Politics

Get the most recent political news today. We offer updates and perspectives on the events influencing our political scene through our thorough coverage.

ā€˜A loss to the city’: memorial held for ex-Hong Kong lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun
Politics

ā€˜A loss to the city’: memorial held for ex-Hong Kong lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun

Friends, relatives and members of the public gathered on Saturday to mourn former opposition Hong Kong lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun, who died at the age of 55 after battling stomach cancer.A memorial service was held at the Methodist International Church in Wan Chai for the career social worker. He died in January after suffering complications following a surgical operation for gastric cancer.The service’s public session started at 9am and saw dozens of people queue to pay their respects to Shiu, who represented the social work constituency at the Legislative Council between 2016 and 2020.About a dozen plain-clothes police officers were also stationed outside the church.Shiu’s photos and belongings, including his published books, accessories and a name board that used to hang in his Legco office,...
Will Hongkongers be next to leave US under Trump’s immigration crackdown?
Politics

Will Hongkongers be next to leave US under Trump’s immigration crackdown?

Some Hongkongers in the United States are at risk of deportation if President Donald Trump scraps the special protection extended to them by previous American leader Joe Biden.Amid Trump’s high-profile crackdown on immigration, some experts said the future of the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programme for Hongkongers was uncertain as his administration had already revoked special protections for other groups.According to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) document seen by the Post, there were 122 Hongkongers who had been issued final orders to leave the country as of last November. Their current status is not known.Responding to the Post, the city’s Security Bureau said it had completed the verification of identities and other related procedures concerning the repatriation...
Exclusive | Hong Kong pushes on with efforts to woo top European firms despite challenges
Politics

Exclusive | Hong Kong pushes on with efforts to woo top European firms despite challenges

Hong Kong authorities are pressing on with efforts to attract European companies in the UK and France to set up in the city, despite heightened global geopolitical challenges.The government’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), created to attract firms in targeted fields, also confirmed it was approaching several top-tier pharmaceutical firms overseas, with at least one seeing promising results.In an exclusive interview, OASES director general Peter Yan King-shun told the Post that some were keen on the potential for collaboration between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, which includes Macau and nine cities in Guangdong.British-Swedish pharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca had already established its Hong Kong headquarters, he said.As part of his unit’s efforts to wo...
Hong Kong security chief condemns BBC interview with city’s youngest fugitive
Politics

Hong Kong security chief condemns BBC interview with city’s youngest fugitive

Hong Kong’s security chief has condemned an ā€œunfounded and fact-twistingā€ article published by the BBC in which the city’s youngest fugitive wanted for alleged national security offences shared how she became an opposition activist.The city’s national security police on Monday also brought in an aunt of Carmen Lau Ka-man, another wanted activist, for questioning.In a letter to the BBC’s editor on Sunday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung accused the British news outlet of ā€œdepriving readers of their right to the truthā€ by not including the Hong Kong government’s response in the interview with wanted activist Chloe Cheung Hei-ching.ā€œWe are also extremely appalled that you have chosen not to include the response of the [Hong Kong] government in the article despite your inquiry on ...
Opinion | Hong Kong’s work on 5-year plan clouded by poor communication
Politics

Opinion | Hong Kong’s work on 5-year plan clouded by poor communication

If we search for information about the Hong Kong government’s work on implementing the 14th five-year plan, which laid out specific roles for the city in the development of the country, we could be excused for being a little confused.That is because there is not much information out there, if we consider what the government has released. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu established a steering group on integration into national development in 2022, but not much seems to have happened since mid-2023 – at least according to the relevant website. That could lead some people to think that the work has perhaps been completed.But that wouldn’t explain why Xia Baolong, Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong and Macau affairs, has been so busy recently. Director of both the Communist Party’s Hong Kong an...
ā€˜Superconnector’ Hong Kong can share mainland China expertise with Asean: CY Leung
Politics

ā€˜Superconnector’ Hong Kong can share mainland China expertise with Asean: CY Leung

Hong Kong should leverage its experienced, well-connected China experts and capitalise on its role as a ā€œsuperconnectorā€ to share knowledge of the country with Asean economies, former city leader Leung Chun-ying has said.Speaking in Kuala Lumpur on Monday at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2025, Leung also highlighted the potential for deeper economic cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the country in financial and professional services, as well as science and technology.In his keynote speech to Malaysian officials, business leaders and diplomats, Leung said that after finishing his five-year term as chief executive in 2017, he spent on average 40 per cent of his time visiting various mainland Chinese cities to foster collabora...
Hong Kong’s mega-events to attract 840,000 visitors in first 6 months: John Lee
Politics

Hong Kong’s mega-events to attract 840,000 visitors in first 6 months: John Lee

Hong Kong will attract about 840,000 visitors and HK$3.3 billion (US$424.1 million) worth of spending in the first half of the year thanks to mega-events, the city’s leader has said, while also vowing to tap national development opportunities.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the line-up of mega-events being held in the first six months would generate additional economic value worth HK$1.8 billion.ā€œUnder the ā€˜one country, two systems’ governing principle, Hong Kong can enjoy both national and international advantages,ā€ Lee said before his weekly meeting with the key decision-making Executive Council.ā€œIn the coming year, Hong Kong will face both opportunities and challenges, but the opportunities outweigh the challenges.ā€œWe estimate that various mega-events in the first ...
Hong Kong lawmakers raise concerns over AI safeguards for copyrighted works
Politics

Hong Kong lawmakers raise concerns over AI safeguards for copyrighted works

Hong Kong lawmakers have expressed doubt about the feasibility of a government-proposed ā€œopt-outā€ mechanism to protect copyrighted works from training artificial intelligence (AI) models, while one suggested the move may undermine the development of the technology.But government officials defended their proposals on Tuesday, saying they were ā€œreasonableā€ and would help facilitate AI development in the city.Lawmakers had scrutinised proposed safeguards following the results of a public consultation on amendments to the Copyright Ordinance.The government received 62 written submissions during the public consultation on the amendments, including 24 from copyright owners or their organisations. The consultation ran from July to September last year.Officials said that while they did not deem it...
Hong Kong’s Democratic Party to hold meeting to discuss possible disbandment
Politics

Hong Kong’s Democratic Party to hold meeting to discuss possible disbandment

Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, once the largest force in the city’s opposition camp, will discuss on Thursday whether to disband, a conversation that its chairman has described as ā€œinevitableā€.The party’s central committee would hold a meeting on Thursday evening covering a wide range of issues, including the future of the group, its chairman Lo Kin-hei said at a press conference on Wednesday to present its suggestions for the government budget, which will be delivered next week.A final decision would only be announced after it had gone through the general assembly, he said, stopping short of specifying a time frame for the whole process.ā€œOf course, we should consult all of our members before we can actually come to that conclusion,ā€ Lo said.The party’s future has been the subject of specul...
Hong Kong trade unions face tougher scrutiny under proposed law change
Politics

Hong Kong trade unions face tougher scrutiny under proposed law change

Hong Kong trade unions face more stringent scrutiny of their affiliations with external organisations under a proposal to expand the power of labour officials and align their operational requirements with national security laws.The Labour Department said on Wednesday that its proposed amendments to the Trade Unions Ordinance included regulating unions’ receipt and use of funds provided by an ā€œexternalā€ force and their affiliation with organisations located in an ā€œexternalā€ place.Under the proposal, ā€œexternalā€ refers to places outside Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau, in alignment with the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. But joining external political groups would not be allowed.The existing law governs only the unions’ connections with groups in a ā€œforeign countryā€ with less s...