Politics

Hong Kong authorities have launched an unprecedented open recruitment exercise for director positions overseeing information services and environmental hygiene, with “strong political acumen” listed as a common requirement.The government posted the two job advertisements on its website on Wednesday, seeking directors for the Information Services Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.The posts will report to the permanent secretaries for home and youth affairs, and environment and ecology (food) respectively.Common requirements for both positions include “strong political acumen” and the ability to lead change, while the information services role also calls for “strong intellectual ability”.The director of information services will be tasked with “projecting an accura...

Hong Kong’s civil service chief has defended a decision to open up recruitment externally for the role of food and environmental hygiene director, saying the move aims to attract experts who can take the lead in using technology to enforce laws.Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan also stressed on Monday that anyone hired externally would have no chance to climb the ranks as the next role would be permanent secretary, a position which, under regulations, must be held by administrative officers.The government’s decision to hold open recruitment for the director’s post and the role of the head of the Information Services Department marks a departure from the traditional practice of appointing career administrative officers to such senior roles.Yeung told at a Legislative C...

After being sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for national security offences on February 9, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying will decide if he wishes to appeal. He may challenge his convictions and/or sentences and has about two weeks to make up his mind. Given the length of his trial (156 days), the mountain of evidence and the legal issues, it will take time for any appeal to be resolved.Meanwhile, foreign actors have turned their attention to securing Lai’s early release. The lead counsel in his international legal team, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, called on “leaders from around the world to speak with one voice in their demand for China to free Jimmy Lai so he can come home to his family in London at last”. However, she did not indicate how his release might be engineered.When B...

Hong Kong’s pressing demographic challenges demand tailored, well-considered civil service policies. However, the proposal put forward in recent Legislative Council debates on population policy to raise the retirement age for all civil servants to 65 offers no viable solution to these issues.This one-size-fits-all approach overlooks the civil service’s flexible retirement frameworks and works against the government’s goals of streamlining and modernising the public sector. It risks undermining the long-term vitality of the civil service by stunting the career progression of young talent.As Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan noted in her remarks to the Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s civil service has adapted to demographic shifts with targeted retirement age reforms: ...

Hong Kong’s “Queen of Votes” Christine Fong Kwok-shan ran one of the most cost-effective campaigns in the Legislative Council election, spending an average of just HK$20 per vote, the South China Morning Post has found.An SCMP review of the election spending declarations by 32 candidates who contested directly elected seats also found that some candidates spent up to 10 times more than others in terms of average cost per vote, with Jeffrey Chan Chun-hung from local think tank the PoD Research Institute forking out more than HK$200 per vote.The declarations were made public on Wednesday.Fong, who received 58,828 votes in the New Territories South East constituency, the highest among all candidates, spent about HK$1.2 million (US$152,000) on her campaign.The veteran Sai Kung district council...

Hong Kong’s coming annual budget must address critical bottlenecks in technology and talent attraction to pave the way for the city’s first five-year development framework in line with national priorities, according to observers.The budget, to be delivered by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday, is more than a fiscal exercise. It is viewed as the first major test of officials’ “reform mindset” after Beijing unveiled the nation’s 15th five-year plan recommendations, which include specific strategies for Hong Kong.Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, the plan – expected to be officially endorsed next month – prioritises technological self-reliance, “new quality productive forces” and expanding domestic consumption, with “comprehensive reform” as a guiding principle.The f...

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings has vowed to pursue all available legal options to defend its interests after a Panamanian court last month nullified its right to operate two ports along the country’s canal, while acknowledging that keeping the operations running was beyond its control.The conglomerate headed by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s family said on Thursday that it had invited the Panamanian government to enter consultations to resolve the court verdict and protect its rights and interests in the operation of the ports.But it will no longer be able to operate the terminals once the ruling is implemented.Although the ruling, which was handed down on January 29, has yet to be enforced, the group said authorities had “advanced steps towards a forced exit” of its subsidiary, Panama ...

Hong Kong authorities will “shortly” announce long-term rehousing plans for residents displaced by the deadly Tai Po fire, after settling differences in individual preferences and resolving uncertainties over insurance and legal issues, the city’s leader has said.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made the pledge on Friday after visiting some of the affected residents temporarily staying in a youth hostel in Kai Tak and revealed that he had told all ministers to conduct community visits before Lunar New Year to better understand people’s lives.After visiting two families displaced by the Wang Fuk Court inferno that claimed 168 lives in late November, Lee said he had instructed his colleagues “not to stop working” during the coming holiday to expedite the formulation of a rehousing plan that ...

There is this old British chestnut that says justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.Justice has been amply served in the 20-year sentence handed down to former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, but it has not been seen to be done in many quarters, especially in the West.There is the reality of justice and the appearance of it, and the two don’t always or even usually coincide.There are two main reasons behind the widespread Western criticism of Lai’s case. One is that Western standards and assumptions about governance and journalism are very different from China’s. I can respect them in the same way that I respect Islamic or Christian beliefs, though I am not a Christian or a Muslim. The other reason is the West’s inherent double standards, to which I do object.Let’s st...

Safeguarding national security is crucial for Hong Kong to fully implement the “one country, two systems” governing principle and ensure the city’s stability, which will aid its development and attract foreign investors.That was the key takeaway from a high-level meeting hosted by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Saturday to discuss a white paper issued by Beijing earlier this week, only the third such report released by the State Council on local affairs since 2014.The document focused on Hong Kong’s obligation in protecting national security under the one country, two systems framework, stressing it was a “long-term and enduring task”.“In addition to the central government bearing fundamental responsibility for national security matters in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administrati...