Politics

The farewell to former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa was moving because it marked the passing of a figure who stood at the beginning of a wholly new chapter for Hong Kong, a city to which he devoted so much of himself.For many, Tung will always be associated with the formidable demands of the early years after the return to the motherland – the Asian financial crisis, the bursting of the property bubble, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and sharp social divisions. The institutions of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were new; the expectations placed upon them were immense.The official eulogy, delivered on behalf of the central government by Shi Taifeng, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), deserves to be read in that context. I...

Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan highlighted its DNA as an international city while emphasising the market economy, the chief executive has said.Speaking at a National Day reception on Thursday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the city needed a blueprint with strategic vision amid the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape and accelerated growth of artificial intelligence, as he highlighted three features of the plan that was unveiled last month.“[It] adheres to the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. This means that the five-year plan must be developed under the Basic Law framework,” he said, referring to the city’s governing principle and mini-constitution.“The Basic Law expressly provides for the practice of capitalism and the common law system, as well as the free flow of ...

The United States Congress has reportedly launched a probe after a shipment of sensitive F-35 fighter jet parts was said to have been unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong and went missing, with the city’s authorities declining to comment on the case.A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said over the weekend that it would not comment on individual cases, a day after US media outlet Politico reported the story.Citing three anonymous sources, Politico said the F-35 parts were shipped from Australia to the United States for repairs and were diverted to Hong Kong as they transited the Pacific Ocean this summer.The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Programme Office confirmed it was “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components”, saying it was working with US authorities and indu...

Hong Kong’s media should eliminate falsehoods and expand their global reach, the chief executive has said, urging journalists to serve as “spokespeople” for good stories about mainland China and the city.City leader John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday outlined his two expectations for the industry in a speech at an event held by the media marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.His first expectation was for media workers to safeguard the truth, dispel falsehoods and promote the good, invoking a Chinese idiom that translates as “draining away filth and ushering in fresh water”.

Hong Kong’s first post-colonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa, has been lauded as a pioneer of “one country, two systems”, a staunch patriot and a close friend of the Communist Party who also contributed to Sino-US relations, according to a eulogy delivered by a senior Beijing official.In his remarks at Tung’s state funeral on Sunday, seen by the South China Morning Post, Shi Taifeng – a Politburo member and first vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – also hailed Tung’s role in supporting the government in quelling the 2019 social unrest and in safeguarding national security.“He always placed national interests first and throughout his life upheld the belief that patriotism is a natural conviction,” said Shi, who visited the city as chairman of Tung’s fu...

On September 8, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive, died. It prompted reflection, not only on a political figure who once stood at the centre of the city’s public life, but also on nearly three decades of change since its return to China.History is rarely shaped by a single person or isolated decisions. Individual choices, institutional adjustments, social expectations and external circumstances all interact to form the historical process. This is particularly true in Tung’s case. To understand the significance of Hong Kong’s first chief executive, one must return to the historical context.British colonial rule left Hong Kong with a highly developed administrative system built around efficiency, procedure and order. This administrative tradition became an important part of Ho...

Hong Kong district councillor Peggy Wong Pik-kiu has resigned from office and several other community roles citing health reasons, following mounting controversy over her team’s alleged proxy-vote collection before last year’s fatal Wang Fuk Court inferno.Wong, a directly elected district councillor for the Tai Po South constituency, also stepped down from her duties as a member of the Tai Po South Area Committee and captain of the Tai Po Kwong Fuk and Plover Cove subdistrict care team.The Home Affairs Department announced the resignations on Saturday, issuing a statement in which Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said she respected Wong’s decision.

The Hong Kong government has rejected an annual European Union report alleging that the administration is undermining the city’s fundamental freedoms, calling its claims “unfounded and biased”.The more than 4,500-word statement, issued early on Wednesday, followed the publication on Tuesday of the EU’s 2025 annual report on Hong Kong. The report was jointly issued by the European Commission and the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas.It highlighted national security trials involving opposition activists, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Joshua Wong Chi-fung, as well as the disbandment of the Democratic Party ahead of the second “patriots-only” Legislative Council election, among other issues.

Updated declarations of interest by members of Hong Kong’s top decision-making body have revealed new business ventures and corporate board appointments for several former veteran lawmakers, while constitutional affairs chief Janice Tse Siu-wa remains the biggest landlord among ministers.The Executive Council’s annually updated declarations of interest were published on Thursday in accordance with regulations requiring all members, including senior politically appointed officials, to declare their investments, property ownership and membership of community groups.The documents shed light on the new roles taken on by several Exco members who stepped down as legislators last December.Former insurance sector lawmaker Chan Kin-por, who sits on the independent committee examining the cause of l...

A Hong Kong and Macau youth delegation trip to Beijing to pay tribute to the national flag has showcased the “fruitful results” of the two cities’ patriotic education efforts, according to the central government.A commentary published by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Tuesday also said that President Xi Jinping and the central government attached great importance to the five-day visit, during which the delegation received “vivid patriotic education” through immersive visits and experiences in the capital.“The event fully showed the fruitful results of the Hong Kong and Macau governments’ efforts to strengthen patriotic education for youth,” the office said in a commentary published under the pen name “Gang Ao Ping”.It added that both governments had thoroughly implemented the sp...