Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (August 15) strongly condemns the out-of-context and fact-twisting reports on the court hearing of the case of Lai Chee-ying made by some foreign media including the US-based Cable News Network (CNN). Such reports attempt to mislead the public into believing that Lai Chee-ying did not receive the medical care he needed, in order to smear Lai Chee-ying’s case under the Hong Kong National Security Law, as well as his custodial arrangements and the medical care services provided to him. Their aim to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law is despicable and violates the professional conduct of journalists.

A spokesman for the HKSAR Government stressed, “During today’s open court hearing, senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying clearly presented to the court that the correctional institutions arrange daily medical checkups for Lai Chee-ying and that there had been no complaints at all regarding the medical care he receives there. The Court commended the Correctional Services Department (CSD) while the Department of Justice stated that the prosecution is equally concerned about Lai Chee-ying’s health and well-being. Therefore, the CSD has arranged for a professional medical team to be on standby on the spot, ready to respond to any emergency immediately if needed. External forces and anti-China media chose to turn a blind eye to these facts, and continued to repeat lies and engage in despicable operations. We must sternly denounce their wrongdoings.

“Before attending court, Lai Chee-ying has been certified by medical doctors that he was physically and mentally fit for court hearing. In fact, doctors stationed at correctional institutions and specialists from the Hospital Authority regularly follow-up on Lai Chee-ying’s health conditions. As revealed during the hearing today, in view of Lai Chee-ying’s claims of heart palpitations, after a visiting specialist from the Hospital Authority conducted a detailed examination on him on August 7, no abnormality was found. That said, as precaution, the specialist recommended prescribing medication to Lai Chee-ying to be taken as and when needed, and that he should wear a cardiac monitoring device, but Lai Chee-ying declined the advice of the specialist. On August 13, the CSD arranged for another detailed examination by a specialist from the Hospital Authority. The specialist again recommended that Lai Chee-ying wear a device to monitor his cardiac condition, which Lai Chee-ying accepted in the end. The Hospital Authority and the CSD immediately made such arrangements within a short period of time.”

The spokesman reiterated, “The CSD is committed to ensuring that the custodial environment is secure, safe, humane, appropriate and healthy, and that an environment with good ventilation, appropriate and timely medical support as well as healthy and nutritious meals are provided. The CSD has also put in place an established mechanism, including regular independent visitors, namely Justices of the Peace, who inspect the prisons to ensure the rights of persons in custody (PICs) are protected.”

“Facts speak louder than eloquence. The medical care received by Lai Chee-ying in custody is adequate and comprehensive. The CSD supports PICs with medical services provided by the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority. In general, examination and treatment are conducted by medical staff stationed in CSD facilities. Based on the needs of individual PICs, cases will be referred to specialist departments under the Hospital Authority for further follow-up. Hong Kong’s medical standards are highly regarded worldwide. Professional medical staff provide the most suitable medical services to patients as soon as possible, and PICs are treated equally. The CSD and relevant units also adopt the above arrangements when handling matters related to Lai Chee-ying, which are no different from those applicable to other PICs,” the spokesman pointed out.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, on the fatal work accident at Siu Ho Wan and the Top Talent Pass Scheme at a media session after attending a radio programme today morning (August 16):
 
Reporter: Can you comment on the fatal accident at the MTR depot yesterday? Do you view this as an isolated incident or do you believe it warrants a broader examination of MTR’s safety protocols and oversight? And my second question is, what future strategies will be implemented to attract more talents to Hong Kong and are there plans to provide clearer pathways to long-term residency for successful Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) applicants, especially for those contributing significantly to the economy? Thank you.
 
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Thank you. We are very concerned about the fatal industrial accident happened yesterday. The Labour Department has already issued a suspension order, and also we are looking into the whole accident. At this moment, we do not have anything further to provide, but just to make sure we will look into the whole accident strictly in accordance with our rules and the relevant laws. If there is any body or institution that eventually, through investigation, has to be held accountable for the whole accident, we will pursue in accordance with the law.
 
     Secondly, on talents, yesterday I shared the latest visa renewal outcome with the public. We are making full use of the whole spectrum of talent admission schemes available to us, including the schemes targeting those already had a job offer before arriving in Hong Kong. And also, for talents under the TTPS, where we only require them to prove either they are high-earners, or graduates from one of the top 100 universities in the world. We are encouraged by the visa renewal outcome of the TTPS. We are going to further step up our promotion, so that we are going to attract more talents to Hong Kong to help us grow our economy. Thank you very much.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Police today (August 15) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Ma On Shan.

Tsang Yung, aged 58, went missing after he was last seen at a caring home in Yiu On Estate yesterday (August 14) morning. Staff of the caring home made a report to Police today.

He is about 1.7 metres tall, 76 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short grey hair. He was last seen wearing a grey long-sleeved jacket, black shorts, black shoes, carrying a black crossbody bag and a long black umbrella.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1173 or 5217 5562 or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

National Ecology Day 2025 was held today, with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government staging a launch ceremony and symposium to kick off a series of activities themed around environmental protection and ecological conservation.

 

Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing, Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific & Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Ye Shuiqiu officiated at the ceremony.

 

Delivering the opening speech, Mr Cheuk remarked that this year’s National Ecology Day, the third such event, coincided with the 20th anniversary of President Xi Jinping introducing the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, and that this made the occasion even more special.

 

Mr Cheuk emphasised that the Hong Kong SAR Government places great importance in the country’s “ecological civilisation” initiatives, and is working to promote green transformation in society, conserve the natural environment, and strengthen co-operation with the Mainland, in order to build a beautiful China and a beautiful Hong Kong.

 

At the launch ceremony, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD) signed a “Memorandum of Understanding on the Joint Rescue Mechanism for Large Aquatic Wild Animals” with the Ocean Development Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality.

 

Its aim is to strengthen co-operation between the two places in the rescue of large aquatic wild animals, and to facilitate the sharing of experience and technology in order to improve ecological safety in the waters adjacent to Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

 

At the symposium, representatives from the Mainland and Hong Kong SAR Governments, and from non-governmental organisations, as well as scholars and experts, exchanged ideas on conservation work and the concept of ecological civilisation.

 

Various special activities and offers are available from today to September 28 to encourage the public to respond to and participate in this year’s National Ecology Day.

 

More details can be found on the Countryside Conservation Office website, the AFCD’s Hong Kong Biodiversity Information Hub, and on the websites or social media pages of participating organisations.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau wrapped up his visit to Sydney, Australia, today by touring a beauty and wellness products enterprise, meeting the distillery sector, and attending a business luncheon and dinner.

 

He began the last day of his visit by making a courtesy call on Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China in Sydney Wang Yu.

     

During the meeting, Mr Yau updated Mr Wang on Hong Kong’s latest developments and measures to drive sustained economic growth, and consolidate and enhance the city’s status as an international trade centre.

 

This was followed by a tour of a beauty and wellness enterprise where Mr Yau exchanged views with the company’s senior management on the vast potential of the Asian market.

 

The commerce chief encouraged Australian enterprises to set up regional headquarters in Hong Kong to seize opportunities in Southeast Asian markets as well as the Mainland, in particular the Greater Bay Area.

 

Afterwards, Mr Yau had a lunch meeting with representatives of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the local business community.

 

He sought to understand the needs and development directions of Australian enterprises, and discuss fostering closer business and trade co-operation between Hong Kong and Australia.

 

In the afternoon meeting with an Australian Distillers Association representative, Mr Yau gave an introduction on Hong Kong’s reduction in liquor duty in order to promote liquor trading and boost the development of high value-added industries.

 

Mr Yau also toured a distillery to understand more about the process of distilling and the development of Australian spirits.

 

He concluded the day by attending a business awards gala dinner organised by the Hong Kong Australia Business Association NSW Chapter, where he gave a speech highlighting Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle, and the opportunities ahead for collaboration.

 

Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong tomorrow.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government today reported that Hong Kong’s economy continued to expand solidly in the second quarter of 2025, with real gross domestic product (GDP) rising 3.1% year-on-year.

Acting Government Economist Cecilia Lam gave the figure as she presented the Half-yearly Economic Report 2025. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis, real GDP rose 0.4% in the second quarter.

Ms Lam highlighted that US trade policy continues to bring uncertainty to the global economy and global trade. However, resilient external demand, coupled with some rush shipments in response to temporary easing of tariff measures by the US, supported an acceleration in Hong Kong’s total exports of goods, which saw a year-on-year real-terms increase of 11.5% in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, thanks to strong growth in inbound tourism, sustained expansion in cross-boundary traffic and vibrant financial sector activity, exports of services continued to expand significantly, up 7.5% over a year earlier.

Domestically, private consumption expenditure resumed moderate growth of 1.9% year on year following four consecutive quarters of contraction.

The labour market experienced some softening during the period, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rising to 3.5%. Employment earnings grew solidly over a year earlier.

The residential property market showed some stabilisation during the quarter. Flat prices held broadly stable, and rentals stayed resilient.

Meanwhile, consumer price inflation stayed modest in the second quarter, with the underlying Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) rising 1.1% over a year earlier and the headline CCPI increasing 1.8% year on year.

The Hong Kong economy is expected to maintain growth for the rest of 2025, Ms Lam said.

“Steady economic growth in Asia, in particular the Mainland, together with the sustained increases in local employment earnings, the robust stock market, and the stabilisation of the residential property market will bode well for various sectors of the Hong Kong economy.

“The Government’s various measures to boost consumption, attract investment and diversify markets will also provide further support to the Hong Kong economy.”

Taking into account the actual out-turn in the first half of this year and developments locally and globally, Hong Kong’s real GDP growth forecast for 2025 as a whole has been maintained at 2% to 3%.

As for the inflation outlook, as pressures from domestic costs and external prices are anticipated to stay broadly in check, overall inflation should remain modest in the near term. The forecasts for underlying and headline consumer price inflation rates this year remain at 1.5% and 1.8% respectively.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:

     The 2025 Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) By-elections will be held on September 7 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice David Lok, inspected the hands-on training session organised by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (August 15) to see for himself the training provided to the electoral staff of the central counting station.

     The staff participating in the training today will mainly perform counting duties at the central counting station on the polling day. This training session aims to enhance their understanding of the operation of the relevant system and workflow, and the way to quickly input the votes obtained by each candidate to the relevant system if the fallback counting contingency plan is activated, to ensure that the votes are counted in an accurate and efficient manner.

     Mr Justice Lok said that this training session and simulation could enable the staff to get familiar with the relevant details and arrangements, and the measures to be taken in case of contingencies. He also thanked the electoral staff for their joint efforts and dedication in ensuring that the count would be conducted openly, fairly and honestly.

Five ordinary polling stations will be set up for the ECSS By-elections. After the close of the poll, all ballot boxes will be delivered to the central counting station located at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for counting. The entire counting process involves different steps and details. The REO will continue to arrange different training sessions and simulation exercises for staff responsible for various tasks, including those responsible for operating the electronic counting machines, with an aim of deepening their understanding of their work while at the same time strengthening the co-ordination and response capabilities among staff with different responsibilities for making a detailed and comprehensive preparation for the By-elections and ensuring that the counting of votes can be carried out smoothly.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Public Health and Municipal Services (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 was gazetted on May 16 and will come into effect on August 17.
 
     The Amendment Ordinance strengthens the statutory power of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to deal with various environmental hygiene problems, enabling it to handle problems such as water seepage in buildings, water dripping from air-conditioners, the occupation of public places by miscellaneous articles, and shopfront extension more effectively.
 
     A spokesman for the Environment and Ecology Bureau said, “The Government is committed to enhancing Hong Kong’s environmental hygiene and cityscape. The Amendment Ordinance, along with various administrative measures and public education, can continuously improve Hong Kong’s environmental hygiene, consolidate the achievements made so far and create a more liveable environment in response to the expectations of the public.

     “In the past three months, the FEHD has enhanced publicity and education to raise the awareness of members of the public and relevant sectors of the new legal requirement and arrangements as well as to enhance their law-abiding awareness.”
 
     The Amendment Ordinance extends the hours during which public officers are allowed to enter premises to deal with public health nuisances such as water seepage in buildings and water dripping from air-conditioners to 7am to 10pm. Without reasonable excuse, failing to allow a public officer to enter the premises within 14 days after the issuance or attachment of the Notice of Intended Entry by the FEHD is an offence that may be liable to a maximum penalty of a fine at level 2 ($5,000).
 
     When dealing with vermin problems in private premises, according to the Amendment Ordinance, the FEHD can issue a Notice of Elimination of Vermin to a person responsible for the management of the premises (e.g. owners’ corporations and property management companies) regarding the common parts of the premises, allowing timely handling of vermin in common parts of a building. The maximum penalty for non-compliance with a Notice of Elimination of Vermin will be raised from the current fine at level 2 ($5,000) and a daily fine of $100, to level 4 ($25,000) and a daily fine of $450. In cases where the FEHD has conducted vermin disinfestation work for infested premises without serving a Notice of Elimination of Vermin, the department may recover the expense incurred from the responsible person of the concerned premises. Apart from that, the Amendment Ordinance has raised the maximum penalty from the existing fine at level 1 ($2,000) to a fine at level 2 ($5,000) for tampering with devices set up by the FEHD to destroy and remove vermin; the Amendment Ordinance has also stipulated that the FEHD can place devices and equipment in premises infested with vermin for conducting tests or assessing vermin proliferation. It will be an offence to tamper with such devices and equipment subject to a maximum penalty of a fine at level 2 ($5,000).
 
     Regarding the occupation of public places by miscellaneous articles causing obstruction to scavenging operations, the Amendment Ordinance shortens the removal time specified on the Notice to Remove Obstruction to a period of not less than 30 minutes. The FEHD can exercise discretion by setting a reasonably longer time according to the actual circumstances. The maximum penalty for obstruction to scavenging operations will be raised from a fine at level 2 ($5,000) and a daily fine of $50 to level 3 ($10,000) and a daily fine of $300.
 
     The Amendment Ordinance also empowers enforcement officers to remove and dispose of display equipment like easy-mount frames, apart from bills or posters. The maximum penalty for illegal display or affixation of bills or posters has also been raised from a fine at level 3 ($10,000) and a daily fine of $300 to level 4 ($25,000) and a daily fine of $450.
 
     Furthermore, the Amendment Ordinance will introduce an offence targeting shopfront extension in the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), empowering the FEHD to remove the obstructing articles constituting unlawful shopfront extension without the need to rely on the power of the Hong Kong Police Force to enhance enforcement efficiency. In cases where no claim is made for the article not of a perishable nature within seven days after the date of the exercise of the power of removal, or within 48 hours for the article of perishable nature, the article will be forfeited. The law enforcement criteria and penalty (maximum penalty of a fine at level 4 ($25,000) and three months’ imprisonment) for the offence of shopfront extension remain unchanged. The FEHD can issue fixed penalty notices of $6,000 to offenders.
 
     In light of the related amendments, the Secretary for Environment and Ecology today (August 15) amended the format of the penalty notice in accordance with Section 17A of the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction) Ordinance (Cap. 570), adding the offence of shopfront extension of Cap. 132 accordingly. Specified forms of the concerned penalty notices are gazetted today and will come into effect on the same day as the Amendment Ordinance on August 17.
 
     The FEHD has presented on its webpage the information of the Amendment Ordinance for public reference.