PolicyAddress

Why the ‘Non-Chinese Speaking’ tag is doing real harm to Hong Kong’s non-Chinese pupils

By Maggie Holmes The Chief Executive’s 2020 Policy Address confirmed the government’s continued support for Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) students. Its commitment is to be commended. However, I would argue that the term “Non-Chinese Speaking” is not fit for purpose and I request that the Education Bureau urgently consider new terminology. Government reports are littered with acronyms and abbreviations but NCS particularly rankles. The term is more than a short cut: it is doing real harm. NCS is used exclusively to describe children from non-Chinese speaking family backgrounds studying in the loca...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: No plan for Hong Kong democracy in my term, says Carrie Lam, as address receives lowest public rating yet

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she has no plan for Hong Kong democratic reform in the remainder of her term, following her latest policy address. The address, which she delivered at the legislature on Wednesday, received the lowest public ratings yet, according to a survey.During a TV forum on Wednesday evening, the chief executive told reporters that she had “fantasised” about electoral reform in 2017 when she first assumed the role, “but the bubbles burst quickly.” She added that forcefully launching reform will only divide society further and make governance even more difficult.“When ...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: Hong Kong education to instil Chinese belonging and identity; quality of teachers to be ‘enhanced’

The Education Bureau will focus on bolstering national security education and monitoring the quality of the city’s teachers, while e-learning funding is set to be boosted, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced during Wednesday’s policy address.Schools should implement educational activities on the importance of national security and One Country Two Systems in order to instil “a sense of identity, belonging and responsibility towards the nation, the Chinese race and our society,” Lam said.Study tours of the mainland will also be integrated into the city’s primary and secondary curriculum to enco...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: Southern Hong Kong Island to become arts and tourism hub, as Ocean Park acquires Jumbo Restaurant

Hong Kong Island Southern District will be “invigorated” into an arts hub and tourist spot, the chief executive said in her policy address on Wednesday.During her annual address at the Legislative Council (LegCo), Carrie Lam said the district will be developed “into a place full of vibrancy, vigour and velocity for people to work, live, explore new ideas and have fun.”The project named “Invigorating Island South” includes the rebirth of Ocean Park, to enhance its educational and conservation investments. The theme park will also be core to another project to link up other districts and islands...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: Electronic voting register to be introduced for Hong Kong’s 2021 legislative elections

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced the introduction of electronic poll registers at the 2021 Legislative Council elections. The update will make use of electronic card readers to verify voters’ ID cards and registration at the moment of casting a ballot.Electoral laws will have to be amended, as they currently limit the voting process to using only a printed register, a government source said.Voting stations will start using electronic card readers, in which a voter’s Hong Kong ID card will be inserted. After verifying their voter registration as valid through an electronic sys...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: Salary subsidies for 2,000 recent Hong Kong graduates to work in the mainland

The city’s chief executive has revealed a series of policies to facilitate further business integration between Hong Kong and the mainland, including handing out salary subsidies to encourage the recruitment of Hongkongers in the mainland.Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the details at her 2020 policy address at the legislature on Wednesday. HK$430 million for the salary scheme will be taken from the Covid-19 relief fund, a government source said.Under the new Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, businesses with operations in both Hong Kong and the mainland can apply to the government...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: Details of HK$60 billion Hong Kong-Shenzhen joint innovation zone unveiled

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed a series of policies on Wednesday to promote closer cooperation between Hong Kong and the neighbouring Greater Bay Area, and unveiled more details on the development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone (SITZ).During her 2020 policy address speech, Lam said Hong Kong and Shenzhen are on the way to creating a “one zone, two parks” development near the cities’ borders. The SITZ will consist of two areas: the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, on the Hong Kong side, and on the o...

Hong Kong Free Press

Policy Address 2020: Controversial HK$624 billion Lantau Tomorrow housing project to go ahead

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government will not give up on the controversial Lantau Tomorrow Vision housing project, and relevant studies for the HK$624 billion development should begin as soon as possible.In her fourth policy address on Wednesday, Lam said the artificial islands project – 70 per cent of which promises to be public housing – would be more effective in alleviating medium-term and long-term housing needs than changing land use zoning in existing urban areas.She said the project aimed to develop a liveable and carbon-neutral community, and has already been discussed in so...

Hong Kong Free Press

LIVE: Chief Exec. Carrie Lam’s Hong Kong Policy Address 2020 & press conference

Chief Executive Carrie Lam is delivering the 2020 Policy Address. Watch it live with English interpretation.

Hong Kong Free Press