Author Archives: hksar gov

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:      Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced toda… read more

     The Administration Wing of the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office announced today (August 28) enhancements to the Legal Advice Scheme for Unrepresented Litigants on Civil Procedures (Procedural Advice Scheme).
 
     To enable more members of the public in need to receive services, the Procedural Advice Scheme will lift the existing income eligibility limit of not exceeding a monthly income of $50,000 or an annual income of $600,000 from next Monday (September 4). Unrepresented litigants who have not engaged lawyers nor been granted legal aid can apply for the scheme to seek free legal advice, without the need to provide information on their income, on civil procedural matters of the proceedings (including commencement of proceedings) in the Lands Tribunal, Family Court, District Court or the courts above to which they are parties.
 
     In addition, in order to facilitate applicants’ submission of applications, the Procedural Advice Scheme will expand, effective from the same day (September 4), the scope of its online application system from re-applicants who have attended advice session on the case in question to all applicants. To use the service, members of the public can visit the following website eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/cso001/en/.
 
     A spokesman for Administration Wing said, “Since its launch in 2013, the Procedural Advice Scheme has conducted over 24 000 advice sessions for about 9 000 eligible litigants. The enhancements will further respond to the society’s needs and benefit more people in need.”
 
     For details, members of the public can call 2259 5017 or visit the dedicated webpage of the Procedural Advice Scheme at www.admwing.gov.hk/eng/public_service/paso.htm.
 
     The Procedural Advice Scheme provides free legal advice on civil procedural matters for unrepresented litigants who commence or are parties to legal proceedings (including commencement of proceedings) in the Lands Tribunal, the Family Court, the District Court, the Court of First Instance or Court of Appeal of the High Court, or the Court of Final Appeal. Under the enhanced scheme, applicants will remain responsible at all times for the conduct of their own proceedings. read more

     The Civil Aid Service (CAS) held the Cadet Corps Foot Drill Competition 2023 at its headquarters today (August 27). The competition was officiated by the Acting Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok.   &nbsp… read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session after attending the 2023 Policy Address District Forum today (August 27):
 
Reporter: How does the new protocol about officials attending the events work and who is going to be monitoring? Is that an idea purely sparked by the recent farewell event? And for the stock market task force you’ve just mentioned, why did you see a need and how it can be improved? And the final question is – will Hong Kong follow the Mainland to extend the ban to all aquatic products from Japan and why or why not?
 
Chief Executive: In regard to the consensus I want to build with organisers of events, this is as a result of my personal experiences. Since I have assumed office, I thank the support of a lot of organisations who have been inviting me and my Government officials to attend their functions to be the guests of honour. And there is a heavy burden on the diary. But I’m quite willing to do what I can because this indicates my and the Government’s support for organisers who have all along been trying to make contributions to the construction of Hong Kong. So, I thank them for the activities. But I’m concerned about the trend of organisers inviting a large number of my senior officials, and it can happen on occasions that a large number of senior officials attending the same function. What I would like to build as a consensus is I wish organisers could understand that the participation of a senior Government official at a function is the strong indication of our support to their activities and the strong desire to build a good dialogue and relationship with organisers of events that represent positive construction of the society. I want to make it a flexible system so that internally, within the Government, we can share out the workload. There will be good division of labour within us and we will be helping each other and sharing the work so as to ensure that we will have the right participation in all these events. So, my suggestion for this consensus is as a result of my personal experiences over the years, and the trend indicating that organisers want as many senior officials to participate as possible. Probably, they think that the number of officials participating represents Government’s support. So what I am trying to say very clearly here is the participation of Government officials, no matter how big the number is, is already an indication of support, number doesn’t matter. 
 
     The second thing is the task force that will be set up very soon. Hong Kong – I think one of the strong competitiveness factors is our position as an international financial centre, and it is one of the eight strengths and areas that we must ensure that we build it strong and also continue a success. I have heard a lot of opinions about the importance of ensuring the liquidity of our stock market. I have heard it through various means. I have also heard it during some consultations. That is why the Government has decided to set up this task force to be led by the Financial Secretary. He will announce the details very quickly. And I also want the task force to start working very quickly so that they will give me recommendations so as to increase the liquidity of our stock market to strengthen our competitiveness as an international financial centre. I think that will help Hong Kong as a whole in regard to strengthening our economy and different regards as to our competitiveness.
 
     As regards the exercise of the Japanese Government in pouring the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, there is immediate risk, as well as long term risk. Immediate risk is the contamination that may affect aquatic products. That is why we have already banned the aquatic products from 10 metropolis/prefectures. Also, we will be testing each sample every day – each sample of aquatic products that comes into Hong Kong. And we will also test the non-aquatic products from Japan as well. That will ensure that we can avoid the risk that will cause harm to our food safety and also the health of our people. We also have to be careful about the long term risk because of the accumulative effect of radioactive substances being poured into the sea. And the accumulation – we are talking about a period of almost 30 years or even over, and a lot of experts have been worrying about this seriously. This is unprecedented. So, nobody can tell that it will be risk-free. 
 
     The other thing is, there is yet to see in the world, any system or any method that will be risk-free and free of human errors. So, we have to ensure that for a system which will run for such a long period, the reliability of the equipment, the maintenance of the system and the possibility of a human error in an exercise that will last for over 30 years. That is why we have to take stern and serious measures to ensure food safety and the health of our people. In Hong Kong, of course, people can be assured of the food safety. And all the things we do is to ensure that when we go to a restaurant, or when we go to buy food, we don’t have to worry about food safety. And that is what we are doing.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)

  

     â€‹As the Heat Stress at Work Warning is now in effect, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and employees to take appropriate measures during the effective period of the warning to prevent heat stroke when working in hot weather or hot environments.
      
     Employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor environments face high levels of heat stress and are at a relatively higher risk of heat stroke. Employers should assess the risk factors of heat stress for employees at work and, based on the identified risk factors, take necessary preventive and control measures, including rescheduling work periods, setting up shading covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment, and reminding employees to replenish water and rest in a timely manner.
      
     The Heat Stress at Work Warning is formulated by the LD based on the Hong Kong Heat Index. There are three levels of the warning: Amber, Red and Black, which help employers and employees better understand the level of heat stress while working outdoors or indoors without air-conditioning systems.
      
     A spokesman for the LD said that when the department issues the Heat Stress at Work Warning, employers must refer to the criteria and recommendations provided in the “Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work” to conduct risk assessments, according to the workloads and other relevant heat stress risk factors, for employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor workplaces. Appropriate rest breaks should be arranged every hour, as far as reasonably practicable, based on various levels of the Heat Stress at Work Warning, to reduce employees’ risk of heat stroke.
      
     Employees must also follow instructions to rest on time. Whenever there are any symptoms of heat-related illnesses, such as headache, dizziness, thirst, and nausea, they should rest in a cool and shady place, drink water, and inform employers/supervisors to take appropriate action immediately.
      
     The LD issued the “Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work”, detailing the various risk factors that should be considered when conducting heat stress risk assessments and recommending corresponding control measures for identified risk factors for employers’ and employees’ reference. For the Heat Stress at Work Warning and related guidelines, please refer to the department’s thematic webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/prevention_of_heat_stroke_at_work.htm. read more