🌊 HK to co-host 2025 National Games
🌊 HK to co-host 2025 National Games
Hong Kong to co-host China’s 2025 National Games, Bond Connect Southbound Trading to be launched next week, HKJA publicly responds to Secretary for Security, and more...
Good morning
Honestly, I didn’t even know the National Games existed until today.
~ Sze Yu
Hong Kong set to co-host China’s 2025 National Games
Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau were named last month as co-hosts of the 15th National Games of China. Officials from the three governments are planning to meet later this month to discuss arrangements.
“The next National Games is an important task for Hong Kong. It is our first time that we have undertaken such a large-scale project, so we need to look back at the experiences of other countries and see what type of programmes are suitable for Hong Kong,“
— Yeung Tak-keung, Hong Kong commissioner for sports
Xi Jinping attended the 2021 National Games opening ceremony yesterday in Xian. The Games will be a test of China’s COVID-19 regulations — central government officials hope that hosting a major sporting event with thousands of spectators will prove China’s effective handling of the pandemic.
COVID news
Coronavirus in Hong Kong
New cases: 7 (6 imported, 1 unknown source)
Total cases: 12,150 cases so far (79 active cases, 213 total deaths, 11,858 total recovered)
Hong Kong medical experts recommend adolescents only receive one dose of BioNTech vaccine
Experts cited data that showed young people to be at risk of temporary inflammation around the heart following vaccination. “We recommend to the government that adolescents aged 12 to 17 now should only receive one dose of BioNTech vaccine and would not need two doses,” said Professor Lau Yu-lung.
Events & Exhibitions
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Southbound Trading under Bond Connect to be launched soon
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the People's Bank of China have jointly announced that Southbound Trading under Bond Connect will be launched on September 24. This will allow mainland investors to trade offshore debt through Hong Kong markets.
“The launch of Southbound Trading marks another milestone of mutual access between Hong Kong and Mainland capital markets…I am confident that Southbound Trading will deepen the two-way opening up of the Mainland financial markets and promote the vibrant development of the Hong Kong bond market, thereby consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre.”
— Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA
The Bond Connect scheme was launched to allow investors from Mainland China and overseas to trade in each other's bond markets through a market infrastructure linkage in Hong Kong. Northbound Trading under Bond Connect commenced in 2017.
Hong Kong Journalist Association continues war of words with Secretary for Security
The HKJA has publicly fired back at Security Chief Chris Tang, saying divulging its member rolls would violate the city’s privacy laws. Tang had challenged the journalist group to disclose its financial records and membership list to alleviate “public concerns” about its ethics.
Tang also accused the group of “infiltrating” local schools to allegedly lure student journalists.
“My understanding is that journalists need to be trained and accredited professionally, and have certain professional beliefs, values and ethics … If a student can be a student journalist, then how professional are the journalists under the association?“
— Chris Tang, Hong Kong Secretary for Security
Other updates
The Hong Kong 2022 Gay Games have been postponed to November 2023 due to Hong Kong’s strict travel regulations. "We felt that delaying the Games until November 2023 will enhance the likelihood of delivering on our promise to have the Hong Kong Games serve as a beacon of hope for the wider community across the region," said Denise Philipse, co-chair of Gay Games Hong Kong.
Top Hong Kong democrats sentenced for attending banned Tiananmen Square vigil last year. A total of 24 people have been charged over the vigil, which was banned by the police last year citing Covid-19 health concerns.
7 pro-democracy district councillors have been disqualified over failure to meet oath-taking requirements. The deadline for them to submit information for authorities to determine their ‘oath validity’ had expired two days ago. Wan Chai district councilor Leung Pak-Kin said “You have all seen how the government added new requirements to the law and disqualified councillors at will … I am really tired of these ridiculous [developments], but compared with many people, I am already very fortunate.“
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