Tag Archives: China

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited a residential care home for the elderly (RCHE) in Kwai Tsing and the Kwai Chung Hospital Dental Clinic this afternoon (November 3) to get a better grasp of the dental services currently provided for persons with special needs.
 
     Professor Lo started the visit at the Kiangsu Chekiang and Shanghai Residents (Hong Kong) Association Kwai Tsing Hostel for the Elderly where he inspected the workflow of outreach dental teams in providing basic dental care services to residents of the RCHE under the Outreach Dental Care Programme for the Elderly (ODCP). He also listened to the views of the staff and residents of the RCHE on the services. After that, accompanied by the Hospital Chief Executive of Kwai Chung Hospital (KCH), Dr Desmond Nguyen, Professor Lo and his team visited the Kwai Chung Hospital Dental Clinic to learn about the special care dental services provided by the Clinic to psychiatric inpatients of KCH.
 
     Professor Lo said, “Making reference to the view of the Working Group on Oral Health and Dental Care established last year, the Government is committed to determining and developing primary dental services suitable for different age groups with the premise of preventing oral diseases and enhancing the oral health of the community; and at the same time providing more targeted dental care services to various underprivileged groups, persons with financial difficulties, disabilities or special needs, and high-risk groups.
 
     “In this connection, ‘The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address’ outlined a number of initiatives to enhance the oral health of the community, including collaboration with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to enhance emergency dental services to underprivileged groups with financial difficulties in all 18 districts across the city; strengthening of the special care dental services currently provided by the Department of Health to persons with disabilities or special needs by adding 900 quotas for new patients per year; enhancement to the Elderly Dental Assistance Programme under the Community Care Fund to allow more eligible elderly persons to receive dental services such as dental check-up, scaling, fillings and extractions, even when fitting of removable dentures is not required; and launch of the Primary Dental Co-care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents as an extension to School Dental Care Service for primary students by subsidising adolescents aged 13 to 17 to receive preventive dental care services.”
 
     In addition, the Government has all along been attaching great importance to the oral health of residents of RCHs or elderly persons using Day Care Centres/Units for the Elderly. Those elderly persons are generally frail and may not be able to maintain their oral health, thus having difficulties to receive conventional dental care services. As such, the Government launched the ODCP since 2014. Outreach dental teams set up by NGOs visit RCHEs or Day Care Centres/Units for the Elderly to provide free professional oral check-up and oral healthcare services for the elderly concerned, as well as training for their caregivers on daily oral care, with a view to enhancing the oral health of the frail elderly.”
 
     Professor Lo said, “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all members of outreach dental teams of the ODCP for maintaining a high level of professionalism and dedication at all times in providing targeted dental care services for elderly persons and safeguarding their oral health, despite the constraints of the working environment.”
 
     The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, and the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, accompanied Professor Lo on the visit today.

                

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      The spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) made the following announcement today (November 3):        A 74-year-old male patient in the s… read more

     The Chief Executive announced the establishment of the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units in the 2023 Policy Address. The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, convened the first meeting as the Head of the Task Force today (November 3).
 
     The Task Force will conduct an in-depth study on the comprehensive handling of the issue of subdivided units (SDUs), and make recommendations along the following directions in 10 months’ time:
 
(i) set the minimum standards of living conditions for SDUs in terms of their building safety, fire safety and hygiene requirements, living space, etc;

(ii)suggest measures to eradicate substandard SDUs;

(iii) prevent the resurgence of substandard SDUs; and
(iv) put forward solutions to address the problem in an orderly manner, covering necessary administrative and legislative proposals.
     The Secretary for Housing is the Deputy Head of the Task Force.  Other members include the Secretary for Development, the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare as well as other relevant Heads of Departments. 
      
     At the meeting, Task Force members discussed the overall direction of the Task Force’s work, as well as the upcoming work plan and arrangements. Bureaux and departments also shared preliminary issues of concern in relation to handling problems pertaining to SDUs, such as enforcement and regulation targeted at SDUs, overcharging for water and electricity, fire safety, transitional and follow-up arrangements in relation to eradicating SDUs, collection of SDU data, efforts on poverty alleviation, etc.
              
     Mr Wong said, “The issue of SDUs involves the wellbeing of tens of thousands of families. Tackling such an issue is hardly a short-term target which can be achieved overnight. Yet, as the saying goes, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’, the Task Force has wasted no time and starts its work right away. 
      
     “The Government will plan carefully, taking into account views from society with a view to proposing measures which can precisely resolve the SDU issue,” he said.
 
     The terms of reference and membership of the Task Force are set out in the Appendix.

    

     A man who went missing in Tin Sum has been located.      Ng Ming-tat, aged 38, went missing after left his residence in Sha Kok Estate, Tin Sum in April. His family made a report to Police on Se… read more

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2023 today (November 3):

Distinguished speakers, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good afternoon. Welcome to the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2023. It is my great pleasure to join you all today at this special occasion to explore the role that Hong Kong can play in leading Asia and the world in redefining fintech into a new era of finance.

     The world is evolving at a new pace. Disruption and uncertainty are the new norm. New rules and forces are influencing our economies and the world of finance is entering an era of great challenge but also opportunities.

     As Asia’s world city, Hong Kong has long been an important gateway between East and West. We have reinforced our position as a world-leading financial centre and emerged as one of the major international hubs of innovation and technology (I&T) in the region, embracing the golden opportunity to reshape and redefine fintech for the future.

     As the world continues to grapple with turmoil, Hong Kong offers stable, orderly growth and long-term vision and resolve. These are the ideal conditions for talent, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to come and turn their ideas into impactful change and success.

     Led by the vision of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and our regulators, we have seen Hong Kong’s fintech potential grow to new heights in recent years. According to the Frontier Technologies Index 2023, Hong Kong has risen from 15th to ninth. This leap in ranking elevates us above some traditional powers of innovation in the world.

     This represents a significant global recognition of our city’s readiness to adopt and lead in developing technologies that will increase productivity and improve livelihood – from AI (artificial intelligence) to robotics to blockchain and, of course, fintech. It is also a good testimony to the Government’s commitment to promoting fintech in order to accelerate the development of digital economy.

Ecosystem strength

     Hong Kong’s fintech mission will only gather pace being backed by an I&T ecosystem that is growing in strength. Currently, over 800 fintech companies, as well as globally respected research centres and innovation laboratories, are based in Hong Kong. These ground-breaking fintechs sit within a thriving innovation community of almost 5 000 tech start-ups, employing more than 15 000 people. With a quarter of the city’s start-up founders from outside of Hong Kong, we take pride in being a hub for global tech talent.

Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science Park

     Behind the scenes are Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science Park doing incredible work to pave the way for fintech innovation and success. Cyberport, our ICT (information and communications technology) flagship, hosts the biggest fintech community and ecosystem in Hong Kong with over 400 fintech companies covering blockchain, mobile payment, cybersecurity, etc. Out of the seven Cyberport start-ups reaching unicorn status, four of them are fintech companies.

     I am excited to share with you the good news that as announced by the Chief Executive in his recent Policy Address last week, Cyberport will establish an AI supercomputing centre in phases starting from 2024 in order to support the local demand for computing power. This is going to greatly enhance Hong Kong’s R&D (research and development) capabilities, and promote development of the AI industry ecosystem. The centre would definitely inject new impetus into our fintech industry by empowering our companies to improve their risk management and fraud detection systems.

     Meanwhile, the Science Park stays at the core of the city’s fast-emerging fintech scene by continuously organising and supporting multifarious fintech-related activities. In particular, the Science Park’s InnoCentre has been designated as a new fintech hub, giving different stakeholders a focal point to collaborate with Science Park companies and start-ups.

Commercial Data Interchange

     Another critical foundation fuelling the future of fintech for Hong Kong is the creation of a seamless data exchange. The HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)’s launch of its Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) last October is a significant development that helps catalyse fintech-based innovation. The Consented Data Exchange Gateway, being developed by the Government, will connect to the CDI by the end of this year, to facilitate consented data exchange between government departments and financial institutions.

iAM Smart

     Another indispensable effort by the Government in driving the development of the fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong is the launch and continuous enhancement of “iAm Smart”. The one-stop personalised “iAM Smart” platform provides Hong Kong residents with a single digital identity that enables simple and secure login for 300 online services provided by the Government and public and private organisations at present, the conducting of online transactions, and the performing of digital signing with legal backing in a simple and secure manner. The number of registered users on the “iAM Smart” platform has already reached 2.4 million now.  

     Ladies and gentlemen, the above examples are just part of our efforts in driving fintech development in Hong Kong. The Chief Executive has also announced a series of forward-looking I&T initiatives in the 2023 Policy Address, which includes the $500 million Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to be launched by the end of this year to assist SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in the retail and food and beverage industries in applying electronic payment and other ready-for-use digital solutions. I am confident that these initiatives will definitely give our fintech cluster a strong impetus and lead Hong Kong to be one of the fintech leaders in the world.

     Before I close, may I wish you all a most rewarding experience at the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2023. Thank you.