Category: MIL-OSI

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Private pools to be better monitored

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department announced today that it will implement enhanced measures from May 19 to prevent the employment of unqualified life-saving attendants at private swimming pools, with a view to safeguarding the safety of swimming pool users.

Swimming pool licensees must comply with the Swimming Pools Regulation and licensing conditions, which include ensuring that sufficient qualified life-saving attendants are on duty when the pool is open. The new measures spell out the licensees’ responsibilities explicitly, step up inspections and penalties, and enhance collaboration with other departments and organisations.

Under the new penalty mechanism, if a licensee is found twice within a year to have insufficient qualified life-saving attendants on duty during opening hours, the department will consider suspending its licence for six months and requiring the licensee to report the situation to relevant parties, including the owners’ corporation. If three violations are recorded within a year, the licence may be cancelled and the licensee or related parties shall not be allowed to apply for a licence for the same location within 12 months.

To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities, the department will require them to verify the identity documents of life-saving attendants before employment, and to keep copies of their Pool Lifeguard Awards and personal logbooks.

The department has also devised a standard template for logging life-saving attendants’ duty records. Licensees are required to record the data as per the prescribed format, and the records have to be verified and signed by inspecting staff assigned by the licensees and by attendants themselves. Departmental officers will check the records as necessary and will follow up on any violations.

The department added that in addition to checking and verifying the qualifications of life-saving attendants on duty during monthly inspections, the frequency of spot checks during the peak swimming season in July and August will be increased. In cases where insufficient qualified life-saving attendants are on duty, it will take immediate actions, including requiring the licensee to close the pool until sufficient qualified life-saving attendants can be present. It may also will issue a warning or initiate prosecution.

The department has issued letters to licensees of all private swimming pools in the city, reminding them to support and comply with the new measures. It has also collaborated with the Property Management Services Authority, requiring property management companies to play a robust gatekeeping role in the recruitment of life-saving attendants.

Separately, the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society is to make the list of qualified life-saving attendants public. The department believes says this will help swimming pool licensees verify life-saving attendants’ qualifications.

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21 persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operations (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

21 persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operations  
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years’ imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.
Issued at HKT 19:12

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Briefing on healthcare fees held

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Health Bureau, together with the Hospital Authority, today held the second District Council (DC) briefing on reforms to public healthcare fees and charges, explaining these to more than 200 DC members and local people.

 

Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau said apart from restructuring the subsidisation levels for various services in a precise manner, such fees and charges reform also emphasises enhancing healthcare protection for “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients, enabling public healthcare to serve as a larger, more stable, thicker and denser safety net for all.

 

He added: “Through this briefing, we hope to explain details of the reform to DC members, and leverage the role of DC as a bridge to assist members of the public to get a better grasp of the substance and meaning of the fees and charges reform.”

 

The authority’s Deputising Chief Executive Dr Simon Tang highlighted three key measures for strengthening healthcare protection, namely enhancing the medical fee waiver mechanism, introducing an annual cap of $10,000 for public healthcare fees and charges, and optimising the application and subsidisation of innovative drugs and medical devices.

 

A means test calculator has been launched on the authority’s website and on its mobile app, “HA Go”, allowing users to input information on their household income and assets to view a preliminary assessment of their eligibility for the enhanced medical fee waiver and the Samaritan Fund.

 

The new fees and charges will take effect on January 1 next year.

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Algernon Yau visits Beijing

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau began a visit to Beijing today by calling on the Ministry of Commerce.

Mr Yau briefed a number of departments of the ministry on Hong Kong’s latest efforts in promoting trade and attracting business and investment.

He said that even in the face of protectionism and unilateralism, in particular the unreasonable coercion arising from US tariffs, Hong Kong will continue to capitalise on its unparalleled advantages under “one country, two systems” to consolidate and enhance its status as an international trade centre, performing its dual role of helping Mainland enterprises to go global while attracting overseas investment.

He said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will step up its efforts to attract enterprises and investment, and to explore more new markets, while at the same time better integrating into the overall national development, seizing opportunities arising from the country’s domestic circulation and giving full play to Hong Kong’s roles as a super connector and super value-adder to address changes in the global economic and trade landscape.

Additionally, Mr Yau met representatives from Hong Kong enterprises in Beijing to hear about their experiences and exchange views on the challenges faced by enterprises in the current international environment.

Mr Yau will proceed to Qatar tomorrow to join a Hong Kong delegation there led by Chief Executive John Lee. During Mr Yau’s absence, Under Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan will be Acting Secretary.

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SCED begins visit to Beijing

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, began his visit to Beijing today (May 9).
 
     ​Mr Yau called on a number of departments of the Ministry of Commerce to update them on the latest developments of Hong Kong in promoting trade and attracting business and investment, and exchange views.
 
     ​Mr Yau said that even in the face of protectionism and unilateralism, in particular the unreasonable coercion of the so-called reciprocal tariff, Hong Kong will continue to capitalise on the unparalleled advantages under “one country, two systems” to consolidate and enhance its status as an international trade centre, playing its dual roles of assisting Mainland enterprises to go global and attracting overseas investment. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will step up efforts in attracting enterprises and investment, explore more new markets and at the same time better integrate into the overall national development, seizing opportunities arising from the country’s domestic circulation and giving full play to Hong Kong’s roles as a “super connector” and “super value-adder” in addressing the changes in the global economic and trade landscape.
 
     ​In addition, Mr Yau met with representatives of Hong Kong enterprises in Beijing to learn about the latest local developments and business opportunities, and exchange views on the challenges faced by enterprises in the complex international environment.
 
     ​Mr Yau will proceed to Qatar tomorrow (May 10) to join the business delegation led by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, for a visit to the Middle East. During Mr Yau’s absence, the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development.

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HyD holds sharing session on Hong Kong’s major transport infrastructure projects to exchange innovative engineering experiences with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Director of Highways, Mr Tony Yau, today (May 9) led a department delegation in a sharing session on Hong Kong’s major transport infrastructure projects with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai to jointly exchange innovative experiences in implementing transport infrastructure works. The sharing session attracted the participation of many Mainland counterparts, who came from more than 20 contractors, light-rail manufacturers, railway operators, design institutes, etc which are respectively central state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises and civilian-run enterprises, including China Railway Group Limited, China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited represented by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Company Limited, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Company Limited, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Company Limited, BYD Company Limited, Shanghai Shenkai Public Transport Operation Management Company Limited, and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Company Limited, etc.

     At the sharing session, the Highways Department (HyD) introduced the major findings of the Strategic Studies on Railways and Major Roads beyond 2030, which covered cross-boundary railway projects (the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) and the Northern Link Spur Line); smart and green mass transit systems (the East Kowloon Line and the South Island Line (West)); and strategic route projects (the Northern Metropolis Highway and Route 11) being planned and implemented by the department to the Mainland counterparts. The attendees were very interested in the implementation of these projects.

     The HyD will soon seek funding approval for the investigation and design work of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project from the Legislative Council. Government Engineer of Railway Development Mr Thomas Sze said at the sharing session that the preliminary design of the project would commence in the second half of 2025, while at the same time the department would invite relevant contractors and operators to submit expressions of interest to provide their views on project proposals, procurement and financial agreements, so as to facilitate the department in ascertaining the market’s interest and capability in the construction and operation of the project, thereby formulating appropriate tender specifications and terms. Mr Sze appealed for active participation of interested parties and added that the HyD would strive to award the works contract and commence the detailed design and construction works between 2027 and 2028, with a view to completing the works and achieving simultaneous commissioning of the Hong Kong section and the Shenzhen section by 2034 to 2035. In addition, the HyD is actively exploring with Mainland counterparts to adopt Mainland design standards and construction specifications in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project as a cross-boundary railway project, as well as the arrangement of introducing Mainland new machineries, construction materials and innovative construction technologies in the project, with an aim to further achieving savings in construction costs and compressing construction time.

     Mr Yau said that the teams of Hong Kong’s major infrastructure projects have always possessed the features of internationalisation, with many major infrastructures jointly designed and constructed by leading local and global engineering firms in the past. He hoped that the department would adopt a “technological innovation” and “policy innovation” dual-innovation mindset and approach to attract more Mainland enterprises to participate in the implementation of Hong Kong’s infrastructure projects, thereby introducing advanced and innovative construction technologies as well as new construction materials and machineries from the Mainland, while integrating the unique experience of the local engineering talent in responding to environmental challenges in Hong Kong, allowing the engineering sectors on the Mainland and in Hong Kong to jointly capitalise on their respective strengths and join hands to lead the development of Hong Kong’s engineering technology to new heights, thus achieving the goal of further shortening construction times and reducing construction costs.