https://www.scmp.com/rss/322271/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Tammy Tam Tammy Tam Ahead of a hugely uncertain yet highly anticipated summit between the leaders of the world’s two major powers at the coming Apec meeting in South Korea, the big question is whether Chinese President Xi Jinping or his United States counterpart Donald Trump has more bargaining chips amid the global trade war triggered by the American’s tariffs. China’s dominance in the rare earth market has proved to be the most effective tool in Beijing’s belt, although the US may still influence some countries,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3329581/opportunities-hong-kong-sidelines-xi-trump-summit-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3329581/opportunities-hong-kong-sidelines-xi-trump-summit-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:56:03 +0000 Tammy Tam Tammy Tam The message from Beijing has been subtle but clear enough amid the snowballing controversy over the decision by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s flagship business arm CK Hutchison Holdings to sell 43 of its ports, including two in Panama, to a consortium led by US investment firm BlackRock. There has been no direct commentary by state media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily or China Central Television, but Beijing’s unhappiness was reflected by two top offices supervising... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3303525/beijing-upset-why-it-limiting-criticism-hutchisons-pull-out-panama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3303525/beijing-upset-why-it-limiting-criticism-hutchisons-pull-out-panama?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Mar 2025 11:15:56 +0000 Visits to Hong Kong by China’s state leaders and top officials can be quite telling when it comes to what Beijing may have in mind for policy priorities concerning this city. And one that speaks volumes is the ongoing seven-day “inspection” or “fact-finding” visit by Xia Baolong, the top man overseeing Hong Kong affairs. In his official capacity as director of the Communist Party Central Committee’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and executive deputy head of the party’s powerful Central... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3253147/what-are-facts-beijings-top-man-charge-hong-kong-affairs-his-fact-finding-mission-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3253147/what-are-facts-beijings-top-man-charge-hong-kong-affairs-his-fact-finding-mission-city?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Feb 2024 11:05:21 +0000 Competition is good – without it, we have complacency – but it should not mean shutting out the other side. That’s what struck me on my first overseas trip in three years, attending a conference last week in Singapore, often seen as Hong Kong’s arch rival in many ways. It was the first physical session of the annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum after two years of virtual meetings, and Singapore was chosen as the host venue. While Chinese President Xi Jinping, his US counterpart Joe Biden, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3200308/never-mind-competing-singapore-hong-kong-needs-engage-international-stakeholders-get-back-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3200308/never-mind-competing-singapore-hong-kong-needs-engage-international-stakeholders-get-back-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Nov 2022 10:53:40 +0000 Ever since late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping decided to open up China in the late 1970s, Hong Kong started playing a significant role in connecting the mainland with the world. Unfortunately, this bridging function has diminished in recent years, and cross-border trust has yet to be re-established after the anti-government protest chaos of 2019. Economically, Hong Kong has been scrambling for a repositioning with the mainland becoming the world’s second-largest economy. The city now seems to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3188826/how-two-systems-under-one-country-can-facilitate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3188826/how-two-systems-under-one-country-can-facilitate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:29:06 +0000 In politics, it is revealing to see how certain practices once considered taboo can become publicly acceptable as the new normal. That is the case in the delicate interactions between local leaders and Beijing’s representatives in Hong Kong, which critics used to take as a barometer of the city’s “high degree of autonomy” under the “one country, two systems” governing policy. In recent years, Beijing has put the focus on how its “comprehensive jurisdiction” over Hong Kong must be properly... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3177826/interactions-beijing-have-long-been-political-test-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3177826/interactions-beijing-have-long-been-political-test-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 May 2022 08:44:21 +0000 Targeted or too vague? John Lee Ka-chiu, the sole candidate for Hong Kong’s top job, has finally unveiled his manifesto, vowing to lead the city into a new chapter after years of political and social turbulence. There has not been much excitement over this one-man election campaign so far, with perhaps the only dramatic turn being that of Google abruptly banning Lee’s YouTube channel, citing compliance with Washington’s sanctions against him. Lee accused the US of “bullying” with its “blatant... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3176162/making-everyone-deal-hong-kong-leader-under-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3176162/making-everyone-deal-hong-kong-leader-under-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 May 2022 09:01:31 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader has sparked another controversy in announcing a phased relaxation of the city’s tough anti-pandemic restrictions. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s decision includes allowing the resumption of direct flights from nine countries, but she has suspended a plan to test the entire population for Covid-19. The Compulsory Universal Test (CUT) is advocated by mainland China as crucial for eventually resuming all-important, quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3172036/hong-kong-forewarned-about-next-covid-wave-it-forearmed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3172036/hong-kong-forewarned-about-next-covid-wave-it-forearmed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Mar 2022 09:30:55 +0000 President Xi Jinping is well recognised both at home and internationally as the most powerful Chinese leader since the late chairman Mao Zedong. In China’s political structure, Xi holds three titles: general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, as the ruling party’s chief; president of the People’s Republic of China, as the head of state; and chairman of the Central Military Commission, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. There is usually some significance attached to which title he... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3167738/why-xi-jinping-used-communist-party-chief-title-instead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3167738/why-xi-jinping-used-communist-party-chief-title-instead?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Feb 2022 10:24:14 +0000 The New Year is here, bringing new hopes as well as new challenges and changes. For Hong Kong, 2022 carries more significance as the city reaches the halfway mark on its 50-year journey under Beijing’s unique “one country, two systems” governing formula. This will be an eventful year with the formation of a new administration, as incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s five-year term ends on June 30. Beijing’s representative in Hong Kong stresses constitution’s supremacy Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161850/hong-kong-leadership-election-2022-one-horse-race-or-real?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161850/hong-kong-leadership-election-2022-one-horse-race-or-real?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 07:43:59 +0000 “1997, please come soon, then I can go to Hong Kong …” the old song goes, and who would have thought back then that these lyrics could still mean so much so many years later. When 23-year-old Ai Jing, a mainland Chinese folk and pop singer, released My 1997 in the early 1990s, it became an immediate national hit as the stage was being set for Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese rule. While Ai claimed it was only a love song about a mainland girl longing to see her Hong Kong boyfriend,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3156002/what-2-hit-songs-can-tell-you-about-inclusion-hong-kong-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3156002/what-2-hit-songs-can-tell-you-about-inclusion-hong-kong-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Nov 2021 06:37:52 +0000 When China’s late paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, came up with his creative idea of “one country, two systems” more than four decades ago for governing postcolonial Hong Kong, he had a bigger picture in mind: this special formula should apply to Taiwan some day for eventual reunification. While Deng did not have a clear timeline, generations of Chinese leaders from Mao Zedong to President Xi Jinping share this common goal. And Xi has gone a step further than his predecessors to make it clear... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3152651/what-does-hong-kongs-experience-one-country-two-systems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3152651/what-does-hong-kongs-experience-one-country-two-systems?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Oct 2021 08:46:08 +0000 What is really behind the recent stock market volatility in Hong Kong, especially the plunge in property share prices? It could be a perfect storm, coming at a time when Beijing has reportedly had enough of the city’s housing shortage and a clampdown may be looming to force local developers to speed up home building, while the market is shaken by the unprecedented debt crisis of Hong Kong-listed Evergrande, China’s – perhaps the world’s – most indebted property giant. Some have linked this to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150159/should-capitalist-hong-kong-worry-about-beijings-common?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150159/should-capitalist-hong-kong-worry-about-beijings-common?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Sep 2021 07:07:02 +0000 A windfall of HK$7.5 million (US$960,000) may sound like a dream come true for someone yearning to own a home, but what is it really worth in Hong Kong’s bloated property market? To put it into perspective, consider the lottery grand prize that a major developer recently offered to boost the city’s sluggish inoculation rate – a brand new single-bedroom flat measuring 449 sq ft, or 42 square metres, valued at HK$10.8 million. As exorbitant as it may sound for such a small living space, the market... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3145106/even-olympic-gold-not-enough-buy-decent-home-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3145106/even-olympic-gold-not-enough-buy-decent-home-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 2021 07:45:56 +0000 Diplomatic negotiation is about showing your hand to bargain for the maximum interest. And when neither side accepts that the other is in any position of strength, showing up at the bargaining table is already the best result. That is what US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman’s two-day visit to China is about. Among the many thorny bilateral and regional issues such as Covid-19 pandemic control, North Korea, tension over the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, and climate change, Hong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3142457/plan-or-plan-b-business-what-wendy-shermans-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3142457/plan-or-plan-b-business-what-wendy-shermans-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jul 2021 09:41:36 +0000 The promotion of a pair of tough security officials to two of the city’s top jobs last week was to be expected but it still raised eyebrows. It marks a paradigm shift in Beijing’s governance style for Hong Kong, underscoring the need to expand a political talent pool beyond the traditional bureaucrats and technocrats. With security minister John Lee Ka-chiu becoming chief secretary and police commissioner Chris Tang Ping-keung succeeding Lee, some pundits see it as the end of the decades-long... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3138936/hong-kongs-administrative-officer-led-governing-system-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3138936/hong-kongs-administrative-officer-led-governing-system-over?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jun 2021 10:33:01 +0000 “I do hope the developers and big landlords in town realise clearly enough that the good old days for them are gone,” a former official recently told me. He was sharing his latest observations about Hong Kong’s political scene, and referring to the dwindling influence of this elite group. With political winds blowing in a different direction, the watershed moment came last week when the Legislative Council passed a bill on a new legal framework to ensure that only “patriots” would be allowed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3135382/what-does-hong-kongs-defiantly-buoyant-property?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3135382/what-does-hong-kongs-defiantly-buoyant-property?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 May 2021 07:25:29 +0000 One of the last things any government wants is to make an abrupt policy U-turn. It takes political courage and wisdom to do so when necessary, but just as important is understanding and acknowledging why, as well as learning any lessons to be drawn from it. In this particular case, the lesson for the administration to reflect on is the need to grow out of its habitual, if not entrenched, Hong Kong-centric thinking. Within one week, the government had to reverse two major anti-pandemic policies... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3132826/hong-kongs-coronavirus-policy-u-turn-comes-price-so-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3132826/hong-kongs-coronavirus-policy-u-turn-comes-price-so-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 May 2021 11:41:35 +0000 Just when there seemed to be a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel in Hong Kong’s year-long fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the shadow of uncertainty has returned. The government expanded vaccine access to a wider population by lowering the eligibility age threshold from 30 to 16 years and was mulling a further relaxation of social-distancing rules, but the confirmation of the city’s first local case with the N501Y mutant strain over the weekend has raised a warning flag. It could... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3130024/vaccination-means-dont-forget-end-goal-making-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3130024/vaccination-means-dont-forget-end-goal-making-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Apr 2021 09:43:25 +0000 To take or not to take the second shot, that is the question for more than 462,000 Hongkongers who have already received their first Covid-19 vaccination dose of either China’s Sinovac or the German-made BioNTech. Those who are worried by the sudden interruption of the BioNTech vaccine roll-out because of packaging defects may continue to wait and see a little longer. The good news is that an investigation by the manufacturer and its mainland Chinese distributor has found no systemic problem in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3127337/dont-put-cart-horse-incentives-boost-vaccination-what-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3127337/dont-put-cart-horse-incentives-boost-vaccination-what-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Mar 2021 10:09:46 +0000 You reap what you sow. This must have been on Beijing’s mind when it forged ahead with a drastic overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system. The central government is now taking steps to ensure that only “patriots” can rule Hong Kong, blocking those it deems to be posing threats to national security from entering the city’s political arena. If that is the fate awaiting Hong Kong’s opposition politicians, such a sweeping reform also serves as a timely reminder of the many tougher challenges ahead... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3124434/hong-kong-reaps-what-it-sowed-beijing-overhauls-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3124434/hong-kong-reaps-what-it-sowed-beijing-overhauls-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Mar 2021 08:56:47 +0000 It was back in 2017 when President Xi Jinping first raised the concept of Beijing’s “comprehensive jurisdiction” over Hong Kong. If anyone was still wondering what that would entail, the answer is all too clear in Beijing’s latest reaffirmation that “only patriots can rule Hong Kong”. Adding to the complexity, Hong Kong remains a sticking point as China-US tensions continue unabated despite the change of administration at the White House. Over the weekend, the tit-for-tat exchanges between US... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3120901/year-ox-signals-political-turbulence-china-us-wrestling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3120901/year-ox-signals-political-turbulence-china-us-wrestling?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Feb 2021 10:08:51 +0000 It started as a diplomatic compromise, but the arrangement seems to be coming to an end because the consensus has been broken. That is the likely fate of the British National (Overseas) status in Hong Kong. Accusing Beijing of violating the city’s freedoms by imposing a sweeping national security law, Britain last July offered a so-called pathway for local BN(O) passport holders to full British citizenship over a total period of up to six years. Beijing angrily warned Britain to “correct the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3119018/what-does-beijings-current-silence-over-britains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3119018/what-does-beijings-current-silence-over-britains?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Jan 2021 08:18:50 +0000 “What lies ahead in 2021 we have yet to know, but we must have done great if we’re still alive when 2020 ends!” With just 10 days to go before we usher in a new year, this seems to be the general sentiment across the city as it battles a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic with no end in sight, while global geopolitical uncertainties keep growing. No one has a crystal ball to predict the future, but any responsible government should rethink, reassess, and plan ahead strategically, for better... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3114699/hongkongers-may-have-survived-2020-they-deserve-more-just?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3114699/hongkongers-may-have-survived-2020-they-deserve-more-just?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Dec 2020 09:43:31 +0000 Now that Joe Biden is set to take over from Donald Trump as US president, although the latter has yet to officially concede he lost the election, the big question in this part of the world is what comes next for Sino-American relations. Will a Biden presidency ease China-US tensions and eventually benefit Hong Kong by halting new sanctions, if not lifting some of those already in force? Not really. Whether it’s Biden or Trump in the White House, the future course of this special administrative... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3110909/will-biden-presidency-give-hong-kong-break-or-it-other-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3110909/will-biden-presidency-give-hong-kong-break-or-it-other-way?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Nov 2020 12:44:22 +0000 When Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, and in the early post-handover years that followed, this “Pearl of the Orient” was no doubt the apple of Beijing’s eye. The special attention from Beijing that the city enjoyed may have been taken for granted here, but it was to the envy of many mainland cities. Time flies and seasons change, and so has sentiment turned across the border. But it was the changed perception of China’s leadership, seeing this once-favourite child becoming too spoiled, that... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3108974/favourite-spoiled-child-whats-next-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3108974/favourite-spoiled-child-whats-next-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Nov 2020 09:03:19 +0000 “We should build several Hong Kongs on the mainland,” the late Deng Xiaoping once said. That was when China’s paramount leader and architect of the country’s opening up visited Shenzhen, then a backward fishing village in the early 1980s, and looked across the border at a prosperous Hong Kong under British rule. Shenzhen and three other cities had been designated as China’s first batch of special economic zones by then, but few, including Deng himself, knew how to go about it. Hong Kong must be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3106011/hong-kong-cannot-afford-say-i-dont-mind-being-overtaken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3106011/hong-kong-cannot-afford-say-i-dont-mind-being-overtaken?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Oct 2020 08:46:21 +0000 Has Beijing sent in a senior party official for more “supervision” of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the Hong Kong government? That depends on how it is interpreted, but Hongkongers saw a telling sign last week when Luo Huining, the central government’s top envoy to the city, made his first community visit to underprivileged residents after taking over as head of the liaison office about nine months ago. What raised eyebrows was Luo’s request to his colleagues accompanying him to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3104100/when-beijings-envoy-hong-kong-gets-proactive-livelihood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3104100/when-beijings-envoy-hong-kong-gets-proactive-livelihood?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2020 06:41:34 +0000 Setting a goal or KPI (Key Performance Indicator) tops the must-do list at any private company, because it serves as a critical measurement to justify an employee’s promotion or demotion. What about the government? And what is the KPI for Hong Kong officials the public can use to judge their performance since Covid-19 hit the city? To be fair, the government did set a goal earlier: containing infections to keep them “at a low level”, a decision endorsed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3102278/zero-infection-myth-or-achievable-hong-kongs-fight-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3102278/zero-infection-myth-or-achievable-hong-kongs-fight-against?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2020 09:12:52 +0000 A favourite topic for Hong Kong officials these days is about bringing the city back to normalcy. They see the mass Covid-19 testing programme currently under way as a significant step towards reaching that goal, although it is mired in political controversy over its backing by mainland China and the effectiveness of the initiative has also been questioned because of its entirely voluntary basis. For Hongkongers who have endured a chaotic double whammy – the 2019 political havoc caused by Chief... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3100439/hong-kong-looks-return-normalcy-what-kind-normal-what?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3100439/hong-kong-looks-return-normalcy-what-kind-normal-what?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2020 11:00:49 +0000 Jaws dropped when Beijing put the brakes on a punitive initiative aimed at kicking several of Hong Kong’s radical opposition lawmakers out of the Legislative Council as its current term was extended for no less than another year. The green light for the opposition lawmakers to continue was unexpected for both the pan-democrats and their pro-establishment rivals, the latter including some heavyweights who had earlier suggested otherwise but now welcomed it as a “reasonable” and “smooth”... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3098496/beijing-giving-test-or-face-hong-kongs-leader-letting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3098496/beijing-giving-test-or-face-hong-kongs-leader-letting?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2020 08:01:54 +0000 The determined defiance from Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and other senior officials sanctioned by the US government was but expected, with the China-US relationship at its lowest ebb. Lam even took it a step further to declare she would give up her US visa which was due to expire in 2026. How the visa will be technically voided on her initiative remains to be seen, but it is most likely to see Lam become the only Hong Kong leader so far who has not yet visited, or will not visit,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3096657/what-it-means-hong-kongs-carrie-lam-give-her-us-visa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3096657/what-it-means-hong-kongs-carrie-lam-give-her-us-visa?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Aug 2020 13:09:18 +0000 In the business of journalism, a major event warrants breaking news, but what is omitted can be an even bigger story sometimes. On Friday evening, as I watched Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor live on television announcing the postponement of the Legislative Council elections in September, I was suddenly bombarded by news alerts about a mainland Chinese medical team being sent to Hong Kong. The alerts about the team coming from across the border to help with Covid-19 testing started to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3095704/mainland-chinese-medical-team-here-help-hong-kong-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3095704/mainland-chinese-medical-team-here-help-hong-kong-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Aug 2020 10:52:06 +0000 Is Hong Kong becoming just “another Chinese city” or will it retain its distinct identity? This was a key question debated in a recent webinar organised by the South China Morning Post with panellists including Hong Kong trade minister Edward Yau Tang-wah, former US top envoy to the city Kurt Tong, and prominent businessman Allan Zeman, exploring the profound impacts of the national security law imposed on the city by Beijing. Surprisingly, or not, the consensus was “no, it is not just another... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3094752/even-amid-us-crusade-against-china-hong-kong-can-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3094752/even-amid-us-crusade-against-china-hong-kong-can-be?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jul 2020 08:15:50 +0000 How long does it take for a group photo? Seconds, minutes, an hour or so at the most for an elaborate shoot? That was all it would have needed for the city’s lawmakers from two opposing camps to maintain the once-in-four-years tradition to pose for a moment of bipartisanship and professional courtesy to mark the end of their legislative term. But that was not to be, for the first time in 23 years since Hong Kong’s handover to Chinese sovereignty. In a dramatic midnight scene on Saturday in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3093809/there-room-hong-kongs-political-centre-under-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3093809/there-room-hong-kongs-political-centre-under-national?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2020 09:18:30 +0000 Should people be staying home or be out and about? Should they go to the office or work from home? These are pressing questions to which the public is expecting prompt and clear answers from the government as Hong Kong faces its third and most severe wave of Covid-19. But once again, in the absence of concrete answers, many have realised that merely relying on the government is not enough, as the official response so far has been more passive than proactive. The latest spike is alarming as it... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3092851/indecisiveness-can-be-political-suicide-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3092851/indecisiveness-can-be-political-suicide-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jul 2020 11:31:27 +0000 “Money earned is not yours, only money spent belonged to you,” Antony Leung Kam-chung, Hong Kong’s financial secretary from 2001 to 2003, once famously claimed while explaining his fiscal philosophy. Whether one agrees with Leung or not, it does not take a renowned economist to tell that smart spending matters, provided, of course, one has a disposable amount. It is the case not only for individuals and families, but especially so for a government. And that seems to be what current financial... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090910/spending-smart-testing-time-what-next-hong-kong-governments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090910/spending-smart-testing-time-what-next-hong-kong-governments?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jun 2020 08:05:23 +0000 Seven hours of talking followed by a cordial dinner, but with no consensus. Then, a brief statement from each side offering different accounts at cross purposes. What kind of meeting was it? Beijing called it “constructive”; but for the US, it was merely “to exchange views”. That was what happened in Hawaii last week when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, for talks held with much anticipation but no expectations. US-China talks: Mike Pompeo’s seven-hour... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3089969/just-how-constructive-were-china-us-talks-and-what-does-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3089969/just-how-constructive-were-china-us-talks-and-what-does-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Jun 2020 08:10:28 +0000 “When July 1, 1997 comes, when you wake up and open your eyes, you’ll see nothing change except the flags – the British Union Jack will be lowered; replaced by the five-red-star Chinese flag and the Bauhinia flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It will be just that simple! No need to worry.” That was Lu Ping’s assurance back in the early 1990s to Hong Kong reporters who covered the numerous rounds of Sino-British talks on the city’s transitional arrangements for the 1997 handover... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3088982/national-security-law-nears-hong-kongs-second-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3088982/national-security-law-nears-hong-kongs-second-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jun 2020 06:30:24 +0000 Where should you go with your money if you don’t want to stay in Hong Kong any more, now that the die has been cast? This may be a tough question keeping some of the city’s tycoons awake at night, since Beijing’s move to impose a controversial national security law on Hong Kong is now a done deal. Which place in China would be a suitable alternative to Hong Kong? The hi-tech hub of Shenzhen? Or Hainan, which is to be a free-trade port? The question has actually been long mulled over by Beijing,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3087911/hong-kong-dispensable-china-june-4-vigil-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3087911/hong-kong-dispensable-china-june-4-vigil-test?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Jun 2020 08:54:41 +0000 It was a sunny day and I was a TV reporter for the city’s leading broadcaster in October 1997, three months after Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty, when we flew into beautiful Hawaii. My crew and I were waiting for the most significant visit by a Chinese leader to the United States since the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s milestone trip back in 1979. Two “firsts” there: then-president Jiang Zemin would be the first Chinese leader, breaking Western isolation of the mainland over... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3086875/china-us-relationship-same-bed-different-dreams-break-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3086875/china-us-relationship-same-bed-different-dreams-break-over?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2020 08:05:00 +0000 Given the deepening mistrust between Hong Kong and mainland China over the years, which has led to open animosity recently, “one country, two systems” can sometimes mean “one country, two public sentiments”. Beijing’s uncompromising push for a tailor-made national security law for Hong Kong, bypassing a 23-year-long “mission impossible” to enact local legislation, has highlighted this. Locally, the proposed law has sparked great controversy and grave public concerns, with the opposition already... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3085838/one-country-two-sentiments-black-and-white-simplification?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3085838/one-country-two-sentiments-black-and-white-simplification?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 May 2020 08:34:01 +0000 When Beijing resumes its long-delayed annual gatherings of the national legislature and the country’s top political advisory body later this week in what is known as the “Two Sessions”, the world will be watching how China resets directions for its post-Covid-19 economic recovery. But for Hongkongers, what matters more is Beijing’s latest policy adjustment for this troubled city and how, in particular, it will push ahead with local adoption of national security legislation – a constitutional... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3084774/long-delayed-two-sessions-will-spell-fate-hong-kong-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3084774/long-delayed-two-sessions-will-spell-fate-hong-kong-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2020 10:27:59 +0000 The road to hell is always paved with good intentions. The old adage is proving true for the Hong Kong government’s highly publicised scheme to distribute free reusable masks to every resident. The controversy over the CuMask+ scheme must be hugely frustrating for embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, whose administration is now facing concerns and accusations ranging from possible conflict of interest, since the commissioned manufacturers did not go through proper tender... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3083701/lessons-learn-hong-kongs-great-mask-giveaway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3083701/lessons-learn-hong-kongs-great-mask-giveaway?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2020 07:47:08 +0000 Is Beijing really tightening its grip on Hong Kong? The writing is clearly on the wall and that poses more questions. Is Beijing losing its patience to the extent that it now has to step in and play its part? Why? Beijing has been increasingly proactive over the past years in reminding Hongkongers of the need for a “comprehensive and accurate” implementation of “one country, two systems”, the governing formula for Hong Kong after its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The opposition camp... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3082642/hong-kong-needs-stronger-leadership-more-ever-beijing-exerts-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3082642/hong-kong-needs-stronger-leadership-more-ever-beijing-exerts-its?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2020 08:24:29 +0000 As Shakespeare’s King Lear put it, those in power, as great as they may be, tend to “ebb and flow by the moon”. Those old words of wisdom still apply in today’s context, with officials who come and go as circumstances change. In that sense, it’s not surprising that Hong Kong’s government has just gone through a major reshuffle involving five ministers in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s cabinet. The reshuffle was seen as coming rather late, as debate on a much-needed injection of new... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3081612/hong-kongs-cabinet-reshuffle-ebb-and-flow-moon-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3081612/hong-kongs-cabinet-reshuffle-ebb-and-flow-moon-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2020 10:36:16 +0000 Where is this world heading under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic that has infected more than 2.3 million people and killed well over 150,000? At a time when so many are barricaded indoors, busy working from home or not doing much, but all participating in a global social-distancing campaign to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, pondering upon the distant future can seem too philosophical or remote. But what lies ahead is real enough for everyone, including Hongkongers. What... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3080598/can-mainland-china-hong-kong-two-systems-coexist-peacefully?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3080598/can-mainland-china-hong-kong-two-systems-coexist-peacefully?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2020 09:41:10 +0000 “New York is my favourite city in America.” China’s top envoy to the US has been repeating this message recently, amid a bitter blame game between the world’s two major powers over the origin and the handling of the global public health crisis caused by the spread of Covid-19. In his latest interview with the New York-based Eurasia Group, a leading global political risk consultancy, Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai urged a change of mindset among major global leaders and advocated China-US... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3079551/what-it-means-hong-kong-when-chinas-top-diplomat-us-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3079551/what-it-means-hong-kong-when-chinas-top-diplomat-us-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2020 12:11:35 +0000 The world is in a frantic race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, but it also needs to do some serious soul-searching as to whether a vaccine is the be-all and end-all to combat this devastating pandemic. Just as finding a medical solution is crucial, so is the need for solidarity and cooperation instead of finger pointing and gloating over others’ suffering. And this need has become critical for whatever meaningful joint efforts can be made by China and the US against a common enemy. If the two... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3078529/it-will-take-more-just-vaccine-fight-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3078529/it-will-take-more-just-vaccine-fight-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2020 13:55:28 +0000 “[Most] civil servants will start to work from home from Monday, March 23 [until further notice],” Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Saturday, along with her decision to step up quarantine measures against a second wave of Covid-19 cases. It was a relief to see Hong Kong’s leader wearing a surgical mask throughout the press conference this time, in sharp contrast to her earlier public appearances without one. While her earlier refusal to put on a mask was well-intentioned –... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3076330/working-home-new-normal-under-coronavirus-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3076330/working-home-new-normal-under-coronavirus-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2020 11:43:24 +0000