Month: June 2025

CHP investigates two epidemiologically linked measles infection cases 
The two cases are family members living together. The first case involves a six-month-old baby boy. He presented with fever on June 21, and developed cough, runny nose and skin rash the following day. He was brought to the Accident and Emergency Department of Kwong Wah Hospital on June 23 and was admitted for treatment. His respiratory specimen sample tested positive for the measles virus upon nucleic acid testing.

During contact tracing, the CHP found that the boy’s 29-year-old father also presented symptoms of measles, including fever and cough, on June 20 and developed skin rash on June 23. The CHP arranged the patient to attend the Accident and Emergency Department of Kwong Wah Hospital for isolation and testing on June 24. His respiratory specimen sample tested positive for the measles virus upon nucleic acid testing. 
An epidemiological investigation revealed that the baby boy has not yet reach the age to receive the first dose of the measles vaccine, while his father was uncertain whether he had received measles vaccination. One of their household contacts also presented relevant symptoms earlier and has recovered now. Testing is being arranged for this household contact.
 
The CHP continues to investigate the cases to identify potential sources of infection and high-risk exposure. Initial investigation revealed that no epidemiological linkages have been established between these two cases and other confirmed cases previously recorded in Hong Kong. 
The number of measles cases in some overseas countries remains at a high level this year. The outbreaks in North America (including the United States and Canada), Europe and neighbouring areas (including Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines) are ongoing due to the relatively low vaccination rate. Furthermore, an increasing number of measles cases have also been recorded in Japan and Australia this year. For those who plan to travel to measles-endemic areas, they should check their vaccination records and medical history as early as possible. If they have not been diagnosed with measles through laboratory tests and have never received two doses of measles vaccine or are not sure if they have received a measles vaccine, they should consult a doctor at least two weeks prior to their trip for vaccination.
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Besides being vaccinated against measles, members of the public should take the following measures to prevent infection:
 For more information on measles, the public may visit the CHP’s measles thematic pageIssued at HKT 20:37

Civil Service College holds thematic briefing session on “International Landscape and China’s Foreign Relations in 2025”  
Mr Lee delivered the opening remarks at the session. He expressed gratitude for Mr Cui’s attendance at the session to share insights on the current international environment and national foreign strategies, and provided an analysis in an easy-to-understand manner on the evolving global dynamics and the country’s response strategies to provide support for the HKSAR Government in promoting Hong Kong’s deepening of international exchanges and co-operation, better integration into the overall national development, and co-ordination of high-level security and high-quality development.
 
Mr Lee pointed out that the complex and fast-changing international environment and the groundbreaking developments of AI and biotechnology profoundly affect the trajectory of the world order and highlight the close connection between security and development. Mr Lee said the country’s diplomatic work plays a vital role in effective co-ordination of security and development, and provides opportunities for Hong Kong to better fulfil its role as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder”. He thanked the Central Government for its strong support for Hong Kong to become the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation, and pointed out that the establishment of its headquarters in Hong Kong reflects the trust and recognition of the international community in Hong Kong, which not only demonstrates the success of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) in creating a stable environment but also serves as a vivid manifestation of the country’s diplomatic soft power. Mr Lee stated that the HKSAR Government officials should have a deep understanding of the country’s foreign policies, accurately grasp changes in the international landscape, and better co-ordinate the relationship between and the opportunities from security and development.
 
The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said during the session that this event is of great significance. It not only heralds this year’s series of talks on the country’s foreign affairs but is also a highlight event of the seminar series for civil servants on the fifth anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the NSL. The CSC will continue to enhance training to strengthen civil servants’ patriotism and awareness of national security, and encourage everyone to consciously safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. The various training programmes organised by the CSC also deepen civil servants’ understanding of the country’s history and culture, and contemporary development, equipping them to better fulfil Hong Kong’s role as a bridge connecting the country with the world in their respective fields, effectively utilising Hong Kong’s international platform to tell good stories of China and Hong Kong.
 
The CSC will continue to collaborate with the OCMFA to run a series of talks on the country’s foreign affairs in 2025, including today’s thematic briefing session as well as subsequent talks on topics such as participation in international organisations and multilateral affairs, major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, China-United States relations, and civil diplomacy.  Since the launch of this series at the end of 2021, it has been well received by colleagues. To date, 20 talks have been held, with a total attendance of nearly 5 000 directorate and senior-level civil servants.
Issued at HKT 20:25

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Contractor and director fined for violation of safety legislationIssued at HKT 19:25

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Housing Authority wins two awards at Asia Pacific GovMedia Awards 2025  
     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) today (June 25) said that the HA won two prestigious awards for its innovative projects at the GovMedia Awards 2025 ceremony held in Singapore this month including the Hong Kong Public-Private Partnership of the Year – Housing and Hong Kong Public Sector Initiative of the Year – Youth. These accolades highlight the HA’s outstanding achievements in advancing construction robotics and supporting young entrepreneurs.
 
     Since 2020, the HA has introduced new requirements on the use of construction robot technology for tender assessments of new building contracts. Through collaborations with robotics firms and the Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics, the HA has adopted a “pioneer and pilot” approach to improve robot efficiency in a context-specific manner, driving broader adoption of construction robotics. In addition, robotic applications have been expanded to estate management, from cleaning robots to smart patrol systems, providing residents with enhanced community services. By proactively adopting robotics in construction and housing, the HA has driven innovation in housing construction and management. The Hong Kong Public-Private Partnership of the Year – Housing award recognises the HA’s leadership and impact in adopting various robotics.
 
     The Hong Kong Public Sector Initiative of the Year – Youth award acknowledges the HA’s Well Being • Start-Up programme which supports young people in pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. Launched in July 2024, this initiative provides cost-reducing opportunities for young entrepreneurs to start their businesses. By offering rent-free retail spaces under the HA, the programme lowers the barriers to entrepreneurship and brings new vitality and creativity to the community. The programme has received widespread support since its inception. In April 2025, the HA announced Well Being • Start-Up 2.0 which has garnered responses from over 10 business enterprises, further expanding support for young entrepreneurs.
 
     The GovMedia Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of government projects and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region and recognise public organisations that demonstrate leadership, creativity and impacts in public services.
Issued at HKT 19:05

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LCQ7: Safety of building works 
Question:
 
The Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) regulates building contractors registered under the Ordinance (registered contractors) to ensure the safety of building works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that under section 13(1) of Cap. 123, the Buildings Department (BD) can refer convicted cases involving building works by registered contractors to the Registered Contractors’ Disciplinary Board (Disciplinary Board) for its consideration of taking disciplinary actions against the contractors, of the number of convicted cases, which involved injuries and deaths at the sites of the building works, referred by the BD to the Disciplinary Board for follow-‍up in each of the past 10 years and this year to date; among such referral cases, of the following information on each of those cases where disciplinary proceedings were completed: (i) the date of incident, (ii) the nature of incident, (iii) the number of injuries and/or deaths involved, (iv) the name of the contractor involved, (v) the type of registration of the contractor involved, (vi) the date on which the court handed down its judgment, (vii) the penalties imposed by the court, (viii) the date on which the BD commenced examination of the case, (ix) the date on which the BD referred the case to the Disciplinary Board, (x) the date on which the Disciplinary Board commenced a hearing of disciplinary proceedings, (xi) the date on which the Disciplinary Board made its determination, and (xii) the penalties imposed by the Disciplinary Board (if applicable);
 
(2) given that the Government has established a referral mechanism for the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Development Bureau to refer cases of registered contractors with poor performance in public sector projects to the BD for disciplinary actions, of the number of referral cases received by the BD in each of the past 10 years and this year to date, and among such cases, the number of those involving poor performance in construction safety;
 
(3) in respect of the referral cases involving poor performance in construction safety mentioned in (2), of the criteria based on which the BD considers whether or not to take disciplinary actions against the contractors involved, and whether any indicator is set on the time required for handling such cases; the number of cases in which disciplinary actions were required upon the BD’s consideration in each of the past 10 years and this year to date, as well as the longest, shortest and average time taken from the BD’s receipt of such case referrals to its official commencement of disciplinary proceedings;
 
(4) given that the BD can institute criminal prosecutions against registered contractors for offences relating to building works under Cap. 123, of the number of cases in which the BD instituted prosecutions against registered contractors involving injuries and deaths at the sites of the building works in each of the past 10 years and this year to date; among such prosecution cases, the following information on each of the convicted cases: (i) the date of the incident, (ii) the nature of the incident, (iii) the number of injuries and/or deaths involved, (iv) the name of the contractor involved, (v) the type of registration of the contractor involved, (vi) the date on which the BD commenced its investigation, (vii) the date on which the BD instituted prosecution, (viii) ‍the date on which the court handed down its judgment, (ix) the penalties imposed by the court, (x) whether the authorities have lodged appeals against the penalties imposed, and (xi) the penalties imposed by the court following the appeal (if applicable);
 
(5) given that in the reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on November 15, 2023, the Government indicated that the authorities would review Cap. 123 to study the feasibility of undertaking prosecution and disciplinary actions in parallel against registered contractors involving in building works safety incidents, of the progress and outcome of the relevant study;
 
(6) as there are views that the practice of submitting supplementary information repeatedly by some contractors when applying for renewal of registration is suspected to be delaying the vetting and approval process, which may enable contractors with poor performance in construction safety to continue to carry out works during the vetting and approval process and hence pose risks to the occupational safety and health of frontline workers, whether the Government will consider reviewing and enhancing the relevant application procedures for renewal of registration, so as to enhance the processing efficiency; and
 
(7) given that the authorities indicated in the paper submitted to this Council in December last year that they would amend Cap. 123 to enhance building safety by, among others, enhancing the registration and disciplinary systems for registered contractors, etc, with the target of introducing the relevant bill into this Council in the first half of next year, whether the authorities will explore expediting the relevant legislative amendment work?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
The Government attaches great importance to the safety and quality of building works. In so far as private development projects are concerned, the Buildings Department (BD), by virtue of the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123), requires the registered building professionals (RBPs) (including Authorized Persons (APs), registered structural engineers (RSEs), registered geotechnical engineers (RGEs), etc) and the registered contractors (RCs) responsible for building works to properly supervise the building works in accordance with the respective supervision plans prepared by them and submitted to the BD under the Code of Practice for Site Supervision 2009, so as to ensure that the works comply with the BO. In addition to complying with the BO itself and its subsidiary regulations, the building works should also comply with the approved plans of the works concerned, as well as any conditions imposed or orders made by the BD under the BO. When the RBP and RC apply for the Occupation Permit (OP), they should certify that the new building has been completed in accordance with the provisions of the BO and its regulations and the plans approved, and ensure that the building is in compliance with regulations and structurally safe.
 
The BD adopts a three-pronged approach in regulating RCs who are found to have irregularities or misconduct, including: (i) instigating prosecutions against the RCs concerned; (ii) conducting disciplinary proceedings; and (iii) re-assessment of the ability and competence of the RCs concerned during renewal applications to determine whether to accept the relevant renewal applications.
 
The replies to the various parts of the question are as follows:
 
(1) If any RBPs or RCs have been negligent or have misconducted themselves in their professions or in any building works, the case will be referred to the relevant disciplinary board for conducting disciplinary proceedings. In the past 10 years up to May this year, there were five completed disciplinary cases involving injuries and fatalities out of a total of 33 cases referred by the BD to the Registered Contractors’ Disciplinary Board for disciplinary action in respect of the RCs prosecuted and convicted in building works. Details of the cases are set out in Annex I.
 
(2) and (3) The Works Branch of the Development Bureau (DEVB), the BD and the Housing Department (HD) established a referral mechanism in 2002 with an aim to target very serious breaches of contract or offences by RCs registered under the BO in the course of carrying out Government public works or public housing projects. While the RCs have been penalised under the contract or prosecuted and convicted under the law, the Works Branch of the DEVB or the HD still considers it necessary to refer the cases to the BD for the disciplinary board’s consideration of further disciplinary action after inquiries. This shows that the referral mechanism targets very serious cases, where the RCs concerned have to be referred to the BD’s disciplinary board for follow-up action having regard to the fact that the punitive actions taken under the contract or the law have not been sufficient to penalise the RCs concerned. Very serious breaches of contract or offences include blatant or repeated disregard of the contractor’s duties where the consequence of the breach is very serious so as to warrant the imposition of different levels of sanctions, or the RCs are considered after investigation to have obviously permitted or connived at the breach. The threshold for referral is very high. As for ordinary breaches of contract or offences by contractors, such as poor performance and misconduct, the Works Branch of the DEVB and the HD would handle in accordance with the contract, legislation and other established regulatory mechanisms. In the past 10 years, there was no case meeting the threshold for referral to the BD under public works or public housing projects.
 
(4) According to section 40(2B) of the BO, if the BD, after investigation, finds that building works have been carried out in such a manner as to cause or likely to cause injury to any person or damage to any property, the BD may institute prosecution against the persons directly concerned with the works (including RCs, RSEs, RGEs, APs, etc). In the past 10 years and up to May this year, there were six convicted cases involving injuries and fatalities upon completion of prosecution out of a total of 139 cases instituted by the BD under section 40(2B) of the BO in relation to building works. Details of the cases are set out in Annex II.
 
(5) and (7) The Government has completed the systematic review of the BO. Proposals were put forth to amend the BO in December 2024 and a two-month public consultation was conducted. The proposals to enhance the registration and disciplinary systems are set out below:
 
(i) regarding the processing of renewal applications by RCs, we propose to extend the renewal period from the current three years to a maximum of five years in response to the industry’s aspiration for a longer operation period to encourage long-term investment and healthy development of the industry. On the other hand, we propose to empower the Building Authority (BA) to approve a shorter renewal period than the current three years in order to strengthen monitoring of certain contractors. We also propose that the BA can be empowered to impose conditions (e.g. requiring a more stringent site supervision regime) upon registration renewal having regard to the contractor’s individual circumstances to enhance the existing registration system;
 
(ii) on the handling of disciplinary cases, we propose to increase the number of members of the relevant disciplinary board panel to expedite the formation of disciplinary board and inquiry. We also propose to increase the maximum fine for disciplinary sanction from $250,000 to $400,000, and to allow the disciplinary board to impose more than one sanction for each charge (in addition to a fine, consideration may also be given to ordering a reprimand and/or removing the contractor from the register at the same time) so as to enhance the deterrent effect; and
 
(iii) during the systematic review of the BO, the BD has examined the feasibility of undertaking prosecution and disciplinary actions in parallel. After due consideration and consulting legal advice, it is considered that this may affect criminal investigation or prosecution, including the possibility of obstructing relevant persons from assisting in criminal investigation. Therefore, it is considered not appropriate to undertake prosecution and disciplinary actions in parallel. Notwithstanding this, the BD has taken steps to shorten the procedure of referral, with an aim to refer the case to the Department of Justice within four months after case conviction details are received, so that the disciplinary proceedings can commence as soon as possible.
 
The public consultation was completed in February 2025. The Government is now reviewing the specific proposals taking into account views received, as well as working on the drafting of the amendments to the BO. The drafting involves careful review of and amendments to the BO and its subsidiary legislation, and it is necessary to take time to clarify certain legal issues. We will complete the drafting work as early as practicable, targeting to introduce the amendment bill into the Legislative Council in the first half of 2026.
 
(6) The BD conducts review of the contractors’ registration system from time to time, with a view to enhancing and streamlining the relevant procedures. After consulting the industry, the BD has implemented a series of streamlining measures for processing registration and renewal applications since April this year, including requiring contractors to submit the necessary supplementary information within 28 days after the BD’s issuance of a letter requesting for supplementary information. Otherwise, their applications would be rejected. This measure intends to prevent unnecessary delay and enhance the efficiency of the BD’s processing of registration applications.
Issued at HKT 17:45

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SFST looks for more co-operation opportunities with AIIB member states at its 10th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors in Beijing  
     Speaking at the side event on “Implementing the International Financial Reporting Standards – Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards) from the Ground Up: The AIIB Journey”, Mr Hui noted that while the AIIB is one of the first multilateral development banks to adopt the ISSB Standards, Hong Kong was also confirmed by the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation earlier this month as among the initial set of jurisdictions having set a target of fully adopting the ISSB Standards.
 
     He said, “By aligning with a global standard, we ensure international comparability of our data. This not only boosts investor confidence but also creates a strong foundation for new opportunities. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to work in collaboration with financial regulators and stakeholders to support the pragmatic implementation of the ISSB Standards through enhancing capacity building and promoting the use of technological solutions.”
 
     This afternoon, Mr Hui also spoke on “Fostering Development and Infrastructure Connectivity” at the Governors’ Business Roundtable. He shared with delegations from other member states Hong Kong’s efforts in fostering development in sustainable finance as well as developing diverse and innovative financial products. The latter includes the roll-out of the Infrastructure Bond Programme and the issuance of infrastructure loan-backed securities by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) with the AIIB as an anchor investor. He told the delegations that a third issuance by the HKMC can be expected this year.
 
     At the AIIB President’s Reception and the Special Session of the Board of Governors’ meeting held yesterday (June 24), Mr Hui met with the President of the AIIB, Mr Jin Liqun, and the President-elect of the AIIB, Ms Zou Jiayi. He also met financial officials of other member states to update them on Hong Kong’s latest developments in green and sustainable finance, and the recent vibrant financial market situation.
 
     In addition, Mr Hui held bilateral meetings separately with delegations from Egypt, Germany and Poland on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting to explore opportunities for further co-operation.
 
     During his stay in Beijing, Mr Hui met with the President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Mr Liu Jun, and the Chief Financial Officer of the China Construction Bank, Mr Sheng Liurong. He will return to Hong Kong tonight.
Issued at HKT 17:41

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HKMC Annual Report 2024

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) today (June 25) published its Annual Report for 2024. The Report mainly reviews the business performance, financial position, as well as the environmental, social and governance initiatives of the HKMC in 2024.

The Report is now available on the HKMC website (www.hkmc.com.hk).