MIL Asia Pacific Publishing Engine

Source:

KEYNOTE ADDRESS by the Associate Minister of Health, Ale Vena Ale

Talofa Lava and Warm Greetings to you all.

Lau Susuga ile ta’ita’i ole sauniga Rev. Maauga Motu, distinguish guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It is my honor to join the Samoa Family Health Association, our development partners, community leaders, young couples and families as we gather for this important event “The Young Couples Contribution to Ending Violence, heldas part of the 16 Days of Activism under the global theme “Unite to End Digital Violence against Women and Girls.

Today, we celebrate not only creativity through poetry, music and performance but also the courage and commitment of our young couples from Vavau and Faleasi’u who have completed the Sexual GBV Fundamentals Training. Their willingness to learn, grow and lead change in their families and communities is something we must acknowledge with pride.

Violence whether physical, emotional, sexual or digital has no place in our societies. With the rapid rise of technology, digital violence has become one of the fastest-growing forms of abuse, affecting many young women and girls in Samoa and around the world. Online bullying, harassment, non-consensual sharing images, and harmful messages can cause deep emotional harm and long – term trauma.

As the Minister of Health, I believe that ending violence is essential to protecting the health, dignity and well being of our people. Violence disrupts families, affects mental health, contributes to unplanned pregnancies, increases sexually transmitted infections and creates cycles of harm that can continue across generations.

This is why the work of SFHA and partner is so important. By empowering young couples with knowledge on Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights, healthy relationships, gender equality and digital safety, we create stronger families and stronger communities.

I commend SFHA for using creative tools such as music, poetry and performance to help young people express their experiences and advocate for change. Young couples hold a special place in the vision pf safer Samoa and they have the power to break old cycles. When young couples stand together as equal partners, treating each other with respect and supporting each other’s dreams, they become powerful agents for ending violence.

To the couples performing today:

You are role models. You are showing Samoa that love built on respect, communication, and shared responsibility can transform our homes and communities. O outou o fa’ata’ita’iga lelei I totonu o aiga, ekalesia ma nuu. Ia faia lenei aso fa’apitoa ma lesona aoga e taoso ma tapena ai se lumana’I manuia mo outou ma I tatou uma mo a taeao.

To the village leadres, parents and families present:

Your support is essential. Ending violence requires all of us: government, community, churches and families working together, towards building strong, safe and loving families. Ole auga lena o faigamea, a lelei pulega a nuu ma afio’aga e saogalemu foi tupulaga ma ona tagata. Fa’afetai I lo outou lagolago ile una’ia o ulugalii e fa’atanuuina lenei faa’amoemoe.

As a nation, we reaffirm our commitment to creating a Samoa where women and girls feel safe both offline and online, where every person’s rights ar eportected and where our communities thrive in peace and respect.

Let us continue to work together, advocate together and stand together to end all forms of violence.

Manuia lo tatou fa’amoemoe.

Fa’afetai tele lava, and May God bless you all.

Source:

Samoa and France Reaffirms Strong Bilateral Partnership during an introductory courtesy call by the Ambassador of France, H.E Guillaume Lemoine

[PRESS RELEASE] – The Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polata’ivao Fosi Schimdt, received the Ambassador of France to Samoa, H.E. Guillaume Lemoine, for an introductory call at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday afternoon.

The call provided an opportunity to reaffirm the longstanding friendship between the two countries, since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1974 and the set up of the French embassy in Apia early this year.

During the introductory call, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for France’s ongoing cooperation across key priority sectors, including maritime surveillance and efforts to counter transnational crime. He acknowledged France’s contributions, through its Pacific territories, in providing training and operational support to Samoa’s law-enforcement agencies.

The Ambassador reiterated France’s readiness to further collaborate in these areas, noting the shared responsibility to protect the region’s maritime domain and uphold regional security.

The Prime Minister and the French Ambassador affirmed their commitment to advancing Samoa–France cooperation and working closely to address emerging challenges facing the Pacific region to ensure stability and sustainable development.

ENDS.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements to co-ordinate and steer the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s preparatory work for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong for the New Year.

Mr Chan noted at the meeting that a series of events will be held in Hong Kong during the New Year’s Eve and New Year holiday, and New Year’s day also marks the start of a three-day long holiday on the Mainland.

Highlighting that a notable increase in the number of visitors during the period is expected, he said the Hong Kong SAR Government will make good preparations for receiving visitors, including actively co-ordinating the ancillary arrangements of boundary control points (BCPs) and transportation, as well as maintaining close liaison with relevant organisations and the travel trade to ensure effective crowd management, information dissemination, and arrangements of public transportation and BCPs.

The New Year’s Eve countdown event this year will forgo the fireworks display and take place in an alternative format to welcome the New Year together with the public and visitors. The Tourism Board will separately announce the detailed arrangements for the countdown event.

In view of a series of New Year’s Eve countdown events, the Hong Kong SAR Government has discussed with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to extend the service hours of BCPs on New Year’s Eve. Further details will be announced as soon as possible. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port and the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port will maintain 24-hour operation as usual on New Year’s Eve.

As for public transport arrangements, the MTR Corporation will extend its East Rail Line services to and from MTR Lo Wu Station, and the majority of MTR railway lines will run overnight on New Year’s Eve. Furthermore, bus routes will be arranged between MTR Sheung Shui Station and San Tin Yellow Bus Station to enable passengers using the East Rail Line to cross the boundary via the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port, which operates round-the-clock, after the end of services to Lo Wu.

An Interdepartmental Joint Command Centre set up by Police, the Immigration Department, the Customs & Excise Department and other relevant departments will be activated from December 31 to January 4 to monitor the real-time situation at various control points.

The centre will maintain close liaison with Mainland port authorities and take timely contingency actions to flexibly deploy manpower at the BCPs.

Moreover, the Security Bureau will activate the Emergency Monitoring & Support Centre from December 31 to January 4 to closely monitor and co-ordinate public order at BCPs and facilitate interdepartmental follow-up action where necessary in case of emergencies.

The Transport Department’s Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will operate 24 hours a day. It will closely monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services in all districts, as well as at BCPs and major stations across Hong Kong, take prompt measures to address service demands, and disseminate the latest traffic updates through various channels.

Moreover, in view of the potential notable increase in the number of tourists visiting Sai Kung High Island Reservoir East Dam during the New Year’s Eve and New Year holiday, Police have taken targeted measures, including deploying uniformed officers at strategic locations at Pak Tam Chung, Man Yee Road and East Dam, for traffic and crowd management during peak tourist arrival and departure periods.

The Transport Department has co-ordinated with the operator to enhance the service of Green Minibus Route No. 9A, from Pak Tam Chung to the East Dam, subject to passenger demand.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Social Welfare Department announced today that China Taiping Life Insurance (HK) Company Ltd has been commissioned to assist the Government in implementing the “Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong – Pilot Medical Subsidy Arrangement” for two years starting from December 22.

Upon the pilot arrangement’s commencement, elderly participants in the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong can apply for a subsidy for medical expenses incurred at designated medical institutions in the Greater Bay Area under the coverage of the National Basic Medical Insurance Policy.

These institutions include clinics, hospitals and pharmacy stores. The annual ceiling is 10,000 renminbi for outpatient expenses and RMB30,000 per person for inpatient expenses.

Under the pilot arrangement, Taiping Life (HK) will assist in processing applications for reimbursement of medical expenses by seniors. This will include vetting and settling claims and conducting investigations of medical services provided.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said that the subsidy’s implementation is a policy innovation that will provide additional healthcare support to participants in the care services scheme.

He added that the company was selected as service provider via an open bidding process, and that he looked forward to it promoting cross-boundary elderly care.

To date, 24 residential care homes for the elderly, spanning eight Mainland cities in the bay area and covering more than 800 elderly Hongkongers, have joined the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong,

Click here for further details.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Director General David Cheng-Wei Wu hosted a year-end luncheon for the chiefs of Sydney-based Taiwanese banks, providing an opportunity to exchange views on Taiwan–Australia financial engagement and cooperation. He also expressed his sincere appreciation for the banks’ long-standing support for the work of TECO in Sydney and for activities within the Taiwanese community.
DG Wu extended his best wishes to the participating banks for continued stability and growth in the year ahead, expressing hopes for prosperity, strong performance, and success for Taiwan’s Financial National Team in 2026.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today launched a three-month public consultation on the review of the registered designs regime of Hong Kong.

Industrial design, as a type of intellectual property, broadly refers to the ornamental aspect of a product, and embodies a designer’s intellectual efforts and acumen for making a product appealing to customers. Legal protection of an industrial design can be obtained in Hong Kong by way of registration under the Registered Designs Ordinance.

Since the enactment of the ordinance in 1997, design trends around the world have significantly evolved with technological innovation and advancement, the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau said, noting that Hong Kong must continue to afford effective protection for designs as the city drives towards new industrialisation.

To ensure that Hong Kong’s registered designs regime is up-to-date and remains competitive, the Government considers it timely and necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of the regime, the bureau added.

The consultation document, now uploaded onto the websites of the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau and the Intellectual Property Department, looks into a wide range of issues pertaining to the local registered designs regime, from the scope of and requirements for legal protection of designs, the procedures for design applications and registrations, to the possible alignment with international practices and standards.

Members of the public may submit their views by email, by fax to 2147 3065 or by post to Division 3, Commerce & Economic Development Bureau, 23/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, on or before March 16 next year. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region