By Hong Kong Free Press
Copyright hongkongfp
Welcome back to HKFP Monitor. This week, we look into the strange disappearance of the Hong Kong government’s Night Vibes website and what happened to this marquee policy for reviving local tourism, retail and catering.
We also delve into the 2025 Policy Address, released on Wednesday. We’ll examine the numerous mentions of “hubs,” public reactions to the pet-friendly restaurant licensing plan, and a pro-establishment media outlet’s survey on the policy blueprint that offers participants a chance to win buffets at the Ritz.
| WHERE ART THOU NIGHT VIBES?
Launched in September 2023, the government’s Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign was once billed as the marquee push to revive tourism and domestic spending post-Covid. Performances, cultural events, markets and tours were promised, offering “festive and vibrant” experiences along the harbourfront and beyond.
By January 2024, it had expanded into Day x Night Vibes @ 18 Districts. As of the first quarter this year, more than 60 events had been held, officials said. But earlier this month, when a pro-establishment party urged Hong Kong to boost its “night-time economy,” reporters noticed that the campaign’s dedicated website had quietly vanished.
Questions remain over its cost and impact. In April, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak said the activities “created a buoyant mood” and feedback was “predominantly positive.” But she could only cite attendance figures for a handful of bazaars, and said no full expenditure breakdown was available because district offices ran events using “existing resources.”
Investigations by The Collective later found that at least 42 of the 69 events listed were funded under the Home Affairs Department’s Community Involvement Programme, costing nearly HK$28 million. Turnout varied wildly – from large crowds to just 1,624 people at a lantern festival in Sha Tau Kok, which received HK$575,000 in funding.
Meanwhile, the bigger picture seems unchanged: streets in once-bustling districts like Mong Kok are eerily quiet at night, while shop vacancies continue to climb.
| A HUB OF HUBS?
Since taking office in 2022, Chief Executive John Lee has leaned heavily on the idea of positioning Hong Kong as an “international hub.”
Past leaders focused on finance, aviation, tech, logistics, legal services, and exhibitions. But Lee has gone bigger – and broader. His Policy Addresses have mentioned “hub” with increasing frequency: 10 times in his first, 25 in 2023, 26 last year, and a record 30 this year.
Some hubs are familiar – “talent hub,” “offshore RMB business hub,” “international education hub.” Others are fresher: “premium arts trading hub,” “yacht hub,” “international culinary hub,” even “global hub for AI development.”
The rhetoric ties back to Beijing’s 14th Five-Year Plan, which in 2021 set out eight international “centres or hubs” for Hong Kong, from finance to cultural exchange. Lee’s predecessor and former boss, Carrie Lam, echoed that blueprint in her final address.
By contrast, in 2019 – at the height of mass protests triggered by the extradition bill – Lam didn’t use the word “hub” once.
Lee’s latest Policy Address rolled out a long list of new “hubs,” but not all came with concrete goals. According to a supplementary document outlining timelines and targets, only four areas – aviation, premium arts trading, education, as well as innovation and technology – were tied to specific key performance indicators (KPIs) or deadlines. The rest remain more vision than roadmap.
A list of hubs mentioned in the 2025 Policy Address:
Premiere international hub
International aviation hub
The world’s top cargo hub
The Greater Bay Area’s transit hub
International legal hub
International education hub
International hub for post-secondary education and high-calibre talents
Premium arts trading hub
Global hub for AI development
Bond market hub
Largest offshore RMB business hub
Regional gold reserve hub
International logistics hub
Asia-Pacific hub for innovative low-altitude applications
Major hub for low-altitude applications
Fashion design hub
Yacht hub in Asia
International culinary hub
| LOCAL MEDIA MONITOR
Opinion survey with prizes to win: Pro-establishment newspaper Sing Tao has invited the public to rate the 2025 Policy Address – with a lucky draw thrown in. The survey, which is running from Wednesday to Saturday, features prizes ranging from TamJai restaurant coupons to a Ritz-Carlton buffet, with the top prize being… a portable steam iron with disinfection function.
The survey asks which policies best “improved livelihood” or could “boost Hong Kong’s economy,” and which three policies respondents support most. Another question invites people to pick three traits of Lee’s governance style – options include “innovative governance,” “pragmatic and close to people’s livelihood,” and simply “no comment.”
It also asks which policy areas respondents feel most dissatisfied with, and their overall approval of the address.
Sing Tao’s poll comes as the long-running Policy Address ratings by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) have ended. PORI – once known for releasing instant ratings hours after each address since 1992- suspended all self-funded research earlier this year after a national security probe. The polling group, led by Robert Chung, warned it might even shut down.
Last year, Lee’s address received an instant rating of just 42.4/100, with net satisfaction plunging to -13 percentage points – a record low since he took office in 2022.
In a note released after last year’s Policy Address polls, Chung said poll results once made front-page news, but they were now “relegated to a single line at the end of a report.” The instant polls PORI conducted required money and manpower, and the little coverage it received made it seem “disproportionately low in value,” he said.
But the pollster at the time did not want to stop. He wrote that “if we imagine that this instant poll didn’t exist, how would this year’s Policy Address be evaluated? Can polls conducted by other organisations, even if scientifically valid, be compared to evaluations from over 30 years of history?”
| SOCIAL MEDIA MONITOR
Proposed pet-friendly eatery policy sparks debate: One of the most talked-about initiatives in the 2025 Policy Address is a proposal to relax Hong Kong’s decades-old ban on pet dogs in eateries.
Lee announced a new licensing scheme for restaurants to allow pet dogs, ending years of operators risking fines – and even jail – for letting dogs in. The number of licences will be capped, with details to follow after consultation with the industry.
The move drew praise online, with some calling it a “rare case of good governance” and joking that their dogs were the “biggest beneficiaries” of this year’s address.
But critics were just as vocal. Many said they’d avoid pet-friendly venues, citing hygiene concerns – from pets urinating indoors to worries about shared utensils. Others said dogs should never be allowed on chairs.
Dog owners hit back, stressing that many pets are well-trained and that mutual respect is key. Some pointed out that the proposal is a voluntary licensing scheme, and the public can choose whether they want to visit a pet-friendly restaurant or one that bars pets.
Hong Kong has more than 400,000 pets, generating an “enormous consumption market,” Lee said. The proposed licensing scheme will create new business opportunities for the food and beverage sector, he added.
| HKFP PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Residents of Hong Kong’s centuries-old Cha Kwo Ling Village are facing eviction as the site – between Yau Tong and Lam Tin – is cleared for around 4,500 public housing units.
Despite a September 12 deadline, many villagers continued with their daily routines, with dozens still waiting for resettlement, one resident told HKFP. Lands Department staff sealed off vacated homes, while some families left ahead of the cut-off date.
Of the 930 affected households, about 800 have been assessed for compensation. So far, 440 have been offered resettlement or a special allowance, 130 preliminarily qualify, 230 were ruled ineligible, and another 70 cases remain under review. According to the government, around 60 households have yet to cooperate with the assessment.
| OLD BUT GOLD
Silent night: Hong Kong tourist traps are empty, locals stay home as gov’t drive to revive evening economy begins
In October 2023, weak consumption marred Hong Kong’s post-pandemic recovery, with the government launching a campaign designed to boost the evening economy. But those involved in the nightlife industry remained unconvinced.
| BEST OF THE REST
The Guardian: The Guardian climate pledge 2025
The New York Times: Hong Kong’s Beloved Dim Sum Carts Fade Into the Past
