Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is a question by the Hon Judy Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:
 
The Lands Department (LandsD) currently grants short-term tenancies through tendering or direct land grant for non-governmental organisations or social enterprises to use unleased and unallocated government land. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the following information on complaints against short-term tenancy site operators received by the Government in the past five years: (i) the number of complaints (and their annual rates of changes), (ii) the reasons for complaints and (iii) the number of cases with follow-up actions taken;
 
(2) of the following information on (i) the number of sites newly granted under short-term tenancies in various districts in each of the past five years and the respective (ii) areas and (iii) uses of such sites involved, with a breakdown by land disposal method (i.e. tendering and direct land grant);
 
(3) of the following information on (i) the number of sites with their short-term tenancies terminated in various districts in each of the past five years and the respective (ii) areas involved and (iii) reasons for terminating the tenancies of such sites, with a breakdown by land disposal method (i.e. tendering and direct land grant);
 
(4) of (i) the number of sites with tenancies renewed by the same tenant upon expiry of the fixed term of the tenancies and the respective (ii) areas and (iii) uses of such sites involved in respect of short-term land tenancies managed by the LandsD in the past 10 years (set out by district); (i) the average renewal term and (ii) the longest renewal term of such sites with tenancies renewed by the same tenant, with a breakdown by land disposal method (i.e. tendering and direct land grant); and
 
(5) as there are views that the prolonged renewal of tenancies of some short-term tenancy sites by the same tenant has runs contrary to the spirit of short-term tenancy, whether the Government has conducted a review on the effectiveness in respect of short-term tenancy sites; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it has plans to conduct such a review?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
Under the prevailing land approval policy, the Lands Department (LandsD) may grant short term tenancies (STTs) by way of tender or direct grant to support various social and economic activities and bring rental revenue for the Government. In addition, if an application receives policy support, and is considered in compliance with statutory or administrative requirements upon consultation with the relevant departments, the LandsD may grant STT to a non-governmental organisation and a social enterprise at concessionary or even nil rent for community, organisation, or non-profit making uses. The LandsD is responsible for granting and managing STTs, with fixed terms normally ranging from one to five years, and not exceeding seven years. Upon expiry of the fixed term, STTs will usually be re-tendered for another fixed term, or renewed according to the circumstances. The Government announced in the 2025 Policy Address that it would handle the tenancy term of Government tenancies in more flexible ways, and provide tenancy of a maximum total tenure of 21 years through renewal, which will mainly benefit lands for economic use, in response to the market suggestion of facilitating business and investments by providing a longer tenancy term. The relevant measures will be rolled out within the first quarter of this year.
 
My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan is as follows:
 
(1) As the nature and the type of land involved in each complaint are different, the LandsD does not maintain statistics on cases involving solely STTs. In general, upon receipt of complaints relating to STT sites, the LandsD would carry out investigations, including site inspection, as soon as possible. If any breaches of tenancy conditions are confirmed, such as violation of the user restriction clauses, the LandsD would take follow-up action immediately, including the issue of warning letters requesting the tenants to rectify the breaches, and may, subject to the circumstances, terminate the tenancy in accordance with the tenancy conditions and take back the site.
 
(2) In the past five years, the number of STTs freshly granted by the LandsD for commercial, economic, or social uses is set out in Annex I. The relevant uses include fee-paying public car parks, education, social welfare, religious, recreation, shops, factories, container handling, outdoor or indoor storage, and shipyards.
 
(3) In the past five years, the number of STTs for commercial, economic, or social uses that were terminated and the area involved are set out in Annex II. In general, the major reasons for termination of STTs include taking back sites for long term development (such as public housing development, Government land sale programmes) and termination initiated by tenants on their own considerations. Besides, only a minority of STTs were terminated for breach of tenancy conditions. For example, there were only about four such cases in 2025.
 
(4) and (5) If the sites are still yet to be required for long term development a few years after the expiry of the fixed term of the STTs, the LandsD will normally re-tender the STTs, so as to allow other interested business operators in the market to have a fair opportunity in bidding for the sites, maintaining healthy competition. That said, direct grant STTs which are related to economic activities, with policy support, or special historical background, may be renewed quarterly upon expiry of the fixed term. The LandsD does not maintain statistics on the average term and the average area of the STT sites with tenancies renewed by the same tenant. According to the statistics maintained by the LandsD, among the direct grant STTs, there are some 1 800 cases with cumulative tenancy period exceeding 10 years, the majority of which (around 1 550 cases) fall within a few major categories, including STTs granted for relocation of businesses affected by public works (such as shipyards); STTs converted from Government land licence in early years (usually shops or workshops); and some sites for public utilities or franchise operation (such as franchised bus depot). Among them, the longest STT tenancy term through renewal is 60 years, where the site has been leased for the use of a bus workers’ canteen, to tie in with the operation of the adjacent bus terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui pier. 
 
The Government would take into account a number of considerations in examining whether a site should be granted by way of STT or land lease, including where the site may be available for certain uses only on a short term basis; where the site may be available for supporting certain uses on a long term basis but STTs would allow greater flexibility in changing STT users; and where the site may be available for supporting certain uses on a long term basis but STTs may better meet the development needs of certain economic activities as one-off premium payment would not be required. As regards views that certain STTs may have run for too long, as explained above, there are policy or historical reasons for the relevant STTs. On the other hand, there are views in the market in recent years that tenancies with longer term may facilitate business and investments, which is also one of the considerations for our suggestion to provide Government tenancies for at most 21 years. While we understand the Hon Chan’s concerns about fair competition, we should also take into account various considerations when considering the term of tenancies. When we grant new tenancies in future, we will take into account the relevant factors holistically and strike an appropriate balance.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is a question by the Hon Yang Wing-kit and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:

The public healthcare fees and charges reform will take effect on January 1 this year, with the Hospital Authority (HA) simultaneously enhancing the medical fee waiver mechanism, which will increase the number of eligible beneficiaries from 300 000 to 1.4 million. To handle the additional fee waiver applications, HA implemented special transitional arrangements (transitional arrangements) during the transition period from January to March this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the number of medical fee waiver applications received by HA following the implementation of the transitional arrangements, as well as the number of applications approved and the average processing time;

(2) given that under the transitional arrangements, HA currently only permits patients with appointments at public hospitals in January or February of this year to submit medical fee waiver applications two months prior to their appointments, whether the Government knows when HA will commence processing applications from patients with appointments scheduled after February of this year, as well as from members of the public attending without appointments;

(3) as patients requiring immediate or urgent treatment during the transition period, who cannot afford medical expenses at the public sector but cannot provide complete documentation for financial assessment, will be granted “conditional waivers” by HA for full or partial medical fees, whether the Government knows how HA determines the amount of “conditional waivers” for such individuals in the absence of the requisite supporting documents; and

(4) as HA has established dedicated teams to assist patients with matters relating to medical fee waiver applications, whether the Government knows the staffing establishment of the dedicated teams and the expenditure involved?

Reply:

President,

In consultation with the Hospital Authority (HA), the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Yang Wing-kit is as follows:

The fees and charges reform for public healthcare aims to, through reforming the subsidisation structure, guide the public to make optimal use of healthcare resources, reduce wastage and abuse, and enhance healthcare protection for “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients on all fronts, thereby enhancing the sustainability of the healthcare system and strengthening the public healthcare system to cope with the challenges posed by an ageing population, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, persistent strain on healthcare resources, etc., and serve as a safety net for all. The various measures under the reform have been successfully implemented from January 1, 2026.

As an essential component of the fees and charges reform for public healthcare, the HA has concurrently expanded its medical fee waiver mechanism. Apart from the some 600 000 people who have been benefiting from medical fee waivers both before and after the reform (namely Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients, Old Age Living Allowance recipients aged 75 or above and Level 0 Voucher Holders of the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly), the number of other eligible low-income individuals is estimated to significantly increase from approximately 300 000 to about 1.4 million – around 4.6 times the previous number of beneficiaries. This enables limited healthcare resources to be more precisely directed to help “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients who are most in need, while ensuring that no patient is denied medical care due to lack of means.

To handle the additional medical fee waiver applications, the HA has implemented the following special transitional arrangements to ensure patients are notified of the assessment results in a timely manner:

(i) Patients with appointments at public hospitals in January or February 2026 could submit the required documentation two months in advance (i.e. in November or December 2025). Applications were pre-assessed, and eligible patients could receive medical fee waiver certificates before their follow-up appointments after the fees and charges reform for public healthcare took effect on January 1, 2026; and

(ii) Patients with financial difficulty who require immediate or urgent treatment but cannot provide complete documentation for financial assessment will be granted “conditional waivers” for full or partial medical fees during the transitional period from January to March 2026. Eligible patients need only submit relevant documents within three months to receive official medical fee waiver certificates upon passing the assessment.

(1) Since the implementation of the fees and charges reform for public healthcare, the number of medical fee waiver applications approved by the HA has significantly increased by multiple times compared with the past, demonstrating that the reform has effectively strengthened support for low-income families and underprivileged groups. Recent data shows that the HA receives an average of about 5 900 medical fee waiver applications daily. From early November 2025, when the HA began accepting applications from patients for medical fee waivers applicable after the fees and charges reform for public healthcare takes effect, up until January 19, 2026, the HA has approved 91 479 medical fee waiver applications (including 47 051 “conditional waivers”). This figure far exceeded the annual number of approximately 14 000 patients who were approved to receive medical fee waivers in the past. In other words, at least an additional 77 000 patients to date have already benefitted from the safety net under the enhanced medical fee waiver mechanism, from having to pay the fees and charges in full before the reform to now receiving fee waivers. According to approval records, approximately 82 per cent of applications were successfully approved on average, with some hospital clusters reaching over 90 per cent, with medical fee waiver certificates issued on the same day.

(2) The medical fee waiver mechanism aims to provide assistance to patients with financial difficulties and healthcare needs, ensuring they are not denied medical care due to lack of means. Financial assessment is therefore required and not everyone will be eligible. The HA must handle each application with due diligence for proper use of public funds. Patients also have the responsibility to provide complete, accurate, truthful and appropriate information for assessment and verification to help ensure that assistance reaches patients truly in need. While ensuring that no patient is denied medical care due to lack of means, it is also essential for the HA to uphold the principle of prudent use of resources to prevent the limited and precious public resources from being abused. In general, those who have financial difficulty and are eligible for medical fee waivers are from low-income families with relatively simple asset structure. The assessment process is not complicated.

To facilitate eligible patients in obtaining medical fee waiver certificates before their appointments, the HA advises patients to begin the application process approximately one to two months before their scheduled appointments. The HA is accordingly now accepting applications for medical fee waivers from patients with scheduled appointments within two months. Citizens with scheduled appointments beyond two months or without any appointments do not need to apply at this stage.

(3) Patients applying for “conditional waivers” need only sign a declaration form and state their approximate financial circumstances to be granted a “conditional waiver” for full or partial medical fees valid for three months. However, as aforementioned, “conditional waiver” is only a special flexible arrangement for patients who require urgent medical services but are unable to provide the required documentation for financial assessment. Therefore, such patients must still submit all the relevant documents for financial assessment within the validity period of the “conditional waiver”. Eligible patients will be issued an official medical fee waiver certificate, which will replace the conditional waiver certificate. If patients fail to submit the required documents within the three-month deadline or do not meet the relevant eligibility criteria, they will be required to settle all applicable fees (if any). To ensure the appropriate use and prevent abuse of healthcare resources, the HA will conduct regular random reviews of approved cases.

(4) The HA established the Designated Financial Assessment Team for Waiver Application (designated team) in November 2025, with an establishment of approximately 180 staff members. This team is deployed across the seven hospital clusters to assist in triaging and processing the medical fee waiver applications. The team is made up of Social Work Officers, Assistant Social Work Officers, Executive Officers and Executive Assistants. Most team members are stationed within the Medical Social Services Units. As of December 2025, the actual expenditure for hiring the staff for the designated team is approximately $9 million. The HA will closely monitor the volume of medical fee waiver applications and increase or redeploy personnel to the designated team as necessary to meet service demands in due course, ensuring efficient resource utilisation and timely processing of citizens’ medical fee waiver applications. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po:
 
The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today (January 21) that members of the public can make online reservations from 10am tomorrow to 10am on January 25 to pre-register for observing the direction conference.
 
The direction conference will be held at 10am on February 5 at the Multi-purpose Room, 3/F, City Gallery, 3 Edinburgh Place, Central. The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Justice David Lok, will give directions on the subsequent hearings. There will not be any presentation of evidence or examination of witnesses. The direction conference will be open to the public to observe. To allow more members of the public to observe the conduct of the conference, the proceedings will be broadcast simultaneously in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of the City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library. Some members of the public will be arranged to observe the conference in these two areas. A total of about 400 seats will be available for the public, with separate arrangements for the media.
 
Individuals who wish to observe the direction conference are required to make an online reservation in advance through the submission of a pre-registration form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ic-hearing/en/) from 10am tomorrow (January 22) to 10am on January 25. The Secretariat of the Committee will allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis according to the system’s record of the time that the pre-registration forms are received.
 
Successful registrants will receive a “Confirmation of Successful Registration” issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by February 3: an SMS notification will be sent from the sender name “#IC-hearing”. If an email address is also provided during pre-registration, an email notification will be sent from hearing@ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk. The pre-registration will be considered unsuccessful for those who have not received a notification by that date. Each person can only pre-register once. Duplicate registrations will not be processed.
 
The Chief Executive has established the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to review the causes of the incident and related issues of the fire, and to make recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. The Committee formally commenced its work on December 19, 2025.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:

Currently, eight of Hong Kong’s 18 districts, including Tai Po and Sha Tin, have yet to set up District Health Centres (DHCs). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the expenditure, staffing establishment, number of members, service capacity targets and achievement rates for each of the operational DHCs and DHC Expresses (DHCEs) in each of the past three years; the respective numbers of activities, seminars, health risk assessments and various programmes (such as the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme) organised by these DHCs for primary to tertiary disease prevention services, along with the respective number of participants;

(2) whether the Government will expedite the development of the Tai Po DHC which is scheduled for completion in 2031, promptly finalise the site selection and completion timetable for the Sha Tin DHC, and consider establishing additional DHCEs within public housing estates in Shatin district to enhance public accessibility; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) the Government’s projected reduction in the number of patients and expenditure involved in secondary and tertiary healthcare (namely hospital and specialist care, as well as specialised care) following the establishment of DHCs in various districts; whether performance indicators have been established in this regard?

Reply:

President,

     The Primary Healthcare Commission is progressively expanding the district health network with District Health Centres and District Health Centre Expresses (collectively referred to as DHCs) serving as hubs in accordance with the Primary Healthcare Blueprint (Blueprint), with a view to providing comprehensive, coherent and people-oriented multidisciplinary services, including chronic disease screening and management, family doctor pairing, nursing and allied health support, health risk assessment, community rehabilitation and health promotion. Prior to the commencement of District Health Centre operation, District Health Centre Expresses started to provide services of the same kind, enabling citizens to benefit earlier. The main differences between the two lie in the scale of facilities, site selection, and manpower allocation, while their functions are the same.

     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hak-kan is as follows:

(1) The expenditure of DHCs, including provisions for service contracts, site maintenance and rental cost, in the past three financial years is at Annex I. The information on staff establishment in 2025-26 is at Annex II. The cumulative number of attendances of all DHCs in Hong Kong exceeds 3 600 000, which includes health promotion/education, health risk assessment, screening, chronic disease management, with details at Annex III. 

     DHCs promote the “Family Doctor for All” concept. Following the introduction of the Chronic Disease Co-care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme) in 2023, the number of new DHC members per year significantly increased from around 2 900 in 2019-20 to approximately 153 500 in 2024-25. To date, the cumulative membership of DHCs has reached 485 200. All DHCs attained the service volume targets in 2024-25.

     The screening of “three highs” under the CDCC Pilot Scheme has shown initial effectiveness. As at December 17 last year, around 185 200 citizens have enrolled in the CDCC Pilot Scheme. Among those, approximately 112 300 participants (i.e. about 60 per cent) have completed the screenings (Note 1), of which around 48 000 (i.e. about 40 per cent) have been diagnosed with prediabetes (Note 2), diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT) or dyslipidaemia. The latter participants can proceed to the treatment phase and will be subsidised by the Government to receive multidisciplinary follow-up in order to achieve the goal of “early identification and early treatment”.

(2) The DHCs have achieved comprehensive coverage across all 18 districts of Hong Kong since 2022. The Health Bureau will continuously review the site selection of DHCs, taking into account the service model, demographic structure and distribution, demand, etc., with a view to providing convenient and district-based primary healthcare services.

     The Tai Po District Health Centre Express currently operates eight service points. During the relief work of the Tai Po Wang Fuk Court fire, it instantly deployed nurses to support the medical stations at temporary shelters, and also co-ordinated over 500 volunteer healthcare professionals for the provision of onsite medical assistance. Subsequently, it arranged case management primary healthcare services for affected residents relocated to different districts together with all DHCs in Hong Kong, which include pairing with free consultation services provided by Chinese medicine practitioners, doctors, dentists and psychological support, as well as co-ordinating arrangements for follow-up appointments and medication refills at the Hospital Authority.

     The Government plans to construct a community health centre building at the ex-Jockey Club swimming pool site at On Pong Road, and designate it as the site for the Tai Po District Health Centre. The Government is currently reviewing the building facilities arrangement and service design in light of the feedback from the Tai Po District Council (DC) last September, with an aim to ensuring the proposal meets community needs and is cost-effective. When the facilities are finalised, the works department will review and plan the implementation timetable for the project. We will strive to implement the project as early as possible.

    The Sha Tin District Health Centre Express currently has two service points, and is anticipated to establish a third service point at Lek Yuen Health Centre in the second quarter of this year at the earliest. In the longer term, it is tentatively planned to establish the Sha Tin District Health Centre in the Joint-user Complex for Community Facilities at Shan Mei Street, Fo Tan. This project received the endorsement of the Sha Tin DC in October 2021. Prior to the establishment of the District Health Centre, the Government will closely monitor the service needs and explore the addition or expansion of service points.

(3) The district health network is a vital component within the primary healthcare system. During the medical support efforts following Wang Fuk Court fire, DHCs have demonstrated their pivotal role as a hub to provide personalised case management primary healthcare services for affected residents, offering convenient and comprehensive support. By providing timely, appropriate and proper care within the community, and co-ordinating access to public healthcare, private healthcare and multidisciplinary medical services such as Chinese medicine and dental service for residents in need, this not only alleviates pressure on hospital services, but also delivers people-oriented and compassionate support at the community level.

     As set out in the Blueprint, the development of primary healthcare may delay and alleviate the healthcare burden on secondary and tertiary healthcare brought about by an ageing population and thus slow down the rate of increase in healthcare expenditure in the long run.

     Taking the CDCC Pilot Scheme as an example, the preliminary analysis conducted by a local university research team indicated that the CDCC Pilot Scheme performed well in terms of health benefits and cost-effectiveness. Participants’ health conditions improved overall: after six months of participating in the Scheme, the average glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level of DM patients dropped from 7.8 per cent to 6.8 per cent; while the average systolic blood pressure of HT patients decreased from 151 mmHg to 136 mmHg. Based on a modelled scenario of 200 000 participants, it was expected that the Scheme could prevent approximately 9 000 cases of cardiovascular diseases and 11 000 deaths, thereby gaining approximately 54 000 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and saving $2.7 billion in health expenditure. 

     Taking Phase I of the Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme (BCSPP) as another example, from 2021 to 2024, over 37 000 women aged between 44 and 69 at moderate and average risk have received breast cancer risk assessment. The BCSPP showed that 97 per cent of breast cancer cases identified through breast cancer screening were at early stages, i.e. stage I or stage II. The risk-based screening can enhance the recovery rate of breast cancer patients through early detection and treatment, and will also lower the medical cost.

     We will continue to advance primary healthcare initiatives and evaluate their effectiveness to ensure that primary healthcare development enhances public health and fosters the sustainable development of the entire healthcare system. Thank you, President.

Note 1: The CDCC Pilot Scheme screened for DM and HT in the initial phase (before March 28, 2025), and was later expanded to include blood lipid screening. Therefore, some of the participants who completed the screening were screened for DM and HT only, while the rest were screened for the “three highs”.

Note 2: Prediabetes with glycated haemoglobin level of 6.0 to 6.4 per cent or fasting plasma glucose level of 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Lam Chun-sing and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Online reservations for the direction conference to be held on February 5 by the independent committee set up in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po will start from 10am tomorrow.

The direction conference will be held at 10am at the City Gallery in Central, where Committee Chairman David Lok will give directions on the subsequent hearings.

The proceedings will be broadcast simultaneously in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library. A total of about 400 seats will be available for the public.

Individuals who wish to observe the direction conference are required to make an online reservation in advance through the submission of a pre-registration form from 10am tomorrow to 10am on January 25.

The Committee Secretariat will allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis according to the system’s record of the time that the pre-registration forms are received.

Successful registrants will receive a “Confirmation of Successful Registration” issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by February 3. Each person can only pre-register once. Duplicate registrations will not be processed.

There will not be any presentation of evidence or examination of witnesses in the direction conference.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

President Lai confers decoration on former Czech Parliament Chamber of Deputies Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová
On the afternoon of January 20, President Lai Ching-te conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon upon Markéta Pekarová Adamová, former speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, in recognition of her long-term, outstanding contributions to deepening the friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic. In remarks, President Lai indicated that in recent years, cooperation between Taiwan and the Czech Republic in trade, investment, technology, and aviation has continued to deepen, demonstrating that the Taiwan-Czech partnership is not only built on shared values, but also has substantial and long-term economic potential. The president expressed hope that both sides will create more opportunities for cooperation and write new chapters in the deep friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic as it continues to grow.
A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows:
Firstly, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our dear friend former Speaker Adamová on her return to Taiwan. It was also a great honor for me just now to confer the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon upon her on behalf of our government to thank her for her outstanding contributions to deepening the friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic over the years.
I remember the determination then-Speaker Adamová showed three years ago when she led a delegation of more than 160 people to Taiwan, despite facing great external pressure. The visit marked a new milestone in bilateral relations. Speaking during the trip, she emphasized that Taiwan and the Czech Republic were in the same boat. Today, her words still resonate throughout Taiwanese society.
In 2023, then-Speaker Adamová and I visited the Net Zero City Expo together. On that occasion, I cited her remarks, saying that Taiwan and the Czech Republic stand together now and will continue to stand together in any circumstance. Our meeting today at the Presidential Office serves as further proof that the friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic has endured over time and distance, growing ever stronger and deeper.
Former Speaker Adamová has long spoken up courageously on the international stage for peace in the Taiwan Strait and for Indo-Pacific security. Within the Czech parliament, she actively championed resolutions in support of Taiwan and our participation in international organizations. She also personally facilitated an exhibition by the National Palace Museum in the Czech Republic. These actions were all concrete demonstrations of solidarity with Taiwan, which our people will always cherish.
In recent years, cooperation between Taiwan and the Czech Republic in trade, investment, and technology has continued to deepen. We have signed numerous MOUs that are steadily yielding positive results. An increasing number of Taiwanese enterprises are expanding their investments in the Czech Republic, and collaboration in aviation and industry continues to strengthen. These achievements demonstrate that the Taiwan-Czech partnership is not only built on shared values, but also has substantial and long-term economic potential. Looking ahead, Taiwan will continue to work with the Czech Republic to create more opportunities for cooperation and write new chapters in our deep friendship as it continues to grow.
I would also like to touch upon former Speaker Adamová’s book, Nejsem z cukru ani ze železa (Made of Neither Sugar nor Iron), published last October. In it, she notes that exchanges between democracies and Taiwan are not designed to provoke China, but rather to fulfill a commitment to democracy and freedom. I am deeply touched by her conviction that democratic countries will not let Taiwan stand alone.
Although she is taking a step back from politics for now, I am confident that former Speaker Adamová will continue to be a key driving force behind Taiwan-Czech cooperation. I want to emphasize once again that Taiwan stands with the Czech Republic and all our democratic partners both now and in the future, and will continue to do so in any circumstance. In closing, I again welcome former Speaker Adamová to Taiwan and wish her a pleasant and productive stay.
Former Speaker Adamová then delivered remarks, saying that it is a great honor for her to receive the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon from President Lai, and that she accepts it with deep gratitude and great respect for Taiwan and its people.
Former Speaker Adamová stated that she comes from Czechia, a nation that knows from its own history how precious freedom is, and how important it is to defend democracy, human rights, and the right of every country to choose its own future. She said that this is why Taiwan holds a very special place in the hearts of the Czech people, who recognize in Taiwan a partner who shares their values, courage, and belief in an open and peaceful world.
The former speaker went on to say that Taiwan is an extraordinary country that is strong, innovative, and resilient, but also open, kind, and deeply human. She said that everywhere she goes in Taiwan, she feels the warmth, dignity, and determination of the Taiwanese people. Taiwan’s society, she said, proves that democracy can flourish even in challenging times, and that freedom is strongest when it is supported by responsibility and mutual respect. She then expressed her sincere support for Taiwan and its peaceful future, and stated that Taiwan deserves to live in security, dignity, and prosperity, free to shape its own destiny and contribute fully to the global community.
Former Speaker Adamová stated that the decoration she received is not only a great personal honor for her, but also a symbol of friendship between Taiwan and Czechia, and a commitment to continue building bridges between our countries, our cultures, and our people. To close, she thanked President Lai once again for the extraordinary honor, and expressed hope that Taiwan will continue to thrive in peace, freedom, and confidence.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Representative of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office David Steinke and Head of the Taiwan Office of the European Values Center for Security Policy Marcin Mateusz Jerzewski.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Financial Secretary Paul Chan fulfilled various engagements on day two of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland yesterday, as he promoted Hong Kong’s advantages and opportunities.

In the morning, Mr Chan attended a Special Address delivered by State Council Vice Premier He Lifeng.

Mr Chan also attended a breakfast meeting hosted by digital asset company Animoca Brands, where he engaged in discussions with leaders from the financial and innovation sectors on how blockchain applications, including tokenised assets and genomic data analytics, are driving transformation and development in capital markets.

The finance chief said that, as an international financial centre, Hong Kong has adopted a proactive yet prudent approach to the development of digital assets and follows the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation” to promote responsible and sustainable market development.

Explaining that a licensing regime for stablecoins is expected to be launched later this year, he highlighted the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s leadership role in promoting tokenisation, including the issuance of three batches of tokenised green bonds amounting to around US$2.1 billion. In addition, he said, regulatory sandboxes have been introduced to encourage the development of innovative applications.

Later in the day, Mr Chan met a number of officials from different economies and regional organisations to exchange views on the global political and economic landscape, ways of strengthening collaboration on trade, finance, industrial development and digital transformation, and other issues of mutual concern.

These officials included Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Egypt’s Minister of Investment & Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib; and Switzerland’s State Secretary for International Finance at the Federal Department of Finance Daniela Stoffel.

In addition, Mr Chan met World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to exchange views on the current and future international trade landscape.

His engagements for the day also included a meeting with Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of technology investment firm Vista Equity Partners Robert Smith.

At the meeting, Mr Chan learnt about developments in the firm’s software and data businesses, and encouraged Mr Smith to consider expanding the company’s presence in Hong Kong.