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POLITICSSep 28Hong Kong launches 1-month consultation on arbitration law reformsHong Kong authorities have launched a one-month consultation to reform the city’s arbitration laws, as part of efforts to enhance its competitiveness as an international dispute resolution hub and advance an objective laid out in its first local five-year plan. The Department of Justice said on Monday that the one-month stakeholder consultation for amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance, which governs the use of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism, would cover four key areas to enhance...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 28How Hong Kong is trying a new solution to its land value problemWhen Hong Kong’s first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, announced his housing plan in 1997, the ambition was extraordinary. The government would produce at least 85,000 flats a year across the public and private sectors, and raise the home ownership rate to 70 per cent. The idea was simple. Build more homes, make housing more affordable and allow more families to own a piece of Hong Kong. Then history intervened. The Asian financial crisis struck. Property prices collapsed. The economy weakened....South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 27A Hong Kong professor’s sexist views have been laid bare. That’s goodLove is a many-splendoured thing – except when seen through the lens of economists, apparently. Prominent economist Terence Chong Tai-leung, a Chinese University of Hong Kong associate professor, confirmed this in an address last week to the university’s New Asia College. In a speech titled “How to invest in your life?”, he basically told the female students at the event that they were wasting their time on academic achievements, since women must aim to marry for money. Don’t pursue a PhD, he...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 27Australia just changed its visa rules. So what about its bespoke Hong Kong pathway?Hongkongers aiming to settle in Australia through a bespoke study-to-migrate pathway will not be exempt from new rules barring applicants from bringing along their families, the country’s home affairs authorities have said. The new rules, announced last month, have raised concerns among some Hongkongers, especially those who had hoped to bring their families while pursuing their studies in Australia before applying for temporary graduate visas to settle in the country. On September 17, Tony...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 27To understand where Hong Kong is going, start with Tung Chee-hwaOn September 8, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive, died. It prompted reflection, not only on a political figure who once stood at the centre of the city’s public life, but also on nearly three decades of change since its return to China. History is rarely shaped by a single person or isolated decisions. Individual choices, institutional adjustments, social expectations and external circumstances all interact to form the historical process. This is particularly true in Tung’s case....South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 26Hong Kong minister pledges public account on faulty lifts at Queen Mary HospitalHong Kong’s development minister has promised a public account of her bureau’s oversight of the Queen Mary Hospital lift saga, while stopping short of saying whether a new accountability system for department heads would be invoked. Nearly two weeks after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu tasked the Development Bureau with submitting a report within a month, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said she would get to the bottom of the defective works at the hospital, which left 24 of...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 26Hong Kong’s Paul Chan predicts positive market response to Xi-Trump summitHong Kong’s finance chief has predicted a positive market response to the Xi-Trump summit, saying the mitigation of geopolitical uncertainties will bolster investor confidence. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po made his prediction on a radio programme on Saturday, a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a three-day visit to Washington to meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump, with promises of more talks despite limited deliverables. “I believe the market will have a positive...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 25How Hong Kong is remapping the future of higher educationHong Kong’s first five-year plan marks an unprecedented milestone not only for its economic and social development, but also for how it governs itself. The plan, which drew on 16,000 public submissions – roughly 80 per cent from ordinary citizens – is a testament to the government’s commitment to long-term development, which shows an unusual convergence of public consensus and political will. For a city long accustomed to letting the market hold the reins, crafting a road map clear in aims,...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 24Hong Kong 2026 Policy Address : A Strategic Vision for a Bright New EraHong Kong's 2026 Policy Address outlines a strategic vision for its future, signaling the government's direction and priorities.manilatimes.net · Philippines
POLITICSSep 24Hong Kong authorities won’t appeal court halt to 12,000-flat project on golf coursePlans to build 12,000 public flats on part of Hong Kong’s oldest golf course have been thrown into serious doubt after the government chose not to appeal a court’s decision to uphold a ruling revoking the project’s environmental approval. Authorities said on Thursday that they had decided against appealing after “holistically” considering legal advice following the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the overturning of conditional approval for the construction of 12,000 flats on part of the...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 24Hong Kong vows safe Apec meeting with plans for terror and cyberattack threatsHong Kong will introduce security arrangements, including contingency plans for potential terrorist attacks, for the coming Apec meeting to ensure it is held safely and smoothly while minimising disruption to residents’ daily lives, the security chief has said. The Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting will be held in the city for the first time on October 20 and 21, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. About 500 guests, including finance ministers and senior officials from...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 23Hong Kong pledges lenient approach on 10-12 hours of civil service family leaveHong Kong authorities have pledged to take a lenient approach when approving applications for a new scheme granting civil servants 10 to 12 hours of family care leave annually from next year. The initiative, first announced in last week’s annual policy address, will allow staff to leave work temporarily to deal with personal matters, such as accompanying family members to hospital or attending parent-teacher meetings. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan told a Legislative...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 23Hong Kong needs social science to help deliver on its 5-year planHong Kong’s first five-year plan gives its universities an opportunity to show what their research can do for the city. Its ambitions for technology, regional development and international cooperation depend on decisions about institutions and people’s lives. Social scientists should help shape those decisions from the outset. The blueprint explicitly addresses public governance, including civil service performance, departmental coordination and digital administration. It also provides for...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 23Hong Kong, Macau student trip to Beijing shows ‘fruitful results’ of patriotic pushA Hong Kong and Macau youth delegation trip to Beijing to pay tribute to the national flag has showcased the “fruitful results” of the city governments’ patriotic education efforts, according to the central government. A commentary published by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Tuesday also said that President Xi Jinping and the central government attached great importance to the five-day visit, during which the delegation received “vivid patriotic education” through immersive visits and...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 23Hong Kong rejects EU report’s claims on freedoms as ‘unfounded and biased’The Hong Kong government has rejected an annual European Union report alleging that the administration is undermining the city’s fundamental freedoms, calling its claims “unfounded and biased”. The more than 4,500-word statement, issued early on Wednesday morning, followed the publication on Tuesday of the EU’s 2025 annual report on Hong Kong. The report was jointly issued by the European Commission and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. It...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 22Hong Kong appoints committee to investigate councillor’s sex crime convictionHong Kong authorities have appointed a five-member supervisory committee to investigate the conviction of a district councillor for having sex with a 13-year-old girl 15 years ago. Yuen Long district councillor Sei Chun-hing, 39, is the first elected officeholder to face possible imprisonment for a criminal offence since Beijing’s 2021 electoral overhaul, which restricted candidates to those vetted as “patriots”. The offence is punishable by up to five years in jail.. Secretary for Home and...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 22Hong Kong to bar firms with integrity offences from building renovation listsHong Kong building maintenance consultants and contractors prosecuted or convicted of integrity-related offences in the past three years will be excluded from pre-qualified lists set up for owners undertaking renovation projects, the development minister has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Tuesday that applications to join the lists – covering inspection consultants, supervision consultants and building works contractors – would open next Wednesday and close on...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 22No need for Hong Kong to match Singapore’s HK$400,000 birth perk, top official saysHong Kong does not need to emulate Singapore’s generous childbirth incentives, a senior official has said, defending the city’s latest 11-measure policy drive as a “comprehensive” approach tailored to local needs across short-term cash flow, housing and childcare. Addressing concerns that Hong Kong’s drive was too incremental compared with Singapore’s multi-tier sustained funding, Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said on Tuesday that each jurisdiction has its own unique set of...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 22How Hong Kong can keep the talking going when US-China officials don’tWhen Tung Chee-hwa died, the obituaries predictably described a Hong Kong shipping mogul who became the city’s first postcolonial chief executive. How his government navigated the Asian financial crisis and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic and its retreat from Article 23 were highlighted. There was less attention paid to the political hybrid he embodied. Tung sat as vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference,...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 21Hong Kong school withdraws graduation video guideline on Cantonese after backlashA leading Hong Kong secondary school has expressed regret and withdrawn guidelines accused of banning Cantonese from graduation videos after the policy sparked controversy. Good Hope School issued a public statement on Monday evening, saying it had heard concerns from the wider community and had “fully and formally withdrawn” the guidance paper for next year’s Form Six graduation class video. “Good Hope School wishes to state unequivocally that it has never been our ethos to constrain the mother...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 20Barristers dismiss calls for solicitors to gain senior counsel status in Hong KongThe professional body for Hong Kong barristers has dismissed as “premature and largely academic” calls by solicitors for legal changes so fellow lawyers can gain recognition as senior counsel and rights to represent clients in higher-level courts. The Law Society, the governing body for the city’s solicitors, is calling for the higher status for its members as lawmakers scrutinise the latest round of omnibus legislative updates in Hong Kong. But the Bar Association, the body for barristers,...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 20‘His love for Hong Kong was profound’: Tung Chee-hwa honoured at state funeralChinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders sent condolences from Beijing as Hong Kong bade farewell to the city’s first postcolonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa, at a sombre yet poignant state funeral on Sunday. A report by the official Xinhua News Agency praised Tung, who died on September 8 at the age of 89, as “an outstanding contributor to ‘one country, two systems’, a renowned patriot, an outstanding social activist and a close friend of” the Communist Party of China. “While Tung was...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 20Hong Kong school told to review rules after outrage over ‘Cantonese ban in videos’Hong Kong’s education authorities have urged a local secondary school to review its arrangements for events after a post alleging the school banned Cantonese in graduation videos sparked outrage online. In a response to the South China Morning Post on Sunday, the government said the school had activated its crisis management team to follow up on the issue and sent an email to all teachers and students to clarify the matter. “The Education Bureau has urged the school to review the relevant event...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 20Hong Kong pays final respects to former city leader TungHong Kong is paying its final respects to former city leader Tung. This news reports on the public acknowledgement of a past political leader's passing.freemalaysiatoday.com · Malaysia