6% are native speakers, and 54.1% speak English as a second language. Code-switching , mixing English and Cantonese in informal conversation, is common among the bilingual population. Post-handover governments have promoted Mandarin , which is currently about as prevalent as English; 54.2% of
1965-531: A series of protests in 2014 which became known as the Umbrella Revolution. Discrepancies in the electoral registry and disqualification of elected legislators after the 2016 Legislative Council elections and enforcement of national law in the West Kowloon high-speed railway station raised further concerns about the region's autonomy. In June 2019, mass protests erupted in response to
2096-464: A series of 8-bit TRS-80 competition computers named the Laser 200, 210, and 310, as well as a series of IBM PC compatibles both beginning in 1983, followed by Apple II compatible computers, beginning in 1985, including a model called Laser 128 . After acquiring PC manufacturer Leading Technology of Oregon in 1992, VTech exited the personal computer market in 1997 due to tight competition. In 1985,
2227-432: A severe amount of income inequality, which has risen since the handover, as the region's ageing population has gradually added to the number of nonworking people. Although median household income steadily increased during the decade to 2021, the wage gap remained high; the 90th percentile of earners receive 41% of all income. The city has the most billionaires per capita, with one billionaire per 109,657 people, as well as
2358-503: A small inlet located between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Although the source of the romanised name is unknown, it is generally believed to be an early phonetic rendering of the Cantonese (or Tanka Cantonese ) phrase hēung góng . The name translates as "fragrant harbour" or "incense harbour". "Fragrant" may refer to
2489-445: A year later after it garnered only 2% market share in mobile phones. Losses were at $ 500 million on sales of $ 2.5 billion. As a result of the failed joint venture, Philips announced the closure of one-quarter of the company's 230 factories worldwide, and Lucent closed down its wireless handset portion of the venture. Analysts suggested that the joint venture's failure was due to a combination of technology and management problems. Upon
2620-431: Is a special administrative region of China , with executive, legislative, and judicial powers devolved from the national government . The Sino-British Joint Declaration provided for economic and administrative continuity through the handover, resulting in an executive-led governing system largely inherited from the territory's history as a British colony. Under these terms and the "one country, two systems" principle,
2751-564: Is also a character in Dante's epic poem Inferno . Shortly after the Lucent renaming in 1996, Lucent's Plan 9 project released a development of their work as the Inferno OS in 1997. This extended the 'Lucifer' and Dante references as a series of punning names for the components of Inferno - Dis , Limbo , Charon and Styx (9P Protocol) . When the rights to Inferno were sold in 2000,
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#17327904558132882-477: Is consistently in high demand . Hong Kong is a highly developed territory and has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.956, ranking fourth in the world and currently the only place in Asia to be in the top 5. The city has the highest life expectancy in the world , and a public transport usage exceeding 90 per cent. The name of the territory, first romanised as "He-Ong-Kong" in 1780, originally referred to
3013-410: Is governed by a hybrid regime that is not fully representative of the population. Legislative Council members elected by functional constituencies composed of professional and special interest groups are accountable to these narrow corporate electorates and not the general public. This electoral arrangement has guaranteed a pro-Beijing camp majority in the legislature since the handover. Similarly,
3144-589: Is shared or sold to third parties and how the company complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act . In February 2016, Hunt publicized the fact that VTech had modified its Terms and Conditions for new customers so that the customer acknowledges and agrees that any information transmitted to VTech may be intercepted or later acquired by unauthorized parties. In January 2018 the US Federal Trade Commission fined VTech $ 650,000 for
3275-420: Is the ninth most traded currency in the world. Home to the seventh-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, Hong Kong has the largest number of ultra high-net-worth individuals . Although the city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, severe income inequality exists among the population. Despite being the city with the most skyscrapers in the world , housing in Hong Kong
3406-542: The Basic Law of Hong Kong for 50 years after the handover. It does not specify how Hong Kong will be governed after 2047, and the central government's role in determining the territory's future system of government is the subject of political debate and speculation. Hong Kong's political and judicial systems may be integrated with China's at that time, or the territory may continue to be administered separately. However, in response to large-scale protests in 2019 and 2020 ,
3537-591: The Basic Law of Hong Kong is the regional constitution. The regional government is composed of three branches: The chief executive is the head of government and serves for a maximum of two five-year terms. The State Council (led by the Premier of China ) appoints the chief executive after nomination by the Election Committee , which is composed of 1500 business, community, and government leaders. The Legislative Council has 90 members, each serving
3668-604: The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference appointed by the central government. Chinese national law does not generally apply in the region, and Hong Kong is treated as a separate jurisdiction. Its judicial system is based on common law , continuing the legal tradition established during British rule. Local courts may refer to precedents set in English law and overseas jurisprudence. However, mainland criminal procedure law applies to cases investigated by
3799-563: The Chinese central government 's adherence to the "one country, two systems" principle. After reversal of the last colonial era Legislative Council democratic reforms following the handover, the regional government unsuccessfully attempted to enact national security legislation pursuant to Article 23 of the Basic Law . The central government decision to implement nominee pre-screening before allowing chief executive elections triggered
3930-746: The Columbus, Ohio facility without employees. In the prior year. the warehouse building had closed for consolidation of facilities and cost reduction. During its expansion in the late 1990s, Lucent commissioned several large office buildings. The architectural firm, Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo, and Associates (KRJDA) designed five structures clad in energy-efficient, tinted, low-E glass. To meet customer and business needs, further locations were built and leased for Lucent, rather than built as corporate assets. At September, 1997 Lucent reported that future non-cancelable lease payments totaled $ 1,037 million. Many of
4061-451: The Enso , turned 90 degrees and modified. Another source says it represents the mythic ouroboros , a snake holding its tail in its mouth. Lucent's logo also has been said to represent constant re-creating and re-thinking. Carly Fiorina picked the logo because her mother was a painter and she rejected the sterile geometric logos of most high tech companies. After the logo was compared in
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4192-670: The Former Marine Police Headquarters was redeveloped into a commercial and retail complex, and Béthanie (built in 1875 as a sanatorium ) houses the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts . The Tin Hau Temple , dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu (originally built in 1012 and rebuilt in 1266), is the territory's oldest existing structure. The Ping Shan Heritage Trail has architectural examples of several imperial Chinese dynasties, including
4323-566: The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights said the working conditions in the VTech factories in China failed to meet the legal standards and could be described as sweatshops . VTech strongly rejected the allegations in a statement issued on 22 June 2012. In November 2015, Lorenzo Bicchierai, writing for Vice magazine's Motherboard , reported that VTech's servers had been compromised and
4454-803: The Middle Neolithic period, about 6,000 years ago, the region had been widely occupied by humans. Neolithic to Bronze Age Hong Kong settlers were semi-coastal people. Early inhabitants are believed to be Austronesians in the Middle Neolithic period and later the Yue people. As hinted by the archaeological works in Sha Ha, Sai Kung, rice cultivation had been introduced since Late Neolithic period. Bronze Age Hong Kong featured coarse pottery, hard pottery, quartz and stone jewelry, as well as small bronze implements. The Qin dynasty incorporated
4585-734: The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR . Interpretative and amending power over the Basic Law and jurisdiction over acts of state lie with the central authority, making regional courts ultimately subordinate to the mainland's socialist civil law system. Decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress override any territorial judicial process. Furthermore, in circumstances where
4716-717: The People's Liberation Army is responsible for the region's defence. Although the Chairman of the Central Military Commission is supreme commander of the armed forces, the regional government may request assistance from the garrison. Hong Kong residents are not required to perform military service, and current law has no provision for local enlistment, so its defence is composed entirely of non-Hongkongers. The central government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle diplomatic matters, but Hong Kong retains
4847-595: The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance was passed by the Legislative Council to grant officials "even more powers to crack down on opposition to Beijing and the Hong Kong government" and includes penalties such as life imprisonment for political crimes such as treason and insurrection . Critics state that this expansion "will strike a lasting blow to the partial autonomy the city had been promised by China [in
4978-713: The Shanghai Street shophouses in Mong Kok . Mass-produced public-housing estates , built since the 1960s, are mainly constructed in modernist style . The Census and Statistics Department estimated Hong Kong's population at 7,413,070 in 2021. The overwhelming majority (91.6%) is Han Chinese , most of whom are Taishanese , Teochew , Hakka , and other Cantonese peoples . The remaining 8.4% are non-ethnic Chinese minorities, primarily Filipinos , Indonesians , and South Asians . However, most Filipinos and Indonesians in Hong Kong are short-term workers. According to
5109-502: The Sino-British Joint Declaration ]." Hong Kong's administrative divisions are divided into three levels: Areas (區域), Districts (地區), and Sub-districts (分區). Hong Kong is administratively divided into three areas: Hong Kong Island , Kowloon , and the New Territories . They are further divided into 18 districts. The area of Hong Kong Island has four districts, the area of Kowloon has five districts, and
5240-457: The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the controversial Hong Kong national security law . The law criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign elements and establishes the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR, an investigative office under Central People's Government authority immune from HKSAR jurisdiction. Some of
5371-615: The Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda (Hong Kong's only remaining pagoda). Tong lau , mixed-use tenement buildings constructed during the colonial era, blended southern Chinese architectural styles with European influences. These were especially prolific during the immediate post-war period, when many were rapidly built to house large numbers of Chinese migrants. Examples include Lui Seng Chun , the Blue House in Wan Chai , and
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5502-566: The central government in Beijing in June 2020 resulted in the suspension of bilateral extradition treaties by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, and Ireland. The United States ended its preferential economic and trade treatment of Hong Kong in July 2020 because it was no longer able to distinguish Hong Kong as a separate entity from the People's Republic of China. In 2024,
5633-442: The lean manufacturing of products and excellence in work methods. In June 2002, Lucent announced closure of the manufacturing building by the end of the year, due to the telecommunication losses in operations. Of the remaining 530 employees at the facility. 170 were employee layoffs and the other 360 employees would mostly transfer to Lucent's Whippany, New Jersey location. The manufacturing of cell based systems would transfer to
5764-407: The second-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, the highest number of billionaires of any city in Asia, and the largest concentration of ultra high-net-worth individuals of any city in the world. Despite government efforts to reduce the growing disparity, median income for the top 10% of earners is 57 times that of the bottom 10%. Lucent Lucent Technologies, Inc.
5895-412: The security vulnerabilities with the journalist and detailed the breach. Bicchierai then reached out to information security researcher Troy Hunt to examine data provided by the attacker to Bicchierai, and to confirm if the leak was indeed authentic and not an internet hoax . Hunt examined the information and confirmed it appeared to be authentic. Hunt then dissected the data in detail and published
6026-730: The tallest buildings in Hong Kong and are among the tallest in the Asia-Pacific region. Other distinctive buildings lining the Hong Kong Island skyline include the HSBC Main Building , the anemometer -topped triangular Central Plaza , the circular Hopewell Centre , and the sharp-edged Bank of China Tower . Demand for new construction has contributed to frequent demolition of older buildings, freeing space for modern high-rises. However, many examples of European and Lingnan architecture are still found throughout
6157-636: The 1279 Battle of Yamen by the Yuan Dynasty. By the end of the Yuan dynasty , seven large families had settled in the region and owned most of the land. Settlers from nearby provinces migrated to Kowloon throughout the Ming dynasty . The earliest European visitor was Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares , who arrived in 1513. Portuguese merchants established a trading post called Tamão in Hong Kong waters and began regular trade with southern China. Although
6288-452: The 1980s and CMS became one of the company's core businesses in the early 2000s. VTech has been identified as one of the world's top 50 electronics manufacturing services providers, providing electronics manufacturing services for medium-sized companies. VTech's CMS has focused on four main product categories: professional audio equipment, switching mode power supplies , wireless products, and solid-state lighting . A June 2012 report from
6419-781: The Hong Kong area into China for the first time in 214 BCE, after conquering the indigenous Baiyue . The region was consolidated under the Nanyue kingdom (a predecessor state of Vietnam ) after the Qin collapse and recaptured by China after the Han conquest . During the Mongol conquest of China in the 13th century, the Southern Song court was briefly located in modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site) before its final defeat in
6550-599: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Earliest known human traces in what is now Hong Kong are dated by some to 35,000 and 39,000 years ago during the Paleolithic period. The claim is based on an archaeological investigation in Wong Tei Tung , Sai Kung in 2003. The archaeological works revealed knapped stone tools from deposits that were dated using optical luminescence dating . During
6681-406: The Legislative Council and the requirement that all candidates be vetted and approved by a Beijing-appointed Candidate Eligibility Review Committee . In May 2023, the Legislative Council also introduced legislation to reduce the number of directly elected seats in the district councils, and a District Council Eligibility Review Committee was similarly established to vet candidates. Hong Kong
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#17327904558136812-548: The Legislative Council in the 2016 election . These parties have aligned themselves into three ideological groups: the pro-Beijing camp (the current government), the pro-democracy camp , and localist groups . The Chinese Communist Party does not have an official political presence in Hong Kong, and its members do not run in local elections. Hong Kong is represented in the National People's Congress by 36 deputies chosen through an electoral college and 203 delegates in
6943-510: The Legislative Council passed the National Anthem Ordinance , which criminalised "insults to the national anthem of China". The Chinese central government meanwhile enacted the Hong Kong national security law to help quell protests in the region. Nine months later, in March 2021, the Chinese central government introduced amendments to Hong Kong's electoral system , which included the reduction of directly elected seats in
7074-503: The New Territories. Much of this is built on reclaimed land ; 70 km (27 sq mi) (6% of the total land or about 25% of developed space in the territory) is reclaimed from the sea. Undeveloped terrain is hilly to mountainous, with very little flat land, and consists mostly of grassland, woodland, shrubland, or farmland. About 40% of the remaining land area is country parks and nature reserves. The territory has
7205-478: The Philippines and Indonesia, have little protection under regional law. Although they live and work in Hong Kong, these workers are not treated as ordinary residents and do not have the right of abode in the territory. Sex trafficking is also an issue, local, mainland Chinese, and foreign women have been trafficked for sex in brothels , homes, and businesses in the city. The Joint Declaration guarantees
7336-538: The Standing Committee declares a state of emergency in Hong Kong, the State Council may enforce national law in the region. The territory's jurisdictional independence is most apparent in its immigration and taxation policies. The Immigration Department issues passports for permanent residents which differ from those of the mainland or Macau, and the region maintains a regulated border with
7467-643: The US, which were sold under the RadioShack brand. VTech then began to build its own brand. Starting in the early 1980s, a line of electronic games would be manufactured. VTech unveiled its first electronic learning product, called Lesson One, at the New York Toy Fair, in February 1980. It taught children basic spelling and maths. An exclusive version under the name Computron was offered to Sears , with
7598-521: The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated the frequency band 900 MHz to ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) devices. Taking advantage of this, VTech began development on a cordless telephone, using the 900 MHz band, and in 1991 introduced the world's first fully digital 900 MHz cordless telephone. In 2000, to expand its cordless phone business, VTech acquired
7729-747: The ability to maintain separate economic and cultural relations with foreign nations . The territory actively participates in the World Trade Organization , the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the International Olympic Committee , and many United Nations agencies. The regional government maintains trade offices in Greater China and other nations. The imposition of the Hong Kong national security law by
7860-586: The aforementioned acts were previously considered protected speech under Hong Kong law. The United Kingdom considers the law to be a serious violation of the Joint Declaration. In October 2020, the Hong Kong Police arrested seven pro- democracy politicians over tussles with pro-Beijing politicians in the Legislative Council in May. They were charged with contempt and interfering with members of
7991-505: The agreement. After more than a year of further hostilities, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded to the United Kingdom in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking . Administrative infrastructure was quickly built by early 1842, but piracy, disease, and hostile Qing policies initially prevented the government from attracting commerce. Conditions on the island improved during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s, when many Chinese refugees, including wealthy merchants, fled mainland turbulence and settled in
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#17327904558138122-399: The area of the New Territories has nine districts. Each district is represented by a district council . The district councils advise the government on local issues such as public facility provisioning, community programme maintenance, cultural promotion, and environmental policy. As of 2024, there are a total of 470 district council seats, 88 of which are directly elected. In May 2023,
8253-462: The areas of telephone switching , optical, data and wireless networking. In 2004, the SEC charged Lucent with a $ 25 million fine for the company's lack of cooperation in their fraud case. On April 2, 2006, Lucent announced a merger agreement with Alcatel, which was 1.5 times the size of Lucent. Serge Tchuruk became non-executive chairman, and Russo served as CEO of the newly merged company, Alcatel-Lucent, until they were both forced to resign at
8384-434: The breach, around $ 0.09 per victim. Hong Kong Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China . With 7.4 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island in 1841–1842 as
8515-415: The capacity to serve this market. Patricia Russo , formerly Lucent's EVP of the Corporate Office who then left for Eastman Kodak to serve as COO, was named permanent chairman and CEO of Lucent in 2002, succeeding Schacht who remained on the board of directors. Lucent was reduced to 30,500 employees, down from about 165,000 employees at its zenith. The layoffs of so many experienced employees meant that
8646-1041: The chief executive is selected by establishment politicians and corporate members of the Election Committee rather than directly elected. Despite universal suffrage being established as ultimate goals for the election of the chief executive and all members of the Legislative Council in Articles 45 and 68 of the basic law, the legislature is only partially directly elected, and the executive continues to be nominated by an unrepresentative body. The government has been repeatedly petitioned to introduce direct elections for these positions, but has not introduced these direct elections as of 2024. Ethnic minorities (except those of European ancestry) have marginal representation in government and often experience discrimination in housing, education, and employment. Employment vacancies and public service appointments frequently have language requirements which minority job seekers do not meet, and language education resources remain inadequate for Chinese learners. Foreign domestic helpers , mostly women from
8777-511: The colony. Further tensions between the British and Qing over the opium trade escalated into the Second Opium War . The Qing were again defeated and forced to give up Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island in the Convention of Peking . By the end of this war, Hong Kong had evolved from a transient colonial outpost into a major entrepôt . Rapid economic improvement during the 1850s attracted foreign investment, as potential stakeholders became more confident in Hong Kong's future. The colony
8908-433: The colour of soil over which a waterfall on the island flowed. The simplified name Hong Kong was frequently used by 1810. The name was also commonly written as the single word Hongkong until 1926, when the government officially adopted the two-word name. Some corporations founded during the early colonial era still keep this name, including Hongkong Land , Hongkong Electric Company , Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels and
9039-401: The company Vita Nuova Holdings was formed to represent them. This continues the Dante theme, although moving away from his Divine Comedy to the poem La Vita Nuova . The Lucent logo , the Innovation Ring, was designed by Landor Associates , a prominent San Francisco-based branding consultancy. One source inside Lucent says that the logo is a Zen Buddhist symbol for "eternal truth",
9170-420: The company created its first home TV game console, a version of Pong . Since only consumers in North America and Europe could afford such items, the company targeted primarily these markets. The United Kingdom was chosen as the first market for Pong, as Hong Kong and the UK used the same standard for television systems . In 1978, the founders introduced LED games they had developed to buyers from RadioShack in
9301-429: The company disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had a $ 125 million accounting error for the third quarter of 2000, and by December 2000 it reported it had overstated its revenues for its latest quarter by nearly $ 700 million. Although no wrongdoing was found on his part, McGinn was forced to resign as CEO and he was replaced by Schacht on an interim basis. Subsequently, its CFO, Deborah Hopkins, left
9432-617: The company in May 2001 with Lucent's stock at $ 9.06 whereas at the time she was hired it was at $ 46.82. In August 2001, Lucent shut down Chromartis. In 2000, Lucent received the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing at the Mount Olive, New Jersey Product Realization Center. In 2001 there were merger discussions between Lucent and Alcatel , which would have seen Lucent acquired at its current market price without
9563-566: The company relisted on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, establishing a dual primary listing with London. In 1993, the company established its American depositary receipt programme. VTech was delisted voluntarily from the London Stock Exchange on 7 October 2008. It also terminated its American Depositary Receipt programme with effect from 21 January 2011. VTech was founded in Hong Kong in October 1976 by two local entrepreneurs, Allan Wong (Chi-Yun) and Stephen Leung. When
9694-452: The company was in a weakened position and unable to re-establish itself when the market recovered in 2003. By early 2003, Lucent's market value was $ 15.6 billion (which includes $ 6.8 billion of current value for two companies that Lucent had recently spun off, Avaya and Agere Systems), making the shares worth around $ 2.13, a far cry from its dotcom bubble peak of around $ 84, when Lucent was worth $ 258 billion. Lucent continued to be active in
9825-550: The company's handling of the incident and called their FAQ "wishy-washy corporate speak". U.S. Senator Edward Markey and Representative Joe Barton , co-founders of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, issued an open letter to the company inquiring as to why and what kind of information belonging to children is stored by VTech and how they use this data, security practices employed to protect that data if children's information
9956-407: The company's largest customer segment. That year, Fiorina chaired a US$ 2.5 billion joint venture between Lucent's consumer communications and Royal Philips Electronics , under the name Philips Consumer Communications (PCC). The focus of the venture was to bring both companies to the top three in technology, distribution, and brand recognition. Ultimately, the project struggled, and dissolved
10087-533: The consumer telephone business of Lucent Technologies . The acquisition also gave VTech the exclusive right for 10 years to use the AT&;T brand in conjunction with the manufacture and sale of wireline telephones and accessories in the United States and Canada. Although the acquisition increased sales of VTech's telecommunication products by 50%, it led to operating losses and write-offs . The company issued
10218-411: The corporation was victim to a data breach which exposed personal data belonging to 6.3 million individuals, including children, who signed up for or utilized services provided by the company related to several products it manufactures. Bicchierai was contacted by the unnamed attacker in late November, during the week before Thanksgiving , at which point the unnamed individual disclosed information about
10349-590: The council, while none of the pro-Beijing lawmakers were detained. Annual commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre were also cancelled amidst fears of violating the national security law. In March 2021, the Chinese central government unilaterally changed Hong Kong's electoral system and established the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee , which would be tasked with screening and evaluating political candidates for their "patriotism", effectively crushing
10480-470: The end of 2008. The merger failed to produce the expected synergies, and there were significant write-downs of Lucent's assets that Alcatel purchased. Lucent was divided into several core groups: The Murray Hill facility in New Providence, New Jersey was the global headquarters for Lucent Technologies. The building has the largest copper-clad roof in the world. There was a cricket field in
10611-404: The end of the New Territories lease approached, and Governor Murray MacLehose raised the question of Hong Kong's status with Deng Xiaoping in 1979. Diplomatic negotiations with China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration , in which the United Kingdom agreed to the handover of the colony in 1997 and China would guarantee Hong Kong's economic and political systems for 50 years after
10742-400: The end of the joint venture, PCC sent 5,000 employees back to Philips, many of which were laid off, and 8,400 employees back to Lucent. Under Fiorina, the company added 22,000 jobs and revenues seemed to grow from US$ 19 billion to US$ 38 billion. However, the real cause of Lucent spurring sales under Fiorina was by lending money to their own customers. According to Fortune magazine, "In
10873-414: The findings on his website. According to Hunt, VTech's servers failed to utilize basic SSL encryption to secure the personal data in transit from the devices to VTech's servers; that VTech stored customer information in unencrypted plaintext , failed to securely hash or salt passwords. The attack leveraged an SQL injection to gain privileged root access to VTech servers. Once privileged access
11004-403: The first of a string of announcements that it had missed its quarterly estimates, as CEO Rich McGinn grimly announced that Lucent had run into special problems during that quarter—including disruptions in its optical networking business—and reported flat revenues and a big drop in profits. That caused the stock to plunge by 28%, shaving $ 64 billion off of the company's market capitalization. When it
11135-519: The first single-chip microprocessor , the Intel 4004 , became available in the early 1970s, the company saw the potential it offered for portable consumer electronics products. Wong & Leung set up a small factory in To Kwa Wan , with a US$ 40,000 investment and a staff of 40 people. In the first year, turnover was less than $ 1 million. VTech initially focused on developing video games . In 1977,
11266-467: The following production metrics and lean manufacturing statistics: product-development cycle time reduced over 50%, material cost reduced 43%, cost of goods by 68%, assembly productivity increased close to 150%, assembly defects reduced by 80%, manufacturing inventory reduced 70%, and 100% on-time delivery. The facility introduced several self-managed work teams called PODs (Production On Demand) to assemble and test 50 Flexent Modcells daily. The location
11397-572: The government proposed reforms to the District Council electoral system which further cut the number of directly elected seats from 452 to 88, and total seats from 479 to 470. A requirement that district council candidates be vetted and approved by the District Council Eligibility Review Committee was also proposed. The Legislative Council approved the reforms in July 2023. Hong Kong
11528-405: The grounds. The Murray Hill anechoic chamber , built in 1940, is the world's oldest wedge-based anechoic chamber. The interior room measures approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) high by 28 feet (8.5 m) wide by 32 feet (9.8 m) deep. The exterior concrete and brick walls are about 3 feet (0.91 m) thick to keep outside noise from entering the chamber. The chamber absorbs over 99.995% of
11659-418: The handover. The impending handover triggered a wave of mass emigration as residents feared an erosion of civil rights, the rule of law, and quality of life. Over half a million people left the territory during the peak migration period, from 1987 to 1996. The Legislative Council became a fully elected legislature for the first time in 1995 and extensively expanded its functions and organisations throughout
11790-571: The incident acoustic energy above 200 Hz. At one time the Murray Hill chamber was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's quietest room. It is possible to hear the sounds of skeletal joints and heart beats very prominently. The Mount Olive Product Realization Center (MTO-PRC) facility in Mount Olive, New Jersey was part of the Wireless Networks Group business unit. The 252,000 square-feet building
11921-433: The journalist. Commenting on the leak, the unidentified hacker expressed their disgust with being able to so easily obtain access to such a large trove of data, saying: "Frankly, it makes me sick that I was able to get all this stuff. VTech should have the book thrown at them" and explained their rationale for going to the press was because they felt VTech would have ignored their reports and concerns. VTech corporate security
12052-401: The last years of the colonial rule. The handover of Hong Kong to China was at midnight on 1 July 1997, after 156 years of British rule. Immediately after the handover, Hong Kong was severely affected by several crises. The Hong Kong government was forced to use substantial foreign exchange reserves to maintain the Hong Kong dollar's currency peg during the 1997 Asian financial crisis , and
12183-536: The maritime area is included) consists of Hong Kong Island , the Kowloon Peninsula , the New Territories , Lantau Island , and over 200 other islands. Of the total area, 1,073 km (414 sq mi) is land and 35 km (14 sq mi) is water. The territory's highest point is Tai Mo Shan , 957 metres (3,140 ft) above sea level. Urban development is concentrated on the Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong Island, and in new towns throughout
12314-467: The media to the ring a coffee mug leaves on paper, a Dilbert comic strip showed Dogbert as an overpaid consultant designing a new company logo; he takes a piece of paper that his coffee cup was sitting on and calls it the "Brown Ring of Quality". A telecommunication commentator referred to the logo as "a big red zero" and predicted financial losses. One of the primary reasons AT&T Corporation chose to spin off its equipment manufacturing business
12445-735: The north and occasionally result in chilly weather. Autumn is the sunniest season, whilst spring is generally cloudy. Snowfall has been extremely rare in Hong Kong; the last reported instance was on Tai Mo Shan in 1975. Hong Kong averages 1,709 hours of sunshine per year. Historic temperature extremes at the Hong Kong Observatory are 36.6 °C (97.9 °F) on 22 August 2017 and 0.0 °C (32.0 °F) on 18 January 1893. The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in all of Hong Kong are 39.0 °C (102 °F) at Wetland Park on 22 August 2017, and −6.0 °C (21.2 °F) at Tai Mo Shan on 24 January 2016 . Hong Kong has
12576-484: The opium trade. The commissioner destroyed opium stockpiles and halted all foreign trade, triggering a British military response and the First Opium War . The Qing surrendered early in the war and ceded Hong Kong Island in the Convention of Chuenpi . British forces began controlling Hong Kong shortly after the signing of the convention, from 26 January 1841. However, both countries were dissatisfied and did not ratify
12707-415: The passwords had been encrypted, which is contrary to reports by the independent security researcher contacted by Vice . The company indicated they were working with unspecified "local authorities". VTech subsequently brought in the information security services company FireEye to manage incident response and audit the security of their platform going forward. Mark Nunnikhoven of Trend Micro criticized
12838-591: The population speak Mandarin, with 2.3% native speakers and 51.9% as a second language. Traditional Chinese characters are used in writing, rather than the simplified characters used in the mainland . Among the religious population, the traditional " three teachings " of China, Buddhism , Confucianism , and Taoism , have the most adherents (20%), followed by Christianity (12%) and Islam (4%). Followers of other religions, including Sikhism , Hinduism , and Judaism , generally originate from regions where their religion predominates. Life expectancy in Hong Kong
12969-440: The post-war decades to provide safer housing, integrity in the civil service, and more reliable transportation. Nevertheless, widespread public discontent resulted in multiple protests from the 1950s to 1980s, including pro- Republic of China and pro- Chinese Communist Party protests. In the 1967 Hong Kong riots , pro- PRC protestors clashed with the British colonial government. As many as 51 were killed and 802 were injured in
13100-412: The principle of one country, two systems . Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages, the territory is now one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports. Hong Kong is the world's third-ranked global financial centre (behind New York City and London ), ninth-largest exporter, and eighth-largest importer. Its currency, the Hong Kong dollar ,
13231-518: The product being prominently advertised by Sears, in its catalogue, which was a popular shopping guide. Next, VTech made the video game console CreatiVision . An electronic product with an external projector from French company Ludotronic was adapted by VTech and sold as the VTech ProScreen in 1984, following the release of VTech's Gamate and Variety handheld products the year prior. VTech then branched out into personal computers , including
13362-476: The recovery from this was muted by an H5N1 avian-flu outbreak and a housing surplus. This was followed by the 2003 SARS epidemic , during which the territory experienced its most serious economic downturn. Chinese communists portrayed the return of Hong Kong as key moment in the PRC's rise to great power status. Political debates after the handover have centred around the region's democratic development and
13493-543: The region into a wasteland. The Kangxi Emperor lifted the maritime trade prohibition, allowing foreigners to enter Chinese ports in 1684. Qing authorities established the Canton System in 1757 to regulate trade more strictly, restricting non-Russian ships to the port of Canton . Although European demand for Chinese commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain was high, Chinese interest in European manufactured goods
13624-731: The remainder of the Pro-Democracy camp . Hong Kong is on China's southern coast, 60 km (37 mi) east of Macau, on the east side of the mouth of the Pearl River estuary . It is surrounded by the South China Sea on all sides except the north, which neighbours the Guangdong city of Shenzhen along the Sham Chun River . The territory's 1,110.18 km (428.64 sq mi) area (2,754.97 km if
13755-412: The rest of the country. All travellers between Hong Kong and China and Macau must pass through border controls, regardless of nationality. Mainland Chinese citizens do not have right of abode in Hong Kong and are subject to immigration controls. Public finances are handled separately from the national government; taxes levied in Hong Kong do not fund the central authority. The Hong Kong Garrison of
13886-481: The southwest. The humid nature of Hong Kong exacerbates the warmth of summer. Typhoons occur most often then, sometimes resulting in floods or landslides. Also rarely occurring are waterspouts and tornadoes , which occurred at Hong Kong International Airport on 26 September 2020 and at Victoria Harbour on 28 September 2024. Winters are short, mild and usually sunny at the beginning, becoming cloudy towards February. Frequent cold fronts bring strong, cooling winds from
14017-405: The start of 2000, Lucent's "private bubble" burst, while competitors like Nortel Networks and Alcatel were still going strong; it would be many months before the rest of the telecom industry bubble collapsed. Previously Lucent had 14 straight quarters where it exceeded analysts' expectations, leading to high expectations for the 15th quarter, ending Dec. 31, 1999. On January 6, 2000, Lucent made
14148-419: The stock price had bottomed at 55 cents per share. In April 2000, Lucent sold its Consumer Products unit to VTech . In October 2000, Lucent spun off its Business Systems arm into Avaya , Inc., and in June 2002, it spun off its microelectronics division into Agere Systems . The spinoffs of enterprise networking and wireless, the industry's key growth businesses from 2003 onward, meant that Lucent no longer had
14279-467: The sweet taste of the harbour's freshwater influx from the Pearl River or to the odour from incense factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon . The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Victoria Harbour was developed. Sir John Davis (the second colonial governor) offered an alternative origin; Davis said that the name derived from "Hoong-keang" ("red torrent"), reflecting
14410-465: The territory. The vast majority also hold Chinese nationality , automatically granted to all ethnic Chinese residents at the handover. Headline population density exceeds 7,060 people/km , and is the fourth-highest in the world. The predominant language is Cantonese , a variety of Chinese originating in Guangdong. It is spoken by 93.7% of the population, 88.2% as a first language and 5.5% as
14541-512: The territory. Older government buildings are examples of colonial architecture. The 1846 Flagstaff House , the former residence of the Commander of the British forces in Hong Kong , is the oldest Western-style building in Hong Kong. Some buildings, such as the Court of Final Appeal Building and the Hong Kong Observatory retain their original functions, and others have been adapted and reused ;
14672-575: The traders were expelled after military clashes in the 1520s, Portuguese-Chinese trade relations were re-established by 1549 . Portugal acquired a permanent lease for Macau in 1887. After the Qing conquest , maritime trade was banned under the Haijin policies. From 1661 to 1683, the population of most of the area forming present day Hong Kong was cleared under the Great Clearance , turning
14803-485: The violence, including dozens killed by the Royal Hong Kong Police via beatings and shootings. Although the territory's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined because of rising labour and property costs, it transitioned to a service-based economy. By the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global financial centre and shipping hub. The colony faced an uncertain future as
14934-756: The war, as skilled Chinese migrants fled from the Chinese Civil War and more refugees crossed the border when the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China in 1949. Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies to industrialise during the 1950s. With a rapidly increasing population, the colonial government attempted reforms to improve infrastructure and public services. The public-housing estate programme , Independent Commission Against Corruption , and Mass Transit Railway were all established during
15065-494: The world's largest number of skyscrapers , with 554 towers taller than 150 metres (490 ft), and the third-largest number of high-rise buildings in the world. The lack of available space restricted development to high-density residential tenements and commercial complexes packed closely together on buildable land. Single-family detached homes are uncommon and generally only found in outlying areas. The International Commerce Centre and Two International Finance Centre are
15196-420: Was 81.3 years for males and 87.2 years for females in 2022, one of the highest in the world. Cancer , pneumonia , heart disease , cerebrovascular disease , and accidents are the territory's five leading causes of death. The universal public healthcare system is funded by general-tax revenue, and treatment is highly subsidised; on average, 95% of healthcare costs are covered by the government. The city has
15327-583: Was a manufacturing location with the business unit under one roof. This allowed, the development, design, business functions for manufacturing cellular phone parts and between 1996 and 1999, the production of first generation CDMA ( Code-division multiple access ) minicells needed for cellular phone carriers. A 1,015-lb second generation Flexent Modcell cabinet was introduced in October 1999 for production as PCS (1.9 gigahertz) and TDMA (time-division multiple access) cellular (850 MHz) versions. From 1996 to 1999, PRC achieved and reduced with this new facility
15458-412: Was acquired, the attacker exfiltrated the data, including some 190 gigabytes of photographs of children and adults, detailed chat logs between parents and children which spanned over the course of years, and voice recordings, all unencrypted and stored in plain text. The attacker shared some 3,832 image files with the journalist for verification purposes, and some redacted photographs were published by
15589-548: Was also active in research and development of CDMA minicells for future global market growth and third generation W-CDMA (Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access) innovation. Expansion was evident with minicell lines for the South America market with cross-training technicians from Brazil on the product and the W-CDMA product for Japan's cellular carrier, NTT DoCoMo . The facility was awarded various awards and prizes for
15720-564: Was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill , New Jersey . It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business unit of AT&T Corporation , which included Western Electric and Bell Labs . Lucent was acquired by Alcatel SA on December 1, 2006, forming Alcatel-Lucent . Lucent means "light-bearing" in Latin . The name
15851-493: Was applied for in 1996 at the time of the split from AT&T. The name was widely criticised, as the logo was to be, both internally and externally. Corporate communications and business cards included the strapline 'Bell Labs Innovations' in a bid to retain the prestige of the internationally famous research lab, within a new business under an as-yet unknown name. This same linguistic root also gives Lucifer , "the light bearer" (from lux, 'light', and ferre, 'to bear' ), who
15982-555: Was constructed for AT&T Corp. in 1994. The two leased buildings were located at the International Trade Center (New Jersey) and one building was used for warehousing and the other used for wireless products manufacturing since 1995. An additionally built wireless products manufacturing, PRC, was located in Piscataway, New Jersey also independently of AT&T creation. This system integration plant
16113-538: Was further expanded in 1898 when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's first institution of higher education. Kai Tak Airport began operation in 1924, and the colony avoided a prolonged economic downturn after the 1925–26 Canton–Hong Kong strike . At the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared Hong Kong
16244-531: Was insignificant, so that Chinese goods could only be bought with precious metals. To reduce the trade imbalance, the British sold large amounts of Indian opium to China. Faced with a drug crisis, Qing officials pursued ever more aggressive actions to halt the opium trade. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor rejected proposals to legalise and tax opium and ordered imperial commissioner Lin Zexu to eradicate
16375-451: Was known most for the creation of the RADIUS protocol and their PortMaster product that was used widely by dial-up internet service providers. In 1999, Lucent acquired Ascend Communications , an Alameda, California –based manufacturer of communications equipment for US$ 20 billion. Lucent held discussions to acquire Juniper Networks but decided instead to buy Nexabit Networks. At
16506-662: Was later revealed that it had used dubious accounting and sales practices to generate some of its earlier quarterly numbers, Lucent fell from grace. It was said that "Rich McGinn couldn't accept Lucent's fall from its early triumphs." He described himself once as imposing "audacious" goals on his managers, believing the stretch for performance would produce dream results. Henry Schacht defended the corporate culture that McGinn created and noted that McGinn did not sell any Lucent shares while serving as CEO. In June 2000, Lucent announced it would acquire Chromartis, an Israeli maker of optical network equipment, for $ 4.5 billion In November 2000,
16637-497: Was launched in 2004, established what the company calls platform products as an important category within its ELPs. Latest additions to the platform product range are MobiGo, InnoTab Max, Kidizoom Smart Watch and InnoTV (StorioTV in Europe Excluding United Kingdom ). VTech introduced the world's first 900 MHz and 5.8 GHz cordless phones in 1991 and 2002 respectively. As of 2014, the company
16768-552: Was serving as president and COO, succeeded Schacht as CEO in 1997 while Schacht remained chairman of the board. Lucent became a "darling" stock of the investment community in the late 1990s, and its split-adjusted spinoff price of $ 7.56/share rose to a high of $ 84. Its market capitalization reached a high of $ 258 billion, and it was at the time the most widely held company with 5.3 million shareholders. In 1995, Carly Fiorina led corporate operations. In that capacity, she reported to Lucent chief executive Henry B. Schacht . She played
16899-658: Was the world's largest manufacturer of cordless telephones, according to MZA (as reported by VTech). As of 2014, VTech, in its sale of both AT&T and VTech branded phones and accessories, was the largest player in the industry, in North America, according to MarketWise Consumer Insights (as reported by VTech). Outside North America, as of this date, VTech mainly supplied products to fixed-line telephone operators, brand names, and distributors on an ODM basis. VTech started manufacturing products for other brand names on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis in
17030-481: Was to permit it to profit from sales to competing telecommunications providers; these customers had previously shown reluctance to purchase from a direct competitor. Bell Labs brought prestige to the new company, as well as the revenue from thousands of patents. At the time of its spinoff, Lucent was placed under the leadership of Henry Schacht , who was brought in to oversee its transition from an arm of AT&T into an independent corporation. Richard McGinn , who
17161-448: Was unaware their systems had been compromised and the breach was first brought to their attention after being contacted by Bicchierai prior to the publication of the article. Upon notification, the company took a dozen or so websites and services offline. In an FAQ published by the company, they explain some 4,854,209 accounts belonging to parents and 6,368,509 profiles belonging to children had been compromised. The company further claims
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