Hundreds of registered runners left in the dark two weeks before the annual trail event
A Sudden Cancellation With No Explanation
With just two weeks to go before its scheduled March 22 date, Hong Kong charity A Drop of Life abruptly cancelled the 11th edition of its annual Race for Water trail-running fundraiser, leaving hundreds of registered participants without answers and drawing attention to the fragile state of civil society fundraising in the city. The organisation posted a brief social media statement saying that after careful consideration it had decided to cancel the event, but provided no explanation for the decision. It pledged that all registration fees and donations would be fully refunded, with further details to follow.
The Race for Water has been one of Hong Kong’s more resilient charity trail events, surviving the disruptions of the 2019-2020 protest era, COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, and the broader contraction of civil society that has followed Beijing’s imposition of the National Security Law. For an event built on community fundraising and voluntary participation to collapse at such short notice, without even a basic explanation to the people who had committed time, training, and money to it, reflects a broader anxiety about operating charitable and civic activities in the current political environment.
A Drop of Life and the Water Access Mission
A Drop of Life was founded to raise money and awareness for clean water access in underserved communities, primarily in developing parts of Asia and Africa. Its Race for Water trail event was its flagship fundraising vehicle, bringing together Hong Kong’s active outdoor community to raise money for a cause that resonates deeply in a city where residents take reliable clean water for granted. The event’s trail routes through Hong Kong’s spectacular countryside were part of its appeal, combining athletic challenge with scenic reward in a way that built genuine enthusiasm among participants year after year.
The sudden cancellation is a loss not only for the hundreds of registered runners who had been preparing for weeks but also for the communities that depend on the charity’s water access work. Every cancelled fundraiser translates into delayed projects, reduced capacity, and broken chains of donor engagement that are difficult to rebuild. Civil society organisations in Hong Kong have learned this lesson repeatedly since 2020, when the political crackdown accelerated the dissolution of hundreds of unions, advocacy groups, and civic organisations that collectively formed the backbone of a genuinely open society.
The Shrinking Space for Civil Society in Post-2020 Hong Kong
The Race for Water cancellation does not occur in isolation. It comes amid a well-documented and continuing contraction of Hong Kong’s civil society space. Since the National Security Law was imposed in June 2020, more than 50 pro-democracy groups, civic organisations, and media outlets have disbanded or been forced to close. Independent trade unions representing teachers, journalists, medical workers, and social workers have dissolved. The Apple Daily newspaper and Stand News were shut down. Even organisations with no direct political agenda have found the operating environment profoundly changed.
Whether the Race for Water cancellation has any political dimension is not established by the available evidence. But the fact that a well-established, apolitical charity trail run can be cancelled with two weeks’ notice and no public explanation illustrates the uncertainty that now pervades civic life in Hong Kong. Organisers of community events, fundraisers, and cultural activities face a landscape in which the rules are unclear, the risks are opaque, and the consequences of misjudging either can be severe. That chilling effect is itself a form of harm to the social fabric.
What the Running Community Deserves to Know
The participants who registered for Race for Water 2026 deserve more than a refund. They deserve transparency. If there is a logistical, financial, or legal reason for the cancellation, participants are entitled to know what it is. If the organisation is facing difficulties that threaten its ability to continue its charitable work, donors and supporters deserve to be informed so they can make their own decisions about whether and how to continue their support. And if the cancellation reflects external pressure of any kind, that too is information the public has a legitimate interest in knowing.
Hong Kong’s trail running community has long been one of the most vibrant and internationally connected parts of the city’s outdoor culture. Races and charity events attract thousands of participants from across Hong Kong and the region, generating both community spirit and meaningful philanthropic impact. Protecting that culture requires the kind of transparent, accountable civic environment that a free and open society provides. Every unexplained cancellation, every institution that vanishes without a word, is a small erosion of that environment. The cumulative effect is a city that is harder to love and harder to inhabit for people who care about community life.
Background on Hong Kong’s changing civil society landscape is documented by Human Rights Watch Hong Kong. The clean water access mission A Drop of Life supports is contextualised at UNICEF WASH programme. Hong Kong’s trail running scene is covered at HK Runners community. The broader civic space contraction is tracked at Hong Kong Free Press civil society.
Hoi Lam
Lifestyle, Gender & Society Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: hoilam@appledaily.uk
Hoi Lam is a lifestyle and society journalist whose work focuses on gender issues, family dynamics, and everyday social change within Chinese and diaspora communities. She completed her journalism education at a leading Chinese journalism school, where she specialized in feature writing, interview techniques, and ethical storytelling.
Her reporting career includes contributions to Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese magazines and newspapers, covering topics such as women’s rights, work-life balance, generational change, and evolving social norms. Hoi Lam’s work is grounded in firsthand interviews and contextual research, ensuring authenticity and factual integrity.
She brings newsroom experience in balancing human-interest storytelling with rigorous fact-checking and responsible framing. Her writing avoids sensationalism and prioritizes accurate representation of sources and lived experiences.
Hoi Lam’s authority is reinforced by sustained publication within reputable media outlets and compliance with editorial review and correction standards. She is trusted by editors for her careful handling of sensitive subjects and ethical clarity.
At Apple Daily UK, Hoi Lam contributes credible, experience-based journalism that documents social realities with accuracy, empathy, and professional discipline.
