Politics

Hong Kong’s top decision-making body has held 25 per cent fewer meetings in the first 3½ years of the current administration compared with the previous two governments, the South China Morning Post has found, with the group’s secretariat urging the public to focus on “outcomes of the work” rather than on the number of gatherings.The Executive Council Secretariat stopped short of commenting on the trend directly due to the principle of confidentiality, but said the government had been proactively engaging with non-official members at the early stages of policy formulation through informal briefings to make subsequent proceedings more efficient.According to official figures, the body convened 119 meetings and discussed 602 items over the first 3½ years of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s t...

Hong Kong authorities’ swift U-turn on a law requiring bus passengers to wear seat belts came about because of a lack of public consultation during policymaking and a less than thorough crafting process for the regulatory fine print, political observers have said.Failures on both fronts should serve as a wake-up call for officials and lawmakers to do much better and put themselves in the public’s shoes when formulating policies, they said.In an embarrassing about-face, authorities announced on Friday that they would repeal the law that came into force on Sunday requiring bus passengers to wear seat belts or risk a fine of up to HK$5,000 and three months in jail, following strong public criticism and the revelation that the rule only covered new vehicles registered from late January.Secreta...

People generally don’t like change. But if you have ever had to take the worst seat on a bus – lower deck, last row, middle seat – then you would have probably put on the seat belt to avoid being catapulted down the aisle should the driver slam on the brakes. And if you’re on the upper deck and the only available seats are in the front row, then again, you would buckle up, to avoid going through the window in an accident.A responsible person would wear a seat belt when sitting anywhere in the vehicle, right? Seat belts save lives, simple.Except it’s not that simple. As ridiculous as the public backlash was against new rules requiring passengers on public and private buses to wear a seat belt where available – rules that only came into effect last week but are already being suspended – some...

A new task force led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will formulate Hong Kong’s first five-year blueprint to align with the nation’s 15th five-year plan, with a political analyst saying the move signals greater government involvement in shaping the city’s development.Lee also said on Monday that he would prioritise visits to Eastern Europe and Central Asia to explore new markets for local businesses, stressing the need to “avoid putting all eggs in one basket” and mitigate risk amid geopolitical tensions.In an interview with the media, the city leader said that he would lead an interdepartmental task force to align Hong Kong’s policies with the 15th five-year plan, which would guide mainland China’s development from 2026 to 2030.For the first time, Hong Kong would devise its own five-y...

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison has launched arbitration proceedings to challenge a Panama court ruling that nullified its right to operate two ports at the country’s canal, hours after Beijing warned that the Central American nation would pay a heavy political and economic price.The conglomerate led by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s family on Wednesday said it strongly disagreed with the ruling by the country’s Supreme Court over the Panama Canal ports, which could take effect this month.It said that its subsidiary, Panama Ports Company (PPC), had taken action against it.“On February 3, 2026, PPC commenced, and will pursue vigorously, arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Panama pursuant to the applicable concession contract and the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chambe...

The head of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong has called on the city to focus on economic progress, proactively align with national development and strengthen the executive-led governance model.Office director Zhou Ji made the remarks on Wednesday at a reception to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year, highlighting Beijing’s expectations for Hong Kong in keeping with the country’s 15th five-year plan. He also urged Hongkongers to overcome adversity by embracing the “Lion Rock Spirit” and stand united.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu outlined four key priorities for the coming year in his speech at the event hosted by the office: deepening integration into national development; boosting the economy; improving residents’ livelihoods; and optimising the executive-led mechanism.Zhou, attend...

A subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings has accused Panamanian authorities of undermining due process by making an “unnotified intrusion” at a facility storing materials related to ongoing legal proceedings.The Panama Ports Company (PPC) on Friday accused the country’s government of creating a crisis, calling the “illegal takeover” of two port facilities at the Panama Canal a failure to comply with “constitutional, contractual and international obligations”.The former operator of the Balboa and Cristobal ports issued a statement a day after Panamanian media reported that local authorities had searched one of the company’s offices. Boxes of documents were seen being taken away during the raid.In a ruling last month, the Panamanian Supreme Court declared that a law appro...

The move was announced on Saturday evening after Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said that at least nine flights have been cancelled or postponed, while the government issued a fresh warning against travel to Iran.The warning came after the United States and Israel launched major air strikes on targets across Iran on Saturday, in what appeared to be one of the most direct and expansive attacks on the country in years.“The safety of our customers and crew guides every decision we make and we are continuously monitoring the situation. Support is being provided to affected customers,” Cathay Pacific said.“We will review the situation before recommencing flights to or over the region. Customers are strongly advised to check our website at cathaypacific.com before travelling to the airport.”Passe...

Hong Kong sees itself as a modern, well-governed, global city that moves with the times. On finance, education, legal services and logistics, that self-image holds. But when considering the green transition, particularly transport electrification, the gap between rhetoric and reality is increasingly hard to ignore.Nowhere is this more evident than in electrifying the taxi fleet, where the quarter-century timeline floated bears little resemblance to what is standard practice in neighbouring Shenzhen and other mainland cities and increasingly globally.Importantly, given our fintech expertise and global financial clout, the city is positioning itself as a regional hub for green finance, using its capital market strengths to support regional low‑carbon projects.Despite these initiatives, our s...

Former governor Chris Patten once said nobody ever profited from betting against Hong Kong. Anybody wagering against its “one country, two systems” policy will undoubtedly be out of pocket.Since 1997, the policy has been the city’s lodestar. While the post-reunification settlement was repeatedly challenged, most notably during the 2019 social unrest, Hong Kong has emerged stronger. The Basic Law sustained it throughout and Beijing’s support was unwavering.With national security legislation, Hong Kong’s capitalist system and way of life are secure. Last year, its economy grew by 3.5 per cent while the number of foreign and mainland Chinese companies rose by 11 per cent to 11,070. Hong Kong is taking full advantage of the “high degree of autonomy” promised under the Basic Law. It is nothing ...