Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Yim Kong and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question:

Last month, the United States released the findings of the “Section 301 Investigations” under the Trade Act of 1974 and announced that port fees would be imposed on vessels owned or controlled by Chinese entities (including Hong Kong entities), including vessels whose owner or operator is headquartered in Hong Kong and vessels of which more than 25 per cent of the equity interest is held by a citizen or citizens or the Government of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the fourth largest shipping register in the world, with over 1 100 maritime-related companies currently operating here. Some preliminary analyses have pointed out that such maritime companies will be faced with risks such as an upsurge in operating costs and a decline in market competitiveness, and ship leasing and ship financing businesses will also be affected by knock-on impacts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the Government has systematically assessed the negative impact of the aforesaid measures of the United States on Hong Kong’s shipping and maritime-related industries, and formulated a cross-departmental collaboration plan to safeguard Hong Kong’s status as an international shipping centre, as well as companies’ legitimate rights and interests;

(2) whether it will provide targeted relief measures to the affected companies engaged in shipping, ship leasing and so on, or provide certain financial support for them to adjust their route deployments; and

(3) whether it has proactive measures to attract “non-US” ship operators or relevant high-end maritime service providers to carry on developing their business in Hong Kong?

Reply:

President,

The United States (US) Government announced on April 17 this year the results of its Section 301 Investigations against Chinese maritime, logistics and ship building industries and decided to impose port fees on vessels owned or operated by Chinese (including Hong Kong and Macao) companies, and vessels built in China for the use of US ports. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has immediately issued a press release to express its strong opposition to the decision, particularly for the fact that the measures are blatantly discriminatory, deliberately dividing the international maritime community and undermining the spirit of international solidarity and co-operation.

The HKSAR Government is highly concerned about the incident and the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) has been maintaining close liaison with the industry to assess the situation and respond as needed. With regard to the various parts of Hon Yim’s question, my reply is as follows:

(1) The US authorities has announced that the port fees will take effect on October 14 this year. For a vessel of 50 000 net tonnage, it will be charged US$2.5 million per entry into a US port, thereafter increased annually reaching US$7 million in April 2028. Each vessel will be charged up to a maximum of five times per year. The fees are indeed detrimental to others without beneficial to oneself, not only undermining the interests of the US port industry, cargo owners and consumers but also unfairly increasing the costs of Hong Kong’s shipping companies on their business operations routing to and from the US ports.

Hong Kong is an international maritime centre supported by our country. Over the years, Hong Kong has attracted shipping companies of different capital backgrounds from all over the world to operate in the city by virtue of our “one country, two systems”, bilingual common law as well as a free and open business environment. Each of these shipping companies has its own specific business portfolio and clientele. The extent to which they will be affected would depend on the share of the US market in their respective portfolios and their scope for adjusting shipping routes and business portfolios. It is therefore difficult to generalise the situation.

Recently, we have been visiting the shipping companies one after another, and the industry has reflected that the business environment in Hong Kong is indeed unrivalled and that the Hong Kong’s ship registry has brought an edge to their ships in terms of quality assurance and international reputation. The industry is striving to identify solutions to the incident, and we do not underestimate the pressure faced by them due to various commercial considerations. On the strength of our country’s strong backings, the HKSAR Government will render its full support to the Hong Kong’s shipping companies to cope with the challenges. At the same time, we urge the industry to stay confident and avoid making hasty decisions under short-term geopolitical pressures at the expense of the long-term development opportunities in Hong Kong.

(2) We understand from the affected companies that they consider financial subsidies from the Government neither financially sustainable nor an effective solution to the problem. In contrast, the industry hopes that the Government can better consolidate the edges for the maritime sector operating in Hong Kong.

In recent years, the Government has introduced a number of measures to enhance the competitiveness of the maritime industry, which has indeed saved up for a rainy day and enhanced the industry’s resilience in coping with the complex external circumstances. We will capitalise on our strengths via a systematic and proactive approach to reinforce the local maritime industry chain internally as well as to expand market opportunities in our country and the world externally. We would have four key areas of work in future, including strengthening the maritime ecosystem, leading the industry to seize the opportunities arising from green shipping, deepening Hong Kong’s role as an international exchange platform, and expanding opportunities in Mainland and overseas markets:

(i) Strengthening the maritime ecosystem, including the introduction of a half-rate tax concession for commodity traders and enhancement of the existing tax concessions for the maritime industry, for which the legislative bill is to be submitted to the Legislative Council in the first half of next year; continuing to provide green cash incentives and implementing the Block Registration Incentive Scheme for Hong Kong-registered ships;

(ii) Supporting and leading the industry to seize the opportunities arising from green shipping. The TLB has promulgated the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering at the end of last year, with a view to promoting Hong Kong into a high-quality green maritime fuel bunkering centre by, inter alia, providing collaborative platforms for catalysing green maritime fuel supply and trading, thereby equipping the industry to cope with the international trend of green transition.

(iii) Deepening Hong Kong’s role as an international exchange platform for facilitating interfaces between the local and overseas industry and expanding global business opportunities. The Government has been actively deepening collaborations with the international maritime organisations. The Hong Kong Maritime Week last year has been one of the most international editions ever where the key organisations like the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Maritime Organization had staged events in Hong Kong. These organisations have confirmed their continued participation in the Hong Kong Maritime Week this year and there would also be other international organisations staging events in Hong Kong for the first time.

(iv) Assisting and leading Hong Kong shipping companies to expand opportunities in Mainland and overseas markets, capitalising on Hong Kong’s connectivity. This include establishing a “rail-sea-land-river” intermodal transport system with the Mainland for securing more cargo sources for Hong Kong, as well as utilising the port community system to be launched in January next year for connecting with the international maritime community, thereby assisting the industry to further enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

In addition, the Government will soon set up the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board to be chaired by a non-official and provided with dedicated team and resources for enhancing its research, promotion and manpower training capabilities, so as to provide more effective support to the Government in promoting the development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry.

(3) The aforementioned measures will significantly enhance Hong Kong’s business environment and attractiveness, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as an international maritime centre. We will continue to step up external promotion on the advantages of operating in Hong Kong through the Marine Department’s service points located in seven different continents and Invest Hong Kong’s network at home and abroad. The Marine Department will also set up a new dedicated team in the Middle East in the fourth quarter of this year for targeted promotion towards the emerging markets there.

Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government will substantially reduce tolls when it takes over the Tai Lam Tunnel (TLT) at 0.00am on Saturday.

In addition, the HKeToll free-flow tolling service will begin from 5am on the same day.

Outlining the takeover arrangements today, the Transport Department said that the TLT will briefly cease operating for five minutes at 0.00am on May 31 to facilitate the updating of toll collection facilities. Thereafter, manual or Autotoll toll collections will be in operation until 3am.

From 3am to 5am, the tunnel will be fully closed for switchover works. It will reopen at 5am, when motorists can start using HKeToll without having to stop or queue to make payments.

As May 31 falls on a public holiday, fixed tolls will be applied throughout the day for private cars and motorcycles, of $18 and $7.2 respectively. The same fees also apply on Sundays.

Starting from June 2, tolls for private cars during the peak, normal and off-peak time slots from Monday to Saturday will be $45, $30 and $18 respectively.

For motorcycles, the toll for all time slots is set at 40% of the private car toll, which is between $7.2 and $18.

Taxis and other commercial vehicles, such as goods vehicles and buses, will continue to have a fixed toll on all days, set at $28 for taxis and $43 for other commercial vehicles.

The new tolls for all vehicle types will be lower than the existing tolls by between 22% and 80%, the department highlighted.

To facilitate the launch of HKeToll, temporary traffic and transport arrangements will take place in phases in the tunnel vicinity from 1am on May 31, with the tunnel and all slip road entrances being fully closed from 3am to 5am. Motorists should opt for Tuen Mun Road during the full closure.

During the tunnel’s temporary closure, the bus stops at the toll plaza will be suspended. As a result, three overnight bus routes – namely KMB Route Nos. N269 and N368, and Long Win Bus Route No. NA43 – will be diverted via Yuen Long Highway and Tuen Mun Road. Temporary bus stops will be set up at the “Tuen Mun Road Bus-Bus Interchange”.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question:
Reply:(2) The car parks at West Kowloon Government Offices and Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, managed by the GPA, provide 50 and 263 PC parking spaces respectively and operate under commercial principles by contractors. At Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, some parking spaces are available for public use throughout the day, while others are open only during non-office hours due to departmental needs. The car park at West Kowloon Government Offices is open to the public during non-office hours.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Ngan Man-yu and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question: 
     The WFSFAA reviews and streamlines the application and vetting procedures of the WFA Scheme and the School Textbook Assistance Scheme (STAS) from time to time. With respect to the WFA Scheme, the WFSFAA provides households which got approved WFA previously with application forms prefilled with basic household information, and requires less documentary proof in their subsequent applications. The WFSFAA provides reference materials for applicants such as guidance notes, checklist of documents required for the application and sample application forms. The WFSFAA sets up mobile information booths at various locations (including PHEs), and provides service counters (Note 2) and a 24-hour telephone enquiry hotline to answer public enquiries and offer assistance in filling out application forms.
 
     In addition, the WFSFAA adopts a household-based application form to facilitate the submission of a consolidated application by families concerned for all eligible children attending primary or secondary schools or kindergartens / child care centres for applicable student financial assistance (including the STAS). Apart from providing enquiry hotlines and counter services, the WFSFAA also maintains close contact with schools with a view to offering assistance to applicants in need. 
     Since the introduction of the WFA Scheme in April 2018, the Government has reviewed the WFA Scheme at various times and implemented a number of enhancement measures, including relaxing the eligibility criteria by extending the Scheme to singleton households and allowing household members to aggregate their working hours to apply for WFA. In addition, the Government has increased the rates of allowance under the WFA Scheme thrice to further alleviate the burden of grassroots working families (including those living in PHEs). 
     The Government has launched the Strive and Rise Programme since 2022 which focuses on lifting secondary school students from underprivileged families (including those in PHEs) out of intergenerational poverty. Through tripartite collaboration of the Government, the business sector and the community, the Scheme broadens student participants’ horizons, reinforce their self-confidence, develop a positive life attitude, set goals for their future and strive for upward mobility. 
Note 2: The service counters are located at the HA customer service centre in Lok Fu and the WFSFAA office in Kwun Tong.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by Dr the Hon So Cheung-wing and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question: 
(1) As at March 31, 2025, the numbers of vacancies for the grades of rank and file, inspectorate officers and gazetted officers (i.e. Superintendents and above) in the HKPF were 5 500, 236 and 29 respectively. The overall number of vacancies was 5 765, representing a vacancy rate of about 17.4 per cent, which is similar to the figures over the past three years. 
(i) The HKPF has implemented the “SmartView”, under which closed circuit televisions are installed in phases at various locations across the territory where crime rate and pedestrian flow are higher. This initiative makes use of technologies to enhance the effectiveness in preventing and fighting crime. As at end-April 2025, “SmartView” has assisted the HKPF in detecting 282 criminal cases and arresting 513 persons. The HKPF utilised the “Crowd Size Analysis System” for the first time during the 2024 Halloween events in Lan Kwai Fong. The system used AI and video analytic functions to perform real-time crowd density assessments. 
Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Dominic Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question: There are views that while Hong Kong has successfully hosted international mega events such as Art Basel Hong Kong in recent years, Singapore has introduced many large-scale events (e.g. concerts by world-renowned singers) through cross-departmental collaboration and dedicated mechanisms, also with notably significant results. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region