Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the Installation Ceremony of Rotary International District 3450 today (July 14):

Dr Ho (District Governor 2018-19 of Rotary International District 3450, Dr Ho Yu-cheung), Mr Fung (District Governor 2017-18 of Rotary International District 3450, Mr Fung Hing-wang), Ms Hui (District Installation Organising Committee Chair of Rotary International District 3450, Ms Angela Hui), distinguished guests, Rotarians, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join you all at the Installation Ceremony of Rotary International District 3450. First of all, I would like to extend my warmest congratulation to Dr Ho on his election as the next District Governor. My heartfelt appreciation also goes to Mr Fung for his sterling contribution and outstanding leadership throughout his tenure.

     Since the establishment of their first club in 1905, “Service above Self” has been the primary motto of all Rotarians. After more than 110 years of development, the Rotary has grown from a four-member club to an international service organisation of over 35 000 member clubs and 1.2 million Rotarians across 200 countries and regions worldwide.

     Rotary International District 3450 is one of the leading districts in the Rotary family. It represents more than 90 Rotary clubs in Hong Kong, Macao, Mongolia and Guangdong. For decades, Rotary clubs in District 3450 have devoted their passion, energy and intelligence to improving the livelihood of millions of people in these regions through a wide spectrum of projects covering areas such as poverty alleviation, education and youth service, health and medical care, and social inclusion.

     The spirit of Rotary resonates well with the HKSAR Government’s vision of building a caring and inclusive society in Hong Kong. Poverty alleviation and support for the disadvantaged are among the top priorities on our policy agenda. The recurrent government expenditure on social welfare is expected to reach $79.8 billion in 2018-19, or 55 per cent higher than five years ago. The amount constitutes 19.6 per cent of Government’s total recurrent expenditure, second only to education.

     According to the latest figures, our recurrent cash policies lifted 360 000 persons out of poverty in 2016 or a reduction of poverty rate by 5.2 percentage points, from 19.9 per cent to 14.7 per cent. In addition, non-recurrent cash benefits such as provision of rates waiver and additional social security payments further reduced the poverty rate to 13.7 per cent, while means-tested in-kind benefits comprising mainly public rental housing lifted an additional 287 300 persons out of poverty and further reduced the poverty rate by 3.3 per cent to 10.4 per cent.

     Nurturing our next generation is another steadfast commitment of the current-term Government. We are committed to creating more opportunities and providing more support for them to unleash their potential. In doing so, young people will see hope and opportunities for upward mobility.

     To improve education quality, the current-term Government has pledged to boost recurrent education expenditure by $5 billion, of which $3.6 billion has been approved by the Legislative Council. An additional recurrent expenditure of $2 billion has further been allocated for enhancing the professional development of teachers, strengthening support to kindergartens and promoting integrated education and life-wide learning. We also provide an average of more than 70 000 annual places for our youth to participate in exchange and internship programmes on the Mainland including the Bay Area and overseas to broaden their horizon and exposure to work culture in different places.

     We have also launched two collaboration projects, namely the “Future Stars” Programme and “Life Buddies” Mentoring Scheme to encourage businesses and members of the public to become mentors to give inspiration and advice to the younger generation. We have also launched the Youth Hostel Scheme and Space Sharing Scheme for Youth to support young people in pursuing their career and even starting their own businesses.

     In addition, three new high-level commissions, namely the Commission on Children, Youth Development Commission and Human Resources Planning Commission, have been set up under my chairmanship to oversee holistically key development stages of our next generation, from childhood and youth development to career planning, with a view to helping our young people to chart their way forward and realise fully their potential. I have also set up a steering committee to enhance collaboration within the Government on strengthening support to encourage and facilitate the integration of ethnic minorities into society. We have set aside $500 million for this good cause.

     However, to enhance the livelihood of our people, Government’s efforts alone are not enough. We need the support of all sectors of the community like Rotary International District 3450 to help create a better place for all. Indeed, I am most delighted to learn that, with Dr Ho at the helm, Rotary is formulating a youth hostel scheme to provide affordable rental units for young people.

     On this encouraging note, I would like to express my warmest appreciation to Rotary International District 3450 for your enduring support for creating a caring, compassionate, cohesive and harmonious Hong Kong. I wish the District 3450 under the leadership of Dr Ho another fruitful year ahead and all of you an enjoyable evening. Thank you. read more

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, at the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Tsuen Wan 5th Anniversary Dinner tonight (July 14):

President Kan (JCI Hong Kong 2018 National President, Mr Ronald Kan), Ms Lam (National Assigned Executive Officer, Ms Iris Lam), President Kung (President of JCI Tsuen Wan, Mr Brian Kung), Ms Wan (Banquet Chairlady, Ms Katie Wan), ladies and gentlemen,

     Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join you all at the 5th Anniversary Dinner of Junior Chamber International Tsuen Wan.

     Over the past few years, JCI Tsuen Wan has undergone notable development in advancing its own leadership development and community projects. It also collaborates with JCI Hong Kong to work for the betterment of our society. As the pioneer JCI local chapter which attaches importance to the transformation of family businesses, JCI Tsuen Wan conducts the annual flagship project Outstanding Family Business Legacy Selection to provide young leaders with insights on the key factors in leadership and management strategies that drive innovation and transformation. On the social front, JCI Tsuen Wan is particularly devoted to promoting children’s play rights. This is indeed a visionary initiative, for we could hardly expect a caring society if our next generation is not brought up in a mentally healthy state. Such remarkable achievements would not have been possible without the passion and devotion of JCI Tsuen Wan’s office bearers from a wide range of trades and businesses.

     Today we celebrate the 5th anniversary of JCI Tsuen Wan. In terms of age, the current-term Government under Mrs Carrie Lam, our Chief Executive, is much younger. So we are even more energetic. Since the inauguration a year ago, we have handled together a number of highly politically charged subjects, including the passage of the relevant legislation for the co-location arrangements in connection with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. Despite such controversies, I think most people would agree that our society is moving forward on the right track. I am sure that many of you have also noted the positive changes on various fronts with our new style of governance.

     In the past year, Hong Kong enjoyed robust economic growth, with a 3.8 per cent increase in real Gross Domestic Product in 2017 being followed by an even higher 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2018. All economic indicators in the last couple of months showed that our economic performance remained impressive. While total employment continued to record sturdy growth, the unemployment rate dropped to a 20-year low of 2.8 per cent and people’s earnings registered real improvements in general.

     Yet, there is no room for complacency. While fortifying the pillar industries of Hong Kong, the current-term Government has been striving to diversify our economy. In this regard, innovation and technology is considered to be the key to the future economic drive. So we have been speeding up the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong in an unprecedented pace, through diverse means such as investment in infrastructure, collaboration on research and development, nurturing start-ups and promoting the development of industries. From a broader perspective, we are also working in full swing to grasp the vast opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development.

     On the back of our positive economic outlook, we will make our continued efforts to improve people’s livelihood, covering a wide spectrum of initiatives from improving the teaching and learning environment, relieving the pressure on public hospitals to increasing the provision of elderly care and child care services. Right now, some 60 per cent of our recurrent budget is spent on education, social welfare and medical services. Needless to say, housing has been on the top of our agenda. Last month, the Chief Executive announced a package of housing policy initiatives, pending the conclusion of the public discussion on measures to increase land supply. Please rest assured that we are determined to address the community’s housing need.

     Turning now to my portfolio which relates to the overall management of the civil service, in order to better equip civil servants to meet rising public expectations, we are planning for a new civil service college. In line with the Government’s population policy, we will soon launch the initiative of allowing serving civil servants who joined the Government between June 2000 and May 2015 to choose to extend their service until 65 (for civilian civil servants) or 60 (for disciplined services). In 2018-19, the civil service establishment is expected to increase by 6 700 posts, or about 3.7 per cent, the highest year-on-year increase since reunification. The strengthened manpower could hopefully enhance the delivery of public services while relieving the work pressure of our civil servants.

     Young people are our future. In line with the “we care, we listen, we act” approach, the current-term Government has put much emphasis on intensifying our connection with young people. Our objective is very clear, that is to give specific attention to issues on youth education, career pursuit and home ownership as well as the participation of young people in politics and their engagement in public policy discussion and debate. In Chinese, we call it “三業三政：學業ã€�事業å�Šç½®æ¥­ï¼›è­°æ”¿ã€�論政å�Šå�ƒæ”¿”. 

     In this respect, we have established a high-level Youth Development Commission chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration to enhance policy co-ordination within the Government. This will enable holistic and more effective discussion on issues of concern to our young people. We have also introduced and subsequently formalised the Pilot Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth for civic-minded young people to serve on advisory boards or committees so that their voices could be more directly heard. The Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, which is re-organised from the former Central Policy Unit, has also recruited about 20 young people aspiring to pursue a career in policy research so that they can gain experience in public administration.

     In charting the future of Hong Kong, we need your staunch support. We also welcome very much your views, for example in the ongoing consultation for the 2018 Policy Address, so that we could shape our policies having due regard to the youth dimension. You may even consider playing your part in the government machinery as a way to serve the community. As I just mentioned, there will be thousands of civil service posts on offer. Let me call upon all of you to work together for the betterment of Hong Kong.

     Finally, I wish JCI Tsuen Wan every success in the years ahead and wish you all an enjoyable evening. Thank you. read more

     The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) today (July 14) awarded prizes of the 2017 Healthy Mobile Phone/Tablet Apps Contest and the 2017 Meritorious Websites Contest, and announced the results of … read more

     Hong Kong Customs today (July 14) held a graduation ceremony at the Customs Headquarters Building for the first Tutor Course of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Badge Programme for Youth Ambassador organised under the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy Scheme (YAS). A total of 30 Youth Ambassadors were awarded the certificate for completing the Programme. They will assist in various events for promoting the awareness of respect and protection of intellectual property rights amongst the youth.

     Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Lin Shun-yin, said that stringent law enforcement is necessary to fight against infringing activities effectively, but in the long term, it is needed to promote public awareness of respecting and protecting IPR through publicity and education.

     “Youngsters are the future of society. It is particularly significant to let them understand the harms of infringing acts and build up their awareness of respecting IPR at an early age,” Mr Lin said.

     The six-day training programme that the 30 Youth Ambassadors completed was rich in content. Besides having attended a four-day study tour on IPR in Korea co-organised by Hong Kong Customs and the Korea Customs Service, they also participated in training on discipline, leadership and presentation skills. They also attended seminars on customs law enforcement and IPR as well as a workshop on the latest Internet information. Visits to magistrates’ courts were arranged, followed by dialogue with a magistrate and the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.

     The Acting Deputy Director of Intellectual Property, Ms Joyce Poon, and the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Martin Hui, SC, joined Mr Lin to officiate at the graduation ceremony. They presented the Best Recruit Award, the Best Leadership Award, the Best Team Spirit Award and other awards to the participants with outstanding performance as a recognition of their achievements during the course.

     The YAS was first introduced by Hong Kong Customs in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Department and the IPR industry in 2006. It was established to foster youngsters’ respect for IPR at an early age, with an aim of building a solid foundation for IPR protection in society by engaging the youth in combating Internet piracy and in participating in various kinds of educational activities on IPR.

     The membership of the YAS includes more than 250 000 members from 13 local youth uniformed groups whose ages range between 9 and 25. 

     In 2016, Hong Kong Customs launched the Programme as a new initiative. Through specially designed training programmes, youths gain opportunities to strengthen their awareness of respect and protection of IPR.

     Three levels of courses, namely the Foundation Course, the Advanced Course and the Tutor Course, are offered in phases under the Programme. The first Foundation Course, the first Advanced Course and the first Tutor Course were launched in phases between 2016 and 2018.

     Participants who finish all three levels of courses will be awarded the Certificate for completing the Tutor Course and an IPR badge, and become tutors for the Programme. They will be provided with opportunities to play an important role in the promotion and education activities organised by Hong Kong Customs, relevant government departments and various youth uniformed groups in the future.

    

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (July 14):
 
Reporter: Mr Chan, does the government has any plan to tighten regulations on resale of HOS flats? Can we expect any concrete measures any time soon? And for the trade war, can you tell us that you think Hong Kong is ready to brace any impact both on a short and long term?
 
Financial secretary: The measures you mentioned in relation to the housing market is in the context of home ownership scheme, right? On home ownership scheme, the policy consideration is to assist people to acquire their residence for self-occupation purpose. But on the other hand, we recognise that due to change in circumstances or career development, people may need to, say for example, trade up in the market. That’s why, in the mechanism, they are allowed to resell the property to other buyers subject to certain restrictions. But the policy objective remains primarily for people to buy an affordable housing for self-occupation. In relation to trade war, the immediate impact on our GDP for the first round of the measures is estimated to be limited, but that is only the direct impact. But the indirect impact would be much wider, and with the heightening tension and the increasing coverage of the trade war, we expect the impact would be larger and this will hang around for a considerable period. Apart from affecting the real economy, it also affects the capital market and financial market as well as investment sentiment. That indirect impact on Hong Kong will be more significant but that remains to be seen because trade war involves multiple parties and the reaction of other parties are still unclear yet. We will continue to monitor this very closely and to roll out measures to support our small and medium-sized enterprises as needed.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more