Tag Archives: China

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (November 4) officiated at the Graduation Ceremony of the Strive and Rise Programme. He encouraged all graduates from the first round of the Programme to continue to strive for success and pursue their dreams, and expressed his gratitude to all partners and mentors.

     Addressing the ceremony, Mr Chan reviewed the Programme from its planning, development to implementation. He said that the success of the first round of the Programme is attributed to the support and contributions from various sectors in the community. They include the enterprises and organisations that provided sponsorship and diverse group activities, mentors who supported and took care of their mentees, and star mentors who provided guidance for mentees.

     Mr Chan was delighted to learn that the mentees have shown remarkable improvements since their participation in the Programme. They have not only become more proactive and outgoing, but also excelled in different kinds of activities. He encouraged mentees to make good use of the knowledge and skills acquired from the Programme and actively participate in the activities of the Strive and Rise Alumni Club established for them to strive for success and achieve self-enhancement. He also encouraged them to support other mentees of the Programme in future and pass on the spirit of the Programme.

     At the ceremony, Mr Chan, accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Acting Secretary for Education, Mr Sze Chun-fai; the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ms Alice Lau; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee; and the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Cheung, witnessed the graduation of mentees and inauguration of the Strive and Rise Alumni Club.

     A number of strategic partners, star mentors and supporting organisations were awarded for their staunch support to the Programme. About 120 mentors were commended for their active participation as well as care and encouragement for their mentees. Some 120 mentees were presented with various awards in recognition of their active participation, remarkable achievements, and spirit of pursuing continuous improvement.

     Performances such as violin, dancing, sandpainting and band shows were staged by mentees at the ceremony to showcase their achievements. Some mentees also expressed their gratitude to their mentors through a short video and presentation of souvenirs.

     As announced in “The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address”, the second round of the Strive and Rise Programme will include such new elements as: increasing the number of mentees from 2 800 to 4 000 with Secondary One to Four students covered; enriching the variety of group activities with more Mainland study and exchange tours; introducing mentorship groups; and establishing an Alumni Club for mentees who have completed the Programme to provide them with diversified social activities and internship opportunities.

     Recruitment of the second cohort of the Programme is under way. The application deadline is November 16. For details, please visit the thematic website: www.striveandrise.gov.hk.

                                      

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Tsing Yi in the small hours today (November 4), in which a 72-year-old male taxi driver died.             At 2.18am, a… read more

     Hong Kong Legal Week 2023, an annual flagship event of the legal sector and the Department of Justice (DoJ), themed “Onward & Forward: Connecting the World”, will be held starting from Monday (November 6). The five-day event will bring together prominent legal and dispute resolution experts and academics from around the world, including the Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and UNCITRAL’s senior staff members. Through a series of summits, panel discussions, mock court, exhibitions and more, this year’s Hong Kong Legal Week will explore important topics including international legal co-operation, mediation, arbitration, and opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Belt and Road Initiative.

     It will be the first time a special session is hosted for the Secretary for Justice to answer questions and clarify misunderstandings about the Hong Kong National Security Law. In addition, the Hong Kong Legal Week this year will continue to conduct interactive sessions for young people, such as the “Understanding the three jurisdictions – Embracing opportunities and realising dreams in the GBA” session where young legal representatives from the three places are invited to discuss the opportunities offered in the GBA.  During the “Youth Empowerment through Rule of Law Education” session, students will also have a chance to chat with a Legislative Council member, a school principal and a teacher on the rule of law topics.

     This year, exhibition booths dedicated to promoting legal services in Hong Kong, Macao and the nine Mainland cities in the GBA will also be set up for the first time during the Hong Kong Legal Week outside the main event venue. Representatives from the cities will introduce the new developments and opportunities of the legal services in the GBA and answer participants’ enquiries.

     Fully supported by international legal organisations, the two legal professional bodies in Hong Kong and other law-related and relevant organisations, Hong Kong Legal Week 2023 will feature a series of international and important events in a hybrid mode as below:

November 6
* 5th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit – Judicial Conference

November 7
* 5th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit – Judicial Roundtable (by invitation only)
* Legal Forum on Interconnectivity and Development

November 8
* New Domains in Mediation and Arbitration
AM Session: 6th Shanghai-Hong Kong Commercial Mediation Forum
PM Session: Fireside Chat: The Future of Arbitration – Arbitration Issues Around the Globe
                  Experience Sharing of the Practice of Arbitration Funding in Major Arbitral Jurisdictions
* Hong Kong Mediation Lecture 2023

November 9
* Gateway to the Opportunities in the GBA
AM Session: Advancing the legal practice in the GBA
                  Mock Court: Exchanges on legal practices (Civil case)
PM Session: GBA Young Lawyers Forum
 
November 10
* Rule of Law for the Future
AM Session: Rule of Law: A Core Pillar of Support for the “8 Centres” under the National 14th Five-Year Plan
PM Session: Youth Empowerment through Rule of Law Education
                  National Security Chatroom: You ask, I answer.
 
     For more details of Hong Kong Legal Week 2023, please visit the dedicated website at www.legalweek.hk. Live broadcast will be available on the dedicated website and at webcast.info.gov.hk. read more

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (November 4) held the Fun Day for Foster Parents and Foster Children at Ocean Park and invited around 400 foster parents and children from 100 families to spend an enjoyable weekend at the theme park to express appreciation to foster parents. Stories on foster families were also shared at the kick-off ceremony of the event to appeal to more people to sign up as foster parents.
 
     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, officiated at the kick-off ceremony. The Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, also joined the ceremony with representatives from 11 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) subvented by the SWD for operating foster care service.
 
     Addressing the ceremony, Mr Sun said that the Government has all along attached great importance to foster care service and is eager to encourage more people to serve as foster parents so that children who cannot be adequately taken care of by their own families due to different reasons can live in a homelike environment. “The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address” has announced that the Government will substantially increase the incentive payment for foster families starting from next April. Additional support will also be provided to foster families taking care of children with special learning or care needs, including arranging early assessment and appropriate professional rehabilitation therapy and training.
 
     Mr Sun said that the SWD has, apart from stepping up publicity efforts in promoting foster care service this year, launched a “one-plus-one” recruitment programme to encourage persons interested in joining foster care service to pair up with their family and friends when signing up for the service so that they can take care of the same foster child and support each other. Mr Sun appealed to foster parents to actively introduce foster care service to their families and friends to motivate more people to serve as foster parents.
 
     Participants watched a video (youtu.be/mWm6asNxOUU) about foster care service during the ceremony. The video featured two foster families who shared their background of joining the service as well as their memorable experience and feelings. A few foster children also took the opportunity to express their appreciation to their foster parents.
 
     The SWD co-ordinates and liaises with 11 NGOs to provide foster care service. Currently, there are about 950 foster homes. The SWD holds fun days for foster families every year to show appreciation to foster parents. The Fun Day for Foster Parents and Foster Children at Ocean Park today also echoes the “Happy Hong Kong” Campaign, where Ocean Park admission tickets and meal coupons were distributed to the participating foster families.
 
     Members of the public who are interested in becoming foster parents may contact the SWD’s Central Foster Care Unit at 2573 2282 during office hours.

      

     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, attended the opening ceremony of the 24th Shenzhen Reading Month in Shenzhen and a seminar on reading for all today (November 4). Themed on “Reading, Progress, Fulfillment”, the Shenzhen Reading Month launches a new programme called “SZ&HK Co-Reading” this year.
 
     Mr Yeung said, “In order to encourage reading for all, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will collaborate with different stakeholders around the Hong Kong Reading for All Day on April 23. A series of activities including promotions in local bookstores will be held, while the publishing sector will be sponsored to organise reading promotion activities. Riding on the brand of reading for all, the ‘SZ&HK Co-Reading’ aims to boost interactions between the Hong Kong Reading for All Day and the Shenzhen Reading Month. We would like to extend an invitation to Shenzhen publishing and reading promotion units to join the Hong Kong Reading for All Day next year. We also look forward to taking part in the Shenzhen Reading Month again in future.”
 
     Mr Yeung began his visit in Dongguan yesterday (November 3) and met with the Mayor of the Dongguan Municipal Government, Mr Lyu Chengxi, to explore co-operation opportunities. He also attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Public Culture and Tourism Products Sourcing Fair (Dongguan) to support cultural and tourism co-operations between Hong Kong and other GBA cities. Moreover, Mr Yeung joined the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong’s trade visit supported by the Government to the headquarters of Huawei in Songshan Lake to know more about the trade’s work in exploring the tourism resources within GBA for developing multi-destination itineraries.
 
     Mr Yeung will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon today.