Politics

Retired Catholic leader Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and four other activists have lost an appeal against their convictions for failing to register their legal defence fund for those involved in the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong.The Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a magistrate’s findings that the now-defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund fell within the definition of a society under the Societies Ordinance and its members were required to register the group with police or ask for an exemption.The court found the registration scheme was constitutional and that it did not impose an unacceptably harsh burden on the exercise of the right to freedom of association.The three presiding judges also ruled that the fund was not a validly constituted trust but instead a vehicle for supporting th...

Exploring new channels for connection is important for enhancing communication. That seems to be one of the major themes of the first “new style Legco dialogue” with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, held last week after lawmakers returned from their study trip to Beijing.Legislative Council members were clearly eager to share ideas with Lee, beginning with suggesting that the city’s 1823 public inquiry and complaint hotline be revamped and modelled after Beijing’s 12345 complaints hotline. Given the Hong Kong government’s artificial intelligence (AI) push, developing an AI-assisted inquiry and complaint hotline to better serve residents makes sense.It would help Lee and his government keep track of and manage government responses, thereby enhancing accountability and shedding li...

A veteran mainland Chinese economic crime investigator and former police official has been appointed to lead the discipline inspection and supervision group at Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs.Hua Liebing, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security’s economic crime investigation bureau, fills the vacancy at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) left by Geng Changyou, who stepped down last year to become secretary of Hebei province’s Commission for Discipline Inspection.The new appointment was revealed on Tuesday when the office updated its organisation chart on its website.It marked another change in the office’s top ranks following the selection of Zhang Dongmei, a former vice-president of the All-China Women’s Federation, as a deputy director in March....

About 500 Hong Kong students are getting a taste of army life, with the PLA garrison launching its annual summer camp to instil patriotism and discipline, and teach military skills, among young people.Among the new recruits is Lo Wan-lung, a Form One student at Salesian English School who is attending the two-week camp for the first time.Attracted by the chance of weapons-related training, the young military enthusiast said he was curious to experience holding weapons during mock shooting drills.Ahead of the camp, Lo spent days at home studying and practising how to fold his clothes and bedding into the sharp, perfectly squared “tofu blocks” required under People’s Liberation Army (PLA) standards.“I knew that we would have to fold our bedding into ‘tofu blocks’ at the camp, so I wanted to ...

Hong Kong lawmakers will hold a three-day joint debate in early October on the city’s annual policy address and first five-year plan, with Legislative Council president Starry Lee Wai-king seeking to extend the session so legislators have enough time to reflect residents’ views.The Legco earlier announced a combined debate from October 7 to 9, requested by the government, to cover both the motion of thanks on the policy address and a government motion on the five-year blueprint moved by the chief secretary.“For this first joint debate, I hope to secure a longer duration than before so that lawmakers will have more time for a comprehensive discussion,” Lee said on Sunday, adding that final arrangements would be confirmed with the chief executive.“The two [documents] are definitely interconn...

The recent decision by the US government not to extend its Hong Kong-related state of emergency saw the effective lifting of sanctions on nine mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials. At a Ministry of Commerce press briefing, a spokesman called it “an important step in fulfilling the consensus” reached in negotiations.Some view the move as a part of the wider attempt at stabilising bilateral relations after US President Donald Trump’s visit to China in May and ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected reciprocal visit to the United States this September. The latter would coincide with the UN General Debate.Some have cautioned against reading too much into the move. The trend in Sino-American relations remains one of controlled decoupling with particular emphasis on insulating their...

The student union of Hong Kong’s Lingnan University has announced it will dissolve after nearly six decades in operation due to “changes in the situation both on and off campus”, marking the latest in a spate of closures among such organisations in recent years.In a social media post on Thursday, the student union said it had passed a resolution to dissolve after holding a recent joint meeting. Its decision means that only two of Hong Kong’s public universities still have active student unions, one of which is no longer allowed to operate on campus.“Since its establishment in 1967, the union has always upheld the spirit of unity and mutual help among students and actively maintained close ties with the university to seek the well-being of all Lingnan students,” it said.“Furthermore, the un...

Nominations for Hong Kong’s powerful Election Committee will take place in October, with the vote for 982 seats of the 1,500-member body – which picks the city’s leader and some of the legislative candidates – taking place a month later.A government spokesman said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu had specified November 22 as the polling date for the committee’s subsector ordinary elections and that the relevant notice had been gazetted on Friday.The spokesman added that the nomination period would run from October 7 to 20, and that the chief electoral officer would publish “in due course” a notice specifying the period within which nomination forms were to be submitted.“The government will continue to work closely with the Electoral Affairs Commission to actively carry out preparatory work...

Hong Kong’s leader will deliver the city’s first five-year plan and his annual policy address on September 16, stressing that presenting the blueprints together will help residents better understand how they are deeply connected.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced the move on Wednesday after he visited residents from lower-income households and inspected community services at Un Chau Estate in Sham Shui Po district to gather public views.Lee said unveiling the five-year plan and then his policy address shortly afterwards would help residents better grasp how they complemented each other in defining the vision for Hong Kong’s future.“The five-year plan draws the eyes of a dragon, while the policy address draws the entire dragon … but the public may not fully understand how they work ...

Hong Kong’s security chief has warned he will take down anyone who endangers national security, while also slamming an embattled press group for lacking credibility ahead of an already delayed leadership election.Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) was “not a statutory organisation” and that candidates for its executive committee reportedly included no representatives from mainstream local media outlets, undermining its legitimacy.“All the candidates this time are reportedly from foreign media, so-called free media, or online media. There is not a single person from Hong Kong’s mainstream media,” he said. “How can it call itself the Hong Kong Journalists Association?”He also accused the group of running a “black box”...