Politics

A state partnership would fundamentally alter the operating structure of two key Panama Canal ports and could trigger significant losses for Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, which was facing mounting hurdles over a US$23 billion asset sale, experts said.The Hong Kong-based conglomerate is in the grip of a legal and political firestorm in the Central American nation which threatens its control over the two politically sensitive ports at either end of the strategic waterway.Escalating the crisis, Panama’s president, Jose Raul Mulino, last week floated the idea of turning the ports’ operation into a public-private ownership if a Supreme Court challenge to the company’s concession was successful.The Panamanian comptroller general’s office, an independent financial wat...

Hong Kong authorities have introduced new punitive measures targeting 16 overseas activists wanted for alleged national security offences, prohibiting anyone from funding them and cancelling most of the absconders’ passports.Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung exercised the powers under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance on Monday to impose new measures against 16 absconders involved in a group called the “Hong Kong Parliament”.Authorities have deemed the group to be subversive and accused it of violating the Beijing-imposed 2020 national security law.The 16 targeted activists include Victor Ho Leung-mau, Chin Po-fun and Chan Lai-chun.The government has prohibited anyone from making available or dealing with funds and certain activities in connection with the immovable p...

A politician who sits on Hong Kong’s top decision-making Executive Council has apologised to the city’s constitutional minister after slamming his “annoying” attempts to lobby support for a controversial same-sex partnership bill.Legislator Stanley Ng Chau-pei, who is also president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), held out an olive branch on Friday, praising the minister’s “dedication” and “hard work” after earlier chiding the official for “threatening” him.At the centre of the brouhaha was the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill, which seeks to establish a framework for the recognition of such partnerships. If the bill is passed, same-sex partners registered locally will be granted rights related to medical and after-death matters.Secretary for Constitutional and...

Britain has reassured Hongkongers settled in the country that they will not be handed over for “politically motivated purposes” under its plan to reinstate case-by-case extradition cooperation with the city, stressing the court can play its gatekeeping role.UK security minister Dan Jarvis made his remarks in a reply to David Alton, the chair of the joint committee on human rights in the House of Lords, who posted the letter on social media on Thursday, amid fears that the plan would send Hong Kong activists seeking refuge in the country to the city.“This government will never allow a situation where Hongkongers or any other nationality is extradited for politically motivated purposes,” Jarvis wrote.The UK government last week revealed its plan to reinstate some form of extradition cooperat...

Macau national security police have arrested a man – reportedly a prominent opposition figure and former lawmaker – for alleged collusion with foreign forces, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the gambling hub.The Macau Judiciary Police on Thursday said it had arrested a 68-year-old resident, surnamed Au, the day before for acts that allegedly helped foreign organisations to disseminate false information about the city and arouse hatred among residents towards the government.Local media have reported that the resident is Au Kam-san, a prominent opposition figure and former lawmaker, who for decades advocated for democratic reforms in Macau.“The investigation revealed strong indications that the suspect … had long colluded with hostile forces outside the country,” the ...

Hong Kong lawmakers have taken two days to complete a clause-by-clause examination of a bill to recognise certain rights for same-sex couples, despite strong opposition in the city’s legislature.Legislators raised 33 questions during two bills committee meetings on Monday, with their concerns including criminal offences associated with the proposed registration regime for same-sex couples.Twenty-eight questions were raised when the bill was first discussed on Friday.The Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill is the government’s answer to a 2023 ruling from the Court of Final Appeal that gave authorities two years to draw up laws setting out “core rights” for same-sex couples, but did not outline what they might be.A source earlier told the Post that the government would apply to the co...

Three more activists among the 47 Hong Kong opposition figures charged in the city’s largest national security case for conspiracy to commit subversion have been released from prison.Former union leader Carol Ng Man-yee, and activists Nathan Lau Chak-fung and Frankie Fung Tak-chun were the third batch of defendants in the landmark case to complete their four-year-and-five-month sentences.The trio, who pleaded guilty, were separately sent to their residences in vans from the Lo Wu Correctional Institution and Stanley Prison on Monday morning.Asked about his feelings, Lau put on a smile and shook his head while walking towards his block.Nathan Lau was freed from prison after completing his sentence under the national security law. Photo: HandoutLau, 28, was the president of the student union...

News that the government has withdrawn tenders for two sites to speed up development of the Northern Metropolis comes as Hong Kong is still celebrating the anniversaries of various economic initiatives from a previous era. There could not be a better illustration of the changes in the city’s approach to economic development.On Monday, the Development Bureau announced that it was withdrawing from two sites that had previously been open to private sector bidders. A three-hectare lot in Yuen Long will instead be given to the wholly government-owned Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, which already runs an innovation park on adjacent land. The site will be used to build a microelectronics industrial ecosystem. Meanwhile, an eight-hectare site in Hung Shui Kiu will be developed ...

Earlier this year, Hong Kong launched its first fully electric ferry. In June, jurisdictions within the Greater Bay Area development zone marked a national event for the environment. Against this backdrop, a quiet but important shift is under way.Policymakers in the Greater Bay Area are no longer just thinking about sustainability; they are setting it in motion. With the development zone becoming a hub for experimentation in smart infrastructure and climate innovation, the time is ripe to consider a low-carbon tourism corridor linking cities through cleaner and smarter ways to travel.Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macau are already renowned for connectivity, with high-speed rail, cross-border bridges and integrated metro systems. But while the physical infrastructure is world-class, the...

The Hong Kong government has hit out at “irresponsible remarks” by Western countries for the second straight day following its decision to pursue overseas-based activists for alleged national security violations related to a group called “Hong Kong Parliament”.Authorities said on Sunday that they strongly opposed and disapproved of “smears with distorted facts” that had been communicated by officials and politicians from countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, as well as “anti-China organisations”.“Not only did such foreign government officials and politicians, as well as anti-China organisations, turn a blind eye to illegal acts of criminals, but also deliberately smeared and spread irresponsible remarks, in an attempt to mislead the public, about the measures and actions taken by...