Month: December 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following are the closing remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the 6th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit 2025 – Judicial Conference under Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 today (December 1):

Your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     The conclusion of today’s conference jointly organised by the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) and the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, marks a major milestone in advancing global legal co-operation and the exchange of expertise in the realm of digitalisation of trade. The insightful discussions throughout the day have offered meaningful perspectives, and set the stage for continuous engagement among members of the judiciary, government officials, legal specialists, practitioners, and stakeholders. These positive outcomes will foster continued professional interaction and constructive dialogues in the times ahead.

     Centred on the theme “Building Towards End-to-End Digitalisation”, today’s sessions have demonstrated our collective dedication to facilitating and harmonising the seamless digitalisation of trade transactions.

Digitalisation of trade finance and digital assets

     Our first panel today explored the intersection between virtual assets and existing commercial and financial legal frameworks, with a particular focus on how virtual assets intersect with existing legal systems. The discussion highlighted evolving legislative frameworks from different jurisdictions designed to address the unique characteristics and challenges posed by these assets. Several legal instruments including the UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) Model Law on Warehouse Receipts and key initiatives of the Hague Conference on Private International Law supporting digitalisation were explored, with the aim to ensure that digital assets are governed by predictable and interoperable conflict-of-laws rules worldwide. 

     The panel devoted particular attention to enforcement aspects, emphasising how courts and regulatory bodies are adapting to the complexities posed by digital asset transactions and related disputes. Financial implications also formed an important part of the dialogue, highlighting the increasing prominence of virtual assets in the broader financial ecosystem. 

     These legislative framework, enforcement, and financial initiatives signify a concerted move towards a harmonised, innovation-friendly legal environment that supports the seamless digitalisation of trade and finance, ensuring these emerging assets are effectively incorporated into the global legal and economic landscape.

Enabling paperless trade – The UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records 

     Panel 2 provided a detailed overview of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), highlighting its crucial role in enabling the transition to paperless trade. The MLETR has garnered attention across the region, where an increasing number of jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, are actively exploring legislative amendments to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law. 

     This panel discussed how this legislative advancement supports the broader trade digitalisation agenda, particularly benefiting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by simplifying cross-border transactions and reducing reliance on cumbersome physical documentation. The panel also examined key provisions of the MLETR and implementation challenges, noting its interaction with foundational UNCITRAL instruments such as the Model Law on Electronic Commerce to create a cohesive legal framework for electronic transactions.

     Additionally, the emerging case law interpreting UNCITRAL texts was reviewed, illustrating how judicial approaches increasingly integrate both legal reasoning and technological understanding. This evolving jurisprudence reflects a judicial readiness to oversee complex digital transactions, balancing legal certainty with technological innovation. 

     As outlined in the Chief Executive’s Policy Address this year, legislative proposal will be introduced in 2026 in Hong Kong to provide legal basis for the digitalisation of business-to-business trade documents with reference to the MLETR and experiences from other common law jurisdictions. Hong Kong, as an international trade centre and an international innovation and technology centre, is developing a more streamlined, paperless trading environment. This advancement will enhance the validity of digital trade flows, mitigate risks, and accelerate cross-border transactions. Hong Kong’s dedication to embracing the MLETR highlights our determination to remain at the forefront of global trade innovation, and to support businesses in seizing new opportunities in the digital age.

Digital transformation in transport – the Draft United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents

     Panel 3 examined the recently approved draft United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, which has been recommended for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly. This groundbreaking convention fills a crucial legal gap in international trade by creating a harmonised legal framework for negotiable documents of title applicable across all modes of transport – air, road, rail, and sea – regardless of the multimodal journey involved. 

     This panel provided an overview of how this harmonised framework addresses inconsistencies and legal voids in various domestic laws, fostering greater certainty and uniformity in the recognition and transfer of negotiable cargo documents. This panel also discussed how the draft Convention interacts with the existing international treaties, ensuring it complements rather than conflicts with current legal regimes. 

     A significant portion of the dialogue focused on the practical opportunities and challenges this draft Convention presents for the domestic implementation. Panelists discussed pilot projects testing the draft Convention’s provisions in real-world scenarios, highlighting potential legal issues such as transport operator liability, interoperability of electronic negotiable documents, and the need for clear regulations on electronic document issuance and transfer. 

     The draft Convention stands to transform and modernise international trade by unlocking trade finance, enhancing supply chain efficiency, and enabling seamless door-to-door logistics. It represents a landmark step towards fully digitised, integrated global trade supported by robust, harmonised legal foundations. 

Current trends of dispute resolution in the digital economy

     Our final panel today focused on the ongoing exploratory work under UNCITRAL’s Dispute Resolution in the Digital Economy project, which addresses the impact of emerging technologies on dispute resolution mechanisms. This includes an in-depth examination of how artificial intelligence (AI) and lawtech are reshaping the landscape of dispute resolution.

     This panel explored the latest capabilities of AI technology in supporting arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution processes, highlighting both its transformative potential and current technical limitations. The discussion emphasised how AI can augment, rather than replace, human judgment, enhancing case management, predicting outcomes, and improving access to justice, while recognising that responsible use requires robust safeguards.

     A key focus was the development of procedural guidelines for remote hearings in arbitration and mediation, an area of growing importance given the increased reliance on digital platforms. Panelists evaluated platform-based dispute resolution mechanisms, which leverage technology to facilitate cost-effective and timely resolution of disputes, particularly in cross-border and e-commerce contexts.

     The responsible deployment of AI technology for dispute resolution was extensively discussed, including how existing regulatory regimes are adapting to monitor and mitigate risks such as data security, and ethical concerns. 

     This panel serves as a vital starting point, opening the door for the insightful discussions of the Judicial Roundtable tomorrow, as well as Day 5 of the Hong Kong Legal Week under the theme “The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century”. It sets the stage for a more in-depth exploration of how AI and related technologies will continue to transform the legal profession, dispute resolution processes, and the broader justice ecosystem in the years to come.

Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy

     Before closing, I would like to commend the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy for their collaboration with UNCITRAL. Since its launch last November during the Hong Kong Legal Week 2024, the Academy has organised numerous training programmes in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and abroad, covering a diverse range of topics and targeting a wide spectrum of participants. Through collaboration with international organisations and governmental bodies, the Academy plays a vital role in fostering the exchanges of international legal talents through capacity building programmes, strengthening Hong Kong’s strategic position as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region, establishing Hong Kong as a capacity-building hub, and actively participating in the next decade of the Belt and Road Initiative, contributing to our country’s efforts to promote the construction of the rule of law. I wish to express my gratitude to UNICITRAL for the support to the Academy so far, and the ongoing engagement and continue collaboration with the Academy in the years to come.  

     Ladies and gentlemen, as it comes to the conclusion of the Judicial Conference of the 6th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit 2025. We must thank colleagues of UNICITRAL, our colleagues at the Department of Justice, and all the distinguished judges, speakers, moderators, and participants who have joined us from across the globe. While the Judicial Conference wrapped up and so the first day of the Hong Kong Legal Week 2025, there is a diverse range of events that we have arranged for the remainder of this week. To our esteemed judges, we will see you at the Judicial Roundtable tomorrow morning for continued dialogues and meaningful exchanges. For all other participants, we also anticipate your presence at the Third Legal Forum on Interconnectivity and Development tomorrow afternoon, as well as many other enriching sessions that await us throughout this week.

     Thank you once again for your participation and contribution today. Thank you.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Fire Services Department (FSD) today appealed to the public to stay alert to a video of unknown origin on the Internet, carrying a fraudulent fundraising message in the name of a family member of the deceased fireman, Ho Wai-ho.

In an attempt to deceive, the fraudulent message included a bank account under a name highly similar to that of the family member. The department has immediately referred the case to Police for follow-up.

Should people wish to express their support for the family of the deceased fireman by making donations, they may do so via either of the following:

1. Deposit into the bank account of Ho Shing, Ho Wai-ho’s father
Account Name: HO SHING
Account Number: 039-744-1-039365-9 (Chiyu Banking Corporation Ltd)

2. Issue a cheque and send it to the FSD via mail or in person for forwarding, payable to “何勝” or “HO SHING”
Address: Welfare & Building Management, Fire Services Department, 11/F, South Wing, Fire Services Headquarters Building, 1 Hong Chong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon. (Attn: Mr Wong Hon-kiu)

Source: Government of Singapore

Singapore, 1 December 2025 – Northeast Monsoon conditions are expected to prevail in the first fortnight of December 2025, with winds blowing mainly from the northwest or northeast.

2          Moderate to heavy thundery showers are expected over parts of the island in the afternoon on most days. The showers may extend into the evening on a few of these days. The total rainfall for the first fortnight of December 2025 is forecast to be near average over most parts of the island.

3          During the fortnight, the daily temperature will likely range between 24 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius on most days. Although thundery showers are expected on most days, the daily maximum temperature may reach around 34 degrees Celsius on a few days.

4          For updates of the daily weather forecast, please visit the MSS website (www.weather.gov.sg), NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), or download the myENV app.

REVIEW OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (17 – 30 NOVEMBER 2025)

5          Inter-monsoon conditions prevailed over Singapore and the surrounding region in the middle of November 2025, with the winds generally light and variable in direction. In the last week of November 2025, the low-level winds strengthened and blew from the west, and for periods, from the northeast.

6          In the second fortnight of November 2025, thundery showers fell over parts of the island on most days. Sumatra squalls also brought thundery showers and gusty winds over Singapore on some nights. On 17 November 2025, regional convergence of winds brought heavy thundery showers over many areas of Singapore in the afternoon. The daily total rainfall of 70.4mm recorded at Clementi that day was the highest rainfall recorded for the second fortnight of November 2025.

7          The daily maximum temperatures in the second fortnight of November 2025 were between 32 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius on most days. The highest daily maximum temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Paya Lebar on 29 November 2025.

8          Most parts of Singapore recorded below average rainfall in the second fortnight of November 2025. The area around Sembawang registered rainfall of 50 per cent below average, and the area around Sentosa registered rainfall of 59 per cent above average.

 

CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS

Long-term Statistics for December   (Climatological reference period: 1991-2020)
Average daily maximum temperature:	30.5	°C
Average daily minimum temperature:	24.3	°C
Average monthly temperature:	26.8	°C
Average rainfall:	331.9	mm
Average number of rain days:	19
Historical Extremes for December   (Rainfall since 1869 and temperature since 1929)
Highest monthly mean daily maximum temperature:	31.6	°C (2016, 2018)
Lowest monthly mean daily minimum temperature:	21.9	°C (1933)
Highest monthly rainfall ever recorded:	765.9	mm (2006)
Lowest monthly rainfall ever recorded:	62.5	mm (1932)

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METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE SINGAPORE

1 Dec 2025

~~ End ~~

For more information, please submit your enquiries electronically via the Online Feedback Form or myENV mobile application.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Immigration Department (ImmD) announced that from December 1 to 6, special service sessions during non-office hours will be provided at the Immigration Headquarters in Tseung Kwan O for residents affected by the Tai Po fire to replace their personal documents.

The special sessions run from 6pm to 10pm between December 1 and December 5, and from 1pm to 10pm on December 6.

At present, residents affected by the Tai Po fire can separately apply for a Hong Kong Identity Card and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Travel Documents at Immigration Offices during business hours, without needing to make an appointment.

The special services, free of charge, include processing applications for the replacement of Hong Kong identity cards; Hong Kong SAR travel documents such as Hong Kong SAR passports, Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes, and Re-entry Permits; Hong Kong birth certificates; and certified copy of marriage certificates. The services also cover the application for an extension of stay, as well as requests for records in relation to current conditions and limit of stay.

The ImmD will deploy officers to the temporary shelters at Tung Cheong Street Community Hall and Tai Po Community Centre, and arrange a transport service to its Tseung Kwan O headquarters for the residents.

The processing time will also be accelerated, with an aim to prepare the documents within two days.

In relation to travel documents such as the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong & Macao Residents (known as the “Home Return Permit”) issued by Mainland authorities, the China Travel Service Document Services HK Limited Tseung Kwan O Centre will open in parallel with the ImmD’s special service sessions to handle residents’ applications.

For enquiries, call 2824 6111 or email enquiry@immd.gov.hk.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The supplies donation online platform established by the Government and the information technology sector began operation today to facilitate registration of supplies donations from organisations and members of the public, enabling the Government to better consolidate information and distribute supplies to residents in need as necessary.

The Government said that the Task Force on Investigation & Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support & Fund-Raising and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements, led respectively by the Chief Secretary, the Deputy Chief Secretary and the Deputy Financial Secretary, are making every effort to press ahead with the support and relief work and investigations on the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

Immediate relief
The Government has been offering an emergency cash subsidy of $10,000 per affected household since November 27 to provide immediate relief for affected residents. As at 1pm today, the Government has registered more than 1,900 households for the subsidy and disbursed the emergency cash subsidies to 1,420 households.

In addition, the Government will provide a $200,000 token of solidarity to the family members of each deceased victim, and a living allowance of $50,000 will be provided to each affected household starting this week.

For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po established by the Government, as at noon today, the donations received have reached $900 million, apart from the startup capital of $300 million from the Government, bringing the fund’s total to around $1.2 billion. The fund will be used for assisting the residents in rebuilding homes and providing long-term and persistent support.

The Government has also set up a central supplies station at the Tai Po Community Centre to co-ordinate and properly manage the donated materials received.

Emergency accommodation
As of this morning, 683 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels/camps or hotel rooms. Another 1,144 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Housing Society. Furthermore, two shelters remain open for residents in need.

Members of the public in need may call the Task Force on Transitional Housing of the Housing Bureau at 3611 8482 to obtain more information about the admission of different projects. Accommodation is free of charge. Pets are also welcome.

To provide further convenience for victims admitted into transitional housing, starting from December 1, the first departure of the residents’ service connecting Good House in Tai Po and the MTR Tai Po Market Station will be advanced to 7.30am departing from Good House Monday to Friday.

Healthcare support
As of this morning, social workers of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) have been in contact with about 1,300 affected households, and 3,200 affected residents have been registered for the “one social worker per household” support service. Those not yet in touch with the SWD are advised to leave their contact information by calling 182 183 as soon as possible.

In view of affected residents gradually relocating from temporary shelters to various communities, the Primary Healthcare Commission will leverage the District Health Centres (DHCs)/DHC Expresses as hubs to provide personalised case management services to residents affected by the incident, and co-ordinate healthcare professionals from various disciplines to provide medical, nursing and medication services, as well as psychological support.

Those affected may also visit the Hospital Authority’s Family Medicine Clinics for services and will later be able to make priority bookings through the system. In addition, the medical stations currently set up at temporary shelters will remain in operation.

Funeral arrangements
The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will arrange dedicated staff to assist each family of the deceased, enabling them to make arrangements at their preferred time and location.

The Government will waive fees for columbarium and related services, and provide $50,000 to the families of each deceased individual through the “one social worker per household” service to cover funeral and related expenses.

The FEHD has set up a service counter at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary and will proactively contact the families to offer assistance.

Dedicated website
For the latest updates and information about the support services, please visit the Government’s one-stop dedicated website.

Investigation work
Following the completion of inspection on the overall structural safety of Wang Yan House, Wang Tao House and the first two floors of Wang Cheong House on November 29, the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, together with more than 100 professionals from the Housing Department, further completed the inspections of Wang Kin House, Wang Tai House, Wang Shing House and Wang Chi House as at 5pm today.

More than 1,500 units in total have been inspected in these two days. The inspection of Wang Sun House and Wang Cheong House has also commenced. Police have arranged sufficient manpower to remain on standby.

Once the safety of the remaining two buildings is confirmed, Police will immediately deploy officers to conduct searches inside.

According to the initial assessment of the professionals, there is no imminent danger in terms of the overall structural safety of the buildings inspected, but the structure of some units may be subject to more serious damage.

The Housing Bureau has already engaged contractors for emergency maintenance to complete the relevant support works as soon as possible in order to allow officers of the Police Force and the Fire Services Department (FSD) to enter the units for evidence and other operations.

Regarding the handling of reported missing people, Police completed searches at two buildings on November 29 and deployed more than 600 officers from the Disaster Victim Identification Unit to conduct searches in three other buildings today.

As of 4pm today, Police handled 30 sets of human remains in the buildings, including 12 sets found by firefighters but yet to be removed, and 18 sets that were newly discovered. The numbers of deceased and injured have been updated to 146 and 79 respectively. The FSD also handled all the 347 assistance calls received during the fire.

Building safety
The Housing Bureau also noted that with Prestige Construction & Engineering Company being the contractor of the maintenance project of Wang Fuk Court, the bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) issued orders in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance on November 29 to temporarily suspend the relevant external wall maintenance works with immediate effect.

The ICU also identified in a special inspection operation that plastic sheeting had been used to cover the windows in the maintenance project in Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po. The registered contractor of the project has been requested to remove the plastic sheeting immediately. Legal advice is being sought when considering prosecution.

For the sake of prudence, the ICU has ordered the temporary suspension of the works and requested the contractor 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 in place before the resumption of works can be considered.

On the other hand, the Buildings Department continued its special inspection operation. As of today, 319 buildings undergoing external wall maintenance have been inspected and samples have been taken for testing from buildings installed with scaffold nets.

Apart from the two buildings where plastic sheeting was found blocking the windows as announced on November 29, no other buildings were found using foam boards or plastic sheeting to block windows.

The Labour Department (LD) launched a citywide special enforcement operation since November 28, targeting the fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness of building maintenance work sites with large-scale scaffolding erected. This includes checking if protective screens on scaffolds are in compliance with recognised standards for fire-retardant materials to enhance the occupational safety of workers.

As at today, the LD has inspected 51 construction sites, issued a total of 45 written warnings and 12 improvement notices, and has taken out two prosecutions.