Tag Archives: China

     The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, this afternoon (December 7) departed for Macao to attend the fifth Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Legal Departments Joint Conference, an annual meeting to discuss promoting development of the rule of law in the GBA and related issues with the legal departments of Guangdong and Macao.

     The Joint Conference was hosted by the Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Mr Cheong Weng Chon, and attended by the Director-General of the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province, Mr Chen Xudong, and other representatives.

     At the meeting, the three parties supported the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) proposal to foster closer co-operation among arbitration and mediation institutions in the three places. Consensus was reached on the joint development of a collaborative online dispute resolution platform, which will start with information and resources sharing among these institutions in the GBA. This initiative echoes the policy initiative of the Policy Address 2022 to establish an online mediation platform in the GBA.

     The three parties agreed to develop an online dispute resolution platform together, with a view to integrating information and resources in relation to mediation and arbitration in the GBA, so as to facilitate the sharing of relevant resources in the GBA for the convenience and benefit of the public, and to promote the use of mediation, etc, to resolve disputes. It is also conducive to promoting the use of lawtech and contributing to the development of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms in the GBA.

     The conference also made good progress in advancing the “soft connectivity” of rules, systems and talents among the three places.

     On mediation and arbitration, the three parties have, on the basis of the Greater Bay Area Mediator Accreditation Standards, conducted in-depth discussions on various topics, such as the respective formulation of mediator accreditation rules of each place, the work on promoting the establishment of panels of GBA mediators and arbitrators, as well as the relevant work on the promotion and research of recognising and enforcing settlement agreements.

     On training of legal talents, they actively exchanged views on establishing a mechanism on nurturing foreign-related legal talents in the GBA. The three parties agreed to set up a working group under the Joint Conference on nurturing legal talents in the GBA to study ways to enhance collaboration on this front in the three places to fully capitalise on the GBA’s unique advantage of “one country, two systems and three jurisdictions”.

     Noting that the GBA has an important strategic position in the new development setting of the country, Mr Cheung stressed that a better interface of the legal systems and rules as well as the connection of talents in the GBA will not only assist in promoting the rule of law development in the GBA, but also further facilitate Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of the country. Meanwhile, the development of rule of law in the GBA will require a large pool of foreign-related legal talents, and strengthening the development of the rule of law in foreign-related affairs will ensure the high-level opening up of the GBA to the outside world, and continuously enhance its legal services as an international brand.

     He pointed out that the DoJ will set up a dedicated office and an expert group to take forward the policy initiative in the Policy Address 2023 to establish the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. This is in support of the country’s work in advancing the rule of law in foreign-related affairs, leveraging Hong Kong’s bilingual common law system and international status.

     Also, the DoJ is actively preparing to establish a standing interface platform with the Supreme People’s Court as a high-level, regular and institutionalised official channel to take forward the research and practical work on judicial and legal matters relating to the GBA.

     The GBA Task Force, led by Mr Cheung, will continue to focus on strengthening the mechanisms for mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters, and facilitating the convergence of legal practices in the GBA, so as to promote the launch of more measures for the convenience and benefit of the public.

     Mr Cheung said, “As an important establishment in promoting high-level institutional development in the GBA, the Joint Conference, which is held face-to-face for the first time today since the resumption of normalcy, means a lot. I firmly believe that the sincere co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under the Joint Conference will bring forth stronger collaboration among the legal sectors of the three places, deepening and strengthening the development of the rule of law in the GBA.”

     Mr Cheung will return to Hong Kong in the evening. read more

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, yesterday (December 6, Dubai time) continued to attend the activities of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and delivered closing remarks at the China Corner’s Side Event.
 
     Mr Tse continued to tell the Hong Kong story at the COP28. In his closing remarks, Mr Tse said that the country has set up the dual carbon targets of achieving the peak of carbon emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. Since Hong Kong’s carbon emissions reached its peak in 2014, a more aggressive target of achieving carbon neutrality before 2050 and reducing carbon emissions by half before 2035 has been set up.
 
     He pointed out that the per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 in Hong Kong amounted to about 4.55 tonnes, when comparing with that of around 14.4 tonnes in the United States and of around 7.7 tonnes in the European Union, Hong Kong’s decarbonisation progress is not worse than other regions.
 
     Hong Kong has set out four decarbonisation strategies, namely net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction, to actively reduce carbon emissions from source. In the area of energy transition, Hong Kong has ceased to build coal-fired generating units since 1997, and strived to reduce the use of coal in power generation with the target to stop the use of coal for daily electricity generation by 2035; promote the popularisation of electric vehicles and target to stop any new registration of fuel-propelled private cars including hybrid vehicles in 2035 or earlier; and heavily invest in the development of waste-to-energy facilities, so as to achieve “Zero Landfill” by 2035.
 
     Besides implementing decarbonisation strategies, Mr Tse pointed out that, to cope with the extreme weather due to climate change, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has set up a task force led by the Civil Engineering and Development Department to conduct a comprehensive review of the capability of infrastructure to cope with climate change. A steering committee has also been set up to enhance interdepartmental co-ordination in the response and recovery stages.
 
     Mr Tse added that, being an international financial centre, Hong Kong can provide a green financing platform by making use of blockchain technology, fintech, green bonds, etc, so as to make contribution to achieving carbon neutrality by different parts of the world and to developing a more sustainable future.

     This year’s China Corner’s Side Event was jointly organised by the Friends of the Earth (HK) and the Financial Services Development Council with the theme “Hong Kong’s Drive Towards Green and Sustainable Development and Cutting-Edge Innovations”. The Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services), Ms Salina Yan, also attended the event and delivered opening remarks.
 
     In the morning, Mr Tse and Ms Yan had a meeting with the Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai, Mr Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, to share the strategies and experiences on combating climate change, and exchange views on future collaboration between the two places. After the meeting, Mr Tse visited the innovation centre of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, to learn about the development of renewable energy in Dubai.
 
     Ms Yan also met with the Chief Executive of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, Mr Ian Johnston, in the morning to exchange views on the development and regulation of financial services in the two places.
 
     Mr Tse left Dubai at night on December 6 and arrived in Hong Kong on December 7.

              

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with a delegation led by Vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC) Mr Yu Xuejun today (December 7) to introduce to them the latest updates in the healthcare policies of Hong Kong and exchange views on strengthening medical collaboration between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

     Professor Lo said, “After the COVID-19 epidemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and various Mainland provinces and cities have been engaging in closer and more frequent exchanges and co-operation on healthcare development than ever. Such exchanges and co-operation help promote regional healthcare development. We will continue to strive for the strengthening and deepening of co-operation with the Mainland under the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits, with a view to levelling up the quality and efficiency of the healthcare services in both places, while rallying concerted efforts to build a ‘Healthy Hong Kong’ for integration into the nation’s strategy of a ‘Healthy China’, thereby contributing to the development of the Greater Bay Area and that of the country as a whole.”

     In the afternoon, Professor Lo and Mr Yu attended the closing ceremony of the Annual Training Programme on Tobacco Control 2023 organised by the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office of the Department of Health (DH).  

     Addressing the closing ceremony, Professor Lo said, “The HKSAR Government is committed to progressively lowering the smoking prevalence from 9.5 per cent at present to 7.8 per cent by 2025. Having consulted citizens earlier on the tobacco control strategies for the next phase, the Government is now consolidating the views collected to derive a consensus on the future tobacco control strategies to be formulated. Our goal is to work with members of the public to build a more vibrant, healthier and tobacco-free society and stride as one towards the vision of a vibrant, healthy and tobacco-free Hong Kong, thereby safeguarding public health as well as rooting out the serious health and economic burden brought about by tobacco to society.”

     In April 2012, the DH was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to set up the Collaborating Centre for Smoking Cessation and Treatment of Tobacco Dependence in Hong Kong, to serve as a regional hub supporting smoking cessation training and providing assistance to other member states/regions within the Western Pacific Region. The Annual Training Programme on Tobacco Control, which is structured according to the tobacco control measures formulated by the WHO, enables participants to master tobacco control techniques and strategies in areas such as legislation, law enforcement, publicity and promotion, as well as the development of smoking cessation services and assessments to a further extent through overseas and local experts’ sharing of their valuable experience in tobacco control work.

     The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, and the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, also attended the exchange activities today. 

    

     A total of 113 cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection were reported to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) in the third quarter of 2023, taking the cumulative total of HIV… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:      The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (December 7) that the Monetary Authority has granted a restricted banking licence to THE ACCESS BAN… read more