RTHK：Video News RTHK.HK

Dragonboat teams throughout Hong Kong had spent months preparing for Monday's Tuen Ng Festival races. One of those teams was Hong Kong's only dragonboat crew made up primarily of the visually impaired – the Darkness Fighters.

Their mantra is to "challenge the impossible", and their goal: to create a blind-friendly sports environment.

Our reporter Anne Chan attended the Fighters' training sessions to see how members of the team were able to conquer their limitations by rowing together.

The Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said the successful selection of a Hong Kong astronaut in the national space programme marked a “glorious chapter” in the city’s history.

His remarks came after state broadcaster CCTV, quoting the China Manned Space Agency, reported that the 10 people were selected as the fourth batch of national preparatory astronauts, among whom eight were space pilots, and two were payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau.

Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said he felt very excited and encouraged by the selection of a Hong Kong candidate, as he thanked the central government for providing the opportunity for Hongkongers to participate.

"It's only under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle that the SAR is eligible for selection in the national space programme, as the programme is a national task.”

“Secondly, [the selection] indicates that the nation attaches great importance to the SAR's technological and innovation development. The SAR government will continue to promote measures to nurture more innovation and technology talent and support the city in becoming an international tech and innovation hub,” Lee said.

While Lee did not disclose the Hong Kong astronaut’s identity and other details, sources told RTHK that the person selected is Lai Ka-ying, a chief inspector with the Hong Kong Police Force.

Lai has a doctoral degree and has three children. She will travel to the mainland for subsequent training.

The recruitment of astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau was launched in October 2022, marking the first time the nation’s space programme considered selecting astronauts from the two SARs.

Three selection rounds have been held since the recruitment drive was launched, and Lee noted the recruitment process was very strict.

Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday a judge's professional duty is to interpret and apply the law, and that his or her expertise is not on politics.

Lee also said a departing non-permanent judge, Lord Jonathan Sumption, had contradicted his earlier comments with an opinion piece in the Financial Times.

Lord Sumption, who recently resigned as a judge on the Court of Final Appeal, wrote an article in the British newspaper titled "The rule of law in Hong Kong is in grave danger".

Ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said the overseas judge had expressed different views a few years ago.

"In 2021, Lord Sumption refused to take part in a political boycott orchestrated in the UK. And he said then that people should not confuse the rule of law with democracy," he said.

"His latest statement indicates that he doesn't like the political situation in Hong Kong. But this is exactly the area he has told us in 2021 that should not be confused with the rule of law. His recent statement looks to me to be contradictory to his previous stance in this regard."

The chief executive said judges should focus on handling legal matters.

"Judges' professional expertise is on law, based on his legal knowledge and experience. Judges' professional expertise is not on politics," he said.

"A judge is entitled to his personal political preferences, but that is not a judge's area of professional expertise.

"A judge can like a particular system or dislike it. He may also like a particular law or not. But his professional duty is to interpret and apply that particular piece of law in accordance with legal principles and evidence."

Lee also hit out at overseas efforts to attack the rule of law, saying that non-interference in the judicial process is "the DNA of Hong Kong's rule of law".

Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said he stressed the importance of communication and cooperation when he met University of Hong Kong officials involved in a spat over senior appointments.

Vice-chancellor Zhang Xiang recently complained that he was left in the dark about appointments made by Priscilla Wong, chairwoman of the university's governing council.

Lee said he has met both Zhang and Wong and reminded them to put the interests of the university first.

"[HKU] doesn't belong to the vice-chancellor. It doesn't belong to any individual of the council. HKU belongs to all Hong Kong people," the CE said before attending this week's Executive Council meeting.

"In all matters, we must take the interest of HKU as the overriding principle. Universities need to seek continuous improvement."

Lee said there are certain requirements universities have to conform to when they are given billions of dollars in public money, including on governance, administration and finances.

Procedures need to be clarified if they are unclear, he added.

On Tuesday afternoon, the government announced the formation of a taskforce to investigate the controversy at the university.

"After speaking to relevant people, the Education Bureau found discrepancies in the information provided by different people. There's a need to find out the facts and look into ways to handle this matter," the government said in a statement.

The taskforce will carry out fact-finding, coordinate internal communication and cooperation within HKU, and make recommendations on improvement measures to ensure that public money is well spent and that the university operates within regulations on public grants.

Permanent Secretary for Education Michelle Li, and Tim Lui who chairs the University Grants Committee, will be on the taskforce and officials say they will start their work as soon as possible.
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Last updated: 2024-06-11 HKT 15.53

A military plane carrying Malawi's vice president and nine others went missing on Monday and a search was underway, the president's office said.

The plane carrying 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima left the capital, Lilongwe, but failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport about 370 kilometres to the north around 45 minutes later.

Aviation authorities lost contact with the plane when it “went off radar,” the statement from Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera's office said. Chakwera ordered a search operation and cancelled a trip to the Bahamas, his office said.

"All efforts to make contact with the aircraft since it went off radar have failed thus far," the statement said.

Chakwera was informed of the missing plane by General Valentino Phiri, the head of the Malawian armed forces.

The president had ordered national and local authorities to “conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft,” his office said. (AP)

Police investigating the death of a man, who was dumped outside of North District Hospital with serious injuries early on Saturday, said they had made an arrest.

Detectives said the 32-year-old suspect was picked up in Tin Shui Wai and was believed to be linked to the car used to drop off the victim in Sheung Shui.

Acting senior superintendent Basil Tang, from the New Territories North Crime Regional Headquarters, said officers received a report from a passer-by at around 5.45am on Saturday that the 23-year-old man was lying unconscious near a pedestrian crossing on Po Kin Road, where the hospital is located.

He said the victim was then brought inside the hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later.

Tang also said that the deceased had multiple injuries that are thought to have been caused by blunt objects, punches and kicks, adding that his cause of death was still under investigation.

Police were called to a suspicious vehicle in Wong Chuk Yuen in Pat Heung on Sunday evening.

"The police arrived at the scene to conduct an investigation and believed that this vehicle was involved in the incident. At the time of the incident, someone put on a fake license plate and abandoned the deceased outside of the mentioned hospital," Tang said.

"The police and laboratory personnel later searched the car and found blood stains and a stun gun."

Police were treating the case as murder, saying they believe others were involved and remained at large.