Month: October 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     In response to the recent decision of the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) to stay the proceedings of an inquiry case permanently, the Government issued the following statement today (October 30): 

     Healthcare professions in Hong Kong have all along observed the principle of professional autonomy, with the statutory bodies responsible for regulating the healthcare professions, upholding and uplifting their professional standards and ethical conduct, thereby protecting the interest of patients. The Government reiterates that all regulatory bodies of healthcare professions have the responsibility to handle complaints against professionals through an investigation and disciplinary mechanism that is fair, impartial, transparent and efficient, with a view to ensuring healthcare professional standards and patient safety and fostering mutual trust between patients and healthcare professionals. When discharging their duties, regulatory bodies must be accountable to the public for safeguarding the overall interest of society. 

     The Government is highly concerned about the handling of the relevant complaint case. The Secretary for Health has written to the Chairman of the MCHK requesting the MCHK to provide an account on the mechanism in handling complaint investigation and disciplinary inquiries, and to carry out a holistic review and introduce improvement recommendations in the light of the complaint case, to respond to the expectation of society and the public concerning the standard and ethical conduct of healthcare professionals. The MCHK must uphold its mission of ensuring justice, maintaining professionalism and protecting the public.

     The Health Bureau expressed regards to the patient and parents involved, and will follow up with relevant government departments on the patient’s medical and welfare needs. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced today (October 30) that influenza activity in Hong Kong has remained at a relatively high level, with schoolchildren being the most affected group. The CHP urged schools and parents to arrange for children to receive the free seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) as soon as possible, as it is one of the most effective ways to prevent seasonal influenza and its complications. Vaccination can also reduce the risk of serious illness or death from infection.
 
Influenza activity remains at high level
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The CHP’s latest surveillance data showed that the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for seasonal influenza viruses during the past week (October 19 to 25) was 12.01 per cent, similar to the 11.84 per cent recorded during the preceding week. It has surpassed the peak of 10.54 per cent recorded during the winter influenza season earlier this year. Influenza A (H3) is the predominant circulating strain, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of all detected viruses, followed by influenza A (H1) accounting for nearly 10 per cent. Influenza B accounted for the remainder. The influenza admission rate in public hospitals is 0.64 cases per 10 000 population, which was lower than 0.87 cases recorded in the preceding week. The outbreaks of influenza-like illness (ILI) in schools and residential care homes remained at a high level. As of yesterday (October 29), a total of 693 ILI outbreaks have been reported in schools since the start of the school year in September, including 73 outbreaks in kindergartens/child care centres, 376 outbreaks in primary schools and 244 outbreaks in secondary schools. There have been 16 severe paediatric influenza cases since the start of the school year in September, including one fatal case. The affected children aged from 11 months to 17 years, with 11 having good past health.　　
 
     “Based on the current level of influenza activity and trend analysis, the local influenza activity is expected to remain at a relatively high level over the next few weeks. Furthermore, viruses tend to become more active when temperatures drop. The winter influenza season in Hong Kong typically occurs between January and March. The current summer influenza season may overlap with the upcoming winter influenza season, which could lead to more hospitalisations due to influenza infection than in previous years. I urge all persons aged six months or above, except those with known contraindications, who have not yet received the SIV, to act promptly, particularly those high-risk groups such as the elderly, children, and adults with underlying illnesses and immunosuppression. Members of the public may also contact their family doctors to arrange for vaccinations,” the Controller of the CHP, Dr Edwin Tsui, said.
 
Members of the public, especially children, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, should seek medical advice promptly if presented with fever and respiratory symptoms, for early treatment. As children with influenza can deteriorate rapidly, parents must pay close attention to their children’s condition. They should go to the Accident and Emergency Department immediately if the child’s condition deteriorates, for example if they develop symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, blue lips, chest pain, confusion, a persistent fever or convulsions.
 
Territory-wide Sewage Surveillance Programme to cover seasonal influenza virus
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Hong Kong has long maintained comprehensive communicable disease surveillance systems to monitor the activity levels of various communicable diseases in Hong Kong. This system includes surveillance of statutory notifiable infectious diseases, sentinel surveillance, outbreak surveillance, laboratory surveillance and sewage surveillance. To further enhance the capability of monitoring seasonal influenza in Hong Kong, the CHP’s Territory-wide Sewage Surveillance Programme will include seasonal influenza viruses, aiming to enhance surveillance and early warning capabilities, thereby enabling the timely formulation of public health response measures to better safeguard public health.
 
“The Territory-wide Sewage Surveillance Programme is a major breakthrough in surveillance of communicable diseases in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the novel approach of detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus load in sewage became a vital tool for tracking the virus and identifying the source of infection locally. Currently, COVID-19 has become endemic and is managed as a common respiratory disease. The objective of COVID-19 sewage surveillance has shifted from source tracing to routine surveillance of the virus activity in the community,” Dr Tsui said.
 
“The CHP has been exploring ways to optimise the sewage surveillance programme by gradually expanding it to monitor other communicable diseases based on research findings. Since late last year, the CHP has launched a pilot scheme to analyse data on seasonal influenza using collected sewage samples, comparing the results with existing local influenza surveillance trends based on laboratory respiratory specimens. The results showed that the trends of sewage viral load were highly correlated with the percentage of respiratory specimens that tested positive. The results confirmed that sewage surveillance effectively reflects local seasonal influenza activity. Sewage monitoring detects trend changes earlier than the current indicators based on medical institutions, such as clinics, hospitals and clinical laboratories. The relevant results are disseminated through the latest issue of “Communicable Diseases Watch” published today. Building on the success of the pilot scheme, the CHP has regularised this initiative as a supplementary indicator to the traditional influenza surveillance system. Starting this week, the CHP will release weekly monitoring data through the COVID-19 & Flu Express for reference by healthcare professionals and the public,” Dr Tsui added.
 
“The DH will continue to proactively explore the latest scientific developments and applications of sewage surveillance. Based on the local epidemiological situation, the DH will expand the scope of sewage surveillance to include other infectious diseases at an appropriate time, thereby providing comprehensive protection for public health and safeguarding the well-being of the community,” Dr Tsui said.
 
As announced in the 2023 Policy Address, the Government will enhance local capacity in surveillance, early warning, as well as prevention and control of emerging communicable diseases. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has provided funding support. The Territory-wide Sewage Surveillance Programme is part of the abovementioned programmes.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today reiterated that all regulatory bodies of healthcare professions have the responsibility to handle complaints against professionals through a fair, impartial, transparent and efficient investigation and disciplinary mechanism to ensure healthcare professional standards and patient safety, and to foster mutual trust between patients and healthcare professionals.

The Government made the statement in response to the recent decision of the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) to stay the proceedings of an inquiry case permanently, noting that healthcare professions have all along observed the principle of professional autonomy, with the statutory bodies responsible for regulating the healthcare professions, upholding and uplifting their professional standards and ethical conduct, thereby protecting the interest of patients.

The Secretary for Health has written to the MCHK Chairman, requesting the council to provide an account on the mechanism in handling complaint investigation and disciplinary inquiries, and to carry out a holistic review and introduce improvement recommendations in light of the complaint case to respond to the expectation of society and the public concerning the standard and ethical conduct of healthcare professionals.

The MCHK must uphold its mission of ensuring justice, maintaining professionalism and protecting the public, the statement said, adding that the Health Bureau expressed regards to the patient and parents involved, and will follow up with relevant departments on the patient’s medical and welfare needs.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

A delegation of 10 overseas government officials completed their visit to Hong Kong today, with a better understanding of the city’s strengths, potential and opportunities under the “one country, two systems” arrangement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited officials of foreign ministries from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a visit aimed at enhancing co-operation between Hong Kong and their countries.

During their stay in Hong Kong, they met Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, Acting Financial Secretary Michael Wong and Acting Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan. They exchanged views and learnt more about Hong Kong’s unique advantages of having connections to both the Mainland and the world under “one country, two systems”, as well as its role as a “super connector” and “super value-adder”.

They also met Acting Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Lillian Cheong, as well as representatives of a number of institutions.

Additionally, the delegation toured the Science Park and West Kowloon Cultural District to learn about the city’s latest developments and opportunities in finance, trade, innovation and technology, and arts and culture.

The delegation also visited Shenzhen to learn more about the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA response to Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi and US President Trump reiterating importance of cross-strait peace and stability

October 29, 2025 

During the Japan-US summit held on October 28 in Tokyo, Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely thanks the governments of the United States and Japan for continuing to take concrete actions in support of the security of the Taiwan Strait.
 
This was the first Japan-US summit to take place since Prime Minister Takaichi took office. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on issues concerning China and opposed unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force and coercion. Prime Minister Takaichi’s cabinet, which was inaugurated just over a week ago on October 21, has called on the international community to pay attention to cross-strait peace and stability on several important international occasions, including the 28th ASEAN-Japan Summit, the 20th East Asia Summit, and the Japan-US summit.  These actions demonstrate that the need to counter the expansion of authoritarian forces and ensure the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is the consensus of the international community and in its common interests. 
 
The maintenance of cross-strait peace and stability is crucial to the security and prosperity of the world. Taiwan will continue to actively implement its Four Pillars of Peace action plan and enhance its self-defense capabilities. Taiwan will also further deepen exchanges and cooperation with friendly countries and allies through integrated diplomacy so as to jointly defend democratic values, advance peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region, and maintain the rules-based international order.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA response to statements by Singaporean government regarding sovereign status of Taiwan

October 26, 2025 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore issued a press release on October 25 stating that Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong reiterated during his meeting with Premier of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang that Singapore had a clear and consistent “one China policy” and was opposed to Taiwan independence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expresses serious concern over the Singaporean government’s comments regarding the sovereign status of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

MOFA emphasizes that Taiwan has ranked among the top countries worldwide in terms of political freedom, economic development, and national competitiveness in recent years, underscoring the high regard in which the international community holds Taiwan across numerous domains. MOFA reaffirms that the ROC (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent country and that its future can only be decided by the people of Taiwan. This is an objective fact and a widely held international consensus. MOFA therefore urges Singapore to respect the sovereignty and independence of the ROC (Taiwan) and refrain from making statements that damage the long-standing friendship between Taiwan and Singapore.

MOFA reiterates that Taiwan is staunchly committed to defending its national sovereignty and democratic values and that Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to safeguard freedom and democracy, the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, and regional peace and stability.