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Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to exercise prudence and seriousness when defining national security offences under newly proposed legislation, dismissing concerns about a centralisation of power and stressing that the process often involves “state players” and highly sensitive information. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Tuesday that the subsidiary legislation, which introduces a classification mechanism for “other offences endangering national security” under the city’s domestic...

South China Morning Post

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Health leaders call for closer collaboration to improve patient experience and outcomes

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Greater clarity on costs, stronger co-ordination between public and private sectors, and more comprehensive support for patients emerged as the central themes at the Prudential Health Summit held on March 27. Prudential Hong Kong convened the event to bring together healthcare experts, providers, regulators and patient advocates from Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area to explore ways to deliver better care...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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'Pay levels in recent years should also be considered'

Some lawmakers said the government should take into consideration the impact of salary freezes for civil servants in recent years when deciding their pay this year. The latest pay trend survey – released on Thursday – pointed to a pay rise of 4.12 percent for senior staff, 2.64 percent for middle-rank and 1.17 percent for juniors. It's one of six major factors that will be taken into account when the Executive Council makes the final pay decision, which also include the state of the economy, cost-of-living changes, staff pay claims, civil service morale and the government's fiscal position. Unionist legislator Chau Siu-chung said the latest pay trend findings were in line with expectations. He pointed out that in the past six years, civil servants have experienced three pay freezes and two pay rises that were lower than the survey findings, and that their salary adjustments lagged behind the private sector. “After the pay freeze last year, [the city] has actually experienced two years of inflation. Salary can be frozen, but inflation won’t be frozen. Two years of inflation have added up to as much as 3.8 percent,” he said. “So I think that, on top of taking reference to the pay trend survey result, I hope the government can, after considering other factors, offer an increment for civil servants that is slightly higher than the findings.” Chau, of the Federation of Hong Kong & Kowloon Labour Unions, said such a move would help maintain morale among civil servants and prevent their salary gap with the private sector from widening. DAB legislator Nixie Lam also said civil service salaries had not caught up with inflation or private sector pay increment. She added that when it comes to a pay decision, the government needs to adopt a prudent approach in ensuring the city is financially sound in the long run while making sure the quality of public services is sustainable. Tsoi Koon-lung, president of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association, said it's too early to comment on the possible increment because the Executive Council will make a final decision later. “The figure appears to be pretty good, but what matters most is whether this number will be endorsed. Regardless of whether the figure is high or low, we must ensure it is derived through rigorous scientific methodology and is reliable,” Tsoi said. “Whether the result is favourable or not, if we confirm it was obtained through strict scientific procedures, we must accept it as one of the key factors for consideration.” Edited by Edmond Fong

South China Morning Post

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Merge Hong Kong’s 2 cross-boundary ferry piers to optimise capacity, lawmakers urge

Lawmakers have urged transport authorities to merge Hong Kong’s two cross-boundary ferry piers to optimise capacity and cater to the rising demand from luxury yachts, amid growing alternative transport options for travelling to mainland China. Their comments came on Thursday after the China Ferry Terminal and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal recorded a year-on-year drop of 6.5 per cent to 7.74 million passengers in 2025, with the transport secretary stressing that “prudent examination” was...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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Calls for greater transparency in permit-quota review

A think tank said on Wednesday that the government should provide more details on how often it plans to adjust a quota system for ride-hailing permits to offer the market greater transparency. Authorities have proposed rolling out up to 10,000 permits in the first phase. Assistant research director Jason Leung from the Our Hong Kong Foundation described it as "a prudent quota, but a tight one", given the city's 18,000 licensed taxis. Leung also said the government should offer the public more information about the quota review system. "To make that review clause credible, it should pre-commit to specific and measurable figures," he said. "For instance, if citywide peak-hour booking success rates drop below a defined threshold, or if average waiting times exceed a set benchmark, at which point the quota is automatically, or there's a mechanism for it to be raised. "So a regular, perhaps quarterly review, guided by objective metrics, would give passengers and platforms the confidence that the 10,000 number is not a completely unchangeable one, that it can be adjusted in the future based on real-life metrics." The government has proposed a HK$1.2 million annual licence fee for platform operators, which Leung said is not a significant amount for larger operators offering hundreds of thousands of trips each month. "It can be easily absorbed into operational costs, so it's not a barrier to a major operator. "But if you are talking about smaller operators or new entrants to the market, it could be potentially burdensome, especially for emerging platforms with limited revenues." He said the government could set up a tiered or revenue-linked fee structure to allow smaller platforms to operate. On top of monitoring operational data to be shared by platforms, Leung said authorities should track the metrics of taxi in evaluating how they perform, so as to better assess whether ride-hailing services and cabbies co-exist. Edited by Edmond Fong

South China Morning Post

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Ride-hailing cap of 10,000 a ‘prudent’ start for Hong Kong, transport minister says

Hong Kong’s cap of 10,000 vehicle permits for ride-hailing services is a “prudent and safe starting point”, and the government will dynamically adjust the quota based on operational data, the city’s transport minister has said. The quota, revealed on Tuesday, prompted lawmakers to call for frequent reviews in the initial months after the scheme’s launch and swift government intervention if services proved insufficient. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Secretary for Transport and Logistics...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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'Ride-hailing services to complement cabbies'

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan on Wednesday said she believes the proposed regulatory regime for ride-hailing services will complement the taxi industry. The government has proposed issuing up to 10,000 vehicle permits in the first phase. Chan expects to invite interested platforms to file applications as soon as August this year, and they could start operating as soon as the end of November. She stressed that she wants the regime to be rolled out gradually. “As a start, we would like to take a prudent, careful approach to ensure that our proposed regulatory regime will be achieved and implemented in a safe, smooth and progressive manner,” Chan said. She noted that Hong Kong’s situation is unique – about 90 percent of the residents opt for public transportation – but the government also values the public’s travel experience. Chan believes that ride-hailing platforms could also include taxis to offer appointment services. The current cap, she said, was proposed after balancing various considerations. But Chan added the government would adjust the quota when necessary by closely monitoring the operational data from ride-hailing platforms. “Once we issue licences for one or two or more platform operators in future, we will impose requirements for the operators to submit and share and store the relevant operational data, and to share it with the Transport Department,” she said. “I believe that our mechanism and our review should be based on data and should take into account the various operating indicators.” Edited by Tony Sabine

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RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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