24 h. ago Hong Kong’s hawkers could ‘disappear’ by 2033 unless rules are eased: lawmaker

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

Events

24 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 Hong Kong may relax Japanese seafood ban soon: industry leader

Hong Kong may soon relax its ban on Japanese seafood imports from 10 prefectures, according to an industry leader, but a restaurateur has said the move will not offset the damage from the growing trend of residents spending abroad. The industry insiders spoke on Monday after the government underscored the need for prudence in allowing Japanese seafood imports without shedding any light on a potential lifting of the ban. On Sunday, Beijing partially lifted its own ban on such products, which had...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong may relax Japanese seafood ban soon: catering industry leader

Hong Kong may soon relax its ban on Japanese seafood imports from 10 prefectures, according to a catering industry leader, but a restaurateur has said the move will not offset the damage from the growing trend of residents spending abroad. The industry insiders spoke on Monday after the government underscored the need for prudence in allowing Japanese seafood imports without shedding any light on a potential lifting of the ban. On Sunday, Beijing partially lifted its own ban on such products,...

Politics

8 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

1 week ago Hong Kong weighs relaxing building rules for university student hostels

Hong Kong authorities are considering relaxing rules for the construction of university student hostels in commercial and non-residential areas to ease a supply shortage. The proposal has attracted support from private operators, who said they currently needed to fulfil certain requirements when transforming hotels into hostels. The Development Bureau told the Post it was considering scrapping or simplifying building procedures required for student hostels on commercial and non-residential...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong to relax rules for converting hotels into university student hostels

Hong Kong authorities will relax rules for converting hotels into university student accommodation to ease a supply shortage under a pilot scheme to be launched next month. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Friday, the Development Bureau said it would expand the definition of “hotels” to include student hostels, waive planning procedures and simplify applications, allowing private operators to build the dormitories on commercial land more easily. “Under the latest plan,...

Society

3 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