Politics

European lawmakers have renewed their calls for the bloc’s executive arm to revoke Hong Kong’s special trade status, and to sanction the city’s chief executive and officials to protest against the conviction of former media boss Jimmy Lai on national security charges.During the debate in the European Parliament on Thursday, Hong Kong time, some MEPs stressed the importance of the EU taking concrete measures in response to the verdict, following a non-binding motion passed in the wake of an earlier national security trial that failed to prompt any action.Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid, could face life imprisonment as he awaits sentencing after being convicted last month of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspirac...

Hong Kong’s rule of law is “more robust and enduring than the outcome of any single case”, the city’s chief justice has declared after former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was found guilty in a landmark national security case that drew international scrutiny and criticism.In his speech at a ceremony to mark the opening of the legal year on Monday, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung warned that any calls for the early release of a defendant based on his occupation or political causes were a strike on the city’s rule of law, and that any threat of sanctions against judges had “absolutely no place in a civilised society”.At a press briefing after the ceremony, Cheung also weighed in on the appointment of overseas judges to the city’s top court, noting that many were willing to serve but fo...

The new head of the International Bar Association (IBA) has said that the organisation will speak out if unjustified and illegal sanctions are imposed on legal professionals in Hong Kong.The remarks from IBA president Claudio Visco came during his visit to attend the ceremonial opening of the legal year on Monday, following calls from some US politicians to sanction Hong Kong judges and prosecutors involved in national security cases.Visco said the IBA has consistently spoken out against violations of international law and that Hong Kong would not be excluded from its monitoring efforts.“Whenever sanctions occurred, and [they] were not justified and there were clear violations of international law, we intervened,” he told the Post in an interview on Sunday.He cited the IBA’s condemnation o...

The head of Hong Kong’s Tianjin liaison office has posted online about having received alleged perks, including a private ferry cabin and a five-star hotel suite upgrade, prompting calls for an investigation into a potential conflict of interest.Authorities said on Wednesday that the hotel upgrade costs did not involve public funds, adding that an investigation into the private ferry cabin incident was under way. They also vowed to take serious action if any violations were discovered.Ricky Cheng Chun-sang, director of the government’s Tianjin Liaison Unit under the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, had shared photos and selfies on the social media platform Threads allegedly showcasing such offers.Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the government’s key decision-making Executive C...

Beijing’s foreign affairs arm in Hong Kong has “strongly condemned” a group of US senators for pushing what it calls “malicious legislation” that seeks to strip the city’s trade offices in the United States of their special privileges and potentially force their closure.A spokesman for the Commissioner’s Office of the Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said the senators’ move exposed their “deep-rooted ideological prejudice” and “Cold War mentality”.“Any attempts to smear Hong Kong’s freedom and human rights, or to discredit the successful implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ are mere wishful thinking and are doomed to fail,” the spokesman said on Saturday.Earlier this week, several US senators pushed to introduce legislation targeting Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, which they sa...

The dust has settled on the election of the Legislative Council president, and committees and panels have settled into the new Legco. Most, it seems, are ready to hit the ground running. First on the agenda: dealing with the aftermath of the Tai Po fire.The more immediate matters involve the rebuilding of a community that has lost so much. Equally pressing are the long-standing issues laid bare by the tragic fire that demand the government fix the entire building sector. Consultations with displaced families on rehousing options are under way.The government has given Wang Fuk Court homeowners nine rehousing plans to consider. The quickest option would allow move-in by September. The options include Home Ownership Scheme housing developments, all outside the Tai Po district. Redevelopment w...

Hong Kong’s Ma On Shan residents will get a new cinema at the recently vacated site of its sole movie theatre, bucking the trend of closures that began during the pandemic.CineArt Cinema said on Friday it would open a new branch at MOSTown, a shopping centre in Ma On Shan, before Lunar New Year.While the chain did not specify an exact date, the first day of Lunar New Year falls on February 17.It said the venue had up to four screens and could accommodate as many as 435 patrons. It also said the outlet would have a “fresh look” in the brand’s mint-green colour palette.The Ma On Shan venue would serve as the chain’s fifth branch in Hong Kong following its other locations in Causeway Bay, Diamond Hill, Tsing Yi and Kowloon Bay.CineArt Cinema revealed its plan just four days after Emperor Cine...

Like many long-time reporters in Hong Kong, I had occasional dealings with David Webb, the market transparency and shareholder rights crusader who died this week of prostate cancer at the relatively young age of 60. Almost all of my encounters with him over the years were annoying and slightly unpleasant. But they made me respect him all the more.He once chastised me for misstating a relatively obscure Nasa space mission in the 1960s and demanded a print correction. I thought, who cares? But I was impressed he knew about it off the top of his head. That was long before Google was a thing.When you found yourself with him in a gathering of people, you somehow knew he thought he was the smartest and most knowledgeable guy in the room. Usually, he was. The fact that he was a Briton and most of...

Several newly elected Hong Kong lawmakers have not fully disclosed their unpaid directorships and those held at subsidiaries, the Post has found, prompting calls from the legislature’s House Committee chairman for greater transparency.Andrew Yao Cho-fai and Lothair Lam Ming-fung were among the Legislative Council newcomers who did not register dozens of unpaid directorships, according to a Post check on their declarations of interest, which were cross-referenced with Companies Registry records.Under current Legco guidelines, lawmakers are only required to declare paid directorships, while unpaid roles are typically listed under a discretionary category labelled “other interests”.A Post check found that Yao, representing the commercial (second) functional constituency and serving as chairma...

At least three newcomers to Hong Kong’s legislature, including two from the city’s largest political party, have failed to declare company shareholdings, the Post has found, with the trio blaming the omissions on heavy workloads or misunderstandings.The three lawmakers are Jody Kwok Fu-yung and Hung Kam-in of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), and Thomas So Shiu-tsung, a lawyer.“I am still a newcomer and have to handle many matters, such as [a new] office and meetings,” Kwok told the Post on Thursday, a day after the deadline for all lawmakers to declare their interests had passed.“I have been very cautious about my conduct, declarations of interests and speeches. This time is an honest mistake.”Lawmakers must declare shareholdings in any companies ...