The Young Reporter
Policy Address 20/21: The government is drawing up plans to strengthen national security education in the city
- 2020-11-25
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Leone XueEdited by: Leone Xue
- 2020-11-25
Young people will be educated in the rule of law, the Chief Executive said in her fourth policy address on Wednesday, as part of a 10-year initiative called "Vision 2030 for Rule of Law." "Targeted public education activities will be carried out to promote law-abiding awareness, while research and related data compilation will be conducted through collaboration with various stakeholders," she said. It is important to "enhance moral, civic and national education," including the constitution, the basic law and national security, she said, adding that citizens need a "sense of social responsibility and national identity, as well as an affection for Hong Kong and international perspective." Part of the plan includes reforming the controversial Liberal Studies in public secondary schools, though no details on the reform were given, and having stricter regulation on teachers. A task force of locally and internationally renowned "experts" has been set up to advise the government on the plan, which was announced last year. The Financial Secretary earmarked about HK$450 million in the budget plan last year for the Department of Justice to implement the project. The Democratic Party responded in the afternoon criticising Mrs Lam for overthrowing the liberal studies system, which has been implemented for ten years in Hong Kong, saying that the government will promote "brainwashing national education" in the future. "The Democratic Party calls on all of our teachers and Hong Kongers to stick with our positions, letting our students be able to access comprehensive knowledge from different aspects, building up their ability of thinking critically and independently," Wong Pik-wan, spokesperson of the Democratic Party said at a press conference. "Anti brainwashing is becoming an important point for us in the coming future." In the past few months, the government has jumped into education to assess the professionalism of teachers, the …
Policy Address 20/21: New policy to help Hong Kong aviation industry set to crash, insiders say
- 2020-11-25
- The Young Reporter
- By: Bowie TseEdited by: Han Xu
- 2020-11-25
Hong Kong will invest in the Zhuhai airport to increase cooperation, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in the policy address on Wednesday, though more details on how it will happen have yet to be disclosed. Airline industry employees say this will not help to alleviate the financial problems in the industry. The investment by the Airport Authority, which has been managing the Zhuhai airport since 2006, is part of President Xi Jinping's "dual circulation" scheme to boost the Greater Bay Area competitiveness and economy. "By integrating the mainland aviation network of the Zhuhai Airport with the international network of the Hong Kong International Airport, it would strengthen the competitive edge of the entire GBA in aviation," Mrs. Lam said. Persuasive as it might sound, professionals in the aviation industry said otherwise. "This is putting the cart in front of the horse to ameliorate the pressure on the aviation industry. It may add competitiveness to the Greater Bay Area aviation industry but it certainly doesn't help struggling workers in the aviation sector," said Queenie Tse, the former Hong Kong Airlines Human Resources manager. She added that the collaboration seemed to be a marketing tactic for Zhuhai International Airport instead of helping airline workers who are struggling to make ends meet in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Airport handled around 72 million passengers in 2019 while Zhuhai Airport had only around 10 million passengers in 2018. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the number of passengers travelling by air to and from Hong Kong has plunged dramatically. According to the Hong Kong International Airport statistics, the number of passengers arriving in the city dropped from more than 70 million in 2019 to around 8 million in 2020. Mrs. Lam said she discussed the move with the central government on her …
Policy Address 20/21: HK government to introduce cash allowance for low-income families
- 2020-11-25
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: CarineChowEdited by: AlecLastimosa、Jay Ganglani
- 2020-11-25
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor highlighted new public housing schemes for residents with plans to provide low-income families currently waiting in line for public rental housing with cash allowance over a prolonged period. In the live broadcast, Mrs Lam hopes that the new schemes will "get Hong Kong out of the impasse and restore people's confidence as soon as possible." To meet the demand of about 301,000 public housing units, the government plans to use 330 identified hectares of land required based on the Long Term Housing Strategy Annual Progress Report 2020 to implement 316,000 flats within the next 10 years. Locations involved the Tung Chung reclamation side, the agricultural and brownfields sides in new development areas such as Kwu Tong North, Fanling North. Other suggested areas include nine sites at Kai Tak and Anderson Road Quarry, and parts of Fanling Golf Course will also be used for public housing development. "It is the prime time to create more land for housing," she said. Ms Leung, who has been in line for public rental housing for four years, rated the policy address one out of 10. "She [Carrie Lam] did introduce new public housing, but it seems that the majority would be sold in the market rather than being rented, which would have zero impact on shortening the waiting time for public rental housing," Leung said. Currently, the waiting time for public rental housing averages at 5.6 years, which has increased by 0.1 years compared to June this year. As of September, there are about 156,400 general applications for public rental housing and about 103,600 non-elderly one-person applications. A new cash subsidy will roll out for people waiting for public rental housing. In the trial scheme, applicants with two or more persons, and elderly one-person applicants not living in …
Policy Address 20/21: Property agents welcome but remain skeptical towards commercial property tax abolition
- 2020-11-25
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿、Vikki Cai Chuchu、Yoyo Kwok Chiu TungEdited by: Kawai Wong、談 巧童
- 2020-11-25
The city's leader announced today to abolish tax for commercial properties, real estate agents express positive attitudes towards the policy but some of them cast doubt on its effectiveness due to the uncertain investment environment under COVID-19. In her fourth annual policy address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government will abolish the Double Stamp Duty (DSD) on commercial property to facilitate businesses to cash out by selling non-residential real estate so to stay afloat during the economic downturn. The policy will take effect tomorrow. "As a result of the economic downturn and uncertainities surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, prices and demand for non-residential properties have been dropping over a period of time," said Ms Lam. "The government considers now the right time to abolish the DSD imposed on non-residential properties." Hong Kong saw its Q3 GDP decrease by 3.5% in real term on a year-on-year basis. For the net output in the real estate, professional, and business services sector, it decreased by 5.9% in real terms in 2020 Q2 from a year earlier, following a decline of 4.6% in Q1, according to the Census and Statistics Department. The DSD, formally known as the Doubled Ad Valorem Stamp Duty, was first introduced in February 2013 to deal with the surging prices of commercial properties. The rates range from 4.25% to 8.5% depending on different asset prices. Lau Kin-ling, 59, a real estate agent said the abolishment of commercial property tax is helpful for the market but it is hard to predict the effectiveness. "The policy may not attract a considerable amount of mainland investors since the borders remain closed," said Ms Lau. "The major factor for buyers to purchase a commercial property is field visit so that they can access the actual environment, simply presenting an advertising video would …
Policy Address 20/21: A report not for our citizens": Hong Kong Pro-democrats criticise latest policy address
- 2020-11-25
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yanni ChowEdited by: Hong-shun Wong
- 2020-11-25
James To was in his office putting things away in boxes for removal while watching the live broadcast of policy address on television. On the screen is Carrie Lam, wearing the lapel pin of the Chinese and Hong Kong flag, standing in the chambers of the Legislative Council, giving her speech. The former lawmaker used to be sitting in the chambers, listening to the Chief Executive's annual address alongside many other colleagues from the opposition camp. Now, there are none of them left in the chambers. This is the first policy address ever given in the city's history without any pro-democratic lawmakers. "We used to protest in the chambers when there's [a] policy address, but right now, all the people left in the chambers are the puppets of the [the] Communist party," said Mr To, referring to the pro-Beijing lawmakers, who remained in the chambers. On November 12, the Democratic lawmakers resigned in solidarity with those who are disqualified by the government, with powers from the Beijing authorities, citing a threat to national security. That leaves the highest legislative body in the city with no dissenting voice for the first time. Claudia Mo, another lawmaker who resigned, criticised this year's address to be a report to integrate Hong Kong into the mainland, instead of having the city's best interest at heart. "The goal is to 'disappear' Hong Kong as we know it. I lost count of how many times she said Hong Kong enjoys Beijing's 'central support', like without which we just couldn't survive on," she said as she watched the address online, with no appetite for lunch. Wu Chi-wai, the chairman of the Democracy Party, said that the annual policy blueprint is more like a report from governors of provinces to the Beijing government. "You cannot find a word …
LIVE: Hong Kong Policy Address 2020
- 2020-11-25
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: LI Chak Ho Samuel、Shameel IbrahimEdited by: SamuelMo
- 2020-11-25
Live Coverage of the Hong Kong Policy Address, Nov 25 2020 1:20pm: Carrie Lam said, last year she has faced the toughest challenges in all her 40 years of public service. This concludes the live coverage of Hong Kong Policy Address 2020, the longest policy address on record. Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage on our website and social media platforms. #CarrieLam says she has faced the toughest challenges in all her 40 years of public service, the last year. #PolicyAddress2020 @hkbutyr — Simran Vaswani (@Simran_TYR) November 25, 2020 TYR on social media: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/hkbutyr/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/hkbutyr/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hkbutyr 1:16pm: The Hong Kong government will provide HK$300 million to address the city's growing mental health issues. Mrs. Lam said that the government will spend 300 million dollars to better support and raise public mental health awareness@hkbutyr #PolicyAddress2020 — Janice Lo (@janicelo_cl) November 25, 2020 1:10pm: More than 2000 teenagers have been arrested in the past social movement. In view of this, Carrie Lam said students need to develop a better sense of national belonging and moral development. More than 2000 teenagers were arrested in the past social movement. In view of this, Carrie Lam said students need to have more sense of national belonging and moral development. #policyaddress @hkbutyr — Yetta Lam (@yetta0621) November 25, 2020 1:08pm: Carrie Lam says more languages regarding information from the Hong Kong Observatory will be available for ethnic minorities living in the city. 1:04 pm Carrie Lam says information on the Hong Kong Observatory will include several more languages for readability by ethnic minorities in the city. #PolicyAddress2020 @hkbutyr — Simran Vaswani (@Simran_TYR) November 25, 2020 1:06pm: Carrie Lam is delivering the policy address in the Legislative Council chamber Photo: Eunice Lam 1:02pm: Two museums in the West Kowloon Cultural District — M+ Museum and …
