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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited on phishing email, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the email concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the email should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Mayor of Beijing, Mr Chen Jining, each joined by their respective delegation, convened the Fourth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Beijing Co-operation Conference in Beijing today (October 24).

     Mrs Lam said, "Hong Kong and Beijing are core cities of the country, each with their most distinctive positions and functions. Both cities are playing important roles in the deepening of economic reform and the modernisation of the country. Since the establishment of the co-operation mechanism between Hong Kong and Beijing, in the spirit of mutual benefit, the two places have broadened and deepened co-operation from where we started, with economic and trade-related co-operation to other areas of livelihood and community matters. The Plenary Session today marks a new milestone and a new chapter in Hong Kong-Beijing co-operation."

     At the meeting, Hong Kong and Beijing reached consensus on the following eight co-operation areas:

The Belt and Road Initiative, Economic and Trade Co-operation
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     Both sides would make full use of collaboration platforms such as the Belt and Road Summit and the seminar on "Strategies and Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative – Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages", to strengthen communication and exchanges, as well as practical co-operation between key enterprises of the two places in legal, finance, accountancy, construction and other areas. Both sides would also facilitate project matching, and encourage enterprises of the two places to jointly explore international business opportunities and open up markets along the Belt and Road.

Services Industries
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     Hong Kong and Beijing would enhance co-operation in financial technologies (Fintech) by encouraging exchanges amongst Fintech enterprises on projects and technical skills, and sharing of innovation experience.

     Representatives from Beijing would attend the Asian Financial Forum held in Hong Kong to leverage Hong Kong's advantages in the financial services industry and discuss the latest developments in Asian financial markets, with a view to enhancing co-operation between the two places in finance, innovation and entrepreneurship, and facilitating matching for project investment and financing.

     The Hong Kong Trade Development Council would form a Hong Kong delegation of services industries to attend the China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing and explore co-operation in services sectors. Both sides would jointly organise the Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium and support deeper co-operation through their economic and trade activities.

Innovation and Technology
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     Both sides would continue to encourage universities and research institutes to enhance innovation and technology co-operation according to each other's research strengths.

     Top-notch technology enterprises in Beijing would be encouraged to establish a presence at the two research clusters in Science Park on healthcare technologies and artificial intelligence/robotics technologies to be set up in Hong Kong.

Cultural and Creative Industries
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     The two places would continue to initiate cultural exchange and co-operation. Thematic activities for the cultural industries of Hong Kong and Beijing would be held through different channels, such as the Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium.

     The two places would enhance exchanges between arts groups. Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center and the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong would enhance co-operation with a view to promoting cultural performances and exchanges of talents.

Education and Training of Civil Servants
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     The two places would continue to strengthen co-operation in the joint operation of education programmes, the establishment of a platform for sister schools and exchanges of teachers and students.

     The Beijing-Hong Kong University Alliance would organise exchange activities for higher education institutions of the two places during the annual Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium to promote high-level exchanges and co-operation between the higher education sectors of the two places.

     The two places would continue to implement the Agreement on Civil Service Exchange Programme between Beijing and Hong Kong (2017-2019) and other related arrangements.

City Management and Public Services
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     On flood prevention experiences, the two places would continue to take forward the staff exchange training programme and the sharing of technical research findings.

     The two places would jointly study the challenges, measures and co-operation opportunities in environmental pollution management; organise business-to-business networking sessions for environmental think tanks and enterprises; enhance urban governance; and promote the sustainable development of the two cities.

     The two places would share experience in the regulation, prevention and control of risks, as well as the public monitoring of food and drug safety, with a view to enhancing the standard of food and drug safety in Hong Kong and Beijing.

     The two places would share experience relating to healthcare services, enhance co-operation in the Chinese medicine industry and take forward health-related activities such as policy analysis and experience sharing by experts.

     The two sides would encourage the MTR Corporation Limited and relevant enterprises in Beijing to explore enhanced co-operation in transport-oriented development, railway operation and maintenance and professional training.

Youth Development
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     The two places would continue to implement dedicated youth exchange programmes between Hong Kong and Beijing and would support Hong Kong youths to provide volunteer services for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Facilitation Measures for Hong Kong People in the Mainland
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     The People's Government of the Beijing Municipality would ensure that policies and measures introduced by the relevant Central authorities to facilitate the career development of Hong Kong people in the Mainland would be fully implemented at the local level, so that Hong Kong people in Beijing could enjoy facilitation in the areas of education, employment, setting up business, daily living and so on. The People's Government of the Beijing Municipality would also roll out an advisory services portal to serve Hong Kong people in Beijing.

     The memorandum of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Beijing Co-operation Conference signed by both sides (Chinese only) is in the annex.

     The Fourth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Beijing Co-operation Conference was co-chaired by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Mayor of Beijing, Mr Chen Jining. Officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government attending the meeting included the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; the Director of Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and other representatives of the relevant bureaux and departments.

     The Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Song Zhe, and the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Ms Qiu Hong, also attended the meeting.

     The Immigration Department announced today (October 24) that due to a system upgrade, the departmental online services and the following telephone hotline services will be suspended from 11.30pm on October 28 (Sunday) to 7am on October 29 (Monday):

* (852) 2598 0888; 
* (852) 3102 3883; and
* (852) 3160 8663.
 
     The department apologises for any inconvenience caused. 
      
     For enquiries, please contact the department by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111, by fax to 2877 7711 or by email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk.
 

     Following is a question by Professor Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):

Question:
 
     It has been learnt that when a person has become unconscious because he is suffering from a heart attack, his survival rate may significantly increase if people at the scene immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid on him with the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). It has been reported that in recent months, a member of the public had fallen unconscious in a public sports ground but the staff at the scene did not know how to use an AED to perform first aid on that person. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1)    whether it knows the existing number of people in Hong Kong who have received the following two types of first aid training: CPR and use of AEDs;
 
(2)    of the number and details of distribution of AEDs provided in public venues managed by the Government (broken down by District Council district); the number of times for which such AEDs were used, and the number of persons who suffered sudden heart attack at such venues but people at the scene did not perform first aid on them with the use of AEDs, in the past three years;
 
(3)    as some members of the public are worried that improper use of AEDs may aggravate the conditions of the patients and, as a result, they have to bear legal liabilities, whether the authorities will make reference to the practices of overseas countries and enact a Good Samaritan law to exempt rescuers from legal liabilities that might be incurred in performing first aid, so as to encourage members of the public to perform timely first aid on those in need at the scene; and
 
(4)    whether policies are currently in place to promote the wider use of AEDs, including training more members of the public to use the device, and encouraging more private organisations to provide AEDs at venues under their management?
       
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Professor Hon Joseph Lee is as follows:
 
(1)    Various organisations have been offering first aid courses to teach participants first aid knowledge. As far as government departments and public bodies are concerned, relevant first aid courses are organised by the Department of Health (DH), the Hospital Authority (HA), the Fire Services Department (FSD) and the Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS).
 
     The DH regularly organises Basic Life Support Provider Courses covering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) for its healthcare staff to enhance their knowledge of various first aid methods. From 2013 to 2017, the DH organised a total of 369 such courses for its healthcare staff with 2 979 attendances.
 
     The three training centres of the HA which are accredited by the American Heart Association have been providing courses on basic life support and advanced cardiovascular life support. The courses, which cover CPR and the use of AEDs, aim to enhance the knowledge of HA staff and the public in handling heart attack and the first aid for it. In 2017-18, the HA organised such courses for 10 595 staff, as well as 2 077 other non-HA healthcare personnel and members of the public.
 
     Since 1999, the FSD has trained over 32 000 people under its community CPR training courses. Starting from April 2017, the FSD has also introduced the "Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training Programme in Campus" to secondary schools in Hong Kong, under which secondary school students and staff are taught about CPR and the importance of its early application, and are encouraged to resuscitate cardiac arrest patients during emergencies. To date, about 6 400 staff and students have participated in and received training under the Programme.
 
     Besides, from June 2017, the FSD has rolled out the "Community Awareness on Responding to Emergency" (CARE) Programme, which is a simplified course that teaches the public general knowledge about CPR and AED. So far, about 2 100 people have participated in the Programme. The FSD has launched in August 2017 the "Press to shock – Save a life" Public Access Defibrillation Course, which covers the application of CPR and AED in a comprehensive and detailed manner, and over 4 400 members of the public have completed the course.
 
     Starting from January 2016, the AMS has provided CPR and AED training to 8 600 of its members as well as members of the public. Besides, from 2017 to 2018, the Civil Aid Service has provided the aforementioned training to 437 of its members.
 
(2)    The number of AEDs installed at public facilities/establishments as at September 2018 and their usage in the past three years are listed in the Annex.
 
(3) & (4) There is currently no legislation in Hong Kong providing for the exemption of rescuers from legal liabilities that might be incurred in performing first aid. The issue of whether such legislation should be introduced requires thorough discussion among relevant policy bureaux, departments and stakeholders, taking into consideration various factors and requisite conditions, including the public awareness of heart attack and their knowledge of the first aid for it, as well as the level of first aid training of rescuers.
 
     The Government has been carrying out through different channels public promotion on CPR and the use of AEDs, and providing training in this regard.

     Since mid-2017, the FSD has rolled out the CARE Programme and the "Press to shock – Save a life" Public Access Defibrillation Course, so as to teach the public knowledge about AED and the application techniques, in the hope that when a patient suffers from a cardiac arrest, members of the public can immediately resuscitate the patient and increase the patient’s survival rate. Besides, the FSD has established the Community Emergency Preparedness Division in October 2018 with a view to introducing new elements into public education on fire prevention and ambulance services, including strengthening the public’s knowledge on CPR and the use of AED.
 
     The Accident and Emergency Training Centre of the HA will continue to provide various types of emergency medical training courses, including courses on CPR and the use of AEDs, for HA staff and members of the public.
 
     The Government will continue to collaborate with other public and private organisations through various means for the publicity, promotion, education and training on first aid skills.

     Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) co-hosted a seminar entitled "Beijing and Hong Kong's cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative" during the Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium in Beijing today (October 24), updating the business community on the opportunities Hong Kong has to offer, in particular in its professional services.
      
     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, also attended the seminar. Addressing the audience, the Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Stephen Phillips, said that the "one country, two systems" arrangement ensures that Hong Kong retains a series of enduring advantages, including a vibrant business environment, a robust legal system, world-class intellectual property protection and deep, world-class financial and professional services, plus the recently introduced two-tier tax system aimed at attracting businesses to set up in the city.
      
     He added that Hong Kong also appeals to Mainland and foreign companies with a range of innovation and technology policy and support initiatives including a super tax deduction of up to 300 per cent for R&D expenditure and a new listing regime allowing pre-revenue biotechnology companies and innovative companies with weighted voting rights structures to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
      
     Mr Phillips said Hong Kong's legal services and related infrastructure, as well as its branding, design and business consultancy services, are attracting Mainland Chinese and overseas companies.
      
     In terms of the business opportunities Hong Kong has to offer amid the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, "You can leverage Hong Kong's world-class financial and professional services to structure and finance projects and mergers and acquisitions deals, and access the very best accounting and tax, legal, construction engineering design, management and project planning, and much more. And, of course, tap into Hong Kong's deep debt and equity capital markets. All underpinned by Hong Kong's common law system, which also makes Hong Kong a very suitable location for dispute resolution too."
      
     Mr Phillips concluded, "I would strongly urge you to capture these exciting opportunities and make use of Hong Kong to realise your international ambitions."
      
About InvestHK
      
     InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and supporting overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services for overseas and Mainland companies enrolled as its clients. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.