Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The opening ceremony of the Women Wellness Satellite under the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) was held today (July 7), marking a new milestone in primary healthcare services focused on women’s holistic health. Effective today, the Women Wellness Satellite has been officially named the Jockey Club Women Wellness Satellite (WWS).

     The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, officiated at the opening ceremony and naming ceremony of the WWS today. She said, “Integrating services of the Department of Health’s Woman Health Centres and setting up the WWS has implemented the development directions and strategies for strengthening the primary healthcare system set out in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. It also aligns with the Chief Executive’s proposal in the 2024 Policy Address to promote the development of primary healthcare on all fronts, demonstrating the great importance the Government attaches to women’s health.” Operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) under the commission of the PHC Commission, the three WWSs located on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and in the New Territories respectively have commenced operations in phases since June last year. They form a network with the District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses (collectively referred to as DHCs) across all 18 districts in Hong Kong to provide eligible women with prevention-oriented and more personalised women’s health services. As of the end of April this year, the WWSs have recorded a cumulative total of more than 18 200 attendances.

     “To address the specific health needs of women planning for pregnancy, the WWS plans to introduce pre-pregnancy services within this year. The services will cover health assessments, individual consultations and education, doctor consultations as well as examinations and follow-ups according to protocol-driven care pathways. At the same time, the Government is actively exploring the introduction of Chinese medicine services at the WWS tailored to women’s health needs, with a view to providing women with a more comprehensive health support network.”

     The related works and medical equipment of the three WWSs are funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. In appreciation of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s support in promoting primary healthcare services for women, the three WWSs have been named the Jockey Club Women Wellness Satellite (Hong Kong), the Jockey Club Women Wellness Satellite (Kowloon) and the Jockey Club Women Wellness Satellite (New Territories) respectively, effective today. 

     The Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Libby Lee; the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare of the Health Bureau, Dr Pang Fei-chau; the Deputy Director of Health, Dr Edmund Fong; the Head of Charities (Health & Older Adults Cluster) of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Ms Imelda Chan; and the Chairman of the TWGHs, Mr York Tseng, also attended the ceremony today.

     Through a co-payment model, the WWS provides personalised women’s health services to women holding a Hong Kong identity card or a Certificate of Exemption. Those who wish to use the services have to register as members of the DHC and give consent to enrol in eHealth. The DHC will arrange health risk assessments and family doctor pairings, and arrange for users to receive services at the WWS as needed. Apart from providing free health education for eligible women, the WWS offers services such as basic health assessments, individual consultations, cervical and breast cancer screenings to participants upon paying the co-payment. After assessment, participants with clinical needs for laboratory tests can also access relevant private laboratory services. Moreover, the WWS has also introduced various value-added services, including breast ultrasounds, 3D mammograms, human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing, HPV testing by self-sampling, and vaccination services. Members of the public can visit the WWS website for more information on the services and service charges of the WWS.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced today (July 7) a series of new measures to deepen the financial co-operation between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, support the development of Hong Kong’s fixed income and currency (FIC) market and offshore Renminbi (RMB) business, and reinforce Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre. These measures include:
 

1. supporting the collaboration of financial infrastructure institutions in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland to develop a Hong Kong FIC electronic trading platform;
2. further enhancing and expanding the Southbound Bond Connect, including increasing the annual investment quota, developing bond repurchase (repo) business using Southbound Bond Connect bonds as collateral, expanding the product scope to cover products with HKD bonds and RMB bonds as underlying assets, connecting to the Macao bond market, and enhancing the management of Southbound Bond Connect market makers;
3. supporting the inclusion of onshore bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance and Mainland policy banks that are held under Northbound Bond Connect as eligible margin collateral at the HKFE Clearing Corporation and the SEHK Options Clearing House;
4. enhancing the Northbound Bond Connect operational arrangement to extend the settlement time and improve efficiency;
5. further enhancing the Swap Connect to include the interbank Seven-Day Fixing Depository-Institutions Repo Rate (FDR007) as a reference rate; and
6. supporting the launch of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Five-Year China Government Bond Futures in Hong Kong on August 3.

 
     Building on this, the HKMA also announced five measures to support the development of the offshore RMB market and strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a leading offshore RMB business hub, thereby enabling greater outreach to other regions and enhancing support for the real economy. These measures, underpinned by strong support from the PBoC, address industry suggestions for developing the offshore RMB market. These include:
 

1. increasing the size of the HKMA’s RMB Business Facility from RMB200 billion to RMB500 billion and extending tenors to include nine-month, two-year and three-year, effective on July 10;
2. exploring to introduce a tendering mechanism of seven-day offshore RMB liquidity;
3. exploring the issuance of offshore RMB short-term debt instruments to support the building of the offshore RMB yield curve;
4. promoting the development of a bilateral currency transaction framework between Indonesian Rupiah and offshore RMB; and
5. issuing good practices to banks to promote RMB adoption.

 
     The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, said, “We are pleased to announce this series of measures, which will further deepen cross-boundary financial co-operation, strengthen financial market connectivity between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, promote the development of Hong Kong’s fixed income and currency market, and reinforce Hong Kong’s position as an offshore RMB business hub and international financial centre. These measures are the result of concerted efforts of the HKMA, the PBoC and other relevant financial regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and on the Chinese Mainland. We will continue to work closely with the relevant regulatory authorities, the industry and financial infrastructure institutions to ensure timely and smooth implementation of the measures, and explore further enhancements.”

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Government announced today (July 7) the launch of a one-month public consultation on proposals to improve the laws on sexual offences in Hong Kong. 
 
A Government spokesman said, “The Government attaches great importance to the well-being of the general public, in particular children and persons with mental impairment (PMIs), and is committed to protecting them from sexual exploitation and abuse. This is the Government’s original intent in enacting the laws on sexual offences.”
 
The spokesman further said, “At present, many of the sexual offences in Hong Kong are based on similar provisions in the laws of England enacted in 1956. Social perceptions related to sexual offences have been evolving over the years. Meanwhile, there are inadequacies in the existing sexual offence provisions. For instance, some provisions lack clarity and certainty with outdated terminologies; some offences lack consistency on treatments across genders, or carry distinctions based on sexual orientation; the provisions and penalties of some sexual offences are not fully commensurate with the gravity of the relevant acts, etc. The Government considers it necessary to review and improve the laws on sexual offences in Hong Kong to address the inadequacies of the current provisions and respond to changes in social perceptions related to sexual offences.”
 
The Law Reform Commission (LRC) had conducted a comprehensive review on sexual offences and related matters, and published a total of four consultation papers on specific areas. The LRC published two reports subsequently, making a total of 72 final recommendations. On the basis of the LRC’s recommendations and with reference to the development of relevant laws in other major common law jurisdictions, the Government has formulated a range of legislative amendment proposals, mainly covering the following areas:
 
1. non-consensual sexual offences;
2. sexual offences involving children;
3. sexual offences involving PMIs;
4. miscellaneous sexual offences; and
5. other related amendments to strengthen protection for victims of sexual offences.
 
“We hope to improve the laws on sexual offences in Hong Kong, the earlier the better, to strengthen protection for victims of sexual offences while ensuring that the laws on sexual offences can keep pace with the times,” the Government spokesman added.
 
The consultation paper has been uploaded onto the website of the Security Bureau (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/pub/consultation/loso.html). Members of the public are invited to submit their views by mail (Security Bureau A Division, 8th Floor, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong), by fax (2524 3762) or by email (sexualoffences@sb.gov.hk) on or before August 5.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     A six-member delegation led by the Director of Audit, Professor Nelson Lam, began a five-day duty visit to Qinghai on June 22. During the trip, the delegation met and exchanged views with officials of the Qinghai Provincial Government and the Audit Office of Qinghai Province, and visited local new energy-related facilities and organisations.

     The delegation was first received by leaders of the Qinghai Provincial Government, including the Executive Vice Governor of Qinghai Province, Mr Zhang Jingang, who welcomed the Hong Kong delegation and introduced the green energy projects in Qinghai, highlighting the collaboration projects between Qinghai and Guangdong Provinces under the National 15th Five-Year Plan. Professor Lam expressed his gratitude for the full support and invitation from the Auditor General of the National Audit Office of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Hou Kai, and for the co-ordination and thoughtful arrangements of the Qinghai Provincial Government and the Audit Office of Qinghai Province for this trip, which afforded the delegation the chance to visit Qinghai – the source of the nation’s three great rivers and the core hub of the national base of important new energy industries. He said he looks forward to further sharing the gains of this trip with peers in Hong Kong in the future. He also stated that in this year that marks the beginning of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, the Audit Commission hopes to leverage the opportunity to closely interact with provinces and cities in various ways to assimilate the visions, advanced techniques and good practices in audit on the Mainland. This would put the Commission in a position to continuously hone its work and better integrate into and serve overall national development. 

     In a subsequent seminar, the Director of the Audit Office of Qinghai Province, Mr Chen Zhaochao, gave a briefing on the work of the Audit Office and had an intensive exchange with the delegation on work issues such as audit examinations and the workflow of rectification supervision, and especially on audit topics related to the development of ecological civilisation. Both sides stated their commitment to aligning with the aim and spirit of the Central Auditing Commission under the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee in building an audit supervision system and delivering the responsibilities of public auditors, with a people-centred mindset.

     Professor Lam quoted President Xi Jinping as stressing that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” The country has been steering the full-scale transformation to a green economy and society, constructing a new energy system and emphasising green, low-carbon development as the foundation for enhancing people’s well-being and quality of life. To actively align with these national policies, Hong Kong is championing the development of new energy industries and forging a green, low-carbon living environment. On that note, Professor Lam highlighted that the public consultation for the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is under way, and that for Part 6 of the consultation document on “Integrated Development of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Green Living, and Other Areas”, a lot of inspiration could be drawn from Qinghai, which demonstrates a solid and effective integration of greening, technology, new energy, culture and tourism. With “greening” poised to be the next big area for exploration in the auditing industry, according to Professor Lam, and with the recent issuance of a plan by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration to establish a new energy system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the delegation was thankful for this timely visit to Qinghai – which has been entrusted with the important strategic mission of building a national hub for clean energy industries – and for visiting the sites of its various national key energy projects, including photovoltaic, clean energy and water resources facilities. Professor Lam described this trip as richly inspiring and informative for the delegation members, as it allowed them to gain first-hand appreciation of the nation’s accomplishments and work in areas such as green energy and ecological security, and gave them a vivid picture of the development planning and latest situation of new energy auditing.   

     Professor Lam looks forward to sharing the takeaways of the Qinghai trip with officers and showing them the success cases of the integration of strategic resources and facilitation of leapfrog development of energy industries in the country. He believes it would motivate them to utilise their strengths, deliver their duties and develop their potential, and, in turn, to fully play their part as professionals in meeting the country’s needs, unleashing Hong Kong’s prowess and responding to the people’s aspirations.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 7) that due to big waves and inclement weather, red flags have been hoisted at Hung Shing Yeh Beach in Islands District, and Tai Po Lung Mei Beach in Tai Po District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region