The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has been informed by Hong Kong Association of Youth Development Limited that the territory-wide flag-selling activity in public places scheduled to be held today (November 30) has been cancelled, a spokesman for the SWD said.
For enquiries, please contact Mr Wong of the organisation at 3970 7904.
Police today (November 29) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Chai Wan.
Lau Yiu-wah, aged 70, went missing after he left an elderly home on Chai Wan Road yesterday afternoon (November 28). A staff member of the elderly home made a report to Police on the same day.
He is about 1.7 metres tall, 63 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short greyish-white hair. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket and blue trousers.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034 or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) hosted comprehensive briefing on study and work opportunities in Hong Kong at the Eötvös Loránd University and Pázmány Péter Catholic University respectively on November 26 and 27 (Budapest time) in Budapest, Hungary. Close to 80 students participated in the briefings to learn more about Asia's World City.
The Deputy Director of HKETO Berlin, Ms Alison Lo, highlighted the unique experience of studying in Hong Kong's numerous world-class universities and outlined the valuable opportunities offered to people working and living in Hong Kong. The city is known to many as one of the leading financial and business centres in the world as well as boasting a high density of top-notch universities, which is an ideal place to study.
Hong Kong's universities provide excellent study opportunities while maintaining international standards in curriculum design and quality assurance. Qualifications are recognised internationally, therefore students encounter no issues of recognition for their academic achievements attained in Hong Kong. They can choose to study among a selection of 21 degree-awarding higher education institutions, including two universities ranked in the world's top 50.
Ms Lo emphasised the important role that Hong Kong plays in advancing research opportunities in a variety of academic fields. According to the 2019-20 Budget, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region outlined plans to invest HK$20 billion to the Research Endowment Fund as well as allocating a further HK$16 billion for R&D facilities refurbishments in universities.
To experience Hong Kong first-hand, young people from Hungary can also make use of the Working Holiday Scheme. Under the Scheme, Hungarians between the age of 18 and 30 can stay up to 12 months in Hong Kong and are allowed to take up short-term employment as well as enroll in study or training courses as an incidental part of their stay. This would help them acquire a better understanding of the cultural, economic and social developments of Hong Kong.
For more details about studying and living in Hong Kong, visit www.studyinhongkong.edu.hk/en or www.talentlist.gov.hk.
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Hungary as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Police today (November 29) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Western District.
Law Bik-wah, aged 81, went missing after she left an elderly home on Des Voeux Road West yesterday afternoon (November 28). Staff of the elderly home made a report to Police on the same day.
She is about 1.52 metres tall, 59 kilograms in weight and of medium build. She has a round face with yellow complexion and short greyish white hair. She was last seen wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt, black vest, black trousers, black shoes and carrying a crutch.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034 or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (November 29) called on the Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr Prayut Chan-o-cha, and led a delegation to attend a high-level meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak, to discuss collaboration between Hong Kong and Thailand in various areas. She also signed, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Thailand on strengthening economic relations.
Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Convenor of the Non-official Members of the Executive Council, Mr Bernard Chan; Member of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Mrs Laura Cha; and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, met Mr Prayut. She said the visit to Thailand was fruitful, with detailed discussion between both sides on co-operation in various areas and the signing of an MoU to strengthen economic relations. She expressed gratitude to the Government of Thailand for its support, forging closer ties between the two places. She said she believed that the two places will open up groundbreaking co-operation in such areas as finance, creative industries and youth exchanges down the road.
Mrs Lam, Mr Chan, Mrs Cha and some of the Hong Kong delegation members, including the Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Dr Peter Lam, attended a high-level meeting with a Thai delegation led by Dr Somkid this morning. After the meeting, Mrs Lam and Dr Somkid, representing the Governments of the two places, signed the MoU on strengthening economic relations. The MoU covers a wide range of co-operation areas including trade and investment, enterprise partnerships, creative industries, financial services, technology start-ups and enterprises, and human resource development.
On bilateral trade co-operation, both sides agreed to broaden and deepen commitments in trade and investment liberalisation. Exploratory talks on negotiating a Hong Kong, China-Thailand Free Trade Agreement will commence with a view to establishing the work plan for negotiations by 2021, and the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement signed in 2005 will be reviewed and upgraded.
Fully leveraging Hong Kong as a platform and key link for the Belt and Road Initiative and Thailand as a valuable economic and trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), both sides agreed to organise more business and professional missions from Hong Kong to Thailand and more thematic exchanges with business matching sessions to encourage enterprises from both places to explore opportunities for collaboration and foster closer partnership and networks. The Thai Government will also explore the possibility of providing and extending facilitation and encouragement measures for Hong Kong enterprises interested in investing in Thailand, including incentives such as tax incentives, non-tax facilitation, updated and useful information on investment opportunities, market intelligence, and hands-on support for companies and projects. Both sides will also facilitate the establishment of regional headquarters or regional operations of enterprises respectively in Hong Kong and Thailand.
On co-operation in creative industries, both sides will promote further development of these industries through exchanges, cross-disciplinary collaboration and international network building in areas such as advertising, architecture, design, digital entertainment, film, music, television, printing and publishing, and more. The two sides will also arrange for delegations of the relevant sectors to participate in each other's local and international exhibitions, festivals, competitions, forums, study tours and internship opportunities.
Capitalising on Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre and Thailand's prominent role in the capital markets in ASEAN, the two sides will explore closer mutual collaboration for the benefit of the capital market industries, such as co-operation on market data connection and cross-border financial products. Mutual recognition of mutually acceptable securities (such as collective investment schemes), and collaboration opportunities in green and sustainable finance, including the development of green financial and investment products, will also be explored with a view to enriching the types of financial products offered and deepening the mutual access between the two financial markets.
On co-operation in technology start-ups and enterprise exchange, the two sides agreed to facilitate the networking and information sharing of relevant stakeholders and the internationalisation efforts of technology start-ups and enterprises in the respective markets, and explore collaboration in joint research and studies as well as exchanges of best practices. Various measures to facilitate the setting up and operation of technology start-ups and enterprises will also be implemented.
Noting that human resource development is a very important component in economic development, both sides agreed to enhance co-operation in the provision of education and training, particularly in the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), digital literacy, international trade and commerce, agro-industry and language training at the post-secondary level; in metro and railway operations; and in disaster rescue. Collaborative research activities and teaching-learning networking through exchange programmes among youths, teachers and researchers will also be promoted.
At the signing ceremony, Mrs Lam and Dr Somkid also witnessed the signing of five other MoUs on strengthening co-operation in specific areas between various agencies from the two sides. These MoUs cover domains such as design and creative industries, trade and investment, and innovation and technology. The signatories of the five MoUs include:
– the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Creative Economy Agency (Thailand);
– the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Creative Economy Agency (Thailand);
– the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Federation of Thai Industries;
– the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Board of Investment of Thailand; and
– the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (Thailand).
After arriving in Bangkok yesterday (November 28), Mrs Lam, Mr Chan, Mrs Cha, Mr Yau and Dr Lam attended a dinner hosted by the HKSAR Government for the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom of Thailand, Mr Lyu Jian.
