Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Security Bureau (SB) and its disciplined services and auxiliary services held a flag-raising ceremony, a national security knowledge challenge and other activities to mark the 10th National Security Education Day today.

The SB and its disciplined services jointly held a flag-raising ceremony at the Police College this morning.

Officiating at the ceremony, Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki said that the flag-raising ceremony instils passion and loyalty towards the country and the people as well as deepens the understanding of the responsibility and mission to safeguard national security.

He noted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to leverage the strengths of the National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance to build a strong line of defence to maintain security and stability in the Hong Kong SAR, and to provide solid institutional safeguards to promote good governance.

Mr Chan then officiated at the Safeguarding National Security Cup awards presentation ceremony to commend the contestants of the SB, disciplined services and auxiliary services for holding sports competitions, which showcased their vitality and unity to inject impetus to the promotion of safeguarding national security.

In the afternoon, the Department of Justice, the SB, the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Shine Tak Foundation jointly organised the finals and award presentation ceremony of the Territory-wide Inter-school National Security Knowledge Challenge 2024/25.

The events were held at a shopping mall for the first time to allow more students, teachers, parents and members of the public to participate. This year, an English section was also set up for the first time for non-Chinese speaking secondary school students.

The challenge attracted more than 126,000 students from 610 primary and secondary schools, an increase of over 20% in the number of participants compared to last year.

Chief Executive John Lee said in a video speech that June 30 marks the fifth anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the National Security Law in the Hong Kong SAR.

He stated that the Government will hold a series of activities to deepen public understanding of the pivotal role the legal framework plays in safeguarding national security as Hong Kong’s anchor of stability over the coming months.

Mr Lee emphasised that safeguarding national security is a constitutional duty of the Hong Kong SAR and a shared obligation of every Hong Kong citizen. He encouraged students to become guardians of national security by integrating the knowledge they gained about national security through the competitions into their daily lives and sharing it with their family and friends.

Also officiating at the ceremony, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam supplemented that he was delighted at the enthusiastic response to the competitions and encouraged young people to continue embracing safeguarding national security as their personal responsibility and to integrate into the country’s development.

The highlights of the finals and the award presentation ceremony will be broadcast at 10.30 tonight and April 20 on HOY Infotainment.

Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung and Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin meanwhile, jointly officiated at the launch ceremony of the new national security comic book Andy & Security Bear.

Produced by SB members, the comic series was published online as part of the National Security Law virtual exhibition from July last year and was well received for its charming characters and engaging storylines.

The SB brought the online stories to print and has distributed the first batch to over 2,000 schools and public libraries in Hong Kong by the end of March.

At the ceremony, Mr Tang and Ms Choi presented the comic books to the principal representatives of secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens.

To mark National Security Education Day, the disciplined services and auxiliary forces under the SB will hold open days on various weekends and public holidays this month.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Executive John Lee

Welcome to Hong Kong, and to the 2025 World Tourism Cities Federation Hong Kong Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit.

Fragrant Hills, as you would all know, is a scenic area in Beijing, where the World Tourism Cities Federation is headquartered. “Fragrant hills” also makes me think of Hong Kong as a “fragrant harbour” – the Chinese name of Hong Kong can literally be translated as “fragrant harbour”.

“Fragrant”, let me add, because of Hong Kong’s redolent history as a major trader for incense, particularly agarwood incense and the wood’s varied byproducts.

Over the centuries, the sweet aroma of agarwood, of incense, drifted from harbour to city – and all around the world. From incense and fragrance, to merchandise and capital, Hong Kong has always been a bridge between cultures, cities and continents, bringing out the best of our products on the global arena.

Today, Hong Kong remains a major global trading centre, a centre of free trade. That’s thanks, too, to the Hong Kong Port in our harbour, to the Hong Kong International Airport, and to our varied and seamless transport links to China, our country.

These seamless links, and our singular status as the city where East has long met West, are not going to change. In a world beset by trade woes and geopolitical crises, Hong Kong is determined to continue its dedication to free and open trade.

That has also led us to become one of the world’s greatest centres for tourism. So it is an honour that the World Tourism Cities Federation has chosen Hong Kong for this year’s Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit. The federation, after all, is the world’s first international tourism organisation to focus its mission and mandate on cities.

Not surprising, then, that this summit welcomes city mayors, vice mayors and other city officials and delegations from over 40 cities from the Mainland and around the world. Together, we embody the spirit of collaboration beyond geographical boundaries. Together, we unite for the future of tourism.

HK as a brand

The theme of this year’s summit, “Innovate City Branding to Elevate Tourism Excellence”, gives us a good start to discuss how our cities could, through collaboration, achieve high-quality development in tourism and more.

For Hong Kong, long an international metropolis, one key development opportunity certainly comes from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

This cluster city development brings together Hong Kong, Macau and nine southern cities in the Guangdong province, and boasts a population of over 86 million. It also has a combined GDP (Gross Domestic Product) that rivals that of the world’s 10th largest economy.

What it means is a consumer market, and source of tourists, that is over 10 times as large as our own city. What it also means, with our country’s facilitation measures for travellers, is that visitors who choose to visit this part of the world have many more cities to add to their itinerary. We are fast developing in multi-destination tourism for an interconnected world. From a six-day visa for visitors in tour groups led by a Hong Kong travel agent, to the visa-free policy for cruise ship travellers along the country’s coastline.

That said, you can well begin in Hong Kong, where there’s something happening everywhere you look – and at our Victoria Harbour. You need only to see for yourself how open, welcoming and endlessly amazing our city is, to a world of tourism – to you.

Start with Victoria Harbour, and enjoy the refreshing views with our skyline and green hills rising from both sides of the harbour. And do take the Star Ferry. For more than a century, it’s been one of the world’s most unforgettable harbour passages. Leisure travel, timeless memories – in Hong Kong – and for well under US$1 a trip. It’s really good value for money.

Hong Kong, after all, is the world’s mega event city. Last week, UK band Coldplay performed four sold-out concerts at our brand-new, state-of-the-art Kai Tak Sports Park. And through next Monday, it’s the 49th Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Art lovers will want to catch the exhibition “Picasso for Asia: a Conversation”, at M+ museum, in the West Kowloon Cultural District – one of the world’s largest cultural developments. More than 60 masterpieces by Picasso are shown alongside artworks by Asian artists. Also there, is the Hong Kong Palace Museum, which is now showcasing an exhibition that brings together treasures from Beijing’s Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles in Paris.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong is where cultures meet and thrive, where creativity is well and alive. And you can also count on hills and sea coasts alive with fabulous hiking, and biking trails. After all, country parks make up some 40% of Hong Kong’s total land area.

And when you’re all hiked and biked out, settle into one of our nearly 80 Michelin-starred restaurants, do yum cha (tea and food) with half of Hong Kong, then toast your good fortune at a local brew pub, or get cozy with milk tea at a classic dai pai dong, our traditional cooked food stalls. And don’t leave Hong Kong without a sky-high cocktail, or two, at hotel and city lounges rising from either side of Victoria Harbour. From dim sum dreams to boozy nights, our food paradise glows with true delights.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure this year’s Fragrant Hills will bring about global thrills. My thanks to the World Tourism Cities Federation, and this Hong Kong Summit. I’m confident we’ll find a well-spring of innovative and inspiring ways to work together, to reimagine travel for this 21st Century packed with promise for global tourism – and for each and every one of our proud and magnificent cities.

Chief Executive John Lee gave these remarks at the 2025 World Tourism Cities Federation Hong Kong Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit on April 15.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Lands Department announced today that it registered 17 lease modifications and four land exchanges in the Land Registry during the quarter ending March 2025, adding that four were technical changes involving no premium.

Of the land transactions, nine are located on Hong Kong Island, five are in Kowloon and seven are in the New Territories.

Another two lots were granted by private treaty during the period.

One was granted for the development of an innovation and technology park and the talent accommodation in the Loop, while the other was granted for an electricity substation in Yuen Long.

The land transactions realised a total land premium of about $2.069 billion.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui today welcomed the move by the London Metal Exchange (LME), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, to approve the first three applications to establish recognised warehouses in Hong Kong.

The LME included Hong Kong as an approved delivery point within its global warehousing network in January this year, and began accepting applications from warehouse operators to become approved storage entities of LME-registered brands of metals.

The endorsed applications involve four warehouse facilities. 

Mr Hui said: “The approval of the first batch of applications in merely a few months indicated the efforts of the Government and the industry in exploring new growth areas, and allowed LME-approved warehouse operators and local warehouse operators to begin the process of establishing operations early.”

Noting the Chief Executive’s emphasis of the need to explore new growth areas in his 2024 Policy Address, Mr Hui highlighted that the establishment of a commodity trading ecosystem is a new growth point to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre.

“The establishment of LME-approved warehouses in Hong Kong will provide convenient, cost-effective and safe delivery channels for metals trading in the region.

“This will not only attract relevant enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong, turning our city into an operation centre for international commodity trading, storage and delivery, shipping and logistics, risk management, but also promote the development of related financial transactions such as futures, thereby injecting new impetus into consolidating Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre.”

The Government understands that other operators are applying to become approved warehouses of the LME. Various bureaus and departments will continue to maintain communication with relevant industry players and provide assistance on technical matters as appropriate.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Minimum Wage Commission:

The Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) will submit to the Chief Executive (CE) in Council its recommendation report on the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate by the end of February 2026 at the latest.
 
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, in exercise of the authority delegated by the CE, has required the MWC to submit its recommendation report on the SMW rate on or before February 28, 2026, in accordance with the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608).

The CE in Council has approved the implementation of the new annual review mechanism of the SMW including the following formula for deriving the SMW rate:
 
The annual rate of adjustment in the SMW (%) = Headline Consumer Price Index (A) (CPI(A)) inflation# (subject to a lower bound of zero) + [(the growth rate of the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the latest year – the trend growth rate of the real GDP in the latest decade) × 20%] (economic growth factor*) 
# It refers to the year-on-year rate of change in the headline CPI(A).
* The economic growth factor is subject to an upper bound of one percentage point and a lower bound of zero.
 
The Government expects that the first SMW rate derived under the new mechanism will take effect on May 1, 2026. The MWC will assist the Government in implementing the new mechanism.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 14 APR 2025 7:08PM by PIB Shillong

Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Government of India, Smt. Savitri Thakur, will be on a three-day official visit to Meghalaya from April 15 to 17, 2025.

During her visit, the Minister will hold a review meeting with the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Meghalaya, focusing on Central Government-sponsored schemes and programmes under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. She will also meet the Governor of Meghalaya for a courtesy call and conduct a detailed district-level review in East Khasi Hills as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).

On April 16, the Minister will visit key institutions and welfare centers in Shillong, including the One Stop Center at Ganesh Das Hospital, Shakti Sadan at Mawroh, and a Child Care Institution in Mawkasiang. She will then visit the Community Health Center, Anganwadi Centre at Mawsmai, and inspection of development projects under MGNREGA and PMAY(G) and also visit the Aqua Park cum Visitor Information Centre at Khliehshnong and inspect PMGSY roads in the area.

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(Release ID: 2121631) Visitor Counter : 84

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 15 APR 2025 9:37AM by PIB Delhi

Olympic medalist and noted athlete, Karnam Malleswari met the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Yamunanagar yesterday. He commended her effort to mentor young athletes.

Shri Modi wrote in a post on X:

“Met Olympic medalist and noted athlete, Karnam Malleswari in Yamunanagar yesterday. India is proud of her success as a sportswoman. Equally commendable is her effort to mentor young athletes.”

 

 

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MJPS/SR

(Release ID: 2121717) Visitor Counter : 144

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     Today (April 15) is the National Security Education Day. The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance has been in effect for one year since its passage by the Legislative Council (LegCo) in a historic unanimous vote on the Third Reading in March last year, while the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKNSL) will celebrate its fifth anniversary at the end of June this year. The LegCo Secretariat today released a Policy Pulse on “Laws on safeguarding national security”. This issue provides a brief overview of the key points of the dual legislation on national security, namely the HKNSL and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, how the dual legislation properly protects human rights and ensures that the public will not be inadvertently caught by the law, its role in contributing to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, as well as relevant discussions of LegCo along with suggestions by Members.
 
     National security is a matter of top priority for any state. The enactment of laws on safeguarding national security is an inherent right of every sovereign state, and also an international practice. The Policy Pulse outlines the latest situation of national security laws enacted by some foreign countries, including the Countering Foreign Interference Act introduced by Canada in 2024, and the New Zealand Parliament is also scrutinising the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill aimed at addressing foreign interference. Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom each has at least 21 pieces and 14 pieces of national security-related legislation respectively.
 
     The dual legislation on national security, together with the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of HKSAR, have jointly established a comprehensive and effective legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security, reflecting the implementation of national security within the purview of the Central Authorities and as the constitutional duty of HKSAR.
 
     The Policy Pulse also highlights that since the implementation of the dual legislation on national security, Hong Kong ranks highly in a number of international ratings, including global financial centre status, economic freedom, inward foreign direct investment recipient, and world competitiveness. Hong Kong ranked as the world’s freest economy in the Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report, with the number of overseas companies based in Hong Kong stood at 9 960 in 2024, a nearrly 10 percent rise from the previous year. These achievements reflect the international community’s continued strong confidence in Hong Kong. They also attest to how improved laws and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security help maintain Hong Kong’s political and social stability and cultivate a more secure, liberal, open and expectable business environment, which plays a solid and fundamental role in safeguarding the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, and further enabling the city’s advancement from stability to prosperity.
 
     The Safeguarding National Security Bill was passed by LegCo in a historic unanimous vote on the Third Reading on March 19, 2024. The Policy Pulse outlines LegCo’s scrutiny of the Bill and highlights Member’s views on the follow-up work after the Bill’s passage. Members suggested that various bureaux, departments, statutory bodies, etc., establish codes, procedures or guidelines to ensure that national security is regarded as an important consideration when discharging their day-to-day functions and implementing any programmes or projects. Members also considered that the Administration should ensure that public officers fully understand the contents of national security laws and abide by the requirements of these laws in discharging their duties.
 
     Members suggested the Administration step up public education on all fronts to enable the public, the business sector and investors to understand the implementation of the dual legislation on national security in a clear and easily comprehensible manner. The Administration should also effectively carry out its explanatory work to the international community, including making good use of the networks of overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices and Invest Hong Kong to explain to various overseas sectors how the dual legislation on national security effectively safeguards national security in Hong Kong in accordance with the rule of law principle, while at the same time fully respects and protects human rights. Members expected that the Administration proactively enhance its efforts in attracting enterprises and investment so that Hong Kong could serve as a “super-connector” and a “super value-adder” for the world, as well as continuing to take the initiative to clarify and rebut inaccurate remarks and unwarranted smears against the HKSAR’s work on safeguarding national security.
 
     The detailed content of “Laws on safeguarding national security” is available on the LegCo Website. The Policy Pulse, published by the LegCo Secretariat, covers specific topics, offers a comprehensive overview of related policy developments and summarises key discussions in LegCo.

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 14 APR 2025 11:00PM by PIB Delhi

Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Sanjay Seth called on Vice-President of Tanzania Mr Philip Isdor Mpango and Minister of Defence & National Service Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax in Dar es Salaam on April 14, 2025. During his meeting with the Tanzanian Vice-President, Raksha Rajya Mantri updated him on the Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement cooperation from Indian defence industries to exercise (AIKEYME) and Defence Expo inaugurated on April 13, 2025. He offered to fulfil the defence requirements of Tanzania People’s Defence Force. India-Tanzania development partnership, cultural connections and cooperation in health and education were also discussed. 

During the meeting between Tanzanian Minister of Defence & National Service and Raksha Rajya Mantri, the ongoing defence cooperation was reviewed and new ways were explored to further bolster the ties. Training of Tanzania officers in military training institutes of India, defence industry collaboration, cooperation in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, and cyber security were some of the key areas of cooperation deliberated upon during the meeting. 

Raksha Rajya Mantri ended his day with an Indian Community event where he highlighted the progress India has made in various spheres in recent years. He dwelt upon the contribution of the Indian diaspora in growth and prosperity of not only India but Tanzania too. He visited Sanatan Dharma and Swaminarayan Mandir prior to the interaction with the Indian community. He also participated in the Ambedakar Jayanti celebrations organised in the High Commission of India in Tanzania.

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SR/Savvy

(Release ID: 2121709) Visitor Counter : 87