Month: May 2025

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today welcomed the passage of a bill by the Legislative Council to increase the air passenger departure tax from $120 to $200 per passenger, which would apply to air tickets purchased from October 1 onwards.

It is anticipated that government revenue will increase by about $1.6 billion per year.

The Government said the new tax rate, which was proposed in the recent Budget, has struck a balance between raising revenue and minimising the impact on passengers when considering increasing the departure tax.

It added that the impact of the increase on the overall cost of travelling for air passengers is minimal.

The Air Passenger Departure Tax (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be published in a Gazette notice on June 6.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Security Bureau today submitted a regulation to the Legislative Council (LegCo) that aims to facilitate the implementation of the Registered Fire Engineer (RFE) Scheme on November 1.

The Security Bureau said that currently, a person who intends to run various types of licensed premises can only rely on public services in making a fire safety risk assessment of the premises concerned and certifying fire safety compliance.

To facilitate business operations and make good use of professional and qualified human resources in the market, the bureau proposed to introduce the RFE Scheme to leverage professional engineers and qualified people in the market for the provision of fire safety risk assessment and certification services.

The Fire Safety Department will continue to deliver such services to members of the public if they so choose.

Apart from offering an additional option to the market, the implementation of the scheme could promote the development of the fire engineering profession. The fees of RFE services would be determined by the market.

The bureau highlighted that one of the key considerations for the Government in introducing the RFE Scheme is that it must not compromise fire safety and public safety.

Hence, in formulating the regulation, the Government aims to regulate RFE registration, and the provisions will cover the registration mechanism and duties of RFEs, the disciplinary and appeal mechanisms as well as the issue of the code of practice.

The Fire Services (Registered Fire Engineers) Regulation is subject to LegCo’s scrutiny by the positive vetting procedures.

At a later stage, the Government will introduce into LegCo the other three pieces of subsidiary legislation which are relevant to the implementation of the RFE Scheme for negative vetting.

Separately, the Secretary for Security will specify November 1 as the commencement date by notice in the Gazette, so that the scheme can start on the same day.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Lee Chun-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question:

To address the challenges arising from an ageing population and a shrinking workforce, the Government has raised the retirement age for civil servants in the civilian and disciplined services grades who were newly recruited on or after June 1, 2015, to 65 and 60 respectively. On the other hand, according to information from the Census and Statistics Department, the proportion of elderly persons aged 65 and over will increase from 20.5 per cent in 2021 to 36 per cent in 2046, meaning that by then, one in every three Hong Kong people will be aged 65 or over. Regarding the extension of retirement age, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that the Mainland has, since January 1 this year, been gradually extending the statutory retirement age for male employees from 60 to 63 and for female employees from the original 50 and 55 to 55 and 58 respectively, whether the Government will follow such practice and further extend the retirement age for civil servants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) whether It has conducted a survey to identify which occupations in Hong Kong currently have a mandatory retirement age, and what the relevant requirements are; whether it has compiled statistics on the average retirement age of employees in these occupations over the past five years, as well as the number of serving employees and how many of them are expected to retire within the next five years;

(3) whether it has plans to encourage government-funded and private organisations to extend retirement age, so as to address the challenges posed by an ageing population and sustain Hong Kong’s competitiveness; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) what measures the Government currently has in place to promote the employment of mature persons, so as to encourage them to delay retirement and remain active in the workforce?

Reply:

President,

To address the challenges brought by changes in the population structure, the Government needs comprehensive planning across various policy areas. Various policy bureaux will monitor changes in the local demography and manpower situation in different industries, review and enhance relevant policies and initiatives under their respective charge in a timely manner, and collaborate with stakeholders in various sectors and industries, in order to meet Hong Kong’s economic and social development needs.

On the Member’s question, in consultation with the Civil Service Bureau (CSB), the Security Bureau (SB), the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Health Bureau (HHB), I reply on behalf of the Government as follows:

(1) According to the CSB, the Government has raised the retirement age of new recruits of the civil service to 65 for civilian grades and 60 for disciplined services grades respectively since June 2015. Under the existing measures for extending the service of civil servants (including the Post-retirement Service Contract Scheme, final extension of service and the mechanism for further employment beyond retirement age), if the Government requires the experience or service of specific officers for various reasons, these officers can extend their service up to five years. In other words, civilian staff can stay in the service up to the age of 70 while disciplined services staff up to the age of 65. These arrangements have already provided departments with sufficient flexibility to meet their manpower and operational needs and retain experienced civil servants beyond their retirement age.

(2) Apart from the retirement age of civil servants, some industries at present also regulate the retirement age of their relevant practitioners.

Under the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance (Cap. 460), there are four categories (A, B, C and D) of Security Personnel Permits (SPP). Category B SPP covers a wide range of security services. Its holders may perform guarding work in respect of any persons, premises or properties. Category C SPP is required for performing guarding work which requires the carrying of arms and ammunition. Taking into consideration the requirements of these two types of guarding work in respect of the practitioners’ physical ability and alertness as well as their social importance, the upper age limits for Categories B and C SPP are set at 70 and 60 respectively. Statistics of the holders of these two categories of SPP provided by the SB are at Annex 1.

Those who have exceeded the upper age limits of Categories B and C SPP may apply for Category A SPP. There is no upper age limit for Category A SPP, holders of which may perform guarding work for “single private residential buildings”.

To ensure the navigational safety of non-local vessels within the waters of Hong Kong, the Pilotage Ordinance (Cap. 84) stipulates that all vessels of 3 000 gross tonnage or over and some other specified vessels, while navigating in the waters of Hong Kong, shall be under the pilotage of a licensed pilot. It also stipulates that a licensed pilot who is about to attain the age of 65 years or who has attained the age of 65 years but has not attained the age of 68 years and who possesses satisfactory physical and mental fitness and eyesight as assessed by a medical examination may apply for permission to work as a pilot beyond the age of 65 for any period not exceeding one year until the age of 68. According to the TLB, in the past five years, 26 pilots retired at an average retirement age of 66. In the coming five years, 30 pilots are expected to retire.

Under the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279), a teacher or principal of an aided school shall normally not continue to be employed if he/she has attained the age of 60 years or more before the commencement of the school year. Nevertheless, the Permanent Secretary for Education may issue to the Incorporated Management Committee or School Management Committee of the aided school concerned permission to continue to employ the teacher or principal aged 60 or above for a period of not more than one school year. The maximum aggregate period for which permission may be issued shall be five consecutive school years. The Education Ordinance has already provided flexibility for Incorporated Management Committee or School Management Committee of aided schools to apply for extension of services for teachers and principals. Relevant statistics provided by the EDB on teachers of public sector secondary and primary schools are at Annex 2.

(3) Subvented organisations formulate their own human resources policies and management measures, including terms of employment and retirement policies of their staff members, taking into consideration such factors as resources, overall manpower situation, as well as actual and operational needs. In response to the manpower development needs of their respective sectors or subvented organisations, bureaux/departments may, having regard to the circumstances, encourage subvented organisations under their charge to suitably adjust the retirement policies.

For instance, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) provides subventions and subsidies to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for operating welfare services, and enters into agreements with the NGOs concerned. Subject to their compliance with the service agreement and relevant statutory requirements, NGOs may employ suitable personnel to provide relevant services based on their actual operational needs and human resources policies. The SWD does not stipulate the retirement age, qualifications or conditions for appointment, etc, of the employees of service operators.

Concerning schools, the EDB has long been closely monitoring the manpower situation of teachers in public sector schools with timely and appropriate measures taken to ensure the quality of education and smooth operation of schools. Among them, teachers and principals within the establishment of government schools are civil servants. The retirement age of civil servants who are appointed on or after June 1, 2015 has been raised to 65. Besides, some of the civil servants appointed on or after June 1, 2000 but before June 1, 2015 have opted to retire at the age of 65 in accordance with the relevant procedures. As for teachers in aided schools, the EDB has reviewed the relevant policies and regulations regarding their retirement age, including considering extension of the retirement age for newly-joined teachers in aided schools from 60 to 65. Since the demand for teachers involves many uncertain factors such as changes in the school-aged population and socio-economic development, the EDB needs to consider the long-term teacher manpower needs involved in the relevant policies and latest social conditions, as well as to balance multiple factors. If an incumbent teacher or principal in an aided school is about to retire but the school cannot locate a replacement after making every reasonable effort, it may apply to the EDB for extension of service of the staff concerned beyond retirement age according to the existing mechanism.

Regarding healthcare, according to the HHB, the Hospital Authority (HA) may formulate appropriate human resources policies taking into account its actual operational needs. In view of the ageing population and shrinking workforce, and with reference to the Government’s retirement policy, the HA has raised the retirement age to 65 for new recruits commencing employment on or after June 1, 2015 so as to address the manpower needs in the longer term. For employees who joined the HA before June 1, 2015, the HA has implemented the Policy of Extending Employment Beyond Retirement (EER) to retain suitable retirees/retiring staff to continue to work in the HA after retirement, in order to facilitate succession arrangements and alleviate manpower shortage. Under the EER policy, the HA will engage the retiring staff early and ascertain their intent for further employment through an appropriate screening mechanism. The policy provides flexibility for retirees to choose the start time and duration of further employment up to the age of 65. Retirees may also consider other employment options such as part-time employment or locum employment according to their own retirement plans.

In accordance with the agreement with the HHB and relevant legislation, the Prince Philip Dental Hospital (PPDH) is responsible for the provision of facilities for the training of dentists and other persons in professions supplementary to dentistry. The PPDH may devise its human resources policy according to its operational needs.

For private organisations, the Labour Department (LD) implements diversified publicity activities to promote employers’ adoption of employee-oriented good human resources management and elderly-friendly employment practices, such as extending the working age of employees, to facilitate elderly employees to continue working if they so wish.

(4) The Government is committed to encouraging and promoting the employment of older persons through provision of employment services, training and promotion.

On employment services, the LD launched the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (REA Scheme) on July 15 last year to encourage persons aged 40 or above not having been in paid work for three consecutive months or more to re-join the labour market. The REA Scheme covers full-time jobs, part-time jobs and qualified “casual work” to facilitate flexible employment of older and middle-aged persons. During the implementation period of the REA Scheme, each eligible participant who has worked full-time for 12 months continuously can receive a re-employment allowance (REA) of $20,000. Half-rate REA will be given to those who have worked part-time. REA is not counted as income under the means test for the Old Age Living Allowance. The response to the REA Scheme is very favourable. Up to April 2025, the REA Scheme has recorded over 40 000 participants and 18 000 placements. Of these, about 23 per cent of participants and 24 per cent of those employed were persons aged 60 or above.

In tandem with the REA Scheme, the LD implements the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) to encourage employers to hire persons aged 40 or above and provide them with on-the-job training (OJT). Employers engaging each job seeker aged 60 or above who has left the workforce can receive a maximum OJT allowance of $5,000 per month for six to 12 months, while those engaging each unemployed job seeker aged 40 to 59 are entitled to a maximum OJT allowance of $4,000 per month for three to six months. The Government welcomes employers taking on participants of the REA Scheme to join EPEM.

On training, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) provides around 700 market-oriented training courses straddling across 28 industries and generic skills for eligible persons including older persons. The ERB also provides training courses which gear towards the employment needs of older persons aged 50 or above to encourage the potential workforce to enter the labour market. Apart from general training courses, the ERB has launched the Post-50 Internship Programme for older persons aged 50 or above to facilitate their understanding of the current employment market situation. Under the “Hire and Train” Scheme, the ERB encourages participating employers to provide suitable job vacancies for trainees (including persons who have recently retired), adjust the working hours and leave arrangements to cater for trainees’ family and personal situations, and provide on-the-job training and other related support measures so as to encourage the potential workforce to enter the labour market.

In light of the directive of the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy to unleash “silver productivity”, the ERB implements priority training consultation service and will launch more dedicated training courses to address the needs of industries with keen manpower demand. The LD will double the number of job fairs suitable for the elderly and middle-aged this year, and enhance promotion of elderly-friendly employment practices. The Labour and Welfare Bureau will review the REA Scheme and the EPEM to further explore measures to encourage employment of people aged 60 or above.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Yim Kong and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question:

Last month, the United States released the findings of the “Section 301 Investigations” under the Trade Act of 1974 and announced that port fees would be imposed on vessels owned or controlled by Chinese entities (including Hong Kong entities), including vessels whose owner or operator is headquartered in Hong Kong and vessels of which more than 25 per cent of the equity interest is held by a citizen or citizens or the Government of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the fourth largest shipping register in the world, with over 1 100 maritime-related companies currently operating here. Some preliminary analyses have pointed out that such maritime companies will be faced with risks such as an upsurge in operating costs and a decline in market competitiveness, and ship leasing and ship financing businesses will also be affected by knock-on impacts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the Government has systematically assessed the negative impact of the aforesaid measures of the United States on Hong Kong’s shipping and maritime-related industries, and formulated a cross-departmental collaboration plan to safeguard Hong Kong’s status as an international shipping centre, as well as companies’ legitimate rights and interests;

(2) whether it will provide targeted relief measures to the affected companies engaged in shipping, ship leasing and so on, or provide certain financial support for them to adjust their route deployments; and

(3) whether it has proactive measures to attract “non-US” ship operators or relevant high-end maritime service providers to carry on developing their business in Hong Kong?

Reply:

President,

The United States (US) Government announced on April 17 this year the results of its Section 301 Investigations against Chinese maritime, logistics and ship building industries and decided to impose port fees on vessels owned or operated by Chinese (including Hong Kong and Macao) companies, and vessels built in China for the use of US ports. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has immediately issued a press release to express its strong opposition to the decision, particularly for the fact that the measures are blatantly discriminatory, deliberately dividing the international maritime community and undermining the spirit of international solidarity and co-operation.

The HKSAR Government is highly concerned about the incident and the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) has been maintaining close liaison with the industry to assess the situation and respond as needed. With regard to the various parts of Hon Yim’s question, my reply is as follows:

(1) The US authorities has announced that the port fees will take effect on October 14 this year. For a vessel of 50 000 net tonnage, it will be charged US$2.5 million per entry into a US port, thereafter increased annually reaching US$7 million in April 2028. Each vessel will be charged up to a maximum of five times per year. The fees are indeed detrimental to others without beneficial to oneself, not only undermining the interests of the US port industry, cargo owners and consumers but also unfairly increasing the costs of Hong Kong’s shipping companies on their business operations routing to and from the US ports.

Hong Kong is an international maritime centre supported by our country. Over the years, Hong Kong has attracted shipping companies of different capital backgrounds from all over the world to operate in the city by virtue of our “one country, two systems”, bilingual common law as well as a free and open business environment. Each of these shipping companies has its own specific business portfolio and clientele. The extent to which they will be affected would depend on the share of the US market in their respective portfolios and their scope for adjusting shipping routes and business portfolios. It is therefore difficult to generalise the situation.

Recently, we have been visiting the shipping companies one after another, and the industry has reflected that the business environment in Hong Kong is indeed unrivalled and that the Hong Kong’s ship registry has brought an edge to their ships in terms of quality assurance and international reputation. The industry is striving to identify solutions to the incident, and we do not underestimate the pressure faced by them due to various commercial considerations. On the strength of our country’s strong backings, the HKSAR Government will render its full support to the Hong Kong’s shipping companies to cope with the challenges. At the same time, we urge the industry to stay confident and avoid making hasty decisions under short-term geopolitical pressures at the expense of the long-term development opportunities in Hong Kong.

(2) We understand from the affected companies that they consider financial subsidies from the Government neither financially sustainable nor an effective solution to the problem. In contrast, the industry hopes that the Government can better consolidate the edges for the maritime sector operating in Hong Kong.

In recent years, the Government has introduced a number of measures to enhance the competitiveness of the maritime industry, which has indeed saved up for a rainy day and enhanced the industry’s resilience in coping with the complex external circumstances. We will capitalise on our strengths via a systematic and proactive approach to reinforce the local maritime industry chain internally as well as to expand market opportunities in our country and the world externally. We would have four key areas of work in future, including strengthening the maritime ecosystem, leading the industry to seize the opportunities arising from green shipping, deepening Hong Kong’s role as an international exchange platform, and expanding opportunities in Mainland and overseas markets:

(i) Strengthening the maritime ecosystem, including the introduction of a half-rate tax concession for commodity traders and enhancement of the existing tax concessions for the maritime industry, for which the legislative bill is to be submitted to the Legislative Council in the first half of next year; continuing to provide green cash incentives and implementing the Block Registration Incentive Scheme for Hong Kong-registered ships;

(ii) Supporting and leading the industry to seize the opportunities arising from green shipping. The TLB has promulgated the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering at the end of last year, with a view to promoting Hong Kong into a high-quality green maritime fuel bunkering centre by, inter alia, providing collaborative platforms for catalysing green maritime fuel supply and trading, thereby equipping the industry to cope with the international trend of green transition.

(iii) Deepening Hong Kong’s role as an international exchange platform for facilitating interfaces between the local and overseas industry and expanding global business opportunities. The Government has been actively deepening collaborations with the international maritime organisations. The Hong Kong Maritime Week last year has been one of the most international editions ever where the key organisations like the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Maritime Organization had staged events in Hong Kong. These organisations have confirmed their continued participation in the Hong Kong Maritime Week this year and there would also be other international organisations staging events in Hong Kong for the first time.

(iv) Assisting and leading Hong Kong shipping companies to expand opportunities in Mainland and overseas markets, capitalising on Hong Kong’s connectivity. This include establishing a “rail-sea-land-river” intermodal transport system with the Mainland for securing more cargo sources for Hong Kong, as well as utilising the port community system to be launched in January next year for connecting with the international maritime community, thereby assisting the industry to further enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

In addition, the Government will soon set up the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board to be chaired by a non-official and provided with dedicated team and resources for enhancing its research, promotion and manpower training capabilities, so as to provide more effective support to the Government in promoting the development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry.

(3) The aforementioned measures will significantly enhance Hong Kong’s business environment and attractiveness, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as an international maritime centre. We will continue to step up external promotion on the advantages of operating in Hong Kong through the Marine Department’s service points located in seven different continents and Invest Hong Kong’s network at home and abroad. The Marine Department will also set up a new dedicated team in the Middle East in the fourth quarter of this year for targeted promotion towards the emerging markets there.

Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government will substantially reduce tolls when it takes over the Tai Lam Tunnel (TLT) at 0.00am on Saturday.

In addition, the HKeToll free-flow tolling service will begin from 5am on the same day.

Outlining the takeover arrangements today, the Transport Department said that the TLT will briefly cease operating for five minutes at 0.00am on May 31 to facilitate the updating of toll collection facilities. Thereafter, manual or Autotoll toll collections will be in operation until 3am.

From 3am to 5am, the tunnel will be fully closed for switchover works. It will reopen at 5am, when motorists can start using HKeToll without having to stop or queue to make payments.

As May 31 falls on a public holiday, fixed tolls will be applied throughout the day for private cars and motorcycles, of $18 and $7.2 respectively. The same fees also apply on Sundays.

Starting from June 2, tolls for private cars during the peak, normal and off-peak time slots from Monday to Saturday will be $45, $30 and $18 respectively.

For motorcycles, the toll for all time slots is set at 40% of the private car toll, which is between $7.2 and $18.

Taxis and other commercial vehicles, such as goods vehicles and buses, will continue to have a fixed toll on all days, set at $28 for taxis and $43 for other commercial vehicles.

The new tolls for all vehicle types will be lower than the existing tolls by between 22% and 80%, the department highlighted.

To facilitate the launch of HKeToll, temporary traffic and transport arrangements will take place in phases in the tunnel vicinity from 1am on May 31, with the tunnel and all slip road entrances being fully closed from 3am to 5am. Motorists should opt for Tuen Mun Road during the full closure.

During the tunnel’s temporary closure, the bus stops at the toll plaza will be suspended. As a result, three overnight bus routes – namely KMB Route Nos. N269 and N368, and Long Win Bus Route No. NA43 – will be diverted via Yuen Long Highway and Tuen Mun Road. Temporary bus stops will be set up at the “Tuen Mun Road Bus-Bus Interchange”.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question:
Reply:(2) The car parks at West Kowloon Government Offices and Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, managed by the GPA, provide 50 and 263 PC parking spaces respectively and operate under commercial principles by contractors. At Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, some parking spaces are available for public use throughout the day, while others are open only during non-office hours due to departmental needs. The car park at West Kowloon Government Offices is open to the public during non-office hours.