Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ14: Patriotic Education Base for Hong Kong and Macao Youth
Question:
There are views pointing out that the Patriotism Education Base for Hong Kong and Macao Youth, which was established in August last year at the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in Beijing Municipality with the strong support from the Central Government, will be of great significance in deepening the understanding of our country among young people in Hong Kong and Macao, as well as enhancing their patriotic spirit in the long term. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has plans to co-operate with memorial halls and museums in other Mainland cities (such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen) to set up patriotic education bases for Hong Kong and Macao youth; if so, of the time and the arrangements for implementing such plans; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the measures put in place by the Working Group on Patriotic Education under the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee to promote visits by local schools and organisations to the aforementioned patriotic education bases for Hong Kong and Macao youth; and
(3) of the mechanism currently put in place by the Government to collect feedback from teachers and students after they have visited the aforementioned patriotic education bases for Hong Kong and Macao youth, and whether it will regularly review and enhance the arrangements for the visits based on the data obtained?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), our reply in response to the questions raised by the Hon Albert Chuang is as follows:
(1) There is a rich and diversified array of patriotic education facilities in the Mainland. These resources are highly valuable and well worth young people and students visiting and studying, so as to gain a deeper understanding of our country’s history and culture, and personally appreciate our country’s development and achievements, thereby fostering a sense of national identity, national pride and patriotic sentiment. Last year marked the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. With the support of the Central Government, the first Patriotic Education Base for Hong Kong and Macao Youth was established in August last year at the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression located by the Lugou Bridge in Beijing. The Government is actively identifying other suitable patriotic education facilities in the Mainland for inclusion as patriotic education bases of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The specific locations and relevant arrangements will be announced in due course upon further discussion with the relevant Mainland authorities.
(2) The Working Group on Patriotic Education comprises experts and representatives from different sectors, as well as the relevant bureaux and departments, including EDB and HYAB. Encouraging students and young people to visit the Mainland in person is one of the effective ways to promote patriotic education. On students, EDB has all along been committed to providing primary and secondary school students with diversified Mainland Exchange Programmes (MEPs). Since the implementation of the senior secondary subject of Citizenship and Social Development (CS) from the 2021/22 school year, all senior secondary students studying the local curriculum are provided with opportunities to participate in the Mainland study tours organised by EDB. These Mainland study tours aim at providing students with life-wide learning experiences to deepen their understanding of our country’s history, culture, economic and technological development, etc., through first-hand experience, thereby enhancing their understanding of our country’s development and achievements from different aspects, so as to strengthen their sense of national pride, patriotic sentiment and sense of national identity. Following the establishment of the Patriotic Education Base for Hong Kong and Macao Youth at the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, visits to the Base under the MEPs for primary and secondary students have already been launched. For senior secondary CS, study tours to Beijing are also planned for the coming school year, and visits to the Base will also be arranged for students.
On young people, the District Offices under the Home Affairs Department funded 20 Mainland exchange tours in the 2025-26 financial year, with over 500 youth participants in total. As 2025 marked both the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 60th anniversary of Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong, the exchange tours covered related thematic visits, including visits to the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, anti-Japanese war memorial halls in various provinces, and the Dongjiang-Shenzhen Water Supply Project Memorial Park, etc. Through these visits, youth participants gained a deeper understanding of our country’s history of the War of Resistance and the significance of Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong, thereby strengthening their sense of patriotism.
At present, HYAB also provides funding to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to organise youth exchange projects in the Mainland through the “HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland”, with a view to enhancing young people’s understanding of our country’s culture, history, way of life and the latest developments, and strengthening exchanges with youth in the Mainland. Under the 2026-27 round of the Scheme, HYAB will actively encourage NGOs to arrange for youth participants to visit the Patriotic Education Bases for Hong Kong and Macao Youth in their exchange projects, and applications that include such visits will be given priority consideration.
(3) EDB has been gauging views from different stakeholders to review the effectiveness of and enhance the arrangements for MEPs for primary and secondary students and CS Mainland study tours. EDB also keeps in view the learning effectiveness of MEPs and CS Mainland study tours through school visits, inspections, collection of student work (including photos, video clips and student reflections), and interviews with teachers and students, and shares students’ learning outcomes with the public. According to the results of questionnaire surveys submitted by schools, feedback from teachers and students on MEPs and CS Mainland study tours has been very positive. They agree that the Mainland exchanges and study tours help deepen their understanding of our country’s history, culture and technological development, extend classroom learning, and enhance their sense of national identity and pride. EDB also gauges participants’ feedback through deployment of staff for on-site participation, questionnaire surveys, post-trip sharing sessions, etc. to assess the appropriateness of the content of Mainland exchanges and study tours, continuously optimise visit arrangements and explore new visiting spots, thereby further promoting patriotic education.
As regards the youth exchange projects subsidised under the “HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland”, HYAB monitors the effectiveness and quality of exchange projects by collecting feedback from participants through their evaluation questionnaires completed after the projects. In addition, NGOs are required to organise debriefing and sharing sessions for participants after their return to Hong Kong. Representatives of HYAB and the Youth Development Commission also attend these sessions from time to time to understand participants’ exchange experience and learning, and enhance the Scheme as needed. Besides, participants’ feedback on each funded exchange tour will be collected by the District Offices, which will take into consideration such feedback when planning other exchange tours, with a view to continuously enhancing the relevant arrangements.
Issued at HKT 12:30
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LCQ7: Supporting youth employment
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ7: Supporting youth employment
Question:
There are views pointing out that youth unemployment is a serious issue, with some young people even experiencing adverse effects on their mental health and life planning due to prolonged unemployment, and that the emergence of slashies (referring to a group of people who do not rely on a single and regular job for income, but earn irregular income by engaging in multiple occupations and taking up multiple identities) and lying-flatters also indicates young people’s questioning of traditional employment models. On the other hand, quite a number of industries are facing manpower shortages, resulting in mismatches in vocational qualifications that undermine the overall productivity of society. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of unemployed young people and the youth unemployment rate over the past three years, and how these figures compare with those for the overall labour force; whether it has compiled statistics on the employment of slashies; if so, of the relevant data for the past three years, with a breakdown by industry, academic qualification and gender;
(2) whether the Government has considered relaunching the Job Creation Scheme, which was implemented in 2020 but has now concluded, or introducing other similar measures such as offering tax incentives, wage subsidies or training allowances to enterprises to encourage them to hire young people; if so, of the details and expected outcomes; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether it has compiled statistics on young people’s entrepreneurship over the past three years, including the number of individuals starting businesses, the number of companies established and the number of young people who became employed due to unsuccessful entrepreneurship; whether it has provided targeted measures to support those young people who were unsuccessful in entrepreneurship; if so, of the details and outcomes; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) whether it has considered introducing targeted measures to encourage young people to join industries with a large number of job vacancies, such as providing them with allowances, training subsidies or career progression planning, so as to attract them to join and stay in such industries on a long-term basis; if so, of the specific policy direction and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) in view of the emergence of non-traditional employment models such as slashies, whether the Government has considered introducing countermeasures, such as establishing flexible job matching platforms to assist young people in matching with corporate needs through part-time or freelance jobs; whether it will promote a “diverse employment model” policy to encourage enterprises to provide arrangements such as flexible working hours and remote working, so as to enhance the overall productivity of society; whether it will consider drawing reference from the practices of other jurisdictions (such as the Mainland) to require employers to provide a certain level of welfare protection to slashies; if so, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to the employment situation of young people and has implemented various measures to promote youth employment, including career counselling, pre-employment and on-the job training, and entrepreneurship support.
In consultation with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), and the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), our consolidated reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
(1) Based on the results of the General Household Survey (GHS) conducted by C&SD, the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate among youths aged 15 to 39 (excluding foreign domestic helpers) in 2023-2024 and Q4 2025, are set out at Annex.
Slashers (i.e. persons engaged in more than one job concurrently) are classified as employed persons (including employers, employees and the self-employed) and are included in the overall labour force. However, as slashers constitute only a small proportion of the local employed population and having considered statistical accuracy, GHS does not compile separate statistics on slashers.
(2) to (4) On support for youth entrepreneurship, the HYAB has implemented two entrepreneurship-related funding schemes under the Youth Development Fund, including the HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Entrepreneurship Scheme) and the HYAB Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases (Experiential Scheme). Under the first round of the Entrepreneurship Scheme, funded organisations provided start-up capital and comprehensive support services to 217 youth start-up teams (about 400 young people), and over 97 per cent of the start-up teams continued to be in operation upon completion of the entire programme. The entrepreneurial programmes under the second round of the Entrepreneurship Scheme have been gradually launched and will support about 260 youth start-up teams starting from 2025.
The Experiential Scheme enables youth to preliminarily explore the entrepreneurial opportunities in the Mainland through short-term experiential programmes at innovation and entrepreneurial bases. There were 12 experiential programmes organised in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in the first round of the Experiential Scheme, benefiting about 300 young people. The new round of the Experiential Scheme has expanded the coverage from GBA to other provinces and cities in the Mainland. A total of 18 experiential programmes have been launched starting from 2025, offering about 600 places. According to the evaluation questionnaires completed by participants having completed the programmes, over 95 per cent of respondents respectively gave positive feedback on the effectiveness of the two funding schemes.
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the CSTB funds various projects through the CreateSmart Initiative and the Film Development Fund, aiming at nurturing talent (including the youth) of relevant industries and start-ups for promoting industry development. Examples include Design Incubation Programme and Fashion Incubation Programme, which nurture design start-ups by offering financial assistance and incubation services. As at December 2025, a total of 383 incubatees were admitted. The Hong Kong Digital Advertising Industry Fresh Graduate Support Scheme and Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Industry Fresh Graduate Support Scheme provide internship opportunities and on-the job training for new graduates of relevant disciplines. As at December 2025, a total of 763 interns were admitted. The First Feature Film Initiative funded a total of 30 film productions and incubated 32 new directors.
On youth employment support, the Labour Department (LD) implements the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) to provide comprehensive and free training and employment support services to young people with an educational attainment at sub-degree level or below. Since January 2025, the LD has relaxed the enrolment age for YETP from 15 to 24, to 15 to 29. The GBA Work Experience Attachment Programme, which provides YETP trainees aged 18 to 29 with workplace attachment opportunities, was also launched to enable participants to experience the work environment and living culture in GBA. Young people participating in YETP may, according to their interests and needs, select and enrol in training courses, and participate in workplace attachment training and/or on-the-job training. Employers engaging trainees in full-time or part-time on-the-job training are eligible to receive a monthly on-the-job training allowance of up to $5,000 per trainee for six to 12 months. In the 2024/25 programme year (i.e. from September 2024 to August 2025), the number of trainees applied to YETP was 4 059, which represented an increase of 43 per cent compared with the previous programme year.
The LD also operates two Youth Employment Resource Centres named Youth Employment Start, which offer one-stop integrated support services on employment and self-employment for young people aged 15 to 29 to enhance their employability.
In addition, the Employees Retraining Board currently offers around 800 market‑oriented training courses for Hong Kong residents aged 15 or above, as well as about 40 dedicated training courses for young people aged 15 to 29 to help them acquire vocational skills and access employment follow‑up services. Young people aspiring to join specific industries may also consider pre-employment or in-service training courses offered by the Vocational Training Council (VTC). The VTC has been implementing the Apprenticeship Scheme for years, providing systematic on-the-job training for young apprentices and continuously nurturing skilled professionals for various industries in Hong Kong. To encourage more young people to join relevant industries, for a period of three years starting from the 2024/25 academic year, each registered apprentice will be provided with an additional monthly training allowance and each graduated apprentice will be subsidised in undertaking upskilling courses of the relevant trade after securing employment.
(5) Apart from the above-mentioned measures, youth job seekers may also use the LD’s Interactive Employment Service website (www.jobs.gov.hk
In addition, the LD encourages employers to adopt employee-oriented good human resource management measures through publicity and promotional activities, including allowing flexible work arrangements (such as flexitime, shorter workweek, remote work and hybrid work model), which facilitate the recruitment and retention of staff (including young people), thereby enhancing the corporate productivity.
In light of the development of the digital platform industry, the Government will legislate for an improved work injury compensation mechanism for digital platform workers (DPWs) and will introduce new legislation to provide statutory compensation for DPWs who sustain injuries or die as a result of work. DPWs engaging in food and/or goods delivery services will be protected by the new legislation.
The Government will continue to closely monitor the employment situation of young people, listen to the views of stakeholders, review and refine relevant measures in a timely manner to support and assist the employment of young people (including slashers).
Issued at HKT 14:10
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Budget Speech by the Financial Secretary (11)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Budget Speech by the Financial Secretary (11) Medium Range Forecast
281. The MRF projects the revenue and expenditure as well as fiscal position of the Government from a macro perspective. It has fully reflected the impact of the measures in the fiscal consolidation programme. From 2026-27 to 2030-31, a real economic growth rate of three per cent is adopted.Issued at HKT 13:14
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LCQ20: Prevention of bullying behaviour among minors
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ20: Prevention of bullying behaviour among minors
| Year (2) The EDB, the EOC, and the HKPF have not categorised the above cases by intention and motives. The doxxing complaint cases investigated by the PCPD involve relationship disputes and school disputes respectively. (3) The Government adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards bullying among minors. Various policy bureaux and departments have developed a holistic approach to jointly prevent and curb bullying at the levels of schools, community and criminal enforcement, while also promoting anti-bullying messages. The specific work is as follows: Schools A safe and harmonious school environment is crucial for the growth of minors. The EDB, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the HKPF have introduced a series of measures to assist schools in building a caring school culture and nurturing students’ proper values. They also help with the prevention, early identification and handling of school bullying, and provide students in need with support and mediation. The key measures are as follows: NNNN LCQ2: Measures to support digital transformation of small and medium enterprisesSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (February 25): Question: LCQ17: Making good use of Apology Ordinance to resolve disputesSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region LCQ17: Making good use of Apology Ordinance to resolve disputes NNNN Remarks by CS on 2026-27 Budget (with video)Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region Following are the remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at a media session at the Legislative Council Complex after the Financial Secretary delivered his Speech on the 2026-27 Budget today (February 25): Just now, the Financial Secretary delivered the 2026-27 Budget. LCQ21: Regulating alcohol consumption among adolescentsSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4 Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (February 25): Question: On regulating alcohol consumption among adolescents, will the Government inform this Council: (1) given that according to the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310), every person carrying on a business in Hong Kong regardless of the mode of business must register his business within one month of commencement of business, while “business” required to be registered includes any form of trade, commerce, craftsmanship, profession, calling or other activity carried on for the purpose of gain; whether the Government has conducted random inspections to see if stores currently engaging in the sale of alcohol through online shopping and second-hand platforms have completed business registration; if so, of the details of the relevant random inspections; (2) given that the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the Department of Health implemented the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 (the Ordinance) starting from November 30, 2018 to prohibit any person from selling and supplying intoxicating liquor to persons under the age of 18 in the course of business, of the respective details of the inspections and law enforcement actions (including the strength of the relevant law enforcement officers, the number of inspections conducted and the number of cases in which a fine was imposed) taken by TACO in stores and premises under the Ordinance in each of the past five years; (3) given that the Ordinance stipulates that regarding the online sale of alcohol, if it is sold or supplied via remote distribution (e.g. in the form of SMS messages, group messages, websites, telephone or mail order), the prescribed notice must be displayed in a reasonably legible manner, or its contents must be read out or played as a sound recording; however, there are views pointing out that the aforesaid measures may not be able to prevent persons under the age of 18 from purchasing alcohol from online shopping platforms; of the respective numbers of law enforcement actions targeting online shopping platforms taken by TACO and numbers of cases in which a fine was imposed in each of the past five years; among such cases, the number of those found to have contravened the requirements of the aforesaid prescribed notice; whether the authorities have conducted decoy operations; if so, the relevant figures; (4) whether the Government has studied the situation of alcohol abuse among adolescents in Hong Kong since the Ordinance came into operation; if it has studied, whether the number of cases involving alcohol abuse among adolescents has shown a downward trend; what measures the Government has put in place to address the situation of alcohol abuse among adolescents; and (5) of the current alcohol consumption situation in Hong Kong; whether the Government has assessed if it has achieved the target of “at least 10 per cent relative reduction in the prevalence of binge drinking and harmful use of alcohol among adults and in the prevalence of drinking among youth by 2025” set out in the “Towards 2025: Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in Hong Kong”; if it has assessed and the target has been met, whether the Government will set new targets; if it has assessed and the target has not yet been met, whether it has plans to make improvements? Reply: President, According to the World Health Organization (WHO), harmful use of alcohol is a significant risk factor for more than 200 diseases, injuries and other health conditions. Harmful use of alcohol is associated with the risk of developing a range of health problems such as mental and behavioural disorders (including alcohol dependence), and major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (e.g. liver cirrhosis and some cancers). In addition to health effects, harmful use of alcohol can place a heavy burden on individuals, families and the society. The WHO recommends that governments of various places should strengthen their responses to reduce alcohol-related harm for prevention and control of NCDs. Reducing alcohol-related harm is an important priority action area in the prevention and control of NCDs locally. In response to the Hon Chan Hak-kan’s question, the reply after consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Department of Health (DH) is as follows: (1) Every person who carries on a business in Hong Kong, regardless of whether through a brick-and-mortar presence or the internet, is required to apply for business registration under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) (BRO). The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) inspects the transactions carried out on the internet from time to time to ascertain the compliance with the BRO requirements. The IRD will examine details of the relevant transactions, including (i) the procurement, promotion, sales, and delivery of goods, (ii) the collection and payment of sales proceeds, and (iii) the purpose, scale, persistence and location of these transactions, to determine whether the relevant transactions constitute the carrying on of a business in Hong Kong. Under section 15(1)(c) of the BRO, any person who fails to apply for business registration for a business carried on by them in Hong Kong under the BRO commits an offence, and the maximum penalty is a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for one year. Where any online activity (including a transaction of alcoholic products) constitutes carrying on a business in Hong Kong but the business has not yet been registered under the BRO, the IRD would remind the relevant person to apply for business registration for the business as soon as possible, and would initiate prosecution if necessary. (2) Part 5 of the Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) Regulations (Cap. 109B) (the Regulations) prohibits the sale and supply of intoxicating liquor to minors in the course of business. According to the Regulations, a person must not, in the course of business, including face-to-face or remote distribution, sell or supply alcoholic beverages to a minor. The Regulations also require vendors who sell or supply intoxicating liquor through face-to-face distributions to display a prescribed notice complying with the Regulations in a prominent position at the premises in the course of business. Between 2021 and 2025, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the DH conducted more than 78 000 inspections to check retailers’ compliance with the legal requirements mentioned above, and carried out investigations and enforcement actions upon receipt of intelligence or complaints. Over the same period, the TACO received 109 complaints regarding the sale or supply of intoxicating liquor to minors in the course of business. No violation was found upon plainclothes inspections and follow-up investigations. As for the requirement to display prescribed notices, the TACO issued 12 summonses to offenders, and nine of which resulted in convictions by the court, with fines ranging from $1,800 to $2,500. The number of inspections and the enforcement actions carried out by the TACO at shops and premises in accordance with the Regulations in the past five years is set out at Annex 1. The number of posts for frontline law enforcement officers in the approved establishment of the TACO is 125. Since the relevant law enforcement officers work on the alcohol and tobacco control initiatives at the same time, the manpower arrangements cannot be separately delineated. (3) Any person who sells or supplies liquor to others by remote distribution must display or broadcast a prescribed notice stating that, under the law of Hong Kong, intoxicating liquor must not be sold or supplied to minors in the course of business. In addition, prior to the sale or supply, the seller or supplier must receive an age declaration from the purchaser or recipient. Provided that there are no circumstances giving rise to reasonable suspicion that the declaration is false, such declaration may serve as a defence in the event of prosecution. The TACO conducts online inspections and follows up on cases where non‑compliance with the above requirements are identified. Between 2021 and 2025, the TACO carried out over 2 600 online inspections and issued more than 600 advisory letters, with the vast majority of websites co-operating upon receiving the advisory letters. The number of inspections and enforcement actions carried out by the TACO against online shopping platforms in accordance with the Regulations in the past five years is set out at Annex 2. As regards covert enforcement operations (commonly known as “sting operations”), the personnel involved must be relevant appointed law enforcement officers. They are subject to strict rules and regulations, and are also required to undergo training, thereby understanding the legal boundaries and are capable of handling unexpected situations. Given that the offences currently regulated by the Regulations concern acts directed at minors, the use of “sting operations” is considered inappropriate. The DH encourages members of the public to provide information to the TACO, which will then conduct inspections and take enforcement actions upon receiving intelligence or complaints. (4) and (5) The Government promulgated, in 2018, the Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in Hong Kong (SAP), with a focus on NCDs and their common behavioural risk factors (such as harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity), to comprehensively promote a healthy lifestyle. One of the targets of the SAP is at least 10 per cent relative reduction in the prevalence of binge drinking and harmful use of alcohol (viz. harmful drinking/alcohol dependence) among adults and in the prevalence of drinking among youth by 2025. Currently, regular surveys targeting students from upper primary to post-secondary levels are conducted by the Narcotics Division (ND) of the Security Bureau (SB) to collect information on alcohol drinking, smoking and drug use among young people. According to the Survey of Drug Use among Students by the ND of the SB, since the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 took effect in 2018, the prevalence of drinking among young people shows a downward trend; and the relevant target of the prevalence of drinking among youth as stated in the SAP has been achieved. The relevant statistics are shown in the table below:
Note 1：Including primary four to six students, secondary one to six students and post-secondary students In addition, the DH conducts a Population Health Survey (PHS) approximately every five years, with the Health Behaviour Survey (HBS) conducted in between to understand the health status and health-related behaviours of the Hong Kong population, including drinking behaviours. According to the HBS 2023 conducted by the DH, the age-standardised prevalence of binge drinking (i.e. drinking at least five cans of beers, five glasses of table wine or five pegs of spirits on a single occasion) at least monthly among adults (aged 18 years or above) increased when compared to the baseline figures of the PHS 2014/15, while remaining at a low level. According to the 2019 worldwide statistics from the WHO, 17 per cent of people aged 15 years or above engaged in heavy episodic drinking or “binge drinking” on one or more occasions in the last month. Comparatively, Hong Kong’s statistics on binge drinking is relatively lower. The statistics on binge drinking in Hong Kong are shown in the table below:
Note 2：Binge drinking is defined as drinking at least 5 cans of beers, 5 glasses of table wine or 5 pegs of spirits on a single occasion. The PHS 2025/26 commenced last September and the findings are expected to be available in late 2026. The Government will use the relevant data to review the targets and outcomes of the SAP. Under the SAP, the Government adopts a multi-pronged approach, comprising publicity and education, law enforcement, promotion of alcohol screening, etc, to reduce alcohol-related harm. The relevant initiatives include: (i) The DH has launched a publicity and education campaign named “Understanding Alcohol Harm” since 2022 to enhance the public’s understanding of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption through various channels. Through a website, the DH disseminates information on alcohol-related harm to the public, and provides online risk assessment of drinking behaviour, personalised health advice, self-help tools, health education resources, etc, to encourage drinkers to change their drinking behaviour for the sake of their health. (ii) The DH recommends the Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention (A-SBI) tool to primary healthcare service providers, including organisation of online training for the staff of the District Health Centres (DHCs) and District Health Centre Expresses (DHC Expresses) to encourage regular use of the A-SBI tool for early identification and management of at-risk drinkers, as well as arranging referral for those with probable alcohol dependence. DHCs and DHC Expresses provide primary healthcare services to citizens, including the Life Course Preventive Care Plan, which is an evidence-based and comprehensive health strategy that emphasises prevention and personalised needs. It provides guidance on the health needs of citizens across different life stages and assists citizens in developing a healthy lifestyle, including early identification and intervention of high-risk drinking behaviours through health risk assessment and providing alcohol abuse prevention advice, with a view to enhancing the overall health of the Hong Kong citizens. (iii) The DH has also launched the Pilot Alcohol Cessation Counselling Service (Pilot Programme) through subvention to a non-governmental organisation. The Pilot Programme was launched on April 8, 2024, and will last for two years to provide free counselling service for Hong Kong residents identified to have probable alcohol dependence. The service comprises three components, namely initial assessment, evidence-based individual counselling intervention, and subsequent evaluation follow-up. (iv) Targeting the situation of alcohol use among young people, the DH has been enforcing the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Regulation 2018 since 2018 to prevent youth access to alcohol. Apart from this, the DH has also launched the “Young and Alcohol Free” campaign since 2016 to step up efforts to combat underage drinking and protect young people from the harm that alcohol may bring. The activities included the development of health education resources, the launch of Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) targeting young people, and collaboration with groups and non-governmental organisations serving youth to provide training to trainers, as well as assistance in organising relevant health education activities to further disseminate relevant messages to young people in the community. To echo the launch of the new APIs and posters, the latest round of the promotional campaign was launched in 2025 and was promoted through social media, residential building lobby TV display network, public transport, venues under the DH and other government departments to enhance coverage and reach. The DH will continue to reduce alcohol-related harm through various means and will closely monitor local alcohol consumption situation through periodic surveys. Women’s Commission welcomes 2026-27 BudgetSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region Women’s Commission welcomes 2026-27 Budget The WoC was established in 2001 and is committed to enabling women in Hong Kong to fully realise their due status, rights, and opportunities in all aspects of life. It adopts a three-pronged strategy, namely the provision of an enabling environment, empowerment of women through capacity building, and public education, to promote the well-being and interests of women. NNNN LCQ16: Development of harbourfront promenades in KowloonSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region LCQ16: Development of harbourfront promenades in Kowloon NNNN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||