Politics

China’s top legislative body will review the nation’s next five-year development plan in its annual session in March, where Hong Kong’s role in contributing to national development is also expected to be discussed, according to the city’s sole delegate to the body.Starry Lee Wai-king, a member of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said on Saturday that the proposed agenda for the session – which includes the 15th five-year plan, as well as the government’s work report and budgets – would play a crucial role in shaping the country’s short-to-medium-term development.Lee said she was gathering opinions from the Hong Kong public before formulating proposals to submit at the session.“The focus will revolve around Hong Kong’s role in the 15th five-year plan, including furth...

Immigration authorities are following up on requests for assistance after two Hongkongers were reportedly killed in Ukraine while volunteering in the country’s war against Russia.In a reply to the Post, the Immigration Department said on Saturday that it had been following up on the requests and was providing support to the families of those involved.“Upon receiving the relevant requests for assistance, the Hong Kong Immigration Department immediately sought information from the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong and the Chinese embassy in Ukraine, including the identity of the people concerned, and provided appropriate advice and feasible assistance in accordance with the wishes of their families,” the department said.“The Immigration Department will continue t...

Hong Kong’s Starry Lee Wai-king has said her roles as a delegate to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee and at the Legislative Council do not conflict, but she has stopped short of revealing whether she will run for the latter’s presidency.Lee, a member of China’s top legislative body, on Sunday held off giving a definitive reply about whether she would seek election as Legco president.Details would be clearer during the presidency’s nomination period, after the newly elected lawmakers took their oaths on January 1, she said.She added that she had been considering ways to unite lawmakers, promote the legislature’s alignment with national strategies, help the administration achieve good governance and reflect public views.Her role as the city’s sole delegate to the NPC S...

A senior cadre at Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong with a rich financial background is expected to be transferred back to the capital for a new role in a committee advising leadership on economic policies for the next five-year plan, the Post has learned.Qi Bin, who turned 57 last month, was appointed by the State Council in November last year to take up the post of deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong.It is understood that he will be made a deputy director of an economic committee under the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body.The committee advises leadership on strategies for the nation’s 15th five-year plan. Next year will kick off the new development blueprint.Qi’s most recent public appeara...

Former Hong Kong star fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai will transition to a consultant role at the Jockey Club after she is sworn in as a tourism lawmaker, her former boss has said.The retired Olympic fencing gold medallist joined the club in August 2024 as an assistant external affairs manager, but suspended her duties last month to run for the election in the tourism sector.The 31-year-old secured 131 votes, beating Kwun Tong district councillor Ma Yat-chiu, raising questions over her role at the club.Freely Cheng Kei, the club’s head of external affairs, told the media on Sunday that Kong would shift to a new role as a consultant.“From January 1 next year, Vivian Kong will continue to be employed by the Jockey Club but will transition to the role of a consultant to promote racing tourism,” Ch...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed his “strong support” for the Hong Kong government and the judiciary in exercising their duty to safeguard national security following the conviction of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in a landmark national security trial, the city’s leader has said.The president on Tuesday also called on Hong Kong to proactively align with the nation’s 15th five-year plan, offered his full recognition of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s work, and urged his administration to handle the aftermath of the city’s deadliest fire in decades with “consistent and continuous effort”.Lee, who is on an annual duty visit to Beijing, met state leaders just a day after Lai was found guilty on all charges he faced under the national security law.The chief executive told ...

An open court and a detailed ruling in former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s closely watched national security trial have demonstrated the strength of Hong Kong’s rule of law, legal experts have said.Lawyers, including the Hong Kong Bar Association, on Tuesday urged members of the public to respect the city’s judicial process and study the High Court’s judgment carefully before drawing conclusions after several Western countries criticised Lai’s guilty verdict, prompting a strong rebuke from the government.A panel of three judges, who were hand-picked by the city’s leader to adjudicate national security cases, found Lai guilty on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print seditious articles.In their 855-page judgment, which came after a tri...

Beijing and Hong Kong have slammed the G7 for “trampling the city’s rule of law” after the group criticised the guilty verdict handed down at former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial and demanded his immediate release.The strongly worded statements on Thursday were in response to a joint call from the foreign ministers of the G7 and the European Union’s high representative, who condemned Lai’s prosecution while expressing ongoing concerns about “deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong”.The Group of Seven comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.“We call on the Hong Kong authorities to end such prosecutions and to release Jimmy Lai immediately,” the joint statement said.Bringing an end to a trial that l...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. China’s ultra-hot heat pump breakthrough paves way for melting ore with sunlightFor over a century, the dream of efficiently concentrating low-grade heat into high-temperature industrial energy has been constrained by a stubborn ceiling: 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit). Now, a team from China has shattered that temperature limit.2. Tokyo spells out part position on Taiwan in bid to ease tension with BeijingThe Japanese government has spelled out its position on Taiwan – although only in part – based on the 1972 docum...

A group of Labour Party MPs have urged the British government to ensure changes to permanent residency requirements do not undermine support for Hongkongers on a bespoke visa pathway or others admitted on humanitarian grounds.They have asked the Home Office to consider exempting the BN(O) routes from the government’s proposed overhaul of the wider settlement system as part of four requests to extend support for Hongkongers under the scheme.James Naish and 33 of his Labour colleagues sent a letter to migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp on Wednesday during an ongoing 12-week consultation period on the UK government’s proposed settlement system overhaul, announced last month.As part of the planned changes, BN(O) visa holders will face stricter English-language requirements and higher...