https://www.scmp.com/rss/512332/feed July 1, 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, and also the halfway point of the “one country, two systems” policy under which Beijing governs the city. We look back on the story of one of Asia’s most colourful metropolises and how its political, social, cultural and economic landscape has evolved through the decades. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Businesses in Hong Kong are hoping for a boost from visitors over mainland China’s Labour Day “golden week” holiday. But hope cannot be a substitute for action in this difficult environment, and it is up to us whether Hong Kong’s economy perishes under the fiery challenges or finds a transformative rebirth – like a phoenix rising from the ashes. In Chinese mythology, the phoenix represents resilience, duty, propriety and virtue. Perhaps it should be the symbol of our times: Hongkongers must take... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3259692/hong-kong-thrive-private-sector-must-rise-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3259692/hong-kong-thrive-private-sector-must-rise-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:15:16 +0000 Hong Kong is well-placed to capitalise on the opportunities presented by a worldwide restructuring of supply chains and rising geopolitical tension, according to a forum in the city after the inaugural meeting of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund’s global advisors. Asia will continue to drive global economic growth, and Hong Kong’s unique attributes and edge in “location, governance, efficiency, financial markets and human capital” make the city the “pivotal hub for financial, technological and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3235139/former-governor-central-bank-zhou-xiaochuan-says-china-can-fuel-regional-growth-amid-global-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3235139/former-governor-central-bank-zhou-xiaochuan-says-china-can-fuel-regional-growth-amid-global-high?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Sep 2023 02:24:59 +0000 Ordinary Hong Kong residents were mostly relegated to the political peripheral in the high-profile visit by Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and former vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. This was a little unfortunate. During his visit, Xia met what the government press office called “district personalities” and enjoyed yum cha in Kowloon Bay. He also chatted with senior citizens during a tour of an elderly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217871/government-efficiency-good-hong-kong-peoples-concerns-must-not-be-ignored?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217871/government-efficiency-good-hong-kong-peoples-concerns-must-not-be-ignored?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Apr 2023 06:30:14 +0000 As Hong Kong retakes its place on the global business and cultural stage, a special group of companies will be uniquely important to our continued progress. These are the corporations whose products or services play a vital role in connecting Hong Kong with the Asia-Pacific region and the world. The most obvious is Cathay Pacific Airways, arguably our largest cultural connector and global ambassador for Brand Hong Kong. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is one of the world’s leading exchange... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216706/super-connector-brands-cathay-pacific-and-lee-kum-kee-are-hong-kongs-superpower?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216706/super-connector-brands-cathay-pacific-and-lee-kum-kee-are-hong-kongs-superpower?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Apr 2023 07:45:09 +0000 Hong Kong has historically been a key cornerstone to China’s reform and opening up. As the city turns a new page, for it to serve its residents and the rest of the country at the same time, it must remain the most international, open and pluralistic city on Chinese soil. Indeed, our distinctive mixture of substantial economic freedoms, robust common-law jurisdiction and cosmopolitan ethos has seen this city go from strength to strength. Yet the world we live in today is experiencing an... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213491/itself-and-china-hong-kongs-only-recipe-success-be-truly-international-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213491/itself-and-china-hong-kongs-only-recipe-success-be-truly-international-city?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Mar 2023 22:30:09 +0000 Buoyed by sizzling sales in mainland China, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD is looking to crack open the European market with plans to build local factories on the continent. “We will check the possibility of building local factories in Europe based on our business progress,” the Shenzhen-based carmaker said in a statement to the Post on Thursday, confirming a Bloomberg report, that it would build one or two plants there, citing executive vice-president Stella Li. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3202554/chinese-electric-car-maker-byd-eyes-production-europe-it-widens-lead-over-tesla-worlds-largest-ev?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3202554/chinese-electric-car-maker-byd-eyes-production-europe-it-widens-lead-over-tesla-worlds-largest-ev?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:30:10 +0000 In case you are wondering, Art Hong Kong is not an art fair. The inaugural Chinese art and culture “gala” currently taking place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre has nothing to do with Art HK, the predecessor of Art Basel Hong Kong that ran from 2008 to 2012. Rather, it is a celebration of Chinese art organised by Chinese state-owned Bauhinia Culture Holdings and co-presented by the China Young Leaders Foundation – an organisation chaired by Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, chief... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3200059/art-hong-kong-exhibition-pairs-modern-and-contemporary-chinese-paintings-dialogue-between-past-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3200059/art-hong-kong-exhibition-pairs-modern-and-contemporary-chinese-paintings-dialogue-between-past-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Nov 2022 03:55:05 +0000 You may see them crying in the rugby chapel – but any tears they shed will be tears of joy, when the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens pays tribute to a legend of the city. Not an oval-ball legend in this instance but Hong Kong’s well-known Elvis Presley impersonator, the late Kwok Lam-sang – known locally as “Melvis”. Kwok was popular in nightlife hotspots, where he would play Elvis songs for tips, dressed in a white jumpsuit dotted with diamantes, and is familiar to regular Sevens... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3198538/hong-kong-sevens-pays-tribute-citys-late-elvis-impersonator-melvis-legend-wan-chai-and-lan-kwai-fong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3198538/hong-kong-sevens-pays-tribute-citys-late-elvis-impersonator-melvis-legend-wan-chai-and-lan-kwai-fong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Nov 2022 02:00:15 +0000 After over two years of Covid-19 restrictions, Hong Kong is finally back on the international music map. The Vienna Philharmonic has agreed to give two concerts in the city on October 24-25, becoming the first major international orchestra to visit the city since 2020. The Post understands that the 180-year-old orchestra, widely acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest, and best known for its New Year’s Day concerts of music by the Strauss family, added the city to its Asia tour at the last... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3194876/vienna-philharmonic-orchestra-perform-hong-kong-first-major?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3194876/vienna-philharmonic-orchestra-perform-hong-kong-first-major?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Oct 2022 06:28:31 +0000 Hong Kong’s new administration should align regulations with mainland China to better promote health technology in the Greater Bay Area, experts have said, adding the city should reopen its border with the rest of the country and relax its talent scheme. Recalling his experience of trying to obtain approval for his surgical robots to be used in both jurisdictions, Samuel Au Kwok-wai, a professor at Chinese University (CUHK) and a director of InnoHK Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Centre, said on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3186953/hong-kong-should-align-regulations-mainland-china-promote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3186953/hong-kong-should-align-regulations-mainland-china-promote?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:44:21 +0000 Have you ever noticed the flags flying at government buildings? If so, you may have observed that China’s flag is larger and hoisted higher than that of Hong Kong. That is the visual embodiment of “one country, two systems”. When you think about it, the concept of having two completely different systems within a single country is quite bold and exceptional. To my knowledge, China is the only country that has implemented a model of this kind – not only once, but twice. The Hong Kong and Macau... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185243/xi-jinpings-speech-should-lay-rest-worries-about-one-country-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185243/xi-jinpings-speech-should-lay-rest-worries-about-one-country-two?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jul 2022 22:45:23 +0000 The opposition camp and its supporters need to accept the city’s constitutional order, now that Beijing has overhauled Hong Kong’s political landscape, former leader Leung Chun-ying has said. In an interview with the Post to mark the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover, the 67-year-old emphasised repeatedly that Hong Kong had all along been a “city of economics”, not “a city of politics”, and the opposition and its supporters needed to “stick to the original bargain”. “The single biggest... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3184339/its-time-accept-basic-law-former-hong-kong-leader-cy-leung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3184339/its-time-accept-basic-law-former-hong-kong-leader-cy-leung?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jul 2022 10:31:22 +0000 Eight original and reconstructed dinosaur fossils will be showcased at the Hong Kong Science Museum from Friday, while visitors also get an opportunity to touch a real 150-million-year-old dinosaur leg bone. The four-month long showcase, dubbed “The Big Eight – Dinosaur Revelation”, is the largest dinosaur exhibition in the city and forms part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the handover from British to Chinese rule. Visitors can check out the most complete skeletons of different... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3184217/eight-reconstructed-dinosaur-fossils-take-over-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3184217/eight-reconstructed-dinosaur-fossils-take-over-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jul 2022 11:46:45 +0000 About 200,000 limited offers on local brands, luxuries, seafood and health and beauty products will be up for grabs this month and the next as part of efforts to boost Hong Kong’s sagging economy. The Hong Kong Tourism Board will launch the offers from about 200 retailers and brands from July 14, according to its spokeswoman. Consumers can enjoy discounts of up to 75 per cent on certain products during the campaign in July and August. One of the offers also includes a 30 per cent discount for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3184091/offers-hong-kong-brands-seafood-luxuries-grabs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3184091/offers-hong-kong-brands-seafood-luxuries-grabs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jul 2022 04:00:27 +0000 This story has been made freely available to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. As Hong Kong marks 25 years since its 1997 return from British to Chinese rule, the Post recalls the memorable moments in sport for the city and its athletes. In that quarter-century, Hong Kong hit new heights at the Olympics, hosted the region’s and planet’s finest, and produced world champions of the track, table and pool. There has been the odd damp spot, too. Here are some... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3183889/hong-kong-handover-anniversary-25-memorable-sporting-moments-25?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3183889/hong-kong-handover-anniversary-25-memorable-sporting-moments-25?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Jul 2022 01:30:10 +0000 At a time when the local, regional and global challenges seem to outweigh the opportunities, Hong Kong finds itself on familiar ground. With the outlook clouded by a storm of inflationary pressures, geopolitical turmoil and pandemic uncertainty, pundits are calling Hong Kong’s future into question. But we’ve been here before: during the riots of the 1950s and 1960s, through the crisis of confidence surrounding the handover in 1997, and again during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars)... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183599/change-shouldnt-intimidate-hong-kong-we-have-always-thrived-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183599/change-shouldnt-intimidate-hong-kong-we-have-always-thrived-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Jul 2022 01:15:21 +0000 Hong Kong conductor and composer Gustav Mak Ka-lok has created an opera he hopes will combine his Western training and expertise with his Chinese roots. His subject is Confucius, the philosopher and politician whose teachings have endured for more than 2,000 years and made a profound impact across East Asia. “I’m Chinese. I believe Chinese culture is worth being proud of,” said Mak, 65. “It is my wish to let more people know about Chinese culture through music.” The Legend of Confucius will be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3183913/confucius-opera-hong-kong-composer-gustav-mak-mixes-western?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3183913/confucius-opera-hong-kong-composer-gustav-mak-mixes-western?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Jul 2022 01:00:20 +0000 The heavy rains earlier this month brought vivid memories of the torrential downpour that all but drowned out the Prince of Wales’ farewell speech at Tamar 25 years ago. Drenched in the heavy rain, many guests rushed home to change clothes before they could witness the change of sovereignty. For some loyal British subjects, it was as though the heavens were mourning the end of British rule and the foul weather was a portent of stormy times ahead. For others, who welcomed Hong Kong’s return to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183604/how-hong-kongs-unique-strengths-can-help-it-find-success-next-25?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183604/how-hong-kongs-unique-strengths-can-help-it-find-success-next-25?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jul 2022 04:15:12 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised Beijing’s long-term commitment to maintaining the “one country, two systems” governing principle for Hong Kong and preserving its unique strengths as an international hub, while also laying down a list of tasks for the city’s new leader to deliver in the next five years. Xi swore in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his new team on Friday, instructing them to improve governance, strengthen the momentum of development, solve deep-seated livelihood... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183873/beijing-committed-one-country-two-systems-governing-principle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183873/beijing-committed-one-country-two-systems-governing-principle?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 14:57:55 +0000 Hong Kong’s new government must take concrete action in tackling the city’s housing shortage and improving young people’s upward mobility, legislators and residents said after Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a detailed to-do list for John Lee Ka-chiu’s administration. In his 3,700-word speech on Friday, Xi laid down four expectations for the next administration to work on. The president said Lee’s administration had to improve governance, strengthen the momentum of development, solve... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/society/article/3183867/hong-kong-leader-john-lee-just-got-do-list-xi-jinping-now-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/society/article/3183867/hong-kong-leader-john-lee-just-got-do-list-xi-jinping-now-he?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 14:00:42 +0000 Hong Kong’s newly sworn-in leader has pledged to embrace a “can-do” attitude while working to meet the public’s expectations, enhance the city’s competitiveness and develop the economy, all part of a to-do list handed to him by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Entrusted with four key tasks on Friday by Xi on his first day of work, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu was specifically told to improve governance, strengthen the momentum of development, take solid steps to address people’s livelihood... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183847/newly-sworn-hong-kong-leader-john-lee-vows-take-can-do?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183847/newly-sworn-hong-kong-leader-john-lee-vows-take-can-do?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 11:36:41 +0000 President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Friday, marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s July 1 return to Chinese rule. Xi’s keynote address came after he officiated at the swearing-in ceremony of the new administration led by John Lee Ka-chiu, the city’s fifth chief executive. Xi stressed that the “one country, two systems” governing principle must be executed accurately and comprehensively, with mainland China having overall... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183808/read-full-english-transcription-chinese-president-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183808/read-full-english-transcription-chinese-president-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 08:31:25 +0000 For Hong Kong youth, the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China is an important moment to re-evaluate our relationship with our heritage and culture. The contest of the 21st century is one of cultural values and systems. Young minds in the digital age face a constant barrage of information, much of it biased and based on factors including the platforms we choose, our patterns of consumption, and advertising money spent on trending topics. Because of this, we are seeing a steady rise in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3183370/hong-kong-can-give-world-some-much-needed-perspective?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3183370/hong-kong-can-give-world-some-much-needed-perspective?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 03:15:24 +0000 A popular Hong Kong tourist attraction in the 1970s and 80s was a trip to the Lok Ma Chau border. Visitors were taken to a hillside viewpoint where they could gaze in wonder at communist China across the river. The idea of returning the freewheeling, capitalist British colony to a China still in the early stages of economic reform and opening up was challenging. To do so while maintaining Hong Kong’s way of life seemed like mission impossible. But this was the deal struck in 1984. The... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183488/hong-kongs-new-chapter-under-john-lee-calls-reflecting-tumultuous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183488/hong-kongs-new-chapter-under-john-lee-calls-reflecting-tumultuous?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 01:15:18 +0000 I vividly recall the handover ceremony on July 1, 1997 as an ordinary citizen of Hong Kong. No one knew how “one country, two systems” would work out, as it had never been tried before. As with any new adventure, I felt a sense of anticipation and excitement over being masters of our own fate, but also a bit of trepidation about the unknown. Different people had their own interpretations of the meaning of two systems under one country. Many felt the two systems were segregated and completely... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183522/why-we-should-be-proud-hong-kongs-evolution-dynamic-prosperous-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183522/why-we-should-be-proud-hong-kongs-evolution-dynamic-prosperous-city?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 22:45:18 +0000 President Xi Jinping hailed Hong Kong for having “risen from the ashes” as he began his long-anticipated visit on Thursday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty, underscoring Beijing’s commitment to the “one country, two systems” governing principle for a “bright future”. The president, who travelled to Hong Kong with first lady Peng Liyuan on a high-speed train from neighbouring Shenzhen, had a busy first day holding separate meetings with government... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183724/risen-ashes-chinese-president-xi-jinping-hails-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183724/risen-ashes-chinese-president-xi-jinping-hails-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 15:02:17 +0000 Hong Kong placed sections of its business district under strict lockdown on Thursday, together with a tech hub and a high-speed rail terminus, as part of a two-day visit by President Xi Jinping to mark the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule. Barricades were deployed earlier in the day around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, with police patrolling the surrounding areas, hours before Xi arrived in the city at 3pm. Soon after his arrival at the venue,... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183719/lockdowns-lion-dance-and-red-carpet-how-hong-kong-welcomed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/politics/article/3183719/lockdowns-lion-dance-and-red-carpet-how-hong-kong-welcomed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 13:48:38 +0000 When people ask me whether Hong Kong has changed since 1997, I say, “Yes, but it changed just as much in the 25 years before that.” The city has changed more than most places on the planet, but eventually we all get old. The next 25 years look to be less exciting as we move towards old age. Hong Kong’s population stood at about 3.9 million in 1972, 6.3 million in 1997 and is 7.6 million today. Estimates suggest the city will be home to about 8.1 million people by 2047 – that is an extrapolation,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183458/dynamic-change-may-be-past-ageing-hong-kong-amid-greater-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183458/dynamic-change-may-be-past-ageing-hong-kong-amid-greater-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 03:30:13 +0000 Hong Kong’s third chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, shares his thoughts on the city’s uniqueness and its relationship with mainland China. Twenty-five years after the handover, has “one country” overshadowed “two systems”? Has Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy been undermined? No to both questions. Anyone who says otherwise has to point to the articles in the Basic Law. Hong Kong’s two systems and its relationship with central authorities, including its high degree of autonomy, are not... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/reflections/article/3183528/free-and-pluralistic-former-leader-leung-chun-ying-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/reflections/article/3183528/free-and-pluralistic-former-leader-leung-chun-ying-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 03:00:30 +0000 This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Observatory issued the No 3 typhoon warning signal on Thursday night as tropical storm Chaba moved towards Hong Kong, with President Xi Jinping and his wife having arrived for events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule. The weather forecaster issued the No 3 strong wind signal at 10.40pm. The signal would remain in force... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3183574/no-3-typhoon-warning-signal-looms-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3183574/no-3-typhoon-warning-signal-looms-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 01:34:07 +0000 A quarter of a century ago, as Hong Kong prepared for its return to the motherland, the international media and academic consensus at the time was that the “Death of Hong Kong” was upon us. The notable wave of emigration from the city in the mid-1990s understandably added fuel to this narrative. Twenty-five years later, any objective and honest assessment should conclude that the narrative was not just inaccurate but way off the mark, notwithstanding the persistent doom- and fearmongering of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3183329/how-hong-kong-has-flourished-1997-and-proved-its-western?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3183329/how-hong-kong-has-flourished-1997-and-proved-its-western?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 01:15:18 +0000 When Britain and China began formal negotiations over Hong Kong’s future in 1982, Hong Kong was an outright autocracy. The governor had plenipotentiary powers. He presided over the Legislative Council, with senior government officials serving as members, and the rest were the governor’s appointees. The same held true in December 1984 when the joint declaration was signed, “settling” the future of Hong Kong. The joint declaration made no provisions for representative government of any kind. That... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183323/hong-kong-needs-common-law-local-characteristics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183323/hong-kong-needs-common-law-local-characteristics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2022 22:45:16 +0000 Hong Kong has pulled out all the stops for a smooth and secure visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, his first outside mainland China since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, in which he is expected to lay down the direction of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” governing formula for the city. Sources also revealed on Wednesday that first lady Peng Liyuan would accompany Xi during his two-day visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover to Chinese rule and oversee... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3183558/hong-kong-readies-visit-chinese-president-xi-jinping-25th-handover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3183558/hong-kong-readies-visit-chinese-president-xi-jinping-25th-handover?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2022 15:03:59 +0000 Chief Executive-designate John Lee Ka-chiu, who will take office from July 1, shares his views on the city’s past and future. Chief Executive-designate John Lee Ka-chiu Hong Kong is celebrating the 25th anniversary of our reunification with the motherland. The past 25 years have seen the resoundingly successful implementation of “one country, two systems”, “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong” and a high degree of autonomy. It is a time of myriad opportunities, and also a time of multiple... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/article/3183426/new-chapter-hong-kong-incoming-leader-john-lee-says-city-poised?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/article/3183426/new-chapter-hong-kong-incoming-leader-john-lee-says-city-poised?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2022 02:00:20 +0000 The official dinner immediately preceding the handover ceremony on June 30, 1997, was a cordial, if highly choreographed affair. I had been drafted to be a master of ceremonies for the proceedings, and had the honour of addressing both Prince Charles, the representative of my hitherto sovereign, and Chinese president Jiang Zemin, the head of the country I was about to start serving. I was at the time a senior directorate officer in the administrative service of the Hong Kong government. To put... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183224/it-has-taken-25-years-hong-kong-government-has-finally-found-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183224/it-has-taken-25-years-hong-kong-government-has-finally-found-its?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2022 01:15:17 +0000 The Hong Kong Palace Museum is set to open its doors on Saturday, having sold more than 70 per cent of tickets for next month and received a final shipment of national treasures loaned by its counterpart in Beijing. Unlike M+, the other flagship museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District, visitors to the Hong Kong Palace Museum will have to undergo security checks at the entrance on the ground floor, passing through metal detectors upon entry while backpacks and other belongings will be... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/article/3183408/hong-kong-palace-museum-ready-be-fully-opened-july-2-security-checks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/article/3183408/hong-kong-palace-museum-ready-be-fully-opened-july-2-security-checks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:42:19 +0000 Hong Kong’s outgoing leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has made her last comments on social media as chief executive and will shut down her accounts once she steps down on Thursday. In what she noted were her final posts on her Facebook and Instagram accounts on Tuesday, Lam said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit and speech would point out the direction for Hong Kong. She also wrote that she would be moving out of the Chief Executive’s Office in Admiralty and Government House in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3183356/carrie-lam-makes-final-comments-social-media-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3183356/carrie-lam-makes-final-comments-social-media-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2022 08:21:33 +0000 When social worker Lo Kin-hei was elected chairman of the Democratic Party in December 2020 at the age of 36, he became the youngest leader to head the city’s largest opposition group. But there was little to celebrate. For the first time in its 26-year history, Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party had no representatives in the Legislative Council. Opposition parties were still reeling from the national security law Beijing imposed in June that year. That November, the Democratic Party’s six... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3183288/hong-kong-opposition-camp-rues-its-future-will-it-be-able?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3183288/hong-kong-opposition-camp-rues-its-future-will-it-be-able?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2022 04:00:36 +0000 Tap here to launch the special feature https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/culture/article/3183200/why-hong-kong-uses-bamboo-scaffolding-and-meet-spider-men-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/culture/article/3183200/why-hong-kong-uses-bamboo-scaffolding-and-meet-spider-men-who?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2022 03:00:18 +0000 Anyone following Chinese and Western media knows there are two Hong Kongs. The former says that, with the city now being ruled by patriots, stability and good governance are guaranteed, along with protection of rights and prosperity. From the other side, the narratives are of doom and gloom, freedoms having been all but stripped away and the good times being over. Here at ground zero on the 25th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule and the return to the motherland, it is difficult to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183116/hong-kong-city-duelling-narratives-deep-down-we-know-truth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183116/hong-kong-city-duelling-narratives-deep-down-we-know-truth?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2022 22:45:16 +0000 Xie Qiongling has never forgotten how she waited five years in her native Fujian province, in mainland China, for permission to be with her husband in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong resident, he was working as a waiter at the time. She applied in 1999 to join him under the one-way permit scheme introduced by China in the early 1980s to allow mainlanders to move to the city, mainly to reunite with family members. The approval from the mainland authorities only arrived in 2004. After she moved to Hong... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/society/article/3183149/hongkongers-prejudices-persist-even-mainland-chinese-migrants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/society/article/3183149/hongkongers-prejudices-persist-even-mainland-chinese-migrants?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2022 07:00:25 +0000 I was born roughly 100 days after the handover. In the 25 years since, I have seen the city – my home – struck by three pandemics, rebound from two major financial crises, and endure two seismic social movements that reshaped its political trajectory. Yet Hong Kong remains resilient, fearless and proof of what a progressive, cosmopolitan financial centre can be. In reflecting upon what the 25th handover anniversary means to me, I would like to share a few thoughts on how I see my identity as... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182829/why-25-year-old-not-leaving-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182829/why-25-year-old-not-leaving-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2022 00:15:18 +0000 After nearly two years of Hong Kong’s national security law, critics condemning it seem more anxious to have their worst fears vindicated than disproved. The city was said to be plunging headlong into a cauldron of tyranny. That has not happened, though. Instead, the status quo spanning business activity and civil institutions is better protected from disruptive strife than before. Protesters who rejected such legislation might be taking a vital civil order for granted. Democratic societies... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183022/two-years-national-security-law-proves-its-worth-safer-more-stable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183022/two-years-national-security-law-proves-its-worth-safer-more-stable?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jun 2022 17:00:24 +0000 Elite sport in Hong Kong has come a long way over the past 25 years. At the heart of the city’s rapid development has been funding and support from the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Since the handover, the city has won 196 medals at the Asian Games, comprising 37 gold, 69 silver, and 90 bronze. The city has won two gold, three silver and four bronze ­medals at the Olympics. It is difficult to argue over the correlation between that increase in spending and the record six Olympic medals Hong Kong’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3183058/hong-kong-handover-growing-sporting-success-down-cash-injection-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3183058/hong-kong-handover-growing-sporting-success-down-cash-injection-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jun 2022 07:00:15 +0000 With names like Loving Home, Blossoming Hong Kong and Heart to Heart, the artworks selected for the “Art@Harbour” project are big on positivity and unity, and are splashed across both sides of Victoria Harbour to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China. On display until the end of the year, “Art@Harbour” is made up of four separately curated public art modules. The one on the Hong Kong Island side, called “Science in Art”, is presented by the Hong Kong government’s Leisure and... https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/culture/article/3182899/hong-kong-art-project-spreads-message-unity-and-positivity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/culture/article/3182899/hong-kong-art-project-spreads-message-unity-and-positivity?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2022 09:45:11 +0000 Several years of political turmoil and the pandemic have sparked an exodus from Hong Kong as it marks the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty. But how do foreigners in the city view it? For many, the lure of economic opportunities trumps any fears over shrinking political space – even if Covid restrictions remain a major turn-off. Before Gary Lim Boon Yew arrived in Hong Kong in 2002, the Singaporean’s initial impressions were gleaned from films and television shows of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3183007/hong-kongs-asian-expats-still-see-city-land-opportunities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3183007/hong-kongs-asian-expats-still-see-city-land-opportunities?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2022 00:30:18 +0000 I have always believed that Michael Enright, Edith Scott and I were both politically and economically courageous – and perhaps foolhardy – to publish The Hong Kong Advantage just a couple of months before the 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty. As we walked through the hallowed corridors of Government House a quarter of a century ago to introduce the book to outgoing governor Chris Patten, our narrative was seriously at odds with the international media and academic consensus at the time that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3182789/death-hong-kong-predictions-were-wrong-1997-and-are-still?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3182789/death-hong-kong-predictions-were-wrong-1997-and-are-still?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jun 2022 08:30:21 +0000 There is a risk that Hong Kong’s adherence to “one country, two systems” has for too long meant a closed-minded and uncritical approach to governance structures established under British rule. To clarify, I oppose neither love of country nor local authority over local matters and fervently support both. British rule at times did a lot of good for this city and beyond. However, the future progress of Hong Kong will require government reforms and bold vision. The colonial government’s interests in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182690/hong-kong-must-not-cling-governance-structures-past?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182690/hong-kong-must-not-cling-governance-structures-past?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jun 2022 22:30:14 +0000 July 1 marks 25 years since the 1997 handover. It’s also the halfway point of our 50 years under the “one country, two systems” model of governance. What’s the path forward for our beloved city? Are Hong Kong’s glory days behind us, or do even better days lie ahead? One thing is certain: we are living in a very different context than that of 25 years ago. Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s was a critical entry point into China. We thrived as the middleman between Western markets and China’s vast... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182604/hong-kong-25-years-after-its-return-china-needs-new-narrative-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182604/hong-kong-25-years-after-its-return-china-needs-new-narrative-not?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jun 2022 08:30:19 +0000 Tap here to launch the special feature https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/society/article/3182030/25-visualisations-hong-kongs-25th-birthday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/hong-kong-25/society/article/3182030/25-visualisations-hong-kongs-25th-birthday?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jun 2022 02:30:18 +0000