MIL Asia Pacific Publishing Engine

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA sincerely thanks Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba for publicly expressing condolences over losses caused by Typhoon Ragasa in Taiwan

Date：2025-09-25
Data Source：TAIWAN-JAPAN RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

September 25, 2025 
No. 364 

On the evening of September 24, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba posted a message on social media platform X expressing concern over the damage caused by Typhoon Ragasa in Taiwan. He offered condolences for the lives lost and expressed hope that all those affected would be able to resume their normal lives as soon as possible. Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Kazuyuki Katayama and many Japanese lawmakers friendly to Taiwan from across the political spectrum, including Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council Chairman and member of the House of Representatives Keiji Furuya, also publicly and promptly expressed concern. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan have extended appreciation to Japan for these messages.
 
Prime Minister Ishiba’s statement followed one on July 12 regarding losses caused by Typhoon Danas and another on August 5 regarding torrential rainfall in central and southern Taiwan. These gestures fully demonstrate the deep and profound friendship between Taiwan and Japan. Whenever natural disasters occur, Taiwan and Japan always show concern and offer support to each other. The cordial and cooperative relations between Taiwan and Japan serve as a model for the international community. The government and all sectors of society in Taiwan are putting a full effort into rescue and reconstruction work, and Taiwan will maintain close contact with Japan.
 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung once again sincerely thanks all sectors in Japan for the warm expressions of concern. He hopes that in the future Taiwan and Japan will deepen cooperation on disaster prevention and mitigation and comprehensively develop and bolster bilateral relations. (E)

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA sincerely thanks US Secretary of Transportation Duffy for publicly voicing support for Taiwan’s participation at 42nd ICAO Assembly, solemnly refutes China’s false claims

Date：2025-09-24
Data Source：Department of International Organizations

September 24, 2025No. 363The 42nd session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly commenced in Montreal, Canada, on September 23. Speaking at a session on the opening day, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy publicly expressed support for Taiwan, emphasizing that Taiwan’s inclusion in ICAO was about the safety and security of the global system and saying that there was no room for politics on this question. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely thanks the Trump administration for staunchly supporting Taiwan’s bid for international participation.During the assembly, Deputy Administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China Liang Nan repeated China’s distortion of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 and referred to the so-called “one China principle,” attempting to impede Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and multilateral mechanisms through political manipulation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) strongly condemns Ms. Liang’s statements.MOFA reiterates that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state and that neither the Republic of China (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is subordinate to the other. This is the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and an internationally accepted, objective fact. UNGA Resolution 2758 makes no mention of Taiwan nor states that Taiwan is part of the PRC. Moreover, the resolution does not authorize the PRC to represent Taiwan in the United Nations and thus cannot be cited as a rationale for excluding Taiwan from the UN system or other multilateral organizations. Only the democratically elected government of Taiwan has the right to represent Taiwan in ICAO, other bodies of the UN system, and elsewhere in the international arena. MOFA emphasizes that Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration is the sole competent authority for the Taipei Flight Information Region, overseeing over one million flights annually and ensuring the safety of tens of millions of passengers. Only by including Taiwan in ICAO can the integrity and safety of the global civil aviation system be effectively ensured. MOFA urges ICAO to firmly reject political pressure from China and to invite Taiwan to take part in its meetings, mechanisms, and activities at the earliest possible juncture. (E)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Government will launch the three-year Pilot Scheme for Elderly Recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to Reside in Residential Care Homes in Guangdong (Pilot Scheme) tomorrow (October 1), which is funded by the Community Care Fund (CCF). The Pilot Scheme aims to subsidise elderly recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) who choose to retire in Guangdong Province to reside in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) under the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong (designated RCHEs, which are listed at the Annex) to enhance their quality of life. With a quota of 1 000, each eligible elderly person will receive a monthly subsidy of HK$5,000.
 
Applicants of the Pilot Scheme must meet the eligibility criteria, including: (1) they are eligible for or have already joined the Portable CSSA (PCSSA) Scheme; (2) they will reside or are residing in the designated RCHEs; and (3) they are not receiving any other subsidy for residential care services from the Social Welfare Department (SWD) or other organisations concurrently. In addition to the cash assistance under the PCSSA Scheme, elderly participants of the Pilot Scheme will receive a monthly subsidy of HK$5,000 to cover the costs of residing in the designated RCHEs and related living expenses.
 
The SWD has commissioned the New Home Association as the approved service provider (ASP) to assist in implementing the Pilot Scheme. Starting from tomorrow, eligible elderly CSSA recipients may apply to the ASP/social security field units responsible for their CSSA cases. The ASP will provide relevant information about the designated RCHEs to assist the elderly and their family members in selecting a suitable RCHE on their own and filing their applications. Upon completion of the vetting procedures, the SWD will issue notification letters to the applicants to inform them of their application results and the subsidy disbursement arrangements.
 
The ASP will organise experience tours to some of the designated RCHEs, providing the elderly with an opportunity to tour the facilities and experience the services in order to select a suitable RCHE. Tentatively the first experience tour will be held in November this year. The SWD will issue letters to eligible elderly CSSA recipients by batches to promote the Pilot Scheme and invite them to join the experience tours.
 
A spokesman for the SWD supplemented that the Hong Kong Housing Authority has adopted a more flexible tenancy arrangement since March this year, providing a longer adaptation period for elderly persons who choose to retire on the Mainland. Elderly Public Rental Housing (PRH) tenants participating in the Pilot Scheme could retain their existing PRH units or tenancies for six months (previously three months), starting from their departure from Hong Kong to retire on the Mainland. The above arrangement is also applicable to the elderly residents of rental estates of the Hong Kong Housing Society. 
 
More details of the Pilot Scheme are available on the websites of the CCF (www.communitycarefund.hk) and the SWD (www.swd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please contact the CCF team of the SWD on 3422 3090 or the ASP New Home Association on 2815 7399 during office hours.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Home & Youth Affairs Bureau today announced the list of operating organisations selected to provide services for the second-term District Services & Community Care Teams.

The organisation selected will provide services to the teams until September 30, 2027.

The bureau listed operating organisations for 455 care teams across all 18 districts, after the Home Affairs Department and its 18 District Offices made the selections.

To ensure service continuity and leverage established service arrangements from the first term, District Offices first invited existing operating organisations to consider continuing their services.

With respect to the three new sub-districts, as well as individual organisations that were unable to continue their services for various reasons, District Offices invited previously shortlisted organisations to submit proposed service plans. 

Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak said the services provided by the first-term care teams had won wide acclaim from the public.

“I hope that the second-term care teams will continue to leverage the experience gained from the first term and build on the established local networks to provide more in-depth and better caring services to enhance people’s sense of satisfaction and well-being.”

The bureau said all first-term care teams had met or surpassed the service requirements in accordance with key performance indicators. 

By end-August, the teams had visited some 580,000 elderly households and other households in need, provided about 89,000 instances of basic home or other support services, and organised some 45,000 district activities.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Transport Department (TD) today (September 30) announced that the auction of vehicle registration marks will be held on October 19 (Sunday) at Meeting Room S221, L2, Old Wing, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.

“A total of 200 traditional vehicle registration marks (TVRMs) will be put up for public auction in the morning session, and 144 personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be put up for auction in the afternoon session. The list of marks has been uploaded to the department’s website, www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/vehicle_registration_mark/index.html(i) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) the identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(iii) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(iv) a crossed cheque payable to “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” or “The Government of the HKSAR”. Any bidder who wishes to bid for both TVRMs and PVRMs on the same day, should bring along at least two crossed cheques for payment of auction prices (for an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed). Successful bidders may also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS), but are reminded to note the maximum transfer amount in the same day of the payment card. Payment by post-dated cheque, cash, credit card or other methods will not be accepted.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department today announced the optimisation of quarantine arrangements for cats and dogs imported from the Mainland, accepting animal health certificates issued by official veterinarians of Mainland Customs of all regions.
 
The Mainland has been included in Group IIIA since June 3 this year, with official veterinarians of Shenzhen Customs issuing animal health certificates in the first phase.
 
In light of the smooth implementation of the new quarantine arrangements for importing cats and dogs, and to further facilitate their movement from the Mainland to Hong Kong, the department now accepts relevant animal health certificates issued by official veterinarians of Mainland Customs of all regions.
 
Cats and dogs imported from the Mainland can enter Hong Kong via Hong Kong International Airport and by land at designated control points.
 
Group IIIA quarantine requirements include having the animal implanted with a conforming microchip, holding a valid vaccination certificate for rabies and designated infectious diseases, obtaining satisfactory results from rabies antibody titer testing conducted at a laboratory recognised by the department on a blood sample taken not less than 90 days and not more than one year before departure, and possessing an animal health certificate issued by Mainland official veterinarians.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said today that it vehemently objects to groundless remarks about Hong Kong contained in the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2025.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said it resolutely refutes categorically false and baseless remarks in the report regarding Hong Kong’s efforts to tackle trafficking in persons (TIP).

It iterated that TIP has never been prevalent in Hong Kong, and that there has never been any sign that the city is used by syndicates as a destination or transit point for TIP.

The statement added that the report’s rating of Hong Kong as a “Tier 2 (Watch List)” location is utterly unfair, without basis in fact, and a blatant attempt to smear Hong Kong’s reputation.

The statement also highlighted that the Hong Kong SAR Government has long adopted a proactive, multi-pronged strategy in the fight against TIP, with substantial resources being injected into combatting TIP and enhancing protection for foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong.

Over the last year, it said, the Hong Kong SAR Government has continued to spare no effort in conducting initial screenings for all persons vulnerable to TIP risks who had come to the attention of relevant departments, including illegal immigrants, sex workers, illegal workers, FDHs, imported workers and other suspected victims.

It conducted around 11,300 initial screenings last year, a 3% increase compared with the year prior, and identified eight TIP victims.

Among these, seven were Hong Kong residents involved in employment fraud in Southeast Asian countries.

The Hong Kong SAR Government said its swift actions in returning the residents to the city, identifying them as TIP victims, rigorously investigating their individual cases and prosecuting those implicated underscore its commitment to tackling the scourge of TIP.

The statement emphasised that it is totally baseless for the report to cast doubt on the Hong Kong SAR Government’s determination to combat TIP and the quality of the city’s screenings simply because of the low number of victims identified.

As a responsible member of the international community, the Hong Kong SAR Government remains steadfast in the fight against TIP, the statement added.

The Hong Kong SAR Government also noted, with regard to unsubstantiated remarks in the report about a lack of composite trafficking legislation in Hong Kong, that the current legislative framework, which comprises over 50 legal provisions against various TIP infractions, provides a comprehensive package of safeguards comparable to composite TIP laws found in other jurisdictions.

The statement stressed that every jurisdiction should have latitude to determine the best legal framework to tackle the issue and that there is simply no one-size-fits-all solution.