https://www.scmp.com/rss/524529/feed The latest news and top stories on Erick Tsang Kwok-wai. He has served as a high-ranking official in the Hong Kong government since 2020, overseeing constitutional and mainland affairs. With over three decades in public service, including a significant tenure as Director of Immigration from 2016, he has been instrumental in promoting Hong Kong’s integration into national development, particularly within the Greater Bay Area. His responsibilities include fostering international exchanges and... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Emily Hung,Olga Wong Emily Hung,Olga Wong Retired civil servant Janice Tse Siu-wa has been appointed the new secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, with her top priority being the formulation of Hong Kong’s first five-year plan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Monday that he had nominated the 61-year-old Tse to the State Council because of her strong passion for the five-year plan and capability, stemming from her 38 years of working for the government. “The first local five-year plan must be formulated within this... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3348334/janice-tse-appointed-new-constitutional-and-mainland-affairs-chief-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3348334/janice-tse-appointed-new-constitutional-and-mainland-affairs-chief-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 01:38:26 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China close to opening US$10 billion canal linking heartlands to Southeast Asia China is expected to finish construction on the landmark Pinglu Canal before the end of this year, taking just four years to complete the 72.7 billion... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3341759/chinas-canal-southeast-asia-nipah-virus-raises-concerns-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3341759/chinas-canal-southeast-asia-nipah-virus-raises-concerns-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 04:34:08 +0000 Natalie Wong Natalie Wong The Hong Kong government is reviewing feedback from 90 per cent of property owners hit by the devastating fire at Wang Fuk Court on their long-term rehousing preferences, with the city leader stressing that “every option” is on the table amid calls to rebuild the burnt-out estate on site. Two months after the blaze that claimed 168 lives, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday underlined the urgency of announcing the resettlement plan for thousands of displaced residents, but stopped short... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3341365/all-options-considered-amid-feedback-flat-owners-hit-tai-po-fire-john-lee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3341365/all-options-considered-amid-feedback-flat-owners-hit-tai-po-fire-john-lee?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 06:29:40 +0000 Natalie Wong,Jeffie Lam,Matthew Cheng Natalie Wong,Jeffie Lam,Matthew Cheng Erick Tsang Kwok-wai has resigned as Hong Kong’s constitutional and mainland affairs chief, saying that he has elevated prostate cancer markers in his blood and cannot cope with the heavy workload. State news agency Xinhua first reported the State Council’s decision to remove Tsang from his post on Tuesday morning, ending days of speculation over the 62-year-old’s departure from the cabinet. Meeting the press later with Tsang, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said he had decided to recommend the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3341321/hong-kongs-constitutional-and-mainland-affairs-minister-erick-tsang-resigns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3341321/hong-kongs-constitutional-and-mainland-affairs-minister-erick-tsang-resigns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 01:24:52 +0000 Edith Lin,Olga Wong Edith Lin,Olga Wong Any potential Hong Kong cabinet reshuffle will take place only after the investigation into the deadly Tai Po blaze wraps up, sources have told the Post, following a media report suggesting two ministers were set to step down. A government spokesman on Thursday did not deny the report suggesting that Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai would step down “in the near future”, adding only that the administration would... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3340886/no-hong-kong-cabinet-reshuffle-until-tai-po-blaze-probe-wraps-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3340886/no-hong-kong-cabinet-reshuffle-until-tai-po-blaze-probe-wraps-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:36:20 +0000 Jess Ma,Harvey Kong Jess Ma,Harvey Kong A top Hong Kong official has condemned attempts by external forces and “anti-China absconders” to “smear” the government ahead of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s mitigation hearing, saying the former media boss’ conviction showed that any plots to undermine national security will fail. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said on Saturday that such smear campaigns during Lai’s national security trial were proof that Hong Kong still faced risks that could not be taken... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3339452/hong-kong-slams-attempts-smear-government-ahead-jimmy-lai-mitigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3339452/hong-kong-slams-attempts-smear-government-ahead-jimmy-lai-mitigation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2026 12:50:50 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin Voter turnout in the recent Legislative Council election was affected by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, recording the second-lowest rate since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, despite a modest rise from the previous poll, the constitutional affairs chief has said. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai stressed on Sunday that the government had not set a “hard indicator” for the turnout rate in the December 7 Legco poll, which reached 31.9... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3337216/deadly-tai-po-blaze-affected-hong-kong-legco-election-voter-turnout-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3337216/deadly-tai-po-blaze-affected-hong-kong-legco-election-voter-turnout-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 06:15:37 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun Hong Kong’s constitutional affairs chief has dismissed suggestions that a record number of invalid ballots cast in the recent Legislative Council election was due to some people being forced to vote, adding that authorities may reconsider introducing “smart ballot boxes” to address the issue. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai also said on Saturday that last month’s deadly Tai Po fire had affected the voter turnout in the poll. Last Sunday’s election yielded a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3336331/record-tally-spoiled-votes-hong-kong-poll-not-due-pressure-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3336331/record-tally-spoiled-votes-hong-kong-poll-not-due-pressure-public?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 10:02:32 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu These are interesting times in Hong Kong politics. Rarely has the city seen the government get so involved in galvanising voters ahead of the Legislative Council election. These things have traditionally been the work of political parties and groups. And that is one prominent feature of the development of Hong Kong’s “patriots-only” political system. Before the overhaul of the election system, voter turnout was a barometer of sorts for the election outcome. Conventional wisdom was that the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3332826/hong-kongs-legco-election-should-priortise-substance-over-spectacle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3332826/hong-kongs-legco-election-should-priortise-substance-over-spectacle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Willa Wu,Leopold Chen,Matthew Cheng Willa Wu,Leopold Chen,Matthew Cheng Hong Kong held its first two government-run Legislative Council election forums on Tuesday with livelihood issues emerging as a key focus, as candidates highlighted their own platforms and ideas while largely refraining from questioning one another. While the events were going on, the Post learned that at least two broadcasters cancelled their forums after candidates began pulling out soon after the government announced on Monday that it would for the first time hold such sessions. Secretary for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3332297/5-candidates-raise-livelihood-issues-first-legco-poll-forum-avoid-confrontation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3332297/5-candidates-raise-livelihood-issues-first-legco-poll-forum-avoid-confrontation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 05:37:17 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu The seventh-term Legislative Council has officially ended. I am sure few people had expected the attention Legco received over the past month, beginning with the news of Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen’s retirement. Amid a wave of retirements, legislators over 70 years old – including stalwarts – might be forgiven for feeling the pressure to step aside to make room for new blood. The announcement over the weekend by the New People’s Party’s Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Lai Tung-kwok that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3330343/can-legco-veterans-exit-really-invigorate-hong-kong-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3330343/can-legco-veterans-exit-really-invigorate-hong-kong-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Oct 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Willa Wu Willa Wu Hong Kong will begin its two-week nomination period for the next Legislative Council election on October 24, choosing candidates for the 90 seats in only the second poll held under Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral reform. Gazetting the electoral arrangement on Friday, the Registration and Electoral Office said the nomination period would run until November 6 and called on hopefuls to submit their forms as early as possible in case any errors need to be corrected. The poll on December 7 will... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3327737/hong-kong-sets-2-week-nomination-period-legislative-council-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3327737/hong-kong-sets-2-week-nomination-period-legislative-council-election?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2025 05:15:56 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle A court ruling in favour of a three-year-old boy, whose parents are both women, highlighted the practical difficulties faced by Hong Kong’s same-sex couples last week and broke new ground in upholding their rights. The government had refused to allow both lesbian mothers of the child to be recorded as parents on his birth certificate. One of them was excluded. This was ruled by the court to be unlawful, as it breaches the little boy’s privacy and family rights. It is the latest in a long line of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3325450/government-must-go-back-drawing-board-rights-same-sex-couples?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3325450/government-must-go-back-drawing-board-rights-same-sex-couples?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 14:22:41 +0000 Harvey Kong Harvey Kong Veteran Hong Kong lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei has said he was unable to vote on an ill-fated same-sex partnership bill due to a personal emergency, in response to questions about his absence despite being a member of a key decision-making body. Ng, president of the Federation of Trade Unions, was the only lawmaker also sitting on the Executive Council who failed to attend the vote for the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill on Wednesday. The proposed legislation was eventually voted down... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3325241/urgent-matter-stopped-me-voting-same-sex-rights-bill-hong-kongs-stanley-ng?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3325241/urgent-matter-stopped-me-voting-same-sex-rights-bill-hong-kongs-stanley-ng?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:40:50 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung A politician who sits on Hong Kong’s top decision-making Executive Council has apologised to the city’s constitutional minister after slamming his “annoying” attempts to lobby support for a controversial same-sex partnership bill. Legislator Stanley Ng Chau-pei, who is also president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), held out an olive branch on Friday, praising the minister’s “dedication” and “hard work” after earlier chiding the official for “threatening” him. At the centre of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3320469/hong-kong-lawmaker-apologises-minister-after-dispute-over-same-sex-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3320469/hong-kong-lawmaker-apologises-minister-after-dispute-over-same-sex-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 10:34:55 +0000 Willa Wu Willa Wu Hong Kong authorities have an “ongoing legal duty” to fulfil their responsibilities related to same-sex relationships in response to a landmark court ruling, even if the legislature rejects a proposal to establish a recognition framework, the government has said. The government said on Wednesday that the judiciary had not and would not give any direct orders to either the executive or the legislature about fulfilling the requirements of the ruling. Authorities also argued that the proposal... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319262/hong-kong-authorities-have-ongoing-legal-duty-fulfil-same-sex-couples-ruling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319262/hong-kong-authorities-have-ongoing-legal-duty-fulfil-same-sex-couples-ruling?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2025 08:07:45 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Electronic ballot counting will be used in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election for the first time for the 30 trade-based seats, with lawmakers calling for greater adoption of advanced technology to improve voter turnout. But legislators heard on Monday that the technology would not be deployed for the 20 directly elected geographical constituency seats, as paper ballots and hand counting would continue to be used. At a Legco panel meeting, some lawmakers urged authorities to step up the use... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319050/hong-kong-legco-poll-use-electronic-vote-counting-trade-seats-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319050/hong-kong-legco-poll-use-electronic-vote-counting-trade-seats-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:32:48 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin Hong Kong actors Eric Tsang Chi-wai and Kenny Bee have distanced themselves from an outspoken Malaysian singer-songwriter after facing a backlash for taking a photo with the rapper known for his critical stance on mainland Chinese authorities. Veteran actor and comedian Tsang, 72, apologised on Monday on Chinese social media platform Weibo, two days after Malaysian singer Wee Meng Chee, more popularly known as Namewee, posted his photo with the two Hong Kong celebrities. The pair were in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319038/hong-kongs-eric-tsang-kenny-bee-deny-links-malaysias-namewee-after-group-photo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319038/hong-kongs-eric-tsang-kenny-bee-deny-links-malaysias-namewee-after-group-photo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 11:13:20 +0000 Natalie Wong Natalie Wong A senior Hong Kong official has called on lawmakers to be “pragmatic, rational and impartial” when scrutinising a bill aimed at granting certain legal rights to same-sex couples after most major political parties voiced opposition to the legislation. Introducing the bill for its first and second readings in the legislature on Wednesday, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai stressed that the proposed framework was a “reasonable balance” between fulfilling the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3318463/hong-kong-lawmakers-urged-be-impartial-when-reviewing-same-sex-partnership-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3318463/hong-kong-lawmakers-urged-be-impartial-when-reviewing-same-sex-partnership-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:15:13 +0000 Brian Y. S. Wong Brian Y. S. Wong In September 2023, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ruled that the government must establish a legal framework to recognise same-sex relationships within two years – affirming the rights of same-sex couples to apply for public housing and inherit property. The ruling also explicitly stated that such recognition does not entail the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Two years later, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau has proposed a registration system to grant legal recognition to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3317230/same-sex-recognition-attests-hong-kongs-rule-law-and-vitality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3317230/same-sex-recognition-attests-hong-kongs-rule-law-and-vitality?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The landmark ruling by Hong Kong’s top court requiring the government to recognise same-sex relationships was a defining moment for the city. Grounded in law, but also basic human decency, the court gave officials two years to put in place a framework protecting the core rights of such couples, who are not permitted to marry in the city. The government unveiled its proposals last week, just four months ahead of the deadline and no one is happy with them. Members of the LGBTQ community are... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3317100/hong-kong-will-benefit-recognising-rights-same-sex-couples?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3317100/hong-kong-will-benefit-recognising-rights-same-sex-couples?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 13:00:15 +0000