Year of the absent chicken

The Year of the Tiger looks set to begin without chicken on the menu.

Secretary for Economic Services Stephen Ip Shu-kwan told provisional legislators the ban on the import of live chickens would last one month from December 31, when the slaughter of 1.5 million poultry was completed.

It was not good news for independent Dominic Chan Choi-hi who said earlier: 'I want to eat chicken at Lunar New Year. Can the ban on chickens be less than four weeks and the target date for resuming chicken supply set before the end of the month?' However, Dr Tang Siu-tong from the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance said: 'There is no problem not having chickens for two months. The most important point is safety.'