Month: October 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
 
     The Judiciary announced that starting from October 30, the integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) will be extended (Note) to cover personal injuries cases (HCPI) in the Court of First Instance of the High Court.
 
     The iCMS provides a series of electronic services, including sending and receiving case-specific court documents to and from the courts (e-filing), inspecting or searching filed documents and other case-related information held by the courts, searching cause books, and making payments for court services. The Judiciary is planning to make it mandatory for all legally represented parties to use e-filing under the iCMS (where available) as from the latter half of 2026.
    
     With the iCMS, there is no need to visit the High Court Building to scan (this function is available to Litigants-in-Person only) and upload the electronic copy of the document to be filed using the self-service kiosks located at the Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants or make payments in the Accounts Office for paper filing.
 
     To facilitate law firms’ early migration from conventional paper mode to the iCMS in preparation for mandatory use in 2026, the Judiciary is inviting all law firms to make an appointment with the Judiciary for technical assistance on using the iCMS, either at the High Court Building or their own offices, when they are initiating a new case of an iCMS-enabled case type (including HCPI upon its rollout on October 30) for the first time. Taking into account the law firms’ response and available resources, the Judiciary may require all law firms initiating a new case through paper filing to go through this assisted e-filing process for the purpose of enhancing training on iCMS before mandatory e-filing. To encourage migration to the iCMS, a 20 per cent concession is offered to iCMS users for three years on fee items of the High Court that are primarily or directly related to the electronic handling of court documents.
 
     Eligible users, including parties of ongoing or new e-proceedings and their legal representatives (if any), need to register for a user account to access the full range of services under the iCMS. Unregistered users can only use limited iCMS services, mainly searching for electronic documents that are open to public inspection. Registration is free of charge.
     
     The iCMS can be accessed using personal computers or mobile devices with an Internet connection, commonly used operating systems and browsers. It operates around the clock, except during system maintenance. Any e-filing and e-payment received under the iCMS after the registry and the accounts office are normally closed to the public (i.e. after 5.30pm on a working day) will be deemed to be received at the start of the normal opening hours of the registry and the accounts office on the following working day.
    
     For more details about the iCMS, including its technical requirements, please visit the dedicated webpage on e-Courts of the Judiciary website at www.judiciary.hk/en/e_courts/index.html.
 
     For enquiries, please call the general enquiry hotline at 2477 1002 or the technical helpline at 2886 6474, email enquiry@judiciary.hk, or visit the Help Centre at 5/F, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai.

Note: The iCMS application currently covers personal injury actions, tax claim proceedings, civil action proceedings and employees’ compensation cases in the District Court, summons cases in the Magistrates’ Courts, bulk claims in the Small Claims Tribunal, and selected case types of civil proceedings of the High Court, including civil appeal cases (CACV) in the Court of Appeal and commercial cases (HCCL), construction and arbitration cases (HCCT) and intellectual property cases (HCIP) in the Court of First Instance.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu and Mrs. Wu were delighted to be invited by Mayor Trenton Brown to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic Granny Smith Festival, together with NSW Premier Chris Minns, Federal MPs Maria Kovacic&Jerome Laxale, NSW MPs Jordan Lane and Monica Tudehope, and all Ryde City Councillors.
This year’s 40th anniversary celebrations were bigger and better than ever — featuring more than 200 market stalls, 500 performers, and over 1,000 Ryde residents taking part in the grand street parade. A special heritage display also showcased the 40-year evolution of the Granny Smith Festival and the legacy of Granny Smith herself, highlighting the City of Ryde’s rich history and vibrant multicultural spirit.
The Taiwanese community was thrilled to take part in the festival. The Australian Taiwanese Friendship Association set up a cultural experience booth where visitors could try traditional calligraphy, and even DG Wu couldn’t resist trying to write some auspicious spring couplets. The Distinguished Citizens Society International of NSW also teamed up with FASCA (Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors) to bring the lively San Tai Zi (Third Prince), lion dance, and Laughing Buddha to the parade, showcasing Taiwan’s vibrant traditional culture — even catching the attention of NSW Premier Chris Minns, who stopped by for a photo.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu welcomed the Taiwanese television production team to Sydney and exchanged views, aiming to invigorate Taiwan-Australia cultural and creative exchanges.
DG Wu stated that Taiwan and Australia possess vast potential for cooperation in the cultural and creative fields. Taiwan’s film and television industry is renowned for its innovation and diversity, while Sydney, as Australia’s economic and cultural hub, boasts abundant creative resources and multicultural influences, complementing each other. It is anticipated that the visit of the Taiwanese production team will spark vibrant cultural synergies, showcase Taiwan’s distinctive “Tai-ke” spirit, further strengthen cultural ties between Taiwan and Australia, and usher in a new chapter of cultural exchange.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (Brussels ETO) supported the 58th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia held from October 9 to 19 (Sitges time). 

     The festival featured six Hong Kong films namely “She Has No Name”, “Cesium Fallout”, “Another World”, “Dangerous Encounter – 1st Kind”, “Hard Boiled” and “Sons of the Neon Night”.

     To celebrate Hong Kong cinema, Brussels ETO hosted a reception on October 16. The event brought together around 100 guests from the film, cultural, media and business sectors. Among the attendees was renowned Hong Kong director Peter Chan, whose latest film “She Has No Name” was screened on the same day.

     In his welcoming speech, Deputy Representative of Brussels ETO Mr Kasper Ng said that Hong Kong has one of the largest and most dynamic film industries in the world.

     “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to supporting our film industry through the Film Development Fund and other initiatives. We also host the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART) in March every year, which is Asia’s largest film and entertainment content marketplace. FILMART this year showcased a wide variety of cross-media and cross-industry contents from over 760 exhibitors and attracted more than 7 600 industry practitioners from 42 countries and regions. These initiatives not only support cultural exchange but also amplify the global reach of Hong Kong cinema, opening new doors for collaboration and storytelling,” added Mr Ng.

     Mr Ng also encouraged the audience to visit Hong Kong and experience its arts and cultural scene as well as the blend of history, creativity and modernity offered by the city.

     Founded in 1968, the Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is the world’s leading fantasy film festival. It screens films related to the fantastic genre, including action and adventure movies and black comedies, with a special emphasis on thrillers.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Home & Youth Affairs Bureau today gave awards to 15 families in a presentation ceremony for the Hong Kong Excellent Family Awards.

 

The awards promote family values and traditional virtues in the community and among younger generations.

 

Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing and Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak officiated at the ceremony.

 

In a speech, Mr Cheuk said the awardees’ experiences can inspire the wider community to uphold family values and the sanctity of family bonds.

 

He highlighted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, responding to national policies, strives to promote a family-friendly society and the healthy development of families in Hong Kong.

 

Miss Mak, meanwhile, expressed her gratitude to members of the public for sharing their family experiences and their insights on family relationships.

 

She said the stories of each family are unique, and that others can learn from the virtues of excellent families, helping to nurture family bonds from generation to generation.

 

Under the theme “Fostering Stable Family Relationships for Building Good Family Values and Virtues”, the event drew participation from approximately 1,200 families.

 

The adjudication panel selected 10 recipients of the “Excellent Families Award” and five recipients of the “Passage of Good Family Values & Virtues Award”. At the presentation ceremony, the winners shared their experiences and insights on fostering strong family bonds, a positive family culture and values, and good family traditions and virtues.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Whether at busy intersections or tranquil street corners, Hong Kong has silent sentinels safeguarding citizens.

Through the SmartView initiative, the Police Force has to date installed more than 4,500 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in public places with high crime rates and pedestrian flows, aiding crime prevention and detection.

Since its launch, SmartView has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness, assisting the force in detecting more than 480 criminal cases and leading to the arrests of more than 840 individuals.

Emergency relief

Besides combating crime, SmartView has been invaluable during typhoons and extreme weather conditions.

It provides real-time monitoring of high-risk locations such as areas vulnerable to flooding and public transport interchanges, allowing Police to put precautionary arrangements in place.  

For example, during the recent Super Typhoon Ragasa, Police closely monitored the storm’s impact on the city from their Command & Control Centre, located at Wan Chai Police Headquarters.

Operations Wing Senior Superintendent of Police Leung Ming-leung explained that during the post-typhoon recovery phase, Police used SmartView’s cameras to assess the road conditions on major routes and at public transport hubs. This enabled them to quickly deploy personnel and resources, helping the community restore normalcy as swiftly as possible.

“We also shared the SmartView video feeds with the Drainage Services Department to assist them in monitoring flooding conditions in the city,” he added.

The force hopes that as SmartView continues to develop and improve, footage can be shared with other government departments at times of need in the future.

Enhancing efficiency

In addition, the force is committed to leveraging other innovations to enhance the efficiency of SmartView. This includes introducing automatic number plate recognition technology in July.

This new function has strengthened the force’s capabilities in dealing with suspicious and wanted vehicles.

SmartView also supports people-counting technology, which employs a large language model to provide precise estimates. Police have deployed this function at multiple large-scale events, including the recent National Day fireworks display, where it was found to be highly effective.

Expanding coverage

As a city-wide initiative under the steer of the Task Force on District Governance, SmartView cameras are mainly installed on lampposts, smart lampposts and government buildings. Starting from late July this year, the force has also mounted cameras on Police vehicles as mobile CCTV units.

The force is now looking to expand its range of installation platforms, and will install the first traffic light-mounted camera before the end of this year.

To further enhance the efficiency and coverage of SmartView, it also plans to gradually integrate CCTV cameras installed by other government departments and public organisations, such as those at the Kai Tak Sports Park.

To date, over 5,000 such cameras have been connected to SmartView.

In terms of collaboration with other departments, the force’s target for this year is to integrate cameras from 10 public housing estates managed by the Housing Department, three cross-harbour tunnels managed by the Transport Department, seven venues related to the National Games that are managed by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department, and four immigration control points.