Hong Kong leader taps 2 tech heads from Hangzhou's ‘Little Dragons' as advisers
The Hong Kong chief executive's Council of Advisers has welcomed three new members, including two tech bosses from Hangzhou's 'Six Little Dragons' and a mainland Chinese economist who was a senior official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government on Friday announced the appointment of 34 members to the second term of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's Council of Advisers, with the two-year appointment to start on Tuesday.
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings, will not remain in the group after his current appointment ends on June 30. Li's firm has been embroiled in the controversial sale of its overseas ports, including two Panama facilities.
The two tech bosses from Hangzhou appointed to the council are Han Bicheng, CEO of BrainCo, which specialises in brain-machine interfaces, and Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics. They are placed under the category of 'innovation and entrepreneurship' in the council.
Zhu Min, who was the deputy managing director of the IMF from 2011 to 2016, is another newly appointed member of the council under the category of 'economic advancement and sustainability'.
Zhu is currently a member of the senior expert advisory committee of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges and part of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum.
During his trip to Hangzhou in April, Hong Kong's leader met representatives of the 'Six Little Dragons', all technology start-ups, including Han and Wang, and visited BrainCo and Unitree.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's MTR Corp to carry out one-off inspection of critical rail assets
Hong Kong's rail operator will carry out a one-off inspection of all its overhead lines and signalling points, and is considering offering a free cross-harbour shuttle bus in the event of service suspensions as part of efforts to follow up on a series of recent blunders. The MTR Corporation on Friday rolled out an eight-point plan that falls under an existing HK$65 billion (US$8.3 million) five-year asset and maintenance upgrade announced in 2023. The move follows calls from Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu last month for the transport provider to improve on its 'inadequacies' in emergency response and contingency planning after three service disruptions occurred within a four-month period. In two incidents, engineering trains were stranded on a section of the East Rail line, while in another, services along the Tseung Kwan O line were suspended for five-hours last month. Transport minister Mable Chan said the government would continue to supervise and guide the MTR Corp in learning from its past failures and strengthening its risk prediction and mitigation capabilities. 'The MTR Corp must proactively address potential issues before they arise, enhance the safety of its railway systems and accelerate the application of innovative technologies to realise predictive maintenance for fortifying the overall resilience of the railway system,' she said. 'Its management should also leverage the wisdom of frontline staff and strengthen the sense of accountability among staff from different ranks.'
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Will the US strikes on Iran push China and North Korea to ramp up their nuclear arms programmes?
Instead of crushing Tehran's nuclear programme, Israeli and US strikes on Iranian facilities in the past week might have dealt a blow to international nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Analysts warned that the attacks might not only encourage Iran to accelerate its nuclear weapon programme, but also prompt countries such as China and North Korea to expand their deterrence efforts The pre-emptive strikes also risked setting a precedent for US adversaries to justify similar action against any serious efforts by the US' Asia-Pacific partners to gain their own nuclear weapons, they said. After a series of Israeli assaults on Iran's nuclear sites, the US on Sunday deployed more than 125 aircraft and a submarine in an operation to attack three Iranian nuclear sites The targeted action against Iran – which Israel sees as an existential threat – was one of the largest efforts to set back Iranian enrichment efforts. Following the strike, Iran's parliament unanimously agreed to suspend all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog that monitors the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Beijing approves convention establishing global mediation organisation in Hong Kong
Beijing has approved the convention establishing the world's first intergovernmental organisation on mediation in Hong Kong, while indicating it would not bring forth World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes to the new body. Observers said on Friday the move was an indication of Beijing's support for the WTO and that it would still bring other disputes to the new organisation. The state-run Xinhua News Agency said the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress had approved the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation, which was signed in Hong Kong at the end of May. At the same time, the country's legislature declared that under Articles 25 and 29 of the convention, the government would not submit its disputes under the WTO to the new body. The articles state that the new body shall not provide mediation services to jurisdictions that have made a declaration indicating disputes they would refuse to submit to the body, such as those concerning territorial sovereignty or maritime interests. Lau Siu-kai of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank said Beijing had always underscored the centrality of the WTO in promoting international trade and resolving disputes that arose from it.
