Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Cho-kwong and a reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):

Question:   
President,      
     To enable sustained learning of Chinese culture among the public, the CCPO has set up a dedicated website and social media platforms to pool together online resources relating to Chinese culture from various museums, along with accessible short videos covering Chinese literature, history, philosophy, music, art, folklore and intangible cultural heritage, etc. The videos introduced, for example, Tang poetry, classical Chinese texts and ancient thinkers in an “edutainment” format with a view to transforming traditional cultural content into learning resources that are easier for the public to comprehend and absorb. To date, the short videos have nearly 800 000 cumulative views, providing a sustained learning resource for both the public and schools. To deepen public understanding of the Lingnan culture, the CCPO conducts on-campus lectures and workshops using resources from local and Guangzhou museums, and integrates the Lingnan music activities into school music lessons. Additionally, the “Chinese Culture in Hong Kong Gardens” series guides the public through the Lingnan Garden within Lai Chi Kok Park, offering an immersive experience of Qing-era Lingnan architecture and landscape design.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Inter-departmental Task Force on Monitoring Fuel Supply today (May 27) announced that the Government will provide a fuel subsidy of HK$0.5 per litre of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for taxis, public light buses and school private light buses starting from 0.00am on May 31 (Sunday). The temporary measure will last for two months until 11.59pm on July 30 (Thursday).

A Government spokesman said that the temporary measure aims to alleviate the operating costs of local passenger transport commercial vehicles which primarily use LPG as fuel (namely taxis, public light buses and school private light buses (commonly known as nanny vans)), and reduce the pressure for fare increases. It is expected that about 16 900 LPG (including LPG-hybrid) taxis, about 3 440 LPG public light buses (including green minibuses and red minibuses), and about 170 LPG school private light buses would benefit from the fuel subsidy.

To provide the LPG subsidy in a simple and direct manner, oil companies will offer a discount of HK$0.5 per litre of LPG at all 66 LPG filling stations across the territory (including 12 dedicated LPG stations) for all LPG (including LPG-hybrid) taxis, public light buses and school private light buses. No registration or application is required. In order to ensure proper use of public funds, the Government has signed agreements with six oil companies (namely Sinopec, ExxonMobil, Shell, PetroChina, Chevron (Caltex), and Feoso), under which responsibilities and terms have been set out on the arrangements of implementing the LPG subsidy. These arrangements include the Government’s reimbursement to designated oil companies for the actual amount of subsidies provided; the requirement for these oil companies to maintain complete and accurate books and records; the requirement to submit reports to the Government every week, as well as the auditing arrangements upon the completion of the subsidy period. The Transport Department (TD) has steered the oil companies in completing the necessary system enhancements and testing to ensure smooth implementation.

The TD will conduct publicity from today onwards, including displaying posters at LPG filling stations and TD licensing offices. Leaflets will be distributed at major taxi stands, public light bus stands and all dedicated LPG stations across the territory to inform frontline drivers of the subsidy details. Details of the LPG subsidy will also be published on the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk), the HKeMobility mobile app, and notifications issued by the TD to the relevant trades.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by the Hon Grace Chan and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):
 
Question:
 
     In recent years, “venture philanthropy” and impact investing have gradually emerged as new forms of philanthropic and social investments, and last year’s Policy Address also proposed to encourage family offices to implement projects that benefited the disadvantaged groups. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) apart from tax deductions for charitable donations, whether the Government will consider providing tax concessions for enterprises or family offices that engage in philanthropy in other forms (e.g. venture philanthropy, investment in social enterprises or impact investing); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) apart from the “Co-build a Caring Society Funding Scheme” proposed in last year’s Policy Address, of the specific measures put in place by the Government to promote engagement in philanthropy by family offices and assist them in connecting with local charitable institutions; if it has not formulated or has no plan to introduce relevant measures, of the reasons for that; and
 
(3) as there are views that issues on “environmental, social and governance” are gaining increasing attention from the business sector, whether the Government will step up efforts to promote diversified philanthropic models relating to social services, such as impact investing and venture philanthropy, as well as relevant talent training; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     There is no standardised definition in society for “venture philanthropy” and impact investing. According to a relevant research report by the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) in 2024, impact investing is a form of sustainable investing that integrates social and environmental good alongside investment returns as priorities, with a dual focus on financial return and impact being its key feature. To support the development of different philanthropic models, the Government has all along implemented a range of measures, including providing tax exemption to eligible charitable organisations, facilitating the deployment of charitable capital in Hong Kong through relevant tax arrangements, promoting multi-stakeholder collaboration to strengthen the social support system for vulnerable groups, supporting social entrepreneurs to address social needs through innovative solutions, etc, thereby strengthening social cohesion. Regarding the three parts of the question, in consultation with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Digital Policy Office, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL) under the FSDC, the reply is as follows.
 
(1) Under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) (IRO), charitable institutions are exempt from profits tax (i.e. tax-exempt charitable institutions) subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions in relation to the trade or business carried on by them. To qualify as a tax-exempt charitable institution, the object of the institution must be a solely charitable purpose at law, and the institution must be established for public benefit. To facilitate charitable institutions’ application for tax exemption pursuant to section 88 of the IRO, the IRD launched a standard application form and issued guidelines on the drafting of charitable objects in June 2023, so as to assist institutions in preparing compliant application materials, thereby shortening the time required by the IRD to process the applications. Charitable donations made by a taxpayer (including family offices (FOs), as well as companies which engage in “venture philanthropy” and impact investing) to any tax-exempt charitable institution (i.e. approved charitable donations) are deductible from the assessable profits under profits tax, net assessable income under salaries tax, or total income under personal assessment for a year of assessment, provided that the aggregate amount is not less than $100. The total deduction allowable in any year cannot exceed 35 per cent of the donor’s assessable profits or income.
 
     On the other hand, to facilitate the deployment of charitable capital in Hong Kong by global asset owners, FOs and philanthropists, the Government has introduced relevant tax arrangements, such as allowing exempt charitable organisations to hold up to 25 per cent beneficial interest in eligible single FOs and/or their family-owned investment holding vehicles (FIHVs) under the existing concessionary tax regime for FIHVs. The Government also proposes to broaden the definition of “fund” under the unified tax regime for funds to include endowment funds, so as to facilitate these funds to utilise the tax exemption regime.
 
(2) and (3) The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau issued the Policy Statement on Developing Family Office Businesses in Hong Kong in March 2023, setting out the policy stance and measures on developing a vibrant ecosystem for global FOs and asset owners. Among the measures is the HKAWL established under the FSDC, which provides a platform for collaboration, networking, knowledge sharing and talent development for asset owners, wealth inheritors and the FO sector. The HKAWL launched its flagship philanthropic initiative, Impact Link, in March 2024 and has since organised 17 workshops and seminars for over 700 family participants to encourage them to explore and develop philanthropic initiatives. In June 2025, the HKAWL further introduced the Impact Link Online Portal, a dedicated depository platform for invited family philanthropists to discover scalable impact investing initiatives in Hong Kong and other regions. As of end-March 2026, the portal has been joined by 55 family philanthropists, which altogether nominated 12 non-governmental organisations and charitable projects.
 
     On social welfare, the Government actively fosters tripartite collaboration among the Government, the business sector and the community. Under the policy guidance of the Government, the business sector offers support in terms of funding, premises, technology and talent, while non-governmental organisations contribute their strengths in frontline insights, service experience and district networks, jointly promoting and implementing service projects, and to work together to build a more diverse, pluralistic and sustainable social support system. Over the past few years, the Government has launched targeted poverty alleviation schemes under the above collaboration model, including the Strive and Rise Programme, the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room and the School-based After School Care Service Scheme. These projects have achieved remarkable results, reflecting an organic integration of “a capable government” and market forces, and have enabled philanthropic resources in society to generate greater benefits. The Government will continue to support vulnerable groups through the tripartite collaboration among the Government, the business sector and the community, including establishing a platform to encourage FOs involved in philanthropic endeavours to provide resources for implementing projects that benefit disadvantaged groups.
 
     In addition, the Government launched the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund) in 2013, aiming to connect different sectors of the community, including businesses, non-governmental organisations, academics, philanthropies, etc to address poverty and social exclusion as well as foster the well-being and cohesion of society through innovative solutions. The SIE Fund supports the entire life cycle of innovative ventures, from supporting idea incubation, providing seed funding for implementing prototype and start-up projects, to assisting their eventual scale-up. The ultimate goal is to foster the development of the social innovation ecosystem where social entrepreneurs can thrive and potential talents can be unleashed to develop innovative ideas, products and services that can effectively meet social needs. With a total allocation of $1 billion, around $800 million has been earmarked or allocated to take forward various initiatives since its establishment. The SIE Fund has funded 755 projects, benefitting around 600 000 people in need. To optimise the use of resources and operations, the SIE Fund has appointed a consultant to conduct a strategic review on its funding mechanism and operational approach. The review will be completed by end-2026.
 
     Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

A team of eight students representing Hong Kong achieved excellent results in the 26th Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO 2026), winning one gold medal, six bronze medals and one honourable mention.

The APhO aims to promote physics education as well as to nurture and inspire students who are exceptionally talented in physics. The APhO 2026 was held in Korea from May 17 to 25. Over 200 contestants from 27 countries or regions participated in the competition.

     Liu Lincoln (Sha Tin College) won one gold medal in the competition, and attained Best Performance in Theoretical Examination with a perfect score in the theoretical examination. The six bronze medallists were Chen Siguo (St Paul’s Co-educational College), Chin Ho-yee (Sing Yin Secondary School), Lee Ho-yin (St Joseph’s College), Kasper Liu (St Paul’s Co-educational College), Timothy Tian (St Paul’s Co-educational College) and Martin Tsoi (Queen’s College). In addition, Tsang Marcus (Ying Wa College) received an honourable mention.

The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (May 27) on their outstanding achievements. “The Hong Kong team has achieved remarkable results in the APhO 2026, demonstrating the concerted efforts of various stakeholders in promoting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and gifted education.”

Dr Choi stressed, “The Education Bureau (EDB) places great emphasis on strengthening talent support for the development of science and innovation and technology (I&T). In alignment with the strategic goals of the National 15th Five-Year Plan to promote a high-quality education system and expand our talent pool, we are intensifying our efforts to advance digital education, as well as enhancing the nurturing of students studying science and mathematics at the senior secondary level to build a solid foundation for advanced scientific and I&T learning. Moreover, we have continued to support schools in making effective use of their student talent pool to discover students’ potential and demonstrate their strengths, thereby nurturing I&T talent with a global perspective and an innovative spirit for Hong Kong and our country.”

EDB has consistently been committed to promoting the implementation of gifted education in schools and continues to support the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) in taking forward more and wider student activities for gifted students, including arranging for gifted students to participate in territory-wide, cross-territory, national and international competitions.

Members of the Hong Kong team had earlier distinguished themselves in last year’s Hong Kong Physics Olympiad, and subsequently received training under the enrichment programme arranged by HKAGE. The outstanding students in the programme were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the APhO this year. The Hong Kong team’s participation in the competition was fully funded by the EDB.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​Following is a question by the Hon Ginny Man and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):

Question:

Quite a number of post-secondary institutions and self-financing subsidiary institutions are offering various short-term studies at present. Under the existing requirements, Chinese residents of the Mainland, Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan (non-local students) taking up full-time local short-term studies may apply to the Immigration Department (ImmD) for a visa to study in Hong Kong (student visa). If the short-term studies to which a non-local student is admitted is not a full-time programme, he/she does not meet the conditions for applying a student visa. Individuals coming to Hong Kong on a visit visa are not allowed to study in any educational institutions in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of student visa applications and requests for assistance received by the ImmD in each of the past three years;

(2) whether the ImmD has established a discretionary mechanism for processing student visa applications from non-local students; if so, of the relevant numbers in each of the past three years;

(3) as it is required that the short-term studies to be taken up by student visa applicants must be a full-time programme, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the relevant requirement to include part-time short-term studies; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) as it is required that the full-time short-term studies to be taken up by non-local students must be offered by Hong Kong higher education institutions with degree-awarding powers (excluding their continuing and professional education arms), whether the authorities will consider relaxing the relevant requirement; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

According to the prevailing entry arrangements for study, non-local persons (except Chinese residents of the Chinese Mainland, Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) (Note 1) and Taiwan) may enter Hong Kong to take up studies in a full-time locally accredited post-secondary programme (including short-term courses). Insofar as Chinese residents of the Chinese Mainland, Macao SAR and Taiwan are concerned, they may also take up full-time short-term programme, but the programmes concerned must be offered by higher education institutions in Hong Kong with degree-awarding powers (excluding their continuing and professional education arms), and the cumulative duration of short-term studies should not exceed 180 days within any 12-month period.

Regarding visa arrangements, student visas/ entry permits are generally only issued to non-local persons studying full-time programmes or part-time locally accredited taught postgraduate local programmes. If the course is a short-term course covered by the prevailing entry arrangements for study, it must also be under a full-time arrangement.

In consultation with the Security Bureau and the Immigration Department (ImmD), our reply to the question raised by the Hon Ginny Man is as follows.

(1) and (2) For non-local persons (including Chinese residents of the Chinese Mainland, Macao SAR and Taiwan) entering Hong Kong for study, in the past three years, the ImmD had received a total of 233 563 applications for student visa/ entry permit, of which 231 062 were approved. Relevant figures are tabulated below:
 

	2023	2024	2025
Number of applications received	62 852	75 213	95 498
Number of applications approved (Note 2)	62 079	74 466	94 517

The ImmD would consider special situation of individual applicants on a case-by-case basis. The ImmD does not maintain the breakdown of other statistics mentioned in the question.

(3) As regards short-term courses, at present, the Government will only issue student visa/ entry permit to non-local person who has enrolled in full-time programme, considering that there are considerable differences among various part-time short-term courses in terms of teaching modes, hours of study, etc, which render it difficult to ensure non-local person issued with student visa/ entry permit will not misuse the visa to come to Hong Kong for non-study purposes. The Government has no plan to relax the requirements of student visa/ entry permit to cover part-time short-term courses.

(4) The Education Bureau will continue to maintain close liaison with relevant Chinese Mainland authorities with a view to exploring further enhancement of the entry arrangements to Hong Kong as appropriate.

Note 1: Including former Mainland Chinese residents in Macao SAR who were not settled there on or before January 14, 1979.

Note 2: Applications approved may not necessarily be those received in the same year.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​Following is a question by the Hon Chu Lap-wai and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):

Question:

Regarding the Chief Executive’s proposal in the 2025 Policy Address to develop the yacht economy and to discuss with the Guangdong Provincial Government measures to facilitate Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the specific progress made by the Government over the past year in co-ordinating with the Guangdong Provincial Government on the implementation plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel; and the timetable for signing the “Work Arrangement for Entry and Exit of Hong Kong Yachts into Guangdong” with Guangdong Province;

(2) of the control points in Hong Kong to be designated to interface with the first batch of six immigration checkpoints for yachts in Guangdong Province; and the functions and division of roles of the existing and future new yacht berths in Hong Kong in individual yacht travel within the Greater Bay Area; and

(3) given that Guangdong Province is striving to establish a complete yacht industry chain integrating research and development, design, production and manufacturing as well as repair and maintenance by 2027, and that repair costs in the Mainland are relatively low, there has been a growing trend in Hong Kong for yachts to go north for repairs, how the Government will secure a differentiated position for Hong Kong in the yacht industry chain of the Greater Bay Area, in particular whether it will further extend the scope of individual yacht travel to include international yachts transiting through Hong Kong, so as to give full play to Hong Kong’s strengths as a free port and international hub, and further promote it to become Asia’s yacht hub?

Reply:

President,

Overseas yachts have always enjoyed the freedom to visit Hong Kong. Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have been committed to promoting individual yacht travel. To this end, the Marine Department (MD), the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration (GDMSA), and the Macao Marine and Water Bureau have established the tripartite Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel working group (the working group). The working group is tasked with discussing facilitation measures for the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and southbound travel for yachts from the Chinese Mainland.

In consultation with the Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Development Bureau, our reply to the question raised by the Hon Chu Lap-wai is as follows:

 (1) Following the first meeting of the working group in April 2025, the MD and the GDMSA have conducted multiple meetings to actively discuss and draft the work arrangements for the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong, including vessel safety requirements, qualifications of applicants and masters, and system arrangements.

Concurrently, building upon this co-operation mechanism, the MD has also been co-ordinating with the GDMSA on the arrangement for southbound travel for yachts from the Chinese Mainland. The relevant work arrangements require consultation with government departments from both sides, and the details will be announced in due course once finalised.

 (2) According to the requirements of the Guangdong Province, Hong Kong yachts entering or leaving Guangdong waters must pass through designated ports. Since the 1980s, yachts visiting Hong Kong have no longer been required to go through designated ports or anchorages for immigration clearance and examination. The master of a visiting yacht or the representative (acting as the person-in-charge of the passengers and crew members on board) only needs to present the relevant travel documents and necessary documents at the Port Control Section of the ImmD at the Central Government Pier within 24 hours after entering Hong Kong waters (meaning the yacht could first sail directly to its destination) and within 24 hours prior to leaving Hong Kong waters to complete immigration examinations. During this period, passengers and crew members are not required to remain on board. This arrangement will continue to be applicable for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel.

In addition, the owner or master (or their agent) of a visiting yacht must submit a “Pre-arrival Notification” to the MD via the Electronic Business System, email or fax 24 hours prior to arrival to apply for permission for the vessel to enter Hong Kong waters, and must report the vessel’s arrival at any Marine Office within 24 hours after arrival. For departure, they only need to apply for a port clearance within 72 hours prior to leaving, without the need to go through designated ports for clearance procedures.

In 2016, the ImmD further relaxed the conditions of stay for crew members of visiting yachts. Nationals of visa-free countries or residents of Macao may be permitted to remain in Hong Kong for a period up to 90 days or until the yacht concerned departs Hong Kong, whichever is earlier, subject to the normal immigration requirements being met. With the enhancement of the Electronic Business System of the MD nearing completion by June this year, visiting yachts will be able to submit crew and passenger information via a one-stop online platform by then for the ImmD to pre-screen such information, thereby streamlining the procedures.

Apart from setting up five designated anchorage areas for visiting yachts, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is pro-actively pressing ahead the development of yacht berthing facilities projects including the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter expansion area, the ex-Lamma Quarry area and the Hung Hom station waterfront. The Airport Authority Hong Kong is also attracting investment for the Airport City development plan “SKYTOPIA” to develop Hong Kong’s largest Airport Yacht Bay, which could provide over 500 berths in order to attract yachts including superyachts to visit Hong Kong.

(3) In addition to the above immigration facilitation measures, the Government has announced a series of facilitation measures in the 2025 Policy Address, which the MD will roll out in June this year, including:

(i) relaxing the requirements for visiting yachts and developing a Dynamic Yacht Monitoring System, allowing visiting yachts to navigate and anchor at designated waters, without having to reserve berths at privately-operated yacht clubs or piers;

(ii) enhancing the Electronic Business System to allow visiting yachts to submit information in advance; and

(iii) authorising relevant Chinese Mainland organisations to conduct examinations for yacht masters from the Chinese Mainland, and offer short-term training courses to facilitate them to obtain qualifications for navigation in Hong Kong waters.

We believe that the above facilitation measures could attract yachts not only from the Greater Bay Area, but also from around the world to visit Hong Kong, thereby creating new opportunities for the local yacht economy and related ancillary industries. As a port city, Hong Kong has always welcomed all types of international merchant vessels and yachts. As for the arrangement to transit through Hong Kong to Chinese Mainland ports, it requires approval from the relevant Chinse Mainland authorities. We will explore with the Chinese Mainland authorities on the relevant mechanism.

Preparations between Guangdong and Hong Kong for the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and southbound travel for yachts from the Chinese Mainland initiatives are making positive progress. The Government will continuously review and refine these facilitation measures, whilst maintaining close co-operation with relevant Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong authorities, in order to foster a healthy, sustainable and competitive environment for the development of the local yacht economy.

Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by the Hon Chris Ip and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):
 
Question:
 
     Starting in 2024, the Government has rolled out two functions of the eHealth mobile application, namely “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder”, to enable citizens to securely use their electronic health records across the boundary at designated medical institutions outside Hong Kong, thereby enhancing continuity of care. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) since December 24, 2025, when the “Cross-boundary Health Record” function was expanded from being limited to elderly citizens eligible for health care vouchers to approximately 6.3 million eHealth users in Hong Kong, of the number of Hong Kong citizens who have applied for and used the “Cross-boundary Health Record” function each month;
 
(2) with the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 passed by the Legislative Council in July last year and came into effect on December 1 of the same year, the Commissioner for the Electronic Health Record is empowered to recognise individual healthcare providers and public health record systems outside Hong Kong, provided that data privacy and system security are sufficiently protected and specified requirements and conditions are duly complied with, of the progress and timeline for implementing the recognition arrangement; and
 
(3) as I have recently received a complaint alleging that a member of the public presented a test report issued by a designated medical institution outside Hong Kong to a local public hospital doctor for reference, and that it is understood that the public hospital doctor refused to accept the report, citing it as “incomprehensible”, and requested the complainant to schedule the same test again in Hong Kong; and as the Government stated in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on February 25, 2026 that it would further deepen cross-boundary medical record sharing through eHealth, whether the Government has any plans currently to optimise the existing practice, so that Hong Kong public hospitals will accept health examination reports issued by designated medical institutions outside Hong Kong, thereby avoiding the need for members of the public to undergo the same examinations repeatedly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
eHealth is a territory-wide electronic health record sharing system launched by the Government in 2016 that enables citizens to authorise healthcare providers (HCPs) in the public and private sectors to view and share their electronic health records (eHRs) for healthcare purposes. Building on the strengths of eHealth, the Government announced in the 2023 Policy Address the initiative to roll out a five-year development plan of eHealth+ to transform eHealth into a comprehensive healthcare information infrastructure that integrates multiple functions of data sharing, service delivery and care journey management. eHealth+ aims to facilitate care co-ordination, cross-sector collaboration, as well as active health management and surveillance, thereby better serving citizens in obtaining optimal healthcare services, and supporting the healthcare reform and various healthcare policies more effectively, such as primary healthcare and cross-boundary healthcare services. The Government is taking forward the eHealth+ development in phases in accordance with the patient-centric principle and four strategic directions, namely One Health Record, One Care Journey, One Digital Front Door to Empowering Tool, and One Health Data Repository.
 
To dovetail with cross-boundary healthcare collaborations, the Government has progressively launched the “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder” functions of the eHealth App at 20 medical institutions, including the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH) and medical institutions under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme since 2024. These two functions facilitate Hong Kong citizens to securely use their eHRs across the boundary under the principle of “bring your own health records”, thereby enhancing continuity of care. The “Cross-boundary Health Record” function enables eHealth users to apply for their eHRs deposited in eHealth over the preceding three years and to authorise the healthcare professionals of designated medical institutions outside Hong Kong to access the eHRs during consultations to assist with diagnosis and treatment. In addition, users may deposit the medical records obtained outside Hong Kong in their personal eHealth accounts via the “Personal Folder” function to facilitate centralised storage and usage, including allowing authorised HCPs in Hong Kong to access through eHealth during follow-up care.
 
In December 2025, the Government extended the “Cross-boundary Health Record” function, which was previously limited to eligible elderly recipients of the Elderly Health Care Vouchers (EHCVs), to all eHealth users in Hong Kong. Besides, the Government upgraded the “Personal Folder” function in January 2026. Before receiving radiology services at the three designated medical institutions outside Hong Kong (namely the HKU-SZH, Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, and Shenzhen New Frontier United Family Hospital), citizens may authorise them to directly deposit high-resolution radiology reports and images, which are often challenging for users to upload themselves, into their personal eHealth accounts.
 
The Government will continue to maintain close communication with the relevant Mainland authorities and medical institutions in expanding and deepening cross-boundary medical record sharing orderly through eHealth, with a view to supporting the cross-boundary healthcare needs of citizens more effectively as well as enhancing the quality and safety of cross-boundary medical services.
 
In consultation with the Hospital Authority (HA), the reply to the questions raised by the Hon Chris Ip is as follows:
 
(1) As at April 2026, over 32 500 citizens have used the “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder” functions of the eHealth App. Detailed statistics are as follows:
 

Function		Total number of users	Average number of users per month in the past three months (Note)
“Cross-boundary Health Record”		21 170	3 703
“Personal Folder”	Self-deposit health record	10 457	1 169
	Authorise designated medical institutions to deposit radiology reports and images	6 789	2 062

 
Note: In the past three months, an average of about 10 000 eligible elderly persons have used EHCVs per month across the 20 designated medical institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
(2) To more effectively support the five-year development plan of eHealth+, the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 (Amendment Ordinance) came into effect on December 1, 2025, expanding and enhancing the data collection, sharing, usage and protection mechanism of eHealth. Among other things, the Amendment Ordinance has introduced provisions that empower the Commissioner for the Electronic Health Record (eHRC) to recognise individual non-Hong Kong HCPs and public health record systems, subject to sufficient protection of data privacy and system security, as well as due compliance with specified requirements and conditions. If a citizen receives services from a recognised non-Hong Kong HCP, he/she may authorise that HCP to access his/her eHealth records and to deposit the post-consultation health records directly into his/her personal eHealth account.
 
The Government will progressively implement the recognition arrangements drawing on the experience gained from the above-mentioned eHealth cross-boundary functions, while dovetailing with various cross-boundary health collaboration initiatives and the cross-boundary healthcare needs of citizens. In particular, the Government will formulate a set of Code of Practice (COP) to prescribe the recognition arrangements and conditions, in accordance with the Amendment Ordinance, other relevant laws and regulations, as well as the Government Information Technology Security Policy and Guidelines promulgated by the Digital Policy Office. The COP will cover technical requirements, security and privacy standards, as well as supervisory and incident response mechanisms, with a view to effectively safeguarding the system security and data privacy of eHealth. The eHRC may suspend or revoke the relevant recognition of a non-Hong Kong HCP or public health record system in case the recognition conditions are contravened or the recognition may impair the security or compromise the integrity of eHealth.

To ensure that there are sufficient leverages in place for the eHRC to enforce the imposed conditions and the regulatory compliance in the relevant jurisdictions, the Government will, inter alia, enter into contracts or agreements with the recognised non-Hong Kong HCPs or public health record system operators to provide legal basis for the cross-boundary sharing and use of eHRs. This will ensure the legality of cross-boundary data transmission and safeguard the security of personal data.
 
(3) At present, after citizens have deposited medical records obtained outside Hong Kong in their personal eHealth accounts via the “Personal Folder” function, medical institutions in Hong Kong (including the HA) may, in accordance with the principles of “patient under care” and “need-to-know”, access the relevant records through eHealth with the citizens’ consent to assist in clinical diagnosis.
 
Generally speaking, when patients seek consultation at hospitals or clinics under the HA, doctors will provide appropriate treatment, arrange examinations or make referrals based on patients’ clinical condition and medical records. During the process, doctors will exercise their professional judgement to assess whether it is necessary to make reference to patients’ relevant eHealth records and any other medical information provided by patients, including diagnostic or medical reports issued by local or non-local healthcare institutions, so as to ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of their clinical decisions. Regardless of whether the report was issued by a local or non-local healthcare institution, a doctor may, after reviewing the relevant report and based on a variety of clinical reasons, still recommend that the patient undergo the same examination. For example, an imaging examination may require the use of different techniques (such as Computed Tomography volumetry or 3D reconstruction); a blood test (such as a tumour marker test) may need to be repeated for comparison purpose; and the results of an ultrasound examination may vary depending on the operator.
 
As at April 2026, Hong Kong healthcare institutions have accessed the health records deposited by citizens via the “Personal Folder” function over 4 500 times, of which around one-third were made by the HA. Besides, Hong Kong healthcare institutions have made more than 600 accesses of radiology reports deposited by designated GBA medical institutions authorised by citizens, of which more than 80 per cent were from the HA. The HA will step up its efforts to promote the effective use of the eHealth platform among frontline doctors, with a view to assisting them in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of patients’ conditions, thereby responding to patients’ health needs more effectively, while minimising unnecessary repeated examinations and reducing the cost of care.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, on the regulation of ride-hailing services at a media session today (May 27):
 
Reporter: First, how do you respond to the criticism from ride-hailing platforms that the 10 000 quota cannot meet market demand and is too conservative? Second, will you pledge to review the quota within the first few months upon the scheme’s launch and to issue additional licences if the service supply fails to meet market demand and maybe drives up the fare?
 
Secretary for Transport and Logistics: The proposed four sets of subsidiary legislation contain a lot of details regarding the various requirements under the proposed regulatory regime. Among all the key requirements, one is very important – once we have issued licences for platform operators in the future, we will impose a requirement for the operators to store the relevant operational data and share them with the Transport Department. I believe that our mechanism and review should be based on data and take into account the various operating indicators.
 
     At present, regarding the quota for the issuance of permits for ride-hailing vehicles, there have been a host of diversified views in the community for over a year or so. We have been taking a very careful, prudent and open-minded approach in listening to the various views and analysis provided. As a start, we would like to take a prudent and careful approach to ensure that our proposed regulatory regime will be achieved and implemented in a safe, smooth and progressive manner. Once we have issued licences to platform operators, we will immediately take into account and keep in view the various operating data available to us. I think this is a scientific, data-orientated mechanism and approach so that we can provide a very transparent, open-data analysis and assessment to the Legislative Council and the community, enabling us to take a progressive and forward-looking approach.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Pui-leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):

Question:

     It is prohibited under the existing legislation to sell and supply intoxicating liquor to persons under the age of 18 (minors) in the course of business. There are views pointing out that, given the growing popularity of online shopping, minors can easily circumvent the law to purchase liquor by sending private messages to sellers and arranging delivery through courier services. This may give rise to regulatory loopholes since some individual sellers operate online liquor trading businesses without business registration and age verification with buyers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the Inland Revenue Department has issued advisory letters to and instituted prosecutions against persons operating online liquor trading businesses without business registration in accordance with the requirements under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) over the past five years; if so, of the numbers concerned and the effectiveness thereof;

(2) given that in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on February 25 this year, the Government indicated that, over the past five years, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the Department of Health had carried out over 2 600 online inspections targeting online shopping platforms and issued more than 600 advisory letters to these platforms pursuant to Part 5 of the Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) Regulations (Cap. 109B), whether it involved repeated non-compliances among these cases; if so, of the numbers and percentages concerned; of the Government’s follow-up measures against online shopping platforms or holders of social media accounts not responding to advice repeatedly;

(3) given that it does not require a liquor licence for selling liquor online at present, whether TACO has established mechanisms to proactively monitor online trading platforms and online stores and investigate if reasonable steps have been taken for age verification with buyers when selling liquor; whether studies have been conducted on the use of big data or artificial intelligence systems to proactively monitor non-compliances involving liquor advertisements or suspicious transactions on social media and online platforms, with a view to stepping up efforts in combating illegal sale of liquor to minors; if so, of the effectiveness of these efforts; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) quite a number of countries have formulated strict regulations on online sale of liquor as an effort to protect youth health and regulate the supply of alcohol, for instance, Singapore mandates that individuals and commercial enterprises, including e-commerce platforms, are required to obtain a licence before supplying alcoholic beverages online or through telecommunications services and that these platforms should take the initiative to remove non-compliant products and be jointly and severally liable for non-compliances, whether the Government will make reference to the experience of other places and formulate relevant regulations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     According to the World Health Organization (WHO), harmful use of alcohol is a significant risk factor for more than 200 diseases, injuries and other health conditions. Harmful use of alcohol is associated with the risk of developing a range of health problems such as mental and behavioural disorders (including alcohol dependence), and major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (e.g. liver cirrhosis and certain cancers). In addition to health effects, harmful use of alcohol can place a heavy burden on individuals, families and the society. The WHO recommends that governments of various places should strengthen their responses to reduce alcohol-related harm for prevention and control of NCDs. Reducing alcohol-related harm is an important priority action area in the prevention and control of NCDs locally. In 2018, the Government promulgated the Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in Hong Kong (SAP). To this end, the Government adopts a multi-pronged approach, comprising publicity and education, law enforcement, and promotion of alcohol screening, and more. The Department of Health (DH) has been enforcing the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 (the Amendment Ordinance) since 2018 to further prevent youth access to alcohol. In response to the Hon Chan Pui-leung’s question, the reply after consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the DH is as follows:

(1) Any person who carries on a business in Hong Kong, regardless of whether through a brick-and-mortar presence or the internet, is required to apply for business registration under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310). If the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is aware that any person carrying on a business in Hong Kong has not applied for business registration, it would advise the relevant person to apply for business registration as soon as possible, and would consider initiating prosecution against the relevant person where necessary.

     As the IRD does not maintain statistics on cases involving issuance of advice, the relevant figures are not available. According to the IRD’s experience, most of those who received advice would apply for business registration promptly. In the past five years, the IRD did not institute prosecution in respect of businesses selling alcoholic products online without business registration.

(2) to (4) Through the Amendment Ordinance, the Government adds a new Part 5 and a Schedule to the Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) Regulations (Cap. 109B) (the Regulations). The Regulations aims to prevent minors from accessing and obtaining alcoholic beverages in order to protect the health of young people and have been in force since 2018. The Regulations prohibit any persons from selling or supplying intoxicating liquor to a minor in the course of business (including face-to-face and remote distribution). For remote distribution, the seller must display or broadcast the prescribed notice stating that, under the law of Hong Kong, intoxicating liquor must not be sold or supplied to minors in the course of business. The seller must also obtain an age declaration from the buyer confirming that he/she is 18 years of age or above prior to the sale or supply, and there must be no circumstances that would give the seller reasonable grounds to suspect that the declaration is false.

     Having drawn reference from the experience of other jurisdictions and striking a balance between protecting public health and the degree of regulation, the Regulations adopt a strategy that focuses on the regulation of the transaction, including making it an offence to complete each remote transaction without first receiving an age declaration. Compared with a licensing regime imposed on sellers, this approach enable the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the DH to directly investigate and take enforcement action against suspected illegal selling of liquor to minors, regardless of whether the seller holds a licence. This approach also covers covert sales.

     The TACO has established a mechanism to continuously and proactively engage with the trade, including online platforms, to provide guidelines which are respectively applicable to the sellers, the delivery staff employed by the sellers, and more. The guidelines sets out the reasonable steps when delivering the liquor, so as to assist the trade in understanding and complying with the relevant requirements. For example, where delivery services are required to complete the remote distribution order after the sale of liquor, the delivery staff who is employed by the company selling the alcoholic beverages have a legal obligation to verify that the recipient is 18 years of age or above before handing over the liquor.

     Between 2021 and 2025, the TACO conducted more than 2 600 online inspections and issued more than 600 advisory letters in response to cases where websites were found not to have properly implemented the requirements regarding the prescribed notice or age declaration. All relevant websites co-operated and took follow-up action after receiving the advisory letters, with no cases involving repeated disregard of the advice.

     The Government is also committed to leveraging technology to enhance enforcement efficiency at various levels. The TACO is exploring the use of big data or artificial intelligence technology to assist in online inspection work and will introduce appropriate tools in a timely manner in light of the development of relevant technologies.

     In addition, the TACO places great importance on public education to more effectively regulate the unlawful sale of alcoholic beverages to minors under the Regulations. The DH has launched the “Young and Alcohol Free” campaign since 2016, with the development of health education resources, Announcements in the Public Interest, and collaboration with groups and non-governmental organisations serving youth, to disseminate relevant messages. The latest round of the promotional campaign was launched in 2025 and was promoted through social media, residential building lobby TV display network, public transport, venues under the DH and other Government departments.

     Regular surveys conducted by the Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau collect information on alcohol drinking, smoking and drug use among young people. According to the Survey of Drug Use among Students, since the Amendment Ordinance took effect, the prevalence of ever drinking, 12-month drinking and 30-day drinking among youth shows a downward trend, meeting the relevant target as stated in the SAP, which aims to achieve a relative reduction of at least 10 per cent in the prevalence of drinking among youth from the 2011/12 level by 2025. The relevant figures are tabulated below: 
 

	Year 2011/12	Year 2023/24	Change
The prevalence of ever drinking among youth	56.0%	40.4%	-27.9%
The prevalence of 12-month drinking among youth	41.0%	27.9%	-32.0%
The prevalence of 30-day drinking among youth	18.4%	14.3%	-22.3%