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Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

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

Chief Executive John Lee said this morning that a review of charges and fees for public health services is part of wider reforms to healthcare and will not involve cutting back on expenditure or compromising care for those in need.

Mr Lee was responding to questions from reporters about upcoming adjustments to fees for public hospital and medical services. He stressed that the Health Bureau has been instructed to observe three principles as it reviews the relevant fees.

“First, it is not an expenditure cutting exercise. We shall spend no less money, just to readjust the spending distribution for the sake of efficiency and effectiveness.

“Second, priority should be given to the most needed. This includes helping those with economic difficulties and those cases in which the patient suffers from emergency, the most serious, and critical illnesses.”

Mr Lee outlined that the third principle is to reduce wastage of resources. He added that he has urged the bureau to finalise its review as soon as possible, with an aim to announce details before the end of March.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Chief Executive John Lee today expressed sorrow over the passing of entrepreneur Lee Shau-kee.     

He said Lee Shau-kee was an outstanding business leader and entrepreneur who had made significant contributions to Hong Kong’s economic development, as well as the city’s prosperity and stability.

The Chief Executive also emphasised that the entrepreneur was a highly respected philanthropist.

“He had made outstanding contributions to education and community service in the past decades, including his generous donations to a number of universities and tertiary institutions in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and his ardent support for the development of higher education and talent development.

“He had established the Lee Shau Kee Foundation and the Hong Kong Pei Hua Education Foundation, which promote education, with special concern on the development of education and research in Chinese communities. He was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2007.

“I express sorrow over the passing of Dr Lee and extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho, Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin and Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak also expressed sadness over Mr Lee’s passing.

Ms Linn said Mr Lee was an outstanding entrepreneur who had led Henderson Land Group in making significant contributions to Hong Kong’s land and housing development.

She added that besides his remarkable achievements in business, Mr Lee was committed to promoting corporate social responsibility and actively engaged in philanthropic endeavours.

Ms Ho said: “We are grateful to Henderson Land Development for actively supporting the Government’s transitional housing programme by providing land and short-term vacant units in urban areas and the New Territories, helping to alleviate the housing pressures faced by those living in poor conditions and those with urgent housing needs.”

Ms Choi stressed that Mr Lee’s donations to various tertiary institutions, secondary schools and primary schools, in Hong Kong and Mainland China, for campus expansion, improvements to facilities, and the establishment of various scholarship,s have benefited numerous students.

Miss Mak highlighted, meanwhile, that Mr Lee had spared no effort in youth development. In particular, the Lee Shau Kee Foundation supported the Government’s Youth Hostel Scheme, including through a donation of land in Yuen Long to the Po Leung Kuk.

The Po Leung Kuk Lee Shau Kee Youth Oasis is currently the largest project under the Youth Hostel Scheme, and its construction was fully funded by the Government.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired the first meeting of the fourth-term Human Resources Planning Commission, during which the Office of the Government Economist briefed the members on Hong Kong’s latest economic performance and labour market situation.

 

The committee members took note that the economy progressed steadily last year amid a complicated and changing external environment, recording a moderate growth of 2.5%.

 

The labour market, on the other hand, remained tight with the latest unemployment rate staying low at 3.1%. Looking ahead, Hong Kong’s economy is expected to register further growth of 2 to 3% in 2025 despite a challenging external environment.

 

The members were also informed about the 2024 highlights and 2025 plans of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE). HKTE organised the inaugural Global Talent Summit · Hong Kong in May last year, which successfully promoted Hong Kong’s dual role as an international talent hub and the country’s gateway for talent to the international community, while strengthening regional talent co-operation.

 

To reinforce the city’s status as an international hub for high-calibre talent, HKTE will organise the second Global Talent Summit early next year. The committee members discussed HKTE’s work strategy for attracting talent and promoting Hong Kong.

 

The committee was also briefed by the Labour & Welfare Bureau on the outcomes of the latest round of the Talent List update. With the addition of nine new professions, the updated list covers 60 professions with local talent shortages, and would help attract top talent and professionals required for the industries related to the “eight centres” to generate new impetus for growth.

 

The members were pleased to note that the committee’s views and those from local business chambers and industry organisations have been taken on board. They also discussed ways to strengthen external promotion of the Talent List.

 

Emphasising that the Human Resources Planning Commission is an important policy platform, Mr Chan said that he looks forward to working closely with its members in the future to assist the Government’s work in building a vibrant economy and striving for development, ensuring effective human resources planning to promote diversified development of the economy.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Housing Department (HD) will enhance the existing measures against illegal parking in public rental housing (PRH) estates to ensure that estate roads, especially the emergency vehicular access (EVA), remain unobstructed.

 

It made the statement today after the Office of the Ombudsman released a report on its direct investigation into the illegal parking issue in PRH estates.

 

Apart from expressing thanks for the Ombudsman’s valuable views on current road control mechanisms, the department said that it agrees with and accepts all the Ombudsman’s suggestions, most of which are already implemented in PRH estates.

 

The Housing Authority (HA) and HD have been continuously strengthening management practices and introducing various facilities equipped with innovative technologies, including Internet of Things sensors, artificial intelligence, etc to enhance enforcement effectiveness in combatting illegal parking.

 

In addition, the HA and HD promote law-abiding awareness among residents through publicity and education with the aim of maintaining estate roads, especially to keep EVA unobstructed.

 

The HD explained that its staff will continue to conduct daily monitoring, surprise inspections and regular meetings with service contractors to ensure they have effectively executed their contractual obligations such as road control.

 

To strengthen road control, the Mobile Operations Unit under the HD will base on the actual circumstances and requests from estate offices to carry out surprise enforcement actions on roads with higher instances of illegal parking, especially the EVA.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Three projects were approved in the 2023-2024 round of the Lantau Conservation Fund, involving a total amount of about $8.5 million, the Sustainable Lantau Office announced today.

 

The approved projects are namely the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society’s “Between Mountain & Sea – Nature Conservation Management for Shui Hau”, the Baptist University’s “The Military History of Lantau Island from the Early Modern Period to the Early Cold War: A Spatial History Project (1600-1960)”, and Outdoor Wildlife Learning’s “Lantau Odonata Ecological Education & Conservation Program”.

 

The Sustainable Lantau Office also said that the Lantau Conservation Fund, which aims to raise community awareness about the conservation of Lantau and engage the community to put conservation into practice, is now accepting a new round of applications.

 

The application deadline for the “Conservation Management Agreement Project” and “Education & Engagement Project” is April 30 at 5pm, while the cut-off point for the “Research Project” is March 31 at 5pm.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Government today published the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2025, which covers the implementation of an electronic driving licence (eDL), in the Gazette.

 

The bill proposes to amend the Road Traffic Ordinance and related legislation to give holders of driving licences and driving instructors’ licences an alternative option to producing a driving licence for examination or inspection when requested. It would allow holders to displaying their electronic licences on their smart phones, via a specified electronic platform.

 

The eDL will not be a substitute for a physical driving licence, as driving licence holders will still be issued with a physical driving licence, but they may offer an eDL when requested to show their licence.

 

The Government believes implementation of an eDL will bring greater convenience to some 2.5 million driving licence holders – especially commercial vehicle drivers, whose physical driving licences are more susceptible to damage due to frequent use.

 

Those who choose to use an eDL will be able to display it by logging on to a specified eDL mobile application on their smart phones via iAM Smart or the Transport Department’s e-Licensing Portal.

 

To prevent eDL forgeries, the relevant application will be equipped with security features, including identity authentication and disablement of the screen capture function.

 

The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for a first reading on March 19.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Housing Authority announced today that the White Form Secondary Market Scheme 2024 (WSM 2024) will open for applications starting from 8am tomorrow until 7pm on March 26.

 

Starting from WSM 2024, the quota will increase significantly by 1,500 to 6,000, the authority explained. The additional 1,500 quotas are designated for the Youth Scheme (WSM) and will be allocated to young applicants aged below 40.

 

The additional Youth Scheme (WSM) quotas comprise 1,350 quotas allocated to young family applicants and 150 allocated to young one-person applicants.

 

The remaining 4,500 ordinary quotas include 4,050 quotas allocated to family applicants and 450 quotas allocated to one-person applicants.

 

Regarding application arrangements, the authority pointed out that the WSM 2024 will adopt the eligibility criteria for the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme Flats 2024, including the income and asset limits as well as restrictions on domestic property ownership in Hong Kong.

 

The income and asset limits for family applicants are set at $60,000 per month and $1.23 million, while the income and asset limits for one-person applicants are set at $30,000 per month and $615,000.

 

Balloting exercises are expected to be held in the second quarter of this year, and the issuance of approval letters to successful applicants are expected to start from the third or fourth quarter of this year.

 

Application forms and guides can be viewed and downloaded from the designated website from today.

 

Printed copies can be obtained from the authority’s Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu, the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme Sales Unit’s office, estate offices and district tenancy management offices as well as the Housing Society’s rental estate offices and the Home Affairs Department’s Home Affairs Enquiry Centres, also from today.

 

Call the 24-hour hotline at 2712 8000 for application matters.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Government announced today that the five taxi fleet operators it selected will soon commence service with a fleet of over 3,500 taxis, accounting for nearly 20% of the total number of taxis in Hong Kong.

 

While addressing the Taxi Fleet Launching Ceremony this morning, Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan said that the launch of the service marks an important milestone of the trade’s development in the city.

 

The selected operators comprise three urban fleets and two mixed fleets, ranging from 300 to 1,000 taxis each. They will deploy about 1,500 new vehicles at the time of the service commencement and the first fleet is expected to start service by the end of this month.

 

Passengers will be served with electric taxis, wheelchair-accessible taxis or premium taxis to promote green transport and cater for the diverse travel needs of the customers.

 

All fleets must provide online hailing services, customer service hotlines and different electronic communication channels for passengers to select appropriate vehicle types, and rate driver services.

 

Additionally, all fleet taxis will provide multiple electronic payment means, while safety devices and driver monitoring systems will be equipped for passengers’ convenience and driving safety.

 

For passengers’ easy identification, all fleet taxis are required to display a fleet taxi certificate and fleet taxi plate.

 

Ms Chan noted that the Government introduced a series of measures to enhance taxi services in the past two years, and the introduction of the new taxi fleet regime was one of the key initiatives.

 

Under the Transport Department’s regulatory regime, operators form fleets with professional management and good use of technologies to provide quality service for passengers, bringing a new look to the taxi trade, she added.

 

The department issued conditional grants of the Taxi Fleet License to the five selected operators in July 2024, and they are required to complete the gearing-up work and commence service within one year.

 

The department will monitor the fleet’s operations and actively promote the remaining fleets to commence operations as soon as possible.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Judiciary will launch a two-year pilot scheme involving live broadcasts of substantive appellate proceedings in the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) on April 1.

The first two hearings under the scheme will be broadcast live on April 1 and 7.

Members of the public may view the webcasts by visiting the CFA website on computers or mobile devices installed with common browsers.

The Judiciary said the move will enhance the transparency of court procedures and strengthen public confidence in the judicial process.

It plans to implement live broadcasting for all substantive appeal cases in the CFA, except for cases where protection of the interests of children or mentally disabled adults, privacy, trade secrets or commercial confidentiality is required.

Proceedings related to national security, high-profile public order cases, and highly politically charged cases will also be exceptions.

The Judiciary explained that these exceptions are intended to preserve judicial decorum, prevent excessive pressure on litigants and lawyers, and safeguard the fair and proper administration of justice.

Where such exceptions apply, people may still attend the hearings in person, unless otherwise directed by the CFA.

Members of the public, including the media, must not record live webcasts or use live broadcast footage for any purpose.

After each live webcast ends, video of the court proceedings will be uploaded to and kept on the CFA website for one month.

The Judiciary conducted four trial runs, featuring live broadcasts of court proceedings in four selected CFA cases, last year, in order to test the technical, logistical and operational arrangements. 

Under the pilot scheme, the live broadcasts will be conducted on the Judiciary’s in-house platform, replacing the outsourcing arrangements used in the four trial runs. The Judiciary said this approach will ensure the most cost-effective use of public resources.

Upon completion of the pilot scheme, the Judiciary will review and consider long-term arrangements for live broadcasting of court proceedings.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

​​Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung today officiated at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps (HKACC) new headquarters and training centre located at Shiu Fai Terrace in Wan Chai, marking a new chapter in the corps’ development.

Speaking at the event, Mr Tang noted that the domestically developed C919 passenger aircraft began regular flights between Hong Kong and Shanghai in January this year, and that last month’s Budget highlighted the support for the C919 to enter the international market.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s first aircraft components handling and trading centre, indicating promising prospects for the future of the city’s aviation industry and an increasing demand for talent.

The security chief said the new headquarters will provide a perfect place for members to explore their aviation dreams, and encouraged them to equip themselves to contribute to the aviation industry of Hong Kong and the nation.

The new headquarters is equipped with flight simulators, virtual reality equipment and drill practice areas, giving members various learning and training opportunities to enhance their aviation knowledge, positive thinking, discipline and team spirit.

It also features a national education exhibition, showcasing the country’s achievements and developments to strengthen young people’s national identity and sense of pride.

During the ceremony, corps members performed a flag-raising ceremony and a Chinese-style drill demonstration, followed by a review conducted by Mr Tang. The guests enjoyed a performance by the HKACC band before touring the main facilities at the new headquarters.

On April 1, 2024, the Government Flying Service incorporated the HKACC as a department-funded youth uniformed group, further enhancing support for the corps in order to promote youth development and train more talent for Hong Kong’s aviation industry.