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).

  

     Police today (May 25) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Tai Po.

     Cheng Ngan-lai, aged 50, went missing after she was last seen on Sha Lan Road yesterday morning (May 24). Her family made a report to Police on the next day.

     She is about 1.58 metres tall, 48 kilograms in weight and of medium build. She has a square face with yellow complexion and long black hair. She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a dark blue dress, yellow slippers and carrying a pink shoulder bag.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon West on 3661 8038 or 9020 6542 or email to rmpu-kw@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.
     

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Pay Trend Survey Committee:

     The Pay Trend Survey Committee (PTSC) met earlier today (May 25) to consider the findings of the 2022 Pay Trend Survey (PTS).

     The survey findings indicate that the following average pay adjustments have been awarded by the surveyed companies over the 12-month period from April 2, 2021, to April 1, 2022:
 

     
     The 2022 PTS was conducted by the Pay Survey and Research Unit of the Joint Secretariat for the Advisory Bodies on Civil Service and Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service based on an improved methodology as approved by the Chief Executive-in-Council in March 2007.
     
     The survey findings reflect the pay trend in 111 companies covering 128 929 employees over the 12-month period from April 2, 2021, to April 1, 2022. The survey takes into account adjustments to basic salary and additional payments awarded to employees of the surveyed companies attributable to factors in relation to the cost of living, general prosperity and company performance, general changes in market rates, merit and inscale increment, in accordance with the improved survey methodology.

     A breakdown of the 111 companies by size is as follows:
 

     The distribution of the 128 929 employees by the three salary bands is as follows:
 

     â€‹The PTSC met on May 25, 2022, to verify and consider the 2022 PTS Report. The two representatives of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, the representative of the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service, the Secretary General of the Joint Secretariat for the Advisory Bodies on Civil Service and Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service, the two representatives of the Civil Service Bureau, one Staff Side Representative of the Senior Civil Service Council, the three Staff Side Representatives of the Model Scale 1 Staff Consultative Council, the two Staff Side Representatives of the Police Force Council and the two Staff Side Representatives of the Disciplined Services Consultative Council validated the survey findings. 

     The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the PTSC, Mr Lee Luen-fai. Mr Lee is a member of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service.

     Mr Lee said, "The 2022 PTS was conducted in accordance with the agreed methodology and in a professional and objective manner. The PTSC will submit the Report on the 2022 PTS to the Government for consideration."

     "The relevant pay trend indicators are yielded from the pay trends in the private sector companies as revealed by the survey. Civil service pay adjustment is, however, a separate matter. I understand that in accordance with the established practice, the Chief Executive-in-Council will take into account the pay trend indicators derived from the PTS and other pertinent considerations before making a decision on the 2022-23 civil service pay adjustment," Mr Lee added. 

     Mr Lee wishes to express the PTSC's sincere appreciation for the co-operation and assistance rendered by the companies to the Pay Survey and Research Unit.