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     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (May 25) announced the latest epidemic situation of COVID-19. As of 0.00am, May 25, the CHP was investigating 104 additional cases that tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus by nucleic acid tests (34 confirmed cases, 53 asymptomatic cases and 17 cases with pending case status) in the past 24 hours. Separately, 147 additional positive cases through rapid antigen tests (RATs) (77 symptomatic cases and 70 asymptomatic cases) were reported. Hong Kong has recorded a total of 761 509 and 449 578 cases that have tested positive by nucleic acid tests and RATs respectively for the SARS-CoV-2 virus so far.

     The aforementioned newly reported cases consist of 28 imported cases (21 cases and seven cases tested positive by nucleic acid tests and RATs respectively). The CHP is continuing with epidemiological investigations on the cases. Please refer to the “COVID-19 Thematic Website” (www.coronavirus.gov.hk) for more information.

     Meanwhile, according to the whole genome sequencing analysis by the DH’s Public Health Laboratory Services Branch, Hong Kong has recorded a total of 13 cases, 69 cases, 12 cases and three cases carrying the sub-lineages BA.2.12, BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 under the Omicron mutant strain respectively.

     In addition, as of 0.00am, May 25, a total of 9 159 death cases that had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the fifth wave (since December 31, 2021) were recorded, with 9 081 and 75 deaths reported from the Hospital Authority and public mortuaries respectively as well as three deaths reported from the Chinese University of Hong Kong Medical Centre. Hong Kong has so far recorded a total of 9 372 death cases that have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

     Furthermore, among the earlier cases by nucleic acid tests reported, there were cases (including pending cases) changed to confirmed, asymptomatic or re-positive cases. As at yesterday (May 24), the total number of confirmed cases was 332 074, while the figures for asymptomatic cases, re-positive cases and pending/unknown cases recorded since January 1 were 198 830, 23 and 230 478 respectively.

     As the passenger flight (EK384) operated by Emirates arriving in Hong Kong from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Bangkok, Thailand, on May 23, had five passengers who failed to comply with the requirements specified under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H), as well as three passengers who tested positive upon arrival, the DH thus invoked Cap. 599H to prohibit the landing of passenger flights in Hong Kong from Dubai and Bangkok operated by Emirates from May 26 to 30.

     The spokesman for the CHP stressed that as the local situation of COVID-19 infection is still severe, the CHP strongly appeals to the community to continue to comply with social distancing measures, avoid going out and refrain from participating in unnecessary or crowded activities or gatherings. This would lower the risk of infection and prevent the virus from spreading in the community.

     â€‹â€‹The spokesman reminded that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases and deaths from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They can provide effective protection to those vaccinated in preventing serious complications and even death after infection. People who have yet to receive vaccination, especially senior citizens, chronic patients and other immunocompromised persons who face a higher chance of death after COVID-19 infection, should get vaccinated as early as possible for self-protection and to reduce the risk of falling seriously ill and death should they get infected. read more

     The AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre, under the auspices of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) and with major support from the Central People’s Government (CPG), was officially opened today (May 25) at the Shanghai Commercial Bank Tower in Central. The Centre forms part of the Hong Kong Legal Hub.

     At the opening ceremony, the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, said she hoped that the Centre will, together with the existing AALCO arbitration centres in Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran and Kenya, stand united by the ideals of friendship and collaboration by promoting trade and investment in the Asian-African region. She expressed her gratitude to the CPG and the AALCO for their staunch support and trust, and said that the Department of Justice (DoJ) looks forward to working with the Centre and the legal and dispute resolution community to promote Hong Kong as an international legal and dispute resolution hub, which will be beneficial to all.

     The Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Liu Guangyuan, and the Director of the AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre, Mr Nick Chan, also officiated at the ceremony.

     The establishment of the Centre, officially announced in November 2021 at the 59th Annual Session of AALCO hosted by Hong Kong, marks a major milestone in the development of Hong Kong as a leading centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, and constitutes a significant vote of confidence from the CPG and the AALCO to Hong Kong.

     The AALCO is the only inter-governmental legal consultative organisation in the Asian and African region comprising almost all the major states from Asia and Africa. Regional arbitration centres under its auspices function as international institutions with the objective of promoting international commercial arbitration in the Asian-African region and providing for the conduction of international arbitrations.

     Adding to the five existing regional arbitration centres of the AALCO, the regional arbitration centre in Hong Kong will act as a co-ordinating agency in the AALCO dispute settlement system, aiming to promote the growth and effective functioning of arbitration institutions and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, including online dispute resolution services, to promote the wider application of various ADR rules within the Asian and Pacific region, to provide facilities for ADR services including ad hoc arbitrations as well as arbitrations held under the auspices of the Centre and other arbitral institutions, and to provide assistance in the enforcement of arbitral awards.

     The DoJ will continue its efforts to establish Hong Kong as the centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, which is in line with the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, bringing vast opportunities for the sector.

        

     The InnoHK Launch Ceremony was successfully held today (May 25), marking a new milestone in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s commitment to promoting Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T). As the flagship I&T initiative of the HKSAR Government, InnoHK aims to promote global research collaboration with a view to putting Hong Kong on the global advanced technology map.
 
     Addressing the Launch Ceremony, the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, showed her strong faith in the long-term development of Hong Kong’s I&T industry, given that Hong Kong is endowed with a series of unparalleled advantages. Coupled with the unequivocal support for Hong Kong to develop into an international I&T hub as highlighted in the National 14th Five-Year Plan last year as well as the immense opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, there will be a promising path for the development of I&T in Hong Kong. She said that these 28 research laboratories will not only translate their impactful research into applications that bring good for humankind but also attract and nurture more research talents, thereby developing Hong Kong into the hub for global research collaboration.
 
     Subsequently, Mrs Lam, together with other officiating guests, presided over the InnoHK launch and unveiled InnoHK’s logo and official website.
 
     The InnoHK Launch Ceremony was attended physically by more than 300 top-notch researchers of the 28 research laboratories and I&T industry leaders, as well as virtually by hundreds of researchers from the research clusters.
 
     Promoting research and development is a crucial part of I&T development. To this end, the Government has allocated $10 billion to this flagship I&T initiative. Leveraging on Hong Kong’s clear advantages in research capability, two research clusters have been set up at the Hong Kong Science Park, namely Health@InnoHK, focusing on healthcare technologies, and AIR@InnoHK, focusing on artificial intelligence and robotics technologies. InnoHK is committed to bringing together leading researchers from around the world to conduct world-class and impactful collaborative research with local universities and research institutions.
 
     Since its inception, the InnoHK initiative spearheaded by the Innovation and Technology Commission has received an overwhelming response from many world-renowned universities and research institutions. After a rigorous selection and assessment process, 28 research laboratories have been admitted, involving seven local universities and research institutions as well as over 30 institutions from 11 economies, and pooling around 2 000 researchers locally and from all over the world. In addition to fostering more collaboration among top local, Mainland and overseas researchers as well as industry, InnoHK provides an excellent platform for training and building up a pool of talents in Hong Kong. InnoHK also enables different parties to share their research outcomes and further collaborate with each other in order to achieve synergy and translate research outcomes into applications. All this will bring substantial benefits to society. Health@InnoHK will help promote the development of global healthcare technologies in response to the emerging challenges in society, such as an ageing population and epidemic outbreaks, whereas AIR@InnoHK will help enhance efficiency in the fields of ï¬�nance, healthcare, construction, logistics and advanced manufacturing, with a view to building a smart city for the future.
 
     For further details about the 28 research laboratories admitted to InnoHK, please visit the newly launched official website (www.innohk.gov.hk).

    

     â€‹Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the InnoHK Launch Ceremony today (May 25):
      
     First and foremost, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, may I extend my heartfelt welcome and appreciation to all the research teams that have chosen to set a foothold in our InnoHK research clusters. Your take is a clear vote of confidence in the huge development potential of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) sector, for which we feel much encouraged.
      
     Since my announcement of an eight-pronged approach to step up the Government’s efforts to develop I&T in my inaugural Policy Address in October 2017, our city has come a long way in advancing this sector with a goal of not only diversifying Hong Kong’s economy, but also doing good for humankind. These efforts and the $150 billion my Government has committed to I&T development within this term have certainly paid off. On this note, may I highlight two further areas of work which I believe will bring Hong Kong’s I&T to new heights.
      
     First, with our solid foundation in research and a good number of world-renowned experts, Hong Kong could better leverage its strengths in life and health sciences. I thus proposed, in my 2021 Policy Address delivered last October, to set up an InnoLife Healthtech Hub at the Lok Ma Chau Loop Hong Kong-Shenzhen I&T Park. Our existing 16 life and health-related laboratories in the InnoHK clusters and eight State Key Laboratories in life and health disciplines will form the basis of this new venture, bringing together top-notch research teams and focusing efforts on R&D work as well as global research collaboration in the field of life and health sciences. To follow through on this initiative, the Government Budget this year has earmarked another $10 billion for further promoting life and health technology development, ranging from hardware, research talents and clinical trials to data application.
      
     Second, with land and infrastructure development equally important to a vibrant I&T ecosystem, and in an economy like Hong Kong where the cost of land and premises is prohibitively expensive, I announced last October that in the Northern Metropolis, which will guide Hong Kong’s visionary development in the next decade or so, land will be reserved for technology-driven manufacturing under the banner of re-industrialisation. A San Tin Technopole comprising the Hong Kong-Shenzhen I&T Park and the areas nearby, together with the Shenzhen I&T Zone, will form a cross-boundary I&T co-operation zone of about 540 hectares. This could enable Hong Kong and Shenzhen to pool local and non-local talents, enterprises and resources for greater synergy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development from a broader perspective. To lose no time in facilitating high-tech smart production in order to enrich Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem, we are developing specially designated space and facilities in our industrial estates as well as the recently opened Advanced Manufacturing Centre and a Microelectronics Centre to be completed next year. Suitable land is also being identified for building another advanced manufacturing centre to accommodate more set-ups of high value-added and technology-intensive manufacturing processes and production lines in Hong Kong.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, there is much to anticipate in not only the InnoHK research clusters, but also the overall development of Hong Kong’s I&T industry. I wish you every success in your research and development efforts, scaling new heights in the many years to come and joining hands with the Government to develop Hong Kong into an international I&T centre. Thank you very much.

    

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs today (May 25) smashed a drug manufacturing centre, arrested a man and seized a batch of suspected dangerous drugs with an estimated market value of about $2.9 million. The batch included about 2.8 kilograms of suspected ketamine, about 800 grams of suspected cocaine, about 350g of suspected crack cocaine and about 5g of suspected cannabis buds.

     During an anti-narcotics operation conducted in To Kwa Wan early this morning, Customs officers intercepted a 20-year-old man and found about 22g of suspected crack cocaine inside his rucksack. The man was subsequently arrested.

     Customs officers then escorted the arrested man to a residential premises nearby for a search and found that the premises was used as a drug manufacturing centre. About 2.8kg of suspected ketamine, about 800g of suspected cocaine, about 300g of suspected crack cocaine and a batch of drug manufacturing and packaging paraphernalia were further seized.

     Later on, Customs officers further searched the arrested man’s home in Kwun Tong and seized about 25g of suspected crack cocaine and about 5g of suspected cannabis buds inside the unit.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).