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 infections reported locally to 11 943 since 1984.

     Of the 113 additional cases involving 92 males and 21 females, 52 (46.0 per cent) acquired the infection via homosexual or bisexual contact, 29 (25.7 per cent) via heterosexual contact, one (0.9 per cent) via injecting drug use, and one (0.9 per cent) via mother-to-child transmission. The routes of transmission of the remaining 30 cases have yet to be determined due to incomplete information.

     The new cases were mainly reported by three sources: public hospitals, clinics and laboratories (61 cases); private hospitals, clinics and laboratories (21 cases), and the Social Hygiene Clinics under the DH (13 cases). Also, 71 of the 113 newly reported HIV-infected people have already received HIV specialist services at the DH or the Hospital Authority.

     Regarding cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), 28 new cases were reported in this quarter, of which 12 cases (42.9 per cent) were attributed to homosexual or bisexual contact, and 13 cases (46.4 per cent) were related to heterosexual contact. The route of transmission of the remaining three cases has yet to be determined due to incomplete information. In this quarter, the most common AIDS-defining illness remained as Pneumocystis pneumonia. Since 1985, a cumulative total of 2 469 confirmed AIDS cases has been reported in Hong Kong.

     Reviewing the latest HIV/AIDS situation in Hong Kong, a spokesman for the CHP said, "Sexual transmission remained the major mode of HIV transmission. Members of the public should use condoms consistently and properly to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV.

     "Besides sexual transmission, HIV can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. Early detection of HIV infection with prompt and appropriate intervention can effectively reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission. In Hong Kong, the Universal Antenatal HIV Testing Programme has been implemented since September 2001. Under this programme, pregnant women are offered with HIV antibody tests as part of antenatal care. Pregnant women should attend antenatal care and undergo testing early to protect the health of their offspring.

     "HIV is the cause of AIDS. Early HIV treatment with antiretroviral drugs effectively prevents progression to AIDS and other complications. Lifelong antiretroviral treatment is indicated for all people with HIV, and the treatment remarkably improves their health and possibility of survival. Moreover, infected people who achieve sustained viral suppression to an undetectable level with treatment will not transmit the virus through sex, i.e. Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U).

     "Members of the public with a history of unsafe sex should take an HIV antibody test early. Key populations with a higher risk of infection should undergo regular HIV screening, while people who had sex but do not belong to these key populations should consider getting tested at least once. They can visit the HIV Testing Service website (www.hivtest.gov.hk) to make reservations of AIDS Counselling and Testing Service or order an HIV self-test kit. HIV-positive people should seek specialist care and HIV treatment as soon as possible."

     â€‹The public may visit the following pages for more information on HIV/AIDS: the Virtual AIDS Office (www.aids.gov.hk), the Red Ribbon Centre (www.rrc.gov.hk), the HIV Testing Service website (www.hivtest.gov.hk) and the Gay Men HIV Information website (www.21171069.gov.hk).

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 BANK UK LIMITED (ABUK) under the Banking Ordinance. ABUK is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The granting of this restricted banking licence takes effect today (December 7, 2023).

     After the granting of a restricted banking licence to ABUK, the number of restricted licence banks in Hong Kong is 16.

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (December 7) met the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr Daren Tang. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, and the Director of Intellectual Property, Mr David Wong, also attended the meeting.

      Mr Lee welcomed the visit by Mr Tang and the high-level delegation from the WIPO to Hong Kong to attend the Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum on December 7 and 8.

     The National 14th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong to develop into a regional intellectual property (IP) trading centre. Mr Lee said that under the "one country, two systems" framework, Hong Kong thrives as an international hub for trade and finance, and is the only common law jurisdiction within the country.  As announced in the Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will leverage the institutional advantages of Hong Kong's legal and IP protection systems, and carry out a number of new measures including enhancing the IP legal regime, implementing the "patent box" tax incentive, planning for regulatory arrangements on patent agent services, and boosting the trading of local original works, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong's status as a regional IP trading centre.

     Mr Lee paid tribute to the WIPO for playing a crucial role in promoting and facilitating global IP development. He said that the HKSAR Government will continue to maintain close communication with the WIPO and explore more co-operation to promote IP development.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (December 7) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$424.6 billion as at the end of November 2023 (end-October 2023: US$416.0 billion) (Annex).
      
     Including unsettled foreign exchange contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of November 2023 amounted to US$424.4 billion (end-October 2023: US$416.0 billion).
      
     The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$424.6 billion represent about six times the currency in circulation or 40 per cent of Hong Kong dollar M3.

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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of December 2023, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: