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LCQ13: Youth training and development 
     The Chief Executive announced in the 2025 Policy Address that, to broaden the international horizons of Hong Kong young people and cultivate their holistic outlook, the Government will launch the Youth Talent Training Programme and a new media thematic internship programme on the Mainland, strengthen the Youth Financial Education Programme, and launch new mediation workshops to enhance young people’s understanding of the mediation industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the specific details and preparatory progress of the Youth Talent Training Programme and the media thematic internship programme on the Mainland; whether monitoring and evaluation mechanisms have been established for these two programmes to ensure their effectiveness; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) since the launch of the Youth Financial Education Programme in May 2024, of the specific measures and activities the Government has implemented to enhance young people’s financial literacy and assist them in establishing good habits for managing personal finances; of the details of the deepened programme and the implementation timetable; and
 
(3) of the details and preparatory progress of the new mediation workshops launched for young people; whether follow-up support measures have been formulated to assist the continuous development of young people interested in joining mediation-related industries? 
     The reply to the question raised by the Hon Leung Man-kwong is as follows:
 
(1) As announced by the Chief Executive in his 2025 Policy Address, to better equip our young people, broaden their international horizons and cultivate a holistic outlook, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) would launch the Young Talent Training Programme (YTTP). The programme includes the following specific initiatives: (i) providing more opportunities for young people to participate in the internships of international organisations and attend international conferences, thereby enabling them to widen their international perspectives and develop holistic views; (ii) launching a new media thematic internship programme on the Mainland to provide opportunities for young people studying communication to undertake internships at a major media organisation on the Mainland, thereby helping them broaden their media horizons and deepen their understanding of national development; (iii) deepening the Youth Financial Education Programme (YFEP) launched in 2024 to provide young people with information on the financial sector and financial planning, so as to enhance their understanding of the financial market; and (iv) launching a brand new workshop on mediation to enable young people to acquire basic mediation concepts and knowledge, thereby strengthening their understanding of mediation services as well as the mediation industry.
 
     Among these, the HYAB is currently preparing to launch a new media thematic internship programme on the Mainland under the HYAB Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland. The programme will target post-secondary students studying communication-related disciplines and provide them with internship opportunities at a leading media organisation on the Mainland. Through internship, students will be able to gain an in-depth understanding of the media landscape, industry operations and development trends on the Mainland. It aims to cultivate young talent with enhanced understanding of the country’s development and a professional media perspective. The programme is expected to be held in July this year for a period of three weeks, offering 16 internship placements in areas such as programme production, creative media and new media application. Details of the programme will be announced in March. 
      
     As always, the HYAB will closely monitor the implementation of the YTTP through, for example, sending representatives to attend activities as observers, collecting feedback from stakeholders by questionnaire, and/or attending debriefings and sharing sessions of participants, in order to monitor the programme’s effectiveness.
 
(2) In 2024, the HYAB and the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) jointly launched the pilot YFEP at youth hostels under the Youth Hostel Scheme, providing youth tenants with financial planning and counselling services as well as information on financial management, saving and investment that suits their individual needs, thereby assisting them to develop effective financial management plans.
 
     Since its launch in 2024, the pilot YFEP has offered story-telling sessions on financial management, interactive learning activities and a series of online resources, aiming to help youth tenants customise their own financial plans and goals and establish good habits of managing personal finances and investment.
      
     According to the feedback collected from youth participants, a majority of them agreed that the activities and information provided under the pilot YFEP helped deepen their knowledge of financial management. In view of this, the HYAB has started to enhance the YFEP in 2025 by expanding the programme to cover other newly launched youth hostels and the Youth Link as the first step. Apart from the IFEC, the HYAB has also invited the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Authority to work together to enhance the YFEP by providing young people with information on the financial sector and financial planning that better suits their needs, thereby supporting their personal development and cultivating more talents for society.
      
     Under the YFEP, 14 story-telling sessions on financial management have been organised, covering topics such as financial planning, investment, credit and risks, MPF management and information on the financial sector, with experts sharing their knowledge and insights about financial management and the financial sector among youth participants. Moreover, 11 issues of digital newsletters have been published to date, providing young people with information on financial management and various personal financial management tools.
 
(3) To proactively consolidate and implement Hong Kong’s development of “eight centres” as outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan to establish Hong Kong as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, together with the establishment of the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong, the HYAB has launched a new series of mediation workshops to enable young people to acquire basic concepts and knowledge of mediation, thereby enhancing their understanding of mediation services and the mediation industry as well as fostering the mediation culture. The HYAB has worked with the Joint Mediation Helpline Office to organise a number of mediation workshops at secondary schools and youth hostels starting from December 2025 to enable young people to learn about mediation services and opportunities brought by “eight centres” for the industry, so as to nurture mediation talents for Hong Kong and the country. As at end-January 2026, around 400 young people have already attended these workshops. The HYAB will review the workshops’ content and arrangement in a timely manner taking into account the feedback of participants, with a view to helping young people develop their professional competence and equip themselves early for their future career pursuits.
Issued at HKT 18:45

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Hospital Authority welcomes 2026-27 Budget      
     Mr Fan expressed his gratitude to the Government for the continuous increase to the subvention for the HA in order to support the enhancement of public healthcare services. The Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform has been fully implemented and has shown initial success. The HA will continue to make optimal use of resources and ensure their proper allocation so that public resources are used effectively to promote the sustainable development of public healthcare services. Enhancing healthcare protection for the “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients on all fronts will ensure that the resources of the public healthcare system can be directed in a targeted manner to help those patients most in need, and fulfil the healthcare system’s role as a safety net.
      
     Mr Fan said, “With the staunch support of our nation and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, the HA will continue to strengthen its services to provide patients with timely treatment and care. The HA will continue to strive to provide high-quality medical services to the public. The HA is conducting accreditation for various public hospitals, and is setting up a third stroke centre in accordance with national accreditation standards.”
      
     The HA Chief Executive, Dr Libby Lee, thanked the HKSAR Government for supporting the continuous enhancement of public hospital services. “The HA will continue to strengthen its service capacity to meet the needs of the community, which includes enhancing service quality, streamlining processes, reducing patient waiting times and optimising hospital environments. The HA is committed to provide patient-centred clinical services with warmth, so that patients could receive appropriate medical treatment in a well-maintained environment,” said Dr Lee.   
      
     The HA will continue to execute various measures for the sustainable development of public healthcare and align with the policy on primary healthcare, including the enhancement of Family Medicine Integrated Centres and Family Medicine Clinics in different districts. In the coming financial year, over 200 additional public hospital beds will be opened and continuous improvements will be made to specialist out-patient clinics and radiology services, as well as the provision of additional operating theatre sessions. Meanwhile, ophthalmology services will also be strengthened by increasing the service capacity of cataract, eye surgery and other treatment procedures.
      
     The HA will reinforce holistic care for cancer patients utilising AI to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cancer diagnoses, and increasing cancer-related genetic and genomic testing. The HA will provide fast-track diagnostic services to patients with suspected lung cancer and implement a cancer case manager programme to provide timely treatment tailored to patient needs. Additionally, the HA will continue to enhance palliative and end-of-life care services to enable terminally ill patients to die with dignity.
      
     Mr Fan and Dr Lee once again thanked the HKSAR Government for its support of public healthcare services. The HA will utilise the subvention properly and strive to implement relevant measures for the benefit of patients.
Issued at HKT 18:10

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LCQ4: Combating bid-rigging 
Question:
 
     Bid-rigging in building maintenance has been a long-standing problem. Studies show that bid-rigging costs Hong Kong society between $4 billion and $25 billion every year. Therefore, there are views that it is crucial to strengthen and improve the supervision of building management and maintenance, as well as enhance market competition, regulation and transparency. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the total number of reports and complaints received by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and the Competition Commission about suspected bid-rigging in residential building maintenance works in each of the past five years, and among these, the number of cases found to be substantiated, and the number of cases in respect of which prosecutions were instituted (together with the amount involved in the works of each of such cases) (set out in a table);
 
(2) as it is learnt that at present many owners are unable to attend owners’ meetings in person for certain reasons, whether the Government will, by drawing on the experience of regions such as Singapore, explore establishing an official electronic voting platform in “iAM Smart” and introducing online owners’ meetings requiring real-name attendance, so that owners will be allowed to choose their preferred means of participating in meetings and cast their own votes electronically, so as to facilitate better participation by owners in building management matters and decision-making;
 
(3) given that bid-rigging is a criminal offence in many countries and regions, whereas currently in Hong Kong bid-rigging, being merely civil in nature, is regulated under the Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619), with violating individuals or enterprises facing fines only, whether the authorities will consider drawing on the experience of other countries and regions to criminalize bid-rigging and increase the penalties to enhance deterrence; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(4) of the detailed division of responsibilities among and respective duties of departments such as the Home Affairs Department, the Buildings Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department and the HKPF in combating bid-rigging; how the Government will strengthen the regulatory roles of various departments in the maintenance of residential buildings in order to eradicate bid-rigging?
 
Reply:

President,      
     Having consulted the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the Security Bureau, the CC, the ICAC, and the URA, our reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
 
(1) In the past five years, the number of corruption complaints received by the ICAC involving suspected bid-rigging in building maintenance works (Note) is tabulated below. Over the past five years, the ICAC mounted multiple large-scale enforcement operations in respect of corruption cases involving building maintenance works, and arrested a total of 138 persons. Details of these major operations are provided in the Annex.