https://www.scmp.com/rss/328890/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Hong Kong conservationist groups have urged authorities to withdraw several proposed amendments to land-use regulations, warning it would limit public participation and cause “irreversible” damage to the local environment. The package of six amendments would enable the government to reduce the number of public consultations at the Town Planning Board from at least two to one, as well as allowing land reclamation projects to begin without funding approval. Featured in Chief Executive Carrie Lam... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3171312/hong-kong-environmentalists-warn-proposals-boost-land-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3171312/hong-kong-environmentalists-warn-proposals-boost-land-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 15:03:15 +0000 A common assumption among political watchers is that housing has been a key failing of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s administration. But it has emerged that transport has likely been an equally if not more problematic issue out of all the initiatives Lam raised in annual policy addresses during her four years in office. Railway project delays, deadlocks in easing cross-harbour traffic congestion and a stalled electronic road pricing pilot project were among transport-related... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3152801/why-transport-issues-are-bigger-headache-hong-kong-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3152801/why-transport-issues-are-bigger-headache-hong-kong-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Oct 2021 00:00:22 +0000 Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Monday the national security law Beijing imposed on the city in June was both “timely and essential” as it helped restore law and order. Speaking at the opening of the Hong Kong Legal Week 2020, which is organised by the Department of Justice, the chief executive said the civil unrest that ripped through Hong Kong had undermined the respect for, and the public perception of, the rule of law, and exposed shortcomings in the government with... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3108132/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-hails-timely-and-essential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3108132/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-hails-timely-and-essential?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Nov 2020 13:18:49 +0000 From 2014 to 2016, the Hong Kong government conducted an extensive study known as 2030 Plus that updated the city’s development strategy. Led by the Planning Department in cooperation with professionals in the bureaucracy and supported by paid consultants, eight colourful brochures were produced. The result can be reduced to just two key findings. Hong Kong is short of 1,200 hectares of land, and East Lantau Metropolis – with reclamation of 1,000 hectares of land in the waters between east... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3009725/lantau-tomorrow-vision-versus-2030-plus-what-changed-just-three?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3009725/lantau-tomorrow-vision-versus-2030-plus-what-changed-just-three?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2019 00:00:07 +0000 Lun Yiu Tung’s letter, “Let Tuen Mun overload be golf flats warning” (March 27), is a reminder that good infrastructure is needed for new housing estates. The Task Force on Land Supply explained to the Citizen’s Task Force in a meeting in April last year that the timescale for their work did not allow for full consideration of the necessary infrastructure to support the land which they would be proposing for housing. This was a subsequent task for government. The government’s speed in accepting... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3006350/east-lantau-housing-will-need-transport-links-has-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3006350/east-lantau-housing-will-need-transport-links-has-government?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2019 05:00:10 +0000 One of the key achievements of Carrie Lam’s administration so far has been on children’s affairs. At the structural level, the government finally heeded community appeals for a Commission on Children. At the policy level, it increased investment in primary and secondary education, launched a pilot scheme on social work service for pre-primary institutions and tried to improve childcare services. However, the proposed “improvement” of childcare services has greatly compromised its original... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2181208/two-reasons-improved-childcare-does-not-mean-better-childcare-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2181208/two-reasons-improved-childcare-does-not-mean-better-childcare-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:04:03 +0000 We refer to the report, “Hong Kong, Shenzhen reclamation plans may be on collision course” (January 2), on how the city will compete against Shenzhen for river sand, rocks and other infilling material necessary for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s Lantau Tomorrow project, thereby further driving up the total cost currently estimated at HK$500 billion. Since the delivery of the policy address in October, the reclamation plan has met with severe criticism due to its projected financial... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2181129/lantau-tomorrow-hong-kong-today-needs-measure-carbon-footprint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2181129/lantau-tomorrow-hong-kong-today-needs-measure-carbon-footprint?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jan 2019 21:31:43 +0000 Behind the navy blue facade of a revitalised industrial building in Tsing Yi, one of Hong Kong’s industrialised areas, 600 researchers are hard at work on the next generation of smartphones. This is the nerve centre of ASM Pacific Technology, which designs, develops and manufactures machinery to produce components for smartphones, cars and opto-electronic devices. The 300,000 sq ft centre figures prominently in Hong Kong’s re-industrialisation ambitions, but the space squeeze almost got in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2178957/how-make-hong-kong-manufacturing-great-again-give?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2178957/how-make-hong-kong-manufacturing-great-again-give?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Dec 2018 00:02:20 +0000 I am writing to express my views on the article “Island residents warn against Lantau Tomorrow Vision reclamation, fearing pollution would be ‘sins for a thousand years’” (November 25). The article provides us more insight into Lantau residents' views on the government’s Lantau Tomorrow Vision, with many of them expressing their concerns regarding the environment. The residents raise compelling points. The creation of 1,700 hectares of new land would undoubtedly damage the natural environment.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2176630/hong-kongs-housing-crisis-justifies-reclamation-more-clarity-lantau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2176630/hong-kongs-housing-crisis-justifies-reclamation-more-clarity-lantau?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Dec 2018 22:18:53 +0000 Seldom has so colossal a project costing so much been decided in so short a time after such shoddy analysis. The government will be requesting at least HK$500 million to undertake a feasibility study of the Lantau Tomorrow project, which involves reclaiming 1,700 hectares of land in the central water passageway off east Lantau. The government says this land will be used to build a township for up to 1.1 million people with 400,000 housing units and 340,000 jobs. The capital cost is estimated at... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2176157/carrie-lams-lantau-tomorrow-vision-riven-contradictions-defeat-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2176157/carrie-lams-lantau-tomorrow-vision-riven-contradictions-defeat-its?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Dec 2018 04:36:41 +0000 The value of the Hong Kong government’s Lantau Tomorrow Vision will be affected by three yet-to-be-discussed factors: political reality, economic integration and Hong Kong demographics. First, the state owns all land in China. By the time this project is completed, the end date of most land leases in Hong Kong – 2047 – will be closing in. Or will the Hong Kong government still have a free hand when the “one country, two systems” guarantee expires in 2047? It is impossible to value this land... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2173073/three-reasons-lantau-tomorrow-vision-could-fail-if-greater-bay-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2173073/three-reasons-lantau-tomorrow-vision-could-fail-if-greater-bay-area?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Nov 2018 22:33:19 +0000 Hong Kong’s government will break up its overloaded and trouble-plagued Transport and Housing Bureau within this term, the chief secretary announced on Wednesday. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the office’s broad remit was leaving its staff “under huge pressure”. Answering lawmakers’ questions on a possible reshuffle at a Legislative Council meeting, Cheung agreed there was a “practical need” to reorganise the government’s structure. “The bureau has been knee-deep in trouble. There have been so... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2173236/hong-kong-government-split-overburdened-transport-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2173236/hong-kong-government-split-overburdened-transport-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Nov 2018 10:52:21 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday hinted she would not scrap a plan to build a massive island in the city’s waters, even if public opinion turns against it. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s comments came before the government-appointed Task Force on Land Supply was due to conclude a public consultation. A man-made island to the east of Lantau Island was one of 18 options the public was consulted on in the five months from April. The task force intended to summarise opinions and put them... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2173006/carrie-lam-press-ahead-lantau-island-reclamation-whether-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2173006/carrie-lam-press-ahead-lantau-island-reclamation-whether-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Nov 2018 10:47:56 +0000 Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has done everyone a favour – including herself – by ditching the old colonial tradition of word-for-word delivery of the annual policy address in the legislature. Those who want the boring details can readily get them online. Now, if only lawmakers can save everyone’s time by agreeing to scrap another colonial tradition – tabling a motion of thanks for the chief executive for delivering the annual policy blueprint. For a second time in a row, Lam received the symbolic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2172831/time-has-come-legislative-council-not-say-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2172831/time-has-come-legislative-council-not-say-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Nov 2018 12:21:37 +0000 On October 10, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor presented her second policy address. One of the most notable items was arguably the proposal to ban e-cigarettes and new tobacco products, such as heat-not-burn and herbal cigarettes. While many in the city have opposed some of her other proposals, such as the artificial islands project off Lantau , the plan to ban vaping is laudable. First, banning e-cigarettes and new tobacco products could be the initial step towards... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2172521/hong-kong-vaping-ban-would-be-first-step-smoke-free-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2172521/hong-kong-vaping-ban-would-be-first-step-smoke-free-city?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Nov 2018 05:31:14 +0000 For the second year in a row, Hong Kong’s legislature thanked the city leader for her annual policy address as it passed a symbolic motion on Friday, despite officials’ soured relationship with the pro-democracy camp. But two of the three pan-democrats who broke ranks and supported the motion last year did not afford Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor the same courtesy this time around. Ip Kin-yuen of the education sector abstained, while the accountancy sector’s Kenneth Leung did not... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2172564/legco-passes-motion-thanking-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2172564/legco-passes-motion-thanking-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-her?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2018 14:49:37 +0000 The 2018 Policy Address announced an improvement in childcare services in Hong Kong. Though most of its details are still unknown, two points are clear. Unfortunately, they are contradictory. First, the ultimate goal of all these improvements is facilitation of children’s development. More importantly, this recognises the nature of childcare services as integrating development and care. Even though it has long been accepted by professionals related to children’s issues, foreign governments and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2172108/why-hong-kong-needs-take-bigger-steps-childcare-new-standards-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2172108/why-hong-kong-needs-take-bigger-steps-childcare-new-standards-are?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2018 03:01:03 +0000 Pro-democracy parties and advocacy groups have launched a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures against a government proposal to create a mega island in Hong Kong waters. The campaign, officially announced on Wednesday, has collected some 30,000 signatures since it started on October 10, the day when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revealed the 1,700-hectare reclamation plan in her policy address. Organisers said the campaign, which is expected to end in mid-December, will be driven... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2172177/lantau-reclamation-project-pro-democracy-parties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2172177/lantau-reclamation-project-pro-democracy-parties?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2018 14:36:47 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is likely to get a pass from the Legislative Council on her second policy address, despite losing support from pan-democrats over her controversial reclamation proposal. A motion of thanks was put forward by Legco’s House Committee chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king on Wednesday. Lawmakers will debate Lam’s policy choices over three days, with each having 30 minutes of speaking time. Five key takeaways from Carrie Lam’s policy address Although the first... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2172155/carrie-lams-policy-address-faces-debate-legco-members-likely?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2172155/carrie-lams-policy-address-faces-debate-legco-members-likely?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2018 10:33:36 +0000 Almost 60 per cent of respondents to a survey said they are worried that a government plan to create a massive artificial island in the waters around Hong Kong would exhaust the city’s fiscal reserve. The survey, conducted by the pro-democratic Civic Party between October 16 and November 5, covered 3,236 respondents interviewed through random telephone calls. The survey came as 38 economists jointly issued a statement in support of the reclamation proposal, dubbed the Lantau Tomorrow Vision by... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2171977/majority-hongkongers-worried-about-cost-lantau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2171977/majority-hongkongers-worried-about-cost-lantau?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Nov 2018 10:41:12 +0000 Hong Kong prisons are set to test a new system within the next two months that can detect suspicious behaviour by inmates. The “smart prison” project – a move to modernise the city’s correctional facilities – was one of the initiatives Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor raised in her policy address last month. Revealing more details in the Legislative Council on Friday morning, security minister John Lee Ka-chiu said prisons would install a new CCTV system with a video analytics function... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2171386/hong-kong-prisons-test-new-cctv-system-can-detect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2171386/hong-kong-prisons-test-new-cctv-system-can-detect?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Nov 2018 06:48:46 +0000 There has been plenty of controversy around the Lantau Tomorrow Vision since it was unveiled in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy address. While constructive debate on such a huge undertaking is welcome, as a finance practitioner, I have found the opposition voices to be biased, with reasoning that does not reflect a careful evaluation of the financial facts. The project is reported to cost around HK$500 billion, a seemingly astronomical sum. However, Hong Kong’s gross domestic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2170307/why-carrie-lams-lantau-reclamation-project-should?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2170307/why-carrie-lams-lantau-reclamation-project-should?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Oct 2018 23:00:30 +0000 Lawmakers could quickly approve funding for a study on a huge reclamation project off Lantau Island, the head of the committee that vets such requests said, while calling critics of the controversial scheme “sinners in history”. Legislative Council Finance Committee chairman Chan Kin-por said on Saturday fast approval for a feasibility study was likely because rule changes had made filibustering difficult. He estimated the green light could be given in under 20 hours. “I will be the bad guy.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2170508/request-funding-study-controversial-hong-kong-reclamation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2170508/request-funding-study-controversial-hong-kong-reclamation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Oct 2018 12:22:15 +0000 I am writing in response to the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project, included in the recently presented policy address. It is understandable that the Hong Kong government wants to propose policies that ease the land shortage, so large-scale reclamation has been suggested. However, is reclamation the most suitable method of providing housing? Firstly, it is quite rash to invest so much capital in an artificial island. The policy address proposed using HK$500 billion, or half of Hong Kong’s fiscal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2170323/why-hong-kong-needs-rethink-lantau-artificial-island-housing-clear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2170323/why-hong-kong-needs-rethink-lantau-artificial-island-housing-clear?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Oct 2018 07:15:11 +0000 The proposed artificial island off Lantau raises several important issues, which the Hong Kong government and its advisers seem to be ignoring (“Hong Kong ‘could make trillions of dollars’ in Lantau reclamation deal”, October 22). The UN’s latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report unequivocally states that we have just 12 years to reduce our carbon emissions by 45 per cent to minimise severe climate disruption (“Hong Kong’s annual global warming bill is HK$22 billion”, but do we... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2170113/lantau-reclamation-how-long-will-hong-kong-stay-fixated-growth-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2170113/lantau-reclamation-how-long-will-hong-kong-stay-fixated-growth-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Oct 2018 15:45:15 +0000 Hong Kong will break even on a controversial 1,700-hectare reclamation project off Lantau Island within 20 years and could make trillions of dollars from the deal, a member of a government-friendly think tank has claimed. Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung, a former surveyor and lawmaker, and now a consultant with former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa’s Our Hong Kong Foundation, said land reclamation was necessary and, if anything, the 1,700 hectares proposed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2169594/hong-kong-reclamation-plan-could-earn-city-hk16-trillion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2169594/hong-kong-reclamation-plan-could-earn-city-hk16-trillion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Oct 2018 03:45:45 +0000 The government’s proposal to extend maternity leave by four weeks to 14 weeks has become a hot topic of discussion (“Hong Kong maternity leave to increase to 14 weeks under raft of pro-family measures”, October 10). The current maternity leave policy has been in place for 48 years. As a working mother of a five-year-old who would consider having a second child, I truly welcome this. But do I feel more motivated to have another child? Do I feel more equal to men in work and life? I’m not so... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169276/more-maternity-leave-welcome-will-not-bridge-gender-gap-unless-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169276/more-maternity-leave-welcome-will-not-bridge-gender-gap-unless-women?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Oct 2018 22:39:51 +0000 Engineers and construction experts say it is premature to predict disaster and doom for the Hong Kong government’s massive plan to build a gleaming metropolis on several artificial islands. Some worry the reclaimed land might sink, while others fear that climate change, extreme weather and towering waves could wreak havoc on the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project unveiled by Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor earlier this month. The project is expected to create 1,700 hectares of land off... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2169542/too-early-predict-doom-hong-kongs-massive-plan-reclaim-land?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2169542/too-early-predict-doom-hong-kongs-massive-plan-reclaim-land?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Oct 2018 11:02:35 +0000 It was one of the largest demonstrations in Hong Kong this year, with an estimated turnout of 6,000. “No artificial islands!” the protesters chanted, as they marched through the business district of Hong Kong Island, on October 14. “We have a say in Hong Kong’s tomorrow!” Observers said it was remarkable so many turned up, just days after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced a massive reclamation project to add 1,700 hectares for a new metropolis and homes for 1.1 million... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2169535/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-bulldozes-ahead-lantau-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2169535/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-bulldozes-ahead-lantau-island?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Oct 2018 10:00:30 +0000 Since the chief executive unveiled her second policy address, which featured what she clearly felt to be very bold measures, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has been busy doing her media rounds and defending her decisions. Lam obviously anticipated resistance. When asked how she felt about her policy address’s low approval rating – the second-lowest score given to a leader in the city since 2010 – she said that, with so many measures, the policy address was bound to upset people. Her political... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169319/tolls-reclamation-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169319/tolls-reclamation-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lams?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Oct 2018 07:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader said on Saturday that she and superstar Andy Lau became victims of cyberbullying, after expressing support for land reclamation near Lantau Island. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was speaking at a symposium at the University of Hong Kong organised by think tank Education 2.1, along with other groups concerned about education matters. As Lam highlighted the need to instil youngsters with a positive attitude towards life in the age of the social media, with many... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2169499/hong-kongs-leader-ive-been-victim-cyberbullying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2169499/hong-kongs-leader-ive-been-victim-cyberbullying?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2018 15:44:27 +0000 Itis often said that civilised, rational debate can help you discover and illuminate the truth. Unfortunately, emotions and misinformed judgments have clouded the public debate over the proposed reclamation project to build 1,700 hectares of artificial islands in the waters around Kau Yi Chau and Hei Ling Chau, the two small islands off the eastern shore of Lantau, Hong Kong’s largest island. There have been many unfounded suspicions and unscientific arguments to challenge this islands proposal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169492/rational-debate-needed-lantau-reclamation-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169492/rational-debate-needed-lantau-reclamation-our?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2018 13:30:38 +0000 In her 2018 policy address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the Environmental Protection Department would consult stakeholders and commission a study on the feasibility of halting all new registrations of diesel private cars. These vehicles make up roughly a fifth of the private car fleet. (“Do you have an old diesel vehicle? Hong Kong government may pay you to take it off the road”, October 10). Hong Kong follows the European Union’s emissions standards grading scheme under... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169376/why-phasing-out-diesel-cars-hong-kong-not-best-route-cleaner-air?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169376/why-phasing-out-diesel-cars-hong-kong-not-best-route-cleaner-air?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2018 09:52:06 +0000 I am writing in response to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy address last week (“From land development to maternity leave, five key takeaways from city leader’s blueprint for Hong Kong”, October 10). Given the wide income disparities and surging cost of living in Hong Kong, the raft of measures Lam introduced in her policy address would appear to be targeted at easing Hongkongers’ livelihood stress. Moreover, since the government believes that Hong Kong youth today are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169266/carrie-lam-misread-hong-kong-youth-her-policy-plan-they-want-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169266/carrie-lam-misread-hong-kong-youth-her-policy-plan-they-want-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2018 08:22:53 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor proclaims that her policy speech shows toughness and disregard for popularity. Well, two cheers for raising central and eastern harbour tunnel tolls, but why has such a necessary move been delayed for so long? And what is so tough about an impost which affects maybe a quarter of the 8 per cent of Hongkongers who own cars and regularly use the tunnels? What, also, is tough about using taxpayers’ money to subsidise users of the western tunnel, another... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169356/carrie-lams-policy-plan-boldly-follows-governments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169356/carrie-lams-policy-plan-boldly-follows-governments?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2018 06:30:00 +0000 The government’s new HK$900 million fund to encourage more after-school activities for students could be subject to abuse, and should be closely supervised, lawmakers have said. The warning comes after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced in her second policy address earlier this month, that the government would provide almost a billion dollars a year for its life-wide learning grant starting in the 2019 to 2020 school year. Legislator Michael Luk Chung-hung said that schools... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2169406/hong-kongs-hk900-million-fund-after-school-programmes-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2169406/hong-kongs-hk900-million-fund-after-school-programmes-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Oct 2018 11:35:40 +0000 In announcing plans to spend up to HK$500 billion (US$64 billion) on reclaiming 1,700 hectares of land east of Lantau, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has effectively dismissed the views of her task force whose public consultation only closed on September 26. This plan was not included in the task force’s 18 options, which contemplated reclaiming only 1,000 hectares for the East Lantau Metropolis. As an expert in infrastructure finance and a long-term resident of Hong Kong, I would... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169081/carrie-lams-plans-lantau-reclamation-ignore-hong-kongs-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169081/carrie-lams-plans-lantau-reclamation-ignore-hong-kongs-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Oct 2018 04:04:50 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced in last week’s policy address the government’s intention to ban the use of e-cigarettes and related vaping products (“Hong Kong to impose full ban on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products”, October 9). She argued that the interests of children must be the priority over the interests of those who use e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking. This sounds well-intentioned. While it is widely accepted that e-cigarettes are far less harmful... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169012/if-better-health-goal-banning-vaping-products-and-not-cigarettes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169012/if-better-health-goal-banning-vaping-products-and-not-cigarettes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Oct 2018 00:03:24 +0000 Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is certainly getting bolder as Hong Kong’s chief executive. In fact, you could say she has become overly confident. Her second policy address is a clear demonstration to the public of how the government puts the business sector – in particular, real estate developers – first. Seemingly unaware of her sliding popularity ratings, Lam has dropped another political bombshell, the “Lantau Tomorrow Vision” plan to build artificial islands in the middle of the sea off Lantau... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169177/who-will-benefit-most-carrie-lams-vision-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2169177/who-will-benefit-most-carrie-lams-vision-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2018 11:33:51 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s 2017 policy address announced the formation of a Commission on Children – a long overdue platform solely for children under the age of 18. On June 1, the Commission on Children was formed under the Hong Kong government, though its legal mandate, independence and some other important elements have not yet been settled. The commission’s terms of reference state its commitment to “ensuring Hong Kong is a place where all children's rights, interests and well-being are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169004/hong-kongs-children-deserve-higher-spot-carrie-lams-priorities-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169004/hong-kongs-children-deserve-higher-spot-carrie-lams-priorities-list?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2018 04:02:56 +0000 From Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy address, we see the government’s continuous commitment to information and technology (IT) development with HK$4 billion earmarked for the required infrastructure for re-industrialisation. On the other hand, we should not forget the software needed for IT development. First, data is seen as the “new oil”, a key material for the digital economy. The chief executive has mentioned requiring “all government departments to formulate and publish... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168881/five-ways-strengthen-carrie-lams-it-strategy-and-spark-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168881/five-ways-strengthen-carrie-lams-it-strategy-and-spark-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2018 22:45:51 +0000 One thing no one expected from Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy address was a frontal attack on Hong Kong’s long-standing commitment to free and open markets. However, in announcing a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes, she has delivered a mighty blow to this commitment, while providing a rationale that defies logic. The ban is based on some seriously flawed arguments if indeed, as claimed, it has arisen from public health concerns. Those promoting the ban have overexcitedly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2168894/hong-kongs-ban-e-cigarettes-absurd-if-vaping-bad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2168894/hong-kongs-ban-e-cigarettes-absurd-if-vaping-bad?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2018 03:30:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday insisted the city was not committing to unaffordable infrastructure projects amid criticism of her proposal to create artificial islands to house up to 1.1 million people. But Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor refused to offer a cost estimate for the 1,700 hectares of new land east of Lantau Island, citing a lack of detailed studies or designs. Government sources last week suggested a figure of HK$500 billion (US$63.8 billion). Lam’s assurances came after... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2168754/we-never-build-what-we-cant-afford-hong-kong-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2168754/we-never-build-what-we-cant-afford-hong-kong-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Oct 2018 05:45:55 +0000 Mothers need sufficient rest to recuperate from giving birth. Yet the length of the statutory maternity leave in Hong Kong had remained at 10 weeks for more than four decades. The government’s decision to raise it to 14 weeks, announced at the chief executive’s policy address last week, will benefit new mothers and their infants in many ways. It will allow mothers more time not just to recover physically from giving birth, but also to adjust to a new lifestyle. Mothers can now spend more time... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168628/why-maternity-leave-hong-kong-still-has-long-way-go-new-mothers-can?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168628/why-maternity-leave-hong-kong-still-has-long-way-go-new-mothers-can?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2018 22:10:04 +0000 I refer to the article “Lam on the right path” (October 13). I completely agree with David Dodwell: adjusting the tolls to divert traffic to the Western Harbour Tunnel will surely help ease the traffic congestion at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Causeway Bay but why wait till January 1, 2020? Surely, it shouldn’t take 15 months to introduce such a simple and effective measure. Hong Kong should also introduce mandatory automatic tolling and provide free payment devices for all drivers for a certain... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168632/one-more-thing-hong-kong-could-learn-singapore-mandatory-electronic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168632/one-more-thing-hong-kong-could-learn-singapore-mandatory-electronic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2018 20:34:27 +0000 The hefty price tag for what would be Hong Kong’s largest ever infrastructure project should not be measured against the size of the public coffers, a think tank has said. That came as the government sought to ease fears that reclaimed land would be vulnerable to extreme weather, set to become more common because of climate change. The response on Sunday by the government-friendly group founded by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, came as environmentalists and other critics lambasted the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2168511/benefits-outweigh-costs-hong-kongs-massive-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2168511/benefits-outweigh-costs-hong-kongs-massive-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:01:04 +0000 At a televised forum after her policy address, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was asked who had put the most pressure on her since she took office last year. Lam, of course, responded with her usual line. She retreated behind her husband, Dr Lam Siu-por, saying he was unhappy at how little time she had for him. But she is clearly under pressure from many other men on many fronts. Starting with Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s representative on the Standing Committee of China’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2168341/men-who-are-out-steal-march-hong-kongs-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2168341/men-who-are-out-steal-march-hong-kongs-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Oct 2018 23:00:00 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, to her credit, has tried to boost land and housing supply with more initiatives in her second policy address. Some proposals, however, were immediately shot down by critics without being closely examined. Controversial as they are, the measures deserve more careful consideration if we are to tackle the housing conundrum. That the two key proposals have been viewed with scepticism is to be expected. The scale of reclamation under the Lantau Tomorrow... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2168518/now-time-make-tough-decisions-future-land-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2168518/now-time-make-tough-decisions-future-land-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Oct 2018 13:04:35 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said she is not afraid to tackle issues left unresolved by predecessors, and she offered solutions in her policy blueprint. She also listed three beliefs : belief in her own ability to build a better city; belief that Hong Kong people would seize development opportunities offered by Beijing; and belief in the nation’s support. As an ordinary Hong Kong citizen and a Christian, it makes me glad to see Ms Lam forging ahead. As a Catholic, she must be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168307/carrie-lam-shows-she-will-keep-faith-herself-hong-kong-and-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2168307/carrie-lam-shows-she-will-keep-faith-herself-hong-kong-and-country?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Oct 2018 08:02:05 +0000 Hong Kong would still need to use reclamation even if other land supply options were also adopted, the city’s leader insisted on Sunday, as thousands protested against a controversial multibillion-dollar artificial island project. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, responding to critics’ who suggested alternatives to reclamation, said her proposed metropolis east of Lantau Island could become the city’s third central business district, after Central and Kowloon East. The plan, rolled... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2168488/land-reclamation-still-needed-even-if-hong-kong-successfully?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2168488/land-reclamation-still-needed-even-if-hong-kong-successfully?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Oct 2018 07:30:15 +0000