Politics

Hong Kong’s High Court will hand down its judgment in the national security trial of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying on Monday.Judges Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana Maria D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee Wan-tang will deliver their verdict at 10am in a hearing that is expected to last for about an hour, according to the judiciary’s website, following a marathon trial that concluded in August after more than 1½ years.Lai, who has been detained since December 2020, has denied two conspiracy counts of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print seditious articles.He allegedly used his news outlet and social media platforms to trigger international sanctions and incite public disaffection towards authorities between April 2019 and June 2021.He is also said to have provide...

Hong Kong will hold the Apec finance ministers’ meeting in October next year as part of China’s efforts to host the regional economic forum, the Post has learned.A source also revealed on Friday that Macau would host the tourism ministers’ meeting for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that the 33rd Apec economic leaders’ meeting would be held in Shenzhen next year.He said the country would use its role as forum host to work with other nations to promote growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.During the Apec handover ceremony last month, Xi described Shenzhen as a place “adjacent to Hong Kong”, noting it had “transformed from a backward fishing village into a modern international metropolis in just a few decades”.He also...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app.Some 31.9 per cent of registered voters cast their ballots in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election on Sunday, surpassing the record low turnout four years ago in a poll held just over a week after the deadly blaze in Tai Po.While the turnout rate increased by 1.7 percentage points, the total number of registered voters who cast their ballot dropped by 33,000 compared with 2021 in the second Legco poll held under Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral overhaul.Vote counting was under way overnight, with the results suggesting that four incumbents lost their seats and new faces are mak...

Hong Kong has now elected members to the new Legislative Council. Despite the temporary suspension of campaigning work and candidate debates after the Tai Po fire broke out, the polls were held as planned to avert a constitutional crisis. It was a tough decision to make. The official mourning period may have ended on December 1, but hearts remain heavy.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu emphasised the need to “move forward” when it came to holding the election on schedule. He argued that he needs his “partners” in the legislature the most on the city’s path to reconstruction after the devastation of the Tai Po fire, for support and follow-up work and so that reform continues apace.That is true: our first lessons must include any systemic failures within and across government departments that...

Nearly 44 per cent of the Hong Kong Legislative Council’s seats have been reshuffled after four incumbent lawmakers lost their re-election bids and 35 others bowed out of the race.Those four who failed to secure another term in Sunday’s poll are Kwok Wai-keung and Michael Luk Chung-hung of the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), along with Frankie Ngan Man-yu and Edmund Wong Chun-sek of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).The results mean that 39, or 43.8 per cent, of the 89 current lawmakers will bid farewell to the chamber, as 35 of them had already decided not to seek re-election.The two FTU candidates had both switched from other constituencies to contest in directly elected geographical seats.Kwok, a three-term lawmaker, switched from the labour co...

The numbers were tallied overnight and 90 newly minted lawmakers will begin their term in January after winning in Sunday’s Legislative Council election.The citywide poll which drew a turnout of 31.9 per cent – slightly higher than four years ago, at 30.2 per cent – delivered a few surprises as several new faces defeated incumbent lawmakers from leading parties.The Post highlights the key takeaways from the election, the second held under Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral overhaul in 2021.Fewer voters, more invalid votes despite better turnoutThe government’s all-out efforts to promote the poll yielded a turnout rate of 31.9 per cent, an increase from the record low 30.2 per cent in the previous Legco election in 2021.Despite the better turnout rate, the number of people who actually vot...

Hong Kong’s insurers should make it easier for residents affected by the deadly Tai Po fire to file claims and consider incorporating fire safety inspection results into underwriting, according to sector representatives contesting a seat in the legislature.Insurance sector candidates Chan Pui-leung and Simon Lam Yat-tung made the appeals on Wednesday during a government-led forum, the first held since last week’s blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, which claimed at least 159 lives.Chan, the general manager of state-owned China Taiping Insurance (Hong Kong), urged insurers to set up more green channels and streamline procedures to help affected residents claim funds and rebuild their lives after the disaster.His company is the insurer responsible for covering the housing estate’s property da...

A Beijing official in Hong Kong has voiced confidence in the city’s ability to handle both the coming Legislative Council election and the aftermath of the deadly Tai Po fire, calling local authorities’ decision to proceed with the poll respectful of the constitutional order.Liu Guangyuan, deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said on Thursday that the local government had adopted the “most responsible attitude” by moving ahead with Sunday’s election, even after last week’s inferno, which claimed at least 159 lives.“The chief executive has announced the election will be held as planned out of respect for the constitutional order,” Liu said at a forum held on China’s Constitution Day, which falls on December 4.“[The poll] will strongly support recovery from the disaster,...

Last week’s deadly fire has cast a heavy shadow over Hong Kong, reminding us of the fragility of life and the need for solidarity in hard times. The central government has responded swiftly with its full attention and support. Aid and sympathy have poured in from across China, underscoring that Hong Kong’s pain is shared. The cause of the fire must be investigated and learned from in due course, but for now the priority is resilience.The announcement that the Legislative Council election will proceed as planned this Sunday amid such grief is not a sign of indifference but trust – that Hongkongers can govern the special administrative region responsibly under “one country, two systems”. It offers Hong Kong an opportunity to display political and societal maturity: to show resilience in the ...

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to sharpen the city’s competitive edge to better serve the country’s development by applying the guiding principles of the fourth plenum in everyday governance.Lee made the pledge after attending a seminar at government headquarters that featured the head of the country’s top scientific think tank on Monday.Hou Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in his address that the latest five-year plan endorsed during last month’s plenum in Beijing had significant “traction, driving and supporting roles in advancing Chinese modernisation”.According to the Hong Kong government, Hou suggested the city leverage its advantages, strengthen “forward-looking and pioneering” basic research and build a hub for high-calibre talent, as well a...