From lifting property cooling measures to banning single-use plastics, a number of policies and laws were introduced in Hong Kong in 2024.
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The Post takes a look at nine significant changes this year.
Vehicle registry
Authorities announced in January that journalists would need permission from the city’s transport commissioner to access the personal information of vehicle owners, saying applications might be rejected on national security grounds or if a case was not in the public interest.
Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee Chung-yan said she would personally review any applications from media outlets to access the government’s vehicle registry to determine whether the “benefits to public interest outweighed the owner’s rights to privacy”.
In June 2023, the Court of Final Appeal ruled in favour of freelance producer Bao Choy Yuk-ling and said that journalistic work was a valid reason for accessing official records, with the data used for a documentary critical of police action during the 2019 anti-government protests.
Property cooling measures
In his February budget blueprint, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced the scrapping of all property cooling measures, hoping to revive Hong Kong’s property market.
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