Tag Archives: China

     â€‹The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland yesterday (January 16, Davos time).

     Mr Chan, accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, attended the WEF Annual Meeting, at which Premier Li Qiang delivered a special address. Mr Chan said Premier Li’s speech comprehensively elaborated that the overall trend of China’s long-term growth will not change, and China stays committed to opening up and continues to provide a strong impetus to the development of the world economy. Premier Li put forward concrete and vigorous suggestions on how to rebuild trust, enhance co-operation and promote world economic recovery and continuous growth under the current complex and volatile international political and economic environment.

     In the afternoon, Mr Chan met with the President of the World Bank Group, Mr Ajay Banga, and exchanged views on enhancing investment and financing for green and sustainable projects, promoting digitalisation in the region, enhancing collaboration among countries in the South, and promoting a more inclusive development of the regional as well as the global economy.

     Mr Chan also attended a business breakfast and a roundtable meeting organised by a multinational bank respectively. Participants included representatives from international financial institutions, investment funds, air cargo and logistics industry, insurance groups, professional services organisations and fintech enterprises. At the two sessions, Mr Chan introduced the latest economic and social conditions of Hong Kong. He also talked about the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s efforts in consolidating and enhancing the city’s competitiveness as an international financial centre, developing a diversified economy, attracting enterprises and talent, and had in-depth exchanges with the participants.

     Speaking at a keynote seminar organised by a Mainland financial media agency, Mr Chan shared Hong Kong’s new strengths and developments. He pointed out that four major global trends are reshaping the world economic order. They include unilateralism and geopolitical situation; the rise of China, developing Asia and the Middle East; global green transformation; as well as technological changes and the development of digital economy. Under the new global trend, Hong Kong, with its unique advantages under “one country, two systems”, has bright prospects and will play an even more pivotal role as a bridge and platform connecting the Mainland and international markets and investors. The HKSAR Government is pressing ahead with the development of the “eight centres” as outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan. In particular, the Government is promoting the development of financial services and innovation and technology as the dual engines of Hong Kong’s future growth, so as to drive economic development towards a high-quality direction, and to bring more diversified and quality employment opportunities to the public.

     In the evening, Mr Chan attended a dinner hosted by the founder and executive chairman of the WEF, Professor Klaus Schwab, for the guests of the Annual Meeting.

     Mr Chan will continue his visit to Davos today (January 17, Davos time).

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     â€‹The spokesperson for Pok Oi Hospital (POH) made the following appeal today (January 16) regarding a patient leaving the hospital without prior notification:

     A 71-year-old male in-patient left the hospital without notifying staff at around 6.30pm this evening.

     While discovered missing of the patient, ward staff reported the incident to security guards immediately and conducted the search in hospital areas and at the vicinity but in vain. POH is very concerned about the incident. The hospital contacted the patient’s relative and reported the incident to the police. The hospital will continue to co-operate with police for the search.

     The patient is about 1.6 metres tall with a thin body build, black complexion with short grey and white hair. He was wearing an orange down jacket, dark-coloured trousers and slippers when leaving POH.

     The hospital appeals to the public to contact Yuen Long Police Station at 3661 1680 or call 999 if they know the whereabouts of the patient. read more

     â€‹The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, and the Under Secretary for Education, Mr Sze Chun-fai, today (January 16) visited Yaumati Kaifong Association School to view information boards on municipal solid waste (MSW) charging and participate in a quiz game together with 80 students from the Yaumati Kaifong Association School and the TKDS Fong Shu Chuen School, so as to encourage them to understand the details of MSW Charging and bring the information back home to share with their families.
      
     Mr Tse said, “MSW charging will be implemented on April 1. Our implementation strategy is firstly, through education as nurturing the public to develop the habit of clean recycling is particularly important. Therefore, we attach great importance to the promotion and educational work at the school level. To encourage students to actively bring relevant information home and share it with their families after obtaining the information at school, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is going to distribute a 15-litre pre-paid designated bag (DB) to each primary school student in Hong Kong progressively, so that they can bring the MSW charging information from school to home, which will help the publicity work of MSW charging reach every family more effectively.”
      
     The EPD will also arrange for publicity materials on MSW charging, including posters, banners, electronic leaflets, etc, to be displayed in all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong and distribute the materials to students, staff members and parent groups of all primary and secondary schools by email.
      
     In addition to strengthening educational promotion, related complementary arrangements on MSW charging will be progressively introduced. In particular, the EPD has been setting up a territory-wide retail network, covering approximately 3 000 retail points including supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and online platforms. The EPD has signed contracts with major chain retailers. Starting from the second half of January to February, designated bags and labels of different sizes will be available for sale at retail locations and online platforms. Details of the retail points have been uploaded to the dedicated website on MSW charging (www.mswcharging.gov.hk/en/) yesterday and will be updated as appropriate.
      
     Moreover, to facilitate residential residents’ organisations, owners’ corporations, property management companies or cleaning companies, as well as other industrial and commercial organisations to purchase designated bags and designated labels in bulk order, the EPD has been accepting bulk purchase applications from late 2023. Organisations interested in applying to open a bulk order account can download the application form from the MSW charging dedicated website (www.mswcharging.gov.hk/en/). The EPD will process its application as soon as possible to get it prepared for the implementation of MSW charging. As the number of bulk order accounts is expected to increase gradually, organisations with bulk order accounts are advised to place orders of designated bags and labels as soon as possible.

              

     The Department of Health today (January 16) hosted the 13th Meeting of the International Advisory Board (IAB) on Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS) in Hong Kong to finalise the setting of reference standards for 13 Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) commonly used in Hong Kong.
           
     The HKCMMS project was launched in 2002 to develop standards for commonly used CMM in phases to ensure the safe use and the quality of CMM. The findings of the HKCMMS have contributed to promoting the use of evidence-based, safe and quality Chinese medicines, further protecting public health as well as facilitating the development of Chinese medicine. It also serves as an internationally recognised reference and framework, and has been repeatedly cited by overseas reputable authorities and in international journal articles on research of Chinese medicines.
      
     The meeting brought together more than 20 renowned experts from the Mainland, local and overseas, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. At the meeting, the IAB reviewed the research work on the 13 CMM for the HKCMMS project.  
      
     Addressing the opening ceremony, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, said that, “The HKCMMS project has reached its 22nd anniversary, with publication of the 10th volume of the HKCMMS, establishing reference standards for a total of 330 CMM as of now. The HKCMMS have become well-recognised reference standards in the field of Chinese medicines testing and certification, which pave the way to fostering the high-quality scientific development of Chinese Medicine.”
           
     Dr Lam remarked that the establishment of the HKCMMS project heavily relies on the participation of different parties, and he also thanked the four research partners, namely the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, for making efforts in setting standards, as well as the Government Laboratory for conducting inter-laboratory verification studies. Their participation is important in gaining scientific rigour and credibility for the HKCMMS project.
      
     Dr Lam further said that “We are also very grateful to the National Medical Products Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission for their continuous support and valuable advice to the development of the HKCMMS project.”
           
     During today’s meeting, representatives from the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica of the China Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences introduced the newly published journal “Science of Traditional Chinese Medicine”, which will foster the standardisation and internationalisation of Chinese medicine.
      
     Previous publications of the HKCMMS can be accessed at www.cmro.gov.hk/html/eng/useful_information/hkcmms/volumes.html.

    

     The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:        The 18 Panels of the Legislative Council (LegCo) have elected their Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen for the 2024 session today (Janu… read more