Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Founding artistic director and main choreographer of Singapore’s acclaimed T.H.E Dance Company, Kuik Swee Boon, joined forces with Hong Kong dance artist Zelia ZZ Tan to stage the multimedia dance performance “Strangely Familiar” to be held from November 28 to 30. Powered by holographic projection and cutting-edge technology, the production explores what it truly means to coexist across cultures in a chaotic world. “Strangely Familiar”, one of the programmes of the Asia+ Festival 2025, presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, is also part of the East Kowloon Cultural Centre’s opening season lineup.
      
     Directed by Kuik, “Strangely Familiar” unites a team from Singapore and Malaysia along with Hong Kong and Macao artists in a bold attempt to dissolve the boundaries between cultures, identities and realities. By letting go of labels and assumptions, the work opens space for a shared humanity that feels strange yet familiar amidst different cultures. Part of the content was filmed in Hong Kong and Macao, blending with different soundscapes including Southeast Asian elements, traditional instruments, synthesisers and also human voice to create a highly anticipated new creation. Tan will also appear with a virtual presence, inviting the audience to rethink connection, presence, and existence across both physical and digital realms.
      
     T.H.E Dance Company is lauded for its distinctive choreographic voice. Its 2011 production, “As It Fades”, was hailed as a landmark in Asia’s contemporary dance scene. Now, in this new commission by Asia+ Festival and the Singapore International Festival of Arts, the company unveils the world premiere of “Strangely Familiar” in Hong Kong – a thought-provoking encounter not to be missed.
      
     “Strangely Familiar” will be staged at 8pm on November 28, at 3pm and 8pm on November 29, and at 2pm and 6pm on November 30 at The Turns of the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, with tickets priced at $500. There will be a meet-the-artist session after each performance.
      
     In addition, a dance workshop priced at $240 will be held on November 30 from 10am to 11.30am at Incubator 2 of the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, with Kuik Swee Boon as the instructor. The workshop will be conducted in English and Putonghua. Tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288, or use the mobile ticketing app “URBTIX”. For more details, please visit: www.asiaplus.gov.hk/2025/en/strangely-familiar.
      
     The Asia+ Festival is held annually from September to November with the aim of creating a sustainable platform for arts and cultural exchanges. While focusing on Asia, the Festival this year also connects Belt and Road countries and regions in Europe, Africa and the Americas. Now in its third edition, artists from more than 30 countries and regions, including 12 new participating countries, take part in the Festival. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.asiaplus.gov.hk.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Government of Singapore

Singapore, 18 November 2025 – The National Environment Agency (NEA) has pleaded guilty to a charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, in relation to an explosion that took place at the Tuas Incineration Plant (TIP) on 23 September 2021.

2             The incident claimed the lives of two NEA officers and injured another officer. NEA deeply regrets the loss of our two long-serving NEA officers. Even after four years, their absence continues to be deeply felt, and their contributions will be remembered. We are thankful that the officer who suffered injuries has since recovered and returned to work. The three officers were the most senior and experienced members of the Electrical Maintenance Branch of TIP at the time and had nearly 120 years of experience in electrical maintenance work between them. TIP has since been decommissioned and is undergoing demolition. 

3             NEA takes responsibility for the shortcomings cited in the charge, in relation to our Permit-to-Work system, control measures, and safe work procedures for high voltage work at TIP at the time of the incident. We accept the fine imposed by the Court. Legal proceedings are still ongoing for two NEA officers in relation to this case. We will work with the Ministry to study the Court’s findings and assess how they should be reflected on personnel matters as appropriate, after the cases have concluded.

4              Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) is and will always remain our top priority at NEA. The incident is a poignant reminder that we can and must continue to do better to keep our staff and stakeholders safe. Beyond addressing the shortcomings cited in the charge, NEA has taken steps to strengthen workplace safety practices and culture at our waste management facilities and across the organisation.  

5             To strengthen safety at all our waste management facilities, NEA is advised by a Waste Management Facility External Advisory Panel (EAP) comprising senior industry leaders who have experience managing large facilities and operations. NEA has also set up a dedicated unit to drive safety and continuous improvement, as well as appointed an external consultant to benchmark and recommend further improvements to safety systems and processes at our waste management facilities. Over the past few years, NEA has introduced various initiatives to strengthen safety capabilities, training, and culture at these facilities, working alongside our union leaders and contractors. 

6             At the organisational level, the NEA Board was restructured in 2023 to include a dedicated Risk Committee to oversee and manage key enterprise risks, including workplace safety which is a top priority for the organisation. The NEA Board also includes members with experience in workplace safety and health. NEA set up a dedicated WSH division in 2024 to drive stronger WSH practices and culture at all levels, and NEA obtained bizSAFE level 4 certification this year. 

7             NEA is committed to continually improve WSH in all aspects of the organisation to safeguard the safety and well-being of all our staff and stakeholders, and to prevent such an incident from happening again. NEA regrets that we had fallen short of the high standards we set for ourselves and the expectations of the public. We will strive to put in our utmost efforts to do better in the future. 

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Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Innovation & Technology Commission (ITC) today launched the Pilot Manufacturing & Production Line Upgrade Support Scheme (Manufacturing+) and enhanced the existing New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme (NIAS) to boost the development of new industrialisation in Hong Kong.

Manufacturing+ falls under the Innovation & Technology Fund’s New Industrialisation Support Scheme. Through it, the Government will provide funding of up to $250,000 per eligible enterprise on a 1:2 Government to enterprise matching basis.

Eligible enterprises should be operating production lines in Hong Kong, and the funding will help them to formulate smart production strategies and introduce advanced technologies into existing production lines. Its scope covers consultancy fees, costs for purchasing equipment and integrating smart technologies into existing production lines, and training and development expenses.

Meanwhile, the application threshold for the NIAS will be relaxed, with the minimum total project cost lowered from $300 million to $150 million. Enterprises must contribute at least $100 million. Moreover, the ITC will also provide funding on a 1:1 basis for companies approved under the NIAS to employ up to 10 technical personnel required for setting up or operating smart production facilities.

Both schemes accept applications year-round. Click here for details. Call 3543 5904 or email to  enquiry@itf.gov.hk) for enquiries.

Source: Government of Singapore

JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NCCS, NEA, MSE AND MTI 

Singapore, 18 November 2025 – Singapore and Thailand today announced the publication of an eligibility list, which sets out the eligible carbon crediting programmes and methodologies under the Singapore-Thailand Implementation Agreement (Annex A) aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

2            Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Grace Fu, and Thailand’s Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs, Patranant Thongprapan, made the announcement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) Singapore Pavilion Carbon Markets Networking event. The event was held on the sidelines of the climate conference in Belém, Brazil.

3            The eligibility list specifies the carbon crediting programmes and methodologies that are pre-approved under the Singapore-Thailand Implementation Agreement aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This provides clarity to project developers who plan to utilise the Implementation Agreement to develop high-quality carbon projects in Thailand. The eligibility list is at Annex B, and available on the Carbon Markets Cooperation website, at www.carbonmarkets-cooperation.gov.sg.

4        Both countries are working towards launching the call for project applications under the Singapore-Thailand Implementation Agreement in Q1 2026. More information on the application and authorisation process will be published in due course.

 

Annex A: Information on the Singapore-Thailand Implementation Agreement

Annex B: Singapore’s Eligibility Criteria and the Eligibility List under the Singapore-Thailand Implementation Agreement

Annex C: Company Quotes

~~ End ~~

For more information, please submit your enquiries electronically via the Online Feedback Form or myENV mobile application.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The track cycling competition of the 15th National Games (NG) concluded today (November 17). A total of 14 gold medals were awarded in the event.

The track cycling competition was held at the Hong Kong Velodrome, and over 270 athletes from 22 teams from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao took part, including nine men and nine women athletes from Hong Kong. Among them, Hong Kong athletes Lee Sze-wing and Leung Wing-yee captured the gold medal in the Women’s Madison. Lee Sze-wing also won the gold medal in the Women’s Omnium. The winning athletes and teams are as follows:

Men’s Team Sprint

Gold	Henan team
Silver	Zhejiang team
Bronze	Shanghai team

Women’s Team Sprint

Gold	Henan team
Silver	Zhejiang team
Bronze	Jiangsu team

Men’s Team Pursuit

Gold	Henan team
Silver	Shanghai team
Bronze	Shandong team

Women’s Team Pursuit

Gold	Henan team
Silver	Shandong team
Bronze	Jiangsu team

Women’s Time Trial (250 Metres)

Gold	Bao Shanju (Henan)
Silver	Tong Mengqi (Zhejiang)
Bronze	Fan Bingbing (Zhejiang)

Women’s Time Trial (750 Metres)

Gold	Yuan Liying (Jilin)
Silver	Luo Shuyan (Henan)
Bronze	Jiang Yulu (Zhejiang)

Men’s Sprint

Gold	Liu Qi (Henan)
Silver	Li Zhiwei (Guangdong)
Bronze	Xue Chenxi (Hebei)

Women’s Sprint

Gold	Yuan Liying (Jilin)
Silver	Jiang Yulu (Zhejiang)
Bronze	Guo Yufang (Henan)

Men’s Omnium

Gold	Wu Junjie (Shanghai)
Silver	Xue Chaohua (Beijing)
Bronze	Yang Yang (Henan)

Men’s Madison

Gold	Li Boan, Yang Yang (Henan)
Silver	Wu Junjie, Lu Neng (Shanghai)
Bronze	Liu Chenglu, Guo Liang (Jiangsu)

Women’s Madison

Gold	Lee Sze-wing, Leung Wing-yee (Hong Kong)
Silver	Guo Li, Liu Jiali (Sichuan)
Bronze	Cui Yuhang, Chen Ning (Beijing)

Women’s Omnium

Gold	Lee Sze-wing (Hong Kong)
Silver	Zhou Menghan (Henan)
Bronze	Liu Jiali (Sichuan)

Men’s Keirin

Gold	Xie Han (Yunnan)
Silver	Jiang Shuai (Shandong)
Bronze	Huang Ruiting (Shanghai)

Women’s Keirin

Gold	Yuan Liying (Jilin)
Silver	Wang Lijuan (Liaoning)
Bronze	Yang Congge (Sichuan)

​Other competition events in the Hong Kong competition region, including basketball (Men’s U22) and fencing, are ongoing. Members of the public are welcome to purchase tickets to watch the competitions and cheer for the athletes in person. Tickets can be purchased through various channels, including the 15th NG official ticketing website (ticket.baygames.cn) or by searching for the “15th NG official ticketing” official mini-programme on WeChat, after completing a real-name account registration. Additionally, the public can visit 11 designated sales outlets (ww2.ctshk.com/articleDetail?id=4&channelId=-1) of the China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited to buy paper tickets for events in the Hong Kong competition region. Physical tickets for events held at the relevant venues are also available at the competition area ticket office.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the welcome dinner of the 6th US-China Hong Kong Forum today (November 17):
 
Honourable Deputy Commissioner Hua You of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Honourable Mr John Zhao (Chairman of China-United States Exchange Foundation), Honourable Mr Shen Xin (Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
Good evening. I’m very delighted to be here, tonight, for this welcome dinner of the sixth US-China Hong Kong Forum.
 
I would like to begin by thanking the China-United States Exchange Foundation for, once again, bringing us together. Working with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Foundation stages this important forum to bring us together. Bring the two largest economies in the world together.
 
You believe, as I do – as the vast majority of the world does – that a constructive relationship between China, our country, and the United States is essential for global well-being. And for the global economy, in pursuing mutually rewarding opportunities.
 
As we all know, mutually rewarding opportunity is having a difficult, even daunting, year, for China-US relations.
 
President Xi Jinping, in his October meeting with the US President Trump, pointed out that China and the US, and I quote, “should be partners and friends. This is what history has taught us and reality needs.”
 
Unfortunately, “reality” has often been sidelined in China-US relations today. That means that Hong Kong-US ties – a special component within the China-US relationship – are also affected, despite a US diplomatic presence here, going back more than 180 years.
 
The US has ensnared Hong Kong in its world-wide tariffs’ web. Its self-made-up story of reciprocal tariffs for the so-called unfair, unbalanced trade in the case of Hong Kong is absolutely flawed. The US has been enjoying one of the largest bilateral merchandise trade surpluses with Hong Kong. Last year alone, the trade surplus surpassed US$ 21 billion, the second-largest among its trade partners. Over the past decade, the US has run up a trade surplus with Hong Kong worth more than US$ 271 billion, the largest among its trading partners.
 
America’s trade with Hong Kong supports more than 140 000 American jobs, from agriculture to fashion, manufacturing and much more.
 
Not surprisingly, nearly 1 400 US companies were operating in Hong Kong as of last year. That makes the US Hong Kong’s second-largest source of foreign-affiliated companies. That, let me add, was up 117 companies, year-on-year.
 
According to the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong’s 2025 Business Sentiment Survey, 75 per cent, three quarters, of its surveyed members reported either stable or increased revenue last year, compared to 2023.
 
More than 80 000 US citizens live and work in Hong Kong, confident and comfortable in a city they share so many common values with.
 
They can see, for themselves, the “one country, two systems” principle in action, in dynamic action, how Hong Kong connects East and West, and in so many ways, for so many economies and businesses and peoples.
 
Under the unique “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong is the only world city that converges both the China advantage and the global advantage. We boast a long and established tradition of the rule of law, a common law system shared by most global financial hubs, and a judiciary that exercises its judicial power independently, free from any interference.
 
Equally important, our people, and business owners, share Hong Kong’s commitment to open and free trade. We are, after all, a founding member of the World Trade Organization.
 
The so-called “reciprocal tariff” for Hong Kong is therefore out of sense given that the trade balance between us is tilted heavily in favour of the US. And the fact that Hong Kong does not impose customs tariffs on goods from the US – or any other country.
 
Hong Kong will continue, I assure you, to do what we’ve always done. We champion free trade and create opportunities for local businesses and investors, and the economies, companies and investors they do business with.
 
With the firm support of our country, Hong Kong is fast developing its eight centres of excellence, and maintain a pivotal role in such national strategies as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We are flush with opportunities – mutual opportunities. And in that, we continue to roll out a welcome mat for the US businesses and investors.
 
They can take confidence in our free trade policies, our simple and low tax regime – free from sales tax, capital gains tax, estate duty and tax on dividends – and our free flow of information, capital, goods and talent.
 
Speaking of talent, the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development, in its 2025 World Talent Ranking, rated Hong Kong fourth in the world, and tops in Asia.
 
Our talent initiatives of the past three years are working. And well. Since we rolled out an enhanced talent attraction regime at the end of 2022, we have received applications from over 550 000 professionals and young talent around the world. Over 376 000 applications have been approved, and around 250 000 of them have already arrived in Hong Kong. They are graduates from top universities, high earners in their industries, technology talent, and more. They bring with them expertise, experience and, more importantly, impetus to our economy.
 
More than talent, Hong Kong has also proved highly attractive to a world of business. Last month, OASES, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises I set up three years ago, welcomed nearly 20 new key companies to Hong Kong, including three of the world’s top pharmaceutical corporations. That takes the number of strategic companies in Hong Kong, thanks to OASES, to 102, 16 of which are, yes, American companies – more than any other overseas country.
 
We’re pleased to have them here, creating employment, initiating R&D (research and development) projects and investing in Hong Kong’s future – and theirs.
 
No doubt, they will also love Hong Kong’s rising place as the world’s East meets West centre for international cultural exchange.
 
In the end, ladies and gentlemen, dialogue is always better than confrontation.  Collaboration is more effective than unilateralism.
 
But, of course, no one knows that better than the China-United States Exchange Foundation, and all of you here this evening.
 
Your theme for this year’s two-day Forum, “Circles for Peace”, surrounds AI (artificial intelligence), geopolitics and people-to-people ties. And I understand that some 50 prominent speakers, from all over the world, will engage those issues and their global import before an audience of some 500 strong.
 
Beyond this Forum, you also engage a broader, and even more diverse, audience. Thanks to the Foundation’s efforts, more than 3 000 students have taken part in exchange programmes between our country and the US over the years.
 
And this year, the Foundation hosted the first US-China Art Dialogue in Hong Kong during Art March and the annual Art Basel art fair. Nearly 100 artists and arts aficionados from the US and China discussed how arts and artists can encourage people-to-people ties between the US and China.
 
In hosting inspirational events, and in many other ways, we will make it abundantly clear that global peace, and prosperity, can only be achieved through dialogue, mutual respect and leadership.
 
In that, China and the United States must play the leading roles.
 
The world also needs moderators and mediators. And I believe that Hong Kong and the China-United States Exchange Foundation have more than some experience to offer.
 
My thanks to the Foundation, and to the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, for once again organising this very important US-China Hong Kong Forum.
 
I wish you all a rewarding Forum, and a very enjoyable evening. Thank you.