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Edith Lin

Hong Kong can expect a series of measures and legal frameworks involving housing, transport, security, welfare and the environment in 2025.
Apart from those introduced by the previous administration, some initiatives are the brainchildren of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his team.
The Post lists some of the key policies set for 2025.
‘Space oil’
“Space oil” is a newly emerging drug that is usually packaged as e-cigarette capsules and contains the anaesthetic etomidate.
To step up the fight against drugs, the government plans to include etomidate-infused space oil under existing anti-narcotic legislation in the first half of 2025.

Once it is listed, the maximum penalty for illegal possession or smoking, ingesting and injecting etomidate can be seven years in prison and a fine of HK$1 million (US$128,731).
Anyone convicted of trafficking or illegally importing the substance can face life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million at most.
Subdivided flats
The government will strive to get a green light from the legislature by the end of 2025 to regulate subdivided flats, notorious for their small confines, hygiene issues and safety hazards.
Proposed minimum standards include a size of 86 sq ft, a ceiling height of 2.3 metres (7.5 feet), proper windows and at least one toilet in each home.
Once the new law is implemented, only registered flats that meet the standard can be legally leased as a “basic housing unit” or landlords will face penalties.
The regulation will come four years after Xia Baolong, Beijing’s top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs, called on the city in 2021 to “bid farewell” to subdivided flats by 2049.

Ride-hailing services
Although online ride-hailing services such as Uber have been gaining popularity for years, their drivers are at risk of law enforcement since it is illegal for private vehicles to transport paid customers without a hire-car permit.
The Transport and Logistics Bureau is set to formulate legislative proposals to regulate such platforms in 2025 after a study on personalised point-to-point services and a consultation with stakeholders.
The bureau will assess the licensing requirements for platforms and drivers, as well as the number and types of vehicles to offer such services.
Taxi services
The government is also seeking to improve taxi service quality amid complaints of overcharging and refusing fares.
Apart from implementing a demerit point system on drivers’ behaviour in 2024, the Transport and Logistics Bureau aims to table legislative amendments in the second quarter of 2025 to mandate taxis to install electronic payment options and surveillance cameras.
Authorities plan to require all taxis to include e-payment options by the end of 2025 and to have installed camera systems by the following year.

Electronic fixed-penalty tickets
In the first half of 2025, police are expected to digitalise their fixed-penalty tickets for drivers caught illegally parking or driving.
The force earlier said it would issue electronic and paper tickets to drivers when the measure was in its initial stage and had yet to fix a time for full digitalisation.
Police also said such efforts aimed to enhance efficiency instead of increasing prosecution figures, adding that the measures could save half of the time needed for administrative work of paper tickets, which takes up to 30 minutes.
Mandatory helmets
Authorities plan to propose legislative amendments requiring cyclists to wear helmets in 2025, two years behind the government’s original schedule.
In November, authorities said they were conducting a careful study and analysing views to refine the proposal, noting suggestions on the applicable locations and scope of a mandatory helmet rule.
It added that various places also had different rules, such as the mandatory applicable age for the requirement.
According to official figures, eight cyclists were killed annually in both 2021 and 2022, and another six in 2023. Several victims were not wearing helmets, including five in 2021, seven in 2022 and three in 2023.
Smoking control measures
To further push down the city’s smoking rate to 7.8 per cent by 2025, the Health Bureau aims to have 10 short-term measures passed by the legislature in the same year.
Among the proposed initiatives are banning flavoured cigarettes, which are popular among young people, and forbidding smoking while queuing in outdoor public places.
Authorities will also seek to introduce a duty-paid labelling system to differentiate legal cigarettes from illicit ones and increase the maximum penalties for offences related to illicit cigarettes.

Better retirement protection
Starting from Labour Day on May 1, Hong Kong bosses can no longer dip into staff pensions to cover severance and long-service payments.
In 2023, city leader Lee announced the effective date of scrapping the so-called offsetting mechanism under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF).
The measure, which was introduced by the previous administration, will mean an end of a decade-long wait for improvements in workers’ welfare.

Stricter plastic ban
After the first phase of banning retailers and restaurants from selling or using polystyrene tableware or plastic cutlery for takeaway and dine-in services went into effect in April, the second stage of regulation is expected to start as early as 2025.
Under the second phase, the city will ban all use of throwaway plastics in restaurants, and prohibit plastic food containers, six-pack yokes for canned drinks, tablecloths, disposable gloves and plastic-stemmed dental floss.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau has yet to announce the date for implementation as its minister earlier said the catering industry was still looking for appropriate replacements.

Hydrogen development
As part of efforts to tackle climate change, the government aims to promote the development of hydrogen energy by introducing legislative amendments in the first half of 2025.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau has said it will provide a legal basis for regulating the manufacture, storage, transport, supply and use of hydrogen as fuel, which is regarded as a low-carbon energy with development potential.


Tackling the problem of subdivided flats a top priority for government

From regulating Uber to combating space oil, what Hongkongers can expect in 2025

A time for reflection and an opportunity for Hong Kong to turn the page on 2024

The men, women – and animals – that made Hong Kong’s headlines in 2024

Hong Kong politics

Authorities are expected to regulate ride-hailing services in 2025. Photo: Sam Tsang

“Space oil” capsules are shown at a government press event. Photo: Sam Tsang

A 60 sq ft subdivided flat with no individual toilet in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Eugene Lee

Taxis queue up for passengers at the Hong Kong airport. Photo: Eugene Lee

Authorities are expected to ban smoking while queuing in outdoor public places. Photo: Jelly Tse

The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. Photo: Enoch Yiu

The city is set to ban all use of throwaway plastics in restaurants in 2025. Photo: Yik Yeung- man

Hong Kong restaurants hit rocky road in 2024, but analysts optimistic

The last Itacho Sushi shop at Laforet in Causeway Bay has closed. Photo: Jelly Tse.

Hoixe Cake Shop ceased operations in January after 44 years in business. Photo: Handout

An economist has said that consumer trends had shifted since the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Jonathan Wong

From gym closures to rotten tofu, Hong Kong consumers faced a year of scams

Physical gym abruptly announced its closure in September, sparking thousands of complaints from customers. Photo: Elson Li

Lionel Messi (third right) is left on the bench during a friendly match between Inter Miami and a Hong Kong team in February. Photo: Sam Tsang

The closed premises of 120-year-old family business Liu Ma Kee in Jordan. Photo: Elson Li

Residents of Hing Tung Estate in Sai Wan Ho use designated rubbish bags, in preparation for a waste-charging scheme that was eventually shelved. May Tse

News

Hong Kong

Society

Regulating subdivided flats, improving taxi services and banning flavoured cigarettes are also on the list of policies expected in 2025


Regulating subdivided flats, improving taxi services and banning flavoured cigarettes are also on the list of policies expected in 2025.
