Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Development Bureau today invited the market to submit expressions of interest (EOI) within two months for post-secondary student hostel development at three commercial sites in Kai Tak, Siu Lek Yuen (Shatin) and Tung Chung East.

In July 2025, the Development Bureau and the Education Bureau jointly launched the Hostels in the City Scheme. By relaxing some development controls, it has facilitated private developers/operators in converting commercial buildings into student hostels to meet the needs of post-secondary students.

Subsequently, it was announced in the 2025 Policy Address that the scheme would be expanded to also cover new hostel developments.

The scheme has been met with an encouraging response, with 24 applications received involving around 5,000 beds in total, most of which were in urban areas.

Apart from two applications that concern new student hostel development on private land, all applications were for the conversion of existing buildings, the majority of which involved wholesale conversion.

Out of the 24 applications received, 22 have been confirmed to have complied with the eligibility criteria as laid down under the scheme, with the remaining two under processing.

Proponents of these 22 cases are starting to apply for development approvals under relaxed development controls, while the relevant government departments are processing at full steam the planning applications and the building plans received.

The Development Bureau said that the 2025 Policy Address has recommended that suitable sites for student hostel development be put up through land sale, besides facilitating the market in converting existing commercial buildings and building hostels on existing private land. This would be the first time for the bureau to use land disposal in the open market to encourage the development of student hostels.

All three sites included in this EOI exercise are located in urban or extended urban areas with better traffic accessibility and more mature community and commercial facilities in the vicinity. These sites are zoned commercial on the respective outline zoning plans, meaning developing student hostels according to the scheme would not require further planning applications. The relevant land has already been formed with basic infrastructure.

The Development Bureau said that the three sites are all readily developable land where zoning and development parameters are suitable for student hostel developments. Those who are awarded the sites through tender could promptly develop these sites into student hostels and help respond to the demand for post-secondary hostel accommodation.

Subject to the response received from this EOI exercise, the Government can make available one or more of the three sites supporting student hostel development for land sale through open tender in 2026-27 at the earliest.

The Government’s preliminary estimate is that around 4,500 beds can be provided in total on the three sites, but the actual bed numbers will depend on the design of the project proponents.

The invitation documents for EOI have been uploaded onto the Development Bureau’s website. Interested parties should submit a soft copy of their EOI by midnight on March 20.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The independent committee set up in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today that it will hold a conference on February 5 to give directions on arrangements for subsequent hearings.

At the conference, committee chairman David Lok will give directions on identifying relevant individuals, organisations or legal representatives to attend the hearings; the language to be used; the mode of submission of witness statements, documents, etc; and more.

There will be no presenting of evidence or examination of witnesses at the conference, which will be held from 10am on February 5 in Cantonese at the Multi-purpose Room, 3/F, City Gallery, 3 Edinburgh Place, Central. Simultaneous interpretation into Putonghua and English will be arranged.

The proceedings will be broadcast live in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of the City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library.

A total of about 400 seats will be available for the public. Interested individuals are required to make an online reservation in advance through the submission of a pre-registration form. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Details of the online reservations will be announced separately.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.8% in the October to December period of 2025, unchanged from the figures for September to November of the same year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

The underemployment rate rose from 1.6% to 1.7% during the same period.

Total employment was 3,667,000, down around 2,900 from September to November, while the labour force declined by around 9,100 to 3,805,200.

Looking ahead, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said the continued growth of the Hong Kong economy and the improvement in local consumption sentiment should stabilise the labour market.

“Nonetheless, the employment situations in some sectors may continue to be affected by their challenging business conditions,” he added.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today released the report of the Task Force on Review of Government Procurement Regime as well as the disciplinary investigation regarding the incident in the procurement of bottled drinking water and follow-up actions.

The report on the government procurement regime summarised measures focusing on four directions – institutional change, reshaping work culture, enhancement in cross-departmental information exchange, and application of technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), so as to holistically refine the tendering and procurement procedures.

A financial vetting requirement has been introduced to the tendering of goods contracts with a value exceeding $15 million since January 1, making it on par with the prevailing practice of conducting financial vetting for service contracts with that value.

Additionally, following revisions to the Standard Terms & Conditions of Tenders & Contracts (STC) that empower procurement officers to disqualify a tenderer for not being capable of fulfilling the contract terms, and to terminate a contract immediately if a contractor has made a material misrepresentation during the contract period, the STC has been further updated to stipulate that the Government may terminate a contract immediately on public interest grounds.

On the technology front, the Government Logistics Department (GLD) will adopt an AI tool to assist in information search on tenderers and contractors on a pilot basis in the first quarter this year, and the AI tool will be extended to other procuring departments for adoption subject to the trial outcome.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui, who chaired the task force, said the measures have been under implementation, adding that they will be put into practice continuously.

Meanwhile, the disciplinary investigation in relation to the bottled drinking water procurement incident has revealed that the performance of three GLD officers was not up to the standards commensurate with their ranks and experience in the procurement exercise.

According to the investigation, the lack of vigilance and judgement of these officers led to their failure to identify obvious irregularities and report to their seniors in a timely manner, resulting in the department missing the chance to detect false documents and take appropriate action earlier.  

There is prima facie evidence that two of the three officers, including one directorate officer, failed to appreciate the significance of obvious irregularities and report to their seniors in a timely manner. The Government will initiate disciplinary proceedings against them with punishment to be meted out, based on the findings of the disciplinary inquiry.

The deficiencies in the work performance of the two officers will also be reflected in their appraisals and no increment will be granted to the officers who have yet not reached the maximum salary point of their ranks.

The Government will reflect the inadequacy in vigilance, judgement, and analytical power of the remaining GLD officer in the appraisal report and will not grant that officer an increment. Written advice will also be served, requiring the officer to demonstrate significant improvement in these competencies in the future. 

Having identified the officers who failed to report the irregularities to their seniors, the investigation did not find any act of negligence on the part of former Director of Government Logistics Carlson Chan in the incident.

However, the fact that these three GLD officers failed to perform up to the standards commensurate with their ranks reflects some prevalence of such substandard performance in the department, therefore the Government decided to reverse the earlier decision to award Mr Chan the Silver Bauhinia Star.

Noting that the incident has drawn extensive attention from the public and brought serious disrepute to the Government, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said the reversal decision was made after consulting the Honours & Non-official Justices of the Peace Selection Committee.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Health Bureau announced today that from January 27 Hong Kong residents can authorise designated medical institutions outside of Hong Kong to deposit radiology reports and images into their personal eHealth accounts via the “Personal Folder” function in the eHealth mobile application.

The new function will allow residents to store and utilise records from healthcare services received outside of Hong Kong more securely and conveniently, thereby facilitating greater continuity of care.

From January 27, residents can submit an authorisation application via the “Personal Folder” function before receiving radiology services at either of three designated medical institutions outside of Hong Kong, namely the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen New Frontier United Family Hospital and Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

They will then receive an Authorisation QR Code in the mobile application. Before receiving care at any of the designated institutions, they can present the QR code along with their Hong Kong identity card to local healthcare personnel for identity verification and authorisation.

The medical institution will subsequently assist users to directly deposit radiology reports and images from their consultations into their personal eHealth accounts.

Moreover, eHealth users can apply for the service on behalf of family members using the “Caregiver” function in the mobile application.

This upgraded function supports the deposit of high-resolution radiology images, which can be challenging for some users to upload themselves.

In addition to viewing the relevant records through the mobile application, residents can also authorise healthcare providers in Hong Kong to access them through the eHealth system during follow-up care.

The bureau has set up support stations at the three designated institutions outside of Hong Kong to assist Hong Kong residents in registering for eHealth, downloading the eHealth App and using the relevant function.

Users can also view tutorial videos on the eHealth App, or on eHealth’s thematic website or social media platforms, to learn about using the new function.

Call 3467 6300 for enquiries.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Financial Secretary Paul Chan began his five-day itinerary at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland yesterday.

In the afternoon, he met Minister of Economy of the Sultanate of Oman H E Said Mohammed Al-Saqri. The two sides discussed ways to deepen mutually beneficial co-operation in areas such as finance, trade, green transformation and industrial development.

Mr Chan observed that Oman is transitioning towards a more diversified economy, including through efforts to promote green transformation and renewable energy, and to strengthen its economic and investment ties with China. As a super connector, he said, Hong Kong is well positioned to support this process by facilitating investment by Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises to support Oman’s infrastructure and industrial development.

He added that Hong Kong can also render support by leveraging its status as an international financial centre in Asia to offer Omani enterprises a platform for fundraising and financing, as well as offshore renminbi investment and risk management products.

Mr Chan also highlighted that financial market connectivity between the two places can foster mutual development.

He expressed support for the stock exchanges and regulatory authorities of the two places to explore reciprocal co-operation, including opportunities for dual or secondary listings.

In the evening, Mr Chan attended a welcome reception for delegates to the annual meeting, and engaged with participants from around the world.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2026 today (January 19):

Chief Justice, members of the Judiciary, Chairman of the Bar Association, President of the Law Society, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     The Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year is not merely a ceremony. It is a unique annual event for the Judiciary to speak out on important issues; and for representatives of the legal profession from both the public and private sectors to show our support to the Judiciary and pay tribute to judges and judicial officers for their contributions.
      
     There is no question that, in the past year, as is always the case, our judges and judicial officers have performed their duties conscientiously and professionally. But most of their work would be of interest to the parties directly involved in court proceedings only, and would not receive any public attention. Court news reported in the mass and social media was focused on a small number of cases, in particular national security cases, which were considered to be of public interest. Comments and discussions on these cases are, generally, permissible because of the freedom of expression and freedom of the press. However, these freedoms do not include making unfounded accusations against the integrity of our Judiciary.
      
     It is disappointing and frustrating, though not entirely surprising, that the Judiciary has been subject to such unfounded accusations due to judgments delivered in a number of highly charged national security cases last year and recently. Worse still, some of these accusations were misrepresented as facts and used as pretext to advocate imposing unlawful sanctions against judges involved in those cases, and to put illegitimate pressures on foreign non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal to resign.
      
     One of the duties of the Secretary of Justice is to act as the guardian of public interest and the due administration of justice. This is why I feel obliged to take this opportunity to refute these unfounded accusations. This is extremely important because, unless disabused, they may undermine people’s trust and confidence in our judicial system and the rule of law in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s success as an international centre in finance, trading and other areas as well as people’s general sense of security depend very much on their perception of, and trust and confidence in, our Judiciary.
      
     Let me put things in context first. It is a fundamental principle of international law and international relations that every state has the inherent and inalienable right to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity; and to choose its political, economic, social and cultural systems, without interference in any form by another state. Very recent events in other parts of the world, and recent statements made by some foreign politicians concerning the territorial integrity of other countries (including ours), sound a warning bell that it will be naïve to assume that these principles will necessarily be followed. Concern over national security is anything but fanciful, and must be taken seriously.
      
     Having said that, it is not and never the national policy of China to pursue absolute security. Under the relevant national law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, national security is defined as a reference to the status in which the state’s political regime, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, the welfare of the people, sustainable economic and social development, and other major interests of the state are relatively free from danger and internal or external threats, and the capacity to maintain a sustained status of security. I would like to emphasise the word “relatively” in the phrase “relatively free from danger and internal or external threats”; it does not say “absolutely free from danger and internal or external threats”. Our country clearly recognises that it is essential to strike a balance between security and development. As explained in the White Paper titled “China’s National Security in the New Era” released on May 12 last year, China strives to achieve a positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security, and promote mutual reinforcement and co-ordinated enhancement between opening up and security. Not only that there is no conflict between safeguarding national security and promoting development of Hong Kong by ensuring that it remains an open, free and diversified international city, maintaining national security as defined under the law indeed provides the indispensable precondition for any development to take place in a safe, stable and peaceful environment.
      
     Having regard to the significance of national security, Article 3 of the National Security Law (NSL) imposes a constitutional duty on the executive, legislature and judiciary of Hong Kong to effectively prevent, suppress and impose punishment for any act or activity endangering national security, and I quote “in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws”. In the present context, it is pertinent to note the two following sets of legal provisions which prescribe the role of the Judiciary, and shed light on how it should discharge its constitutional duty in this respect. First, under Articles 2, 19 and detailed provisions in Section 4, Chapter 4 of the Basic Law, the Judiciary is vested with, and shall exercise, independent judicial power including that of final adjudication. Second, Articles 4 and 5 of the NSL provide respectively that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security; and that the principle of the rule of law shall be adhered to including, for example, no one shall be convicted and punished for an act which does not constitute an offence under the law, a person is presumed innocent until convicted by a judicial body, the right to defend himself or herself and other rights in judicial proceedings that a criminal suspect, defendant, and other parties in judicial proceedings are entitled to under the law shall be protected.
      
     Having regard to these two sets of legal provisions, in national security cases, as in any other type of case, the court’s duty is to conduct the proceedings fairly and properly ensuring that human rights are respected and principles of the rule of law are followed, to construe and apply the relevant laws to the evidence, and then make its decision, all done independently.
      
     In considering the validity of any criticism that has been made against the courts in those highly charged national security cases, the correct question to ask is whether there is any ground to support that the courts have failed to discharge their duties as I have just described. There are a number of factors which can assist us to answer this question.
      
     First, it is important to observe what happened in the course of the judicial proceedings, which were all held openly. Have the judges ever, without any good and sufficient legal reason, stopped the defendants from giving evidence or making submissions, or cross-examining the prosecution’s witnesses? Has any of the judges made any inappropriate remarks indicating that they had bias or prejudice against the defendants? Did anything otherwise happen which would suggest that the defendants had not been treated fairly? I am confident that any reasonable and objective person who has attended and observed those proceedings would answer all these questions in the negative. Some might opine that the proceedings have taken a long time. I would say the time was well spent and necessary to ensure that there was a fair trial to all parties concerned.
      
     Second, it is essential to study the judgments in those cases, which is indeed what people have been asked to do repeatedly. The judgments are of utmost importance because they explained how and why the judges came to their conclusions, and in criminal cases, why they were satisfied that the defendant’s guilt had been proved beyond reasonable doubt: to be more specific, how they construed the relevant laws, what evidence and submissions they had considered, accepted or rejected and why, and how they applied the relevant laws as they understood in the light of the evidence and submissions which they had accepted. A sufficiently reasoned judgment also serves another important purpose: that is to reassure people that the courts have not taken into account any irrelevant and improper considerations. Let me ask: in those national security cases, is there anything in the judgments which would suggest that the judges have taken into account any extraneous consideration or that somehow their independence has been compromised? I am again very confident that the answer must be a resounding no. Some people may wonder why the judgments are so long, running to hundreds of pages, and might even question whether they need to be so long entailing long judgment writing time. The length of a judgment is largely dictated by the amount of evidence and submissions heard, and the complexity of the issues involved. In cases which were known to be controversial, the judges would naturally take great care to ensure that the judgments were sufficiently reasoned for reasons that I have just explained.
      
     Third, it is worthwhile to note that, in national security cases, the Government was not always the successful party. In a case involving many defendants, two defendants were acquitted after trial in May 2024, and the prosecution decided not to appeal against one of the acquittals. In March 2025, the Court of Final Appeal quashed the convictions of an offence under the Implementation Rules for the NSL. These incidents are unequivocal evidence that the Judiciary has been able to exercise, and has in fact exercised, independent judicial power in national security cases. As the unsuccessful party in those cases, the Government would naturally be disappointed. If there were reasonable grounds to appeal, we would invite the appellate court to reconsider the matter. If the judgment was final, the Government would review whether the outcome was caused by any deficiency or inadequacy in the relevant laws; and if so, would seek to amend the same. There is one critical point that I wish to add. On those occasions when the courts ruled against the Government, it would be unfair and incorrect to suspect, merely because of the outcome, that the courts might have failed to appreciate the importance of safeguarding national security and that they had not discharged their constitutional duty in this respect fully and properly.
      
     Fourth, in response to intimidation made against judges, the Judiciary has reaffirmed in various statements in the past that all judges and judicial officers exercise judicial power independently, and will continue to abide by the Judicial Oath and firmly discharge their duty in the administration of justice without any interference. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to doubt the veracity of these statements.
      
     Enough is said about national security. It is important not to lose sight of the big picture that, every year, the Judiciary handles tens of thousands of civil and criminal cases of many different types, playing a key role in resolving disputes and maintaining the law and order of society. In some of these cases, particularly those decided by the Court of Final Appeal, the courts developed important common law jurisprudence which makes significant contributions to not only Hong Kong but also the common law world in general. An excellent example is that, just 10 days ago on January 9, the Court of Final Appeal in a scholarly and landmark judgment held that it is appropriate to recognize the tort of harassment as a development of the common law in Hong Kong; however, a company cannot sue for harassment because it is incapable of suffering emotional stress even though it may seek an injunction to restrain acts of harassment directed at its officers, agents and lawyers.
      
     Apart from performing judicial duties, the Judiciary has made tremendous efforts and contributions to promote the rule of law, and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international legal service and dispute resolution centre in other ways. On behalf of the Department of Justice, I would like to express my gratitude to members of the Judiciary for taking part in the work of the Law Reform Commission, the Working Group on Mediation Regulatory System and the Working Group on Arbitration Law Reform, as well as various capacity building programmes organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy.
      
     The rule of law based on our common law system is one of the most, if not the most, distinctive and crucial advantage of Hong Kong under the principle of “one country, two systems”. Members of the Judiciary, the Department of Justice, the Bar Association and the Law Society play different roles in our legal system. We may not, and need not, agree on each and every issue. In judicial proceedings involving the Government, the Government sometimes succeeds, sometimes fails. All that said, our solidarity, courage and determination to maintain and enhance the rule of law in Hong Kong is unquestionable.
      
     Lastly, we are still in January, and the Chinese New Year of the Horse will arrive in less than a month’s time. May I conclude by wishing you all a very happy and healthy new year! Thank you!

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Threats of sanctions, a direct affront to the rule of law, are totally unacceptable to a civilised society like Hong Kong as well as any judicial system, said Chief Justice Andrew Cheung.

At the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2026 today, Mr Cheung pointed out that it is unfair to name judges as targets for potential sanctions, as judges have only been performing duties in accordance with their judicial oath.

“I hope that these threats of sanctions will never materialise,” he added.