logo
Hong Kong ride-hailing rules must ensure safety, fair competition with taxis: John Lee

Hong Kong ride-hailing rules must ensure safety, fair competition with taxis: John Lee

A long-awaited regulatory proposal on online ride-hailing services set to be unveiled on Tuesday must establish standards and responsibilities for such platforms while offering room for taxi drivers' survival, Hong Kong's leader has said.
Advertisement
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said that, despite the complexity of the issue, the city should no longer delay addressing it.
'There has been a lack of a regulatory framework since the first online ride-hailing service platform entered the Hong Kong market in 2014, while the quality of taxi services also fails to meet residents' expectations,' Lee said.
He added that a lot of issues, from passenger protection and quality of drivers to how cabbies and ride-hailing operators could coexist, had emerged over the years but had yet to be sorted out.
'I agree that the issue is complicated, but the problem should no longer be dragged on and that the government should come up with solutions,' he said.
John Lee has said the proposal must ensure quality and safety of such services, while safeguarding the livelihoods of taxi drivers. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Lee said the Transport and Logistics Bureau would submit the relevant paper to the legislature on Tuesday afternoon.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Police slap HK$200,000 bounties on 15 members of subversive ‘Hong Kong Parliament'
Police slap HK$200,000 bounties on 15 members of subversive ‘Hong Kong Parliament'

South China Morning Post

time5 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

Police slap HK$200,000 bounties on 15 members of subversive ‘Hong Kong Parliament'

The city's national security police have placed a new round of bounties on 15 overseas activists wanted for their involvement in a group called 'Hong Kong Parliament', which the force has deemed subversive and has accused it of violating the Beijing-imposed security law. The HK$200,000 (US$25,640) reward offered for each fugitive was supported by the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, which said the group's actions, including holding an unlawful election 'posed a serious threat to national sovereignty, security and developmental interests of the country'. The activists included members of a Taiwan-based outfit that advocates Hong Kong independence. New arrest warrants were announced on Friday for Chan Lai-chun, Feng Chongyi, Sasha Gong, Ng Man-yan and Tsang Wai-fan, who were accused of establishing a so-called parliament-in-exile in 2022 That year, the group, mainly founded and run by self-exiled activists, formed an 'electoral committee' in Canada to hold elections that it said 'represents, solidifies and revives Hong Kong people's rights of self-determination'. The vote planned in 2022 was postponed to May this year. The group said 15,702 votes were cast to elect 15 members from 18 candidates for its first 'parliament' and a 'virtual swearing-in ceremony' was held on July 14. But five winners refused to be sworn in or announced their departure from the group after winning. Another 10 people were accused by Hong Kong national security police of taking part in the election and swearing in as so-called parliament members – Chin Po-fun, Ha Hoi-chun, Hau Chung-yu, Ho Wing-yau, Alan Keung Ka-wai, Tony Lam, Agnes Ng, Wong Chun-wah, Wong Sau-wo, and Zhang Xinyan.

China promised the Philippines billions in development aid. Why did it fall so short?
China promised the Philippines billions in development aid. Why did it fall so short?

South China Morning Post

time7 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

China promised the Philippines billions in development aid. Why did it fall so short?

China pledged US$30.5 billion in development aid to the Philippines between 2015 and 2023 – the most for any Southeast Asian country – but only a sliver of that funding ever arrived, according to new data from an Australian think tank report. Advertisement Of the total pledged, just US$700 million was actually disbursed – a shortfall analysts attribute to derailed infrastructure projects, changing political winds in Manila and rising tensions with Beijing. These factors have not only stalled flagship ventures under the Belt and Road Initiative but also cast doubt on the long-term viability of Chinese development finance in the region. The report by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, released on Sunday, found that while the Philippines received the highest total commitment from China among Southeast Asian nations, it ranked near the bottom in actual disbursements. Indonesia, by contrast, received and spent US$20.3 billion out of the US$20.7 billion Beijing had pledged, mostly on energy and transport projects. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2017. Duterte pursued closer ties with Beijing through a wave of high-profile infrastructure agreements. Photo: AP The bulk of China's pledged financing to the Philippines was made during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte , who held office from 2016 to 2022 and pursued closer ties with Beijing through a wave of high-profile infrastructure agreements.

Trump's copper tariffs fail to stop US metal being shipped to China
Trump's copper tariffs fail to stop US metal being shipped to China

South China Morning Post

time7 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

Trump's copper tariffs fail to stop US metal being shipped to China

Aaron Forkash, a scrap metal dealer based in California, plans to continue exporting copper to Asia even after US President Donald Trump's new 50 per cent tariff on the metal comes into force on August 1. The Trump administration has said the import duty will help revive the US copper industry by making it more profitable to produce the metal at home. But the truth is that it is actually cheaper and easier for American scrap dealers to ship copper to China and other Asian economies than to another part of the United States – and that is unlikely to change after the tariff kicks in, dealers said. 'I don't know how tariffs are going to work,' Forkash said. 'All I can do is compare (prices) on a day-to-day basis.' Many other American scrap dealers are also expected to continue exporting to copper-hungry China , analysts said, as the tariffs are unlikely to resolve fundamental issues in the US metals industry such as a lack of processing capacity.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store