Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ8: Promoting Hong Kong externally through holding international meeting
Question:
The Central Government has earlier on announced that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers’ Meeting 2026 will be held in Hong Kong in October this year. There are views that the international meeting is a major diplomatic and financial event drawing global attention, while providing Hong Kong with an opportunity for international promotion, telling the world good stories of our country, Hong Kong and Chinese culture. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
President,
China is the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2026 and is responsible for preparing for and chairing the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, as well as a series of ministerial and other meetings under the theme of “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together”. The Central People’s Government announced earlier that the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) will be hosted by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and will be held in Hong Kong under the arrangements and organisation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. The HKSAR Government will spare no effort in making comprehensive and meticulous preparations to support our country in successfully hosting APEC 2026. Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government will also seize this opportunity to deepen international exchanges and co-operation, further reinforcing and elevating Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre, thereby better integrating into and serving the overall national development.
The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to the relevant preparatory work. The Steering Committee on the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting 2026 preparatory work (Steering Committee), chaired by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, has convened its first meeting to review the preliminary preparatory work and discuss key follow-up tasks for the FMM with relevant policy bureaux, departments, and organisations. The Steering Committee, comprising senior representatives from 20 policy bureaux, departments, and organisations, oversees areas of work including meeting arrangements, transportation, security, publicity, cultural and arts activities, etc. The HKSAR Government will facilitate the successful hosting of the FMM in Hong Kong through close interdepartmental collaboration.
In response to the question raised by Dr the Hon Elvin Lee, our reply is as follows:
(1) With reference to past arrangements, the FMM will bring together finance ministers and senior finance officials of the 21 APEC member economies, as well as representatives of observing international organisations (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development Bank). We expect that around 500 visitors (including accompanying persons of delegates and visiting international journalists) will come to Hong Kong in mid-to-late October this year for the three-day FMM and related activities. We will make good use of this high-level international platform to actively showcase and promote Chinese culture to visitors from around the world, along with Hong Kong’s unique appeal and boundless opportunities as an international metropolis. This includes the thriving development of Hong Kong’s financial sector and its robust capabilities in organising meetings, conventions and exhibitions, and incentive travel activities.
(2) Finance ministers, senior finance officials, and representatives of international organisations participating in the FMM would typically need to attend multiple international conferences around the world, including the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group to be held in Bangkok in October this year. Given their tight schedules, the time they could spend in Hong Kong before and after the FMM will be limited. The HKSAR Government will leverage the FMM programme arrangements and incorporate elements of Chinese culture, as well as the unique characteristics of Hong Kong, into the venue set-up (including exhibition booths around the conference area) and the design of side events (including welcoming dinner, cultural performances, and site visits) to enable participants to experience and interact with these cultural elements firsthand, thereby effectively telling good stories of our country and Hong Kong.
(3) Hong Kong has long been recognised as an events capital for hosting major international conferences, and has extensive experience in managing media affairs and promotional activities for such events. The Steering Committee will formulate publicity and promotion strategies, with details to be announced in an opportune time after consulting the MoF.
Issued at HKT 12:45
NNNN
LCQ1: Enhancing fire safety education and promotion approach
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Question:
There are views that the Government may further enhance existing fire safety education, deepen the concept of “making preventive efforts to ensure fire safety”, and introduce virtual reality (VR) technology to assist members of the public in staying calm and making appropriate escape decisions and to enhance their self-protection ability in case of fire. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the numbers of fire safety talks, seminars, exhibitions and fire drills organised by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department (FSD) for community members and the total number of times fire safety advisory service was provided in the past three years;
(2) whether the FSD will consider further enhancing the fire safety education and promotion approach to step up the fire risk assessment and escape decision-making capabilities of the public, such as encouraging or requiring building management bodies (including owners’ corporations and property management companies) to participate in and organise practical training, regularly conducting evacuation simulation drills and on-site demonstration of fire suppression methods, and teaching residents how to make appropriate judgement and choose escape routes in case of fire based on the fire location, building structure and their own physical conditions, while at the same time stepping up the overall co-ordination and response capabilities of building households and property management personnel in case of fire; and
(3) whether the FSD will consider, in collaboration with the Education Bureau, designing and promoting activities that create an immersive sense of presence by re-creating fire scenarios with VR technology and require regular participation by schools, so as to heighten students’ crisis awareness through situated education and provide them with specialised training for fire escape?
President,
The Government attaches great importance to public fire safety education. In emergencies such as fires, whether members of the public can remain calm, make effective risk assessments and escape decision directly affects their safety. To this end, the Fire Services Department (FSD), apart from actively implementing a “community-based” public safety strategy, has also widely applied innovative technologies to enhance the interactivity and realism of education and training. The objective is to enable the public to acquire and practise emergency response skills in simulated yet safe situations, thereby strengthening the overall fire prevention awareness and self-rescue capabilities.
The reply to the question raised by the Member, in consultation with the Education Bureau (EDB), is as follows:
(1) The total number of fire safety talks and advisory services provided by the FSD to the community in the past three years is shown in the table below.
In addition, the FSD from time to time organises disaster prevention and emergency preparedness exhibitions, fire premises open days as well as district disaster and emergency preparedness carnivals. It also conducts fire drills with residential estates and schools, among others, to continuously strengthen community fire safety promotion.
(2) The FSD has been educating and cultivating public awareness of disaster risks through conventional mass media, digital and social platforms, community outreach, and collaboration with different organisations. At the same time, the FSD has actively strengthened district-level co-operation and encouraged direct public participation in training. It has also integrated innovative technologies into public education to further enhance the public’s capability to respond effectively in the event of a fire.
Strengthening district collaboration
To enhance district collaboration, the FSD established the “Fire Services Department Community Collaboration Network” (FSDCCN) in 2022. Members of the FSDCCN include Divisional Commanders of the FSD and chairpersons of the 18 District Fire Safety Committees under the Home Affairs Department. FSDCCN members hold regular meetings to jointly formulate targeted district fire safety strategies and organise district fire and disaster prevention publicity campaigns. For example, in 2025, over 3 000 sets of “three treasures for fire protection” (fire extinguishers, fire blankets, and stand-alone fire detectors) were distributed to the public through the FSDCCN. Information on fire prevention and emergency preparedness was also provided to residents to enhance their emergency readiness. It is expected that in 2026, 5 400 sets of “disaster and emergency preparedness kits,” with the addition of smoke hoods, will be distributed across all districts in Hong Kong through the FSDCCN to continue to strengthen district collaboration efforts.
Encouraging direct participation of the public in fire safety training
Since December 2024, the FSD has launched the “Community Emergency Responder Scheme” to provide members of the public with knowledge on basic fire prevention and emergency response. As of December 31, 2025, a total of 8 420 members of the public have become “Community Emergency Responders” upon completion of the training course. In 2026, the annual recruitment target for “Community Emergency Responders” will be increased to 10 000 members, with a view to expanding the community safety network.
To ensure that residents and managerial personnel in buildings are equipped with knowledge on fire prevention and emergency response, and are able to respond correctly and immediately during the incipient stage of fires, the FSD has specifically established the “Building Emergency Responders” which provides specialised training for property management personnel, representatives of owners’ corporations (OCs) and residents on building fire safety, such as the correct usage, management, and maintenance responsibilities of fire service installations and equipment, as well as key considerations when conducting fire inspections, etc. These “Building Emergency Responders” can assist in identifying potential fire safety hazards within housing estates, participate in fire safety inspections, and report risks to the FSD or property management companies.
Integrating innovative technologies into public education
The FSD has all along been actively leveraging innovative technologies for public education and publicity. As early as 2020, the FSD introduced an “Emergency Preparedness Education Bus”, which features a virtual reality game and an interactive firefighting simulation system. This allows participants to experience escaping from a fire scene, operating fire extinguishers, and using hose reels to put out a fire, etc, thereby learning the skills of “Extinguish and Prevent Fire”, “Self-help and Help Others” and “Escape and Evacuate” under the “Three Basic Skills on Emergency Preparedness”, and enhancing the participants’ self-help capabilities.
Budget Speech by the Financial Secretary (10)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Public Finance
251. During the pandemic, several rounds of large-scale counter-cyclical measures were launched to support enterprises and safeguard jobs. These measures, though successful in stabilising the economy and protecting people’s livelihood, have led to fiscal deficits in the past few years. The Budget last year introduced a reinforced fiscal consolidation programme, aiming at achieving fiscal balance through strictly containing the growth of government expenditure, suitably increasing revenue and consolidating the Government’s financial resources. In addition, the scale of bond issuance would be enlarged. Last year, we set the target of attaining surpluses in the Operating Account from 2026-27 onwards and the Consolidated Account in 2028-29 respectively.
LCQ12: Claims relating to minor traffic accidents
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ12: Claims relating to minor traffic accidents
Question:
The media have recently reported that quite a number of drivers who were only involved in minor traffic accidents, or even accidents where their vehicles did not collide with any other vehicles, have been pursued by other road users through lawyers for substantial compensation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it has been reported that the demand letters received by individuals being claimed against in the aforesaid cases were all issued by the same law firm, whether, apart from these cases, the Government is aware of any similar cases that have occurred in recent years; if so, of the total number of cases reviewed by the authorities; among them, the number of cases found to be questionable, and whether such cases involved illegal “recovery agents”; if so, whether the Government has taken measures to combat these unlawful acts;
(2) as it has been reported that quite a number of claims did not involve any traffic accidents, and therefore the individuals being claimed against did not report them in a timely manner to the insurance companies which underwrote their third party liability insurance, potentially resulting in these insurance companies refusing to pay compensation in these cases, whether the authorities will require the insurance industry to review afresh the mechanisms or stipulations concerned for handling compensation in the light of such cases; and
(3) whether it will step up publicity and education in response to such cases so that all road users can clearly understand their own responsibilities and rights, thereby avoiding exploitation by lawbreakers and incurring losses?
Reply:
President:
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to the recent cases of suspected fraudulent insurance claims relating to traffic accidents and has taken a series of follow-up actions. Any acts of abuse of the insurance claim mechanism, exaggerated claims or conspiracy to defraud are serious offences. At present, the Police are carrying out investigations on the relevant cases. If any illegal acts are found, the Police will take resolute enforcement actions.
The reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
(1) The Police noticed that some law firms lodged claims of traffic accidents on behalf of a number of claimants and that some claimants sought compensation for injuries allegedly sustained in multiple traffic accidents over the past few years. The situation aroused suspicions. In this connection, the Police have launched investigations and taken law enforcement actions promptly. To date, the Police have arrested four persons suspected to be involved in cases of fraudulent claims relating to traffic accidents and have searched a law firm with a court warrant.
The Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) of the Police has all along been strengthening information exchanges and intelligence sharing with the industry through the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) and has been providing relevant training and conducting anti-deception publicity campaigns for the industry. In collaboration with the HKFI, the CCB has established an insurance fraud notification mechanism since 2012 to jointly combat illegal acts through the referral of suspicious cases. In 2025, the CCB received a total of 12 suspected insurance fraud cases referred by the HKFI. There were cases in the past in which successful enforcement actions were taken against insurance fraud. For example, in 2024, a woman was prosecuted and convicted of “having an intent to defraud” and was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment. The woman made a false statement after a traffic accident, claiming that she had suffered incapacity for work due to injuries sustained in the accident and lodged claims with an insurance company through a law firm.
Besides, the HKFI established the Insurance Fraud Prevention Claims Database (IFPCD) in 2018 to detect potential fraudulent claims. This enables insurers to initiate focused investigations promptly while ensuring the efficient settlement and payment of genuine claims.
The Insurance Authority (IA) encourages all insurers to participate in IFPCD, enhancing their capability of identifying fraudulent claims and safeguarding the interests of policyholders. The IA will continue to work closely with the HKFI and the insurance industry to ensure that all bona fide claims are handled in a fair and timely manner, while appropriate measures are adopted to combat fraudulent claims.
(2) The existing insurance regulatory framework requires an insurer to implement and maintain proper policies and procedures governing its claims handling processes, making sure that claims are handled fairly and promptly, and that policyholders are treated fairly.
Generally speaking, the reporting requirement stipulated in insurance policies should be “reasonable and practicable”. Where a policyholder is, on an objective and reasonable basis, unaware of an accident or claim, insurers should, under the premise of adhering to the policies and procedures, consider the specific circumstances in handling the case. Therefore, the IA encourages policyholders to report all known traffic-related accidents to their insurers as soon as practicable, including vehicle theft and damage, bodily injury or third-party property damage, to safeguard their policy interests.
(3) The Government has been adopting a multi-pronged approach in implementing publicity and education work with a view to enhancing road users’ knowledge about their own rights and responsibilities when traffic accidents happen. The initiatives include the following:
(a) The Road Users’ Code published by the Transport Department offers comprehensive guidelines and information to road users, including general notes on dealing with traffic accidents;
(b) By disseminating road safety information through various social media platforms, producing educational videos and infographics and distributing publicity leaflets, the Police call on members of the public to comply with traffic rules and be responsible road users; andIssued at HKT 13:00
NNNN
Budget Speech by the Financial Secretary (11)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Budget Speech by the Financial Secretary (11) Medium Range Forecast
281. The MRF projects the revenue and expenditure as well as fiscal position of the Government from a macro perspective. It has fully reflected the impact of the measures in the fiscal consolidation programme. From 2026-27 to 2030-31, a real economic growth rate of three per cent is adopted.Issued at HKT 13:14
NNNN
LCQ7: Supporting youth employment
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ7: Supporting youth employment
Question:
There are views pointing out that youth unemployment is a serious issue, with some young people even experiencing adverse effects on their mental health and life planning due to prolonged unemployment, and that the emergence of slashies (referring to a group of people who do not rely on a single and regular job for income, but earn irregular income by engaging in multiple occupations and taking up multiple identities) and lying-flatters also indicates young people’s questioning of traditional employment models. On the other hand, quite a number of industries are facing manpower shortages, resulting in mismatches in vocational qualifications that undermine the overall productivity of society. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of unemployed young people and the youth unemployment rate over the past three years, and how these figures compare with those for the overall labour force; whether it has compiled statistics on the employment of slashies; if so, of the relevant data for the past three years, with a breakdown by industry, academic qualification and gender;
(2) whether the Government has considered relaunching the Job Creation Scheme, which was implemented in 2020 but has now concluded, or introducing other similar measures such as offering tax incentives, wage subsidies or training allowances to enterprises to encourage them to hire young people; if so, of the details and expected outcomes; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether it has compiled statistics on young people’s entrepreneurship over the past three years, including the number of individuals starting businesses, the number of companies established and the number of young people who became employed due to unsuccessful entrepreneurship; whether it has provided targeted measures to support those young people who were unsuccessful in entrepreneurship; if so, of the details and outcomes; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) whether it has considered introducing targeted measures to encourage young people to join industries with a large number of job vacancies, such as providing them with allowances, training subsidies or career progression planning, so as to attract them to join and stay in such industries on a long-term basis; if so, of the specific policy direction and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) in view of the emergence of non-traditional employment models such as slashies, whether the Government has considered introducing countermeasures, such as establishing flexible job matching platforms to assist young people in matching with corporate needs through part-time or freelance jobs; whether it will promote a “diverse employment model” policy to encourage enterprises to provide arrangements such as flexible working hours and remote working, so as to enhance the overall productivity of society; whether it will consider drawing reference from the practices of other jurisdictions (such as the Mainland) to require employers to provide a certain level of welfare protection to slashies; if so, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to the employment situation of young people and has implemented various measures to promote youth employment, including career counselling, pre-employment and on-the job training, and entrepreneurship support.
In consultation with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), and the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), our consolidated reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
(1) Based on the results of the General Household Survey (GHS) conducted by C&SD, the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate among youths aged 15 to 39 (excluding foreign domestic helpers) in 2023-2024 and Q4 2025, are set out at Annex.
Slashers (i.e. persons engaged in more than one job concurrently) are classified as employed persons (including employers, employees and the self-employed) and are included in the overall labour force. However, as slashers constitute only a small proportion of the local employed population and having considered statistical accuracy, GHS does not compile separate statistics on slashers.
(2) to (4) On support for youth entrepreneurship, the HYAB has implemented two entrepreneurship-related funding schemes under the Youth Development Fund, including the HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Entrepreneurship Scheme) and the HYAB Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases (Experiential Scheme). Under the first round of the Entrepreneurship Scheme, funded organisations provided start-up capital and comprehensive support services to 217 youth start-up teams (about 400 young people), and over 97 per cent of the start-up teams continued to be in operation upon completion of the entire programme. The entrepreneurial programmes under the second round of the Entrepreneurship Scheme have been gradually launched and will support about 260 youth start-up teams starting from 2025.
The Experiential Scheme enables youth to preliminarily explore the entrepreneurial opportunities in the Mainland through short-term experiential programmes at innovation and entrepreneurial bases. There were 12 experiential programmes organised in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in the first round of the Experiential Scheme, benefiting about 300 young people. The new round of the Experiential Scheme has expanded the coverage from GBA to other provinces and cities in the Mainland. A total of 18 experiential programmes have been launched starting from 2025, offering about 600 places. According to the evaluation questionnaires completed by participants having completed the programmes, over 95 per cent of respondents respectively gave positive feedback on the effectiveness of the two funding schemes.
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the CSTB funds various projects through the CreateSmart Initiative and the Film Development Fund, aiming at nurturing talent (including the youth) of relevant industries and start-ups for promoting industry development. Examples include Design Incubation Programme and Fashion Incubation Programme, which nurture design start-ups by offering financial assistance and incubation services. As at December 2025, a total of 383 incubatees were admitted. The Hong Kong Digital Advertising Industry Fresh Graduate Support Scheme and Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Industry Fresh Graduate Support Scheme provide internship opportunities and on-the job training for new graduates of relevant disciplines. As at December 2025, a total of 763 interns were admitted. The First Feature Film Initiative funded a total of 30 film productions and incubated 32 new directors.
On youth employment support, the Labour Department (LD) implements the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) to provide comprehensive and free training and employment support services to young people with an educational attainment at sub-degree level or below. Since January 2025, the LD has relaxed the enrolment age for YETP from 15 to 24, to 15 to 29. The GBA Work Experience Attachment Programme, which provides YETP trainees aged 18 to 29 with workplace attachment opportunities, was also launched to enable participants to experience the work environment and living culture in GBA. Young people participating in YETP may, according to their interests and needs, select and enrol in training courses, and participate in workplace attachment training and/or on-the-job training. Employers engaging trainees in full-time or part-time on-the-job training are eligible to receive a monthly on-the-job training allowance of up to $5,000 per trainee for six to 12 months. In the 2024/25 programme year (i.e. from September 2024 to August 2025), the number of trainees applied to YETP was 4 059, which represented an increase of 43 per cent compared with the previous programme year.
The LD also operates two Youth Employment Resource Centres named Youth Employment Start, which offer one-stop integrated support services on employment and self-employment for young people aged 15 to 29 to enhance their employability.
In addition, the Employees Retraining Board currently offers around 800 market‑oriented training courses for Hong Kong residents aged 15 or above, as well as about 40 dedicated training courses for young people aged 15 to 29 to help them acquire vocational skills and access employment follow‑up services. Young people aspiring to join specific industries may also consider pre-employment or in-service training courses offered by the Vocational Training Council (VTC). The VTC has been implementing the Apprenticeship Scheme for years, providing systematic on-the-job training for young apprentices and continuously nurturing skilled professionals for various industries in Hong Kong. To encourage more young people to join relevant industries, for a period of three years starting from the 2024/25 academic year, each registered apprentice will be provided with an additional monthly training allowance and each graduated apprentice will be subsidised in undertaking upskilling courses of the relevant trade after securing employment.
(5) Apart from the above-mentioned measures, youth job seekers may also use the LD’s Interactive Employment Service website (www.jobs.gov.hk
In addition, the LD encourages employers to adopt employee-oriented good human resource management measures through publicity and promotional activities, including allowing flexible work arrangements (such as flexitime, shorter workweek, remote work and hybrid work model), which facilitate the recruitment and retention of staff (including young people), thereby enhancing the corporate productivity.
In light of the development of the digital platform industry, the Government will legislate for an improved work injury compensation mechanism for digital platform workers (DPWs) and will introduce new legislation to provide statutory compensation for DPWs who sustain injuries or die as a result of work. DPWs engaging in food and/or goods delivery services will be protected by the new legislation.
The Government will continue to closely monitor the employment situation of young people, listen to the views of stakeholders, review and refine relevant measures in a timely manner to support and assist the employment of young people (including slashers).
Issued at HKT 14:10
NNNN
LCQ20: Prevention of bullying behaviour among minors
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ20: Prevention of bullying behaviour among minors
| Year (2) The EDB, the EOC, and the HKPF have not categorised the above cases by intention and motives. The doxxing complaint cases investigated by the PCPD involve relationship disputes and school disputes respectively. (3) The Government adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards bullying among minors. Various policy bureaux and departments have developed a holistic approach to jointly prevent and curb bullying at the levels of schools, community and criminal enforcement, while also promoting anti-bullying messages. The specific work is as follows: Schools A safe and harmonious school environment is crucial for the growth of minors. The EDB, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the HKPF have introduced a series of measures to assist schools in building a caring school culture and nurturing students’ proper values. They also help with the prevention, early identification and handling of school bullying, and provide students in need with support and mediation. The key measures are as follows: NNNN Remarks by CS on 2026-27 Budget (with video)Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region Following are the remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at a media session at the Legislative Council Complex after the Financial Secretary delivered his Speech on the 2026-27 Budget today (February 25): Just now, the Financial Secretary delivered the 2026-27 Budget. LCQ17: Making good use of Apology Ordinance to resolve disputesSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region LCQ17: Making good use of Apology Ordinance to resolve disputes NNNN LCQ2: Measures to support digital transformation of small and medium enterprisesSource: Hong Kong Government special administrative region Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (February 25): Question: |