Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen also said on Friday that he understood the government had lobbied all lawmakers for their support for a controversial same-sex partnership bill and urged legislators to “vote with their conscience”. Leung said the model, commissioned by the Legco secretariat, would be placed in its library and open to the…
Plans for the next Legislative Council are being cemented – the nomination process will begin on October 24, with the current term ending on the same day. However, the same can’t be said for the date of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address. So far, we’ve only been told it will be moved up…
A proposed piece of legislation by the Hong Kong government to recognise same-sex partnerships is set to be the first bill the legislature will reject since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system in 2021 to ensure only “patriots” held political power. The new law, opposed by the major political parties, was the government’s response to…
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…
Poised to deliver his fourth policy address in September, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is gearing up to show that his administration is delivering on his “result-oriented” leadership. This may be the reason he revealed last month that the government was considering a new accountability system for senior officials. Lee seems to have started paving…
Hong Kong is committed to resolving a long-standing conflict between taxis and ride-hailing services, the city’s transport minister has said, pledging that the government will seek a solution for cabs and their platform counterparts to coexist under fair competition. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan also said on Friday that she would insert a…
Smartphones are in nearly every pocket in Hong Kong. More than 95 per cent of people above the age of 10 have them, according to one recent estimate. The city has one of Asia’s highest penetration rates for the devices, and many Hongkongers have multiple lines. But the city is also fighting rising phone scams,…
Hong Kong should step up victim protection by outlawing deepfake pornographic content, advocates and lawmakers have said, after a university student was accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate explicit images of his classmates. The Education Bureau weighed in on the case on Sunday, saying publicly funded universities had autonomy in how they managed…
On July 3, the Hong Kong government outlined its plan to submit the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill to the Legislative Council. The bill provides for an alternative framework that sets out the registration procedure and the rights of same-sex couples. The bill was introduced to comply with a landmark ruling by the Court of…
Hong Kong authorities have introduced a bill to the legislature that will pave the way for establishing an expanded mechanism under which lawmakers could face suspension and pay cuts for misconduct. The Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill was tabled by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki for its first reading on Wednesday. The bill…