Category: MIL-OSI

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 Yung Hoi-yan and a reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
 
Question:
 
     The earlier fresh water quality incidents at Queen’s Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court, as well as the water mains burst incident in Tuen Mun, have aroused public concern about the condition of water mains. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the staff establishment and work details of the working group established in connection with the water quality incidents at Queen’s Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court, including the estimated number of times that the water tanks will be cleansed and the water quality will be tested, as well as the expenditures involved; whether the group will investigate if the incidents involved human negligence; of the total number of enquiries or requests for assistance from residents on water quality problems received by the offices of the two housing estates/housing courts so far;
 
(2) as the Water Supplies Department has indicated that it will replace all pipes in Hong Kong which are still coated with bitumen, of the distribution of the pipes concerned in various districts in Hong Kong at present, the names of the housing estates/housing courts involved, as well as the timetable for the relevant pipe replacement work; whether it has plans to inspect the fresh water supply systems of all housing estates/housing courts in Hong Kong to ascertain that they will not accumulate bitumen, resin or other impurities; if so, of the details (including the timetable, the manpower and the expenditure involved); if not, the reasons for that, and the measures in place to prevent similar incidents; and
 
(3) whether it has plans to enhance the application of technology and artificial intelligence to conduct 24-hour continuous monitoring and analysis of the conditions of water mains and water quality, so as to identify abnormalities in water mains at an early stage and carry out repairs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Yung Hoi-yan is as follows:
 
(1) The Government is highly concerned about the incident of bitumen sediments found in the fresh water at Queen’s Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court. After receiving reports of black spots in the water at the end of May, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) and the Housing Department (HD) immediately formed a joint working group to conduct a joint investigation on the incident and formulate measures to resolve the issue. The working group is co-led by the Director of Water Supplies and the Deputy Director (Estate Management) of the HD, with members including 11 staff such as in-service engineers and property management professionals responsible for the operation of the water supply facilities and estate management in that area. The WSD has cleaned 11 times for the water mains under its management and maintenance, while the HD has conducted six and three times of cleaning of the water pipes and water tanks under its management respectively. The HD has also installed 22 screen filters at the water inlet of each building and the estates. The WSD continues to collect water samples from the estates for testing. So far, all samples have complied with the Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards.
 
     Since the establishment with promotion of the 24-hour hotline on June 7, the Government has received a total of about 700 enquiries. In addition, the WSD has received over 1 500 requests for flushing water meters through various channels, including street counters and home visits organised by the members of District Council, the three district committees and the Care Teams, and the WSD has completed the flushing of water meters within one to two days. Currently, most of the residents reported an improvement in water quality and follow-up action is not required.
 
     The WSD believes that the black sediments in the fresh water originated from a 400-metre-long steel water main at the upstream water supply network at Ping Che Road. This water main uses bitumen as an inner lining serving as a protective coating, and the sediment is likely residue that was flushed into the inside service of the estates before the installation of screen filters at the WSD’s water mains by the end of 2022. We have set up an expert group consisting of the Chairman and two members of the Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee (DWSAC) to assist with the traceability work. The expert group believes that the above assessment is reasonable. The WSD will submit an investigation report of the incident to the DWSAC for review in the near term.
 
     Learning from this experience, we should be able to make improvement in the aspects of the explanation process and handling time. We are now working at full steam on the various tasks and the expenditure involved is part of the expenditure of relevant departments in providing service, making it difficult to be separated out for the time being.
 
(2) Similar to Hong Kong, water mains with bitumen lining as protection still exist in the water supply systems of some advanced cities. The material is prone to peeling after prolonged use. The WSD has ceased applying bitumen lining on fresh water mains since 2005. At present, we have conducted further classification of water pipes that still contain this type of lining. Only about 230 km are fresh water distribution mains, representing roughly 3.9 per cent of Hong Kong’s total fresh water distribution mains. The distribution of their locations is set out at Annex of the reply.
 
     While the bitumen used in water supplies facilities is inert and insoluble in water, any peeled tiny particles in the water supply can still cause worries among the public. To address this situation, the WSD has installed over 1 000 screen filters in the related water supply network taking into account the amount of peeling, complaint cases and population supplied with the water, etc. These filters effectively prevent peeling materials from entering the inside service of the buildings. The WSD is reviewing the necessity of installing additional screen filters at suitable locations, and revising the guidelines to advise property management companies on the methods to maintain water mains and screen filters.
 
     To expedite the decommissioning of the water mains with bitumen lining at Ping Che Road related to Queen’s Hill incident, the WSD has explored to adopt an out-of-the-box approach over the past week by using exposed temporary water mains. They, together with the Development Bureau (DEVB) and the contractor, collaborate with the Transport Department, the Hong Kong Police Force and the North District Office on inter-departmental and collaborative basis to formulate traffic arrangements. Despite busy traffic conditions and narrow work space of the site, through collective efforts, the WSD will immediately commence the project and work around the clock to complete the temporary water mains by early July. In other words, this section of bitumen lining steel water mains will decommission from early July onwards. The WSD will also strive to replace the exposed temporary water mains with a permanent underground water mains by the end of this year.
 
     Last year, the WSD obtained funding approval from the Legislative Council for replacing or rehabilitating about 20 km (Note) of steel mains with bitumen lining on the inner wall. In response to this incident and ageing water mains burst, the WSD will submit short and medium term proposals for water mains replacement to the DEVB for review. We expect to discuss this at the meeting of the Panel on Development next month.
 
(3) The WSD will expand the monitoring area of Water Intelligent Network (WIN) to include fresh water trunk mains and all fresh water distribution mains. The sensors used for monitoring the water flow and pressure will also be upgraded to expedite the identification and repair of water mains with potential burst risk. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2027. We have asked the WSD to explore the possibility of early completion.
 
     The WSD will collaborate with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to set up the joint laboratory of “In-line Robot” this August to conduct high-precision inspections of water mains.
 
     As regards the monitoring of water quality, the WSD has installed 24-hour online water quality monitoring systems in some key reservoirs and water treatment works. In addition, the WSD randomly collects water samples from some 28 000 consumers’ taps in Hong Kong for testing every year. The sampling ratio, testing methods, and parameters covered adhere to international standards. The WSD has also commenced a study since 2023 to construct more water quality monitoring points in the water supply network in the following few years to enhance the alert capability. The study is expected to be completed within this year.
 
     Thank you, President.
 
Note: Distributed in Sai Kung, Tuen Mun, Eastern and Sham Shui Po

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

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 Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):

Question:

It is learnt that the research team of the Equal Opportunities Commission has conducted an access audit of babycare and lactation (B&L) facilities in shopping malls and government premises in Hong Kong, with the findings revealing that some shopping malls and government premises has not yet provided B&L rooms, and some existing babycare areas do not comply with the suggested size set out in the Buildings Department’s Practice Note on “Provision of Babycare Rooms and Lactation Rooms in Commercial Buildings” (Practice Note). As regards family-friendly facilities in public and private premises, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the number, distribution and floor area ratio of B&L facilities in public and private premises, and the proportion of such facilities that complies with the suggested size in the Practice Note, together with a breakdown of such figures by the 18 districts across the territory;

(2) whether it has already commenced a study on measures to promote the provision of B&L facilities in public premises, including introducing mandatory requirements for newly-built public facilities (e.g. libraries, parks, beaches, sports venues) to provide B&L facilities, and motivating existing public facilities to renovate and retrofit B&L facilities as appropriate; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether, in addition to providing floor area ratio concessions, it has considered implementing policy incentives to encourage private premises to provide B&L facilities and family-friendly parking spaces, as well as using administrative measures or legislation to promote the development of such facilities in the long term; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

International literature and researches showed that breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. Breastmilk is safe, clean and contains antibodies which can help prevent many common childhood illnesses. Breastfed children perform better in intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese, and are less prone to have diabetes later in life.

The Government has all along been promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding through a multi-pronged approach. The Government has set up a Committee on Promotion of Breastfeeding in 2014. Members include representatives from relevant professional healthcare bodies, academia as well as representatives of the organisations that have participated in the promotion of breastfeeding. The Committee provides specific recommendations on strategies and action plans to strengthen the promotion, protection and support for breastfeeding. Its objectives are to enhance the sustainability of breastfeeding and promote breastfeeding as the norm for babycare widely accepted by the general public. In addition to fostering the establishment of Breastfeeding Friendly Premises in public places such that breastfeeding mothers can breastfeed their children or express milk anytime, the Government also implements the Baby-Friendly Health Facility accreditation in the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) and public hospitals to enhance the professional support to breastfeeding mothers after discharge from hospitals. At present, a total of 15 MCHCs have been accredited as Baby-Friendly Health Facilities. Besides, all eight public hospitals with obstetrics departments and one private hospital were accredited as Baby-Friendly Hospitals.

In consultation with the Department of Health (DH), the Hospital Authority (HA), as well as relevant policy bureaux and government departments, the consolidated reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Ngan Man-yu is as follows:

(1) According to the DH’s record, as at June 15, 2025, there were a total of 422 babycare rooms in the premises of government departments or public organisations (a breakdown of the numbers are at Annexes 1 and 2), which include various types of venues, such as hospitals, MCHCs, cultural and recreational facilities, community halls and shopping centres of housing estates.

To promote the provision of babycare rooms in private commercial buildings, the Buildings Department (BD) issued the Practice Note on the Provision of Babycare Rooms in Commercial Buildings in February 2009 and had made further updates in November 2018 to encourage the provision of babycare rooms for the public and lactation rooms for staff in private commercial buildings. In June 2024, the BD updated the requirements for Building Environmental Assessment Method Plus certification and gross floor area (GFA) concessions to allow development projects seeking certification to secure the points and GFA concession through the provision of babycare rooms and breastfeeding rooms.

(2) and (3) The Government has been actively promoting the provision of more babycare and breastfeeding facilities in both public and private premises through various policy measures.

The Government developed the Advisory Guidelines on Babycare Facilities in August 2008 to encourage the provision of babycare rooms in public venues managed by the Government. To enhance the provision of babycare and breastfeeding facilities, the Government mandated the provision of babycare and breastfeeding facilities in the newly completed government premises since early 2019. Regarding the public facilities mentioned in part 2 of the question, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has included babycare rooms as a standard provision in accordance with relevant requirements, and will provide babycare facilities in planning for new major cultural and recreational facilities, as well as venue renovation works.

Additionally, since 2017, the Government has included requirements for the provision of babycare rooms and/or lactation rooms in the Conditions of Sale of new commercial land sale sites (excluding land designated for hotel use only). The Conditions of Sale specify detailed requirements, including the area and number of babycare rooms and/or lactation rooms that shall be provided in these commercial development projects. As at the end of May 2025, the Government incorporated these requirements in the Conditions of Sale of eight new commercial sites.

Meanwhile, the Government will continue to work closely with various sectors of the society to strengthen the professional support for breastfeeding mothers in the healthcare sector while stepping up publicity on breastfeeding in the community through various channels, with a view to fostering a proactive culture of support for breastfeeding in the community and creating a friendly environment conducive to breastfeeding. Key initiatives include –

(i) among the 29 MCHCs currently providing services under the DH, 15 of them have been accredited as Baby-Friendly Health Facilities. Accreditation procedures have also commenced gradually for the remaining MCHCs. The MCHCs will formulate infant feeding policies and action plans, provide training for staff members, continue monitoring the implementation of breastfeeding support measures, etc. The DH will continue to expedite the accreditation of Baby-Friendly Health Facilities for MCHCs to strengthen the professional support offered by the healthcare institutions and staff members to breastfeeding mothers;

(ii) continuing to follow up on the relevant work with the working group under the Committee on Promotion of Breastfeeding to enhance and reinforce the breastfeeding-friendly measures at hospitals with obstetrics departments (including public and private hospitals);

(iii) encouraging the implementation of the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace policy with guidelines issued for employers and employees with specific advice on supporting breastfeeding to support working mothers to continue breastfeeding after returning to work; and

(iv) stepping up publicity and advocacy for breastfeeding through mass media, social media platforms, large-scale events, etc. Among others, the DH, in collaboration with the HA, the Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association, the Hong Kong Committee for United Nations Children’s Fund, and the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Hong Kong Association, organised the large-scale Breastfeeding Symposium in November 2024, which brought together local and overseas experts to share with representatives of the public and private healthcare sectors, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders the various issues related to breastfeeding, including policies and professional support.

To further support breastfeeding, the Government put forward in the Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address the establishment of a breast milk bank and the related mechanism for breast milk donation in 2025. Such arrangement aims to provide breast milk for infants and young children who cannot be breastfed by their biological mothers, and especially, to minimise the chance of severe illness in premature and severely-ill babies. The Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank, located at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, commenced operations on January 6, 2025, obtained ISO 22000 certification in April of the same year, and began supplying pasturised donor breast milk to all nine public hospitals in Hong Kong with neonatal intensive care units in March 2025. Currently, there are more than 230 registered breast milk donors. Over 900 litres of breast milk have been collected, providing optimal nutrition for extremely premature and severely-ill newborn babies. Meanwhile, neonatal intensive care units in public hospitals have already distributed pasturised donor breast milk to 120 infants with clinical needs.

Meanwhile, having consulted the relevant policy bureaux and government departments, the Government currently does not have any relevant definitions and measures on the use of parking spaces as family-friendly facilities.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Siu-hung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):

Question:

It is learnt that the Highways Department (HyD) adopts innovative technologies and promotes management digitalisation to enhance the efficiency in road repair and maintenance services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the total length of public roads in Hong Kong, the total length of public roads repaired and the total project cost for repair of public roads in each of the past three years; the respective details of the contracts awarded for repair and maintenance of such roads (including but not limited to the names of contractors, districts involved, contract periods, length of the roads involved and contract values);

(2) as the Government indicated in its reply to a question from a Member of this Council on March 27 last year that the HyD aimed to digitalise most inspection and supervision procedures in all road maintenance contracts in 2024, of the progress of the relevant work; whether it has assessed how the adoption of innovative technologies help enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of road inspection, including the savings in manpower expenditure and project cost; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that, according to the information from the HyD, the HyD is using the Road Defect Detection System (RDDS) and the Road Condition Assessment System (RCAS) for inspection of road conditions, of the respective application scenarios, stages of application (e.g. at trial stage or being converted to regular use), efficiency of inspection and cost-effectiveness of the two systems;

(4) given that, according to the estimation of HyD, the introduction of RCAS will be able to free up about one-fourth of the manpower of the contractors’ road inspection teams, and the HyD is now evaluating the effectiveness of RCAS and will consider in due course the full scale application of the technology and its incorporation into the standard operating procedures for future road inspections, of the latest progress of the relevant work, and whether it has studied if future deployment will be implemented by adopting both systems, namely RDDS and RCAS, or either one of them; and

(5) given that HyD is one of the selected applicants for the first batch of low-altitude economy Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects, of the details of HyD’s pilot projects involving road repair and maintenance as well as road inspection (including but not limited to the contents of the projects, application scenarios, flight paths, route plans and flight distances)?

Reply:

President,

Having consulted the Highways Department (HyD), my reply to the various parts of the question raised by Hon Chan Siu-hung is as follows:

(1) In the past three years (i.e. from 2022 to 2024), the total length of roads maintained by the HyD each year was 2 223, 2 239 and 2 241 kilometres respectively. The annual expenditure on maintenance of roads and associated road facilities was about $1.70 billion, $1.73 billion, and $1.66 billion respectively.

The HyD ensures the safety and reliability of the public road network by engaging road maintenance contractors under term contracts to carry out regular inspection and maintenance work. When damage to road surfaces is identified during inspections or damages to roads and ancillary road facilities are reported by the public, the HyD would arrange contractors to carry out repair works as soon as possible to defects that may pose hazard to road users. As such repairs are part of the routine road maintenance work, the HyD does not separately keep statistics on the area of such type of road surface maintained.

Moreover, for defects that do not pose immediate danger to road safety, the HyD would formulate appropriate maintenance plan and schedule for such defects after taking into account various factors, such as arranging road resurfacing at a timely juncture. In each of the past three years (i.e. from 2022 to 2024), the areas of roads resurfaced and reconstructed by HyD are about 1.55, 1.77 and 1.65 million square metre respectively.

Currently, the HyD has a total of 9 road maintenance contracts for the maintenance of all public roads in Hong Kong, details of which are at Annex.

(2) At present, the Road Maintenance Monitoring System (RMMS), which is a system that fully digitalises the monitoring and administrative work of road maintenance, has been used in all road maintenance contracts. In the past, whenever the HyD’s staff identified defects in road facilities during inspection, they were required to fill in and send the relevant physical form to the contractors upon completion of the inspections. With the RMMS, staff can now log on to the system during outdoor inspections and electronically notify the contractors of the information on damage to facilities captured on site, so that contractors can receive the relevant data promptly and arrange for repair works accordingly. After completion of repair works, contractors can also use RMMS to report the work done and submit maintenance records. The adoption of RMMS can cut down on complicated paperwork and transmission time to enhance work efficiency, facilitating HyD’s staff to monitor the progress of maintenance. It resulted in better maintenance record keeping as well as reduction in the use of paper. In addition, the HyD is now developing the second phase of RMMS, which will incorporate more monitoring and management functions, such as automatic alerts or warnings to contractors with unsatisfactory maintenance progress, as well as digitalised checking procedures, etc.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, with the full implementation of the first phase of the RMMS, the average time taken by the HyD’s staff to handle a case of damaged road facility (from the discovery of damage to road facility to the completion of the repair works) is about 20 per cent faster than before. Subsequently, upon completion and full adoption of the second phase of the RMMS, the HyD will then consider adjusting the manpower requirements of contractors for new road maintenance works. At that time, the HyD would re-assess the savings in manpower expenditure and works cost arising from the use of RMMS, as well as the cost-effectiveness of the system.

(3) The Road Defect Detection System (RDDS) utilises high-definition cameras installed on inspection patrol vehicles to capture images of road conditions, and employs global satellite positioning technology to record the locations of such images. It then uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automatically identify road surface cracks and discoloured road markings, instead of relying on the visual inspection by road inspectors as in the past to ensure that the detection results are objective and accurate (above 90 per cent accuracy). Contractors use inspection patrol vehicles equipped with RDDS to carry out comprehensive inspection of all roads in Hong Kong once every three months. The detection results of road defects will be displayed on a web-based maintenance platform equipped with geographic information system maps, to facilitate maintenance personnel to locate the defects and carry out repair works. Moreover, the RDDS can consolidate relevant information into defect reports for maintenance personnel to record and audit the maintenance status. With enhanced inspection accuracy and maintenance records, the required maintenance works can be completed more swiftly and efficiently. At present, the RDDS has been incorporated as a standard operating procedure for road inspection on a regular basis. With the full adoption of RDDS, the average time taken by the contractors from completion of road inspection work to submission of the relevant inspection report has been substantially reduced from 48 hours to within 24 hours. To further enhance the efficiency of road maintenance, the HyD would expand the analytical capability of the AI system of the RDDS to identify more different types of road defects, such as overgrown vegetation, as well as discoloured/obstructed/bent traffic signs on the road surface.

The Road Condition Assessment System (RCAS), which scans three-dimensional images of road surfaces, uses patrol vehicles equipped with laser scanning equipment and global satellite positioning technology to drive on a carriageway at normal speed, and can automatically identify and accurately record various types of defects on the road surface such as potholes, rutting etc. It calculates a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for every 100 metres of the road for the reference of engineering personnel responsible for maintenance to determine whether the section of road should be prioritised for reconstruction or resurfacing works. Compared to the past when road inspectors had to conduct visual inspection and measurement on the road surface after making road closure arrangements, which only covered a few hundred meters of carriageways per day at most, RCAS enables the maintenance team to have a more comprehensive grasp of the latest conditions of all road surfaces without the need for road closures. This allows for more effective use of resources when planning road maintenance works, and also helps avoid disruption to traffic.

The HyD expects that after using RCAS to inspect all major road sections in Hong Kong, it will be able to make more effective use of resources by prioritising sections with poorer conditions for road maintenance. RCAS is still in the trial stage and is capable of inspecting about 200 km of carriageways per day. It is expected that during the one year trial period, all major road sections in Hong Kong can be inspected and the data collected will be used for establishing a web-based maintenance platform for use by engineering staff.

As RCAS is still at the trial stage, the cost-effectiveness of the technology is still being assessed. However, according to preliminary estimation, the introduction of RCAS can free up about one-fourth of the manpower of the contractors’ road inspection teams to cope with the increasing road maintenance work.

(4) Since 2024, the HyD has engaged various service contractors through road maintenance contracts to participate in the development of RCAS which is used to accurately record the undulations of road surfaces and identify road defects such as potholes, to facilitate the planning of road maintenance work. The aforesaid development project is broadly divided into three stages: in the first stage, the service contractors are required to procure vehicles and install laser scanning equipment and positioning devices on the vehicles; in the second stage, the service contractors are required to develop an AI and geometric analysis algorithm system to automatically detect road defects, assess road conditions, and establish a Geographic Information System (GIS) web-based platform to disseminate the relevant information; and in the third stage, the service contractors are required to utilise this system to scan all road surfaces in Hong Kong and automatically assess road conditions, as well as upload the assessment results to the GIS web-based platform at the same time. The first and second stages have been completed, while work on the third stage has commenced and is anticipated to be completed within this year. The HyD is evaluating the effectiveness of the entire smart road conditions analysis system and would consider incorporating this technology into the standard operating procedures for future road inspections in due course.

Currently, the RDDS is used for rapid identification of cracks on road surface and discoloured road markings which facilitates maintenance staff to locate road defects and expedite the completion of the required maintenance works, thereby enhancing maintenance efficiency. Meanwhile, RCAS focuses on accurately identifying and recording various types of defects on road surfaces and their degree of deterioration. It calculates the PCI for every 100m of carriageway which will help maintenance staff to determine whether a road section should be prioritised for resurfacing works. In view of the distinctive functions of RDDS and RCAS, as well as their differences in speed and accuracy in detecting road conditions, the positioning of their applications is thus different. These two systems will be implemented in parallel at this stage. However, the HyD will continue to develop the functions of RDDS and RCAS and will not rule out the possibility of merging them in the future when their functions, speed, and accuracy become comparable.

(5) According to the requirements of the existing Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) Order, the “pilot” controlling a SUA is required to maintain visual-line-of-sight with SUA under standard operation. The HyD’s Regulatory Sandbox project utilises beyond visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) technology, coupled with 4G/5G command and control links, to enable SUA to operate beyond the pilot’s line-of-sight in a safer and more stable manner, up to a distance of several kilometres. This enables flexible deployment for surveying and inspecting road infrastructures and major trunk roads during emergencies, such as landslides, as well as routine operation.

In emergency situations, with the adoption of BVLOS technology, SUA can swiftly reach a remote landslide site and calculate a three-dimensional model of the slope through aerial photographs taken, which facilitates engineers to accurately measure the area and volume of landslide debris in support of slope restoration work. In addition, under extreme weather condition, SUA can be operated to fly along designated pre-set routes to quickly see whether there are any flooding, fallen trees, or other obstructions on major highways. For routine surveys and inspections, BVLOS technology can assist in the inspections in places such as cross-sea bridges, confined spaces and elevated structures that are difficult for engineering personnel to access or visually inspect. Such technology can be regularly applied to routine operations, such as surface defect inspection of bridge structures and slope restoration works.

The test flights of the Regulatory Sandbox project are conducted in stages under different scenarios, at locations including Tai Po Waterfront Pier to Sam Mun Tsai, Tseung Kwan O Tunnel Road, Tseung Kwan O Cross Bay Link, Tate’s Cairn Highway, and Ap Lei Chau Bridge. These simulated flights carry out BVLOS inspections of slopes along the roads at the above locations and the related major trunk roads, with flying distances ranging from 200m to 2 000m. Among them, the HyD has already completed the trial flights at the first two test sites, with the remaining three expected to be completed in phases by the end of September 2025.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Lo Wai-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):

Question:

The Financial Secretary announced in the 2025-2026 Budget that an application fee of $600 would be charged for various talent and capital investment admission schemes. The visa fee for approved applications would also increase based on the length of limit of stay of the visa/entry permit, rising from the original flat rate of $230 to $600 (not more than 180 days) or $1,300 (181 days or more). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of persons charged a visa fee of $230 by the Immigration Department for visa applications under various talent admission schemes over the past three years, with a breakdown by length of stay of the visa/entry permit (i.e. seven days or less, eight days to one month, two months to six months, and over six months);

(2) whether it has estimated the respective numbers of persons who will pay $600 and $1,300 visa/entry permit issuance fees each year under the new fee structure, as well as the corresponding total amount of application and visa fees received by the Government accordingly; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) as there are views that the new visa fee (with a limit of stay of not more than 180 days) together with the application fee, has actually increased from $230 to $1,200, which will greatly impact those coming to Hong Kong for short-term work (e.g. musicians coming to Hong Kong to compose and perform music for Cantonese opera performances for one to two days), and it is not conducive to the implementation of the policy objectives on culture and tourism, such as the integrated development of culture and tourism in the Greater Bay Area, whether the authorities will consider waiving the relevant visa fees for persons coming to Hong Kong for short-term employment; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

The various admission schemes for talents and capital investors (specified admission schemes) have been well received since their introduction or enhancement. In respect of talent admission schemes, the number of applications for first entry has grown from around 58 000 in 2022 to more than 221 000 in 2023 and around 208 000 in 2024, representing an increase of more than 250 per cent compared with 2022. Processing such applications involve substantial administrative resources. With reference to the fees charged for similar applications in overseas jurisdictions, the Government decided to, with effect from the day of the announcement of the 2025-26 Budget, introduce an application fee of $600 for each of the applications under the specified admission schemes for entry, change of conditions of stay or extension of limit of stay (including principal and dependant applications); and the visa/entry permit fees for approved applications will be increased, based on the length of the limit of stay, from the original rate of $230 to $600 (with a limit of stay of 180 days or below) or $1,300 (with a limit of stay of 181 days or more) to peg to their costs and reflect the “user pays” principle.

Our reply, in consultation with the Immigration Department (ImmD), to the Member’s questions is as follows:

(1) and (3) At present, among the seven talent admission schemes, the validity period of the first approved visas/entry permits under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates, the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents, and the Technology Talent Admission Scheme is generally 24 months or above. For the employment-tied General Employment Policy (GEP) and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the validity period of the applicants’ approved visas/entry permits is generally determined by the validity period of their employment contracts, ranging from one day to 36 months.

In 2022-23, about 160 000 applications of different types under the various talent admission schemes were approved by the ImmD; and about 300 000 applications were approved in both 2023-24 and 2024-‍25. The ImmD does not maintain the other statistical breakdowns referred to in the question. However, based on the experience from day-to-day processing, more than half of the approved applications under the GEP and the ASMTP are related to short-term/one-off project-based employment, e.g. for conference and performance, with a limit of stay of 180 days or below. Taking into account the relevant circumstances, the Government introduced two tiers of visa/entry permit issuance fee, which is set at $600 for visa granted with a limit of stay of not more than 180 days, and $1,300 for those with a limit of stay of 181 days or more. We consider that the fee levels are modest, and have balanced various considerations including the “user pays” principle and the impact on the applicants concerned. They are affordable to talent and capital investors targeted by the admission schemes. The numbers of applications and visas/entry permits issued under the specified admission schemes in the past few months are comparable to those in the same period last year, indicating that the new fee structure has not affected Hong Kong’s attractiveness to outside talent.

(2) In considering the new fee structure, the Government, based on the relevant statistics from early 2023 to end August 2024, estimated that the annual caseload for the three financial years from 2025-26 to 2028-29 would be about 400 000 applications of different types under the specified admission schemes; approximately 340 000 visas/entry permits would be issued for a limit of stay of 181 days or more, while around 26 000 will be issued for a limit of stay of not more than 180 days. On this basis, the estimated annual revenue in the next three financial years arising from the new fee structure is around $700 million, comprising about $250 million of application fees and about $450 million of visa/entry permit issuance fees.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is a question by the Hon Nixie Lam and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
 
Question:
 
     Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, all eligible child allowances for married couples residing together can only be claimed by one of them, and they must decide on their own who should make the claims. There are views that such arrangement may give rise to disputes within the family. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that modern married couples usually share the responsibility of taking care of their children (both financially and in terms of care), of the reasons why child allowances can only be claimed by one of them at present;
 
(2) whether it has studied amending the legislation to stipulate that married couples with children may allocate child allowances equally or claim child allowances separately; if so, of the specific plan and timetable, including whether it will consider introducing a default allocation mechanism (such as allowing a choice of equal allocation of allowances or automatic allocation of allowances according to the ratio of the married couples’ incomes, empowering the Inland Revenue Department to make rulings or setting clear criteria on the priority of making claims); if it has not studied amending the legislation, of the reasons for that; and
 
(3) whether, in the absence of legislative amendments at present, the Government will consider drawing up a set of reference guidelines on child allowances, e.g. the order of claims may be handled according to the ratio of family incomes, major child-rearing roles or previous claiming practices, etc, as well as stepping up public education, so as to assist families in making proper arrangements for claiming allowances; if so, of the specific plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     According to Section 31 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) (Ordinance), a taxpayer for salaries tax may claim child allowance for a year of assessment if he/she maintains an unmarried child who is under 18 years old; of or over 18 but under 25 years old and receiving full time education at an educational institution; or of or over 18 years old and is, because of physical or mental disability, unable to work in that year of assessment. A taxpayer may claim child allowance for up to nine children. Starting from the year of assessment 2023/24, the allowance for each child is $130,000. An additional allowance of $130,000 is granted for a newborn child during the year of assessment of the child’s birth.
 
     My reply to parts 1-3 of the Hon Nixie Lam’s question is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) According to Section 31(3) of the Ordinance, unless a taxpayer and his/her spouse are living apart, all child allowances must be claimed en bloc by either the taxpayer or his/her spouse. Taxpayers and their spouse should jointly decide who will claim all the child allowances. This requirement was included in the Ordinance in 1989, when married persons started to be allowed to elect separate taxation or joint assessment with their spouse, and has been in force until today. The main considerations are as follows:
 
     Before the year of assessment 2003/04, the amount of child allowance was determined by the number of children claimed on a regressive basis. Starting from the year of assessment 2003/04, the 1st to the 9th child are granted with a uniform allowance. Nevertheless, the prevailing mechanism already provides sufficient options and flexibility to reduce the tax burden on married persons, and more than 60 per cent of taxpayers claiming child allowances claim for only one child. We therefore consider that there is no need to abolish the requirement that only a taxpayer or his/her spouse can claim child allowance. Currently, married persons may elect separate taxation or joint assessment with their spouse for tax savings. Having all child allowances claimed by one party or allowing both parties to separately claim allowances for individual child or children does not affect the total amount of tax payable under joint assessment. Under the current arrangement, even if married persons and their spouse do not elect joint assessment on their own initiative, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) would still compare their tax payable under separate taxation and joint assessment. If joint assessment is found to be more beneficial to them, the IRD would invite them to elect joint assessment. In addition, the Ordinance does not require that the allowance in respect of the same child must always be claimed by the same claimant. If taxpayers and their spouse choose separate taxation, they may discuss in advance on how to claim the child allowance and flexibly arrange to claim the child allowance for different years of assessment, such as taking turns to claim in different years, to meet the needs of individual families.
 
     We find the current mechanism effective in reducing the tax burden on married persons and providing taxpayers with a flexible and convenient tax filing process, allowing them to make appropriate tax arrangements according to their family situations. There is no need to allow taxpayers and their spouse to separately claim child allowances. Currently, the IRD only apportions the child allowance based on actual circumstances for living apart or divorced cases. This arrangement helps reduce the compliance burden on taxpayers and ensure the IRD’s efficiency of tax assessment.
 
     On the other hand, as the specific circumstances and needs of each family vary, taxpayers and their spouse may have different financial and tax arrangements. We have no plans to change the current practice of the IRD generally not intervening in family matters to introduce a default allocation mechanism, as it is unlikely to meet the needs of all families.
 
The Government will continue to review the claim arrangements and levels of various allowances from time to time, and consider whether there is room for enhancement based on various factors such as the number of beneficiaries, the Government’s financial situation, and administrative efficiency.
 
(3) The IRD currently provides frequently asked questions and guidelines on child allowances on its website. Generally speaking, it is more beneficial for the party with higher income to claim child allowance. However, if one party is assessed at standard rates, it would be more beneficial for the other party who is not assessed at standard rates to claim the allowance. The website also features a tax calculator, allowing taxpayers and their spouses to input their respective income amounts, deductions, and different allowance distribution scenarios to make the most appropriate claim arrangements. Besides, after issuing individual tax returns in May of each year, the IRD will extend the service hours of telephone enquiry to answer questions from taxpayers about completing their tax returns.
 
Thank you, Mr President.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region