The following is issued on behalf of the Communications Authority:
 
     The Communications Authority (CA) published in the Gazette today (December 15) the revised Television and Radio Codes of Practice on Programme and Advertising Standards (CoPs). The revisions including relaxation of relevant regulatory requirements and the introduction of specific requirements for the implementation of and giving effect to the National Security Law (NSL), took immediate effect upon gazettal.
 
     "The CA has been sparing no efforts in facilitating the sustainable development of the broadcasting industry and it recognises the challenging business environment faced by licensees in light of the competition from online media. On the whole, the latest revisions have timely provided relevant relaxation to the regulatory regime of the broadcasting industry under the CoPs in light of the development of the society and the market. The revised CoPs provide a more flexible and conducive operating environment for the broadcasting industry and have struck an appropriate balance between facilitating the operation of the licensees and protecting the interests of the community at large, enabling the traditional broadcasting sector to develop in a sustainable way so as to provide the public with quality broadcasting services. The relaxations also help licensees strengthen their financial position by creating new revenue-generating channels, thereby achieving sustainable development," a spokesman for the CA said. A summary of the revisions to the CoPs is at Appendix. 
 
     Meanwhile, in order to clearly spell out the important responsibility of the broadcasting industry in safeguarding national security, the CA has stipulated in the CoPs specific requirements for broadcasting licensees to safeguard national security in broadcasting their programmes.
 
     The spokesman stressed that licensees have the duty and obligation all along to safeguard national security and ensure that their programming contents comply with the relevant requirements. The CA included the specific requirements in the CoPs aims to provide licensees with a better understanding of the requirements of the NSL, thereby ensuring that they would abide by the law in their provision of broadcasting services.
 
     Apart from the above-mentioned revisions, the CA has in recent years implemented a number of facilitating measures to encourage the development of the traditional broadcasting sector, including:
 
*relaxing in July 2018 the regulation of indirect advertising, thereby allowing licensees to broadcast product placements in programmes. This enabled licensees to broaden their sources of advertising income;
 
*lifting in January and March 2020 respectively the requirements for free TV licensees to broadcast educational television programmes and the programmes of Radio Television Hong Kong;
 
*relaxing in September 2020 the regulations of real property advertisements, sponsorship of live and related sports events programmes, and broadcast hours of mature programmes;
 
*revising in February 2021 the relevant guidelines to give effect to the relaxation measures introduced by the Government through amendments to the Broadcasting Ordinance and Telecommunications Ordinance, viz. relaxation of the "cross-media ownership restrictions" and "foreign control restrictions", as well as removal of the "requirement of a licensee being a non-subsidiary company", thereby providing greater flexibility to licensees' business operations; and
 
*implementing the decisions of the Chief Executive in Council in February 2023 in the mid-term review of the free TV and sound broadcasting licences which refined the programme requirements (e.g. relaxing the restriction of broadcasting non-English content on English channels, reducing the required broadcast hours of children's programmes, consolidating the categories of positive programme, etc.), thereby reducing the compliance costs for the licensees.
 
     The CA will continue to monitor and keep pace with market changes and introduce timely facilitating measures whenever appropriate to foster the development of the broadcasting industry.
 
     The CA embarked on the review of the CoPs upon completion of the mid-term review of the free TV and sound broadcasting licences in February 2023, and conducted a public consultation exercise from July 17 to August 16, 2023. The proposed revisions to the CoPs have received majority support from the public and the broadcasting licensees. A summary of the views received during the public consultation is available on the CA's website.

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) presented a Special Hong Kong Award to an Italian company at the 18th China Awards in Milan, Italy on December 13 (Milan time).
 
     The China Awards, organised by the Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF) annually, is one of the most influential business events in Italy with significant media coverage. It recognises Italian companies that have grasped the opportunities in the Chinese market and vice versa, Chinese companies that have invested in Italy and engaged in strategic and innovative collaborations with Italian counterparts. This was the second time that the HKETO, Brussels supported the event and presented a Special Hong Kong Award. 
 
     The Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Ms Shirley Yung, commended the recipient of the Special Hong Kong Award, Tuvia Italia (a member of Kerry Logistics). The company successfully assists Italian companies with bespoke logistics, freight and support services to do businesses with China and wider Asia, riding on its network in Hong Kong. It is also a vivid example of Hong Kong companies collaborating with their Italian counterparts to explore the European and international markets hand-in-hand.
 
     The event comprising of an awards ceremony and a gala dinner offered an opportunity to put Hong Kong's musical talents in the spotlight before 300 executives and senior representatives of top Italian and Chinese companies. Guests were enchanted by a performance of classical and modern songs by award-winning soprano Alison Lau from Hong Kong, who is now based in Europe. A Hong Kong promotional video was also screened at the event.
 
     Ms Yung said that the event is a quality occasion to highlight the unique status of Hong Kong as a gateway between China and the rest of the world, whether for businesses or arts and culture. She told guests that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region endeavours to attract strategic enterprises and high-calibre talent from all over the world, offering them facilitation and customised support measures to meet their specific needs.
 
     She invited Italian companies to work with Hong Kong to seize the exciting opportunities it can bring to help them develop their business in Asia and in the Greater Bay Area, as the awarded companies had successfully done.

     The ICCF is the largest Italy-China business association in Italy that facilitates collaboration between Italian and Chinese companies. The ICCF organises the annual China Awards in partnership with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China and with the support of the China Chamber of Commerce in Italy.

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Blood Donation Day was successfully held for two consecutive days (December 13 and 14) in the LegCo Complex. A total of 46 people took part in the event, including 14 LegCo Members, 20 Members' staff and 12 LegCo Secretariat staff.
 
     The mobile blood donation vehicle of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service was parked at Public Entrance 1 of the LegCo Complex to facilitate blood donation.
 
     Members participating in the event included Mr Paul Tse, Mr Shiu Ka-fai, Ms Yung Hoi-yan, Mr Chan Chun-ying, Mr Kenneth Lau, Mr Robert Lee, Dr Chow Man-kong, Mr Lam Chun-sing, Mr Duncan Chiu, Mr Leung Man-kwong, Mr Chan Yung, Mr Sunny Tan, Ms Judy Chan and Mr Shang Hailong.

    

     The home-grown aircraft C919 will conduct a demonstration flight over Victoria Harbour on Saturday (December 16) for members of the public to admire its charisma. To commemorate this significant event, the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) and the Hong Kong Airport Authority (AAHK) jointly organise the C919 Aircraft Flight Demonstration in Hong Kong Photo Competition (Photo Competition). Members of the public and photography enthusiasts are welcome to join and capture the very moment of the C919 soaring over Victoria Harbour.

     A series of visit activities for the C919 and ARJ21 are underway in Hong Kong. A spokesman for the TLB said, "C919 and ARJ21 are the first two home-grown civil aircrafts of the country, signifying a major breakthrough in the country's civil aviation technologies and an important milestone in the development of the aviation manufacturing industry. This visit to Hong Kong is the first time for the C919 to visit a city outside the Mainland, fully demonstrating the country's deep affection for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The TLB is deeply honored and privileged by this arrangement, and would like to express gratitude to the Civil Aviation Administration of China for their strong support to Hong Kong all along."

     If weather permits, C919 will take off at around 10:30am this Saturday from Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). It will then overfly Victoria Harbour from west to east and circle around the Hong Kong Island twice, at a height of around 1 500ft and 1 000ft respectively. The public can admire the charisma of the C919 aircraft up close at both sides of Victoria Harbour, including the Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, Golden Bauhinia Square, Kwun Tong promenade, Quarry Bay Promenade, West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, and the Central and Western District Promenade. For more details of the flight demonstration, please visit the website of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD): www.cad.gov.hk/english/comac_flightdemonstration.html.

     Participants of the Photo Competition can submit their work through AAHK’s website from December 16 until December 29. There will be a champion, first runner-up, second runner-up and 50 merit awards. Each awardee will receive round-trip air tickets to designated destinations. Results will be announced in January next year. Details of the event are available at the AAHK’s website: www.hongkongairport.com/en/C919photos.page.

     The country has indicated at the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline Development Plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area her support to Hong Kong for consolidating and enhancing its status as an international aviation hub. The TLB is proactively collaborating with the AAHK in full steam to take forward the construction of the Three Runway System and development of HKIA into an Airport City so as to further expand its capacity and functions. The Government is also collaborating with other airports in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) with a view to building a world-class airport cluster in the region. 

     On the other hand, manpower training work is also indispensable to the sustainable development of the aviation industry. In addition to the introduction of the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry on the premise of ensuring the employment priority for local workers, the TLB will continue to encourage more new blood to join the aviation industry and assist practitioners to upgrade their skillsets through various subsidy and incentive schemes under the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund, thereby supporting the long-term development of the aviation industry in Hong Kong.   

     The TLB will work hand in hand with the CAD and the AAHK to make the best use of the policy support from the country for facilitating the long-term sustainable development of the aviation industry in Hong Kong and the GBA. 

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, today (December 14) continued his visit to Vietnam. 
 
     The Vice Chairman of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, Mr Luong Hai Sinh, met Mr Hui in Hanoi on behalf of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam. They discussed topics that both are interested in, including stock market reforms, Renminbi (RMB) internationalisation, green and sustainable finance, fintech and nurturing of financial talents, as well as the potential for co-operation in these areas. 
 
     When meeting with the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, Ms Phan Thi Thang, in Hanoi, Mr Hui hoped that the two places could enhance their trading partnership, given that Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia with a large and young population as well as a diverse industrial base. Vietnam was Hong Kong's seventh-largest trading partner in trade in goods last year, amounting to US$32.7 billion.
 
     Mr Hui called on the Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr Xiong Bo, to update him on Hong Kong's latest initiatives to strengthen the competitiveness of the stock market as announced in "The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address", including reducing stamp duty on stock transfer, reviewing stock trading spread and reducing market data fees. He also briefed Mr Xiong on other measures for reinforcing Hong Kong's competitiveness as an international financial centre such as strengthening the offshore RMB business and deepening financial co-operation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
 
     Mr Hui also met with the chief executive officers of several multinational Vietnam IT companies interested in raising funds in Hong Kong. Mr Hui informed them of the city's vibrant fintech ecosystem with a presence of over 1 000 fintech companies. He introduced to them as well Hong Kong's listing reform in recent years, facilitating new economy companies to list and raise funds.
 
     Before concluding his visit to Vietnam tomorrow (December 15), Mr Hui will meet with the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Mr Pham Thanh Ha. Mr Hui will return to Hong Kong tomorrow night.