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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by Professor the Hon William Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):

Question:
(1) whether comprehensive assessment and adjustment relating to the ancillary transport facilities in HKSP have been made by the authorities in the past three years in response to the growth of the working population in HKSP; if so, of the details; if not, whether such assessment and adjustment will be made;
(1) To cater for the transportation needs of HKSP staff to commute to and from work, 20 franchised bus routes terminating or passing through HKSP are currently in service during the morning and evening peak hours on working days. Their service areas cover a wide range of districts across the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, including Sha Tin, North District, Tai Po, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing, Tseung Kwan O, Kwun Tong, Yau Tsim Mong, Wan Chai, Eastern District and Islands District (including the Airport). In addition, there are six franchised bus routes and five green minibus (GMB) routes providing whole-day feeder services during non-peak hours, which connect HKSP to the MTR University Station, MTR Shatin Station, Sha Tin and Ma On Shan.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Financial Secretary Paul Chan attended the 2025 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai today and witnessed the signing of the Action Plan for Collaborative Development of Shanghai & Hong Kong International Financial Centres.

 

Mr Chan, as one of the key guests, took part in the forum’s opening ceremony and morning plenary session. 

 

Themed “Financial Opening-Up & Cooperation for High-Quality Development in a Changing Global Economy”, the forum was jointly organised by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the People’s Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

 

Government officials, financial regulators, industry leaders, renowned think tanks and scholars from multiple countries participated in the forum to discuss topics such as global monetary policy, capital market development, financial technology and innovation, and inclusive finance.

 

Before the opening ceremony, Mr Chan and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Executive Vice Mayor Wu Wei jointly witnessed the signing of the action plan.

 

It was signed by Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui and Shanghai Office for Advancing International Financial Center Development Director-General Zhou Xiaoquan, who is also Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau Director.

 

The action plan covers six areas with a total of 38 measures, including deepening the interconnectivity between Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, enhancing the linkage and co-operation of the two places’ capital markets, supporting eligible Shanghai enterprises to list and raise funds in Hong Kong, and strengthening collaboration in areas such as commodity trading, reinsurance, green finance and fintech.

 

The plan aims to further leverage the financial opening up, development and risk management advantages of the two cities, enhance cross-boundary and offshore financial co-operation, and promote the co-ordinated development of the two international financial centres.

 

In his speech at the ceremony, Mr Chan explained that the action plan further specifies the directions of co-operation between Hong Kong and Shanghai, thereby injecting new and richer content into multi-level and multi-field financial collaboration.

 

Furthermore, he noted that it includes new measures to deepen financial interconnectivity, highlights support for Mainland enterprises to go global, and promotes standard alignment and financial innovation.

 

Mr Chan added that with strong support from the country, Hong Kong and Shanghai will join forces to create greater synergy and collaborative benefits, thus making greater contributions to the country’s development as a financial powerhouse.

 

Upon arriving in Shanghai yesterday, the Financial Secretary attended an international exchange dinner hosted by the China Finance 40 Forum where he shared how Hong Kong is striving to promote high-quality financial development amid global political and economic changes.

 

Mr Chan departed for Hong Kong around noon today.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government has welcomed the Legislative Council’s passage today of the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2025, which revises the continuous contract requirement under the Employment Ordinance, making it easier for employees to enjoy comprehensive employment rights.

Under the revised requirement, the weekly working hours threshold will be lowered from 18 hours to 17 hours. Moreover, a week involving less than 17 working hours will still be regarded as a continuous employment period if the sum of the working hours of that week and those of the three weeks immediately preceding it reaches 68.

The Government outlined that the amendment introduces flexibility in the calculation of working hours, reducing the likelihood of the continuity of workers’ employment being disrupted due to working hours occasionally fall below the threshold.

Other provisions of the ordinance will continue to operate as they have been, and existing eligibility criteria for employees to enjoy various statutory benefits will remain unchanged.

The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 will be published in the Government Gazette next Friday. The revised continuous contract requirement will be effective from January 18, 2026.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The 2025-26 HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland is open for the second round of applications until July 10, the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau announced today.

Eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are invited to submit applications.

Through the funding scheme, the bureau and the Youth Development Commission provide funding for NGOs to organise exchange projects on the Mainland for Hong Kong young people to learn and understand the country’s development, foster exchanges with Mainland people and strengthen their sense of national identity.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):

Question:

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the 2025 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai today (June 18) and witnessed the signing of the Action Plan for Collaborative Development of Shanghai and Hong Kong International Financial Centres.
 
     The Lujiazui Forum is an international high-level dialogue platform that discusses major issues in the financial sector. This year, the forum was jointly organised by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the People’s Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Themed “Financial Opening-Up and Cooperation for High-Quality Development in a Changing Global Economy”, the forum has brought together government officials, financial regulators, industry leaders, renowned think tanks and scholars from multiple countries to discuss topics such as global monetary policy, capital market development, financial technology and innovation, and inclusive finance. The plenary session this afternoon will include a session on deepening the co-operation and development of Shanghai and Hong Kong as international financial centres. 
 
     Mr Chan, as one of the key guests, attended the forum’s opening ceremony and morning plenary session. 
 
     Before the opening ceremony, Mr Chan and the Executive Vice Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Mr Wu Wei, jointly witnessed the signing of the Action Plan for Collaborative Development of Shanghai and Hong Kong International Financial Centres, by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, and the Director-General of the Shanghai Office for Advancing International Financial Center Development and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau, Mr Zhou Xiaoquan.
 
     The Action Plan covers six areas with a total of 38 measures, including deepening the interconnectivity between Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, enhancing the linkage and co-operation of the two places’ capital markets, supporting eligible Shanghai enterprises to list and raise funds in Hong Kong, and strengthening collaboration in areas such as commodity trading, reinsurance, green finance and fintech. The aim is to further leverage the financial opening up, development and risk management advantages of the two cities, enhance cross-boundary and offshore financial co-operation, and promote the co-ordinated development of the two international financial centres. 
 
     In his speech at the ceremony, Mr Chan said that the Action Plan further specifies the directions of co-operation between Hong Kong and Shanghai, thereby injecting new and richer content into multi-level and multi-field financial collaboration. It includes, first, new measures to deepen financial interconnectivity; second, highlighting support for Mainland enterprises to go global; and third, promoting standard alignment and financial innovation. With strong support from the country, Hong Kong and Shanghai, as two international financial centres, will join forces to create greater synergy and collaborative benefits, thus making greater contributions to the country’s development as a financial powerhouse while also injecting Chinese wisdom and strength into the development of the global financial market. 
 
     Yesterday (June 17), upon arriving in Shanghai, Mr Chan attended an international exchange dinner hosted by the China Finance 40 Forum. Attendees included leaders from domestic and international financial institutions, regulatory bodies, think tanks and academia. At the dinner, Mr Chan shared how Hong Kong is striving to promote high-quality financial development amid global political and economic changes. This includes advancing financial market reforms to better attract global capital to support the development of the real economy, supporting the prudent advancement of Renminbi internationalisation, embracing financial innovation including digital assets, and providing comprehensive, high value-added services for Mainland enterprises’ international development. The goal is to better contribute to the country’s financial reform and high-level opening up while creating opportunities for global investors and businesses. 
 
     Mr Chan departed for Hong Kong around noon today.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
 
Question:
 
     According to government information, 15 000-odd public rental housing (PRH) units were recovered by the Housing Department for various reasons in 2023, which was 55 per cent more than the annual number of about 10 000 units in the past. Regarding the recovery of PRH units and the Well-off Tenants Policies, will the Government inform this Council of the following information in the past five financial years:
 
(1) the number of PRH units recovered each year for the following reasons:
(i) death of principal tenants or principal tenants being admitted to residential care homes;
(ii) principal tenants having purchased subsidised sale flats;
(iii) tenants moving out due to breach of tenancy agreements (e.g. ‍accruing 16 points within two years under the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement or defaulting on rent payment);
(iv) tenants moving out due to failure or refusal to return the declaration form on income and assets as required;
(v) tenants moving out as their family income/total household net asset value exceeded the limits prescribed under the Well-off Tenants Policies;
(vi) tenants were asked to move out as their household members owned domestic properties in Hong Kong;
(vii) voluntary surrender of units by tenants (including moving to other regions/countries, moving to other residences, or for unknown reasons);
(viii) tenants moving out upon application for transfer; and
(ix) other reasons;
 
(2) the number of recovered PRH units used for allocation to applicants on the PRH Waiting List each year;
 
(3) the number of Notices-to-quit (NTQs) issued by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) to PRH tenants each year and, among them, the number of tenants who lodged appeals in this regard, together with a breakdown by the outcome of the appeals (e.g. ‍cancellation of NTQs, amendment of NTQs and setting of conditions for the tenants lodging appeals to rectify the violations, as well as unsuccessful appeals);
 
(4) the number of cases received by the HA in which applications for granting of new tenancy agreements were made by authorised members of the units due to the death or moving out of the original principle tenants and, among such cases, the number of those which were approved and rejected; among the approved cases, the number of those in which the PRH units involved were granted approval for addition of household members to the tenancy in the past three years;
 
(5) the number of PRH tenants who had successfully applied for deletion of household members from the tenancy each year and, among them, the number of those who were well-off tenants; and
 
(6) the respective numbers of PRH tenants who were required under the Well-off Tenants Policies to pay (i) 1.5 times net rent plus rates and (ii) double net rent plus rates each year?
 
Reply:

President,
 
     In response to the questions raised by the Hon Elizabeth Quat, our reply is as follows:

(1) In the past five financial years (i.e. 2020/21 to 2024/25), the numbers of public rental housing (PRH) units recovered by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), categorised by reasons for recovery, are listed in Annex 1.
 
(2) Based on the established allocation policies and programmes, the HA allocates newly completed and refurbished recovered PRH units to meet the needs of applicants under various categories. We will allocate most of the units to PRH applicants and closely monitor the actual allocation figures of other categories (e.g. Compassionate Rehousing) to ensure that any units in excess of the estimated demand under other categories would be allocated to PRH applicants by the end of the year. In the past five financial years, the actual numbers of recovered PRH units allocated to PRH applicants and applicants under other categories are tabulated in Annex 2.
 
(3) In the past five financial years, the numbers of Notices-to-quit issued by the HA, the numbers of appeal cases received by the Appeal Panel (Housing), and the numbers of appeal cases heard by the Appeal Panel (Housing) as well as the rulings are set out by category in Annex 3.
 
(4) According to the HA’s existing Policy on Grant of New Tenancy (GNT), upon the death or moving out of the principal tenant of a PRH unit, the tenancy can be granted to his/her spouse who has been listed in the tenancy. If there is no surviving spouse listed in the tenancy, one of the authorised family members currently living in the unit can be granted a new tenancy, provided that the Comprehensive Means Test and Domestic Property Test set at the level of Well-off Tenants Policies are passed. In the past five financial years, there were approximately 32 000 GNT cases approved upon the death or moving out of the original principal tenant. The Housing Department (HD) does not keep statistics on the number of rejected applications for GNT and the number of approved GNT cases which involved addition of household members.
 
(5) In the past five financial years, the HA approved an average of about 44 000 cases per year on the deletion of family members from PRH tenancies. Among these cases, around 16 700 cases arose from death or admission to elderly homes, while the remaining of about 27 300 cases resulted from moving out or other reasons. The HD does not keep statistics on the number of aforesaid cases which involved “well-off tenants”.
 
(6) In the past five financial years, the numbers of PRH tenants under the HA required to pay 1.5 or double net rent plus rates are listed in Annex 4.