Month: July 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by the Hon Shang Hailong and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (July 23):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that the Police neutralised a rental fraud syndicate several months ago, involving at least 150 victims and approximately HK$13 million in losses. Through an apartment management company, the syndicate recruited local individuals as agents (“principal tenants”) with high commissions on websites or social media platforms, luring talent admitted to Hong Kong under talent admission schemes and students that were “drifters in Hong Kong” to prepay one year’s rent before defrauding the victims of their rent using fake tenancy agreements. There are views that the incident highlights gaps in the current regulatory framework for the property rental market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it will consider improving the current regulatory framework for domestic tenancies in response to the aforementioned case in which “principal tenants” allegedly defrauded tenants through illegal means, so as to protect the rights and interests of landlords and tenants;
 
(2) whether it will require the Estate Agents Authority to strengthen random inspections of property rental advertisements on Mainland and local social media platforms to root out advertisements containing fraudulent or misleading content;
 
(3) whether the authorities will collaborate with the relevant Mainland authorities and Hong Kong’s higher education institutions to develop “guidelines on fraud prevention in the local rental market”, which will be distributed to relevant individuals after the Immigration Department issues visas under the Top Talent Pass Scheme and before students’ arrival in Hong Kong;
 
(4) whether the Police will strengthen co-operation with social media platforms to promptly remove and follow up on residential property rental advertisements containing fraudulent content; and
 
(5) how the Police will strengthen efforts to combat activities where lawbreakers entice students to participate in rental scams using high commissions; whether penalties be increased to serve as a deterrent?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government has noted recent illegal rental activities perpetrated by fraud syndicates targeting new arrivals in Hong Kong. Through the social media, criminals impersonating owners of residential units contact new arrivals searching for rental units. The criminals falsely claim that they can sublet the units to the new arrivals at a discounted price and lure them into paying rent. Unfamiliar with Hong Kong’s tenancy system and ways of seeking help, the new arrivals are prone to fall victims to the fraudsters.
 
     The Government has paid close attention to these rental-related scams. In this connection, the Government combats these activities through a multi-pronged approach, including strengthening monitoring work to ensure compliance of property rental advertisements, conducting targeted law enforcement actions and stepping up publicity and education.
 
     In consultation with the Housing Bureau, the reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
 
(1) The Government’s policy on the private residential rental market is to maintain a stable environment and minimise unnecessary intervention, with a view to facilitating free operation and steady development of the market. The Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 7) provides a framework for legal tenancy matters. Part IV of Cap. 7 is applicable to general domestic tenancy, where landlords and tenants may draw up the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreements as mutually agreed, and execute the tenancy arrangements in accordance with the spirit of the contracts. The “principal tenants” mentioned in the question, who deceived the sub-tenants by illegal means, may have committed fraud-related offences, which are regulated under the Theft Ordinance (Cap. 210) and the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455). Furthermore, the Estate Agents Ordinance (Cap. 511) regulates companies and individuals engaged in the estate agency trade. Estate agents and salespersons must comply with Cap. 511 and its subsidiary legislation. They should also comply with the Code of Ethics and Practice Circulars issued by the Estate Agents Authority (EAA). Persons who fail to do so may be liable to disciplinary action. If a licensee is convicted of a criminal offence, the EAA may suspend or revoke the licence of such a person.
 
(2) The EAA has all along been conducting cyber patrols to closely monitor online advertisements on the sale and letting of properties in Hong Kong (including those posted on social media platforms in the Mainland and Hong Kong), and examine whether they comply with the provisions of the Estate Agents Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation, such as whether the advertisements contain any false or misleading information. The EAA has stepped up these efforts in recent years. A total of 862 random checks on online property advertisements were conducted in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 21 per cent compared to the same period last year. In case of any suspected non-compliance, the EAA will conduct follow-up investigations. Cases involving criminal elements (such as suspected fraud) will be referred by the EAA to law enforcement agencies for follow-up actions.
 
(3) To raise the vigilance of new arrivals to Hong Kong against rental-related scams, the Police and the EAA work jointly with relevant Mainland authorities and local stakeholders (including tertiary institutions) to provide new arrivals with online and offline information on rental-related fraudulent activities both before and after their arrivals, so as to help them identify and guard against the scams.
 
Pre-arrival information
 
     To enable new arrivals to learn about Hong Kong’s tenancy system and the fraudsters’ common deception tactics as early as possible, the Police have disseminated anti-fraud promotional materials specifically tailored for new arrivals through social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin. In addition, the Police have produced a video clip in collaboration with the National Immigration Administration, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security and the Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD). Adopting a first-person perspective of the new arrivals, the video clip demonstrates the modus operandi of fraudsters, with a view to raising the awareness of the new arrivals. The National Immigration Administration will also arrange for the viewing of these videos by the prospective new arrivals during their visa application process. Meanwhile, these videos are disseminated across border control points, exit-entry service halls in the Mainland as well as social media platforms including Xiaohongshu and Douyin.
 
     To strengthen protection of students who newly arrive in Hong Kong, the Police, in collaboration with the National Anti-Fraud Center, have organised both online and offline sharing sessions specifically for Mainland students coming to Hong Kong for studies and their parents. Additionally, anti-fraud information, including details on rental-related scams and ways of seeking help, has been distributed to parents.
 
Post-arrival information
 
     To ensure that new arrivals stay vigilant after arriving in Hong Kong, the Police distribute anti-fraud booklets and leaflets to them through the six regional public service counters of the ImmD, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and major tertiary institutions across Hong Kong. These materials include methods to prevent rental scams.
 
     Additionally, to broaden the reach of the information, the Police collaborate with relevant industries, including the real estate sector, the banking sector and telecommunications service providers, to distribute anti-fraud promotional packages to new arrivals. These promotional materials are updated from time to time, so as to remind new arrivals to be aware of the latest scam tactics, including rental-related scams.
 
     Furthermore, the EAA is committed to educating consumers on the salient points pertaining to renting and purchasing properties. In view of the fraudulent cases relating to property purchase or rental encountered by new arrivals in recent years, in addition to the promotional measures jointly rolled out with the Police, the EAA has, since the beginning of 2025, been actively collaborating with the Hong Kong Talent Engage, Economic and Trade Offices in the Mainland, the Consumer Council, higher education institutions, non-governmental organisations supporting new arrivals and local media to provide new arrivals with information on renting and purchasing properties in Hong Kong. An online public seminar, which was broadcast live on local and Mainland social media platforms, was also organised to enhance new arrivals’ knowledge on the procedures for renting and purchasing properties in Hong Kong as well as fraud prevention. The EAA has put up a number of online advertisements through the Mainland’s media network, and has participated in a seminar organised by the Hong Kong Talent Engage, reminding consumers that they should appoint licensed estate agents to better protect their own interests. In this connection, the EAA website provides the Licence List (www.eaa.org.hk/en-us/Licence-list), through which the public can input the full name or licence number of an agent to ascertain whether the agent is holding a valid licence. Moreover, the EAA distributes booklets such as “A Guide to Tenancy” and “Tenancy Guide for Non-local Students in Hong Kong” to various collaborating units. The public may also download these publications from the EAA website (smart.eaa.org.hk/publications) for reference. In future, the EAA will continue with its proactive publicity and education efforts through various channels and means, including preparing the launch of a new educational website, with a view to enhancing publicity on the steps and points to note when renting and purchasing properties in Hong Kong, so as to raise the anti-fraud awareness amongst the general public and new arrivals.
 
(4) The Police have been maintaining close collaboration with social media platforms. Should suspected fraudulent (including rental-related) content be found, the Police will request the platforms concerned to immediately remove the content and take appropriate follow-up actions. During the period between January and May this year, the platforms concerned have reviewed and removed over 33 000 items of fraudulent content at the request of the Police.
 
(5) As mentioned in the introduction of our reply, the Government has been paying close attention to the above-mentioned rental-related scams and adopting a multi-pronged approach, which includes enhanced targeted enforcement actions, to combat these activities. For example, in February this year, the Police carried out the Operation Black Fire, during which a criminal syndicate manipulated by triads involving “fake estate agents” was smashed. A total of 14 persons, including a syndicate mastermind, a licensed estate agent and 12 syndicate members, have been arrested so far. The fraud syndicate was involved in over 270 cases, with crime proceeds amounting to approximately HK$30 million. While the Police are continuing with their investigation, one of the arrested persons has already been charged with one count of “conspiracy to defraud”, and more of them may be charged.
 
     Lawbreakers enticing students to participate in rental scams using commissions may have committed fraud-related offences, including the offence of “fraud” under section 16A and the offence of “obtaining property by deception” under section 17 of the Theft Ordinance, and are liable to imprisonment for up to 14 years and 10 years respectively. In addition, under section 159C of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), a person who has committed the offence of “conspiracy to defraud” is liable on conviction to imprisonment for up to 14 years, while a person charged with “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence” under section 25 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance for proceeds of deception is liable to maximum penalties of 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million. Depending on the nature and gravity of the case, the Police may also apply to the court for invocation of section 27 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance to seek enhanced sentences and thus strengthen deterrence. Members of the public are urged not to commit the offence out of greed.
 
     In conclusion, the Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to stringently combat rental scams, and raise the new arrivals’ vigilance against related scams through enhanced publicity and education.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by the Hon Chau Siu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (July 23):
 
Question:

     Regarding the improvement of labour importation policy, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) as it has been reported that some employers have engaged in “bogus recruitment” (e.g. rejecting suitable local job seekers after interviews on the grounds that they do not meet the requirements) in order to create the false impression of difficulties in local recruitment, so as to justify applications to the Government for labour importation, while some unscrupulous employers have exploited the imported labour they employed through various means, resulting in the issue of “cheap imported labour”, and there are views pointing out that such non-compliant practices severely undermine employment opportunities for local workers, whether the Government will consider establishing a blacklist system to regularly publish information on companies involved in substantiated cases of violation of labour importation regulations (including company names, the industries to which they belong, nature and dates of violations, the labour importation schemes involved, and follow-up actions taken by the authorities), so as to enhance monitoring and increase deterrence;
 
(2) whether it will study the feasibility of introducing an administrative penalty system to impose heavy fines on employers who violate regulations related to imported labour (including reducing the working hours of local employees or dismissing them after recruiting imported labour) in order to enhance deterrence;
 
(3) as there are views pointing out that the median monthly wages for some job categories (particularly those in the catering industry) on the List of Common Posts under the current Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme are below market levels, which may bring down the wages for local workers in related job categories and even discourage employers from recruiting local workers, whether the authorities will review and refine the methodology for determining the median wage levels on the List to better align them with market levels;
 
(4) as there are views that local labour market statistics (including size of labour force, unemployment rate, underemployment rate and monthly employment earnings of employed persons) regularly published by the Census and Statistics Department do not process data on imported labour separately, making it difficult for such statistics to effectively reflect the impact of labour importation policy on the local labour market (including the employment and wages of local workers), whether the authorities will consider regularly compiling and publishing relevant labour market statistics that exclude the factor of imported labour; and
 
(5) whether the authorities will consider proactively and regularly publishing statistics on imported labour (including the numbers of applications, approvals and arrivals to Hong Kong for work, broken down by labour importation scheme, industry and job category, as well as the number and names of enterprises employing imported labour, the industries involved, and the number of local employees and imported workers), so that society can better understand the implementation of the labour importation policy?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     To cope with the challenges brought by manpower shortage and on the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, the Government suitably allows employers to apply for importation of workers. Apart from launching sector-specific labour importation schemes for the construction sector, transport sector, and residential care homes for the elderly and residential care homes for persons with disabilities, the Labour Department (LD) has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023 to suspend the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation under the previous Supplementary Labour Scheme for two years.
 
     In consultation with the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) To safeguard employment priority for local workers, applicant employers of the ESLS must undertake a four-week local open recruitment and accord priority to employing qualified local workers to fill the job vacancies at a salary not lower than the prevailing median monthly wage of a comparable position in the market. Upon completion of the local recruitment procedures, employers shall report the results and submit recruitment advertisements to the LD for verification. The LD will contact each of the unsuccessful local job seekers to verify the interview details and confirm if the reasons for not employing the job seekers as reported by the employers are consistent with the facts and reasonable, so as to assess whether the employers have sincerity in recruiting local workers. If there is evidence showing that an employer has violated the requirements of local recruitment or refused to employ qualified local job seekers without reasonable grounds, the LD will terminate the processing of the relevant application. The LD will also impose administrative sanction on the employer and refuse to process any other application(s) submitted by the employer concerned in the following year. In parallel, employers approved to import workers are required to sign a Standard Employment Contract (SEC) with imported workers, and shall pay a salary not lower than the median monthly wage of a comparable position to prevent the imported workers from becoming “cheap labour” and undermining the employment opportunities of local workers.

     Since June 17 this year, the LD has implemented a series of new measures to strengthen the protection of the employment priority for local workers, including launching an online complaint form on the ESLS dedicated webpage to enable local employees and imported workers to lodge complaints against employers for suspected breaches of the requirements of the ESLS, displaying the names of applicant companies when publishing job vacancies for local recruitment under the ESLS on the Interactive Employment Service website to increase the information transparency of local recruitment, launching a special inspection campaign to check whether establishments employing imported workers have continuously met the manning ratio requirement of full-time local employees to imported workers of 2:1, requiring employers to report information on full-time local employees and imported workers as well as the relevant manning ratios based on a risk-based approach, and refusing to process other application(s) submitted by the same employer within six months after the employer submitted an application under the ESLS. Besides, the LD launched additional measures in July to strengthen monitoring of employers’ local recruitment arrangements to ensure fairness and authenticity in the local recruitment process.
 
     The ESLS also requires employers not to displace local workers with imported workers. In the event of redundancy, imported workers should be retrenched first. If there is sufficient evidence substantiating violation of the relevant requirements, the LD will impose administrative sanction, including withdrawal of approvals for importation of labour previously granted to the employer and refusal to process applications for labour importation submitted by the employer in the following two years.
 
     With regard to the treatment of imported workers, the Government attaches great importance to protecting their employment rights and benefits. Imported workers also enjoy the protection of labour laws in Hong Kong. The Government adopts a multi-pronged strategy, including requiring employers and imported workers to sign the SEC, requiring that wages be paid directly into imported workers’ bank accounts in Hong Kong by automatic payment, conducting surprise inspections to workplaces of imported workers, and organising briefings on employment rights to ensure imported workers understand their employment rights and benefits. For cases of suspected exploitation of imported workers, the Government has set up an inter-departmental task force to follow up and investigate whether criminal elements are involved. If there is sufficient evidence, law enforcement agencies will take out prosecution. In addition, the LD launched the Imported Workers Support Scheme in January this year to strengthen support for imported workers who are suspected of being exploited, including case consultation, follow-up and guidance, as well as assisting imported workers whose employment has been terminated by their employers to arrange temporary accommodation and apply for relevant subsidies.
 
(3) In consultation with relevant government bureaux/ departments/ training bodies/ professional organisations and making reference to details of the applied posts commonly processed under the ESLS, the LD complies the List of Common Posts under the ESLS (including the scope of duties, academic requirements, years of experience, normal working hours per day, and median monthly wages of relevant posts). Among others, the median monthly wages are mainly determined by the C&SD’s data of wages earned by relevant employed labour force in the specified survey reference month. The LD will continue to closely monitor the local labour market and relevant statistics, and continuously review the operation and implementation arrangements of the ESLS, striving to safeguard the employment priority for local workers.
 
(4) To reflect the latest conditions of the overall labour force (including imported workers in Hong Kong), the C&SD conducts regular sample surveys to compile and disseminate statistics on the labour force, employment, unemployment and underemployment, etc, in Hong Kong. As imported workers in Hong Kong only constitute a very small proportion of the labour force, the relevant breakdowns will have significant sampling error. Taking into account the accuracy of the statistics, it is difficult to segregate the factor of imported workers and publish the statistics separately.
 
(5) The Government reports regularly to the Labour Advisory Board on the implementation and relevant statistics of the labour importation schemes, and will continue to closely monitor changes in the local labour market and the manpower situation of different industries, and from time to time review the operation and implementation arrangements of the sector-specific labour importation schemes and the ESLS to ensure measures for safeguarding employment priority for local workers are implemented.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Dennis Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (July 23):

Question:

Under the existing legislation, a person holding an overseas driving licence issued by a recognised country or place may be directly issued with a Hong Kong full driving licence without taking a local driving test (direct issue of driving licence). It has been reported that queuing gangs have recently been blatantly offering facilitation service for direct issue of driving licence in the vicinity of the Hong Kong Licensing Office of the Transport Department (the Licensing Office) and on social media platforms (such as Xiaohongshu, etc), and some individuals have been transferring their same-day queue tickets after waiting in line early in the morning at the Licensing Office, raising suspicions of abuse of services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the aforementioned facilitation service is illegal;

(2) whether it has reviewed if the existing legislation is adequate in combating the suspected abuse of services and transfer of queue tickets as mentioned above; if so, of the details;

(3) of the measures the Government will adopt to combat the suspected abuse of services and transfer of queue tickets as mentioned above, including whether it will consider conducting decoy operations on social media platforms (such as Xiaohongshu) or at the Licensing Office; if so, of the details; and

(4) given the current significant demand for direct issue of driving licence, whether the authorities will consider optimising the existing ticket distribution mechanism or application process (including the existing system of online appointment booking for services), so as to shorten applicants’ waiting time and enhance overall efficiency?

Reply:

President,

The Transport Department (TD) implements direct issue of a Hong Kong full driving licence without test (“direct issue”) in accordance with regulation 11(3) of the Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations (Cap. 374B) (the Regulations), which allows a person holding a driving licence issued by one of the 32 countries and places specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Regulations (recognised countries or places) to be directly issued with a Hong Kong full driving licence without taking a local driving test for driving private cars, light goods vehicles, motor cycles and/or motor tricycles, provided that specified conditions are met.

According to the Regulations, to apply for “direct issue”, the driving licence issued by the relevant recognised country or place must still be valid or expired for not more than three years, and be obtained by the applicant after successful completion of a driving test conducted in the issuing country or place. Also, the applicant must be aged 18 years or above and meet one of the following requirements: (1) the driving licence held was issued during a period of the applicant’s residence of not less than six months in the issuing country or place; or (2) the applicant has been holding the driving licence issued by the recognised country or place for not less than five years immediately prior to the application; or (3) the applicant is the holder of a passport or other equivalent travel document issued in the country or place in which the driving licence was issued.

A consolidated reply to the various parts of the question raised by Dr the Hon Dennis Lam is as follows:

(1) to (3) For the convenience of the general public, the TD, as in the case of other licensing services, allows applicants for “direct issue” to choose to submit their applications and supporting documents in person or by authorised persons (including family members, friends, etc) based on their own needs. To meet the eligibility criteria of “direct issue” under the Regulations, an applicant or his/her authorised person should, when submitting an application, produce the relevant original copies of various supporting documents which are authentic and accurate (including a valid driving licence issued by the recognised country or place, the applicant’s passport/other travel document, proof of address or Certificate of Driving Licence Particulars, etc) for on-site inspection by TD staff. The TD has been processing the applications in a stringent manner to ensure that all applications are correctly approved.

Currently, applicants for “direct issue” may use counter services and submit application documents through making online appointments or obtaining same-day queue tickets at the Licensing Offices. As regards obtaining same-day queue tickets, in order to maintain the good order of queuing, the TD has further stepped up staff patrols, set up additional barriers to separate those queuing up for the tickets for “direct issue” and those for the tickets for general driving licensing services, and demarcated designated areas for queuing. In addition, in relation to “direct issue”, the TD will specify the sequence of queuing tickets to prevent situations such as queue-jumping. The TD has been posting notices and deploying staff and security guards to provide on-site assistance as appropriate. Any acts found to be disrupting public order will be reported to the Hong Kong Police Force for follow-up.

To strengthen verification of the identity of queuers, the TD has enhanced the queue ticketing system for same-day queue tickets to ensure that a person using the same identification document (ID) can only obtain one queue ticket for each time slot. The counter staff will conduct strict checking of the ID number of the user and ascertain that the queuer is the one who uses the counter services, so as to curb transfer of queue tickets. Once an unauthorised transfer of queue ticket is found, all relevant queue tickets will become void immediately and the applications will not be processed.

To address the issue of individuals touting facilitation services after obtaining same-day queue tickets, the TD will further enhance the queue ticketing system from mid-August 2025, whereby all queuers will be required to input both the ID numbers of their own and those of the applicants for “direct issue”, which will then be printed on the tickets. When a ticket holder uses the counter services, the counter staff will verify his/her ID numbers and those of the applicant. If either of these ID numbers does not match with those printed on the ticket, the ticket will become void and the application will not be processed. This enhanced arrangement will deter individuals from touting with the same-day queue tickets obtained. The TD will publicise the latest operational arrangement of the queue ticketing system on its website and announce the relevant information through social media. The TD staff will post notices on-site and provide assistance to members of the public at the venue.

(4) The TD has been highly concerned about the situation of queue ticketing and online appointments, and has implemented targeted enhancement measures. Apart from the aforementioned enhanced arrangements for same-day queue tickets, in terms of online appointments, the TD will strengthen its co-operation with the relevant issuers of driving licences. For example, starting from September 2025, applicants’ information in relation to Mainland driving licences provided via online appointments will be checked. If the information is found to be untrue, the relevant online appointment will be cancelled and the quota will be reopened for appointment by other applicants. The relevant measures will ensure the enhancement of effective operation of the system.

The TD will keep in view of the effectiveness of the aforementioned enhancement measures and make timely adjustments to the relevant arrangements, as well as continue to promote the digitalisation of licensing services, thereby allocating more counters for processing applications which require counter services such as “direct issue”.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu hosted the Sydney Preliminary Forum for the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) General Assembly, joined by OCAC Director Chia-Hui Chiang and Council Members Johnson Hsiung and Shirley Chen. Together, they listened to our community’s voices and responded to questions and feedback.
DG Wu expressed his gratitude for the unwavering support from our community—ranging from Taiwan’s efforts in international participation, such as the WHA and CPTPP, to cultural diplomacy through events like the 2025 International Tour of Taiwan Gourmet Cuisines. He also emphasized Taiwan’s commitment to strengthening its “Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience” in the face of growing geopolitical challenges. This year’s Han Kuang Exercise—the longest, largest, and most extensive mobilization of reservists to date—demonstrates to the world Taiwan’s unity and resolve in self-defense.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Tawan in Sydney had the pleasure working with Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Australia to host Taste of Taiwan- 2025 International Tour of Taiwan Gourmet Cuisine at #Prefecture48.
We’d like to thank the parliamentary friends- the Hon Rod Roberts MLC and Matt Cross MP, colleagues from consular corps & community leaders for attending.
Amb Douglas Hsu remarked that Taiwan is recognized as a culinary paradise, and he is delighted to have the opportunity to share Taiwanese cuisine with friends around the world. He trusted that through food and culture mutual understanding can be greatly enhanced.
Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu pointed out that Taiwanese food is rich in variety, which reflects the unique history, profound culture background & our colourful life. It has incorporated different gourmet cultures and formed such a harmonious & diverse feature.
We also kicked off 2025 Soft Power 3 Episodes thru Taste of Taiwan on that day, and Episode Two & Three will be Taiwan Film Festival in Australia Premiere on July 24 at Event Cinema and performance of Cutural Goodwill Mission formed by Formosa Melody Music Centre on Sep 22 at Chatswood Concourse.
NSW members of Parliment mentioned the close ties between #Taiwan & #Australia, expressed gratitude for the outstanding contributions of the Taiwanese community, recognized the resilience & strength of Taiwanese people and affirmed that NSW & Taiwan will always stand shoulder to shoulder in mutual support. They also praised Taiwan’s cuisine, noting that Australia—also being a multicultural society—blends culinary traditions from around the globe.
Big thanks go to the organizer TCCA & its President Peter Huang, Ms. Sonia Chen, and the owner of P48 Michael Wu for allowing all the guests to enjoy themselves and experience charm of Taiwan.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu and Mrs. Wu were delighted to join the Learning Delights Book Club’s urban exploration event, engaging with the street art of Sydney’s Inner West.
Not to be outshone by Melbourne’s famous street art, Sydney’s Inner West is also a vibrant hub of creativity and culture. Suburbs like St Peters, Newtown, and Enmore each showcase a unique character through a wide range of mural styles.
Why not take a leisurely stroll here over the weekend? You’ll discover a whole new side of Sydney — full of character-filled cafés, eateries, and charming indie shops.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 23) that the shark prevention net at Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island, has been repaired, and the beach is reopened. The beach was temporarily closed earlier for shark prevention net maintenance work.
 
     However, according to the Beach Water Quality Forecast System of the Environmental Protection Department (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/water/beach_quality/forecast_system.html), the Beach Water Quality Forecast Index for Big Wave Bay Beach is 4, which means the predicted water quality at this beach is “Very Poor” due to potential transient water quality fluctuations caused by heavy rain. The red flag has been hoisted, and beachgoers are advised not to enter the water to safeguard their health.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (July 23):

Question:

     According to the data of the Hospital Authority (HA), the number of full-time doctors increased from 5 695 in 2013-2014 to 7 350 in 2023-2024, representing an increase of 29 per cent. During the same period, the number of HA’s specialist outpatient attendances increased by only 18.9 per cent while the relevant increase rate in the number of its general outpatient attendances was 3.34 per cent, and the number of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances even recorded a drop of 4.4 per cent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of HA doctors providing general outpatient clinic (GOPC) services and specialist outpatient clinic (SOPC) services in 2013-2014 and 2023-2024, as well as the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of HA doctors (set out in a table);

(2) whether it knows the respective average waiting time for HA’s SOPC new cases, GOPC services and A&E services, the average consultation time per patient, as well as the average number of consultations per doctor in 2013-2014 and 2023-2024 (set out in a table);

(3) whether it knows if the HA has compared the average number of consultations per doctor between the HA and medical institutions in other places; if the HA has not, how the HA assesses the efficiency in the use of doctor manpower and the consultation efficiency; and

(4) as there are views that the aforesaid data show a significant increase in the number of HA doctors from 2013-2014 to 2023-2024, but there is no significant rise in the number of attendances for various outpatient services, whether the Government knows if the HA has examined the reasons for that, and whether the HA will consider providing additional evening consultation services, so as to enhance the efficiency in the use of manpower and the service coverage while alleviating the pressure on the daytime services?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Hospital Authority (HA), the consolidated reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Chan Han-pan, is as follows:

     With the ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the demand for various types of services provided by the HA has continued to rise over the past decade. While coping with the ever-rising service demand, the HA is also committed to enhancing the quality and efficiency of public healthcare services, while adopting an integrated and multi-disciplinary team approach in the delivery of various healthcare services, with a view to providing optimal treatment and care to patients. 

     Apart from providing general out-patient (GOP), specialist out-patient (SOP) and Accident and Emergency (A&E) services as mentioned in the question, doctors of the HA are also tasked with providing a comprehensive range of services including in-patient, out-patient, and day services, as part of the overall healthcare team. The table below sets out the number of hospital beds and the number of attendances for each of the major service categories of the HA in 2013-14 and 2023-24, which show an increase in the utilisation of each of the services over the 11-year period mentioned in the question. In particular, the HA has been gradually promoting ambulatory care and community-based care in recent years to replace the traditional hospital-centric service model, with a particularly significant rise in the demand for day in-patient services. 
 

	2013-14	2023-24	Increase
Number of hospital beds (as at year-end)	27 440	30 671	11.8%
Number of in-patient discharges and deaths	1 026 998	1 146 494	11.6%
Number of patient days	7 479 088	8 750 456	17.0%
Number of day in-patient discharges and deaths	542 333	809 505	49.3%
Number of day hospital attendances (Note 1)	477 553	508 961	6.6%
Number of SOP (Clinical) attendances	7 040 883	8 368 107	18.9%
Number of Family Medicine out-patient (including Family Medicine Specialist Clinic and GOP clinic) attendances	6 100 888	6 359 781	4.2%

     As far as day in-patient services are concerned, day surgery brings significant benefits to patients, the public and the HA. For patients, day surgery has the benefits of causing less disruption to daily lives, reducing the risk of cross-infection and relieving psychological stress. In addition, day surgery is less costly and more efficient as it reduces the need for patients to stay in the hospital overnight, thereby releasing beds for more critical cases. Studies have also shown that the efficacy of day surgery is similar to that of in-patient surgery. For ambulatory palliative care services, the HA provides medical, nursing, rehabilitation, psychosocial and bereavement services through a one-stop multi-disciplinary team to alleviate patients’ symptoms and improve their quality of life, as well as reducing unnecessary hospitalisation. Day rehabilitation services include geriatric day hospitals, day rehabilitation services and allied health rehabilitation services. The HA provides specialty-oriented rehabilitation programmes, such as thoracic rehabilitation, orthopaedic rehabilitation, geriatric rehabilitation and cardiac rehabilitation, in its ambulatory care facilities to cater for the needs of individual types of patients. This development strategy can effectively shorten unnecessary hospitalisation time, help patients return to the community and enhance their ability to take care of their own health.

     Moreover, the HA has actively increased the number of endoscopic sessions to meet the public demand for endoscopic examination. The table below sets out the number of common endoscopic procedures performed in 2014-15 and 2023-24.
 

	2014-15	2023-24
Common endoscopic procedures (Note 2 and 3)	9 608	10 591

     The HA will review and plan the role and positioning of its hospitals in each cluster to reflect the changes in healthcare needs brought about by changes in population in various districts over time, and will review from time to time and ensure that hospitals in the clusters can complement each other in the continual provision of A&E and in-patient, ambulatory care, extended care as well as community care services, so as to ensure that patients will continue to receive optimal treatment and services at appropriate locations.

     Please refer to Annex 1 for the number of doctors in each major specialty providing GOP or SOP services and their respective proportions in the total number of doctors in the HA in 2013-14 and 2023-24 as mentioned in the question. However, as mentioned above, since the HA adopts an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach in service provision, and flexibly deploys its staff to meet service and operational needs from time to time, the number of doctors in the above table only reflects the number of doctors providing GOP and SOP services, and the doctors concerned may also be tasked with providing other services including in-patient, A&E and ambulatory services, etc.

     The HA has also been implementing various measures over the years to enhance consultation efficiency and improve waiting time.

     In respect of SOP services, the HA has implemented a triage system to determine the priority of patients attending SOP clinics (SOPCs) based on their clinical condition. In addition, the HA has also adopted the strategy of “narrowing upstream, collaborating downstream, diverting midstream”. The HA has introduced doctor-led multi-disciplinary integrated clinics, and allocated more resources for new cases, rationalised referral arrangements for cross-specialty cases, set up more integrated clinics to provide multi-disciplinary support, and enhanced primary healthcare to follow up on patients in stable conditions. With the implementation of various measures, the waiting time for SOPCs has improved notably in the past few years. The data shows that the number of new SOP cases in 2023-24 has increased by 18 per cent compared to a decade ago, with the number of stable new cases (i.e. routine cases) increasing from 448 545 in 2013-14 to 577 191 in 2023-24, an increase of 28 per cent. Please refer to the Annex 2 for the number of new cases and waiting time for SOP services in 2013-14 and 2023-24.

     In addition, the HA has also rationalised the waiting procedures for SOP services to reduce the waiting time for patients to see doctors, with more than 75 per cent of SOP patients completing the process from registration to doctor consultation within 60 minutes in 2022-23 to 2023-24. The table below shows the percentage of the HA SOP patients who have completed the process from registration to doctor consultation within 60 minutes in 2022-23 and 2023-24:
 

Year 2022-23 (Since November 2022)	Year 2023-24
76.5%	83.6%

     Regarding A&E services, to ensure that citizens with urgent needs can receive timely services, A&E departments implement a patient triage system under which patients are classified into five triages, namely critical, emergency, urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent based on their clinical condition, and will receive treatment as prioritised by their urgency category. The HA’s performance targets specify that all critical patients (i.e. 100 per cent) will receive immediate treatment, and emergency and urgent patients will be prioritised for treatment upon arrival at A&E departments, with the targets being that most emergency patients (95 per cent) and urgent patients (90 per cent) will be treated within 15 and 30 minutes. The table below sets out the number of attendances and average waiting time for each triage category of A&E services in the HA in 2013-14 and 2023-24 respectively:
 

	No. of A&E attendances
	Triage 1(Critical)	Triage 2  (Emergency)	Triage 3 (Urgent)	Triage 4 (Semi- urgent)	Triage 5 (Non- urgent)
Year 2013-14	19 358	41 136	674 841	1 288 359	145 406
Year 2023-24	28 138	56 566	820 353	1 126 207	58 965

     The above attendances for A&E services under various triage categories in various hospitals under the HA exclude (i) first-time visits without triage categories, and (ii) follow-up visits to the A&E departments.
 

	Average waiting time (in minutes) for A&E services
	Triage 1 (Critical)	Triage 2 (Emergency)	Triage 3 (Urgent)	Triage 4 (Semi- urgent)	Triage 5 (Non- urgent)
Year 2013-14	0	7	27	106	124
Year 2023-24	0	8	29	180	205

 
     The data show that, over the past decade, the number of A&E attendances for patients in Triage 1 to Triage 3 has increased by 23 per cent from more than 730 000 to more than 900 000. In particular, attendances for patients in Triage 1 and Triage 2, who are the primary service targets of the A&E departments, have increased by 45 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. That said, patients in these two categories are treated promptly and the relevant average waiting times continue to meet the service targets specified by the HA.
 
     Regarding GOP services, the HA provides public primary healthcare services through its 74 GOP clinics (GOPCs) (including community health centres), providing more than five million out-patient attendances annually. Of these, a total of 23 GOPCs in all districts of Hong Kong provide evening out-patient services until 10pm. Patients under the care of the GOPCs comprise two major categories: patients with chronic diseases in stable medical condition, such as patients with diabetes mellitus or hypertension; and episodic disease patients with relatively mild symptoms, such as those suffering from cold or gastroenteritis. As for patients with chronic diseases requiring follow-up consultations, they will be assigned a time slot for follow-up by the GOPCs after each consultation and do not need to make separate appointments by phone. Episodic disease patients can make appointments for the next 24 hours through the HA GOPC telephone appointment system and “Book GOPC” function in the HA’s one-stop mobile app “HA Go”. There is no waiting time for GOP services. 
 
     The HA has been closely monitoring the operation and utilisation of different services with a view to deploying manpower and service resources flexibly. Since 2008, the HA has adopted a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure its service performance, covering clinical services, human resources and finance, with a view to establishing a mechanism for monitoring service performance and identifying service areas for continuous improvement. The HA conducts regular reviews of the KPIs annually and will enhance and refine them in accordance with its service strategies. Progress reports on KPIs are submitted to the HA Board and the Health Bureau on a regular basis, through quarterly progress review reports for the latter, to keep track of the HA’s performance in key service areas. Trend analyses within and across hospital clusters can be conducted to help identify areas for deliberation and formulation of enhancement measures, and to provide reference on service planning and resource allocation.
 
     Moreover, the HA has set up the Governance and Structure Reform Committee to provide strategic guidance, oversight, and reform advice on implementing governance and structure reforms. The work of the Committee includes examining the introduction of KPIs to measure the service performance of the HA.
 
     In recent years, the HA has also endeavoured to enhance public healthcare services through various measures, including enhancing primary healthcare services, shortening the waiting time for cataract surgery, making good use of the Central Government-Aided Emergency Hospital to alleviate the pressure on the radiology services in public hospitals, and establishing centres for major illnesses, with a view to improving the quality and efficiency of treatment. Regarding evening out-patient services, the HA and the Primary Healthcare Commission will also review the demand and supply of evening out-patient services in different districts as well as the utilisation of such services by members of the public in various districts, with emphasis on districts where private evening out-patient services are scanty, with a view to further increasing the number of quotas of evening out-patient services through flexible deployment of manpower and resources, as well as exploring the feasibility of setting up additional evening out-patient clinics.
 
Note 1: The above figure includes attendances at Geriatric Day Hospitals, Psychiatric Day Hospitals, Day Rehabilitation Services, and Ambulatory Palliative Care Services. Of these, the number of attendances at Geriatric Day Hospitals includes those participating in the Integrated Discharge Support Programme for Elderly Patients.
Note 2: The HA has maintained the relevant statistics since 2014-15.
Note 3: The above endoscopic procedures include bronchoscopy, colonoscopy, colposcopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, flexible cystoscopy, oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, sigmoidoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography. Of these, endoscopic ultrasonography covers upper gastrointestinal tract, lower gastrointestinal tract, as well as bronchus and mediastinum.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

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

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), announced that a tender for 10-year HKD institutional Government Bonds (issue number 10GB3507001) under the Infrastructure Bond Programme was held today (July 23).
 
A total of HK$2.0 billion 10-year Government Bonds were offered today. A total of HK$10.545 billion tender applications were received. The bid-to-cover ratio, i.e. the ratio of bonds applied for to bonds issued, is 5.27. The average price accepted is 100.43, implying an annualised yield of 3.144 per cent.
 
HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds Tender Results
 
Tender results of 10-year HKD HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds:
 

Tender Date	:	July 23, 2025
Issue Number	:	10GB3507001
Stock Code	:	4294 (HKGB 3.17 3507)
Issue and Settlement Date	:	July 24, 2025
Tenor	:	10 years
Maturity Date	:	24 July 2035
Coupon Rate	:	3.17 per cent
Amount Applied	:	HK$10.545 billion
Amount Allotted	:	HK$2.0 billion
Bid-to-Cover Ratio*	:	5.27
Average Price Accepted (Yield)	:	100.43 (3.144 per cent)
Lowest Price Accepted (Yield)	:	100.21 (3.170 per cent)
Pro-rata Ratio	:	About 95 per cent
Average Tender Price (Yield)	:	99.13 (3.299 per cent)

* Calculated as the amount of bonds applied for over the amount of bonds issued.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Tommy Cheung and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (July 23):

Question:   
(3) whether any PI KGs have participated in the Guangdong-Hong Kong Sister Kindergarten Exchange Programme which has been launched by the EDB since the 2023-2024 school year; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?      
President,