Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Robot Contest (ABU Robocon) 2026 Opening Ceremony (August 23):
 
Mr Nadeem (Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Mr Ahmed Nadeem), Cordelia (Chairman of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), Ms Cordelia Chung), Angelina (Director of Broadcasting, Ms Angelina Kwan), ABU Robocon contestants, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
Good afternoon. What an exciting moment to be here at ABU Robocon 2026 – and to welcome 16 outstanding teams, from 15 countries and regions.

Since the inaugural contest in 2002, ABU Robocon has grown into the largest of its kind in the Asia-Pacific Region. But its real achievement is not scale. It is the generations of young people it has inspired to turn imagination into engineering – and to build careers in innovation and technology.
 
I have seen the robots you brought with you. And I see that familiar look on your faces – the mixture of nerves and excitement that belongs to anyone trying into turn imagination to reality.
 
We are living through an extraordinary period of technological change. Over the past two years or so, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved faster than most observers predicted. Machines can be an all-round researcher, write poems, or even pass professional examinations. And while all of that happens on a screen, AI’s next frontier is now moving from the screen to the physical world.
 
Robotics is how it gets there. Once an algorithm can see, hear and understand, it still needs a body – something to move with, reach with, and grip with. That body is the robot. Indeed, every swing of a robotic arm in this hall today, every tweak to a balance algorithm, is groundwork for embodied intelligence. People in the industry say that embodied intelligence is still waiting for its ChatGPT moment, or its DeepSeek moment. That moment may be closer than we think.
 
So do not think of this as only a contest. Every attempt you make today – the clean grasp and the spectacular tumble alike – is part of how this technology finds its way forward.
 
That is what makes Robocon so valuable. It is not really about whose robot is fastest or steadiest. It is about the leap from thinking to doing. Here, you meet reality: deadlines, budgets, parts that break the night before, teammates who disagree, and failures nobody saw coming. No textbooks can really teach you that.

This will also count for something later. Robocon gives you much more than a line on your CV that employers or graduate schools look for. Perhaps, someday your teammates may become the co-founders of your startup. The judges and mentors you meet – and the rivals across the field – may become your collaborators or even investors. The network you build in this hall may prove to be worth more than the trophy.
 
I know that every competition produces rankings, and only one team lifts the cup. But look at it another way. If you have given this everything, you already leave with three things. First, experience: you now know what works and what does not. Second, knowledge: knowledge you have practised until it became capability. Third, friendship: which is forged over all-nighters and stubborn bugs. By that measure, everyone in this room wins today.
 
Nor should you underestimate yourselves. You have fewer resources than the big technology companies – but they carry bigger burdens: layers of management, long approvals and products to protect. You have speed, curiosity and no fear of trying something that might not work. When technology shifts this fast, that is the more valuable asset.
 
So if I may have three pieces of advice for you. First, keep imagining – do not let today’s technical limits set the boundaries of your thinking. Second, keep your hands dirty – build, test, break, repeat. Third, keep learning, because the pace will only quicken, and only those still learning can keep up with it, or even lead it.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong is proud to host this competition once again, 14 years after we last welcomed ABU Robocon. Many of you know Hong Kong as Asia’s leading international financial centre, with one of the world’s most active markets for listing and fundraising. We are also fast becoming an international innovation and technology hub. This is a direction firmly supported by our country in its National 15th Five-Year Plan.
 
Our innovation ecosystem is growing quickly. Last year, our startup community hit a record of more than 5 200, up by nearly 40 per cent in five years. More than 30 per cent of their founders are non-locals. Our universities give that ecosystem a deep foundation. Five of them rank among the world’s top 100, and three rank among the global top 30 in AI and data science. Our innovation flagships, including Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, provide startups with funding, facilities, networks and mentorship at every stage of their growth.
 
Then look at the map. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is home to more than 87 million people and is the world’s leading innovation cluster. Here, an idea travels seamlessly from research and design to prototyping, testing, manufacturing and market. For a robotics company, the component you need is usually within half an hour’s drive.
 
Hong Kong is also a wonderful place to live and work. To our friends from overseas – do take time to explore our harbour, our food, our hiking trails and our culture. And above all, meet our people: open, friendly and enterprising.
 
My sincere thanks to the ABU for choosing Hong Kong as the host city this year; and to RTHK, HKSTP, and all the supporting organisations, sponsors, judges, volunteers and supporters who made this event possible.
 
Finally, I wish all teams the very best of luck. May your code compile, your batteries hold, and your robots be bold.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Carnival of Care and Harmony today (August 23):

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, 

Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to join you today at this Carnival of Care and Harmony.  

This warm and vibrant gathering reminds me of everything that makes Hong Kong a truly multicultural metropolis – its energy, its openness and its spirit that welcomes everyone. For generations, people of diverse ethnic backgrounds have called this city home. 

Yet we recognise that while Hong Kong belongs to everyone, our friends from non-ethnic Chinese communities may still encounter challenges in their daily lives, whether language barriers, cultural differences or simply for not always being fully understood. That is why we are committed to taking action. 

Government bureaux and departments are dedicated to providing a wide range of support services to help ethnic minorities integrate more fully into society and realise their potential so that Hong Kong can truly become a home for all.

Since assuming office, the current-term Government has been steadily enhancing these services and introducing new initiatives to support our multi-ethnic communities.  

In 2024, for example, we established two additional Support Service Centres, bringing the total to 10. These centres are strategically located in districts with larger ethnic minority populations. They run many programmes and activities to help community members engage more deeply with Hong Kong life.

To enhance services, we have also set up “Ethnic Minority Care Teams” within each Support Service Centre. Each team is led by a social worker, supported by programme workers and volunteers who are familiar with the languages and cultures of the communities they serve.  

Through proactive outreach – including home visits and community activities – they connect with ethnic minorities in need, assisting with everyday challenges and providing timely support during emergencies or unexpected incidents. During typhoons, for example, these teams share weather updates through their community networks, accompany those in need to temporary shelters and check on elderly individuals living alone to ensure they receive proper care.  

In just over two years, these teams have reached some 18 000 ethnic minority households. That is real impact.

Moreover, as announced in last year’s Policy Address, each Support Service Centre has now established a “Youth Network” and a “Women’s Network”.  

The Youth Network offers a platform for young people to connect with one another and with the wider community, including through exchange visits to the Chinese Mainland, which deepen their understanding of Chinese history and culture. 

The Women’s Network, meanwhile, aims to encourage social inclusion and encourage greater community participation among ethnic minority women.

Looking ahead, we will continue our efforts to support our non-ethnic Chinese friends to better integrate into our society and create more opportunities for everyone.  

I wish you all a very enjoyable carnival and a fruitful afternoon of information sharing, performances, fun and games!

Let us join hands and build an even more caring and harmonious Hong Kong.

Now, I would like to say a few words in Cantonese.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the speech.)

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Department of Health announced today that a new Outreach Oral Health Programme for Pre-school Children will be launched on September 1, offering students free annual oral screening and preventive dental care on campus.

Under the initiative, designated professional dental teams will visit kindergartens to provide participating children aged 32 months or older with free oral assessments, screenings and topical fluoride applications as needed to prevent tooth decay. Teams will also issue individualised oral health reports and advice to parents.

To build healthy long-term habits, dental teams will additionally conduct oral health workshops for teaching staff, equipping them to effectively convey dental hygiene messages in the classroom.

The programme spans all 18 districts in Hong Kong, with 23 appointed service providers proactively contacting local kindergartens to arrange visits. As of mid-August, 680 of Hong Kong’s 949 kindergartens – over 70% – have enrolled, benefiting tens of thousands of children and families.

The department urged remaining kindergartens and parents to join the initiative. Parents can sign up directly through their child’s kindergarten, while interested schools may email am3_cds@dh.gov.hk for details.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

​The Labour Department’s Youth Employment & Training Programme (YETP) will once again hold the Greater Bay Area Work Experience Attachment Programme (WEP) in early November. Trainees will be assigned to a one-month workplace attachment in Greater Bay Area (GBA) Mainland cities.

This year’s WEP opens for applications from today until October 9. Young people aged 18 to 29 with an educational attainment at the sub-degree level or below are welcome to apply. Applicants must be YETP trainees and have attained the age of 18 by the application deadline.

Trainees who pass the selection interview will attend a two-day preparatory training course to gain knowledge about living and working in the GBA, and set off for a one-month workplace attachment in early November.

During WEP, trainees will be provided with free accommodation, weekend activities, a workplace attachment training allowance and Mainland support services.

Call 5576 6169 for enquiries.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Transport Department has reminded students, especially those attending a new school, to familiarise themselves with public transport routes to schools and allow for more travelling time on the first school day.

The department issued the reminder today, advising major public transport operators to provide adequate services to cater to the demand on that day. It also advised motorists to avoid school areas if possible.

Drivers of nanny vans and school buses should drive with care and must not leave schoolchildren unattended in vehicles.

Parents, guardians or private car drivers carrying child passengers aged below eight and less than 1.35 metres in height must provide and use a child restraint device, such as a child safety seat.

Residents are urged to check media broadcasts, the department’s website, or its mobile app “HKeMobility” before leaving home.

Call the department’s hotline at 2804 2600 or the 1823 call centre for enquiries.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Home Affairs Department today held the Carnival of Care and Harmony to promote interaction among ethnicities and showcase care and inclusion.

Through multicultural performances, interactive game booths, and first-hand user experiences, the event helped participants learn about Hong Kong’s multiculturalism.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki noted that ethnic minorities may still face daily challenges, such as language barriers and cultural differences.

Mr Chan said the Government is dedicated to providing comprehensive support services to help them fully integrate into society and realise their potential.

He highlighted that 10 Support Service Centres for Ethnic Minorities operate in districts with larger non-ethnic Chinese populations. Across these centres,12 social worker-led Ethnic Minority Care Teams have been established.

Dedicated Youth and Women’s Networks also organise targeted programmes, including career training, Mainland exchange visits and health seminars. These initiatives help participants build social connections, integrate into the community, and better understand the country’s development.

During the event, four youth service users shared their experiences from Mainland exchange tours to Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Shenzhen. These trips helped them explore national history and culture, while gaining insight into development opportunities through visits to technology parks, museums and space centres.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Mainland Civil and Commercial Legal Practice Training Course 2026, organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy, concluded today (August 22). This two-day course, organised by the Academy specifically for local legal and dispute resolution practitioners, aimed to deepen the local sector’s understanding of the Chinese Mainland’s civil and commercial legal system, practical operation, and latest developments, while fostering professional exchange and experience-sharing between the Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. The course attracted over 400 registrations.
 
     Addressing the opening ceremony, the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, noted that, as the country continues to advance high-level opening up, there is a substantial increase in the demand for cross-border legal services. He said that the Hong Kong legal sector requires more talent equipped with knowledge of, and practical capabilities in, cross-border civil and commercial law. This course directly addressed such pressing need, and is of importance in promoting legal exchange and co-operation between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, and enhancing the standard of legal services.
 
     In his closing remarks, the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, said that as arbitration services in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong are developing rapidly, Hong Kong will fully leverage its institutional and professional services strengths, and support the Chinese Mainland and overseas arbitration institutions in expanding their international operations and establishing branches in Hong Kong. These efforts will help attract high-calibre arbitration professionals, further enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre.
 
     After running the inagural Mainland Civil and Commercial Legal Practice Training Course in 2025, the course this year focused on a range of key areas of civil and commercial law practice in the Chinese Mainland. Lectures covered topics including mutual legal assistance arrangements in civil and commercial matters, arbitration in the Chinese Mainland, and investment protection agreements. In addition, two thematic panel discussions examined, from different perspectives, the evolving landscape and challenges Chinese enterprises face in their overseas development, as well as the development in international investment arbitration, further enhancing the Hong Kong legal and dispute resolution sectors’ understanding of the Chinese Mainland civil and commercial legal system and the relevant practical operation. Speakers included senior judges from the Supreme People’s Court and other courts in the Chinese Mainland, representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce, experienced legal professionals from Hong Kong and overseas, representatives of Chinese enterprises, and arbitration experts, providing participants with a valuable platform for practical exchange.
 
     The Academy will continue organising targeted training programmes to strengthen the understanding of the Chinese Mainland legal system and its practical developments. It will also promote exchange and collaboration among legal and dispute resolution professionals in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, thereby consolidating Hong Kong’s status as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre, supporting its development as a legal capacity-building hub, and contributing more effectively to the country’s development of foreign-related rule of law.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, met the media with the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan; and the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, after inspecting the stress test of passenger and vehicular flows at Huanggang Port today (August 22). Following are the remarks of Mr Chan and Mr Tang:

Reporter: Good afternoon. Which part of today’s drill involves co-operation from the Shenzhen authority, and what potential risks have been discovered in today’s drill? Besides installing more signage, what other improvement works will you anticipate? Thank you.

Secretary for Security: First of all, regarding the co-operation with the Shenzhen side, I think, obviously, be it the e-Channel or the manual channel, actually our civil servants did go through the gates and did go through the real process. We are very grateful to the Shenzhen side for its co-operation. Talking about the signage, based on the experience of the exercise on the 15th of August, we have a significant improvement in terms of the signage, and through today’s exercise, we identified some further improvement measures, for example, in how to set up lines for different buses or different transport. I think this is a further area for improvement.

Chief Secretary for Administration: I want to supplement that, overall, the drill has been very successful and was very smooth. I do not see or identify any potential risk so far.

Reporter: Firstly, how many gate machines were put into operation today for people crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen? And have all the machines’ software been running normally? And have there been any issues? If so, how were they handled? And the second question is: some vehicle owners have reported traffic congestion on the roads from Sheung Shui to Guangdong vehicle lanes. How will this situation be improved and how will this be handled in actual future scenarios? Thank you.

Secretary for Security: For the immigration counters, today we have utilised about two-thirds of our overall counters, including the e-Channels or the manual channels. We actually did the going-through process and overall it was very smooth. We have noticed about the heavy traffic around this area. Actually, this is the purpose of the exercise to identify areas – we are talking about private car of about 1 000 trips, which is a very high volume in comparison with an ordinary situation. This is the purpose. We tried to push it to the limit. Although the traffic was relatively heavy, it’s smooth.

Chief Secretary for Administration: I want to supplement that out of the 90 immigration counters and e-Channels (for each direction), 60 were used today. Although only two-thirds of the capacity, we can still see that the whole operation was very smooth and could handle all 10 000 passengers smoothly. For the remaining 30 immigration channels, we need some slight adjustments before they can be put into operation. So we are confident that when 90 of them are in full operation, we can handle all the passengers very smoothly.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Information Services Department (ISD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation (MOU) today (August 22) to strengthen collaboration and exchanges on matters related to media and communication, and to bring the good stories of Hong Kong to the global stage.
 
     The MOU was signed by the Director of Information Services, Mr John Tse, and ABU Secretary-General Mr Ahmed Nadeem. Under the agreement, both parties will seek to establish a dedicated communication mechanism for the exchange of views on media and communication co-operation; collaborate on hosting and supporting joint events in Hong Kong; leverage ABU platforms to present compelling stories of Hong Kong to global audiences; and facilitate and support visits by media professionals from ABU member organisations to Hong Kong to promote reciprocal dialogue and mutual understanding. 
 
    This is the first such MOU that the ISD has signed with a regional broadcasting union. 
 
     Mr Tse said that the expansive global footprint of the ABU aligns closely with the ISD’s objective of engaging regional and international media, and the ISD can support the reporting of ABU members by sharing Hong Kong’s accurate and up-to-date news stories and materials, paving the way for a long-term and mutually beneficial partnership.
 
     “Upon signing the MOU, the ISD will immediately initiate discussions on the arrangements for inviting senior and mid-level editorial staff from ABU member organisations to visit Hong Kong at the end of this year to learn about the city’s latest developments. We will also support the ABU in hosting media events in Hong Kong next year,” Mr Tse said.
 
     “As we prepare to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region next year, we will also make good use of the ABU’s international network and platforms to share information on Hong Kong’s celebratory activities and achievements over the past three decades with wide audiences around the world. It will also help global audiences to keep abreast of the latest developments in Hong Kong, and learn about the emerging opportunities in areas ranging from business and investment, to education, arts, culture and much more.”
 
     Established in 1964, the ABU is a not-for-profit, non-governmental professional association dedicated to advancing broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific, promoting the collective interests of television and radio broadcasters, and facilitating regional and international media co-operation. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it is demographically and geographically the world’s largest broadcasting union, encompassing more than 220 member organisations across 66 countries and serving more than half the world’s population.