The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, will depart for Tokyo, Japan, on April 7 to attend the Symposium on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area jointly organised by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao on A… read more
The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, visited Islands District today (April 1) to see the latest developments in the district. She also met with young people and District Council members during her visit. &nb… read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (April 1) investigating a case of invasive meningococcal infection, a communicable disease transmitted by direct contact with droplets from carriers or infected persons.
The case involves a 26-year-old woman with underlying chronic illness, who had presented with fever, vomiting and headache since March 27. She attended the Accident and Emergency Department at Princess Margaret Hospital and was admitted for treatment on the same day. Her clinical diagnosis was meningococcaemia. The patient is now in a stable condition.
Her blood specimen tested positive for Neisseria meningitidis upon laboratory testing.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient had no travel history during the incubation period. Her home contacts have remained asymptomatic so far. The CHP’s investigation is continuing.
“Meningococcal infection is caused by a bacterium known as meningococcus. It is mainly transmitted by direct contact through respiratory secretions, including droplets from the nose and throat, from infected persons. The incubation period varies from two to 10 days, and is commonly three or four days,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
The clinical picture may vary. Severe illness may result when the bacteria invade the bloodstream (meningococcaemia) or the membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord (meningococcal meningitis).
Meningococcaemia is characterised by sudden onset of fever, intense headache, purpura, shock and even death in severe cases. Meningococcal meningitis is characterised by high fever, severe headache and stiff neck followed by drowsiness, vomiting, fear of bright light, or a rash. It can cause brain damage or even death. The brain damage may lead to intellectual impairment, mental retardation, hearing loss and electrolyte imbalance. Invasive meningococcal infections can be complicated by arthritis, inflammation of the heart muscle, inflammation of the posterior chamber of the eye or chest infection.
Meningococcal infection is a serious illness. Patients should be treated promptly with antibiotics.
To prevent meningococcal infection, members of the public are advised to take heed of the following measures:
Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the award presentation ceremony of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award 2019 today (April 1):
Bernard (Chairman, Awardee Selection Committee of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award, Mr Bernard Chan), Raymond (Group General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific, HSBC, Mr Raymond Cheng), Andy (Executive Director, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Mr Andy Ho), students and their university representatives, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. I am delighted to join you for the ninth annual Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award Presentation Ceremony.
This is a happy occasion for all of us. Beginning, of course, with the 25 splendid young men and women who have been selected as this year’s IT Scholarship Award winners. They are all undergraduates coming from six universities and a wide range of programmes in science, medicine and engineering. Their purpose, dedication and pursuit of knowledge have been recognised, and I have no doubt that this award will mark a fresh milestone in their quest for excellence.
The universities are no less worthy of recognition. They serve the students with a distinction driven by commitment and pride. And, clearly, they have instilled in each of our award winners a culture of learning steeped in innovation and technology (I&T), grounded in scientific research and critical thinking.
I am as delighted as anyone here, including of course the parents. After all, my Government is committed to nurturing Hong Kong’s rise as an international innovation and technology hub. And we can’t do that without our world-class universities and our world-class students. My Government’s role is to help enable their success through our policies, initiatives and resources. We help, as well, by proactively pursuing desired goals for our economy and our community. Which is why, in my Policy Address last October, I pledged HK$20 billion to the Research Endowment Fund under the University Grants Committee. These funds will strengthen the research capabilities of our universities. My Government also set in motion a scientific research matching fund of HK$3 billion to further boost research funding through contributions from the non-public sector.
We are also setting up two world-class research clusters at the Hong Kong Science Park. One will be dedicated to healthcare technology, the other to artificial intelligence and robotics. In each, internationally renowned institutions will establish research laboratories, collaborating with our universities and centres of research excellence.
I look forward, as well, to proposals for the City I&T Grand Challenge. As outlined in my Policy Address, my Government has allocated HK$500 million over the next five years for this annual competition, which seeks to encourage our people, students included, to apply I&T to tackle issues and challenges related to our everyday lives. I’m sure many of our students here today have some smashing thoughts and grand ideas on improving our daily lives. Our Grand Challenge welcomes them.
The bigger challenge, of course, is ensuring Hong Kong’s continuing success in the years and decades to come. An international innovation and technology hub to be developed in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will help get us there, through supporting policies from the Central Government and efforts of the three governments. I am confident that the 25 young men and women we are honouring today will play a vital role in realising the promise of innovation and technology development in Hong Kong.
My thanks to the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the organiser of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award since its inception in 2011. I am grateful, as well, to the Scholarship’s supporters – the Innovation and Technology Commission and HSBC – and its I&T mentors and the companies providing internships for our award-winning students. In supporting the Scholarship, you help build Hong Kong’s future.
Finally, to the 25 inspiring young men and women whose lives and horizons are about to expand, I wish you all the success in your future endeavours. Thank you very much.
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (April 3) at 11.30am (or immediately after the meeting for the Chief Executive’s Question Time to be held at 11am) in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on not forgetting the June 4 incident.
The motion, moved by Mr Wu Chi-wai, states: “That this Council urges that: the June 4 incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated.”
Members will also debate on a motion on requesting the Government to overcome the “three big mountains” in people’s livelihood. The motion, moved by Ms Alice Mak, states: “That improving people’s livelihood is a key policy theme of the current-term Government; in recent years, the local community has been plagued by ‘three big mountains’ in people’s livelihood (i.e. Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT), the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), and the offsetting mechanism for the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)), which have added burden on people’s livelihood; as Link REIT is not subject to the Government’s restraint and monopolises shopping arcades and markets in communities, shop and stall rents have risen substantially, and this has directly pushed up the prices of livelihood-related commodities; in the case of MTRCL, the lack of competition in railway operation and its ineffective management and works supervision have led to a decline in its service quality, and it has still increased its fares year after year under the Fare Adjustment Mechanism despite successive incidents; and the MPF offsetting mechanism has eroded employees’ rights and interests over the years, significantly undermining MPF’s function of providing retirement protection; in this connection, this Council requests the Government to expeditiously formulate measures to overcome the ‘three big mountains’ in people’s livelihood, so as to bring benefits to the livelihood of people from various strata, reduce their discontent, and in turn achieve social harmony.”
Mr Kwok Wai-keung, Mr Ho Kai-ming, Mr Luk Chung-hung, Mr Leung Yiu-chung, Dr Kwok Ka-ki, Dr Fernando Cheung, Mr Chu Hoi-dick and Mr Au Nok-hin will move separate amendments to Ms Mak’s motion.
On Government Bills, the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debate on the Bill will be adjourned.
On Government Motions, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare will move three proposed resolutions under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance and the Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Ordinance respectively, to amend the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance and the Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Ordinance as set out in Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and Appendix 3.
On Member’s Bills, the Second Reading debate on Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2018 will resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.
During the meeting, Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Please note that the agenda is subject to change, and the latest information about the agenda could be found on the LegCo Website.
Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. They may reserve seats by calling 3919 3399 during office hours. Members of the public can also watch or listen to the meeting via the “Webcast” system on the LegCo Website. read more