Tag Archives: China

     Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme Award Presentation Ceremony 2018 today (August 23):
 
Victor (Chairman, Steering Committee of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme, Dr Victor Fung), scholars, parents, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good afternoon.
 
     As always, it is a pleasure to be here among so many who value the rewards of scholarship, whose life work is in the passionate pursuit of educational, intellectual and creative achievement at the highest levels. We come together today for the fourth consecutive year under the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme. Counting this year’s award-winners, more than 360 students have been named Hong Kong Scholars since the Scheme’s inception and given the priceless gift of studying at acclaimed universities all over the world. Given its resounding success, I am pleased to say that the Scheme, initially started as a pilot with time-limited funding, will become a permanent feature in the Government’s effort to nurture young people starting from the 2019/20 academic year. This underlines the success of the Scheme, which in no small part is due to the achievements of the previous cohorts of scholars, many of whom I have met in Hong Kong or abroad.
 
     This afternoon, however, let us focus on this year’s extraordinary students. Among some 800 applications, all are high achievers and 83 were ultimately chosen. Fifty-eight of you are about to begin your undergraduate studies. Another 25 are destined for postgraduate programmes. All will be studying at renowned international universities. I am very pleased to know that, for the first time, we have a scholar going to a French institution. Like everyone else here today, I take pride in your determined efforts and outstanding academic results. My congratulations to each and every one of you.
 
     That said, let me add this essential caveat. While you should cherish your singular achievements, and all those who have helped you realise them, don’t lose sight of the larger reality: your hard-won scholarship is not an end but merely a beginning. There will be more studies, more work, more decisions on the long and winding road to realising your potential. Eventually, there will be a career – likely more than one – as you build your life, find your places as valuable pillars of society. This is indeed one of the main reasons behind the launching of this Government Scholarship Scheme in 2014. If Hong Kong is to maintain and retain a prosperous international economy and a rewarding community in which to live and work, we need a younger generation like you.
 
     With that in mind, I must say I’m impressed by the diversified interests and talents of this year’s scholarship winners. That’s evident in the wide spectrum of disciplines you will be pursuing in the coming years. They range from mathematics and the natural sciences to computing and engineering, the social sciences, business, finance and economics, law, medicine and culture too. They include, as well, music and fine arts, along with disciplines not available in Hong Kong, such as drama therapy and archaeology. That diversity, ladies and gentlemen, reflects well on the passions, pursuits and vibrancy of this year’s scholarship awardees. And it can only make Hong Kong an even more splendid place in which to live, love and work in.
 
     For that, my thanks to the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme’s Steering Committee, particulaly its Chairman, Dr Victor Fung. My thanks, as well, to the interview panel members and mentors of the scholars for their substantial commitment and contributions. Your efforts, your guidance and generosity, have led to another fruitful and rewarding year.
 
     I must also thank the parents, teachers and principals of our scholarship winners. Day after day, year after year, you have helped nurture Hong Kong’s next generation of achievers, creators and leaders. You should be proud of your sacrifices, your accomplishments and the future you have helped make possible.
 
     Last September, during my visit to London, I met some of our young scholars studying in the United Kingdom. They told me about their dreams, as well as their aspirations to contribute to Hong Kong after graduating. That was certainly gratifying for me personally. I look forward to meeting the scholars this year in the future, either in Hong Kong or in your places of study, and listening to your story. For now, I will congratulate you again and wish you all the best in your endeavours.
 
     Thank you very much.

    

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (August 23) officiated at the Award Presentation Ceremony 2018 of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES). Eighty-three students were selected as the fourth cohort of awardees.
             
     Fifty-eight of the awardees are going to pursue undergraduate study and 25 postgraduate study at world-renowned universities. These include not only top-notch comprehensive universities but also world-class institutions specialising in only one or a few particular disciplines.
      
     The disciplines that the awardees are going to pursue cover a wide spectrum, ranging from conventional ones such as natural and social sciences, arts, law and engineering to other specialties such as music and fine arts, and disciplines of study which are currently unavailable in Hong Kong such as drama therapy and archaeology (distribution of the awardees by different disciplines is at the Annex).
      
     “The diverse pool of scholarship recipients well reflects the variety and vibrancy of Hong Kong. The contribution of this diverse pool of talents to our society after their graduation and return to Hong Kong is expected to fuel further long-term development of Hong Kong in many different realms and aspects,” said a spokesman for the Education Bureau.
      
     He added that competition for the awards was keen and rigorous, with 789 applicants who will commence their undergraduate or postgraduate study in the 2018/19 academic year vying for the the scholarships. Apart from academic achievements, selection was also based on key considerations including the non-academic attributes of applicants, such as his or her leadership skills and potential as well as commitment and contribution to Hong Kong.
      
     “As the selection process is still ongoing, some more applicants may be offered the scholarship after today’s ceremony,” the spokesman added. A list of the awardees as of August 23, 2018 has been uploaded to the HKSES website (www.edb.gov.hk/hkses).
      
     Other officiating guests at the award presentation ceremony included the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, and the Chairman of the Steering Committee on the HKSES, Dr Victor Fung.
      
     The HKSES aims to support local students to pursue studies at world-renowned universities outside Hong Kong with a view to grooming a top cadre of talents with global vision, an international network and world-class education, thereby contributing to enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness as Asia’s world city in a globalised knowledge economy. Key features of the scholarship scheme are available at the HKSES website.
      
     Details of the next cohort applications for the HKSES will be announced shortly. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, August 23, 2018 is 104.3 (up 0.3 against yesterday’s index). read more

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (August 22) seized a total of 118 suspected smuggled smartphones with an estimated market value of about $680,000 at Shenzhen Bay Control Point.      Customs officers… read more

     Representatives of the governments, financial regulators and exchanges of Hong Kong and Shanghai held the eighth Working Meeting of Hong Kong-Shanghai Financial Co-operation in Hong Kong today (August 23) to discuss how to further enhance financial co-operation between the two places.
 
     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mr James Lau, and the Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Office, Mr Zheng Yang, gave an account of the latest market situation and developments of the financial services sector in Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively. Representatives of the two places exchanged views on issues of mutual concern, including the progress made in respect of financial services in the Mainland (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ); the co-operation in cross-boundary Renminbi (RMB) business and the securities, futures and insurance sectors; the development of green finance; and initiatives on the exchange of financial talents.
 
     Addressing the Meeting, Mr Lau said that the country had entered a new phase of reform and opening up, and was dedicated to enhancing the competitiveness of its financial sector and the sustainable and sound development of the capital markets. Amongst others, the daily quotas under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect were quadrupled in May this year, providing further facilitation to international and Mainland investors. Mr Lau said that he looked forward to closer financial co-operation between the two cities on various fronts, and to seeing Hong Kong and Shanghai play more significant roles in the two-way opening-up of the Mainland.
 
     Shanghai representatives briefed the Hong Kong side on the latest developments of the FTZ, including the progress of implementing various financial initiatives since the promulgation of the “Fully Deepening the Reform and Liberalisation Plan of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone”. Both sides also explored ways to enhance co-operation in cross-boundary RMB business. 
 
     On bolstering co-operation in the securities and futures industry, both sides agreed to encourage their financial institutions and corporations to leverage fully on the other side’s market as a platform for investment and financing. With the implementation of the new listing regime in Hong Kong earlier this year, the two sides agreed to assist more Shanghai companies in the biotech, emerging and innovative sectors to list in Hong Kong.
 
     On insurance, with the recent announcement of preferential treatment, the capital requirements for Mainland insurers ceding reinsurance business to qualified Hong Kong reinsurers will be reduced. Both sides agreed to reinforce co-operation and explore the establishment of partnership in relation to reinsurance business along the Belt and Road.
 
     The two sides will also continue to organise the Cross-boundary Study Tour for Post-secondary Financial Talents in order to facilitate exchange and training of talents between the two places.
 
     The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong and the Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Advancing Hong Kong-Shanghai Financial Co-operation and an Agreement on Enhancing Hong Kong-Shanghai Financial Co-operation in 2010 and 2016 respectively. One of the co-operation measures is that financial representatives of the two places would hold bilateral meetings regularly to enhance mutual exchanges and co-operation in the financial area.