Politics

The Hong Kong Bar Association will travel to Beijing next week to meet mainland Chinese officials, becoming the first delegation to visit the capital since the city’s deadliest fire in decades and its recent Legislative Council election.Chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet told the Post on Wednesday that the delegation would be happy to discuss possible legal reforms brought by the deadly Tai Po fire with central government authorities, including the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), Beijing’s top office overseeing the city.“If those we meet are interested in legal issues which arise from, say, law reforms in terms of building management or safety … we will be sharing what the bar has done and can do at this very difficult time,” he said.“Our aim is to continue the tradition where we ...

Former Hong Kong commerce minister Gregory So Kam-leung has died at the age of 67.It was understood that So, a lawyer by trade who served as the city’s secretary for commerce and economic development between 2011 and 2017, had been in hospital for some time before he died on Saturday morning.He oversaw a number of thorny issues during his tenure, including broadcast regulation, intellectual property protection and a controversial bid for a free-to-air broadcast licence by outspoken businessman and media executive Ricky Wong Wai-kay.So, a former chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, first joined the government in 2008 as undersecretary at the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu expressed sorrow over So’s death...

Christine Fong Kwok-shan, a long-time district councillor in Hong Kong known for defending constituents’ rights with fiery and sometimes controversial political acts, has pledged to abandon her past protest methods, now that she has been elected as a lawmaker.The city’s new “Queen of Votes” in the Legislative Council election, who previously positioned herself as an independent moderate belonging neither to the pan-democratic nor pro-establishment bloc, reaffirmed her stance as a “patriot” who was part of the pro-establishment camp, and pledged to “share honour and disgrace” with the government during her tenure.Fong, 59, finally secured a place in the legislature with her sixth bid over 17 years by winning more than 58,000 votes – the highest number among candidates – in Sunday’s election...

Within hours of the Wang Fuk Court fire, international news channels were broadcasting harrowing scenes of burning buildings and a community in chaos. Thousands were displaced, the death toll has, sadly, reached 160, and the city is still seeking answers. Hong Kong was thrust into the global media spotlight, drawing its most intense scrutiny since 2019.I was attending the “Think Business, Think Hong Kong” event in Milan when I saw the first images of the burning buildings. The event, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, brought business and government leaders together to showcase the city as a gateway and partner for international companies eager to enter Asia.Watching from afar, I shared the shock and pain that rippled through the community as flames ravaged towers, turni...

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...