Some Hong Kong taxi drivers have yet to install e-payment options even after the city’s new mandatory electronic payment for taxis went into effect, highlighting a digital divide challenge facing cabbies, the South China Morning Post has observed. Starting on 1 April, the Transport Department mandated all drivers to offer passengers at least two electronic…
Some homeowners displaced by the deadly Tai Po blaze were disappointed by Hong Kong authorities’ decision to buy back their flats instead of resettling them at the original site, even as the acquisition offer was described by surveyors as “generous”. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun unveiled the long-term resettlement plan on Saturday, offering options…
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…
Hong Kong’s treasury minister has said authorities will shelve a proposed levy on private cars crossing the border into mainland China, citing feedback from lawmakers and members of the public. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu told the Legislative Council on Friday that the government had decided not to go ahead…
Many passengers crowded the lower decks of Hong Kong buses on Sunday out of concern that they would not be able to unbuckle their seat belts in time to alight on the first day of the new rule’s implementation. A Post reporter and lawmaker Mark Chong Ho-fung took trips on two of the busiest routes…
Hong Kong’s newly elected lawmakers will discuss a government motion to strengthen support for Wang Fuk Court fire victims at their first chamber meeting next Wednesday, but will skip a regular question session for officials. The Legislative Council chamber meeting for legislators, who assumed their posts on January 1, will also debate a lawmaker’s motion…
Outgoing veteran Hong Kong lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun has called for expanding the number of directly elected seats in the legislature, saying the move will broaden the political spectrum and boost voter turnout. Mark Chong Ho-fung, the sole lawmaker-elect of the Roundtable party founded by Tien, also said on Tuesday that proposing the idea for…
New, younger faces have won nearly half of the 90 seats in Hong Kong’s second “patriots-only” Legislative Council, and their immediate task will be to tackle the aftermath of the deadly Tai Po fire and implement systemic reforms. The Sunday poll drew a 31.9 per cent turnout rate, with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu declaring…
Hong Kong’s largest political party won far fewer votes in Sunday’s battle for directly contested seats in the legislature compared with four years ago as its candidates grappled with tough races and public anger over the deadly fire in Tai Po. While the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) retained…
Contractors in Hong Kong are racing to tear down scaffolding nets used for estate renovation works to meet the government’s end-Saturday deadline, but some admit they will need more time. An industry representative on Saturday estimated that work at all sites across the city would only be completed by early next week, given the tight…