Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) conducted another community outreach session today (December 18) ahead of the Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform implementation on January 1 next year. HA representatives explained the implementation details to over 200 District Council members and their assistants, aiming to reach more citizens through the extensive community network of District Councils and make the reform arrangements clear to more citizens.
      
     The briefing on Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform was held at the Mong Kok Community Hall. The Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Libby Lee, said in her opening remarks, “The HA has been maintaining close communication with various sectors of the community to ensure citizens fully understand the reform arrangements. We understand that members of the public need time to comprehend and adapt to the new arrangements. Therefore, the HA has been strengthening community-level communication. This briefing session allows District Council representatives to further understand the reform details and clarify concerns, including details of the fees and charges, and enhanced measures to protect patients. We hope that District Council members, as an important bridge to the community, can help convey this information to help citizens understand the protection offered by the new measures.”
      
     Different HA representatives provided detailed explanations of the new fees and charges arrangements and important points for patients to note after implementation. These included patient journey matters for specialist outpatient clinics and family medicine clinics, non-emergency radiology services, pathology laboratory services, enhanced medical fee waiver mechanisms, the introduction of an annual spending cap of $10,000 for public healthcare fees and charges, and expanded safety nets. The briefing session was engaging, with questions from attendees and HA responses helping to enhance public understanding of the new arrangements. The HA hopes these exchanges will help address concerns about implementation details and assist citizens in utilising various support measures.
      
     Since the announcement of the Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform in March this year, the HA has continuously explained the details through various channels, including media briefings, district briefing sessions, patient exchange meetings, focus groups, and hospital workshops. These activities aim to gather public and patient feedback and strengthen understanding of the new fees and charges items and implementation arrangements, hoping for smoother implementation next year. The HA has also produced various educational materials, including promotional videos and information booklets, to help citizens understand the new healthcare protection measures.
      
     The public healthcare fees and charges reform aims to enhance protection for poor, acute, serious, critical patients; rationalise public hospital service subsidies; reduce waste and abuse; and improve the sustainability of the public healthcare system.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 18) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the Å»uromin District of the Mazowieckie Region in Poland, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 1 870 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Poland in the first nine months of this year.

     “The CFS has contacted the Polish authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) today (December 18) strongly disapproves and objects to the slanders and smears by the foreign ministers of the G7, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US), as well as the High Representative of the European Union, after the court of the HKSAR found Lai Chee-ying guilty of offences of endangering national security in strict accordance with the law and evidence.

     A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said, “Safeguarding national security is a top priority of every country. In accordance with international law and international relations based on the Charter of the United Nations, it is each and every sovereign state’s inherent right to enact laws safeguarding national security, and it is also an international practice. Acts and activities endangering national security could bring very serious consequences. Prompt actions must be taken to prevent and suppress such acts and activities effectively. No country will watch with folded arms and tolerate any of such acts and activities endangering national security without taking any action. The relevant countries have also enacted legislation to combat collusion with foreign forces, including the National Security Act 2023 by the UK, Foreign Agents Registration Act by the US, and the Countering Foreign Interference Act by Canada. In recent years, they have even intensified their crackdown, frequently labeling and charging individuals and organisations with legitimate dealings with China as ‘undertaking espionage activities’ yet charges are often dropped later on, or the defendants are found not guilty, due to insufficient evidence. It is ironic that these countries now try to whitewash Lai Chee-ying’s blatant collusion with foreign or external forces, and his begging for sanctions against China as well as the Hong Kong SAR, as ‘exercising freedom of speech and the press’. This clearly exposes the double standard of these countries. They showed no respect for the fact that charges had been laid against Lai Chee-ying and other defendants by the Department of Justice entirely based on evidence and public interest. There was no respect for the court of the HKSAR which had exercised judicial power independently and strictly on the basis of facts and evidence. They also refused to acknowledge the evidence set out in the reasons for verdict, and refused to understand the court’s considerations and rationale for the verdict. Instead, they wantonly vilified the HKSAR prosecutorial and judicial authorities’ discharge of their duties in accordance with the law as ‘undermining rights and freedoms’, and continued to unscrupulously distort the facts to criticise the HKSAR. What these countries have done in this case is a true reflection of their bullying behaviour all along, which is extremely ugly and despicable.”

Court’s conviction verdict was entirely free from any political considerations

     The spokesperson reiterated, “The court clearly pointed out in the reasons for verdict that Lai Chee-ying was not on trial for his political views or beliefs. The court’s reasons for verdict in this case are 855 pages long, which are fully open for public inspection, and include the court’s analysis of the relevant legal principles and evidence, as well as the reasons for convicting Lai Chee-ying and the three defendant companies in full detail.”

     The spokesperson stressed, “Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed and lawbreakers be held accountable. Article 5 of the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL) and section 2 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) clearly stipulate that the principle of the rule of law shall be adhered to in preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for offences endangering national security. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organisations should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special privilege to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law.”

The Lai Chee-ying case has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all
 
     The spokesperson said, “Some countries have conflated the criminal acts in this case with freedom of the press, and have even played up different cases to vilify the HKSAR, with the purpose of misleading the public and defaming the HKSAR’s human rights and rule of law. In fact, the case Lai Chee-ying has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all. Over the years, the defendants have used journalism as a guise to commit acts that brought harm to our country and Hong Kong. The public trial of this case has revealed Lai Chee-ying’s close management and hands-on control of the editorial direction of Apple Daily, and one of the senior managers even said they were free within a ‘bird cage’. Meanwhile, Lai Chee-ying had repeatedly and personally colluded with foreign forces, begging for sanctions and hostile actions against the Central Authorities and the HKSAR Government.

     “Hong Kong citizens enjoy freedom of the press and freedom of speech as protected under the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. In fact, the HKNSL and the SNSO clearly stipulate that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security. The rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of the press, of speech and of publication, enjoyed by Hong Kong people under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to the HKSAR, are protected in accordance with the law. Like all other places in the world, journalists, just like all other citizens, have an obligation to abide by all the laws. According to the principles established by Article 19 of the ICCPR, the European Convention on Human Rights and relevant jurisprudence, when the media and journalists publish opinions, information and articles, they must observe and discharge ‘special duties and responsibilities’, including protection of national security and public order; journalists must, in accordance with the tenets of ‘responsible journalism’, act in good faith on accurate factual basis and provide reliable and precise information, so as to be entitled to the protection of freedom of speech and press freedom.”

     The spokesman reiterated, “The human rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents are firmly protected by the Constitution and the Basic Law. Any foreign or external forces attempting to discredit Hong Kong through the conviction verdict in Lai Chee-ying’s case will only expose their own weakness and faulty arguments and will never succeed. The HKSAR Government strongly demands that the relevant countries immediately cease actions that violate international law and the fundamental principles of international relations, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are purely China’s internal matters. The HKSAR Government will continue to steadfastly perform its duties and safeguard national security.”

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

As of this morning, a total of 620 residents affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po are staying in hotel rooms through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, and 552 residents are staying in youth hostels/camps. Another 3,457 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau, units from the Housing Society or Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun.

Currently, there is still an abundant supply of more than 1,000 units that can provide affected residents with longer term accommodation. The transitional housing and the Housing Society projects in different districts can altogether provide around 400 units at the moment.

Additionally, Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun and Runway 1331 at Kai Tak can provide a supply of around 900 units.

To provide residents in need with more choice, Housing Bureau swiftly made ready the units at Po Tin Interim Housing, which has lifts, for occupancy. During the process, corporate volunteer teams arrived on-site to assist with the flooring installation, making the units habitable within a short period of time. Colleagues from various divisions of the Housing Bureau and the Housing Department also dedicated their efforts, actively liaising with various donor organisations to furnish the units with essential daily supplies.

As of noon today, donations received by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had reached about $3.5 billion. Combined with the $300 million in startup capital from the Government, this takes the fund to a total of around $3.8 billion.

The Government announced today the launch of two new measures under the support fund to render assistance to residents affected by the fire. They are to provide affected flat owners with an annual rental grant of $150,000 to be provided for two years and a one-off relocation grant of $50,000; as well as to provide affected tenants with a one-off relocation grant of $50,000.

On the Government’s online platform for donated supplies, about 1,900 registrations have been received, with approximately 30% submitted by organisations. Over 28,000 donation items, covering various categories, have been distributed.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

In response to media enquiries about the publication by Amnesty International, an anti-China organisation, of its so-called research on the situation of persons in custody (PICs) in Hong Kong earlier, the Correctional Services Department today strongly condemned the content of the so-called research as fact-twisting as well as baseless.

The department pointed out that the research is intended to smear the legitimate custodial management it carried out in accordance with the law by citing different lies told by anti-China fugitives, who had breached supervision orders and had absconded from Hong Kong to engage in acts and activities endangering national security.

The department also criticised this anti-China organisation for not including in full the written response from the department earlier in its so-called research, with a view to presenting a distorted picture with ill intentions.

Amnesty International is an anti-China organisation under the guise of an organisation purportedly safeguarding human rights. In the past, Amnesty International smeared the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government through fabrication by falsely claiming that a Uyghur student had gone missing in Hong Kong and attributing the incident to the Hong Kong SAR Government.

In fact, the person concerned had never entered Hong Kong nor been denied entry into Hong Kong. This shows that it is the usual and despicable tactic of this anti-China organisation to disseminate false information to smear the Hong Kong SAR Government. The department must refute its false accusations one by one in order to set the record straight.

Contrary to the claims made by Amnesty International, the department is committed to ensuring a secure, safe, humane, decent and healthy custodial environment and providing appropriate rehabilitation programmes to PICs to help them turn a new leaf with dignity.

Its allegations of conditions prevalent within correctional institutions, such as physical violence, extremely high temperatures and poor ventilation inside the institutions in summer, solitary confinement and unsanitary conditions, are wholly unfounded.

The department takes a zero tolerance approach on physical abuse. As provided by the Prison Rules, any department officer who, without necessity, uses force in dealing with prisoners or uses undue force, violates discipline and may also be criminally liable in such circumstances.

To cope with hot weather conditions, the department has taken extensive measures, including the installation of anti-suicide safety fans and industrial fans, the progressive replacement of ventilation systems, and the installation of new gates and windows with improved ventilation efficiency. The department has also conducted trials of heat-insulating coatings on buildings and providing hand fans and cooling towels to PICs.

Regarding association arrangements, the Prison Rules empowers the department to remove a PIC from association with other PICs for purposes such as safeguarding the interests or personal safety of the PICs. Where the removal from association is initiated at the request of a PIC, the PIC may request to resume association at any time.

On sanitation and hygienic condition, daily inspection are conducted to ensure cleanliness of the correctional institutions and frequent examinations are conducted by the institutional medical officers for purposes of cleanliness and sanitation. Besides, the management of correctional institutions regularly arranges for comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of the institutions, and arranges outside contractors to carry out pest control and rodent eradication work.

The department has put in place mechanisms, including regular visits from Justices of the Peace, who inspect the prisons to ensure the rights of PICs are protected. PICs who feel aggrieved by any treatment they received could lodge a complaint through various channels within and outside the department, eg the Ombudsman.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today said it strongly disapproves of and objects to the slanders and smears by the G7 foreign ministers as well as the European Union High Representative, after the court found Lai Chee-ying guilty of offences of endangering national security in strict accordance with the law and evidence.

The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

The Government pointed out that safeguarding national security is a top priority of every country. In accordance with international law and international relations based on the Charter of the United Nations, it is each and every sovereign state’s inherent right to enact laws safeguarding national security, and is also an international practice.

Acts and activities endangering national security could bring very serious consequences. Prompt action must be taken to prevent and suppress such acts and activities effectively. No country will watch with folded arms and tolerate any of such acts and activities endangering national security without taking any action.

The relevant countries have also enacted legislation to combat collusion with foreign forces, including the National Security Act 2023 by the UK, Foreign Agents Registration Act by the US, and the Countering Foreign Interference Act by Canada. In recent years, they have even intensified their crackdown, frequently labeling and charging individuals and organisations with legitimate dealings with China as “undertaking espionage activities” yet charges are often dropped later on, or the defendants are found not guilty, due to insufficient evidence. It is ironic that these countries now try to whitewash Lai Chee-ying’s blatant collusion with foreign or external forces, and his begging for sanctions against China as well as the Hong Kong SAR, as “exercising freedom of speech and the press”. This clearly exposes the double standard of these countries.

The Government noted that they showed no respect for the fact that charges had been laid against Lai Chee-ying and other defendants by the Department of Justice entirely based on evidence and public interest. There was no respect for the court of the Hong Kong SAR which had exercised judicial power independently and strictly on the basis of facts and evidence.

It added that they also refused to acknowledge the evidence set out in the reasons for verdict, and refused to understand the court’s considerations and rationale for the verdict. Instead, they wantonly vilified the Hong Kong SAR prosecutorial and judicial authorities’ discharge of their duties in accordance with the law as “undermining rights and freedoms”, and continued to unscrupulously distort the facts to criticise the Hong Kong SAR. What these countries have done in this case is a true reflection of their bullying behaviour all along, which is extremely ugly and despicable.

The Government reiterated that the court clearly pointed out in the reasons for verdict that Lai Chee-ying was not on trial for his political views or beliefs.

The court’s reasons for verdict in this case are 855 pages long, which are fully open for public inspection, and include the court’s analysis of the relevant legal principles and evidence, as well as the reasons for convicting Lai Chee-ying and the three defendant companies in full detail.

The Government said that some countries have conflated the criminal acts in this case with freedom of the press, and have even played up different cases to vilify the Hong Kong SAR, with the purpose of misleading the public and defaming the Hong Kong SAR’s human rights and rule of law.

In fact, Lai Chee-ying’s case has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all. Over the years, the defendants have used journalism as a guise to commit acts that brought harm to our country and Hong Kong.

The public trial of this case has revealed Lai Chee-ying’s close management and hands-on control of the editorial direction of Apple Daily, and one of the senior managers even said they were free within a “bird cage”.

Meanwhile, Lai Chee-ying had repeatedly and personally colluded with foreign forces, begging for sanctions and hostile actions against the central authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Hong Kong citizens enjoy freedom of the press and freedom of speech as protected under the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. In fact, the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly stipulate that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security.

The rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of the press, of speech and of publication, enjoyed by Hong Kong people under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights as applied to the Hong Kong SAR, are protected in accordance with the law.

Like all other places in the world, journalists, just like all other citizens, have an obligation to abide by all the laws.

According to the principles established by Article 19 of the ICCPR, the European Convention on Human Rights and relevant jurisprudence, when the media and journalists publish opinions, information and articles, they must observe and discharge “special duties and responsibilities”, including protection of national security and public order; journalists must, in accordance with the tenets of “responsible journalism“, act in good faith on accurate factual basis and provide reliable and precise information, so as to be entitled to the protection of freedom of speech and press freedom.

The Government stressed that the human rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents are firmly protected by the Constitution and the Basic Law. Any foreign or external forces attempting to discredit Hong Kong through the conviction verdict in Lai Chee-ying’s case will only expose their own weakness and faulty arguments and will never succeed.

It further stated that it will continue to steadfastly perform its duties and safeguard national security.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Transport Department said today that it will implement the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (STGV) in an orderly manner and various measures are ready to receive Guangdong vehicles entering Hong Kong’s urban areas from December 23.

Starting from 0.00am on December 23, approved Guangdong vehicles with confirmed travel bookings may enter Hong Kong’s urban areas via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) for up to three days per visit.

The department noted that the application response is positive. It will issue electronic permits and approval letters to the successful applicants accordingly.

It has arranged vehicle inspection centres to install the HKeToll vehicle tags for vehicles during inspection, and applicants are required to set up auto-payment means or top up their HKeToll accounts for toll payments.

Regarding vehicle and road safety, all Guangdong vehicles entering Hong Kong’s urban areas are required to undergo and pass a vehicle examination in accordance with Hong Kong requirements at the department’s designated vehicle inspection centres on the Mainland. The department has provided training to inspection personnel to ensure consistency in inspection standards.

The department has also released videos on driving in Hong Kong at inspection centres and on social media to introduce Hong Kong’s traffic rules, traffic signs and road markings, and points to note while driving.

In addition, HKeMobility launched the STGV dedicated page with new functions today to display, via a map-based interface, carparks with enhanced facilities supporting charging for Mainland electric vehicles and Mainland payment means.

To help ensure road safety and effective diversion, the department has liaised with operators of common navigation apps used by Mainland drivers and noted that they will update their Hong Kong maps with reference to HKeMobility and the transport and traffic data from the Government’s Open Data Portal to provide the latest information on parking and charging facilities.

The department will release information on carparks to provide convenience for Guangdong drivers in locating public and private carparks with enhanced supporting facilities across districts.

Furthermore, the department has commissioned an operator to set up the Lantau Charging Station and STGV Information Centre, providing convenient charging services for Guangdong electric vehicles entering the urban areas via the HZMB Hong Kong Port or before returning to Guangdong, along with the latest information on the STGV.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Housing Authority today said it will start inviting applications for the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Flats 2025, the Sale of Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) Flats 2025 and the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) 2025 together in the second quarter of 2026.

The HOS 2025 and the GSH 2025 offer a total of over 9,700 new flats, while the WSM 2025 offers 7,000 quotas.

Flats for sale under the HOS 2025 include a total of over 8,300 flats in five new HOS developments in Kai Tak, Kam Tin, Tseung Kwan O, Ping Shan, and Tung Chung, with saleable areas ranging from about 26.1 sq m to about 52 sq m. Larger flats, with saleable areas ranging from about 41.2 sq m to about 52 sq m, will account for about a quarter of the total number of flats.

Flats for sale under the GSH 2025 include over 1,400 new flats from a new GSH development in Kowloon Bay, with saleable areas ranging from about 26 sq m to about 43.6 sq m. Larger flats, with saleable areas ranging from about 41.5 sq m to about 43.6 sq m, will account for about a quarter of the total number of flats.

Moreover, a new batch of recovered Tenants Purchase Scheme flats will also be offered for sale under the GSH 2025.

The selling prices of flats in the five new HOS developments range from about $1.5 million to about $4.8 million, a 30% discount from the assessed market values.

The selling prices of flats in the new GSH development range from about $1.68 million to about $3.54 million, a 40% discount from the assessed market values.

The authority has also reviewed the White Form income and asset limits with reference to the existing mechanism.

For White Form family applicants of the HOS 2025 and the WSM 2025, the income limit will be maintained at the same level of $60,000 per month as the HOS 2024 and the WSM 2024.

While the asset limit for White Form applicants should be slightly adjusted downwards to $1,220,000 according to the existing mechanism, the authority considers that it would be appropriate to provide applicants with a buffer and maintain the asset limits for WF family applicants and one-person applicants at the same level of $1,230,000 and $615,000 respectively as the HOS 2024 and the WSM 2024.

Regarding long‑term accommodation support for those affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the authority noted that the Government will conduct a comprehensive collection of residents’ views, carry out an analysis and formulate long‑term plans to help the affected families rebuild their homes.

The authority said it will exercise the utmost flexibility and will fully and proactively support the Government in taking forward the relevant initiatives.