‘Perfect Hong Kong girl’ Vivian Kong, China’s commercial jets, Singapore row: 7 highlights

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

Even as Hong Kong waits with excitement at the prospect of more medals for the city at the Paris Olympics, residents cannot seem to get enough of their current heroine, Vivian Kong Man-wai. The star fencer topped the list of biggest trending searches on Google on Saturday shortly after her historic triumph, as curious residents rushed to learn more about the 30-year-old épéeist.

China’s coastguard has found itself embroiled in a series of intense confrontations in three major hotspots – with tensions simultaneously coming to a head in a two-week period in late June. In one of the most dramatic incidents, the Philippines accused China of acting like “pirates” and carrying out “aggressive and illegal” operations after one Philippine sailor lost a thumb when coastguards armed with axes and knives boarded resupply vessels.