Author Archives: hksar gov

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 is 105.6 (up 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (May 22) appealed to members of the public not to buy or use two whitening cream products (see photos) as they may contain excessive mercury, which is harmful to health.

     The appeal followed the CHP’s receipt of notification of a case of mercury poisoning from the Hospital Authority (HA) involving a 25-year-old female patient. The CHP commenced investigations immediately.

     The patient has developed generalised swelling since mid-April this year and reported using the two products for around six months. Her urine and blood samples revealed mercury levels higher than the reference levels, which was clinically suspected to be related to the use of the products.

     Testing by the HA revealed that the levels of mercury in the two products were 8 411 times (day cream) and 15 597 times (night cream) the acceptable level. The CHP’s investigation is continuing. The case has also been referred to the relevant law enforcement agency for follow-up.

     “Chronic exposure to mercury can cause damage to the nervous system and kidneys. Symptoms may include tremors, irritability, insomnia, memory deterioration, concentration difficulty, impaired hearing and vision, and change in the taste function. In severe cases, renal failure may occur,” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     “As the content of mercury in both products far exceeded the acceptable level, their use may cause serious side effects. People who are using them should stop immediately and consult healthcare professionals as soon as possible if they feel unwell or are in doubt. Members of the public are urged not to buy or use cosmetic products of unknown composition or obtained from doubtful sources,” the spokesman added.

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:

     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today (May 22) that applications for purchase under the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Flats 2019 (HOS 2019) and White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) 2019 (WSM 2019) will commence concurrently on May 30. Eligible White Form and Green Form applicants may submit applications from May 30 to June 12.
 
     White Form applicants may choose to apply for HOS 2019, WSM 2019, or both, using one single White Form. Application fees are $250 for HOS 2019, $160 for WSM 2019 and $410 for both.
 
     A total of 4 871 flats in six new HOS developments, i.e. Kwun Tak Court in Ho Man Tin, Hoi Tak Court in Cheung Sha Wan, Sheung Man Court in Kwai Chung, Yung Ming Court in Tseung Kwan O, Kam Fai Court in Ma On Shan and Yuk Wo Court in Sha Tin, will be offered for sale.
 
     “Rescinded flats arising from cancellation of the Agreements for Sale and Purchase from five HOS developments (namely Ka Shun Court in Sha Tin, Ping Yan Court in Yuen Long, Ngan Wai Court and Ngan Ho Court in Mui Wo and Choi Hing Court in Kwun Tong) previously put up for sale in 2016 and 2017 will be included for resale in this sale exercise. Apart from the 27 rescinded flats as at April 1, any additional rescinded flats from the five HOS developments after that date will also be included for resale in this sale exercise,” the spokesman said.
 
     Project information, approved building plans, Outline Zoning Plans, land grants, latest drafts of or executed Deeds of Mutual Covenant and aerial photographs of the six new HOS developments and the five HOS developments with rescinded flats will be exhibited and building models and doll houses produced using the building information modelling technique of the six new HOS developments will be displayed at the Housing Authority Customer Service Centre (HACSC) in Lok Fu from 8am to 7pm between tomorrow (May 23) and June 12 for inspection by the public.
 
     Sales booklets of the six new HOS developments, the sales leaflet of the rescinded flats, application forms and application guides for HOS 2019 and WSM 2019 will be available at the HACSC for collection by the public starting from tomorrow. These documents will also be available for collection by the public within office hours at the office of the HA’s Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) Sales Unit, estate offices and District Tenancy Management Offices of the HA, rental estate offices of the Hong Kong Housing Society (HS), the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department and the Sham Shui Po Housing Information Centre.

     Soft copies of the sales booklets of the six new HOS development, the sales leaflet covering details of the rescinded flats, latest drafts of or executed Deeds of Mutual Covenant and aerial photographs will also be uploaded to the designated websites of the respective HOS developments from tomorrow. “Members of the public are encouraged to browse the websites for HOS 2019 (www.housingauthority.gov.hk/hos/2019) and for WSM 2019 (www.housingauthority.gov.hk/wsm/2019),” a spokesman for the HA said. Soft copies of the application forms and application guides for both schemes will also be available for viewing and downloading from the above websites.

     In addition, the HA will make available hard copies of the sales brochures covering details of the HOS developments and the price lists for collection by the public at the HACSC and viewing at the designated websites for the respective HOS developments before the commencement of flat selection for this sale exercise.
 
     With effect from this application exercise, an e-Submission service will be provided in addition to the current paper-based submission. Applicants may choose either to submit paper-based application forms by post/by hand as in the past or to submit online application. Details are set out in the application guides. 
 
     For online submission, a step-by-step e-Submission video demonstrating how to apply online will be available shortly before the commencement of application on May 30. “This is the first e-Submission service provided for the schemes by the HA and we will closely monitor the operation of the system. We anticipate that the volume of usage will be large, especially nearer the closing of application, and the system is expected to be very busy. Applicants are therefore reminded to submit applications as early as possible,” a spokesman for the HA said.
 
     “For Green Form applicants who are living in the HA’s public rental housing estates or the HS’ rental estates and use the e-Submission service, staff of their respective estate offices will contact them and verify their household information after receiving their e-Submissions. The estate office will prepare hard copies of the application forms and the applicants will have to return the completed application forms, together with signatures of the applicants and all family members aged 18 or above, to their respective estate offices for further processing,” the spokesman said.
 
     Streamlined application arrangements are also being implemented in this sale exercise. Valid HOS Green Form applicants are allowed to opt for carrying over their applications to the next subsidised sale flats (SSF) sale exercise without submitting separate applications and paying further application fees.
 
     “Green Form applicants who wish to use this carry-over arrangement need to indicate their consent in their HOS application forms. However, if an applicant later wishes to apply for the next SSF based on a household category different from that for this HOS application, he or she is required to inform the HA during the stipulated application period of the next SSF sale exercise,” the spokesman said.

     “The application period will run from 8am on May 30 until 7pm on June 12. Applications submitted before the application period or after the closing time will not be accepted,” the spokesman said.

     Members of the public may visit the HACSC from 8am to 7pm during the application period. They can also call the 24-hour HA Sales and WSM hotline on 2712 8000 for matters relating to HOS 2019 or WSM 2019.

                        

     Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the employment situation of the ethnic minorities (EMs), will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the numbers of EMs in employment, their unemployment rate and underemployment rate, in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by ethnicity;
 
(2) given that since March 2015, the Labour Department (LD) has added an option of “Ethnic minorities are welcome for the post” in the Vacancy Order Form for employers to complete, so as to facilitate employment officers in matching suitable jobs for EM job seekers and encourage EMs to apply for the posts, how the percentages of the relevant posts being taken up by EMs in each of the three years following the implementation of the aforesaid measure compare with the percentage of all posts being taken up by EMs in each of the preceding three years;
 
(3) as LD will launch a pilot programme in which employment services are provided for EMs under a case management approach through non-governmental organisations, of the details and the implementation progress of the programme;
 
(4) of the latest progress in expanding the range of the language and industry-specific training courses provided by the Employees Retraining Board for EMs;
 
(5) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the work of the Government in the past three years on encouraging employers to hire EMs; if so, of the outcome, and whether improvements will be made; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(6) given that a concern group on EM rights and interests has proposed the setting up of an EM employment subsidy and support scheme, under which subsidies will be provided by the Government for employers on a short-term basis, and services such as pre-employment training, employment support and post-employment follow-up will be provided for EMs through relevant organisations, whether the Government has explored the feasibility of the proposal; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     My response to the question raised by the Member is set out below:
 
(1) According to the 2016 Population By-census conducted by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), statistics of the working population, unemployed population and unemployment rate of ethnic minorities (EMs) (which refer to persons of non-Chinese ethnicity) are set out at the Annex.  The figures exclude foreign domestic helpers.  C&SD does not have the relevant statistics on underemployment rate.  Given the lower degree of accuracy in the unemployment estimates derived from the 2016 Population By-census (Note), the unemployment-related statistics of EMs are for general reference only and should be interpreted with caution.  C&SD does not have the relevant statistics for 2017 and 2018.
 
(2) Since March 2015, the Labour Department (LD) has added an optional field of “Ethnic minorities are welcome for the post” in its Vacancy Order Form for employers to fill in so as to facilitate employment officers to match EM job seekers to suitable jobs and encourage them to apply for the posts.  Job seekers (including EMs) may be placed into employment either through LD’s referral service or by direct application to employers who advertise vacancies via LD.  Currently, the vast majority of vacancies advertised through LD (including those indicating that “Ethnic minorities are welcome for the post”) provide employers’ contact details.  Job seekers may obtain information on job vacancies through channels such as the Interactive Employment Service website and its mobile application, vacancy search terminals installed at various locations across the territory and large-scale job fairs without registration with LD, and make direct application to employers.  Job seekers (including EMs) who are placed into employment through direct application are not required to report their employment status to LD.  LD therefore does not have the percentage of the relevant posts being taken up by EMs.
 
(3) To further strengthen the employment support for EM job seekers, LD will launch a pilot programme in conjunction with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide employment services for EM job seekers through a case management approach so as to utilise NGOs’ community network, expertise in case management and experiences in serving EMs.  The commissioned NGOs have to provide one-stop employment support services for EM job seekers through a case management approach so as to reduce their barriers to employment.  In addition to canvassing vacancies suitable for EMs and providing support in their job search, these NGOs will also provide post-placement follow-up services for EMs and their employers, such as assisting the employees to adapt to the new working environment, fostering both parties’ understanding of each other’s work expectations and practices, etc.  LD will carefully consider the views of stakeholders, draw up other details of the pilot programme and conduct the tender exercise as soon as possible.  The pilot programme is expected to be launched in 2020, which will be on a three-year pilot initially.
 
(4) Employees Retraining Board (ERB) has expanded the range of language and industry-specific training courses dedicated for EMs in 2019-20.  It has added two new dedicated Chinese language courses at Qualifications Framework Level 2, which results in a total of 14 dedicated Chinese language courses covering vocational Chinese (reading and writing), Cantonese and Putonghua.  ERB offers dedicated courses for EMs covering vocational training for 10 industry categories, namely “Property Management & Security”, “Electrical & Mechanical Services”, “Construction & Renovation”, “Beauty Therapy”, “Hairdressing”, “Social Services”, “Business”, “Catering”, “Hotel”, and “Tourism”.  ERB will consult its focus group on training to explore developing more suitable dedicated courses in the above industry categories, tentatively targeting at the categories of “Electrical & Mechanical Services” and “Construction & Renovation”.

(5) LD has been proactively promoting the working abilities of EMs among employers through various channels and making ongoing efforts to canvass vacancies suitable for EM job seekers through its employer network to enhance their employment opportunities.  From 2016 to 2018, LD organised six large-scale inclusive job fairs and 36 district-based inclusive job fairs at which job seekers, including EMs, could submit job applications and attend interviews with employers on the spot.  LD also organised experience sharing sessions for employers, during which NGOs serving EMs were invited to brief employers on the cultures of EMs and the skills to communicate with them to enhance their understanding in this regard.  In addition, as mentioned in part (2) of the reply, since March 2015, LD has added an optional field of “Ethnic minorities are welcome for the post” in its Vacancy Order Form for employers to fill in.  From 2016 to 2018, a total of 15 158 employers who advertised vacancies via LD indicated that EM job seekers were welcome to apply for the posts.
 
     LD reviews its operation in providing employment and recruitment services for job seekers and employers on a continuous basis, and introduces adjustments and enhancements in a timely manner.  As mentioned in part (3) of the reply, LD will launch a pilot programme for EM job seekers.  The NGOs engaged will help LD proactively canvass vacancies suitable for EMs, and strengthen its post-placement follow-up services for EMs and their employers.
 
(6) At present, LD administers various special employment programmes such as the Youth Employment and Training Programme, the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged and the Work Trial Scheme, etc. to encourage employers, through the provision of financial incentives, to take on job seekers (including EMs) with various employment difficulties and provide them on-the-job training to enhance their employability.  LD will continue to strengthen the employment services for EM job seekers, such as implementing the abovementioned pilot programme to provide employment support services for EM job seekers, including post-placement follow-up services, in conjunction with NGOs.
 
Note: Enumerators need to acquire a full understanding of the labour force framework for collecting information related to unemployment.  However, a large number of temporary field workers were employed to undertake the enumeration work in the 2016 Population By-census, and they could not be expected to have a full grasp of the relevant knowledge and the required skills in asking screening questions.  Thus, the accuracy of the unemployment information gathered would be lower. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):
 
Question:
 
     The Government has been committed to taking forward innovation and technology in recent years.  Apart from the provision of a subsidy of as much as $4.52 million for mobile application (app) developers through the Innovation and Technology Fund for Better Living, various government departments and relevant organisations have also actively launched apps for publicity and information sharing.  However, it has been reported that among the 200-odd apps launched by the Government and relevant organisations during the period between 2010 and 2017, 107 apps costing a total of as much as $23 million of public money have now been decommissioned.  At the same time, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, on many occasions, developed apps at high cost for one-off publicity, but some of the apps only had several hundreds of downloads.  For instance, an audio guide app launched by the Department in 2016 in support of a project of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum operated for just three months, but cost $180,000 of public money.  Some members of the public have criticised that some apps lack functionality and provide only text information, thus failing to attract members of the public to download, and that the Government’s development of such apps is like “pouring money down the drain”.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the current total number of apps developed by the Government and relevant organisations which are available for download by members of the public, and set out by name of app (i) the policy bureaux/departments/organisations undertaking the development and (ii) the amount of annual recurrent expenditure incurred;
 
(2) whether it has compiled statistics on (i) the monthly number of active users of each of the apps mentioned in (1) and (ii) its percentage in the cumulative number of persons who have downloaded the app; if so, of the figures for the past three years; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) whether it has reviewed the reasons for poor download rates of some apps; of the conditions under and the criteria based on which the authorities determine whether an app should be decommissioned; given that a large number of apps which cost considerable public money to develop have been decommissioned, whether the authorities have evaluated if such situation will affect public confidence in the effective use of public money by policy bureaux/departments/organisations;
 
(4) whether the app called “My Kowloon East” (MyKE) which was developed by the Energizing Kowloon East Office satisfies the conditions or criteria for decommissioning mentioned in (3); if so, whether it will immediately decommission the app;
 
(5) whether the various policy bureaux are currently developing or have plans to develop new apps; if so, of the details; of the criteria for deciding whether to approve the development of an app;
 
(6) whether the authorities will, prior to approving the development of apps in future, formulate apps development guidelines stipulating that the apps must take into account elements such as “user experience”, “user-centricity” and practicality, with a view to ensuring that such apps have high download and usage rates; and
 
(7) whether the authorities have specified in the contracts awarded to app developers that the developers are required to pay compensations to the authorities in the event that the apps have not been successfully developed, have not been launched on schedule or have varied greatly in quality, so as to ensure proper use of public money?
 
Reply:
 
     After consulting the relevant policy bureaux / government departments (B/Ds), the reply for each part of the question is provided as follows:
 
(1) & (2) As of end April 2019, B/Ds provided a total of 85 mobile applications (apps) for download by the public.  The annual recurrent expenditure and total number of downloads of these mobile apps are set out at Annex A.  Individual B/Ds will, from time to time, collect data on the number of monthly active users and the total number of downloads.  The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) does not maintain information in this regard.
 
     In addition, relevant government organisations provide a total of 52 mobile apps for download (Annex B).  The OGCIO do not have statistics on their annual recurrent expenditure, the number of active users and the total number of downloads.
 
(3) There are various reasons behind whether the number of downloads of a mobile app is high or low, for example, the target user group can be small in size (such as mobile apps for the visually impaired or overseas investors), or the public can obtain services through other channels (such as departmental websites, etc.).  In deciding whether their mobile app should be decommissioned, B/Ds will consider factors such as its download rate, user feedback on the app, whether the mobile app has an on going demand, whether the user needs should be met by other mobile apps or e-government websites.  In the past two years, B/Ds have decommissioned some outdated mobile apps to save the maintenance expenditures involved.
 
(4) According to information provided by the Development Bureau (DEVB), the Energizing Kowloon East Office (EKEO) of DEVB launched the “My Kowloon East” mobile app to provide a platform for sharing real-time data to promote smart city development.  These real-time data include vacant hourly parking spaces and real-time data collected from the testing of various proof-of-concept projects.  As of end April 2019, the total number of downloads of this mobile app was around 9 600, which may be related to its focused application for the Kowloon East area while its number of downloads surged by 25% in 2018-19.  EKEO will continue to review the app regularly, improve its design and functionality in response to user needs, and further promote its new features to encourage the public to download and use it.
 
(5) The Water Supplies Department (WSD) and OGCIO plan to develop new mobile apps in 2019-20.  Details are as follows:
 
(a) The WSD plans to launch the “H2OPE Centre” mobile app in the second quarter of 2019.  The H2OPE Centre is a new educational activity centre set up by the WSD.  The centre will highlight through various interactive games and exhibits educational messages about water resources in Hong Kong as well as saving and conserving water.  The mobile app will support the establishment of the H2OPE Centre by providing booking and guided tour functions to facilitate visitors to participate in the Centre’s activities.

(b) To tie in with the implementation of “Electronic Identity” (eID), the OGCIO will launch the eID mobile app in mid-2020 to enable Hong Kong residents to register eID via personal mobile devices.  After successful registration, users can use the eID mobile app for identity authentication and conducting online transactions with the Government and commercial organisations.
 
(6) The amended “Practice Guide for Developing Mobile Apps” published by the OGCIO in November 2018 stipulates that B/Ds are required to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the mobile app; set the objectives and understand the needs of target user groups before developing an app.  They are also required to conduct appropriate publicity to enable target users to understand the objectives and usage of the app.  In addition, the OGCIO will regularly review the development of mobile apps by B/Ds and, subject to the nature and target user groups of these mobile apps, request B/Ds to consider decommissioning the mobile apps that have been launched for some time but recorded fewer than 10 000 downloads.
 
(7) B/Ds will set out the service scope, system and app requirements (including functional and security requirements) and the project schedule when awarding contracts for the development of mobile apps.  The concerned B/D will also perform testing and acceptance.  If the implementation of the project cannot meet the contract requirements, the Government will handle it according to the contract terms, including claims for compensation, etc. read more