Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Government mourned the victims of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po and expressed profound condolences at the Central Government Offices yesterday morning (November 29), with national and regional flags at all government buildings flying at half-mast. Members of the public also visited condolence points in various districts to sign condolence books and mourn the victims. 

     Meanwhile, multiple government departments under the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements, led respectively by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, and the Deputy Financial Secretary; continue to work tirelessly, pushing forward follow-up support and relief efforts on all fronts. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and all relevant departments of Guangdong Province for their staunch support and prompt assistance, including the provision of numerous pieces of necessary equipment to the HKSAR, such as drones, exoskeleton devices, protective gear, and medical supplies. This significantly assisted the relevant departments in their emergency response and the follow-up efforts.     
     On emergency accommodation support for residents affected by the fire, as of this afternoon, around 517 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels/camps or hotel rooms. Another 1 038 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Housing Society. Furthermore, two shelters remain open for residents in need.  
      The ICU has continued to deploy manpower to conduct on-site sampling at Wang Fuk Court and four other Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) courts that have been issued notices under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme, including Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin, Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po, Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, and On Kay Court in Kwun Tong. Samples collected from different positions of the protective nets have been sent to the Government Laboratory for testing yesterday. In the four HOS courts other than Wang Fuk Court, in case any flammable material is identified on the external walls, the ICU would instruct the contractors to remove it immediately.     
     The Labour Department (LD) launched a territory-wide special enforcement operation since November 28, targeting the fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness of building maintenance work sites with large-scale scaffolding erected. This includes checking if protective screens (also known as scaffold nets) on scaffolds are in compliance with recognised standards for fire-retardant materials to ensure occupational safety of workers. As of November 29, the LD inspected 46 work sites, with a total of 39 written warnings and two improvement notices issued.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Government launched a public consultation today (December 1) on the proposed updates to Schedules 1 and 2 to the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Cap. 424) to implement up-to-date safety standards promulgated by the relevant standardisation bodies for toys and children’s products listed in Schedule 2 (Schedule 2 products).
 
     The Ordinance stipulates that a person must not manufacture, import or supply a toy or a Schedule 2 product unless it complies with all the applicable requirements contained in any one of the safety standards (international standards or standards adopted by major economies) specified in Schedule 1 (applicable to toys) or Schedule 2 (applicable to Schedule 2 products) to the Ordinance. The Government keeps in view any updates or amendments to the safety standards so as to apply up-to-date and operative versions of the standards to toys and Schedule 2 products supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     As the safety standards specified for toys and for four classes of Schedule 2 products, namely (i) children’s high chairs and multi-purpose high chairs for domestic use; (ii) children’s paints; (iii) playpens for domestic use; and (iv) wheeled child conveyances have been updated, the Government proposes to adopt the up-to-date versions of those safety standards under the Ordinance. Details of the proposals are available on the website of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau at
www.cedb.gov.hk.
 
     Members of the public are welcome to send their views on the proposals in writing to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau at 23/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, or by fax to 2869 4420, or by email to tcpso_standards_updates@cedb.gov.hk, on or before December 31, 2025.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following are the welcome remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the 6th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit 2025 – Judicial Conference under Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 today (December 1):

The Honourable Chief Justice Mr Andrew Cheung (Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal), Ms Anna Joubin-Bret (Secretary of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Professor Teresa Cheng (Secretary-General of International Organization for Mediation), your excellencies, Consuls General, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     As we gather today for the 6th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit, we also kick-start the Hong Kong Legal Week 2025.

     The Hong Kong Legal Week is an annual major event of the Department of Justice which serves as a dynamic platform for the legal and dispute resolution sector, legal scholars, judges and experts to discuss key topical legal issues in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

     Under the theme of “Linking Laws, Bridging Worlds”, Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 aims at highlighting Hong Kong’s role in connecting different economies and legal systems through collaboration, understanding and global legal exchange. Under the fundamental principle of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong is the only common law jurisdiction in China. With our strong legal foundation and international connectivity, Hong Kong is dedicated to serve as a super connector and capacity building hub, in order to facilitate the legal and economic collaboration across the region and beyond. 

     The 6th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit is co-oragnised by UNCITRAL and the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy of the Department of Justice, under the theme “The Future is Now: Legally Enabling Digitalization of International Trade”. Today, we have more than 50 judges from over 25 jurisdictions attending in person, with numerous other jurisdictions joining virtually, including those from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Central Asia, and Pacific Islands, reflecting the global reach and importance of the Summit. To facilitate the participation of Russian-speaking judges from Central Asia, we are grateful for the support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of providing simultaneous interpretation from English into Russian.

     In fact, it is not the first time we work with the ADB and UNCITRAL on capacity building. This Judicial Summit actually marks the third event that we have co-organised with UNCITRAL this year. Since the Department of Justice launched the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy during the Hong Kong Legal Week last year, the Academy and UNCITRAL have co-organised capacity building programmes including the Conference on Climate Change and International Trade Law this March in Hong Kong and the Workshop on Use of International Instruments to Legally Enable End-to-End Digitalization of Trade under the Economic Committee of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) in Incheon, Korea, in August this year. These collaborations have not only contributed to capacity building for stakeholders in the region but also the further development of international trade law. 

     In addition to co-organising events with UNCITRAL, we worked with UNCITRAL to set up the Inclusive Global Legal Innovation Platform on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) which will hold its fifth expert meeting tomorrow to discuss international development and potential issues relating to ODR. Besides, we are delighted to see UNCITRAL’s strong support for the secondment programme with the Department of Justice, which enables Hong Kong legal practitioners to actively take part in UNCITRAL’s work and enhance their knowledge of international legal matters, thereby contributing to the capacity building of our local legal practitioners as well. I note that a number of our colleagues who have been seconded to the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific are also with us today.

     Apart from the objective of capacity building, the Judicial Conference which will centre on the theme “Building Towards End-to-End Trade Digitalization” provides a platform to share experience and exchange views on critical issues in facilitating digitalisation of the entire trade process, digitalisation of trade finance and digital assets, paperless trade systems, digital transformation in transport, as well as emerging trends in dispute resolution within the rapidly evolving digital economy, with reference to the application of UNCITRAL texts. 

     In fact, UNCITRAL texts have been proven to be very useful tool for creating a harmonised and enabling legal environment. We have applied and implemented quite a number of UNCITRAL texts, ranging from conventions to model rule in various areas. Very soon, as announced in the Chief Executive’s Hong Kong Policy Address this year, Hong Kong would introduce legislative amendments in 2026 for digitalisation of business-to-business trade documents with reference to the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records adopted by UNCITRAL. 

     Complementing the Judicial Conference today, the Judicial Roundtable to be held tomorrow will explore “Recent Trends in Dispute Resolution”, in order to facilitate interactive and in-depth dialogues among judges and judicial officers in the region on innovative judicial approaches for handling disputes involving artificial intelligence, as well as the dynamic interaction between alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and formal court proceedings. Let us seize the opportunity to actively engage in the exchanges, whether in person or online.

     Before I conclude, may I express my appreciation to UNCITRAL again for their partnership, the Asian Development Bank for their support, and my heartfelt gratitude to all moderators and speakers, some of them have come from afar, as well as the Secretary General of the International Organization for Mediation and our Chief Justice who will give special remarks and a keynote speech in a moment. On this note, I announce the official opening of the Hong Kong Legal Week 2025. Thank you.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Transport Department (TD) today (November 30) said that a number of road sections remain closed amid the follow-up work of the Tai Po fire. The TD has steered the franchised bus operator (FBO) to optimise its diversion plan to ease commuters’ inconvenience in going to work or school tomorrow (December 1). Members of the public should plan ahead their journeys and reserve sufficient time.

Public transport

     As sections of Tai Po Road – Yuen Chau Tsai between Nam Wan Road and Tolo Highway (Kowloon bound) and between Kwong Fuk Park and Marvelous Villa (both bounds) remain closed, upon the TD’s co-ordination with KMB, starting from their first departures tomorrow, route Nos. 72, 72A, 73A and 74A will be diverted to Tai Po Road – Tai Po Kau via Yau King Lane to take passengers from the affected areas in Tai Po to Sha Tin and urban areas, reducing disruption to commute especially during peak hours.

     The Highways Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department have completed the trimming of branches protruding over the carriageway at some locations along Yau King Lane, without compromising the main body of trees. The FBO has also completed the road trial to ensure driving and road safety. The public should refer to the FBOs’ website or mobile application for the latest information on their routes.

     The MTR will continue to enhance the frequency of the East Rail Line trains on relevant sections and the service of MTR Buses in Tai Po as needed, while FBOs will reserve standby vehicles and manpower to meet passenger demand.

Traffic

     All lanes of the section of Yuen Shin Road between Tolo Highway and Tai Po Tai Wo Road (Ting Kok Road bound) and the slip road from Tolo Highway (Kowloon bound) to Tai Po Road – Yuen Chau Tsai previously closed have been reopened on the evening of November 28 and this morning respectively. Motorists may use road sections concerned to Tai Po InnoPark/Tai Po North and Nam Wan Road respectively.

     Of note, before the reopening of the remaining closed road sections, the traffic on Tai Po Road, Tolo Highway, Fanling Highway and roads in Tai Po town centre are expected to be busier and the public should avoid driving to these areas. The TD has stepped up the message displayed at variable message signs at relevant locations to alert motorists travelling to Tai Po to use Tat Wan Road, Tai Po Tai Wo Road or Yuen Shin Road. Some road markings have been temporarily modified to ease traffic. Motorists should heed traffic lights, traffic signs and road markings on site and drive carefully.

     The public should heed the latest traffic news through radio and TV broadcasts, the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk) and the HKeMobility mobile application before their journeys, plan ahead and reserve sufficient time.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region