Politics (government &LegCo)
Raymond Tam dismisses HK2020 proposal.
– Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam said the proposal given by HK2020 to include ‘recommended’ candidates is “raccoon for a prince” and is not worth considering as it is not consistent with the ‘8.31 decision’
– Tam also dismissed the Liberal Party’s proposal to reduce the committee seats for agricultural and fisheries sector from 60 to 20, stating that any decisions must take the interests (in Chinese) of all sectors into consideration
Matthew Cheung to promote and support female employment.
– Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung wrote on his blog to pay tribute to every woman in Hong Kong on the International Women’s Day
– Cheung quoted that the female employment rate was 51% in the last quarter of 2014, stating that there is still room from progress in the figure as compared to 69% for male employment
– Cheung also said the authorities will strengthen supports in childcare services and employment trainings for women in need
Politics (general)
The next battlefield – public opinion.
– NPC Hong Kong delegate, honorary president of the HKFTU Cheng Yiu-tong urged Pan-dems to follow public opinion and support to political reform
– However, when asked whether the Government should hold a public poll on the subject, Cheng trashed the idea as both pointless (in Chinese) and infeasible
– CS Carrie Lam also hoped that “a strong public voice can persuade the pan-democrats to change their mind and support it (the reform)”
– Civic Party Ronny Tong dismissed such line of thinking, arguing that lawmakers from both sides should have the political wisdom (video – in Cantonese) to search for compromise
– Senior veteran journalist and editor Chris Yeung wrote for HT on the Government using public opinion to pressure Pan-dems
CY Leung called for young people’s support to counter radicalism.
– CE CY Leung attended the Youth Summit 2015, touching upon topics (in Chinese) such as the political reform, housing and the Individual Visiting Scheme
– Leung also urged the ‘majority’ young people to stand up against increasing radicalism
– HKFS and several university representatives gathered outside the venue, protesting against the CE’s alleged intervention into university affairs by appointing people from his bloc to seat at their directors’ boards – Andrew Liao at UST as the latest case
– Also attending the Summit were Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung and Secretary for Education Eddie Ng
China and World
Beijing hints at multiple entry permit scheme adjustment.
– Vice Chairman of the National Tourism Administration Du Yili said tourism between the Mainland and Hong Kong has reach a bottleneck, and that the authorities are working to refine related measures without affecting the overall open policy
– Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng also said the multiple entry visa scheme will be adjusted, but no further details were given
– Gao meanwhile admitted that excessive tourists and their spending habits have created problems which should be tackled
Dongjiang water supply cannot be measured in terms of money, says Zhang Xiaoming.
– Director of the Liason Office Zhang Xiaoming, when meeting with Hong Kong delegates in Beijing, said the Mainland is the driving force for Hong Kong’s economic growth, and that the latter can benefit from China’s world leading e-business and logistic industry
– Zhang meanwhile claimed that the Dongjiang (river) water supply has been a symbol of “blood is thicker than water” between the Mainland and Hong Kong as the former has dedicated a lot of resources to ensure that the city can enjoy an endless supply of clean (in Chinese) water
