https://www.scmp.com/rss/322085/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Two pro-independence lawmakers were unable to retake their oaths yesterday after their pro-establishment rivals forced the session to be aborted by ­walking out, plunging the Legislative Council into further paralysis and uncertainty at the beginning of its new term. In denying the localists a second chance to be sworn in, after they insulted China and referred to Hong Kong as a “nation” when they modified their oaths last week, pro-establishment politicians were hailed yesterday as “lawmakers... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2038380/hong-kongs-legislature-total-gridlock-pro-establishment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2038380/hong-kongs-legislature-total-gridlock-pro-establishment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Oct 2016 15:30:45 +0000 As the political storm raged in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, one localist lawmaker suffered collateral damage from the pro-establishment camp’s walkout simply because of her surname. Democracy Groundwork’s Lau Siu-lai was due to be sworn in after the Youngspiration duo at the centre of the oath-taking controversy. Lau was placed behind Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching to retake their pledge because under Legco rules newcomers are sworn in according to the number of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2038329/hong-kong-localist-lawmaker-denied-chance-retake-oath-blasts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2038329/hong-kong-localist-lawmaker-denied-chance-retake-oath-blasts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Oct 2016 12:34:06 +0000 Key points today > The Youngspiration members Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching, along with fellow localist Lau Siu-lai, are now due to retake their oaths at a Legco meeting next week. > But will they be able to be sworn in? Much depends on whether the pro-establishment camp will stage another walkout, which has yet to be determined. > The Beijing-friendly lawmakers have taken control of this battle, although they risk taking the blame for paralysing Legco. The democratic camp... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2029352/19-minutes-chaos-legco-president-calls-pro-establishment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2029352/19-minutes-chaos-legco-president-calls-pro-establishment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Oct 2016 02:15:30 +0000 Pan-democratic and localist lawmakers were accused of delaying tactics on Tuesday as bickering members still smarting from controversies on the first day of the Legislative Council term last week ran out of time to elect chairmen for five of Legco’s 18 panels. After the storm surrounding the election of the Legco president and the modified oaths issued by localists, and consequently rejected, as new lawmakers were sworn in, some legislators wanted to revisit the issues before moving on to vote... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2029171/hong-kongs-pan-dems-and-localists-accused-delaying-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2029171/hong-kongs-pan-dems-and-localists-accused-delaying-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Oct 2016 14:30:15 +0000 Declaring full-frontal war on Tuesday night, the Hong Kong government took the unprecedented step of mounting a legal challenge to disqualify two pro-independence lawmakers on grounds that they had contravened the Basic Law during their swearing-in last week. In a last-minute bid, the administration sought but failed to obtain an interim injunction to bar Youngspiration pair Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching from ­retaking their oaths on Wednesday morning at 11am. Watch:... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2029124/hong-kong-government-fails-block-localist-duo-retaking-legco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2029124/hong-kong-government-fails-block-localist-duo-retaking-legco?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Oct 2016 11:00:45 +0000 In a sign of a toughening stance, Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen has invalidated the oaths of two more lawmakers whose versions were originally accepted last week. The decision brings the total number of lawmakers who must retake their oaths of office to five. Hong Kong localist pair set to make U-turn over their Legislative Council oaths They are Youngspiration duo Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching and architecture sector representative Edward Yiu Chung-yim... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028998/legco-president-invalidates-five-lawmakers-oaths-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028998/legco-president-invalidates-five-lawmakers-oaths-now?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Oct 2016 03:45:45 +0000 Two newly elected localist lawmakers indicated on Monday that they would retake their oaths properly on Wednesday to keep their seats, avoiding the prospect of a major showdown in the Legislative Council after many were offended by the pair’s antics at the swearing-in ceremony a week ago. Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang said he and party colleague Yau Wai-ching would consider compromising to avoid being disqualified. Hong Kong government accuses localist lawmakers of hurting... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028818/hong-kong-localist-pair-set-make-u-turn-over-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028818/hong-kong-localist-pair-set-make-u-turn-over-their?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Oct 2016 15:15:15 +0000 Incoming lawmaker Yau Wai-ching faces a legal challenge against her election win, with a failed former Legislative Council candidate claiming her localist policies mean she can’t be considered a Chinese national and therefore shouldn’t sit in the city’s parliament. Solicitor Dr Siu See-kong, who competed for a Legco seat several times but not this year, filed an application on Friday for a judicial review of Yau’s poll success. Yau and her fellow Youngspiration lawmaker-elect Sixtus “Baggio”... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028739/hong-kong-legco-newcomer-yau-wai-ching-faces-legal-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028739/hong-kong-legco-newcomer-yau-wai-ching-faces-legal-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Oct 2016 08:15:15 +0000 The previous Legislative Council president warned that if any ­incoming lawmakers fail to properly take their members’ oath when retaking it this week they could be breaking the law and could even lose their seats. Jasper Tsang Yok-sing was referring to Youngspiration’s Sixtus “Baggio” Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching and Edward Yiu Chung-yim, whose oaths Legco secretary general Kenneth Chen Wei-on invalidated last week. During last week’s inaugural Legco meeting, Leung and Yau pronounced... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028500/being-young-not-excuse-moderate-former-lawmaker-criticises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2028500/being-young-not-excuse-moderate-former-lawmaker-criticises?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Oct 2016 06:30:15 +0000 The Legislative Council secretariat has come under fire for failing to vet the nationality of Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen when he submitted his bid for presidency, leaving him to secure official proof that he was no longer a British citizen on election day. A day after the pro-Beijing stalwart won the seat 38 votes to 0 at the Legco’s inaugural meeting – amid a walkout of the democratic camp – the secretariat faced blame as a timeline of Leung’s last-minute renunciation of British nationality became... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027879/legco-secretariat-slammed-over-handling-presidential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027879/legco-secretariat-slammed-over-handling-presidential?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:18:55 +0000 Hong Kong’s newly elected legislature descended into chaos and open war on Wednesday with localists brandishing “Hong Kong is not China” protest banners at their swearing-in ceremony while a pro-establishment stalwart was elected president after being taken to task over his British nationality. Three localist and pan-democratic lawmakers’ oaths were declared invalid after they modified the words and insulted China, plunging the Legislative Council into uncertainty and setting the stage for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027526/declaration-war-hong-kongs-newly-elected-lawmakers-plunge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027526/declaration-war-hong-kongs-newly-elected-lawmakers-plunge?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:45:45 +0000 Pro-establishment legislator Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen became the new Legislative Council president on Wednesday evening, after pushing the vote ahead by presenting a copy of a declaration confirming he had given up his British nationality. After multiple adjournments, moving the meeting to another room and swapping the chair of the election, Leung won the race by 38 votes to democratic camp nominee James To Kun-sun’s zero. There were also three blank votes. Just before the vote, most of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027438/hong-kong-legco-presidential-candidate-andrew-leung-bid-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027438/hong-kong-legco-presidential-candidate-andrew-leung-bid-push?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 09:43:49 +0000 Joyce Ng,Stuart Lau,Tony Cheung,Owen Fung Joyce Ng,Stuart Lau,Tony Cheung,Owen Fung Key points: > Two localist lawmakers who pledged loyalty to “the Hong Kong nation” and a third who inserted words into his oath had their oaths rejected, while four localist legislators either inserted their own remarks before or after their oaths as the city’s 70 lawmakers were sworn in at the first meeting of the new Legislative Council term > Pan-democrats and localists sought to defer the Legco presidential election for a week over a controversy surrounding the British nationality of Andrew... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027319/all-eyes-hong-kong-localist-lawmakers-legco-oaths-first-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027319/all-eyes-hong-kong-localist-lawmakers-legco-oaths-first-day?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 02:45:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader Leung Chun-ying has dismissed the reliability of a survey on the popularity ratings of potential chief executive candidates, stating that none of those included have announced their intentions to run yet. Speaking to the press ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, the chief executive also noted that the poll did not include any candidates from the pan-democratic camp. The survey in question was conducted by the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinions Programme on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2026984/still-too-early-be-concerned-about-popularity-ratings-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2026984/still-too-early-be-concerned-about-popularity-ratings-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Oct 2016 04:00:30 +0000 Responding to critics, Legislative Council presidential hopeful Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said he would be willing to work with different parties if he won the race, even as a rival described him as “impatient,” “aggressive” and “not suitable for president.” On Friday morning, the former Legco house committee chairman, who has been endorsed by the pro-establishment camp, appeared on a radio show with the democratic camp’s nominee for the legislature’s top job, James To Kun-sun. To said that in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2026016/called-aggressive-and-unsuitable-be-legco-president-andrew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2026016/called-aggressive-and-unsuitable-be-legco-president-andrew?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Oct 2016 05:17:47 +0000 Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah has stated his willingness to take up more responsibilities if it will contribute to Hong Kong’s progress, hinting again that he may throw his hat into the ring and run in the chief executive election next March. The comment came two days after the city’s No 3, who is widely tipped to be one of the contenders in the election, said that he had “no plans” to resign to run. Speaking at a business luncheon in Los Angeles on Thursday, the financial chief also... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2025785/john-tsang-gives-another-hint-he-may-run-hong-kongs-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2025785/john-tsang-gives-another-hint-he-may-run-hong-kongs-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Oct 2016 13:40:44 +0000 Two Hong Kong social activists and an independent filmmaker were denied entry to Macau on Wednesday on the grounds that they posed a security threat to the former Portuguese colony. Fred Lam Fai, one of the activists who was turned away, said he was to give a talk at a secondary school in Macau on travelling. “The purpose of my visit had nothing to do with politics,” he said. “I don’t understand why they turned me away.” Aside from Lam, activist Roddy Shaw Kwok-wah and filmmaker Lo Chun-yip... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2025699/macau-denies-entry-hong-kong-activists-and-filmmaker-same?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2025699/macau-denies-entry-hong-kong-activists-and-filmmaker-same?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Oct 2016 06:32:23 +0000 The city's largest Beijing-friendly party has urged the Hong Kong government to mend ties with the legislature ahead of the first Legislative Council meeting next week. The call came as the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong met Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to provide suggestions for the 2017 policy address and budget. “The public hopes relations between the government and the legislature can improve in the new Legco term,” party chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2025418/dab-urges-hong-kong-government-mend-ties-first-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2025418/dab-urges-hong-kong-government-mend-ties-first-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Oct 2016 12:39:31 +0000 The head of Kitchee Sports Club fears the club will be unable to build another training centre if the government takes back the land its ­current facility in Sha Tin is on. This is despite assurances from Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Monday that the Shek Mun site would still be at the club’s disposal until another suitable place was found. Anxious coaches, parents and young athletes have been left with uncertainty over the future of the centre’s training programmes, while plans for a sport... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2025057/kitchee-sports-club-boss-fears-future-training-base?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2025057/kitchee-sports-club-boss-fears-future-training-base?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Oct 2016 14:30:45 +0000 To hold up or not to hold up an umbrella ... that was the question on Hong Kong senior officials’ minds at the National Day flag-raising ceremony on Saturday and one that has led to much speculation about the upcoming chief executive race. In a newspaper column, former secretary for the civil service Joseph Wong Wing-ping gave his own light-hearted take on the sequence of events on Saturday, which began when the chief of Beijing’s liaison office, Zhang Xiaoming, closed his umbrella despite the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2024989/umbrella-politics-what-it-all-meant-hong-kongs-national-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2024989/umbrella-politics-what-it-all-meant-hong-kongs-national-day?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Oct 2016 09:30:15 +0000 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying defended his move to threaten legal action against a local newspaper, saying he had acted as the publication’s claims had had a significant impact. Last Thursday, Leung threatened to sue Apple Daily over an editorial it published on September 8, which the chief executive’s lawyers claimed had “falsely, viciously and maliciously” accused him of corruption. Ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Leung was asked why he had targeted the paper but... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2024898/corruption-claims-had-significant-impact-cy-leung-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2024898/corruption-claims-had-significant-impact-cy-leung-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Oct 2016 04:30:15 +0000 A pro-Beijing group has called on the city’s equality watchdog to investigate whether a video by an online media outlet has breached the anti-discrimination law. The video in question was produced by multimedia website TV Most, which has become widely popular for its satirical takes on the city’s current affairs. In the clip published on Tuesday, mainland visitors in Hong Kong were asked how they felt about China’s National Day. It showed all the respondents expressing pride in how strong China... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2024113/pro-beijing-group-calls-video-hong-kong-website?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2024113/pro-beijing-group-calls-video-hong-kong-website?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Oct 2016 02:03:07 +0000 Newly elected localist legislators planning to come up with distinctive ways to take their oath of office to demonstrate their opposition to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s leadership kept their routines under wraps yesterday ahead of next month’s inaugural meeting. Seventeen legislators-elect were guided through a trial run of the oath-taking ceremony by the Legislative Council Secretariat in the main chamber. Among the newly elected members, only three pro-establishment legislators Junius Ho... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2024036/localist-hong-kong-lawmakers-opt-not-practise-their-oath?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2024036/localist-hong-kong-lawmakers-opt-not-practise-their-oath?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Sep 2016 09:19:23 +0000 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has promised to sort out a controversial clause in Hong Kong’s ­official pension scheme that is the source of much friction between employers and workers within the remaining months of his current term as the city’s leader. During a meeting with the Federation of Trade Unions yesterday, Leung discussed the ­possibility of scrapping the ­offsetting mechanism that allows employers to settle severance and long-service payments using ­employees’ Mandatory Provident... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023636/cy-leung-promises-resolve-mpf-offset-controversy-term-ends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023636/cy-leung-promises-resolve-mpf-offset-controversy-term-ends?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Sep 2016 05:45:15 +0000 Yellow umbrellas, pro-democracy banners and street booths reappeared in Admiralty as about 1,000 people commemorated the second anniversary of the Occupy movement. A rally was held on Tim Mei Avenue on Wednesday evening, and many leaders of the pro-democracy movement returned to the site protesters occupied for 79 days. Benny Tai Yiu-ting, one of the trio who launched the Occupy Central campaign, told the crowd not to forget what brought them to Admiralty two years ago. Occupy Central is on:... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023398/hong-kong-occupy-activists-deliver-upbeat-message-second?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023398/hong-kong-occupy-activists-deliver-upbeat-message-second?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Sep 2016 13:00:45 +0000 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying would have an advantage if he sought re-election, while it was unlikely that both his top aides would resign at the same time to take part in the race, executive councillor and legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said. Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme, the New People’s Party lawmaker said she thought Leung would “definitely” seek re-election. “Mr Leung is very confident,” she said, stressing that the chief executive was currently the “top seed” in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023300/he-may-already-know-how-many-votes-he-has-cy-leung-top-seed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023300/he-may-already-know-how-many-votes-he-has-cy-leung-top-seed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Sep 2016 06:15:00 +0000 A giant pro-democracy banner was draped on Devil’s Peak in Lei Yue Mun on the second anniversary of the Occupy movement. The 6m-long yellow banner, bearing the familiar Hong Kong slogan “I want real universal suffrage”, was hung on the hillside opposite Lei Ye House in Lei Yue Mun estate. League of Social Democrats member Tsang Kin-shing said his group placed the banner there early Wednesday morning. “We don’t want people to forget about the cause,” he said. Hanging pro-democracy banners on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023271/giant-pro-democracy-banner-draped-hong-kong-hillside-mark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023271/giant-pro-democracy-banner-draped-hong-kong-hillside-mark?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Sep 2016 05:00:00 +0000 Lawmakers-elect should read the Legislative Council oath without change in order to be sworn in, the Legco secretariat has warned as some localist members were planning to read their own versions to state their political views at next month’s inaugural meeting. The secretariat said in a media briefing on Tuesday that lawmakers could not add or subtract words from the affirmation. “The court judgment in 2004 stated clearly that oath-taking was a very strict process under the Basic Law,” a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023026/hong-kong-lawmakers-warned-stick-exact-wording-their-oaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2023026/hong-kong-lawmakers-warned-stick-exact-wording-their-oaths?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:45:45 +0000 Tony Cheung,Owen Fung Tony Cheung,Owen Fung Most of the 70 newly elected lawmakers snubbed a rare invitation to meet Hong Kong’s anti-graft chief to “foster communications” on Friday, while the pan-democrats who accepted the offer grilled him over the watchdog’s controversial top management reshuffle. Thirteen legislators attended the meeting at the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s headquarters in North Point – nine pan-democrats and localists and four Beijing-loyalists. Among the 26 lawmakers elected for the first time earlier... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2022079/lawmakers-press-hong-kongs-anti-graft-chief-explain-removal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2022079/lawmakers-press-hong-kongs-anti-graft-chief-explain-removal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Sep 2016 13:44:04 +0000 Top officials were at pains on Wednesday to deny succumbing to pressure from rural leaders in scaling down the Wang Chau housing plan, but that failed to impress pan-democrat and localist lawmakers, who are determined to investigate the controversial project after they take office next month. While ministers insisted the government’s ultimate goal was to build 12,700 public housing units on a brownfield site largely occupied by Yuen Long rural strongmen, they failed to explain when that would be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2021380/laboured-explanations-fail-satisfy-sceptical-critics-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2021380/laboured-explanations-fail-satisfy-sceptical-critics-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:30:00 +0000 The city’s top two officials embroiled in the Wang Chau housing saga could not have come from more different backgrounds. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, 62, had risen to prominence quickly in the business world after graduating from Bristol Polytechnic. Upon his return to Hong Kong in 1977, he worked at British real estate firm Jones Lang Wootton and by the age of 30, was the vice-chairman of the company’s branch in the city. His first prominent role in po­litics came in 1988 when the then... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2021334/different-backgrounds-hong-kongs-top-officials-embroiled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2021334/different-backgrounds-hong-kongs-top-officials-embroiled?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Sep 2016 10:15:45 +0000 4.29pm - C Y Leung leaves conference Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying teared up as he thanked his colleagues in the government for their effort in providing housing and land for the public. As soon as he said the last word, he stood up and left. 4.25pm - final question to the chief executive Taking his last question before ending the press conference, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying appeared emotional as he said, in a shaky voice: “I have to thank my colleagues because it was a toiling task for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2021291/emotional-cy-leung-says-he-made-decision-scale-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2021291/emotional-cy-leung-says-he-made-decision-scale-down?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Sep 2016 07:15:15 +0000 The average age of Hong Kong’s lawmakers sworn in next month will be 49, making it the youngest chamber since the handover in 1997. While the breakthrough of young guns in the Legislative Council elections on September 4 has been widely reported, a study by the Post has revealed the hard numbers of a more youthful, less experienced council, prompting concern about whether their lack of experience will affect the legislature’s operations and its ability to monitor the government. Since the first... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2020449/ready-battle-doubts-raised-about-legco-novices-average-age?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2020449/ready-battle-doubts-raised-about-legco-novices-average-age?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Sep 2016 13:15:00 +0000 Pro-independence discussions should not be allowed in Hong Kong schools, the chief executive emphasised in an interview with a state-owned newspaper, as one school removed separatist-themed slogans painted on campus property. In an interview with China Daily, Leung Chun-ying also rejected suggestions for a “second negotiation” on Hong Kong’s future beyond 2047, the expiry date of the 50-year agreement under the Sino-British Joint Declaration that guaranteed Hong Kong its capitalist life under... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2020075/hong-kongs-leader-reiterates-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2020075/hong-kongs-leader-reiterates-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Sep 2016 12:00:15 +0000 Three dogs – two poodles and a Pomeranian – were allegedly killed and seven others injured by a 71-year-old woman with a meat cleaver on Thursday night. The suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of animal abuse, had reportedly turned emotional and attacked the pet dogs at a puppy mill in Tsui Keng, Sheung Shui. When police arrived at the scene, there was blood everywhere, and three dogs were already dead. Seven others, including poodles, a Yorkshire terrier and another Pomeranian were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2019781/hong-kong-woman-arrested-over-attack-10-dogs-three-which?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2019781/hong-kong-woman-arrested-over-attack-10-dogs-three-which?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Sep 2016 15:30:00 +0000 Pushing the idea of Hong Kong nationalism into the mainstream will be the main aim of newly elected localist lawmaker Sixtus “Baggio” Leung Chung-hang over the next four years, he has said, after his camp’s breakthrough in the Legislative Council elections. The 30-year-old Youngspiration leader also revealed in an interview with the Post that Hong Kong Indigenous’ Edward Leung Tin-kei will be a member of his team in Legco and could take up the role of an envoy abroad. Baggio Leung, whose 37,997... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018996/hongkonger-someone-willing-defend-our-values-baggio-leung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018996/hongkonger-someone-willing-defend-our-values-baggio-leung?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Sep 2016 09:44:18 +0000 It’s been a week since a new batch of legislators were elected, but it seems the city’s education minister hasn’t fully wrapped his head around the news yet. Eddie Ng Hak-kim mistakenly congratulated Leung Yiu-chung for being re-elected in the education sector. Leung, of the Neighbourhood and Worker’s Service Centre, actually secured 303,457 votes to win one of the five “super seats” chosen by the 3.47 million electors who do not have a vote in the functional constituencies. “In the previous... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018665/will-real-education-lawmaker-please-stand-hong-kong-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018665/will-real-education-lawmaker-please-stand-hong-kong-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Sep 2016 11:47:37 +0000 Metro Broadcast Corporation has become the third digital radio station to go off-air, as it announced it would return its digital audio broadcasting licence to the government. The station said in a statement on Monday that the development of digital audio broadcasting had been unsatisfactory since it went into operation in 2012 and it had struggled to attract advertising revenue. It also complained about a lack of support, without giving details. The news came just a month after Digital... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2018659/third-hong-kong-digital-radio-station-folds-after-struggling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2018659/third-hong-kong-digital-radio-station-folds-after-struggling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Sep 2016 11:14:13 +0000 Newly-elected Hong Kong legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick is considering moving into the Legislative Council complex with his family to ensure their personal safety. Speaking on a radio programme on Saturday morning, the veteran activist also said the city’s pro-democracy movement needed to be strengthened before it could start negotiating with Beijing. Chu, who won 84,121 votes in the New Territories West election, has been under round-the-clock police protection since Thursday. The veteran... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018256/normal-life-might-be-elusive-hong-kong-legislator-elect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018256/normal-life-might-be-elusive-hong-kong-legislator-elect?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Sep 2016 08:31:20 +0000 Police suspect a triad gang in Yuen Long district is behind the death threats against Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, the biggest winner in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elections, the Post has learned. They are also looking into the possible involvement of a rural strongman, according to sources. The revelation came as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Friday said he attached great importance to the case and had ordered an immediate investigation. Leung said he had phoned, messaged and emailed Chu over... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018115/triad-link-probed-eddie-chu-death-threats-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2018115/triad-link-probed-eddie-chu-death-threats-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Sep 2016 15:15:00 +0000 At least two localists who won seats in the legislature have said they will come up with their own distinct ways of taking the oath next month. Candidates who won in the general election will be sworn into office at the first Legislative Council meeting on October 12. According to the law, Legco members are required to swear to uphold the Basic Law, which might be a sticky issue with the six localist lawmakers-elect. Leung Chun-ying says election results are a rejection of Legco filibustering –... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2016216/oath-uphold-hong-kongs-basic-law-will-prove-problematic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2016216/oath-uphold-hong-kongs-basic-law-will-prove-problematic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Sep 2016 15:00:30 +0000 Six localists grabbed a substantial portion of middle-class neighbourhood votes to win Sunday’s Legislative Council elections, according to a study of the results by the South China Morning Post. Commentators and winners suggested various reasons for the trend, including election strategies and disillusionment with the pan-democrats’ track record in recent years. Middle-class voters on Hong Kong Island appear to have taken to a shine to Nathan Law Kwun-chung, chairman of the post-Occupy youth... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2016218/middle-class-voters-turned-out-big-numbers-localists-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2016218/middle-class-voters-turned-out-big-numbers-localists-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Sep 2016 15:00:00 +0000 Two Youngspiration leaders have been voted into the Legislative Council, meaning the fledgling party is now the biggest localist party in the legislature. Sixtus “Baggio” Leung Chung-hang secured a seat in New Territories East and Yau Wai-ching was successful in Kowloon West. But following their landmark victory, a question mark remains over how the group will work with Hong Kong Indigenous as the latter was arguably a major reason Leung won his seat. New Legco likely to mean more fractures –... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2015317/localist-challenge-role-hong-kong-indigenous-remains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2015317/localist-challenge-role-hong-kong-indigenous-remains?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Sep 2016 13:33:18 +0000 Here’s a look at six newly elected and four freshly ousted members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council after a dramatic day and night of long queues at polling stations. In a reflection of the races’ high stakes, a number of candidates issued last-minute appeals for votes just hours before the polls closed. For more election results, facts and figures, please visit Legislative Council election counting room. For additional Post coverage on the polls, please click here. Nathan Law Kwun-chung From... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014997/profiles-victory-and-defeat-look-few-notable-legco-winners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014997/profiles-victory-and-defeat-look-few-notable-legco-winners?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Sep 2016 09:15:28 +0000 Emerging as the undisputed “king of votes” yesterday, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, said he himself was surprised by his landslide victory in Sunday’s Legislative Council polls. But while saying it signalled that Hongkongers embraced “democratic self-determination”, rather than violence, in deciding the city’s future, he raised eyebrows by warning of the shadow of “assassination” and “intimidation” over local politics. Watch: Big wins for pro-democracy camp in 2016 Legco election “The result shows that... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014841/eddie-chu-hoi-dick-predicts-storm-political-violence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014841/eddie-chu-hoi-dick-predicts-storm-political-violence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Sep 2016 03:15:00 +0000 A record number of voters turned out for Sunday’s Legislative Council elections, reflecting Hongkongers’ eagerness to make their voices count in the most politically critical and bitterly fought polls since the city’s 1997 handover. Many flocked to polling stations late in the evening, galvanised by last-minute appeals for support. At a polling station in Taikoo Shing, the last vote was cast at almost 2.30am, four hours after the polls were originally scheduled to close. By 5.45am, with around... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014678/record-hong-kong-turnout-bitterly-fought-legislative-council?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014678/record-hong-kong-turnout-bitterly-fought-legislative-council?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2016 16:15:30 +0000 Was Hong Kong about to produce its first lawmaker who envisioned the city separated from China? That question was among the most fiercely debated topics among pundits as polling took place on Sunday for Legislative Council elections almost 20 years after London passed back to Beijing the keys to the city. “I think I stand a good chance of winning,” Youngspiration hopeful Yau Wai-ching, contesting in the Kowloon West constituency, said at the halfway mark of the day’s 15-hour voting... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014674/localist-candidates-look-shake-hong-kongs-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014674/localist-candidates-look-shake-hong-kongs-political?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2016 15:53:50 +0000 This was the South China Morning Post’s rolling coverage of Hong Kong’s 2016 Legislative Council elections as polls were open. The first Legco polls since the 2014 Occupy protests brought out more than 2.2 million voters. Our reporters were stationed around the city to report live. For the Post’s latest coverage, please click here. Finally, all over (2.15am) By 2.15am the last few voters have cast their ballots and by 2.30am polling stations across Hong Kong have closed their doors. Michael... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014517/hong-kong-legco-elections-watch-voter-turnout-compared-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2014517/hong-kong-legco-elections-watch-voter-turnout-compared-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2016 07:00:45 +0000 Pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong attacked Sing Pao newspaper chief Gu Zhuoheng for a second day on Thursday in what was seen as an orchestrated campaign. Gu has hit back and claimed he was targeted for refusing to submit to a “certain power”. Chinese-language daily Ta Kung Pao ran a full-page report accusing the chairman of Sing Pao Media Enterprises of having a murky background. Gu was allegedly on the run overseas, according to reports. Low-profile businessman running Hong Kong newspaper... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2012335/sing-pao-chief-hong-kong-had-multiple-id-cards-when-arrested-pro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2012335/sing-pao-chief-hong-kong-had-multiple-id-cards-when-arrested-pro?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Sep 2016 12:52:28 +0000 Critics have urged the government to improve the handling of ballot papers after it emerged that the documents were being stored in the homes of polling station officers prior to the election. News agency FactWire reported on Thursday that, according to a handbook issued by the Registration and Electoral Office, officers were allowed to take ballot papers back to their homes a week before the Legislative Council election on Sunday. The news report said the ballot papers were sealed in plastic... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2012327/hong-kong-election-ballot-papers-risk-tampering-homes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2012327/hong-kong-election-ballot-papers-risk-tampering-homes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Sep 2016 12:38:09 +0000