Hong Kong leader urges patience amid pushback against mandatory seat belts on buses

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Oscar LiuJanuary 27, 2026 at 06:25 AM

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Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, is urging public patience and acceptance of the new mandatory seat belt rule on buses, which has faced criticism due to concerns about ill-fitting restraints for children and accessibility to stop buttons. The rule, which applies to all public and private buses, including school services, and certain other vehicles registered after January 25, aims to improve passenger safety. Lee emphasized that the regulation is a necessary responsibility, citing the 2018 Tai Po Road bus crash and the widespread adoption of similar laws in places like mainland China, the UK, and Australia. While Singapore mandates seat belts on smaller private-hire buses, Hong Kong's new rule is more comprehensive.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Executive Council 40% Australia 50% UK 50% Singapore ×260% Mainland China 60% Tai Po Road bus crash 70% John Lee Ka-chiu ×280% Hong Kong ×390%

Keywords

mandatory seat belts 100% public buses 80% hong kong 70% transportation safety 60% new regulation 60% bus crash 50% public transport 50% john lee ka-chiu 40%

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Neutral

Score: -0.10

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South China Morning Post

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Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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mandatory seat belts public buses hong kong transportation safety new regulation bus crash public transport john lee ka-chiu

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