Politics

Hong Kong’s lawmakers have embarked on an unprecedented week-long study visit to Beijing, with the Legislative Council’s president saying the trip would help their work of ensuring the city better aligns with national development.Starry Lee Wai-king on Sunday highlighted the significance of the trip, which marks the first time the entire legislature has travelled to the capital for such a “national affairs study visit”.“It is a good time for lawmakers to gain a first-hand understanding of the country’s latest conditions and policies, visit different authorities and organisations and conduct field research,” the Legco president said at the airport before the lawmakers departed.She added that Legco members were expected to visit the central government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and...

The legal team for an independent committee examining the cause of Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po fire has recommended that authorities gradually phase out bamboo scaffolding in favour of metal replacements, among other proposals ranging from legislative reform to measures to curb bid-rigging.The suggestions were outlined in 627 pages of closing submissions from the committee’s lawyers on Friday, concluding hearings that started in March to examine the Wang Fuk Court fire. The blaze last November killed 168 people and displaced about 5,000 residents.One recommendation urged authorities to consider moving away from bamboo and combustible plastic wraps to avoid accelerating the spread of fire once material was burning.“We therefore recommend exploring (and possibly funding and subsidising) a pote...

Closing the loophole in Hong Kong’s sex crime laws

The government has a lot on its plate right now, especially with public consultations under way for the chief executive’s last policy address of his current term and for the city’s first five-year plan. But there is an urgent matter it must address as soon as possible.The resignation of William Wong Kam-fai from the Legislative Council means there is a vacant seat for the Election Committee constituency. There should not be any delays in filling the seat. The longer the government stays silent over those arrangements, the greater the potential for political damage.The circumstances that sparked Wong’s resignation – his arrest on suspicion of drink-driving and a hit-and-run – are unfortunate for both Legco and the administration.There is no arguing over his decision to quit; it is best for ...

Many mainland Chinese businesses that joined a Hong Kong-led delegation to Central Asia last month are preparing to list in the city to raise capital for global expansion, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has revealed.The city leader stressed on Tuesday that Hong Kong would continue to leverage its role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” to support businesses expanding overseas, amid accelerating global shifts and protectionism that were disrupting the international trade order.“I know that many mainland companies from the delegation are actively preparing for listing in Hong Kong,” Lee said at the GBA Global Business Expansion Summit organised by broadcaster TVB and sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong).He was referring to the delegation he led to Central Asia in Jun...

Hong Kong’s national security laws must be constantly improved to address risks and close loopholes amid geopolitical tensions, a former senior mainland Chinese official overseeing the city’s affairs has said, while insisting that the local pieces of legislation were less draconian compared with equivalent laws in the United States and United Kingdom.Wang Zhenmin, former bureau chief of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Office (HKMAO), was among the mainland legal experts who spoke at a seminar organised by the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank.“Building a national security legal system in any country is a long process. It is not something that can be completed by enacting a single law once and for all. Whenever loopholes are discovered, legi...

Former Hong Kong lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin has been released from prison after completing his jail term in a landmark subversion case, saying he hopes to turn a new page in his life.Wan, of the now-defunct Democratic Party, left Stanley Prison on Saturday morning in a seven-seater vehicle believed to have been arranged by police.He expressed gratitude to his supporters in a subsequent social media post, sharing a picture of himself smiling and appearing slimmer than before.“I am having breakfast with my family members and friends now. It is a long-awaited reunion,” he wrote.“I have already completed all of my terms, and I am thankful for all the support and care from you all these years. I look forward to starting the next chapter of my life.”Wan was among the 31 defendants who pleaded g...

Hong Kong’s legislature may review and tighten its code for members in light of the resignation of a lawmaker arrested for alleged drink-driving and failing to report an accident, its president has said.“We routinely review the code for Legislative Council members, usually during the latter stage of the term,” Starry Lee Wai-king said on Monday.“This incident will definitely serve as an important reference if we consider amending the code in the future.”William Wong Kam-fai, a lawmaker and associate dean of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s faculty of engineering, was arrested on June 29 after crashing his vehicle into two parked private cars on campus. Wong, 66, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving, careless driving and failing to stop and report an accident.He resigned from the...

For decades, warnings of Hong Kong’s terminal decline have arrived in periodic waves.When Stephen Roach, the former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, ignited a firestorm with his February 2024 assertion that “Hong Kong is over”, he pointed to a toxic cocktail of domestic and external pressures.Roach, who doubled down on his “wake-up call” a year ago, argued that the city’s economic glory was being extinguished by a loss of political autonomy following 2020’s national security law, the spillover from mainland China’s protracted malaise, and the city’s precarious position in the crossfire of Sino-US tensions.Despite the prominent American economist’s perceived gloom, the “Hong Kong is back” camp – led by a defiant local government – is wielding evidence to the contrary. The city claimed the I...

A PLA Navy officer who helped evacuate hundreds of Chinese nationals during the Sudanese civil war has recounted that many burst into tears upon arriving at the ship, telling visitors at a barracks open day in Hong Kong the experience had left an indelible mark.The mission was carried out by the guided-missile destroyer Nanning, which along with the guided-missile frigate Hengyang, is making a five-day port call as part of celebrations marking the 29th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.Thousands of residents on Saturday flocked to the Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks where the ships are docked on the first of two open days. Select students were invited to tour the vessels earlier in the week.Petty Officer Chen Yufei recounted the People’s Liberation Army mission to evacuate 940 Chi...