Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

A spokesman for the Transport Department today (October 12) reminded members of the public to guard against and avoid being misled by recent fake messages in social media and messaging groups purported to be extension of the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles (NBT) to other boundary control points (BCPs) and scheme details of the future Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (SBT). The incident will be referred to the Police for follow-up.

The spokesman clarified that NBT is currently applicable to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) only, but not other BCPs. Private cars will not be approved concurrently for both NBT and the Shenzhen Bay Ad Hoc Quotas for Cross Boundary Private Cars. The NBT arrangements of travelling without the need for advance bookings, which took effect from September 2025, only cover Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except specified dates).

Of note, the Shenzhen Bay Ad Hoc Quotas for Cross Boundary Private Cars and NBT are two different schemes. Eligible private car owners who wish to enter Guangdong under the Shenzhen Bay Ad Hoc Quotas for Cross Boundary Private Cars should submit an application for each travel. Upon approval, their private cars can then enter Guangdong via Shenzhen Bay Port within the five-day quota validity period and stay for not more than seven days. They must return to Hong Kong via Shenzhen Bay Port.

As for SBT, the Government will update the Legislative Council Panel on Transport on October 17.

The spokesman stressed that implementation details of cross-boundary driving schemes and operational arrangements of BCPs are serious issues which must be considered holistically. If there are new arrangements of any cross-boundary driving schemes, the Government will issue press releases as official announcements for the public’s information. Citizens should heighten vigilance and verify messages to avoid deception or disruption to their travel plans.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to enhance implementation arrangements of NBT and press ahead with SBT to facilitate efficient cross-boundary travel and make better use of the carrying capacity of the HZMB further, thereby promoting the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The main kitchen at Kowloon Hospital prepares over 4 000 meals daily for inpatients and two nearby hospitals. When designing menus, it takes into consideration patients’ nutritional needs and swallowing abilities through dietary assessments.
 
     News.gov.hk spoke to a representative of the Hospital Authority’s Kowloon Central Cluster to learn about the daily operation of the kitchen, while a speech therapist shared how their professional advice can help when planning menus.
 
     The story is available at www.news.gov.hk/eng/feature from today (October 12) in text and video format.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Transport Department (TD) today (October 12) said that special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented to facilitate the holding of a football match at Kai Tak Stadium on the evening of October 14. As traffic in the vicinity of the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) is expected to be heavy, spectators should opt for public transport and avoid driving.

     The TD has co-ordinated with public transport operators to strengthen their services during dispersal. The MTR will enhance the frequency of trains on the Tuen Ma Line. Franchised bus companies will provide 10 special bus routes at the Sung Wong Toi Road Pick-up/Drop-off Area (PUDOA) to major districts across the territory.
 
     The Kai Tak Stadium Taxi PUDOA will be open. The Sung Wong Toi Road PUDOA will be open for taxi drop-off only during admission (6pm to 8pm) and suspended from taxi pick-up/drop-off during dispersal. The expected waiting time will be longer amid the outflux of spectators, and passengers’ patience is appreciated.

     Spectators are advised to heed the real-time information via the on-site broadcast and the “Easy Leave” platform (easyleave.police.gov.hk) as well as the latest traffic news through the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk), the “HKeMobility” mobile application and radio and television broadcasts. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore (Singapore ETO) supported and participated in two education promotional events in Vietnam, with an aim to promote Hong Kong’s quality higher education and the “Study in Hong Kong” brand. Organised by the eight publicly-funded universities, the two events took place in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) today (October 11) and in Hanoi on October 5.
 
The Director of the Singapore ETO, Mr Owin Fung, attended the event in HCMC this morning (October 11). In his opening speech, Mr Fung said, “Accordingly to ‘The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address’, Hong Kong is committed to strengthening its role as an international education hub. With five universities ranked among the world’s top 100 and English as the main teaching medium, our institutions offer globally recognised degrees and a unique East-meets-West learning environment.”
 
He added, “The Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates allow international students to stay for at least 24 months after graduation to seek employment, helping graduates build rewarding careers in diverse industries with the ample opportunities that are available in Hong Kong. Coupled with Hong Kong’s close ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its growing connections with Vietnam, a Hong Kong education opens doors both within the city and across the region.”
 
The Deputy Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China in HCMC, Mr Xu Zhou and representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs also attended the event today to show support as well as to engage in exchanges with representatives from the eight Hong Kong universities. Moreover, the Deputy Director of the Singapore ETO, Ms Teresa Poon, represented the Singapore ETO to attend and speak at the event in Hanoi on October 5.
    
Apart from the two events at major shopping centres, the entire multi-city recruitment exercise included school visits, admission talks and fairs at different local, public and gifted schools across Da Nang, Hai Duong, Hanoi, HCMC, and Hue. This is the third time the eight publicly funded universities have launched a recruitment exercise in Vietnam.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, met with the President of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), Mr Zhang Jun, today (October 13) to exchange views on issues of mutual concern. The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, and the Solicitor General, Mr Llewellyn Mui, also attended the meeting.

Mr Lam said that the Department of Justice (DoJ) has always maintained close ties with the SPC. Earlier this year, the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy co-organised the Hong Kong Common Law Practical Training Course in Hong Kong with the SPC. The course provided training for Mainland judges to deepen their understanding of Hong Kong’s common law system and promoted exchange and co-operation between the two legal systems. 

Both sides also exchanged views on enhancing mutual legal assistance for civil and commercial matters between Hong Kong and the Mainland, promoting the training of the country’s foreign-related legal talent and deepening the interfaces of regulatory frameworks and mechanisms for legal and dispute resolution services within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

​Mr Lam said that Hong Kong is the only common law jurisdiction in China under the “one country, two systems” principle and maintains a robust legal system highly aligned with international standards. The DoJ will continue to contribute to the country’s efforts in training foreign-related legal talent and strive to consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present “Adaptations of Literature from Shanghai – An Extended Run”, a programme jointly curated with the Shanghai Film Museum and Shanghai Film Archive. Four films adapted from literature and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio will be screened at the HKFA Cinema on November 15 and 16 for audiences to appreciate interpretations of literary classics in Shanghai films from different perspectives.
 
     “Ashima” (1964) (4K restored version) is China’s first major musical filmed in colour and is presented in a widescreen format with stereo sound. The programme will screen the latest 4K version of the restoration that was jointly carried out in 2025 by the Shanghai Film Technology Plant, a subsidiary of the Shanghai Film Group, and the L’Immagine Ritrovata film restoration laboratory in Italy. With extensive research and fieldwork, the film was adapted from a long narrative poem of the same title by the Sani people, part of the Yi ethnic group in Yunnan, into a tragic love story of resistance against oppression, featuring dazzling sequences of ethnic song and dance that were filmed in Yunnan with meticulous music, art and costumes directions.
 
     “The Herdsman” (1982) (4K restored version), directed by veteran director Xie Jin, is an adaptation of “Soul and Flesh”, by renowned author Zhang Xianliang. Through its expressive film language and cinematography, the film delicately portrays the emotional journey of an intellectual sent to the northwestern grasslands, revealing a heartfelt and selfless love for family and country.
 
     “Forever Young” (1983) (2K restored version) is based on an early novel by contemporary writer Wang Meng. Set in the early 1950s, it focuses on the school life of a group of graduating female students in a Beijing high school. Director Huang Shuqin offers a sensitive female perspective in her depiction of the joys and sorrows of young women growing up amidst the transition between the old and the new.
 
     “Conservatory Garden Very Deeply” (Part One & Part Two) (1989), directed by Shi Shujun, is an adaptation of popular writer Chiung Yao’s eponymous novel. Interweaving the past and present, the narrative of the film explores how young people break free from the constraints of traditional moral codes to pursue individuality and romantic freedom.
 
     All screenings will be accompanied by post-screening talks hosted by Dr Timmy Chen, Dr Lo Wai-luk, Eric Tsang and Joyce Yang.
 
     Tickets priced at $60 will be available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk) from October 17 (Friday). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. A 20 per cent discount is available for every purchase of regular-priced tickets of two or more screenings of this programme. For programme enquiries, please visit the website of the HKFA at (www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2025/sh/pe-event-2025-sh.html) or call 2739 2139.

 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Hong Kong Customs on September 11 seized about 3 700 suspected counterfeit goods and about 70 000 suspected illicit cigarettes with a total estimated market value of about $1.7 million at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Port.
 
     Through risk assessment, Customs on that day intercepted an incoming lorry at the HZMB Hong Kong Port. After inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected counterfeit goods, including watches, accessories, mobile phones and handbags, and the batch of suspected illicit cigarettes inside the cargo compartment of the lorry. A 62-year-old male driver was subsequently arrested.

     An initial investigation revealed that the batch of suspected counterfeit goods and suspected illicit cigarettes would have been transhipped to overseas regions.
 
     The investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation.
 
     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action against counterfeit goods and smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis.
 
     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who imports or exports any goods to which a forged trademark is applied commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
 
     Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.
 
     Members of the public may report any suspected counterfeiting activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) supported Hong Kong artisans in participating in the Designblok International Design Festival held in Prague, Czechia from October 8 to 12 (Prague time).
 
Designblok is a prominent design and fashion exhibition in Central and Eastern Europe. With the support of HKETO Berlin, at a dedicated session titled “Hong Kong and Czech Design: Opportunities for Collaboration” on October 10, Crafts on Peel gave a presentation on its artisan works that revive and incorporate traditional craftsmanship into innovative contemporary design.

The Deputy Director of HKETO Berlin, Mr Billy Leung, attended the sharing session on October 10 and supported the presentation of Hong Kong artisans and designers at the festival.

“Our talents are committed to presenting a selection of East-meets-West Hong Kong culture in their creations at Designblok. Visitors can learn more from them about the creativity and vibrant culture of Hong Kong. HKETO Berlin will continue to facilitate our talents in showcasing the excellence of their works to the international community to foster cross-cultural exchange,” said Mr Leung.

About HKETO Berlin

HKETO Berlin is the official representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia and Switzerland. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (October 13) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for September 2025.
 
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 42.3 in August 2025 in the contractionary zone to 43.8 in September 2025, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. October 2025) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.2. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts, despite below the 50-mark, rose in September 2025 as compared with previous month for all surveyed sectors, particularly for the real estate (from 43.9 to 47.1), retail trade (from 41.1 to 42.8) and logistics (from 40.5 to 42.2).

The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades increased from 44.2 in August 2025 to 46.5 in September 2025, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. October 2025) was 47.3.
 
Commentary
 
A Government spokesman said that business sentiment among SMEs and their outlook in one month’s time both showed further improvements in September. The overall employment situation was stable.
 
Looking ahead, the resilient local economy, together with sustained growth in other economies in Asia, in particular the Mainland, will provide support to business sentiment in Hong Kong, notwithstanding the ongoing uncertainties in the external environment. The Government will monitor the situation closely.
 
Further information

The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled “Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey” released by the C&SD.
 
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents’ perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
 
More detailed statistics are given in the “Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises”. Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).

Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Cybersecurity Attack and Defence Drill 2025, spearheaded by the Digital Policy Office (DPO) in collaboration with the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, Cyberport, the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation and the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology, concluded last night (October 12).

     To conduct a thorough and in-depth evaluation of the defence capabilities of participating government departments and public organisations by inspecting their Internet-facing information systems and identifying security vulnerabilities, the drill employed practical combat scenarios. The drill also aimed to prepare the cybersecurity readiness capabilities for the upcoming 15th National Games and the Legislative Council General Election, which will be held in November and December this year respectively.

     Following the success of the first Hong Kong Cybersecurity Attack and Defence Drill organised by the DPO last year, the overall scale of the drill this year was significantly expanded to cover more public services. A total of 34 government departments and public organisations participated as defenders (Blue Teams), while the number of Red Teams acting as attackers increased to 15. They comprised experienced Hong Kong and Mainland cybersecurity professional practitioners, higher education institutions and three leading attacking teams recommended by the Cyberspace Administration of Guangdong Province, fully reflecting the collaboration and exchanges in cybersecurity between Guangdong and Hong Kong.  

     The Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Tony Wong, witnessed the successful conclusion of this year’s Hong Kong Cybersecurity Attack and Defence Drill at the event’s venue last night (October 12), alongside representatives from the co-organisers. He expressed gratitude to all co-organisers, the Red and Blue Teams, referees and support staff, and encouraged all parties to continue joining forces to strengthen Hong Kong’s cybersecurity defence capability.  

     The drill, which was launched on October 10 and spanned three days for a total of 60 hours, was conducted in a controlled manner. The Red Teams, acting as attackers, launched simulated cyberattacks in a strictly controlled environment on designated information systems and electronic service platforms of participating government departments and public organisations which are already in operation to identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, the Blue Teams tried their best to fend off these attacks in daily system operation scenarios. All participating systems and services remained in normal operation during the drill. Reports of the drill will be provided to the relevant participating government departments or public organisations for reference and follow ups. 

     In addition, over 250 representatives from more than 60 government departments and organisations took part in the drill on-site as observers to monitor the operation and progress of the exercise and learn more about the latest trends in cybersecurity threats. The Deputy Commissioner (Digital Infrastructure), Mr Daniel Cheung, also visited the drill venue and communicated with the Red Teams, referees, and support staff to understand the progress of the drill.