Briefs | HK protests have caused 100 restaurants to close

About 100 Hong Kong restaurants have shut down because of the months-long protests in the city, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a blog post yesterday. Around 2,000 employees have been affected as a result of the closures, Chan said in the Chinese-language post, citing the catering industry. He didn’t provide further details. Some retailers have also had to reduce the number of stores or cut back on staff, and several recent sport and entertainment events have had to be canceled for security reasons, Chan said. Chan urged property owners and developers to follow the lead of railway operator MTR Corp. in offering rent relief to affected retailers. He said Airport Authority Hong Kong is also considering assistance to tenants.

Vice premier stresses education, healthcare for GBA

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has called for efforts to boost social causes such as education and healthcare in Guangdong Province to better serve the Greater Bay Area. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a three-day research tour in Guangdong that ended this weekend. According to state news agency Xinhua, she visited major higher education and medical institutions in the province and presided over a symposium in Shenzhen, asking local departments to make more specific policies and measures to serve the construction of the Greater Bay Area, enhance their coordination and help push the development of the area to a new level.

Four daily ferries to Dongguan launched

The first ferry from Taipa to Humen, Dongguan departed on Friday, marking a new ferry route between the two cities. The public are able to choose from four available ferries sailing everyday between Taipa and Humen. The journey takes approximately 100 minutes. Ye Liang, general manager of Yuet Tung Shipping Co., Ltd, operator of the ferries, does not hold high expectations for the route. However, he expressed his faith in the development of Macau’s ferry-airway cross-border transportation. The company currently operates two sea routes for tourists, both recording a 50% occupation rate during holidays and 20% on normal days. According to the deputy director of Macau’s Marine and Water Bureau, a 50% decrease in ferry activity between Taipa and Hong Kong has been recorded, whereas a 14% increase has been recorded between Taipa and Shenzhen.