Month: August 2025

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government has terminated all contracts associated with the owners of Xin Ding Xin Trade Co. (XDX), with immediate effect.

Based on information obtained by the Government Logistics Department (GLD) on the firm’s operations, as well as recent enforcement actions against it by government departments, the Government said it reasonably believes that XDX, and companies associated with its owners, are no longer capable of fulfilling the contracts.

Following the GLD’s termination of a contract with XDX for the supply of bottled drinking water to government offices, and three other contracts with associated companies for the supply of chemicals, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau has promptly informed bureaus and departments to terminate all of their contracts with the companies.

The Government said it had immediately terminated all relevant contracts. These include a contract for the supply of chemicals awarded by the Drainage Services Department (DSD), worth some $6 million, and a contract for data entry services awarded by the Fire Services Department (FSD), worth some $5 million respectively.

As regards the GLD’s contract with XDX for the supply of bottled drinking water to government offices, pursuant with contract terms the Government holds a deposit of about $1 million from the firm.

The Government is entitled to deduct funds from the contract deposit to recover losses arising from contract termination and reserves all rights to take actions against XDX.

Meanwhile, the GLD will continue to co-operate fully with the investigations of law enforcement agencies.

The GLD, DSD and FSD will continue to on matters relating to the contract, including how to recover the Government’s losses from the companies in accordance with contract terms. Any illegal activities identified in the contracts will be referred to law enforcement agencies for follow-up.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Regarding the Consumer Council’s study findings on “Enhancing Governance in Telehealth: Fostering Consumer Trust and Innovation”, the Health Bureau today (August 20) stated that to ensure healthcare quality and safety and to safeguard citizen’s health, the Government’s long-standing position is that any kind of medical service (including in-person consultations or telehealth services) should be provided by qualified healthcare professionals, whose delivery is governed by the regulatory boards and councils of relevant healthcare professions. Such healthcare professionals bear professional responsibility and must act in the interest of patients. Their standard of practice must not be compromised based on the service mode (whether by means of in-person consultations or telehealth services).
 
     Currently, the Medical Council of Hong Kong and the Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board under the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong have already promulgated guidelines for the telehealth practice (see Annexes), covering operational issues such as establishing a doctor-patient relationship, evaluating patients’ suitability for telehealth services, obtaining informed consent and protecting patient privacy.
 
     Telehealth services allow citizens to access healthcare services without leaving their homes; however, they may not be suitable for all scenarios particularly when patients may need on-site clinical examinations for accurate diagnosis and treatment. This involves the professional judgment of healthcare professionals. The Government will ensure that the boards and councils of various healthcare professions would formulate and update specific telehealth guidelines in a timely manner based on their professional practice and operational needs, with a view to protecting the interests of patients and healthcare professionals. When seeking medical services, members of the public should ascertain that the service provider is a qualified healthcare professional to safeguard their own safety and interests. In case of complaints against the telehealth services provided by healthcare professionals, the public may contact the regulatory boards and councils of relevant healthcare professions.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, visited the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and a charging infrastructure monitoring and service platform in Beijing today (August 20).
 
     In the morning, Mr Tse first visited the MEE to meet with its Minister Professor Huang Runqiu, for in-depth exchanges on the work of the Environment and Ecology Bureau, including the carbon reduction progress, promotion of green energy transition, development of green and low-carbon industries, progress of waste reduction and recycling, development of waste-to-energy facilities, nature and ecological conservation, air quality and overall water environment.
 
     Mr Tse expressed that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region can leverage its unique advantage of having strong support from the motherland and close connection with the world. Through the harnessing of the various green, low-carbon and new energy technologies and products of the country, Hong Kong will be able to foster local green and low-carbon development, whilst tap into the advantages under the “one country, two systems” to assist the Belt and Road Initiative and other countries in cultivating green development talents, thereby promoting green transformation and supporting green enterprises of our country to branch out.

     Mr Tse visited the State Grid Smart Internet of Vehicles Company Ltd in the afternoon to learn more about the National Charging Infrastructure Monitoring and Service Platform. The platform has currently achieved vertical data integration with 31 provincial-level platforms and serves as the only official channel for statistics of the charging and battery swapping industry in the country. It also supports nationwide monitoring of highway charging facilities, as well as industry monitoring, planning and policy formulation. He later toured the vehicle-to-grid demonstration project at China Re Building, which is equipped with the first domestically developed 15-kilowatt direct current bidirectional charging and discharging pile, and has been included in the State Grid Corporation of China’s (State Grid) source-grid-load-storage interactive demonstration project.
 
    Mr Tse will visit the State Grid and the Beijing Power Exchange Center tomorrow (August 21) to exchange views on and keep abreast of the latest developments of the country’s electricity market.
 
    Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (August 20) released the sixth batch of gravidtrap indexes and density indexes for Aedes albopictus in August, covering 11 survey areas, as follows:
 

District	Survey Area	August 2025
		First Phase Gravidtrap Index	First Phase Density Index
Central/ Western	Sai Wan	5.5%	1.0
Southern	Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau	3.8%	1.0
Wanchai	Tin Hau	1.8%	1.0
Kowloon City	Lok Fu West	5.1%	1.0
	Kai Tak North	17.5%	1.4
Sha Tin	Sha Tin Town Centre and Fo Tan	2.0%	1.0
Yuen Long	Ki Lun Shan	0.0%	N/A
	Sung Shan	4.2%	1.0
Tsuen Wan	Ma Wan	20.0%	1.4

 

District	Survey Area	August 2025
		Area Gravidtrap Index	Area Density Index
Eastern	Shau Kei Wan and Sai Wan Ho	7.0%	1.3
Kwun Tong	Kwun Tong Central	2.3%	1.0

Among the sixth batch of First Phase Gravidtrap Indexes covering nine survey areas and Area Gravidtrap Indexes covering two survey areas in August, all were below 10 per cent, except the First Phase Gravidtrap Indexes for Kai Tak North in Kowloon City and Ma Wan in Tsuen Wan.

The FEHD has so far announced six batches of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in August, covering 40 survey areas. Among these 40 survey areas, 24 recorded a decrease or remained unchanged in the individual gravidtrap index as compared with the Area Gravidtrap Index last month, i.e. July 2025, representing the areas’ mosquito infestation improved or maintained at a low level. Eleven other areas recorded a slight increase, but the indexes were lower than 10 per cent.

Among the sixth batch of indexes released, Kai Tak North in Kowloon City and Ma Wan in Tsuen Wan recorded an index over 10 per cent. In accordance with the mechanism implemented by the FEHD in response to the recent chikungunya fever (CF) situation, the FEHD is collaborating with relevant departments and stakeholders to identify locations with high mosquito infestation and carry out intensive and targeted mosquito control measures. In particular, the gravidtrap data for Kai Tak North showed that the locations with more mosquito problems included public and private housing estates, while the gravidtrap data for Ma Wan showed that the locations with more mosquito problems included parks, beaches, schools, private housing estates and construction sites. The gravidtrap index for Ma Wan survey area dropped from 30.4 per cent in first phase to 24.4 per cent in July, and its First Phase Gravidtrap Index in August further dropped to 20 per cent. The relevant departments and stakeholders are actively following up on the mosquito control work. Additionally, the FEHD will also organise exhibitions, distribute leaflets and posters, and notify the residential estates subscribed to the gravidtrap Rapid Alert System, advising property management agents and residents to stay vigilant and join hands in taking mosquito prevention and elimination measures.

Public participation is crucial to effective control of mosquito problems. The FEHD appeals to members of the public to continue joining hands in strengthening personal mosquito control measures, including:
 

• tidy up their premises and check for any accumulation of water inside their premises;
• remove all unnecessary water collection and eliminate the sources;
• check household items (those placed in outdoor and open areas in particular), such as refuse containers, vases, air conditioner drip trays, and laundry racks to prevent stagnant water;
• change the water in flower vases and saucers of potted plants at least once every seven days;
• properly cover all containers that hold water to prevent mosquitoes from accessing the water; and
• properly dispose of articles that can contain water, such as empty lunch boxes and cans.

Starting in August this year, following the completion of surveillance of individual survey areas, and once the latest Gravidtrap Index and the Density Index are available, the FEHD will disseminate the relevant information through press releases, its website, and social media. It aims to allow members of the public to quickly grasp the mosquito infestation situation and strengthen mosquito control efforts, thereby reducing the risk of CF transmission.

Following the recommendations from the World Health Organization and taking into account the local situation in Hong Kong, the FEHD sets up gravidtraps in districts where mosquito-borne diseases have been recorded in the past, as well as in densely populated places such as housing estates, hospitals and schools, to monitor the breeding and distribution of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which can transmit CF and dengue fever. At present, the FEHD has set up gravidtraps in 64 survey areas of the community. During the two weeks of surveillance, the FEHD will collect the gravidtraps once a week. After the first week of surveillance, the FEHD will immediately examine the glue boards inside the retrieved gravidtraps for the presence of adult Aedine mosquitoes, to compile the Gravidtrap Index (First Phase) and Density Index (First Phase). At the end of the second week of surveillance, the FEHD will instantly check the glue boards for the presence of adult Aedine mosquitoes. Data of the two weeks’ surveillance will be combined to obtain the Area Gravidtrap Index and the Area Density Index. The gravidtrap and density indexes for Aedes albopictus in different survey areas as well as information on mosquito prevention and control measures are available on the department’s webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pestcontrol/dengue_fever/Dengue_Fever_Gravidtrap_Index_Update.html#).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today highlighted its long-standing position that any kind of medical service, including in-person consultations or telehealth services, should be provided by qualified healthcare professionals in order to ensure healthcare quality and safety and safeguard citizens’ health.
 
It made the statement in regard to the findings of a Consumer Council study on enhancing governance in telehealth.
 
The Government also pointed out that the delivery of such qualified healthcare professionals is governed by the regulatory boards and councils of relevant healthcare professions.
 
In addition to emphasising that these professionals bear a professional responsibility and must act in the interest of patients, the Government stressed that their standard of practice must not be compromised based on the service mode, whether by means of in-person consultations or telehealth services.
 
Currently, the Medical Council of Hong Kong and the Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board under the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong have already promulgated guidelines for the telehealth practice.
 
The scope of the guidelines covers operational issues such as establishing a doctor-patient relationship, evaluating patients’ suitability for telehealth services, obtaining informed consent and protecting patient privacy.
 
The Health Bureau explained that while telehealth services allow citizens to access healthcare services without leaving their homes, they may not be suitable for all scenarios, particularly when patients may need on-site clinical examinations for accurate diagnosis and treatment that involves the professional judgment of healthcare professionals.
 
It added that the Government will ensure that the boards and councils of various healthcare professions would formulate and update specific telehealth guidelines in a timely manner based on their professional practice and operational needs, with a view to protecting the interests of patients and healthcare professionals.
 
When seeking medical services, members of the public should ascertain that the service provider is a qualified healthcare professional in order to safeguard their own safety and interests.
 
In case of complaints against the telehealth services provided by healthcare professionals, the public may contact the regulatory boards and councils of relevant healthcare professions.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Security and Junior Police Call (JPC) Honorary Chief President Tang Ping-keung today officiated at the JPC Summer Camp 2025 opening ceremony, held at the youth group’s Permanent Activity Centre in Pat Heung.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Tang highlighted that the JPC, established 51 years ago, plans and promotes diversified activities to enhance a sense of responsibility, confidence and social commitment among young people.

He added that the JPC also serves as a key base for fighting crime and a cradle for nurturing future leaders.

Mr Tang urged JPC members to fulfil three roles, namely “Anti-drug Ambassadors”, “Fight Crime Partners” and “Youth Leaders”.

He and other guests also visited a booth set up by the Police Force’s Narcotics Bureau, and interacted with JPC members while being shown rope course, abseiling and other activity-focused facilities at the centre. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region