Month: December 2025

Source: Government of Western Samoa

By Nanai Taofiga Laveitiga Tuiletufuga

{TAFUNA, AM. SAMOA. 28th November 2025]- Star Kist’s Samoa canneries initiative to build two new housing facilities to provide accommodations’ for Samoa’s guests workers working at the cannery is applauded and highly commended by Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt.

Star Kist Samoa, is the single highest employer in the territory with 2,400 workers on her payroll. And 70% are Samoa citizens citizens hired as Guest Workers for the canneries in a government initiative to accommodate the cannery’s high manpower demands.

The guest worker program is exclusive for Samoan citizens only.

In American Samoa this week as guests of honor attrending the dedication of the new Legislative Building, the 2 new modern home for the territory’s Legislative Assembly, Star Kist President Injoo Ha and senior executives paid a courtesy call on Samoa’s leader and his delegation this morning.

In commending Star Kist, the Prime Minister acknowledged the valuable contribution by Star Kist to provide employment opportunities which is one of the highest remittances source injected into Samoa’s economy.

And as leader of the new Government, he assures President Ha that he is committed to strengthening the partnership but with the same token ensure that the rights of Samoan citizens hired as guest workers are respected and not abused.

He said lodging and accommodation for Samoan guests workers with families and relatives is a social issue which has impacted the program and he wants Government to play a leading role.

To that end, he has invited Star Kist President for a more detail meeting next January with himself and a Minister of his Cabinet to be named to brainstorm on ideas, suggestions on a way forward.

At the upcoming meeting, the Prime Minister is asking Star Kist to submit a report on their challenges, weakness and how the Samoa Government can facilitate to ensure that Star Kist Samoa’s business interest are dealt with to their benefit of both the company and the Government of Samoa.

“As the leader of the new Government, I can assure you that we are open-minded, open to negotiate and we want to be part of the solution not the problem,” he added.

For Government, the planned new Consulate Office In American Samoa, said the Prime Minister is the beginning of a new chapter in the two Samoas history. From there, Government will join Star Kist initiative to provide housing for guest workers in the territory by building more accommodations’ for the Samoan guest workers.

Government has a one acre-property in Tafuna where the new Consulate Office will be headquartered.

“Government is willing to listen and our Consular Fata Brian Kaio living here is available for further discussions before our meeting in January,” the Prime Minister concluded.

December 1, 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Health Bureau announced today (December 1) that medical fee waivers and various support measures will be provided to residents affected by the fire incident at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

     All individuals injured in the fire and admitted to public hospitals under the Hospital Authority (HA) will receive full fee waivers for all necessary healthcare services (including drugs and medical devices) through the entire process of their treatment and rehabilitation.

     In addition, all residents (including foreign domestic helpers) of the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court (including Wang Chi House which was not directly affected by the fire incident) will be eligible for full medical fee waivers until December 31, 2026. The waivers cover in-patient services, family medicine and specialist out-patient clinics (SOPCs) services (including psychiatry SOPCs), accident and emergency services, day hospitals, day procedures, community services and Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres under the HA. They may identify themselves as Wang Fuk Court residents to the HA during consultations and provide basic personal information (including name, identity card number and residential address) to facilitate the processing of relevant arrangements.

     The Department of Health will also put in place similar fee waiver arrangements, with a view to more comprehensively supporting the medical needs of residents affected by the fire incident at Wang Fuk Court.

     The Government will continue to spare no effort in providing treatment and care for the injured.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The value of total retail sales in October, provisionally estimated at $35.2 billion, was up 6.9% compared with the same month in 2024, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the provisional estimate for the month was 5.3% higher year-on-year.

Online sales accounted for 14.6% of the total retail sales figure for the month. Provisionally estimated at $5.2 billion, the value of online retail sales rose 27.2% compared with a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the value of sales of electrical goods and other consumer durable goods not elsewhere classified increased by 24.6%.

There were also increases in the value of sales in the following categories: jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (+9.5%); other consumer goods not elsewhere classified (+9.7%); food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (+6%); commodities in department stores (+5.8%); wearing apparel (+0.9%); medicines and cosmetics (+3.8%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (+1.1%); and optical shops (+4.4%).

By contrast, the value of sales of commodities in supermarkets decreased 1.8%. Also down were sales of motor vehicles and parts (-20.1%); fuels (-8.7%); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (-0.6%); furniture and fixtures (-2.3%); and Chinese drugs and herbs (-6.6%).

The Government said the recovery in retail sales gathered strength in October. Sales of most broad retail outlet types continued to grow.

Looking ahead, the Government expects that ongoing improvement in local consumer sentiment and sustained notable growth in visitor arrivals should continue to render support to retail businesses.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Ma On Shan this afternoon (November 29) in which a man died.

At 12.09pm, the 54-year-old man (Surnamed CHAN) was riding a bicycle downhill along Mui Tsz Lam Road. The man fell onto the ground after the bicycle reportedly lost control.

Sustaining limbs injuries, the man was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 1.05pm.

Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, New Territories South is underway.

Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 1446th.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

In view of the relocation of some residents affected by the fire incident at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po to the emergency accommodation for residents in the youth hostels/camps or hotel rooms through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, as well as the transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau, the Tai Po District Office today (November 29) announced that the operation of temporary shelters had been adjusted.

The Tai Po District Office will continue to operate the following two temporary shelters for residents in need:

Name	Address
Tung Cheong Street Community Hall	1/F, Tai Po Tung Cheong Street Leisure Building, 25 Tung Cheong Street, Tai Po
Tai Po Community Centre	Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

A spokesman for the Buildings Department (BD) said today (November 29) that the BD has issued orders under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) requiring the immediate temporary suspension of works on 28 private building projects with Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, Limited (PC&E) as the registered contractor, as well as on two other private building maintenance projects in which plastic sheeting were found to be used. The BD has also ordered at once the two registered contractors concerned (Fulam Construction Engineering Company Limited and Yuen Fat Construction Engineering Limited) to remove the plastic sheeting, and will seek legal advice for considering legal penalties. Contractors responsible for the above-mentioned 30 projects are required to conduct an independent safety audit for the projects and submit to the BD an improvement plan and implement improvement measures before considering if and when the works could be resumed.

The BD’s decision to temporarily suspend the works on the 28 projects managed by PC&E was due to a lack of confidence in its ability to ensure site safety. The No. 5 alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po exposed serious deficiencies of PC&E in site safety management, including the extensive use of foam boards to block up windows during building repairs. Given the concerns about PC&E’s capabilities and awareness on site safety, the BD has issued orders under Section 23(1)(b)(iii) of the BO to suspend the works projects with PC&E as the main contractor with immediate effect. Of these projects where PC&E is the registered contractor, 11 involve repairs of private buildings and 17 involve additions and alterations works.

During the special inspection operation, the BD found two building maintenance projects where windows were covered up by plastic sheeting. These included one at Fortress Garden in North Point (the registered contractor for this project is Yuen Fat Construction Engineering Limited, with PC&E as project manager) and another one at China Travel Building in Central (the registered contractor for this project is Fulam Construction Engineering Company Limited). The BD has already asked the registered contractors of the two projects to remove the plastic sheeting, and will seek legal advice for considering legal penalties. For the sake of prudence, the BD has also ordered a temporary suspension of the two projects.

Apart from issuing orders for temporary suspension, the BD has already required the relevant contractors to conduct an independent safety audit to review their safety management system. Taking cognisance of the outcome of the safety audit, the contractors are required to submit an improvement plan and implement improvement measures, with a view to demonstrating that they have an effective safety management system before the resumption of works can be considered.

The temporary suspension of works is to better safeguard the safety of both workers and users. As for the impact on the progress of the relevant projects, it will depend on whether the contractors can promptly implement a site safety plan that the BD will accept.

Furthermore, the BD will continue its special inspection operation. As of November 29, 250 buildings have been inspected and samples have been taken for testing from buildings installed with scaffold nets. If further buildings are found to be using foam or plastic sheeting to block up windows, or if sampling results indicate that the scaffold nets fail to meet fire-retardant standards, follow-up actions will be promptly announced.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Fire Services Department (FSD) announced today (November 29) that the government yesterday established an Inter-departmental Fire Investigation Task Force regarding the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Led by the FSD, the task force members comprise of representatives from the Police, the Buildings Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Independent Checking Unit under the Housing Bureau, Labour Department and the Government Laboratory, as well as fire engineering professionals.

The task force held its first meeting yesterday, with two main objectives: first, to investigate the cause of the fire and how it spread; second, to determine the factors that led to heavy casualties. After the meeting, task force members also visited the fire scene at Wang Fuk Court for a site inspection.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Police today (November 29) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tin Shui Wai.

     Lai Sun, aged 88, went missing after he left his residence in Shek Po Tsuen yesterday (November 28) afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     He is about 1.4 metres tall, 68 kilograms in weight and of fat build. He has a square face with yellow complexion, bald with short grey hair on two sides. He was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved jacket, dark-coloured trousers, grey sneakers and a brown cap.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1176 or 9689 6212 or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (November 29) mourned the victims of fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po and expressed profound condolences.

     At 8am, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, together with principal officials, Non-official Members of the Executive Council and civil servants, observed a three-minute silence at the forecourt of the East Wing of the Central Government Offices (CGO) to pay solemn tribute to those who tragically lost their lives in the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

     The Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council, who came to Hong Kong to assist in the disaster relief works, Mr Xu Qifang; the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, the Deputy Director of the HKMAO of the State Council and the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, Mr Zhou Ji; and Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the HKMAO of the State Council, Mr Nong Rong, also observed the silence.

     Subsequently, Mr Lee, Mr Xu, Mr Zhou, Mr Nong and principal officials signed the book of condolence at the CGO to pay tribute to the victims.

     From today until December 1, the Home Affairs Department will set up condolence points in all 18 districts for the public to sign condolence books to mourn for the victims. The condolence books will be available for signing from 9am to 9pm.

     During the mourning period, national flags and regional flags displayed at all government buildings (including offices of the HKSAR Government outside Hong Kong) will be flown at half staff. All celebration activities organised by the Government will be cancelled or postponed as appropriate. Government officials will reduce their attendance at non-essential public activities.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:

     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today (November 29) that, in order to alleviate the mortgage repayment burden of affected owners at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the HA has immediately relaxed the provisions regarding mortgage repayment periods and repayment amounts under the Deed of Guarantee. Such relaxation allows banks and financial institutions participating in the provision of mortgage loans for subsidised sale flats (participating financial institutions) to offer special mortgage arrangements to the mortgagors of subsidised sale flats with premium unpaid at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, including deferred repayment of mortgage instalments or principal. The HA has informed participating financial institutions and will issue letters to them confirming the arrangements.