20 h. ago Hong Kong lawmakers may face suspension, pay cut under proposed misconduct rules

Hong Kong’s legislature is expected to investigate evidence-based, real-name complaints about lawmakers’ conduct through a committee with an expanded scope, as part of a proposal to revamp current guidelines and regulations. Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, president of the Legislative Council, said on Thursday that those found in violation could face the maximum penalty of suspension from office and salary deductions, but stopped short of naming specific standards to categorise “minor, serious and...

Economics

47 h. ago Hong Kong’s hawkers could disappear by 2033 unless rules eased, lawmaker says

Hong Kong should relax hawker licensing rules so assistants who are not family members can take over stalls, a lawmaker and a district councillor have said, as the city recorded an 80 per cent drop since 2000 in the number of itinerant street sellers. The trade could disappear entirely by 2033, the legislator warned on Wednesday. The plea came after research by the Legislative Council found the number of fixed-pitch hawkers had decreased by 40 per cent since 2000 to 4,848 in 2024, while...

Events

3 d. ago Beijing sanctions Manila’s South China Sea legal claim architect Francis Tolentino

China has announced sanctions on former Philippine Senate leader Francis Tolentino, a key ally of the Southeast Asian country’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on South China Sea issues. Beijing accused Tolentino of “egregious conduct on China-related issues” and will bar the former Philippine lawmaker – whose term ended yesterday – from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. “For some time now, individual anti-China politicians in the Philippines...

Events

3 d. ago Beijing sanctions South China Sea legal claim architect Francis Tolentino

China has sanctioned the former Senate leader of the Philippines Francis Tolentino, a key ally of the Southeast Asian country’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on South China Sea issues. Beijing accused Tolentino of “egregious conduct on China-related issues” and will bar the former Philippine lawmaker – whose term ended on Monday – from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. “For some time now, individual anti-China politicians in the Philippines...

Events

9 d. ago Lawmakers call for rents in Hong Kong student hostels to be regulated

Hong Kong lawmakers have urged authorities to regulate university hostel rents as more office buildings and hotels are set to be converted into student accommodation, with the Post finding market rates for some are four times higher than for campus dormitories. The legislators made the call on Tuesday as they discussed a new government policy under which authorities will relax planning rules for developers to convert offices and hotels into hostels in a pilot scheme to be launched next month, to...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong employment bill may still allow worker exploitation: lawmakers

A recent law amendment intended to protect part-time workers may still allow employers to sidestep providing benefits to their staff and create a more challenging business environment for several sectors, such as minibuses, some legislators have said. The concerns were raised on Thursday, a day after the Legislative Council approved the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2025 in an 84-3 vote. The amended law, which will take effect on January 18, 2026, stipulates that an employee who works 68 hours...

Economics

3 w. ago Hong Kong lawmakers back criminalising of subletting public rental flats

Hong Kong lawmakers have approved the government’s proposal to criminalise the subletting of public rental flats or the use of such properties for business purposes, with the offence to carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a HK$500,000 (US$63,700) fine. Lawmakers on Wednesday voted on the Housing (Amendment) Bill, which introduces new offences under the Housing Ordinance to combat serious abuse of public flats. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin stressed that the amended law...

Society

3 w. ago Hong Kong lawmakers call for TV stations to show more English

Hong Kong’s broadcast watchdog has been asked to require TV stations to produce more local programmes on their English channels to “tell good Hong Kong stories” to expats and visitors. Stations are permitted to have up to 45 per cent of their English-channel content be in other languages, a threshold some lawmakers said on Monday was too high and at odds with Hong Kong’s role as an international city. Some legislators also urged the government to sponsor TV stations to produce dramas promoting...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong moves to curb ‘abuse’ of traffic accident compensation

Lawmakers have supported the Hong Kong government’s proposal to significantly reduce the number of compensated sick leave days and daily subsidy available to traffic accident victims, claiming that the move will help prevent future abuses of the system. The legislative panel’s discussion on Monday primarily focused on reviewing the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme. Administered by the Social Welfare Department, the fund provides financial aid to victims of road traffic accidents or...

Events

4 w. ago Hong Kong should allow cinemas to host live events to survive: lawmaker

Hong Kong should relax the licensing renewal criteria for cinemas to allow them to host live performances or sports broadcasts, a lawmaker has said, as the city continues to grapple with a slew of theatre closures. Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, who represents sports, performing arts, culture and publication in the legislature, made the suggestion on Thursday after the Golden Harvest cinema at MegaBox shopping centre in Kowloon Bay announced it would be closing down at the end of the week. Fok said that...

Society

4 w. ago New Zealand judge gets nod from Hong Kong lawmakers to join top court

Hong Kong’s legislature has endorsed the appointment of a 73-year-old retired New Zealand judge to the city’s top court, the first foreign non-permanent justice to join in over a year amid a number of recent resignations. William Gillow Gibbes Austen Young, who retired as permanent judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in April 2022 after serving for 12 years, will join five other overseas non-permanent justices from common law jurisdictions at the Court of Final Appeal. Chief Secretary Eric...

Events