The Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong - Press review

Switzerland votes same-sex marriage legal by majority
Switzerland is one of the last countries in Western Europe to legalise gay marriage. The amended law will make it possible for same-sex couples to get married, and to adopt children unrelated to them. (SCMP, Sep 27)

Vatican Swiss Guard's new barracks designed to include women
Though female guards are not allowed yet, the new barracks are designed to accommodate women, a Swiss newspaper reported on Sunday. "From the beginning it was important to us that the new building provide space for serving women," the newspaper quoted Jean-Pierre Roth, who heads the foundation overseeing the project, as saying. (SCMP, Sep 13)

Ai Weiwei says Credit Suisse closing foundation's bank account in Switzerland
The Chinese dissident and artist was told to move funds out of his foundation's bank account in Switzerland earlier this year citing his "criminal record" in China, despite the activist never being convicted of a crime. (SCMP, Sep 8)

'HK youths obsessed with western values like freedom'
A Beijing official in HK has accused local young people of being obsessed with Western values like democracy and freedom, when they know nothing about their own country. He further said that many HK youngsters are ignorant of China, both in terms of its current situation and its history. (RTHK, Sep 5)

Ten district councillors unseated over invalid oaths
Ten more district councillors were disqualified on Wednesday after their oaths of allegiance to the SAR were ruled invalid. Those losing their seats include former Democratic Party lawmaker James To and barrister Lawrence Lau, who's been charged with violating the national security law. (RTHK, Sep 29)

Democratic Party: no decision on whether to run in LegCo election:
The party's chairman, Lo Kin-hei, said members decided that it's not necessary to take a vote on the issue as no one from the party has expressed an intention to run in the elections. He said the party would ask members who are interested in joining the polls to notify its central committee. Lo said that he believes his party will continue to exist, even if it decides not to join the Legislative Council elections. (TS, Sep 26)

Leaders of Tiananmen vigil group assets frozen, jailed and group to disband:
Three leaders of Tiananmen vigil group (Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China) accused of subversion appeared in court; vice-chairwoman and four others rejected bail. The five were arrested on Wednesday after refusing to furnish national security officers with details about the group's members, financial reports and activities. The national security police have frozen HK$2.2m (~EUR240,000) worth of assets belonging to the vigil group. The group has passed resolution to disband. (HKFP, HKFP2, SCMP, RTHK, RTHK, SCMP2, Sep 10, 25)

Taiwan independence supporters in Hong Kong warned by Secretary for Security
Anyone celebrating the Taiwan National Day on Oct. 10 in support of the Island's independence could be arrested for secession said Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung. Tang said Taiwan is part of the mainland's territory under the constitution of China, and any person who attempts to separate Taiwan from China, or encourage such behavior, commits a serious crime. (TS, Sep 23)

Journalists Association should reveal foreign donations
Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) should reveal whether it has received any foreign donations, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said. In response, HKJA chairman Ronson Chan said that HKJA has never breached the law and will not disband. Chan said the association did not receive foreign funding and stressed that the HKJA has been transparent by keeping its financial account public. (SCMP, Sep 15)

Google handed user data to HK authorities despite pledge after security law
Google has provided user data to the Hong Kong government in response to three requests made between July and December last year, making it the first US tech giant to disclose its compliance with requests from the local authorities for user data after the national security law was enacted last June. (HKFP, Sep 11)

RTHK debate show City Forum 'to end'
The weekly live debate show, which invites guests to discuss topical issues with an audience asking questions, began airing in 1980. RTHK spokesperson said its programming and staffing arrangements were internal editorial matters and that the station wouldn't comment. The RTHK Programme Staff Union, meanwhile, warned that cancelling the show would "severely affect" RTHK's fulfilment of its mission to provide "an open platform for the free exchange of views without fear or favour", as stated in its charter. (RTHK, SCMP, Sep 5)

Next Digital says all its directors have resigned
Defunct newspaper Apple Daily's parent company Next Digital, founded by jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai, announced on Sunday that all of its directors had resigned. The company explained that it had not been able to pay its newspaper staff or the costs of doing business since then-security Secretary John Lee froze its bank accounts. The company also revealed that, since the arrests and charging of the company's former CEO Cheung Kim-hung and Apple Daily editor-in-chief Ryan Law under the national security law – and subsequent arrests of more executives, editors and writers, it had been hit with many resignations, including from those responsible for its regulatory compliance duties. (RTHK, Sep 5)

Another singer-activist Tommy Yuen forced to call off concert
Tommy Yuen's concert scheduled next Thursday and Friday if forced to call off after the MacPherson stadium told him that it will be closed that by that time. The cancellation of his concert came after that of another singer-activist Denise Ho was also forced to call off her concert after the Hong Kong Arts Centre has informed her that it has cancelled HO's booking citing 'public order' concern. (TS, Sept 4)

Website of M+ museum does not show photos of controversial collections
Certain collections at the M+ museum are not shown with photos on their website including those of Mainland activist Ai WeiWi and artist Cang Xin. Ai's collection is considered as violating the national security law while Cang's works are slammed as inappropriate. (TS, Sept 3)

Baptiste University adds national security course to graduation criteria
Starting this school year, Hong Kong Baptist University freshmen have to pass a national security course in order to graduate. It includes an introduction to the importance of One Country, Two Systems and the constitutional status of Hong Kong under China's constitution and the Basic Law, as well as the importance of the national security law and the rule of law in Hong Kong. (TS, Sep 2)

Police ask Humanitarian Relief Fund to name donors
Police obtained a High Court order to demand hand over of information from the "612 Humanitarian Relief Fund" on suspicion of violating the Beijing-imposed security law and other local legislation. The 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, and the Alliance for True Democracy, which provided its bank account to the fund's trustees for holding donations, have been targeted by officers of the National Security Department. (HKFP, Sep 1)

S&P downplays impact of political overhaul on economy, forecasts recovery
America's largest credit rating agency has affirmed Hong Kong's upper-tier ranking, predicting stability on the back of a sustained economic recovery and the belief that the past year's sweeping political changes will have relatively little impact on the city's fiscal autonomy. (SCMP, Sep 29)

HK$150 million bust is Hong Kong's biggest liquid meth seizure at airport in 2 decades
Hong Kong customs officials have confiscated more than HK$150 million (US$19.3 million) worth of liquid methamphetamine disguised as coconut oil and flown into the city from Mexico – the agency's largest airborne seizure of the drug in two decades. (SCMP, Sep 29)

HK ranks third in Global Financial Centres Index
The city ranked third globally in the Global Financial Centres Index, rising by one place from the March issue of the index this year. However, Hong Kong fell 25 points in the ratings (HKFP, Sep 24)

Transaction record for southbound leg of Bond Connect
So far, 2,733 global institutional investors have been approved to use the northbound Bond Connect to access China's US$17.5 trillion bond market and it's likely to start with investment in offshore yuan- denominated debt as of Sept 24. Over RMB4bn (US$619mio) transaction recorded on first day of southbound trading of the Bond Connect. (SCMP, Sep 15, TS, Sep 24)

Evergrande contagion fears hit Hong Kong stocks, with default expected
Fears of contagion from the potential collapse of battered Chinese real estate giant Evergrande sent property shares and the benchmark index plunging in Hong Kong on Monday, with the firm expected to default on upcoming interest payments this week. (SCMP, Sep 21)

Unemployment rate between June and August drops to 4.7 percent
Hong Kong's latest unemployment rate from June to August decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 4.7 percent, making it the sixth consecutive month of decline. (TS, Sep 16)

Fraser Institute puts HK as world's freest economy, but short lived it warns
The organisation's latest Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) report puts Hong Kong as freest economy but warns that Beijing's heavy hand will drag the city down in future rankings. Local officials were quick to deny this assertion. (SCMP, Sep 15)

Exports will slow down after months of mounting optimism
Fears prevalent among local exporters that Christmas sales will decline by up to 30 per cent, according to Trade Development Council confidence index. To address current market challenges, more than 45 per cent of Hong Kong firms said they were considering adopting an array of business strategies, including developing mainland China trade and building channels for online sales. Over 35 per cent said they were planning to diversify into new overseas markets. (SCMP, Sep 14)

HK banks prepare to launch investment products under cross-border link
HSBC and around 20 banks are also likely to submit application to HKMA to launch investment products under the cross-border Wealth Management Connect which is worth US$45.5bn and could give Hong Kong a leg up in the Greater Bay Area. (SCMP, Sep 10, 13)

GDP target could be met if COVID-19 stays under control
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday he's optimistic that the economic growth can be met according to the government's forecast provided the epidemic remains under control. (RTHK, Sep 12)

China to issue billions in sovereign bonds in Hong Kong
China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) plans to issue sovereign bonds in three batches totalling 20bn yuan (USD3.1bn) in the HKSAR this year. The first tranche of bonds will be issued on 23 Sept. The MOF started selling yuan-denominated treasury bonds in Hong Kong in September 2009 to boost the region's economy and speed up offshore yuan business expansion. (CD, Sep 4)

HK Academy of Medicine hits out at government over proposed new rule
The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine has hit out at the government for not consulting it ahead of further rule relaxations of a hiring scheme aimed at tackling the city's shortage of doctors; it had raised concerns over the government's newest suggestions and would be reviewing the existing system for evaluating specialist doctor qualifications in the public interest. (SCMP, Sep 4)

Govt relaxes rules for non-locals specialist, experts concerned
Doctors have expressed concerns over standards and their autonomy, after the government unveiled plans that would allow non-permanent residents to work as specialists in Hong Kong in order to tackle a shortfall of medical staff in the public sector. (RTHK, Reuters, Sep 1)

Jockey Club hits HK$280bn turnover jackpot
Jockey Club hit record turnover in the financial year 2020-21 ending 30 June, a total of HK$61bn more than the previous financial year, a 30% increase. This results in HK$24.9bn to the government in duty, profits tax and Lotteries Fund contribution, plus HK$4.5bn in approved charity donations, the same as previous financial year. (TS, Sep 1)

HK needs to boost its anti-epidemic measures said Acting Chief Executive
Acting Chief Executive John Lee comments after attending a meeting on epidemic control with the mainland officials in Shenzhen on Monday that Hong Kong needs to boost COVID-19 measures in order to avoid brining the virus to the mainland. He further stressed that reopening the border would benefit the economy and people's livelihoods. According to Lee, no timetable on the border's reopening was discussed. (RTHK, Sep 28)

Gay Games postponed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions
The Hong Kong Gay Games have been postponed until November 2023 in view of the current coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions. (HKFP, Sep 15)

Banned flights, strict quarantine rules make it hard to enter HK for new jobs
City is still attractive to expats but 21-days quarantine has put off those relocating with families. Overseas workers are struggling to get to the city given the constantly changing COVID-19 rules, despite a need for specialists, particularly in the technology sector. The city issued 6,471 visas from January to June under the general employment policy, compared with 7, 717 for the same period last year.
(SCMP, Sep 4)

Casinos see US$18bn loss after China announces tighter restrictions
Macau's top gaming stocks lost a record $18.4 billion in combined market value on Wednesday after officials said they would change casino regulations to tighten restrictions on operators, including appointing government representatives to "supervise" companies in the world's biggest gaming hub. (Bloomberg, Sep 15)

Historic low turnout at Legislative Assembly elections
In the lowest turnout Legislative Assembly election in the Macau SAR history and the absence of most pan-democratic candidates, most votes fell to candidates connected to the traditional community, labour and public sector associations but with some surprising falls and newcomers. (MB, MDT, Sep 13)

Plan for a Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone issued
China's central authorities have issued a general plan for building a Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin. The Zone will focus on four sectors to facilitate the industrial diversifications of Macau from gaming, including technology and high-end manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine, tourism and MICE, and finance. RMB is to remain the main currency in this cooperation zone. (MD, MD2, MD3, Sep 6, 14, 15)

New Election Committee formed
A new Election Committee, which will be tasked with picking the next Chief Executive and a large number of the SAR's new lawmakers was formed on Monday, in the first vote since Beijing revamped Hong Kong's electoral system. Voting started on Sunday and the turnout was nearly 90 percent – with 4,380 eligible voters casting ballots in 13 competitive subsectors. ( RTHK, Sep 20)

One of two opposition-leaning candidate wins seats on Election Committee
Tik Chi-yuen won the Election Committee polls on Sunday. "I know some pro-democracy parties have pretty much given up on these elections, but it does not have to be like this. Opposition voices are still important in Hong Kong," he said at the press outside the polling station. "I still see a chance of us getting elected, and I believe there is space for non-establishment voices in Legco." (SCMP, Sep 20)

HK elections: 4'000 police officers to ensure smooth polls on Sunday
In the first polls to be held under the new electoral system aimed at ensuring only "patriots" can hold political power, kicking off this Sunday, there has been a record number of uncontested seats. Only 364 seats will be decided upon as the remaining ones failed to attract enough candidates or were reserved for ex officio members. The number of registered voters in total has been slashed by 97 per cent, from 246,440 in 2016 to 7,971 this year. Hong Kong police are not taking any chances and plan to deploy at least 4,000 officers to ensure smooth and peaceful polls for the powerful Election Committee on Sunday. All eyes on the only two opposition candidates, new polling station technology and which of the state leaders will take top roles. Prior to the election, Beijing has sent a clear message to hundreds of tycoons and ultra-loyalists who were taking their seats without contest to take to the streets and connect with the public. (SCMP, Sep 14, 17, 18)

This is a review of the Hong Kong media and does not necessarly represent the opinion of the Consulate General of Switzerland. The Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong does not bear any responsibility for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided, including any kind of information which might be incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected.

30.9.2021