Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development:

The Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development (CCN&SD) discussed at its meeting today (September 25) the strategies and initiatives on carbon neutrality and sustainable development set out in the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) (Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan) and the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address (the Policy Address). The Council unanimously support the strategies and initiatives.

The Council supports the various indicators and strategies put forward in Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address. It considers that they can further enhance environmental protection in Hong Kong and steer Hong Kong towards carbon neutrality. During the meeting, members engaged in a thorough discussion on various key environmental and sustainability issues, including promoting the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, waste management strategies (including waste-to-energy facilities), as well as stepping up environmental and sustainability education.

The Chairman of the CCN&SD, Dr Lam Ching-choi, said, “We are pleased to note that four of the five binding indicators set out in Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan concern decarbonisation and environmental protection. This underscores the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s strong commitment to advancing Hong Kong’s transition towards carbon neutrality and sustainable development.”

Dr Lam added that the Council will continue to work proactively and closely with the Government and different sectors of society to jointly promote the implementation of relevant environmental policy measures outlined in Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address, with a view to building a low-carbon and sustainable future together.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Government of Singapore

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The 2026 final registers of electors for geographical constituencies (GCs) and functional constituencies (FCs), as well as voters for Election Committee subsectors (ECSSs), were released today.

The Registration & Electoral Office stated that the final register for GCs lists 4,116,965 electors. The final register for FCs contains 182,359 individual electors and 8,489 corporate electors, representing a total of 190,848 electors.

Meanwhile, the final register for ECSSs contains 3,448 individual voters and 5,894 corporate voters, totalling 9,342 voters.

Relevant statistics have been uploaded to the voter registration website. Electors and voters may check their registration particulars through the website or through the “iAM Smart” mobile application.

Notices regarding the inspection of the 2026 final registers were published in the Government Gazette today. In accordance with the law, a copy of the final registers containing entries relating to individuals may only be shown in line with statutory requirements and made available for inspection by specified persons.

A copy of the final registers containing exclusively corporate or body entries may be inspected by the general public.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD) captured a total of eight unattended dogs during a five-day operation following a suspected fatal dog attack on Pok Wai South Road in Yuen Long on September 19. The operation was conducted in collaboration with Police.

The captured dogs have been transferred to the AFCD’s Animal Management Centre for detention and observation. Among the animals, three were found to be implanted with microchips, though their licences had expired.

Following an initial investigation, the AFCD has instituted a prosecution against the registered keeper of one dog for failing to hold a valid licence and failing to keep the animal under proper control in a public place. The AFCD highlighted that it is making every effort to investigate the remaining cases and is co-operating with Police to help establish the facts of the incident.

Separately, a frontline AFCD staff member sustained a dog bite to the hand while performing duties on September 23. His condition remains stable after treatment, and he is currently under observation in hospital.

Regarding the handling of unattended dogs, the AFCD noted it will continue to arrange targeted capture and enforcement operations at locations with serious stray problems using a risk-based approach.

The AFCD also solemnly clarified that rumours alleging it engages in “convenience culling” or euthanises animals fours days after intake are untrue. It pointed out that the statutory four-day period is simply the timeframe required by law for the AFCD to make enquiries and locate keepers.

Following any capture, staff check whether the dogs are microchipped and licensed to contact keepers and cross-reference lost-and-found records. If a keeper cannot be traced, staff and veterinary officers at the Animal Management Centres will continue to patiently observe the animals.

To prevent public safety risks, the AFCD emphasised that it will not release dogs back into the community, stressing that sterilisation alone cannot eliminate the risks associated with unowned and uncontrolled dogs in a high-density urban environment.

Instead, the AFCD manages stray animals using a multi-pronged approach in line with international standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health. This strategy includes collaborating with animal welfare organisations to promote sterilisation and adoption, alongside continuous public education on responsible pet ownership.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law congratulated all medal winners today as the Hong Kong, China Delegation secured seven medals, marking its highest single-day haul since the opening of this year’s Asian Games.

In the day’s events, rower Chiu Hin-chun captured gold in the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls. The delegation also added four silver medals, won by wushu athlete Leung Yu-hong in the Men’s 60kg Sanda, rower Winnie Hung in the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls, rowers Cheung Yuen-shan and Leung Wing-wun in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls, and swimmer Siobhan Haughey in the Women’s 50m Freestyle.

In addition, rowers Chan Tik-lun and Lam San-tung won a bronze medal in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, while fencer Fong Hoi-sun also grabbed a bronze in Men’s Épée Individual.

Miss Law noted that many athletes surpassed themselves in competitions, achieving personal bests in their athletic careers.

“The rowing team enjoyed a massive haul where Chiu Hin-chun, Winne Hung, Cheung Yuen-shan, Leung Wing-wun, Chan Tik-lun and Lam San-tung outperformed their rivals to secure one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal for the team in a single day, achieving excellent results.

“Chiu Hin-chun won his first-ever gold medal in his third participation at the Asian Games.

“For wushu, Leung Yu-hong achieved the best-ever result for the Hong Kong team in Men’s 60kg Sanda at the Asian Games.

“Siobhan Haughey continued her stellar performance, bringing her total medal count for this year’s Asian Games to four medals, including the silver medal won today.

“Fong Hoi-sun achieved his best result across four times of participation in the Asian Games by winning a bronze medal in Men’s Épée Individual,” Miss Law added.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the keynote speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference 2026 in Vienna, Austria, today (September 24, Vienna time):

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to join you all today at the Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference here in Vienna—a city that has always known how to hold tradition and innovation in the same hand.

We meet at a moment of accelerating digital transformation, as the world moves towards an AI-driven future. Amidst this global shift, Hong Kong has elevated AI into one of our core industries and is emerging as one of the most dynamic international I&T (innovation and technology) centres. Today, I am here not only to share our progress, but also to invite Austria to shape the next chapter with us.

AI as a pressing priority: a foundation for partnership

Like Austria, we see AI as a critical driver for economic competitiveness, research excellence, and public service modernisation. With the guiding principle of “strengthening infrastructure and promoting the application-oriented approach”, the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Government is steering Hong Kong towards “industries for AI” and “AI for industries”.

This strategy rests on Hong Kong’s solid research foundation: Three Hong Kong universities ranked among the world’s top 30 in data science and AI. We have also recently established Hong Kong AI Research and Development (R&D) Institute to spearhead Hong Kong’s innovative R&D as well as the industry application of AI.

Through our flagship R&D initiative, InnoHK, we have co-operated with more than 30 world-renowned universities and research institutes across 12 economies, including Oxford, Stanford and EPFL. On this platform, the AIR@InnoHK research cluster specifically supports R&D in AI. Through collaborating with leading R&D institutions throughout the world and gathering global AI talents on the same platform, we hope to drive advancements in AI and robotics technologies, and further develop academic research outcome into ready-for-use technologies for the industry.

Foundational research aside, we are also mindful of the importance of popularisation of AI across all sectors of society. To this end, the HKSAR Government also set aside resources to empower enterprises, industry players as well as the general public to enhance their professional competitiveness and daily living convenience through responsible application of AI.

Computing power is key to accelerating AI development. The Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster, now under full-speed construction, will provide 180 000 PFLOPS (peta-floating point operations per second) computing power by 2032, a 36-fold increase from today’s capacity. This will lay a solid foundation for a sustainable AI future and reinforce Hong Kong’s role as an advanced data and computing hub in the Asia Pacific and in particular the Greater Bay Area.

A trusted gateway: linking global innovation to the Greater Bay Area

Talking about the Greater Bay Area, may I also share with you Hong Kong’s unique role in linking up global innovation with the vast market opportunities in this Area which has a population of 88 million and annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of RMB 15 trillion (approximately €1.97 trillion). Hong Kong is a highly open economy underpinned by a robust legal framework, a simple and low tax regime, strong IP protection, ease of capital raising, and world-class logistics. For many years, Hong Kong has been ranked the freest economy in the world. Through Hong Kong, European companies can reach not only the Greater Bay Area, but also ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the broader Asia-Pacific. This is why many overseas partners see Hong Kong as a strategic anchor in such an increasingly complex global landscape.

We are backing this role with ambitious I&T infrastructure. The Hetao Hong Kong Park, opened last December, is designed to be a world-class I&T hub connecting the Chinese Mainland and the world, offering seamless cross-border access of crucial I&T elements such as data, joint laboratories, and preferential policies for global talent and enterprises. As a natural extension of the Hetao, the San Tin Technopole serve as Hong Kong’s flagship I&T industrial base, spanning prototyping, pilot production and mass production. Together, these two sites form a bridge linking global tech talents and enterprises with the Greater Bay Area’s market and comprehensive supply chain.

None of the above works without talents. Hong Kong is home to five universities ranked among the world’s top 100, supported by internationally acclaimed and award-winning experts, and a growing pool of global tech talents. To further attract world-class talent, we also launched the Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme, enabling universities to recruit top international scientific researchers to lead frontier research in Hong Kong. We warmly welcome scientists and researchers from all over the world to join us on this meaningful journey.

Measuring up: Hong Kong’s track record in the global rankings

Our innovation momentum is reflected in global benchmarks. Hong Kong ranked second globally in the 2026 IMD (International Institute for Management Development) World Competitiveness Yearbook and fourth in the 2025 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking. With such a favourable climate, the number of start-ups has grown by 40 per cent in five years to a record high of 5 200 and we have witnessed the birth of 20 unicorns. This year, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster is once again ranked number one in the world by the World Intellectual Property Organisation—a clear signal of the cluster’s world-class capability, resilience, and sustained innovation.

Looking ahead: a shared agenda for innovation

Hong Kong and Austria are separated by thousands of kilometres. Yet, I believe we are closely aligned as we both see AI not as a race to be won alone, but as an opportunity to be seized together. Following the release of Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address last week, our commitment to accelerating AI adoption, promoting industry upgrade while regulating AI ethics is firmer than ever. Hong Kong stands ready to act as a bridge—connecting East with West, research with industry, and challenges today with opportunities ahead. Let us take this forward hand in hand and work towards a future where innovation is open, inclusive and beneficial to the humankind. Thank you.