Month: July 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, officiated at the kick-off ceremony of the first cohort of the “She Inspires” Mentorship Programme launched by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau today (July 19).
 
In his speech, Mr Chan noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women. The two milestone documents have laid the foundation for the advancement of women’s causes globally. Hong Kong, as the international gateway for the country, has consistently taken concrete actions to promote women’s development. The launch of the Programme represented a significant step forward in this endeavour.
 
Mr Chan also encouraged the mentees of the Programme, “I hope that all of you will not only possess professional expertise, but also resilience and a heart that cares for our country and gives back to society. Today, you benefit from the selfless guidance of your mentors. I hope that when you become leaders in the future, you will also be beacons for the next generation, your juniors, passing on the power of women.”
 
Miss Mak expressed her gratitude to the mentors and mentees for their active participation, as well as to the local universities for their assistance and support.
 
She said, “Looking forward, we hope this Programme will become a source of strength which encourages more women to realise their potential in the workplace. I look forward to seeing each mentee to face challenges bravely, discover their talents, and achieve excellence in their future careers under the guidance of mentors.”
 
Also officiating at the ceremony were the Chairperson of the Women’s Commission (WoC), Dr Eliza Chan, and the Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Ms Shirley Lam. Members of the WoC, mentors and mentees participating in the Programme as well as representatives from local universities also attended the ceremony.
 
The Programme matches local female university students who aspire to pursue a career in the professional or business sectors with women leader mentors, and provides relevant training and activities to help them enhance their skills, build confidence and network to thrive in their future career and nurture the future strength that “hold up half the sky”. For the first cohort of the Programme, over 50 women leaders participated as mentors, and more than 250 applications from students were received, with more than 80 of them being selected as mentees.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     As the Hong Kong Observatory will issue Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 tomorrow (July 20), the Government announced that the Children Community Vaccination Centre (CCVC) and Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations (PCVSs) under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme will remain closed tomorrow and their vaccination service will be suspended. 

     If the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 is cancelled before 1pm tomorrow, the CCVC and PCVSs will reopen and resume vaccination service two hours after the cancellation and they will operate until the normal closing time. 

     Affected persons can make a new vaccination appointment through the booking system on the website of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk) after the scheduled time of the original booking.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​The Innovate and Lead – The New Wave Logistics Competition, funded under the Logistics Promotion Funding Scheme of the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund launched by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) and organised by the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (HAFFA), was held today (July 19). The competition attracted 40 secondary school teams from Hong Kong and Macao, providing students with the opportunity to propose innovative solutions for the future development of the logistics industry in three specific themes, namely smart city logistics, sustainable logistics and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) as well as entrepreneurship and innovation in logistics.
 
In the Action Plan on Modern Logistics Development promulgated in 2023, the TLB proposed to strengthen the promotion of the modern logistics industry with a view to enriching the younger generation’s understanding of the latest developments in the logistics sector, thereby inspiring their interest in and attracting them to join the industry. This competition provides a platform for students to unleash their creativity on one hand and promotes the innovation of the industry on the other hand.
 
The participating teams showcased their solutions to the public and the professional judging panel via exhibitions at the Grand Hall of Hong Kong Science Park. The judging panel evaluated each team based on their understanding of industry development challenges, the feasibility and practicability of their proposed solutions, and so on. Gold, silver, bronze, and merit prizes, as well as an overall grand champion and Cathay Cargo merit prize were awarded to the winning teams to recognise their efforts and creativity. 
 
At the award ceremony, the Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, pointed out that the logistics sector has been advancing towards smart development, digitalisation and modernisation. He expressed his trust that the competition helped students experience the professionalism, innovation and vitality of the modern logistics industry. He also encouraged students to participate in the Internship Scheme on Modern Logistics to gain personal exposure to the interesting work of the industry and understand its various opportunities for career development.
 
To better equip students for the competition, HAFFA arranged a series of logistics-related seminars, simulation and virtual-reality trainings, as well as workshops ahead of the event. Senior industry professionals were invited to share their knowledge and insights, with a view to helping students gain an understanding of the latest developments in the modern logistics industry.
 
The event was fully supported by the logistics sector and academia, demonstrating the collaborative effort across sectors to promote young talent development in the logistics industry. Members of the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council also visited the exhibitions this morning to understand the details and ideas behind each participating team’s creative proposal and spoke highly of the students for their creativity. For more information on the Innovate and Lead – The New Wave Logistics Competition, please visit haffa.aiatros.com/.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

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 19) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach and Silver Mine Bay Beach in Islands District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following are the remarks made by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (July 19):
 
Reporter: Professor Lo, the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme was rolled out two years ago. Could you maybe give us the latest figures on the number of participating patients and doctors respectively? And what do you make of the figures so far? And could you also maybe give us an update on the number of staff members in public hospitals, and how effective the Government as well as the HA’s plan in recruiting doctors trained outside Hong Kong, as well as retaining local talents?
 
Secretary for Health: Our original plan for this chronic disease co-care programme is to recruit 200 000 citizens who do not have any history of hypertension or diabetes for screening. I think right now we are exceeding the target. The programme has started for about 20 months, but we have already recruited 140 000 people with 80 000 having completed all the screening, and 32 000 were actually found to have high blood sugar or hypertension. So the positive rate on this screening programme is almost 40 per cent. This is really a little bit alarming for us, because this is pretty high, especially considering the fact that after preliminary analysis, we found that the male participation rate is quite low comparing to the female participation rate. So we are actually anticipating that men may have more of these hypertension or hyperlipidaemia or diabetes. So we are trying to encourage the men to come out to join this programme more. We have different measures. And if we have more male people coming out to join this screening programme, we may expect even higher positive rate in this.
 
     Looking at the whole programme, I think it is really encouraging that we have this response. We have right now 640 doctors joining and they have close to 900 service points for our participants to get the service. Of course, there are rooms for improvement. We will be conducting interim analysis for this and we will be making measures and considering reviewing the current programme with the intent to improve it, to encourage more doctors participating as well as our people participating. But right now I think this is very encouraging. We are also asking the university to make a study about the cost effectiveness of this programme, and we are anticipating that, and in fact the preliminary data actually indicated that this kind of programme screening chronic diseases before complications will actually be able to save a lot for our future healthcare system.
 
Reporter: And the number of staff members?
 
Secretary for Health: For manpower, I think we are making good progress by various measures, multi-prone measures, including retention of our own talent by different measures, hoping that we have a reduction in the wastage rate. We have also been recruiting non-locally trained doctors, nurses, and we have very positive response. For doctors, for example, we have over 230 doctors coming for permanent job, and we have more than 70 coming for short-term exchange. So over 300 non-locally trained doctors have joined the Hospital Authority, and there are others joining the universities as well. So these are very encouraging. We are also increasing our own training capacity by putting more resources into our two medical schools, and also considering the proposal for a third medical school in Hong Kong. So all these measures will help to improve not just the manpower for service in Hong Kong but hopefully we will be able to have more talents to take up all the tasks that we have put forth especially in developing Hong Kong into an international medical and health innovation hub.
 
Reporter: Dr Fan, how would your experience particularly in the family medicine field as well as your experience in the Department of Health help with your new post as the Under Secretary for Health?
 
Under Secretary for Health: When I took up this post in the Health Bureau, I think I would try to contribute to all health policies in all aspects. But having said that, because my previous experience is more focused on family medicine and public health, so I think I definitely can contribute more to the primary healthcare policies, like just now we have mentioned, the District Health Centres, chronic disease co-care programmes, as well as the life-course approach for the citizens. So I think actually all aspects will contribute to the whole healthcare enhancement.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Hurricane Signal No. 10 issued by the Hong Kong Observatory at 9.20am today (July 20) remains in force.
 
The Home Affairs Department has so far opened 34 temporary shelters in various districts and 242 people have sought refuge at the shelters.
 
As at 2pm today, the Government’s 1823 Call Centre and the Fire Services Department received 117 reports and 246 reports of fallen trees respectively. No report of landslide or flooding has been received so far.
 
According to the Hospital Authority, as at 2pm today, 13 males and eight females have sought medical treatment at the Accident and Emergency Departments at public hospitals so far during the typhoon period.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​Ms Winkie Chick will assume the post of District Officer (North) tomorrow (July 21), succeeding Mr Derek Lai.

     Since joining the Administrative Service in 2015, Ms Chick has served in various bureaux, including the then Transport and Housing Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Education Bureau.

     She was the Assistant Secretary (Heritage Conservation) at the Development Bureau before taking up the new post of District Officer (North).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Hurricane Signal No. 10 issued by the Hong Kong Observatory at 9.20am today (July 20) remains in force.
 
The Home Affairs Department has so far opened 34 temporary shelters in various districts and 234 people have sought refuge at the shelters.
 
As at 12 noon today, the Government’s 1823 Call Centre and the Fire Services Department received 76 reports and 164 reports of fallen trees respectively. No report of landslide or flooding has been received so far.
 
According to the Hospital Authority, as at 12 noon today, seven males and seven females have sought medical treatment at the Accident and Emergency Departments at public hospitals so far during the typhoon period.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Observatory replaced the No. 8 Northeast Gale or Storm Signal by the Increasing Gale or Storm Signal No.9 at 7.20am today (July 20).

     The Home Affairs Department has so far opened 34 temporary shelters in various districts and 198 people have sought refuge at the shelters.

     As at 8am today, the Government’s 1823 Call Centre and the Fire Services Department received two reports and 11 reports of fallen trees respectively. No report of landslide or flooding has been received so far.

     According to the Hospital Authority, as at 8am today, one male has sought medical treatment at the Accident and Emergency Departments at public hospitals so far during the typhoon period.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The Hospital Authority (HA) announces that as the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 has been issued, its general out-patient clinics will be closed today (July 20). Outpatients are advised to make a new appointment after the cancellation of the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8. The service of Accident & Emergency Department of public hospitals remains normal.
 
The HA has made preparations to cope with the adverse weather conditions and established contingency plans for inclement weather. Drills have been conducted to ensure uninterrupted medical services across all public hospitals. Also, the HA has reminded all clusters to conduct a comprehensive review of their preparedness to effectively respond to adverse weather conditions.
 
All clusters have allocated additional manpower, food and medical supplies to maintain normal hospital operations. Enhanced inspections have been carried out at various locations within public hospitals, including potential flood-prone areas, drainage systems and trees. Furthermore, contractors of HA construction sites have been instructed to implement proper reinforcement and safety precautionary measures against strong wind and heavy rain to minimise the impact of severe weather.
 
The HA Major Incident Control Centre will closely monitor the operations of all hospitals and maintain close communication with relevant government departments to ensure public hospital services remain unaffected during adverse weather conditions.