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Voice of Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s English-language opinion page. Free and independent, quality and diversity. We are Hong Kong-based.

Formerly known as Express Hong Kong, ex.hk, Voice of Hong Kong is a free, independent English website. We position as Hong Kong’s Opinion Page. “One Hong Kong, many voices” is our motto. Our mission is to provide readers thought-provoking and insightful views and quality commentary on issues in the city, Taiwan, mainland China and other global issues of interest that they need to know – and why. O

ur founder editor is Chris Yeung, a veteran journalist who had worked with the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Economic Journal. He is also one of the founders and chief writer of CitizenNews.

13/08/2025

Haunted by a new wave of brain drain triggered by the enactment of a national security law in 2020, Chief Executive John Lee has launched a signature drive to trawl for talents featuring a top talent pass scheme kicked off in late 2022.

With the scheduled renewal of the tailor-made visas nearing, the talent trawling scheme hit headlines last week when it emerged as the subject of fresh questions from one of Lee’s predecessors – Leung Chun-ying.

Full article:

https://www.vohk.hk/2025/08/13/leung-raises-more-questions-over-talent-scheme/

07/08/2025

A decades-old advocacy group aimed to protect Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour has decided to disband, citing a change in the law that relaxed rules on harbour reclamation.

But against the backdrop of a high-profile offensive against “soft resistance”, the disbandment of the Society for Protection of the Harbour is yet another case indicating the decline of the city’s non-governmental bodies in the post-NSL era.

Full article:
https://www.vohk.hk/2025/08/07/harbour-protection-group-disbands-amid-sea-changes-in-hk-politics/

31/07/2025

Billed as a revamp aimed to “perfect” the election system for the Legislative Council in the wake of the 2019 political unrest in Hong Kong, the Beijing-engineered exercise has turned out to be an embarrassment to the authorities and the city’s patriotic camp.

Opinion polls show public dissatisfaction rating of the “all-patriots” legislature formed after the 2021 election stood high. Many residents can’t tell the names of most lawmakers; and they don’t bother to know. Worse, they feel perplexed about what the lawmakers were doing.

Starting this year, it has become apparent that Beijing’s tolerance wore thin. Chilly wind began to blow across the pro-Beijing early this year with rumours of Beijing’s gameplan of kicking out one-third of the incumbent lawmakers causing panic among the patriots.

It is against the backdrop of the lackluster “all-patriots” legislature that the 89 lawmakers (one seat was left vacant after the member quit to join the government) have unanimously approved a new code of conduct at a meeting last week.

Full article:

https://www.vohk.hk/2025/07/31/legco-new-rules-a-milestone-mired-in-doubt/

24/07/2025

Founded in 1990, the annual Hong Kong Book Fair organised by the semi-official Hong Kong Trade Development Council is more than a showcase of the city’s publication industry. The mega-event that has drawn close to one million visitors each year has told the story of Hong Kong as a culturally vibrant, politically pluralistic and socially diverse and accommodating city. Those days are gone.

Once a book fair that saw such political cartoon books ridiculing the first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa as an “old, stupid” old man – and beleaguered leader – selling like hotcakes, political diversity and inclusiveness have faded with the annual event marking its 35th anniversary this year.

Full article:
https://www.vohk.hk/2025/07/24/political-diversity-missing-and-missed-in-hk-book-fair/

16/07/2025

Chief Executive John Lee said the Government has heard different voices as he pledged to “take all things into consideration” for future extreme weather preparations after parents criticised last week’s decision to suspend day schools over concerns about a rainstorm that subsided quicker than expected. Still, he threw his weight behind Eric Chan Kwok-ki, the city’s No 2 official, saying his decision to suspend schools was “absolutely correct”.
Last Thursday, the committee decided to suspend all day schools for the following day as some forecasts warned the city faced its “fifth-largest daily rainfall” on record amid the impact of storm Danas.
Full article:
https://www.vohk.hk/wp-admin/post.php?post=2835&action=edit

09/07/2025

Signs of constitutional chaos are surfacing in Hong Kong after a majority of lawmakers have expressed opposition to a government proposal aimed to comply with a top court ruling by recognising a limited set of rights for same-sex married couples.

The John Lee administration has only themselves to blame. Their failure to attempt to consult the lawmakers on their proposal before putting it forward in a paper has added fuel to the fire. Worse, it makes a mockery of their repeated vows to foster closer ties with the legislature.

Full article:

https://www.vohk.hk/2025/07/09/constitutional-chaos-over-plan-on-same-sex-couples-right-surfacing/

02/07/2025

Sitting in front of a banner that read, “I would rather be ashes than dust,” a quote attributed to American novelist Jack London, the League of Social Democrats announced their immediate disbandment on June 29, citing immense political pressure without further elaboration.
Chairwoman Chan Po-ying, wife of “Long hair” Leung Kwok-hung, said at a press conference: “Moving forward is not at all easy. I hope everyone can become like an ember, a flying spark — still carrying light, keeping that light alive, no matter how small it may be.”
Full article:
https://www.vohk.hk/2025/07/01/league-of-social-democrats-loses-survival-battle/

25/06/2025

China’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs Xia Baolong has called for the speeding up of Hong Kong’s move “from stability to prosperity” in a speech at a symposium in the city on Saturday (21/6) marking the imminent fifth anniversary of its landmark national security law.

“Hong Kong has entered a new stage of development; it is at a critical phase of a new leap. Government and all sectors must better coordinate development and security,” said Xia, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

The twin tasks of doubling efforts to revitalise the economy and safeguarding national security with no laxity have featured prominently in Xia’s five-day inspection and study tour to the city that ended on Sunday.

Full article:

https://www.vohk.hk/2025/06/25/hong-kong-is-still-hong-kong-says-xia/

19/06/2025

In yet another attempt to boost governance, Chief Executive John Lee has revealed the Government plans to establish a “senior-ranking government officials’ responsibility system”.
It is too early to tell how the new responsibility-taking mechanism for senior-ranking civil servants works.
Many of the residents at the Queen’s Hill Estate in Fanling, who had lived in jitters over black particles in tap water for almost a week, feel perplexed about what government culture John Lee was talking about.
Nor do they care about what the new mechanism will be. To them, results speak louder than slogans and gimmicks.

Full article:
https://www.vohk.hk/2025/06/19/lee-takes-new-move-to-boost-governance-again/

12/06/2025

Hopes, if any, that the sudden removal of China’s top representative in Hong Kong, who has been seen as a hardliner, on May 30 may herald a move towards focusing on economic issues have been dimmed – in less than one week.

The past week saw no signs that could give a ray of hope that the appointment of Zhou Ji to replace Zheng Yanxiong as Director of the Central Government’s Liaison Office may mark a shift of emphasis from national security to economic development.

The opposite is true. Events unfolded since the change of helm of the Liaison Office show no indication of a softer approach in maintaining public order and eliminating any threats to national security, be they were perceived or real.

Full article:

https://www.vohk.hk/2025/06/12/culture-of-upholding-national-security-in-the-making/

04/06/2025

The surprise removal of Beijing's top representative in HK has been a subject of much guessing work on what it means. What seems to be certain is that it looks unlikely Zhou Ji, the new Liaison Office Director, will take a softer line on security-related policies and issues as long as Xia Baolong, HKMAO head, is still in tight grip of Hong Kong policy.
Zhou’s experience in navigating politics and dealing with the dynamics at the provincial level may be seen as instrumental in speeding up cross-border integration and the overall development of Hong Kong.

Full article:
https://www.vohk.hk/2025/06/04/beijing-names-new-envoy-in-hk-amid-changes/

28/05/2025

Make no mistake. Journalists are not more equal than others. Like other income-earners, they are required to pay tax. They are not exempted from a tax review. The tax authorities are given the power and the duty of collecting tax that should be paid in accordance with the law.

But the power of conducting a review must be exercised without bias of various kinds – but with good reasons and fact-based evidence. Any case with dubious background will fuel speculation about whether there are other non-taxation motives behind it, inflicting damage on the credibility and image of the tax authorities.

Full article:

https://www.vohk.hk/2025/05/28/tax-review-of-journalists-questionable/

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