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South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Fight for Hong Kong's university spots to heat up as 150,000 more teens eligible
Competition for university places is set to intensify in Hong Kong as more than 150,000 children born in the city to mainland Chinese parents will be eligible to apply for subsidised tertiary education in the next five years. Advertisement Former leader Leung Chun-ying , who banned mainland women from giving birth in Hong Kong starting in 2013, said on Monday that he had 'no solution' to potential problems, as the children were entitled to subsidised university places. But the 'predicament' served as a reminder over the current talent admission policies, which bore similar 'unplanned consequences', he said. Hong Kong experienced a 'baby boom' from 2006 to 2012, helped partly by children who were born to mainland parents in the city after a landmark court ruling in 2001 declared that newborns should be given the right of abode regardless of their parents' immigration status. Most of the children went to the mainland for their foundation education. According to the government, 150,139 children born from 2008 to 2012 to parents who were not Hong Kong residents were eligible to apply for subsidised university places after sitting the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams in the next five years. After the government banned mainland women from giving birth in the city in 2013, the number of newborns dropped drastically to 790.
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Record high 74% of Hong Kong pupils assigned to first choice secondary school
A record high of 74 per cent of Primary Six pupils in Hong Kong were assigned to their preferred secondary school in the central allocation system, with the sector attributing the 12 percentage point increase to the shrinking pupil numbers. Advertisement This year marks the highest successful allocation rate since the revamped system was implemented in 2007. It coincides with a notable decline in the number of pupils taking part in the secondary school places allocation system, which has reached an eight-year low of 48,011. The figure, announced by the Education Bureau on Monday, represents a decrease of 3,382 pupils, or 6.6 per cent, compared to last year – the largest drop recorded in 12 years. The majority of the pupils taking part in the system this year were born in 2013, a year that saw a drastic nearly 40 per cent reduction in births following the former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's imposition of a ban on pregnant Chinese women without a husband from Hong Kong giving birth in the city's hospitals. The proportion of pupils who secured their first choice was a sharp increase from 62 per cent last year, while those who were allocated their top three choices reached 91 per cent, also a record high since 2007. Advertisement There are two stages in the allocation of public secondary schools for pupils in Hong Kong. Those in the first stage are granted school places based on discretionary factors, such as academic and interview performance. They can apply directly to one or two schools, with the results released in March.
South China Morning Post
05-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
CY Leung renews call for Hong Kong landlords to cut rents amid rising vacancies
Hong Kong's former leader Leung Chun-ying has challenged landlords to 'adjust their mentality' over rental yields as he renewed his call for price cuts to stem a 40-year high vacancy rate for commercial properties from rising further amid a slackening economy. Leung, now a top political adviser to the country, also warned that landlords would be harmed in the end if they refused to budge on lowering rents. 'It is sheer self-delusion if landlords think they can get the rent level they want by leaving the premises vacant and waiting [instead of cutting the rents],' Leung said on Saturday. Leung, now a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, weighed in on the debate over Hong Kong's commercial rents last week after the latest government report showed that, by the end of 2024, the total vacant floor area of private commercial buildings reached 1.4 million square metres. The empty space represented a vacancy rate of 11.8 per cent – a record high over the past 40 years. The slackening economy has also resulted in a string of high-profile shutdowns of established restaurants in recent months, with some citing high rents as a reason. 'The overall economic environment is like that now. Perhaps it is partly because people are going north to spend, or people are getting used to buying takeaway, or shopping online,' Leung said.
South China Morning Post
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong should keep southbound travel plan's 100-car quota flexible: CY Leung
Hong Kong should consider relaxing a proposed 100-vehicle quota for a scheme set to allow Guangdong motorists to drive to the city, former leader Leung Chun-ying has said, suggesting the limit could be adjusted for weekdays and holidays. Advertisement Leung, who now serves as a vice-chairman of the nation's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, raised the suggestion on Saturday. Earlier this week, transport officials said drivers could start applying for the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme from November, with 100 motorists set to be allowed to cross into the city via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge each day. Leung said the policy was a small progressive step towards a larger breakthrough, adding that the government could relax the quota if no accidents or traffic problems arose in the weeks after the scheme's launch. The cap could also be applied flexibly for weekdays and various holidays, he said. Advertisement 'For example, we have Christmas holidays, but mainland China doesn't. The mainland has many Golden Week holidays that we don't,' he told a television programme.
South China Morning Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
As more Hong Kong restaurants close, landlords must cut rents
Vicious cycles are difficult to break. As Hong Kong scrambles to identify and chip away at factors behind a wave of closures in catering and food production, lowering commercial rents may be a logical next step. A recent high-profile victim of the spiral was City'super's Amazing Food Hall in the upscale Times Square shopping centre and office complex where the company opened its first flagship store in December 1996. Advertisement The pricey yet popular venue was the company's final food court before it closed on June 30. City'super cited changing consumer patterns as a reason for the closure. Struggling retailers have been told to reinvent their offerings so they can better compete, but it is increasingly clear that alone will not be enough. Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying is among those urging landlords to lower rents. He noted that the city's commercial property vacancy rate was at a 40-year high of 11.8 per cent at the end of 2024 and many building owners have loans tied to the valuation of their properties. But Leung said rather than let space sit vacant, landlords must 'face the reality' and procrastination would 'only make businesses dry up'. Advertisement The Hong Kong Retail Management Association said landlords were generally willing to discuss lease renewals, but retailers find most offers insufficient. The Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades said some landlords had reduced rents, but operators still face much higher costs than their mainland counterparts.
