Covid19
More than 40 per cent of Hong Kong civil servants dismissed over the past five years were sacked over not complying with the city’s vaccination requirements when Covid-19 rules were in place. Out of the 50 dismissal cases as a result of misconduct, 21 were related to violating a policy requiring staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19. From February 2022, at the height of Hong Kong’s fifth and most fatal wave of Covid-19, visitors and staff at government buildings and offices were required to meet specific vaccination requirements unless they had valid medical exemptions. The policy was later ...
Hong Kong Free Press
Two recently published books shed light on the relations between central and local authorities in mainland China, and provide valuable lessons for Hong Kong. In one, we see that local politicians in Wuhan failed to learn the lessons of SARS, repeating mistakes during the outbreak of Covid-19 that had disastrous consequences for the country and the world. They operated in a system designed centrally that prioritised politics and stability above all else. In the other, we see that local politicians not only accepted instructions and advice from central authorities, but also actively, persistentl...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hongkongers will not receive perks such as consumption vouchers as the government scaled back one-off relief measures offered to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic. Finance chief Paul Chan did not mention the consumption voucher scheme when he unveiled tax cuts and other relief measures for residents while delivering his annual budget speech to the legislature on Wednesday. Salaries and profits tax is set to be reduced by 100 per cent, subject to a ceiling of HK$3,000, which is half of last year’s HK$6,000. The proposal would benefit 2.05 million taxpayers and reduce government revenue by...
Hong Kong Free Press
Over HK$1.1 billion will be allocated to promote mega events and boost tourism in Hong Kong, in a move to “soft-sell” the city, the government has announced. Financial Secretary Paul Chan delivered the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year on Wednesday, announcing that the government would earmark HK$1.09 billion to boost tourism. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will host firework displays and drone shows every month against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour. It also plans to revamp the nightly light-and-sound show A Symphony of Lights. Meanwhile, the Development Bureau will introduce shops and...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has hired more than 40 trainee pilots from mainland China, after the city’s flagship carrier widened its recruitment programme last year following a wave of resignations during the pandemic. A pilots’ union, however, warned that it would take “years” for the airline to recover after a slew of aircrew left. The airline announced on Monday that close to 870 mainland Chinese applicants had applied for its cadet pilot programme, which was once restricted to Hong Kong residents. The recruitment expansion came after a pilot union earlier estimated that nearly 1,000 pilots ...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong logged over 90,000 reported crime cases in 2023 – a 28.9 per cent increase from a year earlier. The rise was led by a surge in fraud-related offences and violent crime, including robbery and rape, according to police data released on Tuesday. Deception cases rose by 42.6 per cent last year, and were the major cause for the upward trend in overall crime, Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu told reporters at a press conference to announce the latest figures. Close to 70 per cent of fraud cases were linked to online scams, with losses nearing HK$9 billion in total, Siu said in Cantonese,...
Hong Kong Free Press
A pandemic expert has urged the public to get mRNA vaccines as the city sees a rise in the prevalence of Covid-19, dominated by a new variant: jn.1. Ivan Hung, chair professor of infectious diseases at the Department of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, told RTHK on Sunday that a spike in Covid-19 infections may last until the end of the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February. The virus has been on the rise over the past few weeks, the Centre for Health Protection said in its weekly briefing last Wednesday, adding that jn.1 has become the most prevalent strain in the city. Hung said tha...
Hong Kong Free Press
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