Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements summarises visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of Mainland
Mr Chan said, “Following the Labour Day Golden Week, we once again successfully promoted the integration of culture and tourism during this year’s Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, enabling both visitors and the general public to experience Hong Kong’s unique festive atmosphere. On the Dragon Boat Festival day, the Dragon Boat Food Lane and festive photo spots at the Avenue of Stars organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board attracted the public and visitors to taste local delicacies and take photos as mementos. In addition to dragon boat races held across various districts, Tai O held the unique Dragon Boat Water Parade, where sacred sampans carrying deity statues, towed by dragon boats along Tai O’s waterways, prayed for the well-being of the local community. The event attracted a large number of tourists and locals to experience Hong Kong’s authentic Dragon Boat Festival culture. During the long weekend, the opening ceremony and carnival of Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month 2025 took place at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui. Many visitors took the opportunity to enjoy the performances and participate in booth activities, experiencing Hong Kong’s rich intangible cultural heritage up close. Furthermore, the popularity of the movie ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ attracted numerous tourists to visit the Kowloon Walled City Park, taking photos and exploring the newly opened ‘Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey’ Movie Set Exhibition, which exemplifies the successful integration of Hong Kong’s film culture and tourism.”
Visitor flow, situation of control points, and traffic and public transport arrangements
During the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, the Immigration Department recorded a total of around 460 000 inbound visitors to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points. Among them, Mainland visitors accounted for about 360 000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 10 per cent and around 80 per cent of the total arrivals; and the number of non-Mainland visitors was around 94 000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 14 per cent.
The arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on May 31 with around 140 000 Mainland visitors arriving in Hong Kong. During the long weekend, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point received the highest number of Mainland visitors, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point.
The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department (TD) operated round the clock throughout the long weekend to holistically monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services of all districts, including boundary control points (BCPs), major stations and various tourist hotspots, across the territory. During the period, the TD directed local and cross-boundary public transport operators (PTOs) to enhance their carrying capacity, including increasing the frequency of bus and green minibus services connecting various land-based BCPs and strengthening cross-boundary coach services, to meet visitors’ demand. PTOs also deployed additional staff to maintain order and reserved sufficient vehicles and manpower to further enhance services when necessary.
During the long weekend, the overall operation of the control points, traffic conditions and transport services were mostly smooth.
Major tourist attractions
Visitors went to different parts of Hong Kong during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, with high visitor flow observed at major tourist attractions, including the West Kowloon Cultural District, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peak Tram and Ngong Ping 360. Smooth and effective crowd management measures were implemented.
Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the relevant government departments, organisations and industries for their dedication and collaboration in making comprehensive preparations. By consolidating the experience gained from receiving visitors during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland in early May, they provided visitors and the public with a high-quality experience during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland.
Issued at HKT 19:48
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Hospital Authority proactively follows up with supplier on prostate specific antigen reagent product recall
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hospital Authority proactively follows up with supplier on prostate specific antigen reagent product recall
The HA is proactively following up with medical device supplier Abbott Laboratories Limited on a PSA reagent product recall event. On May 27, the HA received notification from the supplier about complaints received in different places, revealing quality issues with certain batches of a PSA reagent. These issues have led to deviations in test results, with some readings exhibiting positive bias greater than 10 per cent, which could potentially lead to a misdiagnosis of prostate cancer, causing doctors to erroneously consider unnecessary treatments.
The HA attaches great importance to the event. Upon receiving notification from the supplier, a thorough review was conducted across public hospitals, confirming two affected batches of reagent (Alinity i Total PSA Reagent Kit – Lot Numbers: 71210FZ00 and 71213FZ00) were delivered to Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) and Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) respectively.
The CMC has started to use the affected batch of reagent to test 406 patient blood samples since April 28. For prudence’s sake, CMC has reviewed the test results and will contact approximately 70 patients this week, based on their clinical needs to rearrange blood tests. The remaining patients have also been scheduled for follow-up appointments in the coming weeks, during which doctors will explain the event and arrange appropriate management to ensure their treatment unaffected.
The HA spokesperson stated, “A PSA test is not a standalone diagnostic indicator. Doctors will make a comprehensive clinical judgment based on patient’s clinical condition and other examinations, such as a rectal examination, an ultrasound scan and a biopsy examination to diagnose whether the patient has prostate cancer. The CMC has confirmed that no patients have undergone unnecessary clinical procedures nor experienced delays in treatment due to the event. CMC has set up a hotline, 5334 0388 for patient enquiries (office hours: Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, excluding public holidays).”
For the reagent delivered to TMH, they have not yet been put into use, and no patients have been affected. CMC and TMH have stopped using the affected batches of reagent and replaced with alternatives. The HA has also reviewed the reagent used in other public hospitals and confirmed that none have used the affected batches. The PSA testing service in all public hospitals remain unaffected.
A spokesperson stated, “The HA is following up on this event stringently and has notified the Department of Health (DH). We have demanded the supplier concerned to thoroughly investigate its quality control and testing records, provide an explanation, and implement remedial measures. The HA does not rule out taking further action to hold the supplier accountable.”
The HA will continue to closely follow up with the DH and the supplier. The supplier will be required to provide quality control records and testing certifications in the future to prove that their testing supplies meet with the stringent requirements so as to ascertain patient safety and testing accuracy.
Issued at HKT 19:47
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Tuen Ng visitors hit 460k
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, today announced that around 460,000 visitor arrivals were recorded during the Mainland’s Tuen Ng Festival long weekend, representing a year-on-year increase of about 11%.
All arrangements for receiving visitors operated smoothly, the working group added.
Mr Chan said Hong Kong once again successfully promoted the integration of culture and tourism during the Mainland’s Tuen Ng Festival long weekend from May 31 to June 2, enabling both visitors and the general public to experience Hong Kong’s unique festive atmosphere.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the Tourism Board organised Dragon Boat Food Lane and festive photo spots at the Avenue of Stars.
In addition to dragon boat races held across various districts, Tai O held the unique Dragon Boat Water Parade, which attracted a large number of tourists and locals to experience the city’s authentic Dragon Boat Festival culture.
There were also the opening ceremony and carnival of Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month 2025 at the Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Furthermore, the popularity of the movie “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” attracted numerous tourists to visit the Kowloon Walled City Park, exploring the newly opened “Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey” Movie Set Exhibition.
The working group said the overall operation of the control points, traffic conditions and transport services were mostly smooth during the long weekend.
The Immigration Department recorded a total of around 460,000 inbound visitors to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points.
Among them, Mainland visitors accounted for about 360,000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 10% and around 80% of the total arrivals. Meanwhile, the number of non-Mainland visitors was around 94,000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 14%.
The arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on May 31, with around 140,000 arriving in Hong Kong.
During the long weekend, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point received the highest number of Mainland visitors, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point.
The Transport Department’s Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre operated round the clock throughout the long weekend to holistically monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services of all districts, including boundary control points, major stations and various tourist hotspots, across the territory.
To meet visitors’ demand, the department directed local and cross-boundary public transport operators to enhance their carrying capacity, including increasing the frequency of bus and green minibus services connecting various land-based boundary control points and strengthening cross-boundary coach services.
Mr Chan thanked relevant government departments, organisations and industries for their dedication and collaboration in making comprehensive preparations, which provided visitors and the public with a high-quality experience during the long weekend.
Cancer committee meets
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Acting Secretary for Health Dr Libby Lee chaired the 20th meeting of the Cancer Coordinating Committee today to discuss the response strategies and measures against cancer with relevant government departments and organisations.
During the meeting, the committee examined the implementation of the Hong Kong Cancer Strategy, and looked at in detail the citywide population-based cancer surveillance data for 2022, including figures on incidence, mortality, survival rates and cancer prevalence in the population for major cancers.
A total of 35,373 newly diagnosed cancer cases were recorded in 2022, involving 17,239 men and 18,134 women. In other words, 97 new cancer cases were diagnosed every day on average.
Lung cancer, logging 5,707 cases, remains the most common cancer in Hong Kong.
Breast cancer (5,208 cases) has for the first time outnumbered colorectal cancer (5,190 cases), accounting for the second and third most common cancers.
Dr Lee said: “Cancer mortality rates of both males and females have shown a declining trend over the past three decades, indicating Hong Kong’s healthcare system has yielded positive results in combating cancer.”
She noted that the stage-specific survival rates of various cancers show that the survival rate will be higher if a patient has the cancer detected at an early stage followed by early treatment.
“In Hong Kong, most patients with early-stage cancers have a five-year relative survival rate reaching 90% or higher. The ratio of surviving for more than five years for those with certain early-stage cancers, such as female breast, prostate and thyroid cancers, is comparable to that of the general population.”
The committee also reviewed and discussed various work on cancer prevention and control.
In this respect, the Department of Health has been promoting to the public a healthy lifestyle as the primary strategy for cancer prevention.
Primary prevention, ie reducing exposure to cancer risk factors, is the most important strategy for reducing the risk of developing cancer. The Government has long been adopting a multipronged approach, including publicity, education, promotion, legislation and regulation, to encourage citizens to lead a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risks of contracting non-communicable diseases including cancer.
For screening, the department has implemented the Cervical Screening Programme, the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme and the Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme.
It highlighted that most of the cancer cases identified through various screening programmes are at earlier stages, leading to a more favourable prognosis, therefore, the Government will explore the use of artificial intelligence to assist lung cancer screening and implement hepatitis B screening to prevent liver cancer. Details will be announced in due course.
5 arrested in security investigation
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Police’s National Security Department yesterday arrested one man and four women, aged 24 to 38, for conspiracy to commit terrorist activities.
Investigations revealed that the arrested individuals were allegedly involved in sending messages to Police via telephone, email and instant messaging applications on multiple occasions between April 29 and May 13, the content of which included claims to detonate bombs planted within various offices of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong and Kai Tak Sports Park, as well as seditious messages inciting Taiwan independence and Hong Kong independence.
With court warrants, Police conducted searches at the five people’s residences and seized electronic communication devices suspected to be involved in the case.
The arrested man is being detained for further enquiries, while the four arrested women were released on bail pending further investigations.
HA follows up on reagent recall
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Hospital Authority (HA) today said it is proactively following up with medical device supplier Abbott Laboratories about the product recall of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reagent.
Two affected batches of the reagent were delivered to Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) and Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) respectively.
CMC started to use the affected batch of reagent to test 406 patient blood samples since April 28, while the reagent delivered to TMH has not been used yet.
On May 27, the HA received notification from the supplier about complaints received in different places, revealing quality issues with certain batches of a PSA reagent.
These issues have led to deviations in test results, with some readings exhibiting a positive bias greater than 10%, which could potentially lead to a misdiagnosis of prostate cancer, causing doctors to erroneously consider unnecessary treatments.
For prudence sake, CMC has reviewed the test results of the 406 affected patient blood samples. It will contact approximately 70 patients this week and rearrange blood tests based on the patients’ clinical needs.
The remaining patients have also been scheduled for follow-up appointments in the coming weeks, during which doctors will explain the event and arrange appropriate management to ensure their treatment unaffected.
The HA said a PSA test is not a standalone diagnostic indicator and doctors will make a comprehensive clinical judgment based on patient’s clinical condition and other examinations to diagnose whether the patient has prostate cancer.
It also pointed out that the CMC has confirmed that no patients have undergone unnecessary clinical procedures nor experienced delays in treatment.
CMC has set up a hotline, 5334 0388 for patient enquiries.
As the reagent delivered to TMH has not yet been put into use, no patients have been affected.
Both CMC and TMH have stopped using the affected batches of reagent and replaced them with alternatives. The HA has also reviewed the reagent used in other public hospitals and confirmed that none have used the affected batches.
The PSA testing service in all public hospitals remains unaffected.
The HA is stringently following up on this event and has notified the Department of Health (DH).
The HA has demanded the supplier concerned to thoroughly investigate its quality control and testing records, provide an explanation, and implement remedial measures.
The authority also does not rule out taking further action to hold the supplier accountable, and will continue to closely follow up with the DH and the supplier.
The supplier will be required to provide quality control records and testing certifications in the future to prove that their testing supplies meet with the stringent requirements, so as to ascertain patient safety and testing accuracy.
Voter register key dates announced
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Registration & Electoral Office (REO) announced today that the publication date of the provisional register for the 2025 Election Committee subsectors (ECSSs) will be advanced to June 24.
The provisional register and omissions list for the ECSSs will be available for inspection until June 30 by specified persons under the law.
The final register for the 2025 ECSSs will be published on July 21.
The REO explained that the arrangement was made to tie in with the ECSS By-elections to be held on September 7, as well as the subsequent eighth-term Legislative Council general election to be held on December 7 this year.
It elaborated that the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2025 empowers the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to suitably advance the publication of the registers for ECSSs in the year of the LegCo general election, so that the ECSS By‑elections of the year can be conducted in accordance with the most updated information included in the register without having to adopt the register published in late September in the year earlier. To enable the ECSS By‑elections to be conducted on the basis of the latest voter situation, the ERO will advance the compilation and publication of the 2025 provisional/final registers for ECSSs.
Voters/new applicants of ECSSs who received requests from the REO for supplementary information should reply by June 9.
Separately, voters who have been included in the omissions list for ECSSs will receive reminder letters from the REO to confirm their eligibility. These individuals must reply or provide supplementary information by June 30 so that they may, upon the Revising Officer’s approval, keep their voter status and be included in the final register of ECSSs. They may also raise claims or objections on or before June 30.
The REO will publish notices in the Gazette on July 4 to announce the number of Election Committee (EC) members to be returned for the relevant subsectors at the ECSS By-elections, the designated bodies of subsectors that need to fill vacancies of EC members and the number of EC members that they can nominate, and the details for the submission of nomination forms.
Alice Mak visits Qianhai
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak today visited Qianhai to learn about the entrepreneurial experiences of Hong Kong youth there and to exchange views on youth development work.
On arriving in Qianhai, Miss Mak visited the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (Ehub) to learn about its facilities and its work in supporting youth entrepreneurship.
She also toured the HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Academy, the Hong Kong Youth Short-Term Apartments and the Hong Kong Cultural Experience Space, all of which form part of the Ehub, and engaged in discussions with Hong Kong youth to learn more about their entrepreneurial experiences and life in Qianhai.
The Ehub is a member of the Alliance of Hong Kong Youth Innovation & Entrepreneurial Bases in the Greater Bay Area, which was jointly established by the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, Guangdong’s Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office and its Human Resources & Social Security Department.
Miss Mak later met CPC Shenzhen Standing Committee Member and Director General of the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen Municipality Wang Shourui to discuss Shenzhen-Hong Kong co-operation on Hong Kong’s youth development.
Miss Mak thanked the Shenzhen Municipal Government and the Qianhai authority for their staunch support for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s youth development work, especially in encouraging young people to integrate into China’s overall national development and seize the enormous opportunities brought about by the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Miss Mak stressed that the Hong Kong SAR Government attaches great importance to youth development.
Since its establishment in December 2023, the alliance has brought together nearly 60 member organisations in Hong Kong and the GBA, including the EHub. It provides a one-stop information, publicity and exchange platform offering comprehensive support to Hong Kong’s young entrepreneurs. Alliance members have organised nearly 220 events to date.
In the afternoon, the youth chief visited the Qianhai Exhibition Hall to learn about developments in Qianhai.
She also visited the SmartMore Corporation, which was founded by a Hong Kong entrepreneur, to learn about its experiences in establishing a unicorn company and about development opportunities in the GBA more broadly.
Miss Mak said that the Hong Kong SAR Government will sustain its efforts in promoting youth development and will continue to implement and enhance its Youth Development Blueprint.
She added that she hopes the two places will further strengthen co-operation and exchanges that allow young people to explore entrepreneurial opportunities in the Mainland’s enormous market.
The youth chief concluded her visit and returned to Hong Kong this afternoon.
Symposium advances talent hub
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today hosted the Forging a National High-calibre Talent Hub Symposium, gathering about 150 representatives from the Mainland, Macau and Hong Kong.
At the symposium themed “Regional Collaboration, Empowerment through Science & Education, Global Talent Attraction”, participants exchanged views on promoting regional collaborative ties on talent work and the strategic development of a national high-calibre talent hub.
The participants were from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong Province, the nine Mainland cities and four major co-operation platforms of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as 23 renowned universities on the Mainland and five of the world’s top 100 universities in Hong Kong.
In his welcome remarks, Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki said education, technology and talent form the critical foundation for developing new quality productive forces and enhancing high-quality development.
He added that the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Committee on Education, Technology & Talents is targeting the manpower demand of Hong Kong’s strategic positioning of the “eight centres” and co-ordinating the promotion of integrated development of education, technology and talent to build Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talent.
The symposium featured keynote speeches and two thematic panel discussions.
Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun, together with government officials from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province joined the first discussion to explore ways to synergise regional strengths in building the talent hub.
Mr Sun also witnessed Hong Kong Talent Engage Director Anthony Lau sign a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives from the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone and Guangzhou Nansha District respectively, deepening collaboration in talent recruitment, services, employment and development between Hong Kong and the two regions.
In his closing remarks, the labour chief highlighted Hong Kong’s various advantages in attracting global talent and the need to collaborate with different regions across the country through interdependence and mutual reinforcement, thereby accelerating the development of the national high-calibre talent hub.
He expects the symposium, together with the second Global Talent Summit · Hong Kong scheduled for early next year, would bring together valuable experiences from various regions in talent attraction, retention, nurturing and recruitment, to inject new impetus into high-quality development and achieve the vision of developing a national quality workforce.
Bus Safety Excellence Award commends multidisciplinary staff and encourages trade to promote safety awareness (with photos/video)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Bus Safety Excellence Award commends multidisciplinary staff and encourages trade to promote safety awareness (with photos/video)Issued at HKT 17:20
The Transport Department (TD) today (June 3) held the Bus Safety Excellence Award Ceremony 2025 to commend multidisciplinary staff of franchised bus operators (FBOs) with excellent performances in enhancing bus safety in daily operations, with a view to encouraging the trade to promote safety awareness with ongoing efforts. About 200 participants attended the ceremony.
Officiating at the ceremony, the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Kevin Choi, said that continuously enhancing bus safety is a shared priority of the Government and FBOs, which requires both hardware equipment and staff training to complement each other. While bus captains shoulder the important duty of safe driving, the dedication of and collaboration among professional teams behind them are equally indispensable in ensuring stable services. Mr Choi expressed gratitude to the contributions of staff at different positions, who upheld professionalism in delivering safe and reliable bus services. He looked forward to ongoing efforts of the trade in fostering a safety culture and the importance of vehicle safety extensively, thereby providing a safe commute for passengers at large.
Also officiating at the ceremony were Legislative Council (LegCo) Member (Transport) Mr Frankie Yick; the Chairman of the LegCo Panel on Transport, Mr Chan Siu-hung; the Deputy Chairman of the LegCo Panel on Transport, Mr Yiu Pak-leung; the Commissioner for Transport, Ms Angela Lee; the Chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee, Professor Stephen Cheung; Independent Expert Member of the Committee on Enhancement of Franchised Bus Safety Professor Wong Sze-chun; and the Chief Superintendent of Police (Traffic) of the Hong Kong Police Force, Mr Leung Shun. The officiating guests hosted the kick-off ceremony and urged road users to take heed of safety tips, including “staying courteous and alert”, “obeying traffic regulations”, “keeping a safe distance” and “driving attentively, no speeding”.
The Excellence Award this year gave recognition to a total of 57 staff members, comprising 28 bus captains, six driving instructors, 12 inspectors/regulators and 11 engineers/mechanics from five teams. Among them, the engineer/mechanic teams competed in bus safety projects for the first time, with their entries assessed by the TD based on safety benefits, creativity and technological application. The winning entries, such as a predictive bus maintenance system and the application of an AI digital video recording system on both buses and emergency rescue vehicles, effectively made good use of technologies in enhancing safety and efficiency.
Awardees in the other categories were nominated by FBOs and assessed by the TD. Regarding the assessment criteria, bus captains should have a clean traffic accident record and no driving offence records, and their driving attitude and skills were assessed. Driving instructors should provide effective safety training for bus captains while inspectors/regulators should maintain effective management of buses’ daily operations. At the ceremony, special guest Matthew Ho had interactive quiz games with bus trade representatives, strengthening their understanding of a proper driving attitude and bus safety tips.
The list of awardees this year is set out in the Annex.
Issued at HKT 17:20