6 h. ago Hong Kong lawmakers pass controversial tobacco control bill to cut smoking rate

Hong Kong lawmakers have passed a controversial tobacco control bill that aims to further lower the city’s smoking rate, with a minister saying the proposed measures have already considered a variety of opinions. The Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill was passed on Thursday after the second and third readings, following a last-ditch effort by two lawmakers to delay and amend the government-proposed measures earlier this week. Among the 83 lawmakers who attended the meeting, 74...

Politics

12 h. ago Hong Kong passes bill legalising basketball betting by majority of 77

Hong Kong lawmakers have approved a bill to legalise betting on basketball matches as authorities aim to tackle illegal gambling, with the Hong Kong Jockey Club expected to be the sole operator. The Legislative Council passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025, empowering the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs to issue basketball betting operator licences with specified terms. The bill also authorises a licensed basketball operator to place bets with other gambling operators for hedging...

Politics

12 h. ago Hong Kong passes bill legalising basketball betting with 77 votes in favour

Hong Kong lawmakers have approved a bill to legalise betting on basketball matches as authorities aim to tackle illegal gambling, with the Jockey Club expected to be the sole operator. The Legislative Council passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025, empowering the secretary for home and youth affairs to issue basketball betting operator licences with specified terms. The bill also authorises a licensed basketball operator to place bets with other gambling operators for hedging...

Politics

12 h. ago Hong Kong passes basketball betting bill; Jockey Club expected to be operator

Hong Kong lawmakers have approved a bill to legalise betting on basketball matches as authorities aim to tackle illegal gambling, with the Jockey Club expected to be the sole operator. The Legislative Council passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 on Thursday, empowering the secretary for home and youth affairs to issue basketball betting operator licences with specified terms. The bill also authorises a licensed basketball operator to place bets with other gambling operators for hedging...

Politics

52 h. ago 2 Hong Kong lawmakers seek delay, partial lifting of tobacco control measures

Two Hong Kong lawmakers representing the business sector have made a last-ditch effort to delay and partially lift the implementation of the government’s tobacco control measures by moving amendments to a bill set to be discussed on Wednesday at the earliest. The amendments by lawmakers Michael Lee Chun-keung and Peter Shiu Ka-fai, both from the pro-business Liberal Party, included a call for the government to lift a proposed ban on selling flavoured conventional smoking products. They also...

Politics

53 h. ago Hong Kong businesses can see ‘light at the end of tunnel’ but measures needed

A veteran Hong Kong lawmaker, business leader and government adviser has called on the city’s leader to implement measures that will propel the economy in his coming policy address as there is now “light at the end of the tunnel”. Speaking at a fireside chat at the Post’s Hong Kong-Asean Summit on Tuesday, Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung also made the case for investing in the city despite attacks on Hong Kong’s reputation in recent years. Asked about what he hoped to see in Chief Executive John Lee...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong official and lawmaker opt out of Bitcoin Asia 2025 featuring Eric Trump

A senior Hong Kong official and a lawmaker have withdrawn from a Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference where Eric Trump, son of United States President Donald Trump, will also attend, with sources confirming an instruction was issued that they were not to interact with the American businessman. A check by the Post on the conference’s website on Wednesday found that Eric Yip Chee-hang, executive director of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), had been removed from the list of keynote...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong official and lawmaker pull out of Bitcoin Asia 2025 featuring Eric Trump

A senior Hong Kong official and a lawmaker have withdrawn from a Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference where Eric Trump, son of United States President Donald Trump, will also attend, with sources confirming an instruction was issued that they were not to interact with the American businessman. A check by the Post on the conference’s website on Wednesday found that Eric Yip Chee-hang, executive director of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), had been removed from the list of keynote...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong official, lawmaker pull out of Bitcoin Asia 2025 featuring Eric Trump

A senior Hong Kong official and a lawmaker have withdrawn from the Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference, where Eric Trump, son of United States President Donald Trump, will attend, with sources confirming they were advised not to interact with the American businessman. A check by the Post on the conference’s website on Wednesday found that Eric Yip Chee-hang, executive director of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), had been removed from the list of keynote speakers for the forum taking...

Politics

2 w. ago Fatal fire prompts calls for smoke sensors in Hong Kong’s substandard buildings

Observers have called for old Hong Kong buildings applying for fire safety subsidies to install smoke sensors as a temporary measure, following a deadly blaze in a building with substandard facilities. Their calls came on Monday after the death of a tenant in a subdivided flat during a blaze at the Mido Apartments building on King’s Road in North Point on Saturday. Firefighters found a “badly burnt” electrical meter in his home. Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei, from the Hong Kong Island East...

Events

2 w. ago Fatal fire prompts calls for smoke detectors in substandard Hong Kong buildings

The owners of old Hong Kong buildings applying for fire safety subsidies should install smoke detectors as a temporary measure, observers have said, following a deadly blaze at a site with substandard facilities. The call came on Monday, after the death of a tenant in a subdivided flat during a blaze at the Mido Apartments building on King’s Road in North Point on Saturday. Firefighters found a “badly burnt” electrical meter in his home. Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei, who represents the Hong Kong...

Events

2 w. ago Supporters of Hong Kong’s Regina Ip celebrate birthday in ‘Ip Lau Bay’

Supporters of Hong Kong lawmaker and former security minister Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee celebrated her 75th birthday in a busy shopping area on Sunday, with some enthusiastic fans taking home free souvenirs. In a reply to the Post after the event, Ip said: “I want to thank my young fans sincerely for their heart-melting support! I find them to be extremely creative. I hope they had a fun day celebrating my birthday together!” The celebration, organised by a Facebook group of supporters, drew a...

Politics

2 w. ago Internationalise Hong Kong’s DSE to help turn city into education hub: lawmakers

Hong Kong’s university entrance exam should be internationalised to help turn the city into a global tertiary education hub, several lawmakers have suggested ahead of the annual policy address next month, arguing the move will not harm local students’ interests. The legislators also called for the establishment of more Diploma for Secondary Education (DSE) exam centres outside Hong Kong. Other suggestions included awarding non-local DSE students “bonus points” under the admission process for...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong lawmakers urge more teacher training to spot serious child abuse cases

Teachers should be given more training to identify serious child abuse cases, Hong Kong lawmakers and a school representative have urged, after education authorities updated guidelines that mandate reporting of suspected incidents from next year. According to an Education Bureau circular issued on Wednesday, educators, social workers, therapists and psychologists working in Hong Kong schools must make a report if they suspect that a child is suffering serious harm. The policy will come into...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong water scandal: tougher vetting of tender bidders needed, lawmakers say

Hong Kong lawmakers have called for tougher vetting of bidders for government tenders, accusing authorities of accepting information submitted by companies at face value after awarding a HK$52.9 million (US$8.8 million) bottled water contract to a firm suspected of deception. The calls for stricter background checks came as a senior official apologised for the first time over the growing procurement scandal, which came to light at the weekend after the government was forced to terminate a...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong centre takes legal action against firm involved in water scandal

A testing centre, where a Hong Kong lawmaker serves as a director, has taken legal action against a company suspected of procurement fraud for falsely claiming that the body had issued safety certificates for 1.88 million bottles of water supplied to government offices. The Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre clarified on Wednesday that it had not provided any services to Xin Ding Xin Trade, the water supplier suspected of defrauding the government in the HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million)...

Economics

3 w. ago Lawmakers can learn from CY Leung’s constructive criticism of government

Plans for the next Legislative Council are being cemented – the nomination process will begin on October 24, with the current term ending on the same day. However, the same can’t be said for the date of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address. So far, we’ve only been told it will be moved up to September, to make time for the Legco elections. Sources have reportedly said it will take place on September 17 but, so far, nothing is official. That doesn’t seem normal. That being said, just...

Politics