Follow South China Morning Post - Hong Kong Politics, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/scmp12 Sat, 29 Jan 2022 12:39:06 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NYnq9to7ekQylmFkX7M1Jw The threat of a terrorist attack in Hong Kong remains “moderate”, though there is no specific intelligence that one is in the works, the city’s police chief said on Saturday.Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee told a radio programme that safeguarding national security would be one of the force’s main focuses for the coming year, while encouraging the public to inform authorities of any suspicious activities.“Although the overall social situation has become calmer after the introduction…]]> Sat, 29 Jan 2022 09:35:50 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NYnq9to7ekQylmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NYnq9to7ekQ5VjH6qdYdAk Part of a bridge at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) where students gathered each year to paint calligraphic commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing was blocked off on Saturday.Nine construction workers were witnessed erecting a metal partition in the morning to cordon off the part of the pavement on Swire Bridge where the commemorative messages were written.Undergrad, the university’s student-run online news portal, also posted an image of the partition on its…]]> Sat, 29 Jan 2022 07:25:34 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NYnq9to7ekQ5VjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NzdNNIckEm0F1cWWor9YPv Hong Kong needs a thorough debate on whether to expand its rehabilitation law to allow youngsters who have paid the price for their involvement in the 2019 anti-government protests to leave their criminal records behind, a local group supporting them has suggested.Volunteers from Project Change said many young protesters they had come across over the past two years had experienced difficulties looking for jobs or school places because of their pending cases or criminal records.The call for…]]> Sat, 29 Jan 2022 02:00:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NzdNNIckEm0F1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7PQULfRAs9cyZs0ohxaO6Yr Property tycoon Ronnie Chan has urged the government to rethink Hong Kong’s tough stance on Covid-19 as the highly infectious Omicron variant appears to produce milder symptoms than its counterparts.The billionaire chairman of Hang Lung Properties said the city’s measures, which include strict social distancing rules and a lengthy quarantine period, make life extremely difficult for businesses.He compared the severity of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus to influenza.“It seems Omicron is…]]> Thu, 27 Jan 2022 13:42:39 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7PQULfRAs9cyZs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OyFD6jlCw9JJVjH6qdYdAk A rare expected departure of a cabinet minister in Hong Kong has revealed the delicate relationship between the central authorities, the city’s leader and Beijing loyalists on political appointments and where the buck stops.Insiders revealed that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had insisted on being tough towards Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, the most high-­profile Hong Kong official who attended an infamous Omicron-hit birthday bash early this month, despite…]]> Thu, 27 Jan 2022 08:01:46 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OyFD6jlCw9JJVjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7On__cRO7u6ueT5HJgy6HUf The two-week nomination period for Hong Kong’s chief executive race will begin on February 20, nearly a week later than previously indicated, formally kicking off the contest to decide who will be the next leader of the city’s new “patriots-only” government.Announcing the dates of the nomination period, which will conclude on March 5, the Registration and Electoral Office also disclosed its latest guidelines for the election.Outliers ‘can’t be ignored’ in race to be Hong Kong’s next leaderWith…]]> Thu, 27 Jan 2022 05:01:59 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7On__cRO7u6ueT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7MrO5-e7Ou47cb1naedg1wr Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying has called for a visionary Hong Kong leader to grasp “the last window of opportunity” offered by Beijing’s national development plans, but stopped short of confirming whether he wants the city’s top job for himself.With less than two months to go before a new leader is decided by a 1,488-member Election Committee, and incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor yet to state whether she will run for a second term, Leung has repeatedly dodged…]]> Thu, 27 Jan 2022 02:15:10 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7MrO5-e7Ou47cb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OmFoD9Q3_vBZVjH6qdYdAk Beijing’s top representative to Hong Kong has urged residents to work with the city government by building on the positive progress made since the imposition of the national security law, urging them to remain alert against “hostile forces”.“The Pearl of the Orient has re-emerged with renewed lustre and glamour,” said Luo Huining, director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong during a pre-recorded address on Wednesday to mark the upcoming Lunar New Year.Titled “Let the light…]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:01:09 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OmFoD9Q3_vBZVjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NY2ci_PtH5Kl1cWWor9YPv Former Hong Kong opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting has been jailed for four months for exposing a corruption investigation into a police commander on duty when a mob attacked protesters and commuters at Yuen Long MTR station on July 21, 2019.The 44-year-old Democratic Party member was found guilty on Wednesday of three counts of disclosing the identity of people under investigation, for revealing an inquiry by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) into Superintendent Yau Nai…]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:12:13 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NY2ci_PtH5Kl1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7N84T-om0F2rF1cWWor9YPv Hong Kong’s election officials are still “awaiting further instructions from Beijing” on whether to announce the date of the nomination period for the chief executive election when they release on Thursday the much-anticipated guidelines for the coming race, the Post has learned.If they do not do so, it would mark a departure from previous practice, where the date and the guidelines are made public on the same day.“We might look odd in the eyes of the public if we have to go against previous…]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:00:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7N84T-om0F2rF1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7PKm6l8oypdcHn9ye8UNv30 Hong Kong’s leader confirmed on Tuesday that she had extended the suspension of Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, saying he was ordered not to return to work until an inquiry into his attendance at a now-infamous birthday party had concluded.Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the results of the investigation into the conduct of 15 officials who attended the birthday party visited by two coronavirus patients – in contravention of the government’s own recommendations…]]> Tue, 25 Jan 2022 09:25:12 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7PKm6l8oypdcHn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OvRobcZgZMCV1cWWor9YPv Hong Kong’s leader has defended her decision not to wear a mask at press conferences amid a worrying Omicron outbreak, saying her goal in shedding the face covering was to let residents “feel her emotions”.Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said her choice to stop wearing masks during Legislative Council meetings and press conferences – which had sparked angry comments online – was not “incidental”, but instead “well-thought-out behaviour of the chief executive”.“The people of Hong Kong have to hear…]]> Tue, 25 Jan 2022 06:45:34 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OvRobcZgZMCV1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7N5HJvaYKc5AF1cWWor9YPv Hong Kong’s chief justice on Monday defended the arrangement which allows the city leader to handpick judges hearing national security cases and dismissed what he described as “unsubstantiated doubts” over judicial independence.“Criticisms of court decisions which are made without first ascertaining the facts in a case or reading and understanding the reasons for the court’s decision are as meaningless as they are hollow. So is any unsubstantiated doubt over the court’s independence,” Chief…]]> Mon, 24 Jan 2022 11:00:25 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7N5HJvaYKc5AF1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7MySXCo5BjKkcb1naedg1wr The political future of Hong Kong’s home affairs chief – the most senior official swept up in an embarrassing scandal that landed him and several colleagues in quarantine – appears far from certain, with a source saying he would not be returning to work as originally scheduled.Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai was serving out a three-week suspension over his attendance at a now-infamous birthday bash for a pro-Beijing political figure just as the city’s current outbreak of Omicron…]]> Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:45:41 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7MySXCo5BjKkcb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NJSyCeoozrUylmFkX7M1Jw Checkley Sin Kwok-lam, the kung fu film producer-turned-online pundit who hopes to become Hong Kong’s next chief executive, has proposed building a mega prison on laid-back Lamma Island as a way to free up urban land for housing.In a document laying out his platform posted to his official website on Sunday, Sin also vowed to pass home-grown national security legislation under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution within a year if elected, and to cut waiting times for public housing in…]]> Sun, 23 Jan 2022 12:20:01 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NJSyCeoozrUylmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OdacFFm2M6XCejEQ2Mq9rY Ray Chui Man-wai, 40, still remembers how bad business was at his restaurant chain last summer when Hong Kong was just emerging from its fourth wave of coronavirus infections.“Many of our restaurants were still full during rush hour, but between the peak hours, maybe just several tables in each branch were occupied,” he said.“We could barely make ends meet, and sometimes suffered some losses too.”Then came the first round of the government’s digital consumption voucher scheme, under which each…]]> Sun, 23 Jan 2022 08:30:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7OdacFFm2M6XCejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7MIm4bavR2FCKCY3L745TL_ A pro-Beijing newspaper has ramped up pressure on Hong Kong’s government over its efforts to combat the latest coronavirus outbreak, calling it a war that could threaten national safety and urging the city to seek help from mainland China if needed.“Whether the pandemic can be contained by Lunar New Year all depends on how this war is fought,” Ta Kung Pao said in an editorial on Saturday. “Fighting the pandemic is not just about Hong Kong but the rest of the nation. If Hong Kong cannot put a…]]> Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:35:47 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7MIm4bavR2FCKCY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NunBz9cQbeTeT5HJgy6HUf In the final instalment of a six-part series on Hong Kong’s novice lawmakers, the Post meets Erik Yim Kong, the first legislator elected to the commercial (third) functional constituency, which was newly created to represent mainland Chinese enterprises in Hong Kong.Mainland Chinese companies in Hong Kong are ready to help the government tackle the city’s housing crisis by developing plots they own into transitional homes for people in line for public flats, says the head of a state-owned…]]> Sat, 22 Jan 2022 04:24:04 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7NunBz9cQbeTeT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7Mpd4wn34n_PZs0ohxaO6Yr Labour authorities have asked Hong Kong’s biggest journalists’ group to justify its activities and provide additional financial information about its operations, amid fears of deteriorating press freedoms in the global financial hub.The investigation came hot on the heels of the closure of two online news portals, Stand News and Citizen News, with the former being accused of publishing articles breaching the Beijing-decreed national security law.The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA)…]]> Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:22:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7Mpd4wn34n_PZs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7Mpd4wn34n_PV1cWWor9YPv Beijing’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has hit back at a European Parliament resolution calling for action on the “deterioration” of media independence in the city, labelling it a “smear on its democracy and freedom”.The rebuttal came a day after European lawmakers urged the European Commission and EU member states on Thursday to act on Hong Kong’s media freedoms and reiterate calls for sanctions on the city’s top officials, while proposing a review of Hong Kong’s status at the World…]]> Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:17:40 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jTASPxGkU7Mpd4wn34n_PV1cWWor9YPv