3 h. ago Hong Kong leader to use ‘all possible means to speed up Northern Metropolis’

Hong Kong’s leader will exhaust all means, including leveraging legal, administrative and private sector efforts, to speed up development of the Northern Metropolis megaproject near the border with mainland China, the Post has learned. Measures being considered include setting up a company as a vehicle to attract industries more efficiently, adopting mainland construction standards and elevating the development’s decision-making process to a senior level, government sources have revealed ahead...

Politics

4 h. ago Chamber submits wish list to Hong Kong leader ahead of policy address

The Hong Kong government should appeal to up and coming mainland technology companies to move part of their operations to the city and introduce measures to boost the market turnover of smaller listed companies, according to the chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Listed Companies (HKCLC). The chamber floated these recommendations to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu during a recent consultation session ahead of his Policy Address on Wednesday. “Hong Kong’s listing reforms have already attracted...

Politics

24 h. ago Hong Kong policy address: Lee’s tie nod to city’s role as mainland China bridge

Hong Kong’s leader and his team will wear a tie and silk scarf that symbolise the city’s role in bridging mainland China with the world when he delivers his fourth policy blueprint on Wednesday, as he explained his philosophy in a video partly created using AI technology. The different designs were conceived by instructors and students of fashion courses from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong Design Institute, and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong...

Events

27 h. ago Hong Kong’s John Lee to tackle civil servant accountability in policy address

Hong Kong’s leader will introduce a mechanism to hold senior civil servants accountable for their misconduct in his policy blueprint, targeting incidents such as a recent bottled water supply scandal, the Post has learned. But political observers have warned of a possible pushback from civil servants concerned about job security, while recommending the government implement gradual changes with robust investigative procedures. According to a government source, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is...

Events

51 h. ago How will Hong Kong’s John Lee help the jobless, the unhappy old and the young?

With Hong Kong leader John Lee set to deliver his annual policy address on September 17, the Post examines key topics the chief executive is expected to focus on, including a mega infrastructure project near the border, new economic drivers and livelihood issues. In the last of a seven-part series, Emily Hung looks at the systemic issues plaguing unemployed workers, elderly carers and young people that Lee is expected to address in the second last policy blueprint of his first term. Click here...

Politics

62 h. ago Hong Kong’s John Lee tipped to relaunch public housing sale scheme for tenants

Hong Kong’s leader is expected to relaunch a scheme allowing public flat tenants to buy their homes as part of his policy address, but observers have raised concerns about settling property management disputes and called for a review of the subsidised housing regime. Insiders told the Post on Friday that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s coming policy blueprint would include a proposal to restart the Tenants Purchase Scheme, a measure that was active from 1998 to 2006 and allowed tenants at 39...

Economics

3 d. ago Hong Kong aiming to become top art trading hub to rival New York: source

Hong Kong’s leader aims to elevate the city into a “world-class high-end art trading hub” to rival New York under measures to be revealed in his fourth policy address next Wednesday, the Post has learned. Efforts to strengthen the city’s multibillion-dollar art trading industry would include boosting services in financing, insurance and professional training, and designating maintenance and storage spaces in a cultural hub and near the airport, a government source said. The move will align with...

Politics

3 d. ago How will Hong Kong’s John Lee strike middle ground in policy address?

With Hong Kong leader John Lee set to deliver his annual policy address on September 17, the Post examines key topics the chief executive is expected to focus on, including a mega infrastructure project near the border, new economic drivers and livelihood issues. In the sixth of a seven-part series, Cannix Yau examines the economic challenges and political expectations to be addressed in Lee’s second last policy blueprint of his term. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will have to confront a...

Events

5 d. ago What’s working in Hong Kong’s talent scheme and what needs tweaking?

With Hong Kong leader John Lee set to deliver his annual policy address on September 17, the Post examines key topics the chief executive is expected to focus on, including a mega infrastructure project near the border, new economic drivers and livelihood issues. In the fourth of a seven-part series, Willa Wu gives an update on the city’s talent schemes and examines how they can be refined to match Hong Kong’s economic needs. Zhang Jun* had a bittersweet moment when he renewed his visa under...

Politics

5 d. 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

6 d. ago Hong Kong’s economy is growing, but why are some sectors still hurting?

With Hong Kong leader John Lee set to deliver his annual policy address on September 17, the Post examines key topics the chief executive is expected to focus on, including a mega infrastructure project near the border, new economic drivers and livelihood issues. In the third of a seven-part series, Lam Ka-sing looks at how the wider business community outside the financial sector can be supported amid economic transition. Jacky Ko Chung-kit, who owns two media companies in Hong Kong, has not...

Politics

6 d. ago In Northern Metropolis, can tech sector help Hong Kong’s economy remake itself?

With Hong Kong leader John Lee set to deliver his annual policy address on September 17, the Post examines key topics the chief executive is expected to focus on, including a mega infrastructure project near the border, new economic drivers and livelihood issues. In the second of a seven-part series, Edith Lin examines how the mega development near the border may evolve to become a new engine to transform the city’s economy. Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis can be a game changer in diversifying...

Politics

8 d. ago Villagers slowly making way for development in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis

With Hong Kong leader John Lee set to deliver his annual policy address on September 17, the Post examines key topics the chief executive is expected to focus on, including a mega infrastructure project near the border, new economic drivers and livelihood issues. In the first of a seven-part series, Vivian Au finds out how villagers and businesses are surviving in an area the government has promised to transform into a new economic engine. Fish farmer Kwok Chi-yau has spent more than half a...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Very disappointed’: John Lee speaks for first time on Hong Kong’s water scandal

Hong Kong’s leader has expressed deep disappointment over the Government Logistics Department’s failure to detect fraudulent documents before awarding a HK$52.9 million (US$6.78 million) contract to a bottled water supplier, urging authorities to plug loopholes in the procurement process as soon as possible. Commenting on the water supply scandal for the first time, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said the treasury minister’s response to the incident had been timely and appropriate. Lee...

Politics

3 w. ago Policy address set for September 17, Hong Kong leader says during community visit

Hong Kong’s leader visited eastern Kowloon’s grassroots residents on Saturday morning as part of a consultation exercise ahead of his policy address, which he announced will be on September 17. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Saturday began his visit to two families living in a “light public housing” project on Ngau Tau Kok’s Choi Hing Road before heading to the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate. “The purpose of launching light public housing is to allow those in need to move in in a quicker manner...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong urged to expedite government accountability system after water scandal

A vague public apology and blaming a procedural “flaw” have failed to quell public discontent over the government’s water procurement scandal, political analysts have said, urging Hong Kong’s leader to accelerate developing a civil servant accountability system. Analysts made the call on Friday as the government told the Post that the central tender board, chaired by a permanent secretary of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, had given the final approval to the bottled water...

Politics

3 w. ago Apology for Hong Kong water scandal not enough to stem public’s anger: experts

A vague public apology and blaming a procedural “flaw” have failed to quell public discontent over the government’s water procurement scandal, political analysts have said, urging Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu to accelerate developing a civil servant accountability system. Analysts made the call on Friday as the government said that the central tender board, chaired by the permanent secretary of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, had given the final approval to the bottled water...

Science

3 w. ago Trump isn’t the first leader to be paranoid about economic data

Who before this month had ever heard of Erika McEntarfer, the career statistician who toiled quietly and uncontroversially at the heart of the US data-gathering machine, for 20 years at the Census Bureau and more recently as head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics? Who except US President Donald Trump could have sought to create a firestorm out of dull labour statistics, accusing McEntarfer of rigging jobs numbers to contradict his narrative of a robustly recovering economy, and making an...

Politics

3 w. ago CY Leung urges Hong Kong talent scheme transparency amid estimated 60,000 renewals

Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has urged the government to disclose data regarding its talent policy to address public concerns over the short- and long-term impact on the city’s capacity, warning the number of professionals opting to renew their visas could be as high as 60,000. A think tank also said on Monday, following Leung’s appeal a day before, that authorities should review the talent schemes and ensure they align with long-term local workforce demands. Leung said it was natural...

Politics