Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

In view of the latest situation in Saudi Arabia, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today (November 14) removed the Amber Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) for Saudi Arabia as a whole, while maintaining the Amber OTA for Saudi Arabia’s border regions with Yemen only.
 
A Government spokesman said, “We review the situation of the countries covered by the OTA system from time to time and make corresponding adjustments to the OTA level.”
 
Residents can obtain the latest OTA information on the Security Bureau’s OTA webpage (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/ota). The Security Bureau will also issue updates when necessary through the media, the Security Bureau’s mobile app and the OTA webpage.
 
Hong Kong residents who need assistance when travelling outside Hong Kong may call the 24-hour hotline of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department (ImmD) at (852) 1868, call the 1868 hotline using network data or use the 1868 Chatbot via the ImmD mobile application, send a message to the 1868 WhatsApp assistance hotline or the 1868 WeChat assistance hotline, or submit the Online Assistance Request Form.

Before travelling abroad, Hong Kong residents are encouraged to use the online Registration of Outbound Travel Information service (www.gov.hk/roti) of the ImmD to register their contact details and itinerary. The information provided allows the ImmD to disseminate practical information to them through appropriate means, including SMS on mobile phones, when necessary.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law today extended her congratulations to the Hong Kong, China Rugby athletes on winning a gold medal in the Men’s Rugby Sevens at the 15th National Games of the People’s Republic of China (NG).

Miss Law said: “The performance of the rugby team members was excellent. With the greatest team spirit as well as excellent skills and perseverance, they have won the medal for Hong Kong without losing a single match. I am so proud of their outstanding performance.

“I am sure every single spectator tonight at the Main Stadium of Kai Tak Sports Park, will applaud for the spectacular performance of both teams and all citizens in Hong Kong will also be proud of the outstanding achievement of members of Hong Kong Team.”

The Hong Kong, China Delegation has so far won five medals – four golds and one bronze, in sailing, cycling, tennis, swimming and rugby at the 15th NG.

Meanwhile, the 15th NG’s rugby sevens competition event, which took place at Kai Tak Sports Park’s Kai Tak Stadium, concluded today.

The event featured over 230 athletes, representing 16 teams from the Mainland and Hong Kong.

In the men’s group, the Shandong team and the Beijing team claimed silver and bronze medals.

While the Jiangsu team, the Shandong team and the Sichuan team took the gold, silver and bronze medals in the women’s competition.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
 
     The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) will introduce new polling arrangements for the 2025 Legislative Council General Election (LCGE), with a view to facilitating electors in casting their votes and addressing the actual needs of electors.
 
     The Chairman of the EAC, Mr Justice David Lok, introduced the new polling arrangements at a press conference today (November 14). He said that the EAC would continue to enhance various electoral arrangements with the spirit of seeking progress while ensuring stability, with a view to further enhancing election efficiency and providing convenience to different stakeholders. 
 
     Mr Justice Lok said, “In recent years, we have heard views from different sectors of the community, including the Legislative Council, that electors who have to work on the polling day, due to their job nature, working hours and duty arrangements, etc, may not have sufficient time to, before or after work, or during meal breaks, travel to and from their allocated polling stations to cast their votes. These electors are therefore not able to exercise their right to vote.”
 
     “In response, the EAC will introduce several Designated Polling Stations as pilot arrangements in this LCGE for the electors with specific needs.”
 
Designated Polling Stations
 
     Under the pilot arrangements, there are three categories of Designated Polling Stations:
 

• Civil Servant Designated Polling Station (CSDPS)
  The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) will set up a total of 10 CSDPSs. This is to facilitate civil servants in disciplined services and those who will have to be on duty near the CSDPSs, so that they can return to their duties as soon as possible after voting.  
   
• Hospital Authority Healthcare Staff Designated Polling Station (HAHSDPS)
  The REO will set up a total of seven HAHSDPSs near the seven largest‑scale hospitals. This is to facilitate healthcare staff who will be on duty at the relevant hospitals on the polling day to cast their votes.
   
• Ethnic Minorities Designated Polling Station (EMDPS)
  The REO will set up two EMDPSs in the proximity of Wan Chai Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple and Kowloon Masjid respectively to facilitate the ethnic minority electors who will attend religious activities at these two venues on the polling day to cast their votes.

 
Outreach Polling Station for Residential Care Homes
 
     In addition, to facilitate residents in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) and residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs) to cast their votes of their own will in a familiar, safe and reassuring environment, the REO will set up Outreach Polling Stations for Residential Care Homes at premises where the residential care homes are situated. As a pilot arrangement, the REO will provide the relevant services to 11 RCHEs and four RCHDs, and will also make available the services to the staff of the said residential care homes to facilitate them to return to work after casting their votes.
 
     The arrangements of the abovementioned Designated Polling Stations and Outreach Polling Stations are the same as those of the Ordinary Polling Stations. To ensure impartiality, candidates and their appointed polling agents can apply to observe the polling process at the relevant polling stations on the polling day.
 
Near Boundary Polling Stations (NBPSs)
 
     Moreover, in view of the successful experience of the 2023 District Council Ordinary Election, apart from setting up NBPSs in Sheung Shui, the REO will also set up NBPSs at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Passenger Clearance Building and Hong Kong International Airport respectively in this election, so that electors who will travel to and from the Mainland and overseas, and those on duty at the two places on the polling day can cast their votes conveniently.
 
Registration
 
     Electors who wish to cast their votes at the NBPSs must register in advance to have their polling stations changed from the originally allocated polling station to the relevant NBPS. Registration details will be uploaded to the dedicated election website later.
 
     The pilot arrangements of the newly introduced Designated Polling Stations and Outreach Polling Stations are only applicable to specific groups of electors. The REO will liaise with the relevant bureaux, departments and groups for the related registration arrangements.
 
     Mr Justice Lok said, “As a new pilot arrangement, the EAC and the REO will ensure that all preparatory work will be proceeded smoothly and the relevant electoral arrangements can be conducted in an open, fair, honest as well as safe and orderly manner, and the polling arrangements will become even more user‑friendly. The EAC will conduct a review after the election on all electoral arrangements, including the newly introduced measures for this election. Findings and recommendations of the relevant review will be incorporated in the election report.”
 
Polling Hours
 
     Mr Justice Lok also announced at the press conference the arrangement of extending the polling hours. He said, “We have also received views recently calling for an adjustment of the polling hours, so as to cater for electors who may not be able to cast their votes during the existing 14-hour voting period due to reasons such as work or duty arrangements, or personal or family matters, or northbound travel plans on the day.”
 
     “After due consideration, we will extend the polling hours by starting an hour earlier at 7.30am and ending one hour later at 11.30pm, adding up to a total of 16 hours.”
 
     The previous polling hours (i.e. from 8.30am to 10.30pm) stated in the poll cards and relevant information prepared by the REO for sending out to all Hong Kong electors have been amended.  In light of the new polling hours, the REO will send another notice to all Hong Kong electors stating the new polling hours (i.e. from 7.30am to 11.30pm).

     “The Government attaches great importance to this LCGE. I thank the EAC and the REO in rolling out a series of new pilot arrangements, with a view to making the election more efficient, user‑friendly, and meeting the needs of the public”, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, said at the press conference.
 
     EAC members Professor Daniel Shek and Mr Bernard Man, SC, and the Chief Electoral Officer of the REO, Ms Natalie Chan, also attended the press conference today.
 
     Lastly, Mr Justice Lok again appealed to all electors to exercise their civic responsibilities and actively cast their votes on December 7 to create a better future for Hong Kong together.
 
     The names and addresses of all polling stations of the 2025 LCGE will be published in the Gazette next week.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

In view of the latest situation in Saudi Arabia, the Government today removed the amber outbound travel alert for Saudi Arabia as a whole, while maintaining an amber alert for Saudi Arabia’s border regions with Yemen only.

The Government said that it reviews the situation of the countries from time to time and makes corresponding adjustments to the outbound travel alert level.

The Security Bureau will also issue updates through the media, the bureau’s mobile app and the outbound travel alert webpage.

Hong Kong residents who need assistance when travelling outside Hong Kong can call the 24-hour hotline at (852) 1868, call the 1868 hotline using network data or use the 1868 Chatbot via the department’s mobile app.

They can also send a message to the 1868 WhatsApp assistance hotline or 1868 WeChat assistance hotline, or submit the online assistance request form.

Hong Kong residents are encouraged to use the online Registration of Outbound Travel Information service to register their contact details and itinerary when outside Hong Kong.

The information provided allows the Immigration Department to disseminate practical information to them through appropriate means when necessary.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) today issued a directive asking Permanent Secretaries and Department Heads to set up a dedicated polling day co-ordination and support centre in the departments under their purview on Legislative Council (LegCo) election day on December 7.

They are also instructed to make flexible deployments of additional manpower on polling day and take all possible measures to enable civil servants who are on duty on the day to cast their votes.

Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said ensuring the success of the eighth LegCo General Election is an important task for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, to which all government departments have a responsibility to give full support.

By flexibly deploying additional manpower to work on polling day and providing all possible facilitation measures for civil servants on duty, the Government can ensure a smooth and orderly operation of the city and smooth voting by citizens, she added.

Departments will deploy additional manpower in a flexible manner in accordance with the bureau’s direction and mobilise civil servants to render full support to the work on polling day, to ensure the city’s normal and orderly operation, prevent potential risks or incidents, and safeguard the smooth conduct of voting across all districts.

The departments will also ensure proper monitoring of the smooth operation of all public services, facilities, and key infrastructure.

Smooth communication and co-ordination channels at all levels within the department will be ascertained to enable “early planning and early intervention” to address unforeseen issues promptly and effectively.

The departments will also make sure there will be sufficient manpower support for swiftly assisting departments in need to cope with emergency situations as and when necessary; and for appealing to all sectors to cast their votes early.

The bureau noted that over 30,000 civil servants will work for the election at polling stations and counting stations on polling day. Disciplined services and units such as public markets, sports centres and libraries will up their staffing levels as needed.

They may also set up support and co-ordination service posts at public facilities to provide information to the public and encourage them to vote.

The bureau has instructed all departments to implement all possible measures to enable civil servants on duty to cast their votes.

Specifically, they should make arrangements to release civil servants scheduled to work on polling day to cast their votes in an orderly manner, to ensure sufficient replacements to maintain public services, to reimburse travelling expenses incurred by civil servants who vote during their duty hours; and arrange for departmental staff unions and volunteer teams to encourage and support colleagues in need to vote at designated polling stations.

The bureau has earlier established a dedicated task force to oversee and co-ordinate election-related publicity and mobilisation efforts for the civil service.

It has also directed the civil service leadership and their respective policy bureaus and departments to set up leading task forces to implement publicity and mobilisation initiatives.

Additionally, according to CSB guidelines, if civil servants, including staff union representatives, need to temporarily leave their work to attend officially organised events during working hours, they may apply to their respective departments. Departmental management will consider operational needs and grant approval where circumstances permit.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government reported that Hong Kong’s economy staged a robust performance in the third quarter of 2025, with real gross domestic product (GDP) rising 3.8% year-on-year.

Presenting the Third Quarter Economic Report 2025 at a press conference today, Acting Government Economist Cecilia Lam said the robust performance was driven by a continued surge in exports and sustained expansion in domestic demand. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis, real GDP rose 0.7% further in the third quarter.

Propelled by strong demand for electronic-related products and buoyant regional trade flows in Asia, total goods exports continued to grow markedly by 12.1% year-on-year in real terms in the third quarter. Exports of services also expanded notably by 6.3% in real terms over a year earlier, mainly supported by sustained increases in inbound tourism and cross-boundary traffic as well as vibrant cross-boundary financial service activities.

Domestically, private consumption expenditure picked up slightly in growth in the third quarter, rising further by 2.1% year-on-year in real terms, reflecting the continued recovery of the local consumption market.

Overall investment expenditure saw an accelerated increase of 4.3% in real terms over a year earlier, alongside the economic expansion and stabilisation in the residential property market. Flat prices showed a more visible pick-up and rentals remained solid.

The labour market softened in the third quarter. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.9% from 3.5% in the preceding quarter. 

The Hong Kong economy is expected to have further solid growth for the rest of 2025, Ms Lam said.

“Sustained moderate growth of the global economy in the near term, coupled with easing China-US trade tensions of late and persistent demand for electronic-related products should lend support to Hong Kong’s exports of goods.

“Continued increases in inbound tourism and vibrant financial market activities should provide further impetus to exports of services.

“Domestically, the renewed US interest rate cuts since September are conducive to asset market sentiment.

“Together with the gradual recovery in consumption confidence and steadfast improvement in business sentiment, these developments should help bolster consumption and investment activities.

“The Government’s various measures to develop the economy and diversify markets will also provide support.”

Taking into account the actual out-turn in the first three quarters of this year and the near-term outlook, Hong Kong’s real GDP growth forecast for 2025 as a whole has been revised up to 3.2% from 2% to 3% in the August round of review.

As for the inflation outlook, as domestic cost pressures remain contained and external price pressures are subdued, overall inflation should remain modest in the near term. The forecasts for underlying and headline consumer price inflation rates this year have been revised down to 1.2% and 1.5% respectively, from 1.5% and 1.8% in the August round of review.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     More than 300  building professionals, property management practitioners, academics, government officials and non-governmental representatives attended the Building Safety Symposium organised by the Buildings Department (BD) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (November 14). They explored innovative solutions to enhance building safety and advance the future development of the industry by delving into the application of innovative technologies in optimising building design, repair and maintenance, and construction site safety management.
        
     Speaking at the symposium, the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said that the use of new technologies to enhance building safety and efficiency is an inevitable trend. The Government is committed to promoting construction digitalisation, including plans to announce a revamped roadmap for Building Information Modelling (BIM) by the end of this year to progressively extend BIM application to private development projects of different scales.

     With regard to construction and site safety, Ms Linn said that the Government is actively promoting the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) method. The guidebook to facilitate cross-boundary trade of MiC modules has been released earlier, along with the implementation of MiC Manufacturer Accreditation Scheme, to encourage more MiC projects. The Government will conduct central procurement on a trial basis in the first half of next year, piloting in the procurement of commonly used materials including steel reinforcement and MiC modules, and will also launch a Project Cost Management Platform to establish a market price database. Moreover, the Government will continue to promote the wider adoption of the Smart Site Safety System (4S) in the industry. Over 550 public and private construction sites have been awarded the 4S label so far.      
     The Building Safety Symposium is the closing event of Building Safety Week 2025. The theme of this year’s symposium is “Digital Transformation for Safer Building Design, Construction and Maintenance”. In the symposium, a number of local experts spoke on the following topics:•   Digital Works Supervision System: Enhancing Safety and Quality through Smart Site Management;
•   Urban Renewal Authority in Building Rehabilitation – The Lighthouse in the Darkness;
•   Smart Governance: Digital Transformation for Building Control and Sustainability;
•   Embodied AI in Construction; and
•   Implementation of Advanced Technologies for Maintenance of Existing Buildings.