Hong Kong should require a double-check mechanism for all embryo biopsy procedures and overhaul its reproductive technology law, the city’s largest political party has proposed following a rare mix-up of specimens at a fertility clinic. DAB lawmaker Nixie Lam Lam said the existing mandatory two-person verification process did not cover every stage of embryo biopsy…
Hong Kong should allow unmarried women to receive assisted reproductive services and extend the soon-to-expire newborn baby bonus, political parties have urged ahead of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s coming policy address and the city’s first five-year plan. Presenting its proposals to city leader Lee on Friday, Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee’s New…
Firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who was killed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades, has been recognised for his bravery in this year’s Honours List, while eminent economist Lawrence Lau Juen-yee is among three recipients of the city’s highest award. Fencer Ryan Choi Chun-yin and cyclist Lee Sze-wing were also among the 466 individuals named in…
Two renovation subcontractors involved in a HK$336 million (US$42.9 million) project at a Hong Kong subsidised estate ravaged by the city’s deadliest fire in decades have conceded they did not regulate workers’ smoking behaviour before the inferno. The two engineering firms on Thursday also told an independent committee that they had partially replaced fireproof windows…
Hong Kong authorities will be able to demand external technicians or any “specified person” decrypt electronic devices during national security investigations and may punish suspects who provide wrong passwords or falsely claim to have forgotten them, the security chief has told lawmakers. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung stressed on Tuesday that recent amendments to…
Hong Kong’s improving fiscal position has prompted a groundswell of calls for the government to offer more “sweeteners” in the coming budget, including a cross-party demand for more tax relief for the middle class, but economists have cautioned against such across-the-board measures. They were more supportive of targeted spending, a cause taken up in recent…
A Hong Kong district councillor who illegally parked his car and blocked access to a fire exit lane has been “sternly reminded” to watch his conduct, a minister has said, following a similar offence by a colleague within a week. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen revealed on Friday that the Kwai…
Hong Kong’s “Queen of Votes” Christine Fong Kwok-shan ran one of the most cost-effective campaigns in the Legislative Council election, spending an average of just HK$20 per vote, the South China Morning Post has found. An SCMP review of the election spending declarations by 32 candidates who contested directly elected seats also found that some…
At least three newcomers to Hong Kong’s legislature, including two from the city’s largest political party, have failed to declare company shareholdings, the Post has found, with the trio blaming the omissions on heavy workloads or misunderstandings. The three lawmakers are Jody Kwok Fu-yung and Hung Kam-in of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and…
The head of Hong Kong’s largest political party has urged authorities to respect the deep-rooted community ties of residents displaced by the deadly Tai Po inferno, amid growing concerns that the government might rule out the option of rebuilding on the original site. Gary Chan Hak-kan, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and…