Month: July 2025

Source: Government of Singapore

JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN MSE, NEA, PUB AND SFA

Singapore, 21 July 2025 – 16 young individuals have received the Singapore Sustainability Scholarship (SSS) to pursue courses in engineering, environmental, food, and science-related disciplines locally or overseas. Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, presented the scholarships at the award ceremony today. The SSS is jointly offered by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), the National Environment Agency (NEA), national water agency PUB, and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Minister Fu also presented certificates to 16 in-service scholars, recognising their commitment to enhance their skills and professional expertise, and potential to make even bigger contributions to the public service. The full list of Singapore Sustainability Scholarship and in-service scholars are in Annex A and B respectively.

2            A total of 293 scholarships have been awarded since the inception of the SSS in 2008. The Scholarship identifies potential future public service leaders with a passion for environmental stewardship, and nurtures them to tackle the challenges posed by climate change, environmental sustainability, water supply resilience and food safety and food security. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients will embark on fulfilling careers with MSE, NEA, PUB, or SFA, working on initiatives that impact the everyday lives of Singaporeans. These include safeguarding Singapore’s coastline from the effects of climate change, ensuring a secure and safe food supply for Singapore, and implementing the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

Singapore Sustainability Scholarship Recipients

3         Aarohi Chaudhary, 19, was inspired during her internship in NEA and chose to build a career with the agency. At NEA’s Public Health Policy Department, Aarohi learned that science and policy-making are closely connected while working on a project on new after-death practices. She will be pursuing a Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Oxford and is keen to apply scientific knowledge to address Singapore’s environmental challenges.

4         Mohd Kasyful Azhim, 24, is a mid-term scholarship recipient with PUB, pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology. Kasyful is a passionate advocate for sustainability initiatives and a member of the student board at Al-Mizan Singapore, a non-profit network under the Association of Muslim Professionals. He is eager to advance PUB’s progress in enhancing sustainability across our operations and contribute to Singapore’s Water Story. “Water is at the heart of Singapore’s sustainability roadmap, and I am excited to play a role in ensuring our water future continues to be resilient and secure.”

5          Darren Chua, 25, represented Singapore in swimming, winning both a Gold and Silver medal for Singapore at the 2023 SEA Games. He is now shifting his focus to veterinary science. Growing up, he spent most of his time in the waters and this ignited his passion for working in aquatic environments. As one of SFA’s scholarship recipients this year, Darren will be pursuing a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland. His studies will equip him with necessary skills to address challenges in aquatic animal health and food security in Singapore.

In-service Scholarship Recipients

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, will depart for a visit to Beijing tomorrow evening (July 22).
 
During her stay in Beijing, Ms Linn will call on several central ministries, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Water Resources, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the National Cultural Heritage Administration. She will also attend the eighth Joint Conference on Advancing Hong Kong’s Full Participation in and Contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as activities of a study tour on national water engineering projects, culture and technology, and inspect urban renewal projects.
 
The Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr Ricky Lau, and the Director of the Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office, Mr Vic Yau, will join the visit.
 
Ms Linn will return to Hong Kong on the evening of July 25. During her absence, the Under Secretary for Development, Mr David Lam, will be the Acting Secretary for Development.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) today (July 21) alerts members of the public to a fraudulent website (https://bhsb588[.]online/) that pretends to be the website of the TLB.

The TLB advises that such a website has no affiliation with the TLB and has reported the case to the Police for follow-up.

The TLB urges the public to stay alert to suspicious websites, to remain vigilant in protecting personal information, and not to click on any hyperlinks from unknown sources.

For information about the TLB, please visit the TLB website (www.tlb.gov.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Development Bureau announced today that the Government has decided to cancel the tender for two sites in Yuen Long and Hung Shui Kiu and proactively utilise the sites according to the Government’s development strategy.

 

Yuen Long Town Lot No. 545 was handed over to the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC), while Hung Shui Kiu Town Lot No. 10 has been put into the Development Bureau’s policy study.

 

The tenders of the Yuen Long Lot and the Hung Shui Kiu Lot were launched under the two-envelope approach in March and October 2024 respectively for the development of multi-storey buildings for modern industries. The tender invitation for the two sites was originally to close on July 25, 2025.

 

The Development Bureau explained that taking into account the views of the innovation and technology sector and the logistics sector on the industry development strategy in the area, as well as the Government’s planning strategy for the Northern Metropolis, the Government decided to cancel the tender for the two sites and proactively utilise such sites in accordance with its development strategy, enabling the greater play of the sites in promoting industry development.

 

The three-hectare Yuen Long Lot is situated within the vicinity of the Yuen Long InnoPark and the Microelectronics Centre therein. The Yuen Long InnoPark is operated and managed by the HKSTPC.

 

To cater for the HKSTPC’s plan to establish a vibrant microelectronics ecosystem within the Yuen Long InnoPark, the Government has seized the opportunity to convert the Yuen Long Lot to innovation and technology use. The Innovation, Technology & Industry Bureau will further discuss with the HKSTPC to draw up a concrete development proposal.

 

On the other hand, the Development Bureau has been exploring the establishment of a company led by the Government to build and operate an industrial park, involving some of the logistics sites in Hung Shui Kiu.

 

The study will cover around 15 hectares of industry sites situated in the northern part of Hung Shui Kiu, and the eight-hectare Hung Shui Kiu Lot is exactly adjacent to this 15-hectare area of industry land.

 

Incorporating the Hung Shui Kiu Lot in the study will endow the industry park company with more ample land resources to achieve economies of scale in the future.

 

The Development Bureau will complete the study within this year and subsequently commence the work for the establishment of the company.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin (HKETO Berlin) sponsored the 17th International Dragon Boat Federation World Dragon Boat Racing Championships (IDBF World Championships) held in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, from July 14 to 20 (Berlin time).

The one-week competition brought together over 4 000 athletes from 33 countries and regions, showcasing the global appeal of dragon boat racing.  The Acting Director of HKETO Berlin, Mr Billy Leung, supported Hong Kong team’s competition and delivered a speech at the event dinner, highlighting Hong Kong as a centre for international major sports events.   

“Hong Kong is a centre for major sports events. Every year, our annual Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races attract athletes from around the world, uniting top competitors in a thrilling celebration of athleticism and culture.” 

This year, the Hong Kong delegation won a total of eight medals, namely one gold, three silver and four bronze medals. Hong Kong will host the next IDBF World Championships in 2027. The closing ceremony held on July 20 was concluded with a symbolic flag handover from the event organisers to the Hong Kong delegation.  

About HKETO Berlin

HKETO Berlin is the official representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Austria as well as Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. 
 

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Development Bureau and the Education Bureau announced that the Hostels in the City Scheme will start accepting applications today.

Through the scheme, the Government has streamlined development control procedures to encourage and facilitate the market to convert commercial buildings into student hostels on a self-financing privately funded basis to increase the supply of hostel places, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s position as an international hub for post-secondary education.

Specifically, operators may make use of the facilitation measures under the scheme to apply for converting commercial buildings into eligible student hostels.

In terms of planning procedures, the Town Planning Board has already expanded the definition of “Hotel” under the planning regime to cover eligible student hostels under the scheme. As a result, since “Hotel” is an always permitted use in most commercial sites, no planning procedures would be required for converting those commercial buildings into student hostels.

Under the buildings regime, converted student hostels under the scheme will continue to be treated as non-domestic buildings for plot ratio and site coverage calculations, meaning that the existing gross floor area (GFA) of the commercial building can be retained.

Moreover, facilities previously exempted from GFA calculations before conversion, such as car parking spaces and loading/unloading areas, can be retained and continue to be exempted from GFA calculation, so as to facilitate developers/operators to flexibly convert these facilities into facilities supporting hostel uses, such as gyms and study rooms, so that the hostel better suits the study and daily needs of the student tenants.

In terms of land administration, most of the leases stated for non-industrial use allow student hostel use without the need for lease modification or payment of premiums. For the small number of cases where a lease modification is needed, the Lands Department will assess the amount of premium payment.

The scheme welcomes wholesale conversion of an entire commercial building into a student hostel, while permitting partial conversion if specific conditions are fulfilled.

Industrial buildings and buildings in industrial zonings are not eligible under the scheme. However, commercial buildings that have undergone wholesale conversions from industrial buildings located on non-industrial zonings would be eligible under the scheme, provided that the relevant land administration procedures have been completed.

Interested developers/operators need to submit applications to the Education Bureau using a prescribed form, and fulfil eligibility criteria under the scheme.

The Government has launched a dedicated website to announce the scheme’s details. The Education Bureau will also publish the list of student hostels with approvals secured on the website in the future.

The Development Projects Facilitation Office under the Development Bureau will provide one-stop facilitation services to applicants, including handling enquiries related to facilitation measures and application progress.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Taiwan in Australia Amb. Douglas Yu-Tien Hsu and Taiwan in Sydney Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu were pleased to be invited by Australia-Taiwan Business Council Limited (ATBC)President John Toigo and CEO Ching-Mei Maddock to its 2025 Annual General Meeting Business Luncheon, catching up and reconnecting with Australian counterparts, business leaders and think tank experts.
In his remarks, Amb. Hsu highlighted that Taiwan’s strengths in the semiconductor and AI industries make it a natural partner to support AU’s “Future Made in Australia” policy. This partnership adds new momentum into supply chain integration, not only between TW and AU, but across the broader region. He emphasized that the CPTPP serves as the best platform to facilitate such cooperation.
Amb. Hsu thanked the ATBC and #ROCABC/CIECA for including TW’s CPTPP application on the agenda for the 38th Joint Conference in Taipei on Aug 21. He expressed the hope that AU would evaluate TW’s bid based on its economic performance and merits, free from external pressure, and that AU, as the current CPTPP chair, would play a constructive role in moving the initiative forward.
We sincerely thank the Hon. Anoulack Chanthivong MP for his compelling keynote speech. He strongly acknowledged the achievements in TW–AU trade, economic, and scientific collaboration, as well as the great potential for future partnership. He underscored that trade is not a zero-sum game and reaffirmed the NSW Government’s commitment to open and diversified trade principles.
We look forward to seeing TW and AU work hand in hand to expand markets and grow together.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn will depart tomorrow evening for Beijing, where she will call on central ministries and attend a Belt & Road Initiative event. 

During her stay in the capital, Ms Linn will call on the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security, the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Water Resources, the State Council’s State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission, and the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

She will also attend the eighth “Joint Conference on Advancing Hong Kong’s Full Participation in & Contribution to the Belt & Road Initiative”.

Her other engagements include visiting urban renewal projects and joining activities on a study tour focused on national water engineering, technology and culture. 

Ms Linn will return to Hong Kong on the evening of July 25.

In her absence, Under Secretary for Development David Lam will be Acting Secretary.