After 61 years, Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister, has come home. The return signifies a closure of sorts for those who survived under the horrors of Belgian rule – and a moral reckoning for the European nation still coming to terms with its colonial past. The moment … Read more
Incoming leader John Lee has unveiled the full membership of the Executive Council, a top-tier team of government officials that will advise the administration for the next five years. The Executive Council consists of 21 Principal Officials, who were announced last Sunday, as well as 16 non-official members confirmed on Wednesday. Central Government Offices. Photo: … Read more
The inauguration of the chief executive’s new fleet of apparatchiks provided the occasion, as such events usually do, for some exceptionally depressing official photography. Here is John Lee’s new team, in the smaller version. Chief Executive-elect John Lee and 21 designated politically accountable principal officials. Photo: GovHK. Several things stand out immediately. Firstly, the exalted … Read more
Incoming leader John Lee has unveiled his cabinet ahead of his July 1 inauguration. The ex-police officer appointed seven new top officials from outside the government, including four pro-Beijing lawmakers. The security law head was picked as Lee’s no.2, whilst a “Covid zero” advocate was chosen as the health chief. Four officials are under US … Read more
A health official has said that Covid-19 is spreading across the city, as Hong Kong records a second consecutive day of some 800-odd new infections. However, no related deaths were reported. “We do not rule out further increases [in coronavirus cases], ”The Center for Health Protection’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said at a daily Covid-19 press briefing … Read more
The once vibrant Asian business hub is mired in its third year of pandemic isolation as it hews to China’s zero-Covid strategy, which seeks to control outbreaks with lockdowns, social distancing and border controls. Chief Executive Carrie Lam meets the press on May 31, 2022. Photo: Lea Mok / HKFP. Hong Kong last month reopened … Read more
President Xi Jinping said China must stick “unswervingly” to its zero-covid strategy, as more than half of Shanghai’s 25 million lockdown-weary residents gird Friday for a weekend virus testing drive. Xi Jinping. File photo: RwandanGov. via Flickr. China is the last major economy still pursuing a policy of stamping out all outbreaks, wielding snap lockdowns, … Read more
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said she is “not ashamed” of the record she leaves behind as her five-year term in office, marked by months of major street protests and subsequent crackdowns, draws to a close. Chief Executive Carrie Lam attending a Legislative Council Q&A session on June 9, 2022. Photo: Lea Mok / HKFP. … Read more
Chief executive-elect John Lee has said his 35 years of service in the city police force has allowed him to understand four points about governance. He was writing in the state-backed Wen Wei Po newspaper on Monday. The chief executive-elect John Lee’s article is published on state-backed newspaper Wenweipo on Monday. Photo: Lea Mok / … Read more
Hong Kong’s Democratic Party has urged Chief Executive-elect John Lee to rebuild relationships with the public, and in particular young people, by revoking the charges and sentences against those involved in the 2019 protests and unrest. The Democratic Party. File photo: Candice Chau / HKFP. The 28-year-old pro-democracy group, which sent its suggestions to Lee’s … Read more