Where exactly does the buck stop? Senior Hong Kong civil servants are asking themselves that question after the unveiling of a new accountability system targeting department heads. They point to the deadly Tai Po fire last year as an example. An independent committee investigating the tragedy heard evidence officials gave contractors at the blaze-hit Wang…
A Hong Kong man has been jailed for two months for sharing a social media post urging residents to shun last year’s Legislative Council election. Security guard Wong Wah-kwong, 63, pleaded guilty at West Kowloon Court on Wednesday to inciting others to boycott the December poll – the second under a Beijing-imposed “patriots-only” election overhaul…
Hong Kong authorities should turn a new HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) municipal waste incinerator in Tuen Mun into a tourist attraction and an education hub for eco-protection, lawmakers have said. Their remarks on Tuesday followed the government’s application to the Legislative Council for HK$29.2 billion to build the planned Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 2,…
Hong Kong plans to table a bill by year-end to standardise regulation of future mass transit projects, including Kai Tak and East Kowloon, the transport chief has said, as lawmakers raise concerns over fares and long-term service quality. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan told lawmakers on Monday that the government was pursuing policy…
Kudos to the Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan for introducing a two-tier civil service accountability system. This will include giving an independent statutory body, the Public Service Commission, powers to investigate “widespread, repetitive and systemic” management problems, while department heads can investigate problems involving rank-and-file officers. To many, the revamp of…
Hong Kong authorities are planning to launch a public consultation over a raft of new fire safety-related requirements and offences with tough penalties following the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. Confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post, the Security Bureau on Friday laid out its planned amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance,…
Hong Kong authorities have proposed new offences with tougher punishments for fire installation contractors who fail to obtain prior approval before deactivating firefighting systems or do not report malfunctions within 24 hours, in the wake of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, the South China Morning Post has learned. Other proposed changes included drastically increasing…
Buyers of illicit fuel in Hong Kong could face a maximum penalty of HK$1 million (US$127,687) and one year in prison under proposed legal amendments aimed at curbing illegal refuelling amid surging global oil prices, the South China Morning Post has learned. According to a government source, the Security Bureau has also proposed tougher penalties…
Hong Kong’s top-ranking civil servants will be held accountable if they fail to provide adequate support in policy formulation, the city’s leader has said, despite a new investigation mechanism that primarily targets department heads. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the proposed “Heads of Department Accountability System” was intended to promote self-improvement…
Hong Kong’s leader has defended the government’s decision to put the legalisation of basketball betting on hold, stressing the policy was never intended to encourage gambling and that all risks must be controlled before any further steps are taken. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made the remarks on Tuesday after the government’s surprising U-turn last…