How the city manages its dogs and a long-awaited labour projection led the local news this week. Read on for details about these stories and others covered by the City desk.

In today’s edition:

• On the right path?

   

• Shrinking workforce

   

• Women marry for money, really?

On the right path?

Coming under mounting pressure, the environment minister has pledged to review the city’s policies and laws on handling stray dogs after a cyclist was killed in a suspected canine attack in Yuen Long. 

Apart from launching high-profile operations to capture dogs wandering in rural areas, authorities prosecuted a shelter’s founder who had microchipped one of the abandoned dogs. But questions have been raised as to whether the government is moving in the right direction.

Shrinking workforce

The government’s latest manpower projection has predicted that the city’s labour force will drop by a total of roughly 70,000 between 2025 and 2028, with the supply of technical workers being the hardest-hit area.

Meanwhile, the demand for junior posts is also expected to decline, posing uncertainty for fresh graduates and middle-aged clerical staff. While the city leader has promised to help residents improve their skills and import more talent, will the programmes solve the shortage before the tsunami hits?

Women marry for money, really?

An economist faced a strong backlash from university students after sharing his views on the “cost-benefit analysis of women marrying for money”. Terence Chong of the Chinese University of Hong Kong raised eyebrows by allegedly saying “it’s pointless for women to get high GPAs; they need to marry rich in the end anyway”.

While Chong apologised, the university quickly issued a statement warning against such remarks, urging the professor to consider the feelings of stakeholders and in the wider community.

As Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations continue across the city, the South China Morning Post has a round-up of all the main activities, which can be found here.

Stay with the SCMP.com for more!

Politics

• ‘His love for Hong Kong was profound’: Tung Chee-hwa honoured at state funeral

   

• Committee to investigate Hong Kong district councillor’s sex crime conviction

   

• Exco declarations reveal new roles for ex-lawmakers as minister retains 22 flats

   

• Top official to determine responsible department in complex 1823 cases

   

• Hong Kong rejects EU report’s claims on freedoms as ‘unfounded and biased’

Society

• Hong Kong doesn’t need to match Singapore’s HK$400,000 birth perk: top official

   

• Legislation among options to regulate minors’ social media use: justice minister

   

• Hong Kong to only admit ‘few hundred’ foreign carers a year under pilot scheme

   

• From moongazing to bus tours: how to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

   

• Hong Kong authorities won’t appeal court halt to 12,000-flat project on golf course

Law and crime

• Hong Kong model Abby Choi’s former relatives admit body disposal, deny murder

   

• Youth arrests in Hong Kong rise 20%, driven by assault and criminal-damage cases

   

• Authorities may appeal engineer’s non-custodial sentence in hospital lift case

   

• Hong Kong father admits repeatedly raping daughter over a 6-year period

   

• Indefinite time in psychiatric ward for Hong Kong man who killed 2 in mall

Economy

• Hong Kong workforce to shrink by 20,000 yearly as key sectors face shortages

   

• Northern Metropolis data hub to start phased operations in mid-2027: CLP Power

   

• Hong Kong exports surge 53% to HK$667.9 billion, second highest on record

   

• Hong Kong hopes to begin Victoria Park Tennis Centre redevelopment by 2030

   

• Hong Kong on way to securing green fuel supply to safeguard aviation hub status

Business and tech

• Morgan Stanley ‘fat finger’ leak of confidential deal pipeline sets off alarm bells

   

• Once the world’s most-visited city, Hong Kong now converts hotels into student dorms

   

• Will AI adoption shrink office space? Asia-Pacific firms are on the fence in survey

   

• Hong Kong unveils gold, bond and liquidity plans to drive next phase of yuan adoption

   

• Despite higher costs, Hong Kong’s student residences attract mainland Chinese renters

3 things to do this weekend

- Curated by Kevin Kwong and Enid Tsui from our Culture desk

• Sunil Grover on bringing his hilarious Indian TV characters to Hong Kong

   

• Where to celebrate Negroni Week 2026 in Hong Kong

   

• A guide to Hong Kong’s bitter herbal teas and how Gen Z is reviving the health tradition