Hong Kong to get extra day off as Beijing declares holiday for victory in second world war
Hongkongers are expected to enjoy an extra day off work this year after Beijing announced that September 3 will be a one-off national holiday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Japanese surrender in the second world war.
Hongkongers are expected to enjoy an extra day off work this year after Beijing announced that September 3 will be a one-off national holiday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Japanese surrender in the second world war.
Hong Kong's Labour Department followed suit by announcing yesterday that it would submit a bill to the Legislative Council later this month to make the day, a Thursday, a holiday so people could take part in commemorative activities.
"The move aims to allow people around the country to participate in activities to commemorate China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the victory in the Anti-Fascist War," a statement by the State Council said yesterday.
Japan signed the document confirming its surrender on September 2, 1945, and China celebrated the next day. Last year, China's top legislature declared September 3 "Victory Day".
A document the Labour and Welfare Bureau submitted to Legco yesterday said "the potential implications arising for the economy from the one-off proposal should be largely manageable".
There are two types of public holidays in Hong Kong - general holidays and statutory holidays. Under the Employment Ordinance, all workers are entitled to the 12 statutory holidays each year.
But under the General Holidays Ordinance, those working at banks, educational institutions, public offices and government departments enjoy 17 days a year. Employers in the private sector can choose whether to award staff the extra five days.
The proposal for the extra day is likely to be passed, as lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum, including the Labour Party, Liberal Party and the Federation of Trade Unions, are supporting it. "But the problem is that people will enjoy the holiday only this year and next year they will be disappointed," Labour Party chairman Lee Cheuk-yan said.
He has tabled a personal bill in Legco to increase the number of statutory holidays from 12 to 17.
The increase would cost company bosses HK$1.8 billion a year, he said, quoting an earlier estimate by the government.
Liberal Party lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who represents the catering sector, believed there would not be strong opposition to the proposal in the sector as it would be a one-off measure and restaurants could be flexible on staff arrangements.
The Democratic Party's Sin Chung-kai said it would be a "political holiday".
"The government should give notice of around a year concerning statutory holiday arrangements, but it has departed from this practice and is only giving four months' notice solely because the decision came from Beijing," Sin said.
Beijing is organising a military parade to commemorate Japan's surrender.
Grand military parades have been held in the past in the capital roughly once a decade on National Day, for milestone anniversaries of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
This year's parade would be the first reviewed by President Xi Jinping.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
