https://www.scmp.com/rss/510368/feed The 2021 Hong Kong Legislative Council election took place on December 19, 2021. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Three veterans of Hong Kong’s pro-business Liberal Party have quit the political organisation they co-founded some 30 years ago in protest over a move by the current leadership to strip them of their posts as honorary chairs. Party leader Tommy Cheung Yu-yan on Wednesday said he had received resignation letters from former Executive Council member James Tien Pei-chun, as well as ex-lawmakers Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee and Miriam Lau Kin-yee. “The Liberal Party leadership expresses regret and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3188459/co-founders-hong-kongs-liberal-party-quit-over-move-strip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3188459/co-founders-hong-kongs-liberal-party-quit-over-move-strip?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Aug 2022 15:24:20 +0000 Election candidates splashed out money for private security guards, hotpot meals and image-building, among other items, as they campaigned to win seats in a new constituency of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council last December. The Election Committee constituency in the restructured legislature was part of the Beijing-led electoral overhaul that sought to ensure only “patriots” could run for seats, a move critics said was aimed at barring the opposition camp. The constituency drew 51 candidates... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3176288/security-guards-hotpot-meals-and-photo-shoots-among?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3176288/security-guards-hotpot-meals-and-photo-shoots-among?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 May 2022 12:54:40 +0000 A Hong Kong court has imposed suspended jail sentences on the first pair of defendants to be convicted of violating a law introduced last year that prohibits the act of inciting others to boycott an election. Salesman Chan Kin-man, 36, and office assistant Alice Leung Yuet-sheung, 65, returned to Kwun Tong Court on Tuesday after admitting in February to reposting a fugitive politician’s message online calling on voters to cast blank ballots in last year’s Legislative Council poll. Principal... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3174806/hong-kong-court-slaps-2-defendants-suspended-jail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3174806/hong-kong-court-slaps-2-defendants-suspended-jail?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Apr 2022 11:55:37 +0000 Professional sectors which used to favour opposition parties accounted for more than 10 per cent of the invalid votes cast in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election last year according to data from the first poll since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system. According to a report released on Tuesday by the Electoral Affairs Commission, a total of 27,453 invalid votes, including 14,561 which were blank, came from geographical constituencies during the December election. Meanwhile, an... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174052/hong-kong-election-body-finds-ex-opposition-sectors-cast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174052/hong-kong-election-body-finds-ex-opposition-sectors-cast?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Apr 2022 15:07:40 +0000 In the final instalment of a six-part series on Hong Kong’s novice lawmakers, the Post meets Erik Yim Kong, the first legislator elected to the commercial (third) functional constituency, which was newly created to represent mainland Chinese enterprises in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese companies in Hong Kong are ready to help the government tackle the city’s housing crisis by developing plots they own into transitional homes for people in line for public flats, says the head of a state-owned... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3164340/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-representative-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3164340/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-representative-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jan 2022 02:24:04 +0000 In the fifth of a six-part series on Hong Kong’s novice lawmakers, the Post meets Ambrose Lam San-keung, a legal sector representative mounting a comeback after an embarrassing setback seven years ago. Former Law Society president Ambrose Lam San-keung was ousted as head of the solicitors’ body in a vote of no confidence in 2014, after he publicly praised the Chinese Communist Party as “great” in a radio interview that same year. Now, seven years later, Lam is making a comeback as a lawmaker for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3164074/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-ambrose-lam-mounting-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3164074/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-ambrose-lam-mounting-his?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jan 2022 02:00:15 +0000 Hong Kong’s biggest opposition party will vote next month on whether to expel two members who endorsed a middle-of-the-road candidate in December’s Legislative Council election without approval. The suggestion was put forward by the Democratic Party’s disciplinary committee following an internal probe into vice-chairwoman Edith Leung Yik-ting and member So Yat-hang, who had supported centrist aspirant Jason Poon Chuk-hung in the poll, according to a source. The potential disciplinary action... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3164019/hong-kong-elections-biggest-opposition-party-vote-expelling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3164019/hong-kong-elections-biggest-opposition-party-vote-expelling?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jan 2022 01:06:29 +0000 In the third of a six-part series on Hong Kong’s novice lawmakers, the Post meets Dr David Lam Tzit-yuen, sole representative of the medical and health services sector. Part two can be found here. Dr David Lam Tzit-yuen imagines a day when Hong Kong’s community health care will be so well coordinated that people no longer have to travel to public hospitals and endure long waiting times to be treated. A strong connection between public hospitals and neighbourhood medical professionals will be key... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163856/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-surgeon-hopes-cut-waiting-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163856/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-surgeon-hopes-cut-waiting-times?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 23:30:24 +0000 In the second of a six-part series on novice lawmakers elected to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, the Post meets Anglican priest Peter Koon Ho-ming. Part one can be found here. The first religious lawmaker elected to Hong Kong’s legislature has vowed to bridge the social divide during his tenure by helping young people jailed for their actions in the 2019 anti-government protests to start anew. But Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming, who recently resigned as provincial secretary general of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163561/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-anglican-priest-hopes-give?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163561/hong-kongs-novice-lawmakers-anglican-priest-hopes-give?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 02:00:22 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/series/3163696/meet-hong-kongs-new-lawmakers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/series/3163696/meet-hong-kongs-new-lawmakers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 10:14:01 +0000 Four in five newly elected lawmakers in Hong Kong are property owners, a proportion significantly higher than the city’s average and that of the previous Legislative Council, the Post has found. Nearly half the owners had homes, investment property or land in mainland China, and some had multiple properties. A check of the 90 lawmakers’ declared assets showed a rural leader with shares in more than 100 companies, while two political novices who described themselves as a teacher and an engineer... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163506/hong-kongs-new-lawmakers-are-mostly-affluent-homeowners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163506/hong-kongs-new-lawmakers-are-mostly-affluent-homeowners?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:25 +0000 The Education Bureau has increased its grip on Hong Kong’s education sector in line with the national security law. In 2020, it stripped a teacher of his teaching registration for purportedly spreading an “independence” message and last year issued guidelines on bringing the national security law into the classroom. However, under its oversight, hundreds of students, teachers and parents became victims of the troubled Mount Kelly School. The school owes money to many parents and teachers after... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3163357/mount-kellys-troubles-suggest-failure-supervision-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3163357/mount-kellys-troubles-suggest-failure-supervision-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jan 2022 23:30:14 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader opened the new legislative term on Wednesday with a speech that resembled a policy address in ambition and scope, as she mounted a stout defence of her handling of the Omicron outbreak and announced details of a plan to restructure government bureaus. In exchanges with lawmakers over two hours that turned testy at times, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also refused to apologise over the government’s policy of granting quarantine exemptions to cargo aircrew members.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163124/hong-kong-leader-defends-omicron-handling-lays-out-details?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3163124/hong-kong-leader-defends-omicron-handling-lays-out-details?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:03:43 +0000 This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday opened the inaugural session of the first “patriots-only” Legislative Council returned under Beijing’s electoral overhaul. Apart from taking questions from the new lawmakers, Lam outlined her ideas for restructuring the government, as well as giving an update on her plan to develop a Northern Metropolis... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162971/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-raises-curtain-first-patriots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162971/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-raises-curtain-first-patriots?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jan 2022 03:01:38 +0000 Twenty members of Hong Kong’s legislature appear set to miss the first meeting of its new term after the body’s president asked them to stay home until they returned three more negative coronavirus tests following a potential brush with the coronavirus at a recent birthday party. Fourteen senior officials and 20 lawmakers were among the 214 attendees at the birthday bash of Witman Hung Wai-man, a delegate to the national legislature, which was also visited by guests carrying Covid-19. All 214... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162788/20-hong-kong-lawmakers-may-miss-first-meeting-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162788/20-hong-kong-lawmakers-may-miss-first-meeting-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jan 2022 05:54:32 +0000 As 2022 dawns, it is a good time for us to envision the future of Hong Kong, which should tie in with the future of education. It is worrying that a large number of students and their families have decided to leave this city for good. As Hong Kong does not have an abundance of natural resources, the supply of talent forms the cornerstone of our economic and social prosperity. It is vital that schools play their part. In 2016, the World Economic Forum pointed out in its “The Future of Jobs”... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162531/what-future-hong-kong-education-should-look?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162531/what-future-hong-kong-education-should-look?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jan 2022 23:00:19 +0000 Hong Kong’s pro-establishment politicians have closed ranks in defending top officials caught in the scandal over a birthday banquet where they were exposed to at least two coronavirus patients, arguing there is no need for the most high-profile partygoer home affairs minister Caspar Tsui Ying-wai to resign. Instead, they directed their wrath at Cathay Pacific crews who triggered the current wave of Omicron infections by flouting home isolation rules and transport minister Frank Chan Fan whom... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162621/omicron-pro-beijing-camp-closes-ranks-over-birthday-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162621/omicron-pro-beijing-camp-closes-ranks-over-birthday-party?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jan 2022 16:18:47 +0000 Upon witnessing the successful completion of the oath-taking ceremony for members of the seventh-term Legislative Council, I would like to share my observations on the election under the improved electoral system in my capacity as a 2021 Election Committee member and a candidate in the 2021 Legco election. As a candidate in the medical and health services constituency, I was grateful for the positive changes brought by the introduction of the new electoral system. Instead of the highly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162338/legco-election-2021-electoral-revamp-made-possible-slate-quality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162338/legco-election-2021-electoral-revamp-made-possible-slate-quality?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 23:30:23 +0000 A closer look at the line up of lawmakers who met a top Beijing official overseeing Hong Kong affairs this week reveals a new organisational structure within the pro-establishment bloc that insiders and analysts say is aimed at bolstering efficiency and streamlining communication. Only 20 of the 90 newly minted lawmakers were invited to the unprecedented meeting with Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, in Shenzhen in Guangdong province on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162430/pro-establishment-bloc-sets-team-guide-messaging-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162430/pro-establishment-bloc-sets-team-guide-messaging-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 14:37:21 +0000 A top Beijing official overseeing Hong Kong affairs has laid out his expectations to a group of newly elected lawmakers in an unprecedented meeting, urging them to cooperate with the executive branch while defending national security. Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also told the 20 pro-establishment lawmakers on Wednesday the legislature had turned into a platform for “anti-China disrupters” in recent years but Beijing’s shake-up last March of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162274/top-beijing-official-hong-kong-lays-out-5-expectations-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162274/top-beijing-official-hong-kong-lays-out-5-expectations-new?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 14:10:28 +0000 I’m writing to request the Post to reduce the burden of angst and stress on Cathay Pacific flight crew. Although the current Omicron community transmissions are the result of the careless actions of an aircrew member, thousands of other crew members have complied with strict quarantine requirements for the last two years. The sentence, “It has only itself to blame after failure to impose quarantine discipline on its staff. We all pay the price”, in your editorial “All Hongkongers must now pay... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162042/hong-kong-should-spare-thought-cathay-aircrew-who-endure-isolation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162042/hong-kong-should-spare-thought-cathay-aircrew-who-endure-isolation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jan 2022 23:00:45 +0000 The incumbent president of Hong Kong’s legislature has been re-elected to the post after running unopposed in the first one-man race for the body’s top position since the city’s return to mainland China in 1997. With no opposition camp to put forward a challenger, pro-establishment veteran Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen was confirmed as head of the new Legislative Council just minutes after the nomination period closed on Tuesday – unprecedented for a process that once required days of debates before... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162120/incumbent-president-hong-kongs-legislative-council-andrew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162120/incumbent-president-hong-kongs-legislative-council-andrew?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jan 2022 13:13:46 +0000 The new Legislative Council term has seemingly got off to a good start, with all members sworn into office without any drama on Monday. This is in stark contrast to the past, when some opposition members made use of the occasion to make political statements only to lose their seats on the grounds that they had not taken their oaths properly. Whether an uneventful ceremony bodes well for the future remains to be seen, but there is certainly more to the work of the legislature than just pledging... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3162001/hard-work-begins-after-hong-kong-oaths-end?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3162001/hard-work-begins-after-hong-kong-oaths-end?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jan 2022 23:30:33 +0000 All 90 of Hong Kong’s newly elected lawmakers returned under Beijing’s “patriots-only” overhaul of the political system were sworn in on Monday in a ceremony officiated by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, with none of the oath-taking protest antics by opposition legislators that led to their disqualification in 2016. The city’s red-and-white emblem featuring the bauhinia flower that is usually displayed in the Legislative Council chamber was replaced by a national one for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161926/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-oversees-swearing-90-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161926/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-oversees-swearing-90-new?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jan 2022 07:08:11 +0000 With the commencement of the Seventh Legislative Council on January 1 – the first since the Hong Kong electoral revamp – we are writing to express our best wishes for the newly minted lawmakers. We hope they can work proactively with university students and scholars regarding public policies during their tenure in the next four years. The Legco Research Office undertakes research studies primarily on request from the council, committees and members. Staff closely monitor current affairs and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3161573/reaching-out-university-students-can-help-rebuild-legcos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3161573/reaching-out-university-students-can-help-rebuild-legcos?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 22:30:25 +0000 In my recent unsuccessful campaign for election to the Legislative Council, I recommended that the new members reach out to two groups of Hong Kong residents: young people and the international business community. Even though I will not be able to participate, I still think these exercises are worth undertaking. Far too many of our young people are disillusioned. They see no future for themselves, are distrustful of the government, and would prefer to “lie flat” rather than look for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161697/hong-kongs-new-lawmakers-must-reach-out-citys-youth-and-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161697/hong-kongs-new-lawmakers-must-reach-out-citys-youth-and-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 06:30:31 +0000 Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election, held under revamped electoral rules on December 19, was rebuked by the US-led Five Eyes coalition, G7 nations and the European Union as undermining Hong Kong people’s rights and freedoms and depriving the new legislature of “meaningful political opposition”, among other accusations. As if anticipating such criticism, on December 20, China issued its first-ever white paper on Hong Kong’s democratic progress under “one country, two systems”. Beijing argued... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161663/watch-how-hong-kong-charts-its-own-course-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161663/watch-how-hong-kong-charts-its-own-course-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 01:15:22 +0000 The voter turnout for the 2021 Legislative Council election was 30.2 per cent, the lowest since 1997. Some people interpreted this as a failure of democracy. There is no opposition, some complained. First, it is the quality that counts, and not the quantity. We want to elect a constructive council that works for Hong Kong and China, and not a foreign country. Since most from the yellow camp stayed away from the election, let it be. There is no point making up a council that gets nothing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3161568/legco-election-3-reasons-low-voter-turnout-no-failure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3161568/legco-election-3-reasons-low-voter-turnout-no-failure?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Dec 2021 22:30:21 +0000 With the change of perspective that comes with time, Post columnists look back on their work and share what stood out to them in a memorable year. Cliff Buddle I have followed Hong Kong’s democratic hopes and dreams for 27 years and sought in this column to provide a little historical context following the dramatic reforms of 2021. The column was published soon after the reforms were made in March. Their impact, especially on the Legislative Council election held in December, has been one of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161396/look-back-2021-post-columnists-pick-their-favourite-columns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161396/look-back-2021-post-columnists-pick-their-favourite-columns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Dec 2021 19:30:26 +0000 To the casual observer, Hong Kong’s main pro-establishment parties emerged big winners in the first Legislative Council poll held since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the city’s biggest pro-Beijing party, swept all 10 seats it contested in geographical constituencies with direct voting. Nine more of its candidates won in the trade-based functional constituencies and the powerful new Election Committee... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161441/hong-kongs-pro-beijing-novice-lawmakers-plan-new-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161441/hong-kongs-pro-beijing-novice-lawmakers-plan-new-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Dec 2021 02:00:22 +0000 Hong Kong’s political development is back on the right track after many wasted years, with the Communist Party and Chinese people owning the “intellectual property” to the city’s emerging brand of democracy, mainland experts on local affairs have declared. Unlike the West which they said did not care for democracy when Britain ruled the former colony, the central government had been committed from the outset to plan for Hong Kong’s democratic path right up to the recent drafting of a white... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161127/seo-chinas-communist-party-owns-intellectual-property-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161127/seo-chinas-communist-party-owns-intellectual-property-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Dec 2021 03:22:57 +0000 More than half of Hong Kong’s 35 busiest polling stations in last Sunday’s Legislative Council election serviced voters from public housing estates, the Post has found, showcasing the pro-establishment bloc’s effectiveness in wooing low-income residents. The polling station located at the clubhouse of Shun Lee Disciplined Services Quarters in Kwun Tong – home to hundreds of police officers – recorded the highest turnout in the city, with 66 per cent casting votes, or more than double the overall... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161111/hong-kong-election-numbers-highlight-pro-establishment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161111/hong-kong-election-numbers-highlight-pro-establishment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Dec 2021 01:30:19 +0000 The recent Legislative Council election had the theme of “patriots governing Hong Kong”, and this will continue in the upcoming chief executive election. Over time, Hongkongers have been influenced by other cultures, particularly the West and Japan. Given these influences, when faced with a question about their identity as patriots, they will assess China as though it is comparable to other countries or cultures. Patriotism is defined differently from what Hongkongers assume, though. In the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3160779/hongkongers-ideas-patriotism-must-be-based-chinese-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3160779/hongkongers-ideas-patriotism-must-be-based-chinese-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Dec 2021 22:30:18 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3161060/battle-line-drawn-china-vs-west-over-hong-kongs-first-patriots-only?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3161060/battle-line-drawn-china-vs-west-over-hong-kongs-first-patriots-only?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Dec 2021 12:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong’s constitutional affairs minister has blasted The Wall Street Journal over an editorial describing Sunday’s legislative election as a “sham poll”, accusing the newspaper of “arrogance which knows no bounds”. In his second strongly worded letter of complaint to its editor in a month, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai again demanded the New York-based international daily correct the “inaccuracies”. “I am sickened by your biased and unsubstantiated editorials on Hong Kong issues and have given up hope... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161013/hong-kong-official-sickened-wall-street-journal-editorial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3161013/hong-kong-official-sickened-wall-street-journal-editorial?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 12:32:25 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3160912/video-hong-kong-hold-first-legislative-council-polls-after-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3160912/video-hong-kong-hold-first-legislative-council-polls-after-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 02:41:03 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3160911/video-how-does-hong-kong-select-its-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3160911/video-how-does-hong-kong-select-its-government?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 02:37:52 +0000 A top Hong Kong official has fired a fresh salvo at the United States, describing the country as “plagued” with social problems that expose its leadership to be “anti-democracy”. Echoing Beijing outrage against Western governments, Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu on Thursday said there was no “one-size-fits-all” standard for democracy and that every jurisdiction would follow its own path based on the actual circumstances. Mainland Chinese officials began advancing that position weeks ago in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160887/hong-kong-no-2-official-says-united-states-plagued-social?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160887/hong-kong-no-2-official-says-united-states-plagued-social?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Dec 2021 16:23:29 +0000 The general election for the seventh-term Legislative Council of Hong Kong took place last Sunday, signifying the development of Hong Kong’s democracy under the improved electoral system. The white paper titled “Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems”, released by the central government on Monday, further reveals the real picture of Hong Kong’s political development. It shows that the Communist Party and the Chinese government support the development of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160657/white-paper-underlines-hong-kongs-healthy-shift-away-western-style?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160657/white-paper-underlines-hong-kongs-healthy-shift-away-western-style?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Dec 2021 22:45:20 +0000 The annual duty visit of the chief executive is always a closely followed event in the political calendar, even more so when the city is embarking on a new chapter following an eventful year. As widely expected, the work of Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was fully acknowledged by state leaders, but she was also urged to redouble efforts in improving people’s livelihoods and to give them “a greater sense of gain”. The message resonates with Hongkongers. Even though the government has made much... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160738/beijings-message-lam-build-progress-made?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160738/beijings-message-lam-build-progress-made?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Dec 2021 15:05:52 +0000 A group of new lawmakers have identified boosting voter enthusiasm in Hong Kong’s next general poll as an important task during their four-year term, after record low turnout cast a shadow over Sunday’s election. The 20 newly minted members of the Legislative Council directly returned in 10 geographical constituencies also called on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who was in Beijing for her annual duty visit, to boost daily quotas for quarantine-free travel to mainland China to help... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160723/hong-kong-election-new-lawmakers-seek-regain-voters-trust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160723/hong-kong-election-new-lawmakers-seek-regain-voters-trust?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Dec 2021 12:19:58 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday credited Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor with containing the coronavirus pandemic and rebooting the city’s economy, while urging the government to redouble its efforts to improve the lives of average residents. In his first face-to-face meeting with the chief executive in two years, Li offered no public comments on the weekend election that saw pro-Beijing stalwarts take all but one seat in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, instead focusing on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160633/chinese-premier-praises-hong-kong-leader-pandemic-control?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160633/chinese-premier-praises-hong-kong-leader-pandemic-control?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Dec 2021 03:32:46 +0000 Hong Kong’s middle-class neighbourhoods which tend to be opposition strongholds were among districts that saw the biggest turnout slump in Sunday’s Legislative Council election, compared with the last poll five years ago, the Post has found. By contrast, upper-class residential areas and rural counties which are heavily controlled by the pro-establishment bloc, appeared to be more stable and less overwhelmed by voter disaffection in the city after the political turmoil of the past two... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160597/hong-kongs-middle-class-voters-snubbed-sundays-legco-polls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160597/hong-kongs-middle-class-voters-snubbed-sundays-legco-polls?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Dec 2021 00:00:21 +0000 The curtain came down on the most momentous day for Hong Kong in 2021 after the results of the Legislative Council election were announced on Monday (“5 takeaways (and 1 surprise) from the Hong Kong Legislative Council election 2021”, December 20). The voter turnout rate was around 30 per cent, the lowest since the handover in 1997. The atmosphere at polling stations was dull and cheerless after peak hours, in stark contrast to the crowds that swarmed shopping centres, parks, as well as... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3160431/why-free-travel-election-day-was-win-win-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3160431/why-free-travel-election-day-was-win-win-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 22:30:15 +0000 A Beijing white paper renewing its pledge to pursue the ultimate goal of electing Hong Kong’s leader and legislature by universal suffrage has sparked debate over one question: is it just a token gesture or a genuine commitment towards full democracy? A former minister and the only non-establishment candidate returned in Sunday’s Legislative Council election saw it as a positive sign, saying it opened a window to attaining the goal stated in the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution. Tik... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160594/token-gesture-or-genuine-resolve-beijings-fresh-vow-pursue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160594/token-gesture-or-genuine-resolve-beijings-fresh-vow-pursue?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 14:36:18 +0000 Elites known for their technical expertise and managerial skills make up more than half of a new constituency intended by Beijing to boost diversity, the Post has found, but the elected members defended the need for such technocrats to solve the city’s problems. A survey of the 40 new lawmakers elected through the Election Committee constituency at Sunday’s Legislative Council poll found that 21 of them – or 53 per cent – declared their occupations as professionals, with six of them being... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160592/hong-kong-legislative-council-election-technocrats-make?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160592/hong-kong-legislative-council-election-technocrats-make?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 14:18:16 +0000 Hong Kong’s new lawmakers representing the opposition camp’s former professional strongholds have pledged to listen to and work for all constituents, regardless of their political stance. They also said their mandate for representing the city’s various professions and industries should be respected despite Sunday’s relatively low turnout, given the Legislative Council election was held lawfully and in a fair manner. “I have won a seat at least. Residents still hope that there are legislators to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160578/new-hong-kong-lawmakers-representing-former-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160578/new-hong-kong-lawmakers-representing-former-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 12:15:48 +0000 Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have issued a slew of statements hitting back at foreign critics after the Group of Seven (G7), the European Union and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance voiced “grave concern” over the outcome of the recent Legislative Council election. The mostly Western governments had characterised Beijing’s “patriots-only” overhaul of the local electoral system in March as an unacceptable restriction of voter choice, with the governments of Australia, Britain, Canada, New... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160576/legislative-council-election-beijing-hong-kong-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160576/legislative-council-election-beijing-hong-kong-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 11:50:35 +0000 The first pair of defendants charged under a new Hong Kong law that prohibits the act of inciting others to boycott an election or cast invalid ballots have been granted bail by a court to seek legal advice. Salesman Chan Kin-man, 36, and office assistant Alice Leung Yuet-sheung, 65, appeared in Kwun Tong Court on Tuesday for the first time since they were prosecuted under the amended Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. The new Section 27A was introduced earlier this year as part... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160521/bail-granted-2-charged-inciting-others-cast-invalid-ballots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160521/bail-granted-2-charged-inciting-others-cast-invalid-ballots?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 06:25:36 +0000 The outcome of the revamped Legislative Council election was bound to be vastly different from what went before, not only because of the new rules of the game, but also the changing political atmosphere and landscape. Even though Sunday’s high-stakes ballot offers few surprises following a largely uneventful process, it opens a new chapter in the city’s development under the so-called principle of patriots administering Hong Kong. From voter turnout and the new political line-up to the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160465/patriots-helm-new-legco-had-better-deliver-city-challenges-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160465/patriots-helm-new-legco-had-better-deliver-city-challenges-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:30:13 +0000