Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, continued her visit in Beijing today (July 18).
 
     Miss Mak attended the inauguration ceremony of the Youth Internship Programme at Chinese Academy of Sciences this morning to show support for the 16 Hong Kong youths who will soon start their six-week internship at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has partnered with the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2018 to organise the internship programme, with an aim to enhance young people’s understanding and knowledge of the country’s top-tier research and development on advanced science and technology so that they could acquire work skills and get well-prepared for their personal development in the future.
 
     Speaking at the ceremony, Miss Mak said, “The National 14th Five‑Year Plan has established Hong Kong’s ‘eight centres’ positioning, which includes developing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology centre. I believe this precious internship experience will broaden students’ horizons and help them capitalise on the enormous opportunities brought by the development of innovation and technology.”
 
     Miss Mak then called on the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong. Mr Xia attached great importance to, and recognised, the HKSAR’s work on improving district governance.
 
     Miss Mak gave an overview of the latest progress on home and youth affairs work, including reform of District Councils, strengthening the district governance structure and youth development, etc. With Hong Kong embarking on a new journey to advance from stability to prosperity, the Government will further improve governance and faithfully implement the “one country, two systems” principle. The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) will make efforts to keep its finger on the pulse of the community at this critical period in order to continue enhancing the governance efficacy of the Government.
 
     In the afternoon, Miss Mak and the team visited Hong Kong youths on internships at the Sub-district Office of Haidian District. She then met with the officers of the Sub-district Office to conduct in-depth exchanges on the practical experience of grassroots governance in Hong Kong and sub-districts of the Mainland city, especially efforts on listening to the views of the residents in resolving district issues.
 
     Miss Mak and her team then visited the Beijing Youth Palace and met with the honorary president of the Beijing Youth Federation, Mr Zheng Xiaobo, to share the Youth Development Blueprint released at the end of last year by the HYAB, and to discuss ways to strengthen mutual visits and exchange activities between youths of the two places. Miss Mak and the team also visited the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and met with the Chairperson of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Mr Liu Cigui. They exchanged views on ways to promote Hong Kong young people to integrate into the overall development of the country.
 
     Before leaving Beijing tomorrow (July 19), the delegation will meet with the All-China Women’s Federation and exchange views with its Vice-President, Ms Lin Yi, to learn from the experiences of women’s organisations on the Mainland so as to take forward efforts on work related to Hong Kong’s women. Miss Mak and her team will conclude the visit to Beijing and return to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.

                      

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 Citibank (Hong Kong) Limited relating to fraudulent websites and phishing emails, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.

     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks’ websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the websites or emails concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. read more

     The Civil Service College (CSC) of the Civil Service Bureau, in collaboration with the Institute for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, Peking University, organised a new in-depth programme on “one country, two systems” and the contemporary China. The programme was launched today (July 18) with a lecture conducted at the CSC and online attendance available to further strengthen training for senior officials and directorate civil servants.
 
     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, and the Director of the Institute for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, Peking University, Professor Chen Duanhong, officiated at and addressed the inauguration ceremony of the programme. The Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Clement Leung, and the Head of the Civil Service College, Mr Oscar Kwok, also attended the ceremony.
 
     In addressing the ceremony, Mrs Yeung expressed her gratitude to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and Peking University for their support for the programme. She said that the programme aims at providing senior officials and directorate civil servants with a more comprehensive understanding of the practice of “one country, two systems” as well as the country’s macro policy and development, with a view to supporting Hong Kong to actively integrate into the overall development of the country.
 
     She appealed to the participants to seize this valuable opportunity to understand the country’s governance strategies and have in-depth exchanges with scholars of different areas of expertise with a view to broadening their horizons. Participants, in their respective positions, should formulate more people-oriented policies and initiatives, so as to jointly contribute to the steadfast and successful implementation of “one country, two systems”.
 
     Following the ceremony, the first lecture was held on the topic of “The Communist Party of China (CPC) and Contemporary China”, delivered by Professor of School of International Studies of Peking University Professor Pan Wei, who shared with the participants the constitutional status and governance philosophy of the CPC, and its relationship with “one country, two systems”.
 
     Around 70 participants attended the programme at the CSC. In addition, over 100 politically appointed officials and other directorate officers enrolled and sat in the lecture via video conferencing.
 
     In the 2022 Policy Address, the Chief Executive set forth the goal of enhancing civil service training to deepen civil servants’ understanding of “one country, two systems” and the contemporary China, and broaden their global perspectives. The CSC and the Institute for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, Peking University, jointly organised the in-depth programme on “one country, two systems” and the contemporary China for officers at D1 and D2 rank with potential for advancement.
 
     The programme consists of 12 monthly lectures in two parts: “one country, two systems” and the contemporary China. It covers a wide range of topics, such as the CPC and the contemporary China, socialism with Chinese characteristics, the theory and practice of “one country, two systems”, as well as developments in contemporary Chinese society, economy, national defence, technology, and more. Distinguished scholars from the Mainland will deliver the programme and engage in in-depth discussions with participants.

          

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (July 18) that open auctions for a total of 26 vacant stalls in nine public markets on Hong Kong Island and in Islands District will be held on July 25 (Tuesday).

     The retail commodities allowed for sale in these stalls cover non-food related dry goods, food related dry goods or wet goods, fresh meat, fish, newspapers, vegetables, tradesman/service trades, etc. The tenancy agreement is a three-year fixed term from October 1, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. Depending on the sizes and locations of the individual stalls, the upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls range from $350 to $4,700.

     A spokesman for the FEHD said, “Bidders for the market stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. To allow more people to bid for the stalls and increase customer choices by enhancing the diversity in terms of the variety of stalls, there will be a restriction on the number of stalls to be rented in the same market by a single tenant. Any person who is currently a stall tenant is not allowed to bid in the first round of the auction for any stall in the same market, but will only be allowed to bid for one stall in the second round of the auction, while no existing tenant under the new three-year fixed term tenancy scheme (i.e. those persons who became the stall tenant through the market open auctions after August 2022) shall be allowed to bid for a stall in the same market in any event.”

     The open auctions will be held at Room 410, 4/F, FEHD Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The admission tickets will be issued 30 minutes prior to the commencement of the auction (i.e. 9.30am). Persons who want to attend the auctions must wait at the waiting area of the auction venue and produce their Hong Kong identity card or passport for registration. The registered person will then be provided with an admission ticket for the auction. In addition, eligible bidders after verification will be issued with a bidding paddle for the auction. The FEHD has also invited representatives of the Police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Competition Commission to monitor the auctions at the auction venues, in order to ensure that the open auctions are conducted in an orderly and fair manner.

     Details of the open auctions as well as of the public market stalls concerned have been uploaded to the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/open_auction_coming.html). Bidders interested in the auctions may visit the department’s website or contact the respective District Environmental Hygiene Office. read more

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 Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited relating to a fraudulent website and an internet banking login screen, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.

     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks’ websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the website or login screen concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. read more