SCMP Hong Kong·Sunday, December 28, 2025

SCMP Hong Kong - Sunday, December 28, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Incoming Hong Kong lawmaker Vivian Kong to transition to Jockey Club consultant role

Former Hong Kong star fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai will transition to a consultant role at the Jockey Club after she is sworn in as a tourism lawmaker, her former boss has said. The retired Olympic fencing gold medallist joined the club in August 2024 as an assistant external affairs manager, but suspended her duties last month to run for the election in the tourism sector. The 31-year-old secured 131 votes, beating Kwun Tong district councillor Ma Yat-chiu, raising questions over her role at the.

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Hong Kong liaison office’s Qi Bin to take up new role in Beijing on economic affairs

A senior cadre at Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong with a rich financial background is expected to be transferred back to the capital for a new role in a committee advising leadership on economic policies for the next five-year plan, the Post has learned. Qi Bin, who turned 57 last month, was appointed by the State Council in November last year to take up the post of deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong. It is understood that he will be made a deputy...

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‘I cannot sleep soundly’: helper battles trauma, job insecurity after Hong Kong fire

Domestic helper Siti Zulaikho has only one word to describe her life after Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades turned everything upside down: “chaotic.” The 41-year-old Indonesian was among more than 200 domestic helpers living in Wang Fuk Court when the 43-hour blaze broke out on November 26, engulfing seven of the housing estate’s eight buildings and killing 161 people. Over the past month, she has relocated with her employers four times – first to a shelter, then to a hotel, and then to...

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Hong Kong Island promenade to be completed after 16 years as final section opens

Hong Kong Island’s 13km (8-mile) promenade will be fully connected after 16 years of planning and construction, with the last section of the boardwalk in North Point to open to the public on Monday. The Development Bureau said on Sunday that the eastern section of East Coast Boardwalk, spanning 1.1km from the North Point Promenade to Hoi Yu Street in Quarry Bay, featured a glass observatory deck and open spaces. “[It marks] the last kilometre to connect the approximately 13-kilometre-long...

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Hong Kong finance chief upbeat about 2026 outlook on back of 3.2% growth

Hong Kong’s finance chief has struck an upbeat tone about the city’s economic outlook for 2026, while forecasting that growth this year will accelerate to 3.2 per cent, surpassing earlier projections. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the optimistic outlook was mainly supported by anticipated growth in mainland China and Asia, along with interest rate cuts. But his optimism was questioned by former finance chief John Tsang Chun-wah and some economists. “Looking ahead to next year, Hong...

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650 Hongkongers on Taiwan group tours confirmed safe after ‘terrifying’ quake

More than 650 Hongkongers on group tours to Taiwan have been confirmed safe following a 6.7-magnitude earthquake late on Saturday, with some shaken travellers recalling how buildings swayed “from side to side”. The Hong Kong Observatory said the earthquake struck at 11.05pm in Taiwan, with the epicentre located about 70km (43.5 miles) southeast of Taipei and at a focal depth of 60km. The forecaster also received more than 100 local reports of tremors lasting several seconds on Saturday. “Based..

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Hong Kong’s Starry Lee seeks to unite lawmakers, but quiet about Legco presidency

Hong Kong’s Starry Lee Wai-king has said her roles as a delegate to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee and at the Legislative Council do not conflict, but she has stopped short of revealing whether she will run for the latter’s presidency. Lee, a member of China’s top legislative body, on Sunday held off giving a definitive reply about whether she would seek election as Legco president. Details would be clearer during the presidency’s nomination period, after the newly...

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Hong Kong to launch ‘special channel’ for cross-border sensitive biological data

Hong Kong authorities are preparing to launch a special channel next year to allow sensitive mainland Chinese biological samples and data to cross an “innovation cooperation zone” between the city and Shenzhen, a minister has said. Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said on a television programme on Sunday that authorities had already clearly defined the scope of specific genetic resources and sensitive information to be permitted. “I believe we will roll out these...

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Can Hong Kong mature as a wine hub? French vineyard owner calls for new focus

Hong Kong could strengthen its position as a global wine trading hub by enhancing its logistics and storage services, according to a seventh-generation French winemaker overseeing a 200-year-old Burgundy estate. Erwan Faiveley, owner of wine labels Domaine Faiveley and Billaud-Simon, also praised the Hong Kong government’s decision to axe its wine tax in 2008 during his first fact-finding trip to the city and mainland China since the Covid-19 pandemic. “The greatest thing they’ve done was...

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Let’s get physical: Hong Kong hospital staff rally for Operation Santa Claus

Doctors, nurses and students at HKSH Medical Group in Hong Kong swapped their clinical routines for a day of fitness and fundraising, inspiring all to “throw kindness and catch health”. The staff-led activity on December 19 formed part of HKSH OSC Month, a fundraising campaign in aid of Operation Santa Claus (OSC) – a cause the group has supported for the 17th consecutive year. Awards were given to employees and teams across departments in recognition of taking part, teamwork and sustained...

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