https://www.scmp.com/rss/323729/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A woman dating the son of retired Hong Kong judge Woo Kwok-hing has denied allegations that she was assaulted by her boyfriend in an incident that left her with injuries, saying in a social media post that she had actually lost her footing and fallen over while drunk. Natalie Cheung, who is also the ex-wife of actor Marco Ngai Chun-kit and was known as Zhang Lihua before she changed her name, posted the statement online two days after Woo’s 42-year-old son, Alan Woo, was arrested in the couple’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3172569/girlfriend-retired-hong-kong-judge-woo-kwok-hings-son?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3172569/girlfriend-retired-hong-kong-judge-woo-kwok-hings-son?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Mar 2022 08:11:58 +0000 Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday got her first taste of the challenges she faces in the coming five years when she emerged from the election with 777 votes, a new nickname and fending off renewed calls for political reform. Before vote counting had even finished inside a hall at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, some of the 1,194 members of the Election Committee had already gathered in the venue, chanting: “I want genuine universal suffrage”. They followed it up with a loud... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2082276/day-drama-lam-faced-nickname-naysayers-and-noise-protesters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2082276/day-drama-lam-faced-nickname-naysayers-and-noise-protesters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Mar 2017 14:07:44 +0000 Just the other day, a friend of mine asked me: “What do we get from this chief executive election?” It was a simple enough question, but it stunned me for a while. Yes, come to think of it, apart from getting a new leader, what do we get from this election? Or more to the point, what can we expect from our new chief executive that may be different from what we got from the last three? If you look back over the course of the election campaign, you cannot but come to the dreaded conclusion that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081799/election-over-hong-kong-must-try-again-agree-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081799/election-over-hong-kong-must-try-again-agree-political?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Mar 2017 08:01:27 +0000 Retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, who failed in his bid for the city’s top job, was thankful for the 21 voters who backed him “with their consciences” even though his chances of becoming Hong Kong’s chief executive had been slim from the beginning. Woo said he did not regret joining the race and hoped that his spirit of speaking the truth and never giving up would motivate and encourage other Hongkongers . He urged chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to keep her promises of uniting the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2082213/retired-judge-woo-kwok-hing-thanks-21-backers-voting-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2082213/retired-judge-woo-kwok-hing-thanks-21-backers-voting-their?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Mar 2017 06:45:25 +0000 If you are elected, what do you plan to do in your first 100 days? What will be your top priority? Woo: My top priority is to reboot the political reform process so that the chief executive can be elected by universal suffrage in 2022. Until and unless this bone of contention over democratisation is resolved, the government will remain a lame duck bogged down by a dysfunctional Legislative Council. I will appoint a broadly-based consultative conference to sort out labour and welfare issues,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2081940/six-questions-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-woo-kwok?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2081940/six-questions-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-woo-kwok?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Mar 2017 14:30:00 +0000 The three candidates vying to become Hong Kong’s next chief executive took part in the final debate of the election campaign in front of hundreds of voters at AsiaWorld-Expo on Lantau Island. The two-hour debate was co-organised by a group of Election Committee members from both the pan-democratic and pro-establishment political camps. The committee’s 1,194 members will decide next Sunday which of the three hopefuls – former government chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, ex-finance... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2080276/live-hong-kong-leadership-candidates-take-part-final-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2080276/live-hong-kong-leadership-candidates-take-part-final-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Mar 2017 10:45:45 +0000 Three Hong Kong chief executive candidates will cross swords again in a third and final debate on Sunday night as they face questions from voters who will elect the city’s next leader. The debate, co-organised by a group of Election Committee members from across the political spectrum, will take place at AsiaWorld-Expo between 7pm and 9pm. On March 26, the committee’s 1,194 members will decide which of the three candidates – former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, former financial... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2080260/hong-kong-chief-executive-hopefuls-be-grilled-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2080260/hong-kong-chief-executive-hopefuls-be-grilled-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Mar 2017 09:02:52 +0000 The three candidates vying to be Hong Kong’s next chief executive were for the first time taking part in a live debate at TVB City. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2078803/live-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-clash-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2078803/live-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-clash-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Mar 2017 11:45:45 +0000 Hong Kong’s three chief executive candidates, John Tsang Chun-wah, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Woo Kwok-hing have for the first time appeared together to debate the key issues ahead of the election later this month. Sunday’s event was organised by the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, which has 43 votes in the 1,194-member Election Committee that will pick the city’s leader on March 26. All three candidates took turns to answer questions from the union voters as well as some 400... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2078191/word-word-how-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-fared?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2078191/word-word-how-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-fared?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2017 07:30:15 +0000 All three candidates vying for Hong Kong’s top job will face off in series of debates over the final weeks leading up to the city’s chief executive election. Former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing will exchange views for the first time this Sunday at a forum organised by the Professional Teachers’ Union – one of the city’s biggest labour unions by membership. But the first debate will prove to be just a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2076797/hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-face-series-debates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2076797/hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-face-series-debates?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:26:07 +0000 One of the issues drawing the most attention in the chief executive election race is political reform. All three candidates have promised to mend the fissures in society if elected, and acknowledge that the relaunch of political reform is a contentious issue that they have to address as the city’s future leader. Favourable conditions are needed for this to happen, but how could the next leader create such conditions? In hindsight, the major reason for the failure of political reform was the lack... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2075857/can-any-hong-kongs-leadership-hopefuls-regain-trust-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2075857/can-any-hong-kongs-leadership-hopefuls-regain-trust-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 04:01:40 +0000 Hong Kong’s three chief executive candidates will attend a debate hosted by a local teachers’ union in the run-up to the election for the city’s highest office. Former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing are confirmed to partake in the event on March 12, the Professional Teachers’ Union said in a notice on Friday night. The debate is to be held at a moot courtroom in Cheng Yu Tung Tower at the University of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2075960/three-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-confirmed-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2075960/three-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidates-confirmed-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Mar 2017 18:03:03 +0000 Woo Kwok-hing has become the second person to officially enter Hong Kong’s leadership election, handing over a stack of nominations bigger that of former finance chief John Tsang Chun-wah. On Monday afternoon, the retired judge arrived at the Electoral Affairs Commission office in Wan Chai with more than 180 nominations. If poll staff validate those nominations – which they were expected to do by Tuesday – the 71-year-old would become the second candidate in the March 26 poll. He would join... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2074429/woo-kwok-hing-becomes-second-person-officially-stand-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2074429/woo-kwok-hing-becomes-second-person-officially-stand-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Feb 2017 10:30:15 +0000 In a Lunar New Year break from campaigning, Hong Kong’s four chief executive contenders agreed to spread peace and harmony to welcome the Year of the Rooster. Invited by the Post, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, John Tsang Chun-wah, and Woo Kwok-hing put their Chinese calligraphy skills to the test and wrote fai chun to share their new year wishes with Post readers. Watch: Hong Kong top job candidates’ Lunar New Year greetings Fai chun, sometimes called lucky paper, are... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2066202/see-how-they-write-hong-kong-top-job-candidates-offer-lunar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2066202/see-how-they-write-hong-kong-top-job-candidates-offer-lunar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2017 02:46:46 +0000 Chief executive contender Woo Kwok-hing said he remains “quite confident” about getting at least 150 nominations to formally enter Hong Kong’s leadership race, as he believes pan-democrats will form the majority of his nominators. Woo, a retired High Court judge, spoke on Tuesday amid worries among pro-Beijing politicians that there might be “too many candidates” in the March election after former ministers Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, John Tsang Chun-wah and Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee announced their... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2065022/woo-kwok-hing-confident-about-obtaining-enough-nominations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2065022/woo-kwok-hing-confident-about-obtaining-enough-nominations?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2017 10:41:03 +0000 Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor Age: 59 Education: Obtained a sociology degree from the University of Hong Kong Number of years in civil service: 36 years Career highlights: 2000 to 2003: Director of social welfare 2004-2006: Director-general of economic and trade affairs office in London, United Kingdom 2006-2007: Permanent secretary for home affairs 2007-2012: Secretary for development 2012-2017: Chief secretary December 2016: Announced a deal with Beijing to build Hong Kong Palace Museum in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2063631/chief-executive-election-biographies-four-candidates-bidding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2063631/chief-executive-election-biographies-four-candidates-bidding?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jan 2017 11:13:12 +0000 Two people hoping to succeed Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying have promised to undo some of the proposals spelled out in his swansong policy address. Seen as underdog contenders, the two rivals – retired judge Woo Kwok-hing and lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee from New People’s Party – were united in their attacks on Leung after his final policy speech on Wednesday. Both doubted that Leung’s promise to scrap the Mandatory Provident Fund offsetting mechanism would succeed, with Woo adding that he... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2063308/hong-kong-leadership-race-underdogs-pan-cy-leungs-proposed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2063308/hong-kong-leadership-race-underdogs-pan-cy-leungs-proposed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jan 2017 15:28:04 +0000 Woo Kwok-hing wants to relaunch political reform if he becomes the next chief executive. Henry Tang Ying-yen, the former chief secretary and loser in the last chief executive race, counsels against it. For once, Tang is right. When there is no prospect of a compromise between two opposing sides, it’s time to let sleeping dogs lie. Few people believe Woo, a retired judge and so far the only declared candidate, has a real shot at the top job. His proposal to achieve universal suffrage is a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2054998/forget-political-reform-lets-focus-making-peoples-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2054998/forget-political-reform-lets-focus-making-peoples-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Dec 2016 17:52:31 +0000 The political changes in Hong Kong of late are a strong reminder that a week is a long time in politics. Last Friday, Leung Chun-ying announced that he would not seek a second term in the upcoming chief executive election. The decision came out of the blue; even Leung himself and the central government’s liaison office only received the direct order from Beijing the day before. Leung cited “family reasons” when he dropped the bombshell, attributing it to his recently hospitalised daughter. It is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2054877/hong-kong-leadership-battle-will-carrie-lam-inherit-leung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2054877/hong-kong-leadership-battle-will-carrie-lam-inherit-leung?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:44:57 +0000 The co-founder of the Occupy civil-disobedience movement, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, confirmed that a mock public vote on the city’s next chief executive will be held ahead of the election in March. The news came on Thursday as New People’s Party’s Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee resigned from her Executive Council post and declared her bid for the city’s top job. Former judge Woo Kwok-hing was the first to declare his intention to run. Meanwhile, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who resigned earlier... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054824/hong-kong-chief-executive-hopefuls-face-mock-public-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054824/hong-kong-chief-executive-hopefuls-face-mock-public-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Dec 2016 05:00:00 +0000 Chief executive contender Woo Kwok-hing on Wednesday announced his election platform with policies incumbent Leung Chun-ying failed to deliver, from political reform to the abolition of a controversial primary school exam. But much as the retired judge stressed his willingness to improve the electoral system, his proposal sparked doubt among pan-democrats, who are expected to be key Woo lobbying targets. Taking the stage alone – with his supporters yet to make a public appearance except for Andy... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054555/political-reform-tops-election-platform-hong-kong-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054555/political-reform-tops-election-platform-hong-kong-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Dec 2016 11:45:45 +0000 Chief executive aspirant Woo Kwok-hing on Sunday called on the government to speed up applications by rural villagers to build small houses and hit out at incumbent leader Leung Chun-ying for “misleading” and “irresponsible” comments on the controversial policy. The retired judge was speaking at a high-profile rally organised by the Heung Yee Kuk, the powerful rural body that represents the interests of indigenous villagers, but denied he was campaigning for votes. The kuk holds 26 votes in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2051563/hong-kong-chief-executive-hopeful-woo-kwok-hing-throws?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2051563/hong-kong-chief-executive-hopeful-woo-kwok-hing-throws?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Dec 2016 04:00:15 +0000 “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, the classic movie starring Clint Eastwood, best describes the potential candidates who will make their debut in the upcoming farcical small-circle election for the next chief executive. I have discounted incumbent Leung Chun-ying, as his chance of securing a second term is minimal. If President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) and his camp were in favour of the so-called “tough as steel” Leung who tackles the opposition roughly, the chief executive would have tossed his hat... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2046969/hong-kongs-next-leader-may-already-have-emerged-if-we-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2046969/hong-kongs-next-leader-may-already-have-emerged-if-we-take?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Nov 2016 10:45:38 +0000 Potential chief executive candidate Woo Kwok-hing disclosed on Thursday that he had recently filed to renounce his British nationality and was confident the process would be completed before the nomination period started – probably early next year. The chief executive election will be held on March 26. The high-profile retired judge, who last month became the first person to formally declare his intention to run in the race to become the city’s next leader, said he recently filed an application... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2044915/potential-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidate-woo-kwok-hing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2044915/potential-hong-kong-chief-executive-candidate-woo-kwok-hing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Nov 2016 23:33:52 +0000 There is “a lot of room for manoeuvre” in revamping the committee mandated under the Basic Law to nominate Hong Kong’s leader under universal suffrage, according to the first person to have entered the chief executive race. But Woo Kwok-hing admitted the presence of such a committee was bound to have a “sieving effect” on candidates for the top job. In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post on Monday, the retired judge who sent shock waves through the city last week when he... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2041701/how-woo-kwok-hing-plans-jump-start-political-reform-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2041701/how-woo-kwok-hing-plans-jump-start-political-reform-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Nov 2016 01:00:00 +0000 The retired judge running for the city’s top political office has laid out his position on Hong Kong’s independence, declaring that Hongkongers are free to discuss the issue but should not organise activities pushing for it as that would violate the Basic Law. Woo Kwok-hing’s openness to at least talk about the sensitive topic of sovereignty sets him apart from potential rivals in next year’s chief executive election, including incumbent Leung Chun-ying. In an exclusive interview with the South... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2041726/hong-kong-free-discuss-independence-we-cant-go-beyond-woo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2041726/hong-kong-free-discuss-independence-we-cant-go-beyond-woo?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000 A high-profile retired judge will on Thursday become the first person to formally declare their intention to run in the race to become the next leader of Hong Kong. Woo Kwok-hing, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission from 1993 to 2006 and former vice-president of the Court of Appeal, will announce details of his bid to become chief executive – a move described by one senior legal figure as “brave”. The 70-year-old, who was also the city’s first interception of communications and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2040303/retired-judge-woo-kwok-hing-first-officially-throw-hat-ring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2040303/retired-judge-woo-kwok-hing-first-officially-throw-hat-ring?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:45:15 +0000