Expectant mothers in Hong Kong requiring government antenatal services will only need to visit public hospitals, rather than maternal and child health centres, under a change taking effect on Monday. Health authorities announced on Friday that antenatal services currently provided by maternal and child health centres, managed by the Department of Health, will be transferred…
Hong Kong has relaxed its licensing requirements for rural holiday camps and village guest houses, allowing greater flexibility in building and fire safety requirements for some properties to encourage more tourist accommodation options outside urban areas. The Home Affairs Department on Monday published two new licence application guides: a first-of-its-kind stand-alone guide tailored specifically for…
Hong Kong’s leader has announced that a public consultation for the final policy address of the current term will begin on Monday, with the exercise also set to gauge views on the city’s first five-year plan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Thursday, after meeting tertiary education leaders to discuss the plan, that the…
Hong Kong will allow elderly welfare recipients retiring in Guangdong and Fujian to have cash assistance directly sent to their mainland Chinese bank accounts from July as part of a much-awaited arrangement, the city’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced the launch in a social media post on Wednesday during a visit…
Hong Kong is expected to launch a public consultation in early June for its inaugural five-year plan to align with the national blueprint, with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu set to present a preliminary framework and gather feedback from various industries through face-to-face sessions, according to sources. The South China Morning Post learned that the…
Hong Kong’s second-biggest public housing provider will gradually expand the supply of its subsidised sale flats, aiming for them to account for 40 per cent of its home supply in future projects. Hong Kong Housing Society chairman Ling Kar-kan said on Saturday the move was to meet residents’ strong desire to own their homes. In…
The head of a civil service union federation has warned that tighter disciplinary action risks becoming excessive as the government seeks to revise the penalty system to handle underperforming senior civil servants this year. Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, was responding to the Civil Service Bureau’s reply to a lawmaker’s…
Hong Kong’s transport authorities have given the green light for testing autonomous vehicles from the airport island to Sunny Bay and Tung Chung town centre on Lantau, marking the latest cross-district trial of driverless technology. The Transport Department said on Monday that the updated pilot licence – held by Baidu Apollo International – would support…
The number of babies born in Hong Kong plunged to a record low of 31,100 in 2025, while the city’s provisional population estimate rose 0.1 per cent year on year to 7.51 million. The Census and Statistics Department on Thursday also revealed a net inflow of 29,100 Hong Kong residents in 2025. Some 50,000 deaths…
Tai Po district councillors have urged the government to expedite rebuilding plans and offer Wang Fuk Court residents a range of rehousing options after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, as officials pledged to weigh the pros and cons of each proposal. At the first meeting of Tai Po District Council since the fire on…