https://www.scmp.com/rss/15328/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com I watched Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying deliver his third policy address on TV. When I heard him say university students should be guided towards a full understanding of the constitutional relationship between the country and Hong Kong, I thought this style of lecturing would not go down well with our young people. But he did not stop there. Instead, he went on to condemn Undergrad, a Hong Kong University Students' Union magazine, for featuring a cover story titled "Hong Kong people... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1680438/leung-chun-yings-petty-politics-distracts-pragmatic-policies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1680438/leung-chun-yings-petty-politics-distracts-pragmatic-policies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2015 08:02:12 +0000 Both the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have had more than a year to consider how best to deal with Occupy Central, whose launch became only a matter of time after the National People's Congress Standing Committee set limits on the nominating process for the 2017 chief executive election. Similar to other democratic movements, it was the students who struck first and fast. They started a class boycott, then held a demonstration outside the government headquarters, and finally broke into the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1608941/beijings-hard-line-real-cause-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1608941/beijings-hard-line-real-cause-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2014 19:49:31 +0000 Han Han, the post-80s bestselling mainland writer, once said: "There are two kinds of logic in the world: one is logic, the other is China's logic." The recent decision by the National People's Congress Standing Committee on the election of Hong Kong's chief executive by universal suffrage is a classic example of China applying its logic. Article 45 of the Basic Law says that "a broadly representative" committee should be formed to nominate candidates for the office, "in accordance with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1586017/election-referendum-would-allow-hongkongers-decide-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1586017/election-referendum-would-allow-hongkongers-decide-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:46:39 +0000 To those unaware of recent events in the Legislative Council or the increased political tension in society, the two recently released government reports on political reform convey the following impression: that Hong Kong people are satisfied with the present composition and performance of Legco, hence no reform is needed; and that most of them agree to the general principles laid down by Beijing for electing Hong Kong's chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017. Such an impression bears... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1556993/governments-electoral-reform-report-leaves-hopes-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1556993/governments-electoral-reform-report-leaves-hopes-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:25:00 +0000 The government's proposal of a higher retirement age for newly hired civil servants and more flexible post-retirement opportunities for those already serving have far-reaching implications across society. Unlike some developed countries, Hong Kong has no mandatory retirement age. Most private-sector employees retire at 60, which is the retirement age set for civilian grades in the civil service (while the disciplined services retire at 55, or 57 for senior ranks). Yet, under the Mandatory... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1466970/higher-retirement-age-civil-servants-mustnt-harm-public-interest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1466970/higher-retirement-age-civil-servants-mustnt-harm-public-interest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Apr 2014 10:00:00 +0000 It would be an understatement to say that Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's coming budget is unlikely to be popular. He has already given ample hints that the one-off relief measures given year after year will be withdrawn or substantially reduced. This should please critics like Ronnie Chan Chichung, an outspoken property tycoon and strong supporter of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Chan's main complaint is that Tsang has not been using the government's surplus revenue for worthwhile... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1431732/john-tsang-must-show-real-vision-hong-kongs-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1431732/john-tsang-must-show-real-vision-hong-kongs-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:00:30 +0000 Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor successfully launched the public consultation on the arrangements for electing the chief executive in 2017 and forming the Legislative Council in 2016. This was no easy feat, given the politically charged background of calls for the public nomination of chief executive candidates, as well as the threat of Occupy Central if arrangements for electing the chief executive do not meet international standards of universal suffrage. In her Legco statement, Lam... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1378280/pragmatism-will-help-hong-kong-reach-deal-electoral-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1378280/pragmatism-will-help-hong-kong-reach-deal-electoral-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:15:45 +0000 There are two ways to examine the 2013-14 budget presented by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah. The first is to treat it as a financial statement that allocates sufficient resources for the implementation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy initiatives, contained in his policy address delivered in January. A government budget should also support the chief executive's governance philo- sophy and, where necessary, propose additional measures to propel economic growth and provide... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1163516/budget-meets-its-first-duty-wheres-vision?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1163516/budget-meets-its-first-duty-wheres-vision?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Responding to the massive protests on New Year's Day calling for Leung Chun-ying to step down, a government spokesman said the chief executive was concentrating on preparing his first policy address, working on various areas, including people's livelihood and the economy, addressing deep-rooted problems, and promoting stability in society. But will Leung succeed in convincing Hong Kong people that, despite his irreparable integrity problems, he is capable of leading them in the next five... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1127173/policy-address-leungs-last-chance-show-hong-kong-he-can-lead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1127173/policy-address-leungs-last-chance-show-hong-kong-he-can-lead?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 It may be easy to conclude from the outcome of the Legislative Council election that the pro-establishment forces have been strengthened. A staunch supporter of the government, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, is the biggest winner in the election, taking a total of 13 seats, with nine in the geographical constituencies, while the Democratic Party won only four directly elected seats, compared with seven in 2008. Although the pan-democrats secured over 55 per... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1034346/new-look-legco-bodes-ill-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1034346/new-look-legco-bodes-ill-government?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 In my past public service, I witnessed the inauguration of three governors and two chief executives. But I have seen nothing like the first two weeks of the fourth term of the SAR government, when there is so much public resentment caused by the alleged misconduct of new chief executive Leung Chun-ying and some of his team members. Henry Tang Ying-yen lost the last chief executive election to Leung mainly because he denied the presence of an illegal basement in his house - a devastating... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006738/steady-hands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006738/steady-hands?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 In the next 12 months, the democrats and the government will engage in a tug of war over the detailed arrangements for the election of the chief executive and legislators in 2012, and a possible road map towards the ultimate goal of universal suffrage. But, so far, neither side has raised another crucial issue: the need to pass a law that will govern the registration, conduct and finance of political parties. The government has always been lukewarm towards a political party law. This is... https://www.scmp.com/article/693272/pressing-need-political-party-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/693272/pressing-need-political-party-law?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Last week, the government published a civil service code, which sets out the core value of civil servants and their relationship with the politically appointed officials under the accountability system. This belated document came one year after the new batch of undersecretaries and political assistants took up their posts. Still, it is important to examine some of the code's key provisions and assess their impact on the government's operation. The code lays down six core values of the civil... https://www.scmp.com/article/692588/moral-compass-confused-directions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/692588/moral-compass-confused-directions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Last week, Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang, the most respected public figure in Hong Kong, said that his early retirement would be conducive to the orderly succession of the judiciary, as a number of senior judges would retire in the next few years. While some continue to speculate about whether there was any political motive behind Li's decision, which he strongly denied, I think it is much more important to reflect on the outstanding achievements of this transformational chief justice. In... https://www.scmp.com/article/691903/tireless-champion-judicial-integrity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/691903/tireless-champion-judicial-integrity?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has started his consultation on this year's policy address and has made it clear that the government aims to develop the six industries recommended by the Task Force on Economic Challenges that would sustain Hong Kong's long-term growth as a knowledge-based economy. The search for new engines of growth outside the traditional pillar industries of financial services, trade and logistics, tourism and professional services is not new. In his 1998 policy... https://www.scmp.com/article/691198/hub-hubris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/691198/hub-hubris?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The increased public exposure of the normally low-profile Leung Chun-ying, convenor of the Executive Council, has sparked speculation on the likely candidates for the next chief executive. Rather than join the guessing game of the winner of an election that is at least two and a half years away, I consider it more useful to ponder the many difficult tasks of the next chief executive. Apart from discharging the normal duties of running the administration and dealing with short- and long-term... https://www.scmp.com/article/689444/eight-wonders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689444/eight-wonders?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The results of an annual survey by Chinese University's Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies on the performance of legislators, released on July 29, were telling. The biggest political party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, enjoyed only a 13.7 per cent satisfaction rate among voters after the first session in the new legislature. The corresponding figures for the DAB's rivals were even less inspiring: 10.8 per cent for the Democratic Party, 8.7 per cent for... https://www.scmp.com/article/688856/political-parties-yet-win-hearts-and-minds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/688856/political-parties-yet-win-hearts-and-minds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 One of the most important policy initiatives of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's present term has been the appointment of two more layers of political appointees - undersecretaries and political assistants - to the accountability system of principal officials. The primary aim is to strengthen the government's political capacity. In particular, the main role of the undersecretaries is to help their ministers improve the executive sector's working relationship with the legislature and... https://www.scmp.com/article/688172/tsangs-undersecretaries-continue-underwhelm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/688172/tsangs-undersecretaries-continue-underwhelm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Following a report by the committee reviewing post-service employment for directorate-grade civil servants, public attention has focused mainly on one of 23 recommendations: to extend the control period for the most senior civil servants from three years to five, and from two years to three for the next most senior grades. Senior civil servants were upset by this recommendation. Yet the pan-democratic members on the committee - and most of the public - did not consider that the proposed... https://www.scmp.com/article/687488/trouble-more-curbs-retirement-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/687488/trouble-more-curbs-retirement-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen announced in the Legislative Council on July 7 that he would personally lead the fight against the mounting problem of drug abuse among young people. The government will reinvigorate efforts on all fronts through social engagement, district support, drug testing, rehabilitation services and enforcement. Legislators weren't very enthusiastic about the announcement, preferring instead to continue to challenge the government on more controversial issues... https://www.scmp.com/article/686817/time-all-out-war-against-youth-drug-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/686817/time-all-out-war-against-youth-drug-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 It would be wrong to regard the lower-than-expected turnout for this year's July 1 march as a vote of confidence in the government. Some 30,000 people, almost twice the number last year, took to the streets in temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius - underlining the depth of their dissatisfaction with the government on a host of issues. The increase in the number of protesters is significant when viewed against the fact that the government has deliberately deferred public consultation on a... https://www.scmp.com/article/686107/long-hot-summer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/686107/long-hot-summer?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Disgruntled police officers called off their protest march last Sunday following the personal pledge by their commissioner, Tang King-shing, to fight for an early, backdated implementation of the recommendations in the grade structure review. At the same time, they placed an advert in newspapers explaining to the public their side of the dispute. The police disagree with the government on three counts. First, they do not accept this year's pay trend survey results because they consider the... https://www.scmp.com/article/685404/wrestling-pay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/685404/wrestling-pay?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The controversy over the proposed relocation of Zheng Sheng College - a drug rehabilitation centre - to Mui Wo remains unresolved as Lantau residents and the Heung Yee Kuk are still arguing for moving it to another location. But even if the government succeeds in finding a new home for the 120 students, this is merely a drop in the ocean when compared to the thousands of students taking drugs across Hong Kong. According to official figures, the number of reported drug abusers aged 20 and... https://www.scmp.com/article/684605/cautious-approach-wont-solve-drug-abuse-problem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/684605/cautious-approach-wont-solve-drug-abuse-problem?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 I was the education secretary responsible for implementing the policy of using the mother-tongue (Cantonese) as the medium of instruction in secondary schools, which came into effect from 1998. The policy upset a lot of schools and angered many parents. Today, most of the education sector and parents have welcomed the government's decision to fine-tune it. This will allow schools to use up to 25 per cent of total lesson time for extended learning activities in English. Some claim this... https://www.scmp.com/article/683834/towards-ultimate-goal-trilingual-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/683834/towards-ultimate-goal-trilingual-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Twenty years ago, Hong Kong people's support of the students demonstrating in Tiananmen Square hardened China's view about the risk of democratic development in the territory. Hong Kong's Basic Law, adopted by the National People's Congress eight months after the bloody crackdown on June 4, 1989, stipulates that the ultimate aim of universal suffrage should have regard to 'the principle of gradual and orderly progress'. Last year, Beijing finally agreed that, subject to satisfactory... https://www.scmp.com/article/683158/shadowland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/683158/shadowland?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 In announcing the HK$16.8 billion relief package last week, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah reminded us that the relief measures introduced in the past two budgets - plus a one-off measure announced by the chief executive last July - cost the public purse HK$87.6 billion. That represents 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product, compared to the international average of 2.3 per cent that other governments have spent to prop up their economies and help those affected by the financial crisis.... https://www.scmp.com/article/682376/building-better-nest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/682376/building-better-nest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Apart from speculating about who will replace outgoing Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, most commentators are also wondering about his successor's pay package. The general consensus is that it should be less than Mr Yam gets. But how much less? Last year, Mr Yam pocketed about HK$12 million, or US$1.5 million, which included basic salary, bonus and other benefits. By comparison, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board, the most important central bank in... https://www.scmp.com/article/681677/big-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/681677/big-change?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 At the Legislative Council question-and-answer session last Thursday, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee asked Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen whether he would support the vindication of the students involved in the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989. In response, Mr Tsang trotted out the well-worn official line that, as China had made significant progress in many areas, contributing to Hong Kong's economic prosperity in the past 20 years, Hong Kong people, including him, now came to a more... https://www.scmp.com/article/680752/team-tsang-walk-their-boss-pr-debacle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/680752/team-tsang-walk-their-boss-pr-debacle?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The seven-day quarantine of the Metropark Hotel and its 300 guests and staff, to prevent the possible spread of Hong Kong's first swine flu case, ended with the best possible outcome: a clean bill of health for everyone, and almost everyone singing the praises of the government and the people of Hong Kong. But it was not all smooth sailing. On one hand, the government at first adopted a righteous, rather than compassionate, stance in announcing the decision to cordon off the hotel. On the... https://www.scmp.com/article/680033/fight-heart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/680033/fight-heart?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 It is quite right to criticise the article written by Cao Erbao, head of research at the central government's liaison office, that appeared in the Communist Party School's paper early last year. The article proposed that central government and other mainland cadres involved in Hong Kong affairs should form a second governing force in the city. But this article also carried an important message not seen by most commentators. It was the first public document that expounded on Beijing's... https://www.scmp.com/article/679201/clear-evidence-liaison-offices-expanding-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/679201/clear-evidence-liaison-offices-expanding-role?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Both Premier Wen Jiabao and our chief executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, have been assuring Hong Kong people that Beijing's decision to develop Shanghai as an international financial centre has not been made at Hong Kong's expense. True, Hong Kong has a head start over Shanghai, notably in regulation. The success of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in blocking the proposal by Richard Li Tzar-kai to privatise PCCW shows that Hong Kong still operates in a world league a notch above... https://www.scmp.com/article/678454/redemption-hong-kong-and-lesson-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/678454/redemption-hong-kong-and-lesson-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Greg So Kam-leung, the undersecretary for commerce and economic development, has apologised publicly for using his name card in lieu of an income statement when he applied to the Immigration Department to hire a foreign domestic helper. Even if we ignore Mr So's personal slip-up, the incident raises three important issues of public interest. First is abuse of privilege. High-ranking officials the world over are given certain privileges not available to ordinary people so they can... https://www.scmp.com/article/677586/privilege-discretion-and-rights-whistleblowers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/677586/privilege-discretion-and-rights-whistleblowers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Former ombudsman Alice Tai Yuen-ying left her post last month with a parting shot at the ministerial, or 'accountability', system. She accused ministers of focusing on 'putting out fires' and lamented the loss of team spirit due to a lack of co-ordination and the top-down approach of policymaking. She also attributed the lack of continuity within departments to the abundance of contract staff. The government responded by saying that its senior echelon works as a team and principal... https://www.scmp.com/article/676804/part-accountability-value-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/676804/part-accountability-value-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Since their election to the Legislative Council, the three members of the League of Social Democrats have been testing the limits of tolerance with their misdemeanours in legislative chamber meetings. They started with throwing a banana at the chief executive, then seizing the budget speech from the financial secretary, and most recently, using Cantonese foul language in their speeches. While disapproving of these defiant acts, I can also see some positive, if unintentional, consequences of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/676118/league-raises-bar-lowering-tone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/676118/league-raises-bar-lowering-tone?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A high-powered committee appointed by the chief executive is consulting the public on the existing arrangements governing the approval of post-service work for directorate- level civil servants. The review follows the government's withdrawal of its previous approval for Leung Chin-man - the former permanent secretary for housing, planning and lands (housing) and director of housing - to take up a position with New World China Land. Civil Service Bureau officials confessed at the Legislative... https://www.scmp.com/article/675330/balancing-public-interest-and-individuals-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/675330/balancing-public-interest-and-individuals-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Under the 'one country, two systems' principle, central government legislators and advisers play no part in the administration of Hong Kong. That is why Hongkongers have expressed grave concern about two media reports that came out during the recent annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The first report was on Vice-President Xi Jinping's message to Hong Kong NPC deputies that they should lead the Hong Kong public in... https://www.scmp.com/article/674438/liaison-office-must-put-out-fire-raging-over-delegates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/674438/liaison-office-must-put-out-fire-raging-over-delegates?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 In announcing the rights issue on March 3, HSBC Group chairman Stephen Green admitted that, with hindsight, there were clearly lessons to be learned from the acquisition of the subprime lender Household International in the US several years ago. But what lessons should he and HSBC learn from the sorrow and anger of many small Hong Kong shareholders over the way the 'big elephant' handled the rights issue? First, HSBC management should realise it did not pay sufficient regard to the situation... https://www.scmp.com/article/673624/big-elephant-blunders-its-way-financial-ignominy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/673624/big-elephant-blunders-its-way-financial-ignominy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 In yet another defence of the appointment of Lau Wong-fat as a member of the Executive Council, Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen told the Legislative Council last week that the chief executive takes into account, among other things, candidates' sense of duty to public affairs when considering appointments to Exco. So, given that Mr Lau is willing to make a contribution to public affairs, he may be able to help the government resolve the long-standing problem of the small-house policy. ... https://www.scmp.com/article/672810/duty-calls-help-solve-small-housing-problem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/672810/duty-calls-help-solve-small-housing-problem?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 In marked contrast to the applause he received for his first budget last year, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's second budget has attracted more criticism than praise. Most people consider that it does not adequately address the looming unemployment problem. They also think the relief measures are rather stingy. I disagree. Mr Tsang earmarked HK$1.6 billion to create 62,000 job and internship opportunities. This was in addition to the 60,000 new jobs the chief executive proposed... https://www.scmp.com/article/671921/blinkered-approach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671921/blinkered-approach?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 There are a number of lessons the government should learn following the recent release by the Hospital Authority of the investigation reports into hospital mismanagement. In the case of the Caritas Medical Centre, where a heart attack victim collapsed and died outside the hospital, the first lesson is about management accountability. We often associate accountability with political or policy decisions taken by ministers or their deputies. Sometimes, we fault frontline staff for failing to act... https://www.scmp.com/article/671070/hard-learned-lessons-hospital-authority-cases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671070/hard-learned-lessons-hospital-authority-cases?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The controversy over Richard Li Tzar-kai's latest attempt to privatise PCCW will continue to attract attention in the run-up to February 24, when the High Court will consider whether the proposal, passed by a noisy shareholders' meeting, should be approved. Mr Li and his ally, China Netcom, should not be faulted for putting up an offer price that was only a fraction of PCCW's highest price, at the height of the internet bubble. But, also, it would not be fair to condemn those... https://www.scmp.com/article/669518/hong-kong-can-no-longer-dismiss-business-ethics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/669518/hong-kong-can-no-longer-dismiss-business-ethics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 In his consultation document on the 2009-10 budget, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah mentions a narrow tax base as one of our future challenges. The document says that, among the 3.55 million total working population, only 1.3 million (36.6 per cent) pay salaries tax. Is this problem really as serious as Mr Tsang suggests? And how shall we broaden the tax base? Eleven years ago, the then-financial secretary, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, in his 1997-98 budget, rejected the argument that ... https://www.scmp.com/article/668758/net-gains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/668758/net-gains?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The appointment of five new members to the Executive Council raises many interesting questions. The first is: why did it take the chief executive so long to make up his mind? Last October, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said in his policy address that he would announce the new Exco members 'shortly'. It took him three months to do so. This was in marked contrast to the earlier, one-day decision that he made to accept Tsang Yok-sing's Exco resignation (after he had been elected chairman of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/668149/not-just-chorus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/668149/not-just-chorus?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The government's report on the first stage of consultation on health care reform hardly got a look-in at the last meeting of the Legislative Council panel on health services, on January 12. Instead, legislators took turns to blast the Hospital Authority and government officials over the missing body of a dead baby. However, the outcome of the first stage, in respect of health care financing, does not augur well for reform. While many respondents considered that the long-term sustainability of... https://www.scmp.com/article/667683/more-questions-answers-health-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/667683/more-questions-answers-health-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Last week, the secretary for education put forward a proposal to fine-tune the medium of instruction policy for secondary schools, with effect from the 2010/11 school year. Under the scheme, schools where at least 17 in 20 Form One pupils are in the top 40 per cent of their age group will be allowed to decide whether to teach in English or Chinese. Schools that do not meet that criteria can use English for up to 25 per cent of teaching - in subjects other than languages - to promote 'extended... https://www.scmp.com/article/666901/english-policy-will-need-more-just-fine-tuning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/666901/english-policy-will-need-more-just-fine-tuning?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's 2009-10 budget next month will be his second and perhaps most important, as the financial tsunami's impact on Hong Kong intensifies. There will no doubt be many suggestions from the public on where money should be spent, but one area requires contraction rather than expansion - the government itself. Given the decline in revenue and increase in expenditure, the government is likely to incur a substantial deficit this year. Measures to speed up its... https://www.scmp.com/article/666086/bureaucratic-burden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/666086/bureaucratic-burden?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The appointment of entrepreneur Ricky Wong Wai-kay as ATV chief executive officer, and his resignation 12 days later, is the most dramatic reality show in Hong Kong's media and entertainment business this year. Linus Cheung Wing-lam, who was appointed executive chairman of ATV at the same time as Mr Wong took up his role, attributed the latter's departure to a difference in management style. But this does not explain the politics behind the story. In fact, Mr Wong brought politics into play... https://www.scmp.com/article/665396/big-picture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/665396/big-picture?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Following the release last week of the latest unemployment rate - 3.8 per cent, the highest level in more than a year - the secretary for labour and welfare repeated the chief executive's pledge that more than 60,000 jobs would be created next year. This will be done by expediting major infrastructure and minor improvement projects, recruiting civil servants and creating temporary jobs. During this economic crisis, it is right for the government to help create jobs in the market through... https://www.scmp.com/article/664795/lasting-consequences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/664795/lasting-consequences?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Last week, the Civil Service Bureau finally produced a draft civil service code. It seeks to set out the core values and standards of conduct of civil servants and how they are expected to work with politically appointed officials under the expanded accountability system introduced in June. It will consider all comments on the draft, and issue the code in the first half of next year. The draft code sets out six core values that all civil servants must uphold: commitment to the rule of law;... https://www.scmp.com/article/664058/balancing-act-new-civil-service-code?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/664058/balancing-act-new-civil-service-code?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Last week, the most popular principal official, Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong, secretary for security, apologised for the government's slow response in bringing home Hong Kong residents stranded in Bangkok. He also accepted that he was personally accountable for the blunder, although he was not in Hong Kong when the crisis started. A day later, Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen followed suit with an apology on behalf of the government. However, he claimed that both the decision not to arrange... https://www.scmp.com/article/663198/team-screen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/663198/team-screen?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:00:00 +0000