Hong Kong’s Tianjin liaison office director has been fired after he showed off free travel upgrades during trips to Macau and Tianjin.
In a statement released on Wednesday night, the government said the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau had investigated following the controversy over Ricky Cheng’s social media posts.
As the head of the Tianjin Liaison Office of the HKSAR, Cheng’s acceptance of a free seat upgrade for his ferry trip to Macau was suspected to be a violation of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
According to the ordinance, it is a criminal offence for civil servants to solicit or accept advantages without permission. Conviction of the offence could attract a fine of HK$500,000 and ten years’ imprisonment.
Cheng, who was on contract at the bureau, was relieved of his duties with immediate effect, the government said on Wednesday, adding that the matter has been referred to law enforcement agencies.
The government telephone directory showed the position of Tianjin liaison office director as “vacant” on Thursday morning.
Ritz Carlton perks
The dismissal came after local media outlets reported that Cheng had made multiple Threads posts about accepting travel freebies.
In a post published last May, Cheng expressed gratitude to “his best friend Alan,” an executive of Turbojet, for arranging a private cabin for his trip from Hong Kong to Macau, HK01 reported.
In another two posts published more recently, Cheng said he had just headed off to Tianjin to assume his new position as the liaison office director. He added that he was “lucky” to enjoy a free upgrade to a suite during his stay at Tianjin’s Ritz-Carlton.
“Settled in safely in the Tianjin Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and got a complimentary upgrade to a suite. Feeling quite pleased,” the post read.
The posts led to netizens to question whether the civil servant had accepted improper advantages. They have since been deleted.
Citing a government response, Commercial Radio reported that Cheng was hired as the Tianjin liaison office director under the Post-retirement Service Contract Scheme, and that Cheng paid for his own accommodation at the Ritz-Carlton in Tianjin.
According to a government website, Cheng worked as the Fujian liaison office director from 2022 to 2025 before he was appointed as Tianjin liaison office director.
