Tag Archives: China

     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Hong Kong Laureate Forum 2023 Inspiring Breakfast Gathering today (November 16):
 
Professor Timothy Tong (Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum), Dr Rita Fan (member of the Council of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum), esteemed Shaw laureates, young scientists, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     First of all, I would like to say thank you for Dr Fan’s kind words on me. Thank you.

     Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to join you all at this meaningful gathering of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum. And thank you, Rita, once again, for your introduction.

     It is well-known that Hong Kong’s success has always relied on the hard work, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the local population. 
      
     But no less important, Hong Kong has been drawing talent from around the world. Their new skills, ideas and perspectives have helped transform Hong Kong from a fishing village into an international city, where we enjoy economic vibrancy and cultural richness.
      
     After some three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has resumed full normality, and full connectivity with Mainland China and the rest of the world, since early this year.
      
     It’s the top priority of the Hong Kong Government to inject new impetus into Hong Kong’s economic growth and boost its competitiveness. One of our key tasks is to proactively attract top-notch talent from around the world to our city.
      
     To this end, our Government rolled out a series of new measures last December. Alongside enhancements to the various existing talent admission schemes, we introduced a new one called the Top Talent Pass Scheme to target high-income professionals and graduates from the world’s top 100 universities. 
      
     Overall, talent in the innovation and technology sectors are surely among our targets. 
      
     Also, we launched an online portal called Hong Kong Talent Engage. Talent can, at their fingertips, learn about Hong Kong’s competitive advantages, apply for the talent admission schemes that suit them, and look for jobs that interest them.
      
     The results of our proactive approach, I am pleased to say, have been very encouraging. 
      
     Over a period of just 10 months, our various talent admission schemes have attracted over 180 000 applications, with over 110 000 of them approved so far. Some 70 000 talents have obtained their entry visas and made their move to Hong Kong. We have already out-performed our annual target of drawing at least 35 000 talents to Hong Kong. This is the target set for me by the Chief Executive. 
      
     And all those actual figures I have mentioned represent the many incoming talents’ vote of confidence in our city. 
      
     In particular, I wish to highlight our Top Talent Pass Scheme, which has proven to be a top pick among talent. Of the some 110 000 applications approved under our various schemes, around 40 per cent came from this new initiative.
      
     And over 70 per cent of the successful applicants under this scheme are aged 40 or below. They have a global vision, good education background, and solid work experience in sectors such as financial services and innovation and technology. Surely, they could complement our local workforce in driving Hong Kong’s economic development.
      
     For one thing, what makes our new scheme so attractive is that there is no need to secure employment offers before applications. Applicants are most welcome to first come to Hong Kong, tasting the city’s lifestyle and exploring the many opportunities ahead. 
      
     But faced with the intense global competition for high-skilled professionals, we are in no way complacent.
      
     That’s why the Chief Executive, in his second Policy Address delivered last month, announced a package of further measures to attract and retain talent. 
      
     That includes expanding the coverage of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme to enrich Hong Kong’s talent pool.
      
     The package also includes the opening of the physical Hong Kong Talent Engage office last month. 
      
     Offering one-stop support, this office not just attracts talent, but also facilitates the settlement of those interested to come to Hong Kong or having newly arrived here – together with their family members, of course. Our colleagues stand ready to offer useful advice on accommodation, education, networking, job searching, and more. 
      
     For some of the young scientists here, you may also be interested to learn that our city offers various scholarships, as well as subsidised postgraduate research places, for non-local students. 
      
     Atop all these, the Chief Executive’s latest Policy Address announced that, for a two-year pilot starting this month, full-time non-local postgraduate students are exempted from the restriction on taking up part-time jobs. 
      
     That means students can look for jobs during their studies, thereby enhancing their experience and understanding of working in Hong Kong and, accordingly, increasing their incentive to stay upon graduation. 
      
     What’s more, under our Government’s immigration arrangements – as enhanced last year – for non-local graduates, the limit of stay has been increased from one year to two years to facilitate the graduates’ stay in Hong Kong for work as professionals.
      
     All in all, flexibility is the key when it comes to attracting non-local talent, including the many young scientists here of course, to pursue developments in Hong Kong.
      
     And of course, having the right policy to attract people to come is one thing. Maintaining a good living environment to retain them needs a lot more work.
      
     As you will experience for the rest of the day and the remaining time of your stay here, Hong Kong has a lot more to offer.
      
     Some 40 per cent of our city’s land is designated as country parks and areas with habitat protection. Indeed, you could go from a busy shopping centre to a green hiking trail in just half an hour. We have beautiful beaches, coastlines and outlying islands too.
      
     What also comes under the spotlight is the West Kowloon Cultural District, where I am sure you will be impressed, later today, with the East-meets-West arts and culture.
      
     And there is always good food as mentioned by Dr Fan – coming with a great variety of choices – everywhere in Hong Kong, like the seafood dinner you will experience this evening.
      
     Meanwhile, enjoy what is on offer at this breakfast gathering. I am sure the exchanges ahead will be as inspiring as those throughout this week-long forum. 
      
     On that note, I wish this gathering, and the Hong Kong Laureate Forum, every success. Thank you so much.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Major Sports Events Committee:
 
      The Major Sports Events Committee (MSEC) has awarded “M” Mark status to three major international sports events to be held in late November this year, namely the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HK Section) Half Marathon 2023 (November 19), the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Hong Kong Masters 2023 (November 25 and 26) and the TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023 (November 27 to December 3).
 
      The Chairman of the MSEC, Mr Wilfred Ng, said today (November 16) that like all other “M” Mark events, the three events as mentioned above will add colour and vibrancy to Hong Kong and thereby bring in more visitors from abroad.
 
      “With the first half marathon taking place on the Hong Kong Section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the 3×3 basketball advancing from the streets to the world stage as well as the Hong Kong Squash Open being staged at the Cultural Plaza, Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon, for the first time, these events not only showcase Hong Kong’s capability to host world-class events, but also enhance Hong Kong’s position as a centre for major international sports events,” Mr Ng said.
         
     The “M” Mark System aims to encourage and help local national sports associations, private and non-government organisations to organise more major international sports events and nurture them into sustainable undertakings. Sports events meeting the assessment criteria will be granted “M” Mark status by the MSEC. Funding support will also be provided to some events.
 
      For details of “M” Mark events, please visit www.mevents.org.hk. read more

     The Education Bureau (EDB) welcomed the announcement by the Ministry of Education on the detailed arrangements of the Scheme for Admission of Hong Kong Students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions (Admission Scheme) for the 2024/25 academic year. The number of Mainland higher education institutions participating in the Admission Scheme will increase to 138 (listed in the Annex), coming from 21 provinces/municipalities and one autonomous region of the Mainland. They will accept applications from candidates sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination in 2024.

     A spokesperson for the EDB said today (November 16), “The Mainland higher education institutions participating in the Admission Scheme admit Hong Kong students based on their HKDSE Examination results, hence exempting them from taking the Joint Entrance Examination for Mainland Institutions. The 138 participating higher education institutions offer various programmes. We encourage Hong Kong students to pursue further studies on the Mainland through the Admission Scheme and seize the opportunity to learn about the country’s latest social, economic and cultural landscape, and plan ahead for their future development. The EDB will continue discussion with the Mainland with a view to inviting more renowned Mainland institutions to participate in the Admission Scheme and providing students with multiple study pathways and opportunities to connect with the country’s development.

     “As in previous years, there is the School Principal Nomination Scheme under the Admission Scheme and each secondary school can nominate up to eight students. The minimum entrance requirement adopted by the participating Mainland institutions is ‘Attained’ in Citizenship and Social Development subject and a total score of 8 or above in the three core subjects (i.e. Chinese Language, English Language and Mathematics) in the HKDSE Examination, and among them none is below 2.”

     Students interested in participating in the Admission Scheme for the 2024/25 academic year can log on to the designated website to apply online from March 1 to 31, 2024, and subsequently review and confirm application verification results before April 10. As for cases in which students provided supplementary information as per the system’s request, they can log on and review verification results before April 23. Those who have passed the application verification should make payment of the application fee (HK$460) by April 30, after which Mainland institutions participating in the Admission Scheme may arrange interviews based on the application information submitted by students. Institutions will announce admission results in late July 2024 and arrange for supplementary enrolment according to the enrolment situation.

     Details of the Admission Scheme are available on the EDB’s website (www.edb.gov.hk/admissionscheme). Students, teachers and parents can also participate in the Mainland Higher Education Expo 2024/25 jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and the EDB on December 2 and 3, 2023 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Details will be announced in due course.

     In addition, eligible Hong Kong students enrolled in undergraduate programmes of designated Mainland institutions can apply for a means-tested subsidy or a non-means-tested subsidy under the Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme. The subsidy level of the Scheme has been increased from the 2022/23 academic year onwards, with a view to enhancing the support for Hong Kong students pursuing further studies on the Mainland.  read more

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:      Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced toda… read more

     The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled “Work and Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension” on November 24 (Friday). The talk will introduce the symptoms and complications of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, with emphasis on health tips for working in a hot environment and performing heavy manual work or irregular hours, to promote the occupational health awareness of workers with diabetes mellitus or hypertension.
      
     The talk will be given by the LD’s occupational health nurse at 3pm in the Health Education Room of Fanling Occupational Health Clinic of the LD, 7/F, Fanling Health Centre, 2 Pik Fung Road, Fanling.
      
     The LD will hold another talk entitled “Work and Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases” on November 29 (Wednesday). The talk will introduce healthy lifestyles and tips on protecting the heart and brain in the workplace to enhance employers’ and employees’ awareness of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
      
     The talk will be given by the occupational health nurse at 3.30pm in the Health Education Room, Occupational Safety and Health Centre of the LD, G/F, Kwun Tong Community Health Centre Building, 60 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong.

     Both talks will be given in Cantonese. Admission is free but pre-registration is required. Interested participants can register online (www.oshsreg.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 2852 4040. read more