MOFA offers sincere congratulations on establishment of Panama-Taiwan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group by Panama’s National Assembly
Date：2026-09-09
Data Source：Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs
September 9, 2026
No. 425
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomes the establishment of the Panama-Taiwan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group by the National Assembly of Panama, which will deepen parliamentary exchanges and the democratic partnership between the two countries.
The friendship group was officially inaugurated during a ceremony at the National Assembly on September 8. A total of 45 legislators joined, including President of the National Assembly Shirley Castañedas, First Vice President of the National Assembly and Cochair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) Manuel Cohen Salerno, Second Vice President Manuel Cheng, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee Joan Manuel Guevara, IPAC Cochair Ronald Ameth De Gracia, and Medin Jiménez, who will serve as chair of the friendship group. Membership accounts for more than 60 percent of all lawmakers in the National Assembly.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung was invited to record a video message for the occasion, underscoring the friendly cross-party momentum and staunch support for Taiwan in the National Assembly. Minister Lin extended sincere congratulations on the launch of the friendship group and stated that Taiwan and Panama shared such common values as democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights. He anticipated that the friendship group would help enhance parliamentary diplomacy, expand cooperation and exchanges across domains, and advance the welfare of the peoples of both nations, creating mutual benefit and coprosperity.
Over the past six months, more than 20 Panamanian legislators have visited Taiwan. Minister Lin actively encouraged members of the National Assembly friendly to Taiwan to build consensus and promote the formation of the friendship group. The group’s smooth establishment marks a historic milestone in the resumption of exchanges between Taiwan and Panama.
Additionally, US Congressional Taiwan Caucus Cochair Mario Díaz-Balart recorded a video congratulating the National Assembly on the founding of the friendship group. In it, he affirmed that Taiwan and Panama shared the core values of prosperity, freedom, and democracy. Citing his own experience cochairing the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, he said that he fully understood the significance of the friendship group’s establishment. Also via video, Taiwan Legislator and IPAC Cochair Fan Yun extended felicitations to the National Assembly on establishing the friendship group, noting that it would serve as a new platform for exchanges and cordial interactions between Taiwan and Panama. Representatives from embassies of like-minded countries and diplomatic allies in Panama—including the United States and Paraguay—attended the event to offer congratulations, highlighting their support for the strengthening of democratic alliances.
MOFA expresses its appreciation to Panamanian supporters of Taiwan across all sectors for their steadfast backing. It will continue to work closely with the National Assembly and the friendship group to actively further parliamentary diplomacy and bolster the Taiwan-Panama partnership. (E)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The interdepartmental Pest Control Steering Committee (PCSC) held its 24th meeting today (September 29) to review the effectiveness of departments’ enhanced mosquito control measures during the rainy season this year and their work plans for the coming year, to discuss the progress of sustaining territory wide rodent prevention and control efforts, and to receive updates on the latest developments in food waste recycling.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Following are the closing remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the Family Office Mediation and Collaborative Practice Training today (September 29):
Nick (Director of the AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre, Professor Nick Chan), Ms Cooley (Chief Executive Officer of Cooley Family Office, Ms Ann Cooley), Jason (Global Head of Family Office at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Jason Fong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. It is my honour today to speak at the closing session of the inaugural Family Office Mediation and Collaborative Practice Training in this historic venue.
On behalf of the Department of Justice (DoJ), I wish to first extend my heartfelt gratitude to Cooley Family Office and the AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre for hosting this impactful initiative. The Training has provided a platform to equip legal, financial and family counselling professionals with the fundamental theory and essential skills and tools for family office mediation and collaborative practice.
While disputes arising from family offices and family businesses can involve a substantial financial stake, they are rarely just about the dollar sign. Often, they concern matters of legacy, succession and complex family relationships. High intensity emotions and power imbalances inevitably complicate these conflicts. As the Chinese proverb says, “Even an upright judge finds it hard to settle family matters”, in Cantonese: 清官難審家庭事. While litigation can determine legal rights, it is very time-consuming and costly. It will also mean definitely a winner and a loser in the litigation, and this is undesirable in the context of family disputes, potentially destroying family bonds and tarnishing the reputation of family businesses.
This is where mediation and collaborative practice demonstrate their unique value. Mediation offers a private, confidential and amicable alternative where a neutral third party assists parties to explore tailor-made and mutually beneficial solutions. Collaborative practice takes a step further by including multidisciplinary professionals in the discussion, so that they could provide holistic advice from legal, financial and psychological aspects in parallel.
This Training is timely in promoting the use of family mediation and collaborative practice. I am especially delighted to see that it directly supports two of Hong Kong’s established priorities.
The first priority is Hong Kong’s positioning. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to expediting the development and deepening of Hong Kong’s status as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre. Hong Kong has full support from the Chinese Mainland in this regard, as stated in the National 15th Five-Year Plan. The Government has also pledged this in the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030). To achieve that, we will enhance our diversified and high-level dispute resolution services, including mediation.
In terms of our long history of promoting mediation, our department launched the “Mediate First” Pledge in 2009 to encourage the use of mediation as the first step to resolve disputes. Today, over 1 300 companies, organisations and individuals have signed the Pledge, symbolising the success of this campaign. Family mediation is featured from time to time in the DoJ’s flagship events such as “Mediate First” Pledge events and Mediation Week.
In terms of legal infrastructure, we enacted the Mediation Ordinance in 2012. It provides a clear statutory framework grounded in confidentiality and party autonomy. We established the Working Group on Mediation Regulatory System in 2024 to review our mediation regulatory system. And hence, on the recommendations of the Working Group, we will introduce an amendment bill by the end of this year to facilitate the appointment of mediators when parties fail to reach a consensus on the choice of mediators.
As a matter of government-wide general policy, a mediation clause has been incorporated in all applicable government contracts since February 2025.
The establishment of the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) in Hong Kong and the Government’s support for the IOMed further underlines our commitment to developing Hong Kong into a global mediation capital.
The second priority is to promote the development of family offices, again as pledged in Hong Kong’s Five-Year Plan. As a world-leading international financial centre and wealth management centre, we have been providing quality services for family offices to develop their businesses here. Such professional services certainly include Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution services. Our Chief Executive has announced in the Policy Address this year that promotion will be stepped up following the passage of a bill to enhance the preferential tax regimes for, among others, single family offices. The goal is to attract more family offices to establish a presence in Hong Kong.
Indeed, with over 3 300 single-family offices now established in our city, our global appeal is clearer than ever. Hong Kong enjoys the distinctive advantages of “one country, two systems”, a robust legal infrastructure based on the rule of law, and has a simple and low tax regime, world-class professional services and a globally experienced workforce. This Training in the past four days no doubt contributes to the edge of Hong Kong through cultivating a talent pool in family mediation and collaborative practice.
On this note, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the training team for sharing their valuable expertise and experience, and I congratulate every participant for completing the Training as a step elevating your professional practice. I wish you every success in putting the skills to use, and in playing an important part to expedite the momentum of Hong Kong’s established priorities which I shared today. Thank you very much.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
The University Grants Committee (UGC) held a presentation ceremony for the 2026 UGC Teaching Award today (September 29) to honour academics from UGC-funded universities for their outstanding teaching performances and achievements, as well as their leadership and scholarly contributions to teaching and learning within and outside their campuses.—————————– Professor Helen Geng, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Division of Science, Lingnan University———————————- Dr Michael Rivera, Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences, the University of Hong Kong———————– Eye Learn, I.CARE: Joint-University Eye Care Ambassador Training Scheme, led by Professor Kelvin Chong (Professor (Clinical), Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)), with Professor Arthur Tsang (Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, CUHK), Dr Sharron Leung (Head of Nursing Education and Programme Director of Bachelor of Nursing (Hons), Hong Kong Baptist University) and Ms Stephany Tai (Research Assistant, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK) as team members.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; and the Commissioner for Youth, Mr Andy Lam, attended the Youth Dialogue on the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) (Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan) and the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address organised for members of Youth Link today (September 29). They introduced the policy measures related to the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) in the Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address to over 80 young people and engaged in discussions with the youth.
During the dialogue, Miss Mak introduced the key initiatives on youth development in the Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address. Chapter 19 of the Hong Kong’s First Five-year Plan contains two dedicated sections that emphasise “enhancing youth development opportunities” and “supporting young people in pursuing their dreams”, while areas related to youth development also run through the other chapters of the Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan. In response to the Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan, the Policy Address also introduces a series of new measures to support youth development, inspiring young people to unleash their potential and pass on the spirit of loving the country and Hong Kong, and activating international youth exchanges and collaboration. She also mentioned that the third edition of the Youth Development Summit will take place on November 7, and encouraged young people to actively participate in the Summit and seize the opportunity to interact with youth from the Chinese Mainland and overseas.
Youth Link members attending the dialogue actively participated in the discussions. They shared their views on the initiatives in the Policy Address, including deepening youth patriotic education, introducing the thematic finance internship programme in the Mainland, as well as thematic aerospace training activities in the Mainland. They also welcomed the establishment of an International Young Talent Exchange Base as well as launching a new HYAB – United Nations Youth Leaders Internship Programme. Miss Mak invited the attending youth to also provide suggestions on enhancing the HYAB Youth Start-up Internship Programme and launching AI experiential activities.
Youth Link, launched by the HYAB in September 2023, currently has over 30 000 youth members. It aims to connect participants of various government youth programmes and offer them opportunities to develop diverse talents, as well as to strengthen their communication, interaction and trust with the Government. The HYAB will continue engaging young people through the Youth Dialogue and other activities under Youth Link and communicate with more young people on a continuous and regular basis.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
FEHD releases third batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in September
District
District The FEHD continues to carry out a series of mosquito prevention and elimination measures, including: Public participation is crucial to the effective control of mosquito problems. The FEHD appeals to members of the public to continue to work together in strengthening personal mosquito control measures, including: Starting in August 2025, following the completion of the surveillance of individual survey areas, and once the latest gravidtrap index and the density index are available, the FEHD has been disseminating relevant information through press releases, its website and social media. It aims to allow members of the public to quickly grasp the mosquito infestation situation and strengthen mosquito control efforts, thereby reducing the risk of chikungunya fever (CF) transmission.
Following recommendations from the World Health Organization and taking into account the local situation in Hong Kong, the FEHD sets up gravidtraps in districts where mosquito-borne diseases have been recorded in the past, as well as in densely populated places such as housing estates, hospitals and schools to monitor the breeding and distribution of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which can transmit CF and dengue fever. At present, the FEHD has set up gravidtraps in 62 survey areas of the community, with a surveillance period of two weeks. During the surveillance period, the FEHD will collect the gravidtraps once a week. After the first week of surveillance, the FEHD will immediately examine the glue boards inside the retrieved gravidtraps for the presence of adult Aedine mosquitoes to compile the Gravidtrap Index (First Phase) and Density Index (First Phase). At the end of the second week of surveillance, the FEHD will instantly check the glue boards for the presence of adult Aedine mosquitoes. Data from the two weeks of surveillance will be combined to obtain the Area Gravidtrap Index and the Area Density Index. The Gravidtrap and Density indexes for Aedes albopictus in different survey areas, as well as information on mosquito prevention and control measures, are available on the department’s webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pestcontrol/dengue_fever/Dengue_Fever_Gravidtrap_Index_Update.html#Issued at HKT 18:00
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Development Bureau invites industry to submit applications for inclusion in “pre-qualified lists” of building maintenance consultants and contractors The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said, “The DEVB, together with the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and relevant departments and agencies, will process the applications at full steam. Our goal is to have the ‘pre-qualified lists’ available progressively by the end of this year and to begin tendering projects for property owners in the first quarter of next year. In future, only consultants and contractors that are on the ‘pre-qualified lists’ will be eligible to submit tenders for projects under the new support service. I appeal to dedicated and capable consultants and contractors in the industry to apply as soon as possible. Together with other enhanced services in future, such as tender invitation and evaluation services for property owners, we aim to establish a professional and clean maintenance team to work with the Government to provide property owners with high-quality and reliable services, as well as to foster healthy development of the industry.”
The DEVB announced and briefed the Legislative Council’s Panel on Development on September 22 regarding the compilation of the three “pre-qualified lists”, which cover Inspection Consultants; Supervision Consultants that will draft tender documents and supervise building maintenance works; and Building Works Contractors responsible for construction, as well as introduced the four areas of pre-qualification criteria (technical competence, integrity, financial capacity, and past performance), the biennial review mechanism and the arrangements for removal and suspension of the pre-qualification status. Details are set out in the Annex. These arrangements have taken into account the views of various stakeholders, including the industry, striving to be both rigorous and pragmatic.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong Customs detects money laundering case involving about $3.6 million following infringement investigation In May this year, Customs detected an online shop offering counterfeit perfumes and skincare products for sale and arrested a 37-year-old local man. A subsequent financial investigation and fund-flow analysis revealed that the arrested person operated an infringing business and utilised bank accounts of another person to receive about $3.6 million in suspected criminal proceeds between February 2024 and May 2026.
Customs today arrested the local man for “dealing with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence” (commonly known as money laundering) under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO) and searched his residential premises. During the operation, a batch of items suspected to be connected with the case was seized.
The arrested person has been released on bail pending further investigation. An investigation is ongoing, and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
Under OSCO, a person commits an offence if he or she deals with any property knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly represents any person’s proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 14 years, while the crime proceeds are also subject to confiscation.
Members of the public may report any suspected money laundering activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hkIssued at HKT 18:45
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
In the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 released today (September 29) by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Hong Kong’s ranking rose further by one place to 14th globally among 139 economies, and remained fifth in Asia.
As regards the two sub-indices under the GII, Hong Kong’s ranking with respect to the “Innovation Input” sub-index remained at eighth globally, and its ranking in the “Innovation Output” sub-index rose by one place to 21st.
Hong Kong’s scores in all five pillars under the “Innovation Input” sub-index were higher than the averages of the high-income group, with “Market Sophistication” ranking second globally, and “Human Capital and Research”, “Institutions” and “Infrastructure” rising to rank sixth, seventh and 11th globally respectively. As for sub-pillars, Hong Kong continued to top the ranking in “Credit”, and ranked among the global top 10 in many areas, including “Tertiary Education” (third), “Information and Communication Technology” (fourth), “Investment” (fourth), “Institutional Environment” (ninth) and “Business Environment” (10th). Data also showed that Hong Kong’s gross expenditure on research and development (R&D) and the number of researchers continued to rise.
As for the “Innovation Output” sub-index, Hong Kong’s ranking in the “Creative Outputs” pillar rose by two places to 15th globally, and that in “Knowledge and Technology Outputs” pillar rose one place further to 29th. Data also showed that Hong Kong’s number of patents and mobile app creation continued to increase.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today said, “We are pleased to see the good progress Hong Kong has achieved in the GII. Expediting the development of innovation and technology (I&T) has been a policy priority of this Government. Following the directions set out in the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the HKSAR (2026-2030) (Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan), the Government is fully committed to developing Hong Kong into an international I&T centre. Among other things, Hong Kong will enhance the institutional framework for I&T development, expedite the alignment with key national strategies in technology, and develop the new ‘three major I&T parks and five key R&D institutions’ paradigm. In particular, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone and the San Tin Technopole will form a co-ordinated development at the upstream, midstream and downstream levels, jointly creating a comprehensive industrial ecosystem covering R&D, commercialisation, pilot and mass production. Hong Kong will also advance new industrialisation having regard to local circumstances, with a view to establishing a framework with Hong Kong characteristics for the development of a new industrialisation system, as well as take forward the AI+ Initiative on all fronts, enhance the layout of computing infrastructure, support small and medium-sized enterprises in accelerating their adoption of AI, and empower different sectors of the economy through AI technology. Meanwhile, Hong Kong will leverage the advantage of being closely connected to the Mainland and the world to develop an international hub for science and technology co-operation, as well as deepen the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), thereby attracting global I&T resources and talent. The HKSAR Government will strive to realise the vision in Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan that Hong Kong will basically have established an international I&T centre based in the GBA, serving the entire country and being connected to the world, after 2030.”
The GII is a ranking on the innovation capabilities and achievements of economies around the world. Its evaluation criteria cover multiple aspects, including institutions, human capital and research infrastructure, credit, investment, collaboration, knowledge creation, absorption and diffusion, and creative outputs.
The GII consists of two sub-indices: “Innovation Input” and “Innovation Output”. There are five pillars under the “Innovation Input” sub-index, namely “Institutions”, “Human Capital and Research”, “Infrastructure”, “Market Sophistication”, and “Business Sophistication”; and two pillars under the “Innovation Output” sub-index, namely “Knowledge and Technology Outputs” and “Creative Outputs”. Each of the above pillars is further broken down into three sub-pillars.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2026 will be gazetted on October 2 to relax the criteria for stamp duty relief for intra-group asset transfers of enterprise groups, as proposed in the 2026-27 Budget.
According to the Stamp Duty Ordinance, stamp duty relief is provided for the transfer of immovable property or Hong Kong stock between associated bodies corporate. Currently, if one of two bodies corporate owns 90 per cent or above of the issued share capital of another, or a third body corporate owns 90 per cent or above of the issued share capital of each of them, relevant bodies corporate would be regarded as associated. The Bill will relax the criteria in determining whether two bodies corporate are associated, taking into account other direct or indirect beneficial interests or voting rights in addition to issued share capital, and lowering the ownership threshold to 75 per cent.
A Government spokesperson said, “Since some new enterprises, such as limited liability partnerships and companies limited by guarantee, etc, do not issue shares, other enterprises may exercise ownership in these enterprises through direct or indirect beneficial interests such as equity interests or participation interests. The Bill relaxes the definition of associated bodies corporate, enabling these new enterprises to also benefit from the stamp duty relief for intra-group asset transfers.
“Business expansion and restructuring frequently involve the transfer of assets within a business group. The Bill enables more enterprises to benefit from the relevant stamp duty relief, which will further enhance the business environment, thereby increasing the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s tax regime.”
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first reading and the commencement of the second reading debate on October 14. Subject to passage by the Legislative Council, it will apply to the instruments executed on or after February 25 this year.