35 h. ago Hong Kong lawmakers urged to be impartial when reviewing same

A senior Hong Kong official has called on lawmakers to be “pragmatic, rational and impartial” when scrutinising a bill aimed at granting certain legal rights to same-sex couples after most major political parties voiced opposition to the legislation. Introducing the bill for its first and second readings in the legislature on Wednesday, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai stressed that the proposed framework was a “reasonable balance” between fulfilling the...

Politics

3 d. ago Lawmakers warn SIM card limits won’t stem tide of phone scams in Hong Kong

A law amendment proposal to reduce the number of prepaid SIM cards per user from 10 to three does not go far enough to deter rampant phone scams, according to Hong Kong lawmakers, who called for a tougher approach to handling the issue. Hong Kong authorities have proposed reducing the maximum number of prepaid SIM cards a user can register with one of the 29 telecommunications service providers in the city from 10 to just three, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council. This...

Events

3 d. ago Lawmakers against LGBTQ rights bill shouldn’t stoop to fearmongering

On Wednesday, the Hong Kong government will introduce a bill to recognise same-sex partnerships, despite opposition from some powerful political groups. The move is the government’s answer to a landmark court ruling by the Court of Final Appeal in 2023. The court gave authorities two years to draw up laws to sort out the rights of same-sex couples by October 27, finding the government in violation of Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights. The government has wisely decided that now is the right time to push...

Economics

4 d. ago Hong Kong should ban deepfake porn to protect victims: NGO and lawmakers

Hong Kong should step up victim protection by outlawing deepfake pornographic content, advocates and lawmakers have said, after a university student was accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate explicit images of his classmates. The Education Bureau weighed in on the case on Sunday, saying publicly funded universities had autonomy in how they managed students, while one lawmaker called on authorities to follow South Korea’s example by banning the AI-generated pornographic...

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong lawmakers suggest cap on parking meter duration, progressive charges

Hong Kong lawmakers have suggested additional measures such as capping the duration a vehicle can occupy a metered lot and implementing progressive fees, following a slew of recent government proposals to adjust traffic-related charges, including doubling parking rates. Ben Chan Han-pan, a member of the Legislative Council’s transport panel, said on Thursday he welcomed the proposed parking fee hikes, noting that despite the 100 per cent increase in meter rates, the new charges at public lots...

Politics

8 d. ago Fresh case of bitumen in water supply for Hong Kong housing, lawmaker says

Hong Kong authorities have provided temporary tanks and vowed to improve the pipes for thousands of households in Sai Wan Ho after bitumen particles were found in water supply samples, according to a lawmaker and the management of a housing estate. Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei said on Wednesday that he had also received complaints about particles in the water from some residents at the Grand Promenade and Lei King Wan estates, which are home to about 2,000 and 2,300 households respectively. “The...

Politics

8 d. ago Hong Kong introduces bill to expand scope for punishing lawmakers’ misconduct

Hong Kong authorities have introduced a bill to the legislature that will pave the way for establishing an expanded mechanism under which lawmakers could face suspension and pay cuts for misconduct. The Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill was tabled by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki for its first reading on Wednesday. The bill aims to expand the scope of financial penalties to cover situations in which lawmakers were suspended for violating the proposed Codes for...

Politics

8 d. ago Mainland standards may cut Hong Kong rail link costs by up to 40%: lawmakers

A new arrangement for building a major rail link in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis mega development can reduce costs by up to 40 per cent through leveraging mainland China’s lower wages and construction standards, lawmakers have said. Speaking to the Post on Wednesday, legislator Michael Tien Puk-sun said the financing agreement announced the previous day would satisfy the demand of Xia Baolong, Beijing’s top man on local affairs, to accelerate the development of the metropolis near the border...

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Using mainland Chinese standards for Hong Kong rail project can cut costs by 30%’

A novel arrangement to build mass transit links in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis aims to reduce construction costs by up to 30 per cent through adopting world-leading mainland Chinese standards for railway lines, the government has said. The Highways Department said on Wednesday the estimated cost of the first phase of the Northern Link rail development was HK$31.4 billion (US$4 billion) and construction of the spur line using mainland standards was set to begin in 2027. “The mainland railway...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong lawmakers call for facial recognition system at upgraded land crossing

Hong Kong legislators have called for facial recognition technology to be adopted at the upgraded Huanggang land crossing while giving an initial green light to a HK$1.75 billion government proposal to site border clearance facilities in the complex. At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s security panel on Monday, some lawmakers also expressed concern that the expanded Huanggang checkpoint, which was designed to handle 200,000 passengers and 15,000 vehicles every day between Hong Kong and...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong proposes new rules to ban lawmakers from ‘vilifying’ Beijing

Hong Kong proposes new rules to ban lawmakers from ‘vilifying’ Beijing  The Independent

Politics

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

3 w. 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

4 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