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The government will allocate over HK$1.23 billion to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to promote the industry as the city seeks to attract “high-end visitors” from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Financial Secretary Paul Chan has said. The budget – up from HK$1.09 billion earmarked to the HKTB in the previous fiscal year […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping told top officials on Wednesday that Beijing should address domestic and international difficulties “calmly”, one week before the country’s biggest annual political gathering. The world’s second largest economy is facing down sluggish internal demand and a protracted property sector crisis, as well as the possibility of a deepening trade war with […]

Chinese authorities appear to have censored a document showing plans to spend more than US$6.6 million this year on training for two American-born winter sport athletes, including double-Olympic gold medallist Eileen Gu. Freestyle skier Gu and figure skater Beverly Zhu were both born and raised in the United States, but switched allegiance to China. At […]

Hong Kong will raise fines for traffic-related offences and increase fees for parking meters, Financial Secretary Paul Chan has said. The new penalty rates have not been set, and the matter will be discussed by lawmakers, a government source told HKFP. Chan also announced increased fees for electric car licences during his 2025 Budget speech […]

Hong Kong will put commercial land sales on hold in the coming fiscal year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan has announced, citing high vacancy rates and a struggling property market. “In view of the high vacancy rates of offices in recent years and the relatively ample supply in the next few years, the government will not […]

The Hong Kong government will freeze salaries of public servants – including the chief executive, political appointees, judges, lawmakers, district councillors and the entire civil service – in the coming fiscal year, the city’s finance chief Paul Chan has said. “The government puts forward that for 2025-26, the executive authorities, the legislature, the judiciary and members of […]

The use of the HK$2 public transport fare for elderly Hong Kong residents and other eligible individuals will be capped at 240 trips per month, the city’s finance chief has said in his 2025 Budget speech. Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Wednesday announced the government would scale back the subsidy scheme that cost the government […]

Hong Kong’s airport departure tax will rise more than 60 per cent, from HK$120 to HK$200 per passenger, starting in the third quarter of this year. Finance chief Paul Chan announced the hike during his 2025 Budget speech at the Legislative Council on Wednesday. “It is anticipated that the government revenue will increase by HK$1.6 […]

The Hong Kong government is scaling back the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme, with the monthly threshold increased from HK$400 to HK$500. The government currently provides a subsidy to commuters amounting to a third of their actual monthly public transport expenses in excess of HK$400, with a HK$400 limit per Octopus stored value card. Finance […]

Hong Kong will cut government spending by 7 per cent over the coming three years, Financial Secretary Paul Chan has announced in his 2025 budget speech, as the city logged an estimated HK$87.2 billion deficit. Speaking at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Chan said that the current fiscal year deficit marks the third shortfall in […]

The Hong Kong government is considering the legalisation of basketball betting in order to tackle illegal gambling, the financial chief Paul Chan has said, as the city tackles a huge budget deficit. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which already hosts betting on horse racing and football matches, will submit a proposal on basketball gambling […]

Hong Kong will cut government spending by 7 per cent over the coming three years, Financial Secretary Paul Chan has announced in his 2025 budget speech, as the city logged an estimated HK$87.2 billion deficit. Chan met the press following his budget speech at the legislature.

Hong Kong opposition party the League of Social Democrats has called off a protest outside government headquarters ahead of the annual budget speech, citing “immense pressure,” without giving further details. Financial Secretary Paul Chan is due to deliver his annual budget speech at 11am and is expected to announce measures that address Hong Kong’s huge […]

Three people, including a teenager, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud after allegedly selling tickets to the Kai Tak Sports Park opening ceremony at inflated prices. The three suspects, aged 16 to 33, sold the tickets on online platforms for HK$100 to HK$2,000, much higher than the original HK$10 price, police said […]

Hong Kong authorities have proposed to impose initial targets on beverage suppliers to recycle 30 per cent of plastic bottles and 10 per cent of drink cartons. The proposal is part of the government’s four-phased “producer responsibility scheme,” which seeks to impose penalties on drinks suppliers and container manufacturers that miss the targets. The government […]

Beijing said Tuesday its defence spending was “entirely necessary” after Russian President Vladimir Putin backed a suggestion by US counterpart Donald Trump that Russia, the United States and China all cut their defence budgets in half. Russia has massively ramped up military spending since launching its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but spending has also […]

Taiwan detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship on Tuesday after a subsea telecoms cable was severed off the island, the coast guard said. It is the latest in a series of Taiwanese undersea cable breakages, with previous incidents blamed on natural causes or Chinese ships. Taiwan‘s Chunghwa Telecom reported the cable between Penghu, a strategic island […]

Hong Kong lawmakers have expressed support for tightening union laws, citing labour groups’ political acts during the “black-clad violence” of the 2019 protests and unrest. Lawmakers discussed the government’s proposed amendments to the Trade Unions Ordinance at a Panel on Manpower meeting at the Legislative Council on Monday. The amendments would bar those convicted of […]

Hong Kong Unison, a non-profit organisation that has served the city’s ethnic minorities for over two decades, is planning to disband, its chairperson has told HKFP. Alice Chong, chair of Unison, said on Monday that the NGO’s executive committee was considering shutting down the organisation and that a general meeting would be held this Friday […]

Hong Kong’s Digital Art Fair 2025 failed to secure the “mega-events” funding, the government has said, following the organisers’ announcement that the March event would be axed. They cited “reasons beyond our control” for the cancellation. The event was originally slated to be held at the West Kowloon Cultural District from March 26 to 30. […]

Take-offs and landings at the city’s airport reached a post-pandemic high in January, the Airport Authority Hong Kong has said. The authority said in a press statement on Monday that flight movements reached around 33,660 in January. The airport handled over 193,000 passengers on a single day on January 25, also a record since the […]

A verdict for Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai’s national security trial is expected in October, a Hong Kong court has heard in a separate proceeding over the newspaper’s winding up. The High Court, which handles liquidation procedures for companies, heard on Monday that a verdict for the jailed media tycoon’s national security trial was expected […]

North Koreans have been forced to work on Chinese-flagged fishing vessels without touching land for as long as a decade, facing verbal and physical abuse as well as harsh conditions, a report said Monday. Nuclear-armed North Korea has long made a fortune from an army of citizens it sends abroad to work, mostly in neighbouring […]

A former construction consultant for McDonald’s in Hong Kong has been charged with bribery, after allegedly accepting a luxury watch from a contractor couple in exchange for awarding them multimillion-dollar projects. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Monday that Ling Mun-tong, 45, was charged last Friday for allegedly taking a bribe from Wardson […]