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South China Morning Post
03-08-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Should Hong Kong's baby bonus scheme include talent to boost birth rate?
Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of potentially extending a baby bonus scheme to talent admitted to Hong Kong to boost the birth rate, despite some professionals complaining about being left out. Advertisement Experts and lawmakers said that other incentives and measures were needed to encourage childbearing and boost the birth rate. Last month, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the Newborn Baby Bonus Scheme was under review, with authorities to consider suggestions, including whether to extend it to cover families arriving in the city under various talent programmes. The one-off cash allowance of HK$20,000 (US$2,550) had been distributed to 48,984 applicants as of the end of June, with HK$979 million handed out in total. The scheme was unveiled in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's 2023 policy address and currently requires the child to be born in Hong Kong between October 25, 2023, and October 24, 2026, to receive the handout. At least one parent must be a permanent resident at the time of application. Official statistics showed that the number of births in Hong Kong plunged from 37,000 in 2021 to 32,500 in 2022, before bouncing back to 33,200 in 2023 and 36,700 last year.
South China Morning Post
02-08-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
National Games co-host Hong Kong plots glory as it starts 100-day countdown
After the Hong Kong Football Festival finished on Thursday, the city's attention has turned the major role it will play in staging the 2025 National Games. Saturday marked 100 days until the multi-sports bonanza starts on November 9, with eight competition events being hosted in Hong Kong. Yeung Tak-keung, head of the city's National Games Coordination Office, has acknowledged that potential success on home soil was a factor determining which sports would come to the city. 'One of the considerations is the competitiveness of our athletes,' Yeung said. He identified fencing, rugby sevens, golf and track cycling as likely sources for Hong Kong medals. The city's triathletes, men's handball players, and representatives in beach volleyball and under-22 men's basketball will get a shot at glory in front of hometown support, too. Ryan Choi celebrates winning World Fencing Championships gold. Photo: AFP Announcing last year which sports would come to the city, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said: 'The [Hong Kong] government will adhere to the principle of 'simple, safe and wonderful' in organising the Games, making full use of existing venues.' Government estimates forecast 150,000 visitors for the Games would spend at least HK$600 million.
South China Morning Post
22-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
CY Leung warns against DAB scheme to sell Hong Kong property to mainlanders
Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has voiced reservations about a proposal by the city's largest political party to set up a scheme allowing mainland Chinese to buy local property through direct remittance, saying it is not in the best interests of residents. Advertisement Leung, now a vice-chairman of the country's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said on Tuesday that the local government should always prioritise Hongkongers' needs first rather than seek to boost the property market. The proposal was put forward by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), which suggested setting up a closed-loop capital pool that allowed migrants who entered through talent admission schemes to transfer money from the mainland to buy Hong Kong properties. Under mainland rules, individuals can transfer a maximum of US$50,000 a year, carry 20,000 yuan (US$2,810) in cash each time they cross the border and withdraw up to 100,000 yuan a year from mainland accounts in Hong Kong. The party, which submitted the proposal to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu for his next policy address, argued that such a measure would help retain mainland talent in Hong Kong. Advertisement But Leung on Tuesday cautioned against such a proposal, arguing the government should put Hongkongers' interests first.
