4 h. ago Beijing urges Hongkongers to stay vigilant against bids to foil Legco election

Beijing has called for vigilance against any attempts to jeopardise Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council election, warning that local law enforcement agencies will not “sit back and do nothing” in the face of such efforts. The central government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office posted the strongly worded commentary under the pen name “Gang Ao Ping” in the early hours of Friday, coinciding with the start of the two-week nomination period for the December 7 race. The article urged the public...

Politics

4 h. ago Hong Kong government condemns ‘smears’ in UK’s latest monitoring report on city

Hong Kong authorities have strongly condemned the “untruthful remarks, slanders and smears” in the UK’s monitoring report on the city, which claimed that national security legislation had diminished the city’s political autonomy. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, in her report, also said it was “hardly surprising” that hundreds of thousands of people had left the city to places where “freedoms are better protected” as she reiterated London’s commitment to the British National (Overseas),...

Politics

4 h. ago Hong Kong condemns UK ‘smears’ as interference in latest city monitoring report

Hong Kong authorities have strongly condemned the “untruthful remarks, slanders and smears” in the UK’s monitoring report on the city, which claimed that national security legislation had diminished the city’s political autonomy. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, in her report, also said it was “hardly surprising” that hundreds of thousands of people had left the city to places where “freedoms are better protected” as she reiterated London’s commitment to the British National (Overseas),...

Politics

8 h. ago US Nobel laureate praises Hong Kong, blames Washington for China science impasse

An American Nobel laureate has accused the US government of hindering scientific collaboration with China while praising Hong Kong and the mainland for their “tremendous respect” for science and academia. Randy Schekman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013, also praised Hong Kong’s openness and “free spirit” compared with the mainland, while urging both regions to foster more creativity among youth. He made the remarks at a press briefing ahead of his keynote address at the...

Politics

18 h. ago Hong Kong offers private doctors HK$6,000 subsidy to link up with eHealth system

Private doctors in Hong Kong will receive a government subsidy of HK$6,000 (US$772) by linking their clinical management systems to the official electronic health record platform and continuously uploading patient data for 12 months, as part of a scheme to promote more seamless care between the public and private sectors. Health authorities said on Thursday that the eHealth+ Connectivity Support Scheme hoped to build a complete health record for every resident, allowing doctors from both sectors...

Economics

47 h. ago 37,000 workers imported into Hong Kong since start of labour scheme in 2023

Hong Kong has imported more than 37,000 workers since the government’s introduction of a labour scheme two years ago, while a construction union has announced a wage freeze for most of the major trades in the industry. The Labour and Welfare Bureau on Wednesday revealed that it had received applications to import more than 62,000 workers in the catering and hospitality industries since the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme was launched in 2023. Between September 4, 2023, and September 30 this...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong, Elior Group in land talks for Asia’s first aircraft parts centre

City authorities are in talks with a leading French aeronautical services company about the allocation of land to develop Hong Kong into Asia’s first aircraft parts processing and trading centre, with the firm set to start training classes in two months. Daniel Derichebourg, chairman and CEO of France-based Elior Group, said the company was still in talks with the government about solutions that would work best to help Hong Kong grow as a centre for aircraft parts dismantling, recycling and...

Politics

7 d. ago Chinese EV maker Li Auto eyes global market with Hong Kong base

Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto has set up its international headquarters in Hong Kong, paving the way for its overseas expansion amid intensifying competition at home. The Hong Kong operations would serve as a strategic base for the Beijing-based carmaker to “oversee its research and development [R&D], intellectual property management and international supply chain functions”, said InvestHK, the Hong Kong government’s investment promotion arm, in a statement on Thursday. Li Auto,...

Politics

7 d. ago US ‘overstretching’ national security fears by threatening HKT, Hong Kong says

The United States is “overstretching the concept of national security” with its threat to oust HKT International from the country’s telecommunication network, Hong Kong authorities have said. Political commentators also warned on Thursday that Beijing would interpret the move as Washington using the city as a “chess piece against China”. Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority said the government “strongly disapproves of the United States’ overstretching the concept of national...

Events

9 d. ago Hong Kong lawmakers gave nod to all government funding requests in 4

The Legislative Council’s Finance Committee approved all Hong Kong government funding applications over the four-year term, with its chairman on Tuesday defending lawmakers’ role in scrutinising the 261 projects worth nearly HK$700 billion (US$89.7 billion) in total. Committee chairman Ronick Chan Chun-ying also said that some government departments had failed to provide precise data requested by lawmakers during their scrutiny of the budget, urging authorities to step up data collection and...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong Exco will not change despite veteran lawmakers stepping down: John Lee

Hong Kong’s leader has signalled that the government’s key decision-making body, the Executive Council, will not be reshuffled after half of the eight veteran lawmakers serving as his advisers said they will not run in the coming Legislative Council elections. Martin Liao Cheung-kong, 68, who has served in Legco since 2012 and was affectionately known as the “class monitor” of the pro-establishment camp, emerged on Tuesday as the latest Exco member to announce that he would not to seek another...

Politics

1 week ago No Exco changes despite veteran Hong Kong lawmakers stepping down: John Lee

Hong Kong’s leader has signalled that the government’s key decision-making Executive Council will not be reshuffled after four veteran lawmakers, who serve as his advisers, decided not run in the coming Legislative Council election. Martin Liao Cheung-kong, 68, a lawmaker since 2012 and affectionately known as the “class monitor” of the pro-establishment camp, emerged on Tuesday as the latest Exco member to announce that he would not seek another term in the legislature. Three other veteran...

Politics

1 week ago Yuan boost eyed as Hong Kong’s mainland China spending hits HK$5 billion

Hong Kong’s government spent more than HK$5 billion (US$642.3 million) using the city’s currency on services or purchases related to mainland China in the last financial year, according to officials. In comparison, the government only used 240 million yuan (US$33.7 million) annually to settle expenditures, in addition to payments related to its renminbi-denominated bonds. Authorities are now exploring ways to increase payments in renminbi and expand its use. “Since the amount of renminbi bonds...

Economics

1 week ago Gaping holes in Hong Kong government oversight need to be plugged

On the surface, things may seem to be going well for the Hong Kong government. However, dig a little deeper, and things do not look so good. Two recent news items have been particularly damning. First was the discovery that two government-approved providers of mandatory basic safety courses had violated conditions and had been suspended by the Labour Department. The second was the latest ombudsman investigation that revealed care homes and facilities had failed to deliver respite services to...

Politics

1 week ago New deputy chief of liaison office meets Hong Kong media delegation in Beijing

The new deputy chief of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong has made his public debut, meeting a media delegation from the city in Beijing on Sunday. Sun Shangwu, who was appointed as a deputy director of the liaison office on Saturday, met representatives from some 20 mainstream media outlets, including the South China Morning Post. The delegation was received by Nong Rong, a deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), according to a...

Politics

1 week ago Deputy director of Beijing office overseeing Hong Kong meets media delegation

Nong Rong, a deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), has met a media delegation from the city in Beijing. He was joined at the meeting on Sunday by Sun Shangwu, the new deputy chief of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, who made his public debut a day after taking up the post. They met representatives from some 20 mainstream media outlets, including the South China Morning Post. Sun was appointed as a deputy director of the liaison...

Politics

1 week ago Beijing names senior editor as deputy director of liaison office in Hong Kong

Beijing has named a senior editor of the English-language China Daily newspaper as a deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, confirming an earlier Post report. The State Council announced Sun Shangwu’s new role on Saturday. A source earlier said that the new deputy director would be taking charge of publicity work. The Post had reported that Sun, 56, who had been a deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, had been chosen to improve the central government’s...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong to offer Kowloon site for tender amid focus on Northern Metropolis

The Hong Kong government will launch a single residential site in Kowloon for tender in its third financial quarter, as authorities focus on the Northern Metropolis to launch new land sales as soon as the end of this year. A plot measuring 40,902 sq ft at Choi Hing Road, Jordan Valley, will be made available via tender in the December quarter, enough to provide about 570 average-sized flats, according to the Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho. That launch would come after the...

Politics

2 w. ago SFC CEO Julia Leung to remain in office for another two years: sources

The Hong Kong government is expected to renew the contract of Julia Leung Fung-yee as the CEO of market regulator Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for another two years, according to two separate sources. Leung, a former journalist at The Asian Wall Street Journal, started her term as the first female head of the SFC in January 2023. Her current three-year term will expire at the end of this year, but sources familiar with the matter said the government would like her to serve another...

Politics

2 w. ago Borrowing boost for Hong Kong urban renewal body as another deficit recorded

The Hong Kong government has increased the Urban Renewal Authority’s borrowing limit to HK$35 billion to allow it to raise more funds to finance operations, with the body recording an annual deficit of about HK$2.7 billion, its third straight loss. The cash-strapped statutory body also said on Monday that it would review and introduce a more comprehensive compensation mechanism to cut its acquisition costs for redevelopment and provide better rehousing options for affected owners. Authority...

Politics