Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The second edition of the Hong Kong Common Law Practical Training Course, co-organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy and the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), is being held from today to January 22.

Speaking at the course’s opening ceremony today, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam stressed that it is key to implementing the national policy of strengthening Mainland judges’ ability to handle foreign-related cases, in line with anticipated priorities in the 15th Five-Year Plan.

The Department of Justice highlighted that this year’s course builds on last year’s inaugural course and focuses on company law.

The course has attracted the participation of 24 senior judges from 22 courts on the Mainland – including the SPC and courts in 12 provinces and three directly-administered municipalities.

The department said the course will feature an in-depth exploration of Hong Kong’s robust company law framework through lectures, dialogue sessions and interactive exercises on topics such as company structures, guarantees and liquidations.

Speakers include leading Hong Kong legal scholars, experts and judges, who will share practical insights into the city’s common law system and company law.

With the Ceremonial Opening of the 2026 Legal Year taking place this month, the department said course participants will attend this important annual legal event, and will also visit courts and international legal institutions in Hong Kong to learn more about the city’s development as a legal hub and a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Secretary for Justice outlined that the last year’s course was the academy’s inaugural event following its launch in 2024, and that positive results had been recorded. He thanked the SPC for its continued support for and trust in the academy.

The department said the academy will continue to organise capacity-building programmes aimed at leveraging the unique advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle and Hong Kong’s common law system.

By doing so, it will promote judicial and legal exchanges and mutual learning between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and further contribute to the country’s efforts to develop foreign-related rule of law, the department added. 

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

On the afternoon of January 13, President Lai Ching-te met with a Canadian parliamentary delegation. In remarks, President Lai thanked the Canadian parliament for its staunch, long-term support for Taiwan. The president noted that in recent years, cooperation between Taiwan and Canada in such areas as the economy and trade, technology, and maritime affairs has yielded substantial results. He expressed hope that Taiwan will continue to work hand in hand with Canada while coming together in solidarity and cooperating with democracies around the world to safeguard such universal values as freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights.
A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows:
On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I extend a sincere welcome to you all. As we begin 2026, it is a great pleasure to meet with parliamentarians from Canada, who have traveled a long way to be with us. In particular, I remember meeting with Member of Parliament Melissa Lantsman, the leader of the delegation, during her visit to Taiwan in 2023. I am delighted to see you again.
I would like to thank the Canadian parliament for its staunch, long-term support for Taiwan. Many Canadian MPs took part in the publication of the parliament’s report on Taiwan-Canada relations and its 18 recommendations urging the government of Canada to strengthen ties with Taiwan. They have also supported Taiwan’s international participation and have pushed back against China’s distortion of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758. All of these actions have left a very deep impression.
Not long ago, China held large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, unilaterally escalating regional tensions. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Canadian government for issuing a statement expressing its concern and opposing any unilateral attempt to change the status quo. This once again demonstrates that maintaining the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is not only in the interest of all parties but is also the consensus of the international community.
Over the past three years, Taiwan and Canada have made concrete progress in such areas as the economy and trade, technology, and maritime affairs. This has included the signing of the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Arrangement. Bilateral relations continue to deepen and yield substantial results. Our economies and industries are highly complementary. As the world enters the new era of AI, we look forward to further advancing economic and trade collaboration. In particular, the signing of a bilateral trade cooperation framework agreement at the earliest possible juncture would do much to benefit the industries and peoples of our nations.
Confronted by China’s military threats against neighboring countries, we deeply believe that peace is priceless, and war has no winners; we stand firm by the principle of peace through strength; and we are taking concrete action, demonstrating to the world Taiwan’s resolve for self-defense. Last year, I announced that Taiwan’s defense spending, as defined by NATO, would reach 3.32 percent of GDP this year – an unprecedented high. And we expect to increase this to 5 percent by 2030. In addition, Taiwan looks forward to coming together in solidarity and cooperating with democracies around the world to safeguard such universal values as freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights.
I once again welcome you all to Taiwan and wish you a successful trip. May the friendship between Taiwan and Canada grow even deeper and stronger.
Member of Parliament Lantsman then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai and the administration for welcoming them and mentioning that it is a pleasure to return to Taiwan and meet with the president. She said that their parliamentary delegation values Taiwan as a trusted, indispensable partner, an innovative economy, a resilient democracy, and a free society that contributes meaningfully to the global community, despite persistent efforts to exclude or isolate it.
Member of Parliament Lantsman stated that the delegation is here with a clear purpose, that is, to say to Taiwan and the people of Taiwan that they have friends in the Canadian parliament, and to listen, learn from Taiwan’s experience, and ask how they can do more practically, constructively, and consistently to support Taiwan and deepen our cooperation.
Member of Parliament Lantsman said that she sees significant opportunities to strengthen collaboration on trade, energy security, supply chain resilience, advanced manufacturing, innovation, and people-to-people ties. Expressing their belief that Taiwan should be able to participate in international forums, she said that such participation should reflect real expertise and real contributions, not the political veto of an authoritarian power that fears transparency and freedom around the world.
Member of Parliament Lantsman pointed out that there are many within the House of Commons across party lines who have advocated for many years for the strengthening of the partnership with Taiwan. She added that they have all been deeply concerned by the growing threats both our societies face from transnational repression, from coercive economic practices, and from state-directed disinformation campaigns. She noted that these are not abstract challenges – these are deliberate strategies used to intimidate democracies, silence critics, and distort public debate, and they welcome closer cooperation with Taiwan and with civil society in Taiwan to expose and counter these threats wherever they may occur.
Member of Parliament Lantsman stated that they also recognize the intensified and aggressive authoritarian pressure that Taiwan faces beyond its borders, and that Canada rejects the normalization of intimidation, military coercion, and attempts to rewrite international norms through force. They believe, she emphasized, that economic, institutional, and societal resilience is built through strong partnerships that are also grounded in freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.
Member of Parliament Lantsman said that this visit reflects the belief that engagement, dialogue, and consistency matter, and that parliamentary relationships play a very critical role. She said that they look forward to a very fruitful conversation and to hearing about where Canadian support can be most useful, credible, and effective, and in closing mentioned that she looks forward to a future where the better days are ahead in a relationship that grows.
The delegation also included Members of Parliament Adam Chambers and Shelby Kramp-Neuman. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the ceremony to welcome Luminara’s inaugural arrival in Hong Kong today (January 13):

Sebastian (Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Mr Sebastian Seward), Captain (Executive Director of the Hong Kong Pilots Association Limited, Captain Chin Kam Lam), Anthony (Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mr Anthony Lau), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (January 13) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for December 2025.
 
     The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 44.5 in November 2025 in the contractionary zone to 44.9 in December 2025, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. January 2026) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.3. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for some surveyed sectors rose in December 2025 as compared with previous month, particularly for the real estate (from 47.1 to 49.3) and import and export trades (from 44.7 to 46.4).
          
     The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades increased from 46.0 in November 2025 to 47.7 in December 2025, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. January 2026) was 48.4.
 
Commentary
 
     A Government spokesman said that business sentiment among SMEs in December 2025 broadly continued to recover. The current diffusion index on business receipts increased somewhat in December, and the index on outlook in one month’s time stayed at a relatively high level. Meanwhile, the overall employment situation also indicated further improvement.
 
     Looking ahead, local business sentiment should continue to be underpinned by the continued positive momentum of the Hong Kong economy. The Government will closely monitor the uncertainties in the external environment.
 
Further information
 
     The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled “Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey” released by the C&SD.
 
     The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents’ perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
 
     More detailed statistics are given in the “Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises”. Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
 
     Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).