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Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Digital Policy Office (DPO) has announced the launch of four AI Efficacy Enhancement Projects, an initiative led by its dedicated AI team to upgrade 1823 public services.

Among these is Call Assistant, which leverages speech recognition technology and large language models (LLMs) to transcribe phone conversations on designated topics in real time, automatically generating concise summaries to reduce post-call administrative work by 15%. 

Simultaneously, Email Extraction utilises an LLM to analyse incoming public emails, automatically extracting key case details and populating the customer service management system to cut manual data entry time by an estimated 30%.

To streamline urgent matters, Prioritisation of Departments’ Replies applies AI algorithms to analyse email content and flag high-priority cases, with identification time expected to shorten from two days to just a few hours. 

Finally, the Dashboard initiative leverages AI to consolidate and present case data, enabling departments to follow up on local issues and strengthen district governance.

Additionally, the DPO plans to launch the 1823 web application on the iAM Smart platform in the fourth quarter to replace the existing 1823 mobile app, allowing the public to access 1823 services directly through the iAM Smart platform.

The DPO is also providing all-round support for departments in adopting AI to drive public service transformation.

The Government Cloud Infrastructure Services, which currently supports over 60 departments and 600 digital government services, provides private cloud services, shared advanced AI computing power, LLMs and AI development tools, enabling departments to develop digital and smart government services more reliably and flexibly.

Furthermore, the DPO will develop two innovative AI services: the iAM Smart AI Assistant, which allows the public to ask questions and instantly receive information and related service links from the app, and AI Agents, which assist government personnel in handling standardised and repetitive administrative tasks using intelligent AI.

Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy Daniel Cheung noted at a briefing that AI is rapidly transforming the mode of public services.

“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is actively driving an AI+ public service transformation to enhance government efficiency and optimise citizens’ user experience with AI,” Mr Cheung said.

“The DPO will spearhead and provide support in the process, assisting various departments in adopting AI safely and effectively,” he said.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence (MWRCD) is collaborating with the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration to stage the “Youth Heading to Yan’an: Patriotic Youth During the War of Resistance” thematic exhibition. The exhibition will run from August 28 to July 7, 2027. The exhibition brings revolutionary relics from three cultural and heritage institutions in Shaanxi Province to Hong Kong for the first time. It illustrates how the Communist Party of China (CPC) led the resistance during the War of Resistance, offering an overview of the patriotic youths from across the country and international friends who travelled to Yan’an to support the war effort. It also presents the history of the deep bond between Yan’an and Hong Kong amid the flames of war, enhancing public understanding of the significant contributions made by the CPC and the patriotic spirit of the youth of that time. Admission is free.
 
     Addressing the opening ceremony today (August 27), the Acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Miss Eve Tam, said that during the War of Resistance, countless patriotic youths stepped forward and travelled to Yan’an to support the war effort. Hong Kong, leveraging its unique political and geographical background, served not only as a window to publicise the resistance to the international community, but also as a vital transit hub for overseas relief supplies. Apart from honouring martyrs and commemorating the outstanding contributions of predecessors to the War of Resistance, the exhibition aims to pass on this timeless spirit of patriotism across generations. She added that the MWRCD has long shouldered the important mission of promoting the history of the War of Resistance, allowing the public to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the War of Resistance and the sacrifice of martyrs, and to cultivate national identity and patriotism among students and the general public through organising regular thematic exhibitions and diverse public education activities. Last year, the MWRCD held over 1 600 educational activities and received an attendance of over 170 000.
 
     Other officiating guests included the Second-level Inspector of the Education and Youth Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Cui Feng; Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration Mr Ma Baoshou; the Convenor of the Working Group on Patriotic Education under the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, Dr Eliza Chan; the Chief Editor of the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute, Professor Lau Chi-pang; the Chairman of the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Douglas So; the President of the Society of Veterans of the Original Hong Kong Independent Battalion of the Dongjiang Column, Ms Lam Chun; and the Head of the Chinese Culture Promotion Office, Mr Terence Cheung.
 
     This exhibition comprises three parts, namely “United in the War of Resistance: A Guiding Beacon”, “Chasing Dreams in the Holy Land: A Shared Journey of Youth”, and “Backed by the Motherland, Connected to the World”, featuring approximately 24 sets of exhibits from the Memorial Museum of the Eighth Route Army Xi’an Office, the Yan’an Literature and Art Memorial Museum, and the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese Military and Political University Memorial Hall, displayed in Hong Kong for the first time. The exhibits include “On the United Front: Our Proposal to Resist Japan and Save the Nation in the Past Year” published in 1937, the piano sheet music in German used by famous female composer and pianist Ji Ming, a graduation certificate of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University in 1940, a bugle used by the Eighth Route Army, and a medal for model youth issued by the Political Department of the 18th Army Group, and more. Among them are five second-grade and four third-grade cultural relics. There are also five cultural relics from Hong Kong, including “The Eastern Pictorial” in 1941 and a vinyl record of “Sending Winter Clothes” by Lam Yee-mui from 1938, alongside over 90 photographs which portray the history of the War of Resistance in Yan’an.
 
     In addition to the thematic exhibition gallery, the exhibition also features the “Interactive Yan’an” zone and the “Youth Academy” education corner, which feature bite-sized facts about Yan’an and multimedia programmes to allow visitors to explore the “Revolutionary Holy Land” of Yan’an from multiple perspectives. To complement the exhibition, the MWRCD will organise a series of activities, including thematic lectures, workshops, film screenings, and musical performances, highlighting Yan’an’s tremendous contributions during the War of Resistance as well as its historical connection with Hong Kong in an easy-to-understand manner.
 
     The exhibition is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration and jointly organised by the Chinese Culture Promotion Office, the MWRCD, the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center and the Memorial Museum of the Eighth Route Army Xi’an Office. For details of the exhibition, please visit the website of the MWRCD at hk.waranddefence.museum/en/web/mcd/youthheadingtoyanan.html.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, met with Vice-Governor of the People’s Government of Qinghai Province Mr Liu Tao today (August 27) and exchanged views on strengthening co-operation between the Hong Kong and Qinghai Governments, as well as promoting green development in both places. They jointly witnessed the signing of the Cooperation Arrangement on Ecology and Environment between the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, and the Communist Party Chief of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Qinghai Province, Mr Dong Yuyi, in Hong Kong. The Cooperation Arrangement seeks to deepen the collaboration and technical exchanges between both sides in areas including ecological and environmental protection and the green industry.

     Mr Chan stated that Qinghai has rich experience in ecological conservation and clean energy, while Hong Kong has an internationalised network and advanced management technologies. The Cooperation Arrangement will help promote the establishment of an all-rounded and regular mechanism for ecological and environmental co-operation between the two places, strengthening experience sharing and exchanges in areas such as policy regulation, solid waste management, promotion of environmental protection, scientific research and innovation, as well as talent nurturing. The Cooperation Arrangement will also actively align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan and promote high-quality green development in the direction of achieving complementary strengths and mutual benefits.

     Mr Tse led officials from the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Environmental Protection Department to exchange views with Mr Liu and the delegation of the People’s Government of Qinghai Province before the signing ceremony. The two sides had an in-depth discussion on the environmental and ecological co-operation between the two places.

     The Acting Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Environment), Ms Polly Kwok, and the Acting Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Vanessa Au, also attended the meeting and the Cooperation Arrangement signing ceremony.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Digital Policy Office (DPO) announced today (August 27) that it will launch four AI Efficacy Enhancement Projects to upgrade 1823 services, and provide all-round support for government departments in applying AI, to drive the “AI+” transformation of public service.

     The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, said at a briefing, “AI is rapidly transforming the mode of public services. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Government is actively driving an ‘AI+’ public service transformation to enhance government efficiency and optimise citizens’ user experience with AI. The DPO will spearhead and provide support in the process, assisting various departments in adopting AI safely and effectively.”

Strengthening AI application in 1823 services

     Managed by the DPO, 1823 serves as an important platform for communication between the Government and the public, handling over 7.5 million enquiries and complaints last year. In recent years, 1823 has been continuously enhancing its digital self-service offerings, including an intelligent interactive telephony system employing voice recognition technology to identify call enquiries and disseminate relevant information; an enhanced 1823 chatbot to answer enquiries on e-forms; and the launch of an online 1823 Case Status Enquiry service for the public to conveniently check the progress of cases on their own.

     To continuously upgrade 1823 services, the DPO, under the leadership of the AI Efficacy Enhancement Team, will roll out four AI Efficacy Enhancement Projects: “Call Assistant”, “Email Extraction”, “Prioritisation of Departments’ Replies” and “Dashboard”. These are expected to be launched this year.

• “Call Assistant” – utilises speech recognition technology and large language models (LLM) to transcribe phone conversations on specific topics into text in real-time and automatically generate case summaries. It is projected to reduce after-call work time by 15 per cent;
• “Email Extraction” – employs LLM to analyse the content of public emails and automatically extract case data on specific topics into the customer service management system. It is anticipated to reduce manual data entry time by 30 per cent;
• “Prioritisation of Departments’ Replies” – uses AI to analyse emails and automatically identify cases requiring priority handling, with the identification time expected to be drastically shortened from two days to a few hours; and
• “Dashboard” – leverages AI to consolidate data of cases related to people’s livelihood and visualises the data on a dashboard. It refers the issues to the responsible departments at the district level for follow-up, and urges them to take appropriate action to help improve district governance. 

     Additionally, the DPO plans to launch the 1823 web application on the “iAM Smart” platform in the fourth quarter to replace the existing 1823 mobile app, allowing the public to access 1823 services directly through the “iAM Smart” platform.

All-round support for departments in AI adoption

     Meanwhile, the DPO is providing all-round support for departments in adopting AI to drive public service transformation.

     The Government Cloud Infrastructure Services provides secure and reliable private cloud services, shared advanced AI computing power, LLM and AI development tools covering core capabilities such as text comprehension, image generation, knowledgebase creation, and process automation. This enables departments to develop digital and smart government services in a more reliable, flexible, secure, and cost-effective manner. The Government Cloud Infrastructure Services currently supports over 60 bureaux/departments, powering more than 600 digital government services.

     Furthermore, since July this year, these government private cloud services have supported document assistance tools developed by the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Center. These tools facilitate tasks such as document writing, translation, drafting of meeting minutes, and smart searches, facilitating departments to handle confidential materials.

     In the course of public service transformation enabled by “AI+”, the DPO is also proactively building a support system by bringing in market expertise. This includes providing AI advisory services, project strategy and hands-on support for government departments, as well as offering AI training for civil servants at different levels, covering basic awareness, professional skills, and leadership decision-making, thereby laying a solid foundation for the development of “AI+” public service.

     In the coming months, the DPO will develop two innovative AI services: the “iAM Smart” AI Assistant and AI Agents. The “iAM Smart” AI Assistant will allow the public to ask questions in common everyday language and instantly receive information and related service links from the “iAM Smart” mobile app, facilitating one-stop completion of tasks. Paying heed to the principles of ensuring the prudent and progressive adoption of AI, the DPO is making arrangements to deploy AI Agents within the Government. These Agents will assist government personnel in handling standardised and repetitive administrative tasks using intelligent AI in a secure, stable, and compliant environment. This will allow human resources to focus on more complex matters requiring professional judgement, thereby enhancing work efficiency. It is planned to pilot the AI Agents within the Government in the fourth quarter.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region