Following is the speech by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, at the VTC Honorary Fellowship Conferment Ceremony today (October 17):
 
Tony (Chairman of the Vocational Training Council (VTC), Mr Tony Tai), Donald (Executive Director of the VTC, Mr Donald Tong), Honorary Fellows, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good afternoon.
 
     It is my great pleasure to join you today for this year's Vocational Training Council Honorary Fellowship Conferment Ceremony.
 
     First, I would like to congratulate the 2023 Honorary Fellows. The VTC Honorary Fellowship is the highest recognition of individuals' significant contribution to VTC, the development of VPET (Vocational and Professional Education and Training) or the community of Hong Kong. The four Honorary Fellows this year have provided staunch support to VTC and, in different ways, have contributed to the development of VPET. All of them have also contributed to the community by serving on government advisory boards and committees, through community services and by taking an active part in advancing the development of their respective professions and industries. Their deeds, successes and contributions tick all the boxes of role models for our students.
 
     Throughout the decades, it has been VTC's mission to provide a valued choice to school leavers and working adults to acquire the value, knowledge and skills for lifelong learning and enhanced employability and, at the same time, provide valued support to industries for their manpower development. 
 
     What is commendable is that VTC does not only seek to provide skills to students and skilled hands to industries, it is there to help students to acquire values, knowledge and skills for lifelong learning which in turn helps the sustainability of our industries. In other words, VTC seeks to shape in their students a mindset for lifelong learning, teaches them to treasure and to make best use of learning opportunities and, in so doing, provide industries with a workforce that can improve with the times. 
 
     A mindset for lifelong learning is of utmost importance for our workforce. The world has seen new possibilities brought about by technological advancement that the wildest imagination in the past could not conjure up. The only way to keep up, keep afloat and keep employable is to keep learning. The readiness and ability to learn new skills is more important than the new skills themselves.
    
     For employers, it must be realised that employees' aspirations and expectations have undergone changes. They are now focusing more on opportunities for learning new skills and the room for gaining new experience, exposure and personal growth that a job can offer, and not just the remuneration package. It is thus important for employers to spare resources and effort on the provision of useful training for their staff, not only to enable the company to remain competitive, but also to retain the staff they value. 
 
     The Government, as the biggest employer in Hong Kong, is keenly aware of the importance of providing civil servants training to enable them to remain forward looking, visionary as well as innovative.
 
     To this end, our Civil Service College was established in 2021. Since then, the College has strived to enhance civil service training on all fronts and has put in place various new training programmes. 
 
     To cite an example, the College has revamped the induction training for new recruits. While the department to which a new recruit belongs will provide training in the relevant area of work, the Civil Service College provides an introduction to what is crucially needed to make a good civil servant: an understanding of the constitutional order established by the nation's Constitution and the Basic Law, the responsibility of every civil servant to safeguard national security, the civil service's core values and the public service culture. 
 
     For middle-ranking and senior civil servants, we have national study programmes run by prestigious Mainland universities that emphasise classroom learning as much as visits to gain first-hand knowledge of the latest development of different parts of the country.
 
     For more senior civil servants, we are grateful to have the support of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong SAR to arrange talks on foreign affairs delivered by senior officials of the Ministry to keep our officers abreast of developments on the international scene. Another highlight is a two-year Master Degree in Public Policy jointly organised by the Civil Service College with the Peking University. The participating officers have to spend the first year in full-time study in Beijing. It is a considerable investment by the Government and by the officers themselves, but it is a worthy investment that broadens the horizon of our future leaders to prepare them for the challenges of a fast-changing world. 
 
     These are only a few examples. In the long run, we aim to develop a training framework for all major grades of the civil service. Certainly it takes time and a lot of effort, especially when manpower is still tight and very often priority has to be given to work that have some urgency, but the Government is determined to achieve this goal. 
 
     Finally, I am happy to let you know that the project of the construction of the Civil Service College building, part of a greater composite development project in Kwun Tong, is proceeding smoothly. We are grateful to the Kwun Tong Shine Skills Centre, a member of the VTC, for relocating temporarily to Kowloon Tong to enable the composite development to take place. The College will be the neighbour of the future redeveloped Shine Skills Centre and will serve as a lifelong learning hub for serving and retired civil servants. 
 
     Before I joined the Civil Service Bureau, I was with the Education Bureau and valued very much the Government's partnership with VTC to provide VPET to enable students to realise their full potential. As head of the Civil Service Bureau today, I hope to see more VTC graduates joining the civil service in the future, and I can promise VTC graduates that a career in the civil service, with not only challenging work but ample learning opportunities at all levels, would be fulfilling, satisfying and a source of pride as one devotes oneself to the betterment of the society. 
 
     My congratulations to this year's Honorary Fellows again and I look forward to seeing VTC grow from strength to strength. May I also take this opportunity to mention a date in the near future: December 10, which is the voting day of the District Council Election. The nomination period of the election begins today. Please take an active interest in the candidates, in their election platforms, and cast your vote on December 10 to create a better future for the district in which you live.
 
     Thank you.

     The Civil Service College (CSC) of the Civil Service Bureau, in collaboration with the Institute for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, Peking University, launched an in-depth programme on "one country, two systems" and the contemporary China. As part of the programme, a lecture on the topic of "Chinese Traditional Political Characteristics" was delivered by Professor Ye Wei of the Department of History of Peking University at the CSC today (October 17).
 
     Addressing the lecture, the Head of the CSC, Mr Oscar Kwok, stressed that senior civil servants of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government must have a profound understanding of the international landscape and development trends. They must also delve deeply into the country's history, traditions and culture, understanding their relevance to today's national affairs. Moreover, they should learn from history, observe and analyse issues from a historical perspective. By adopting a holistic approach, they can play a greater role in their work and jointly provide Hong Kong's contribution to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
 
     Around 70 civil servants at the rank of Directorate Pay Scale Point 1 and 2 attended the in-depth programme. In addition, about 100 politically appointed officials and other directorate officers enrolled and sat in the lecture via video conferencing.
 
     The programme was organised to further strengthen training for senior officials and directorate civil servants. It consists of 12 monthly lectures covering a wide range of topics, such as the Communist Party of China and the contemporary China, socialism with Chinese characteristics, the theory and practice of "one country, two systems", as well as developments in contemporary Chinese society, economy, national defence, technology, and more. Distinguished scholars from the Mainland will deliver the programme and engage in in-depth discussions with participants.

    

     The Health Bureau held a webinar today (October 17) to answer queries from doctors listed in the Primary Care Directory about the implementation details of the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme), and called on doctors to take action in practising as a family doctor. One hundred doctors attended the webinar today.
 
     The webinar was chaired by the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, and the Director of the Strategic Purchasing Office, Dr Cheung Wai-lun. They elaborated on the implementation details such as arrangements for laboratory investigations, drug ordering and calculation methods for CDCC Pilot Scheme incentive awards, and responded to questions.
 
     The webinar also introduced the dedicated IT platform of the CDCC Pilot Scheme and its operation. Doctors will be supported by the IT platform to verify eligibility of participants and complete enrolments, store clinical documentation, place orders for and prescribe medication, arrange laboratory investigations and follow-up services by allied health professionals as well as manage claims for consultation fees and additional charges, etc on a single platform.
 
     Addressing the webinar, Dr Pang said, "Family doctors are our important partners in launching the CDCC Pilot Scheme. In many countries and regions with well-developed primary healthcare services, citizens are taken care of by the same doctor for long-term follow-up consultations in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment. This very approach accomplished a trusted holistic medical care model through which the quality of citizens' healthy lives is seen to be improved. We anticipated that by having the key elements of primary healthcare services in place through the CDCC Pilot Scheme, so we can alleviate the pressure on the public healthcare sector in the long run."
 
     Dr Cheung added, "We have been keeping close communications with various stakeholders in the sector to listen to their views. We also made reference to similar programmes in various aspects such as the scope of the scheme drug list and the arrangements for doctors to purchase basic-tier drugs on the list from designated drug suppliers at discounted prices."
 
     The CDCC Pilot Scheme differs from other government-subsidised Public Private Partnership Programmes in one new element, and that is the introduction of multi-disciplinary teams. The District Health Centres will take up the role of a case manager to support family doctors and follow up on their instructions in making medical arrangements, including assisting participants in managing their blood pressure and blood glucose levels, helping them to set health management goals, and making appointments for participants to receive services from nurse clinics and allied health as referred by family doctors.
 
     To enlist more doctors to the CDCC Pilot Scheme, the Health Bureau has hosted five webinars so far to enlighten the sector with details of the Scheme. The Government will continue to connect with various medical groups and stakeholders, and recruit more family doctors in a bid to ensure that ample options will be available for selection by citizens at the time of launch in mid-November.
 
     All Hong Kong residents aged 45 or above with no known medical history of diabetes mellitus or hypertension are eligible to join the CDCC Pilot Scheme. Under the Scheme, they can receive services including screening, treatment, nurse clinics and allied health services (optometrists, dietitians, physiotherapists, and podiatrists) and laboratory investigations in the private sector at an affordable price.
 
     For enquiries, doctors and citizens may browse the dedicated website of the CDCC Pilot Scheme of the Health Bureau (www.primaryhealthcare.gov.hk/cdcc/en/) or call the scheme hotline at 2157 0500. Dedicated staff of the hotline will answer calls from 9am to 9pm from Mondays to Saturdays.

     Police today (October 17) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tseung Kwan O.
 
     Lau Yat-fung, aged 52, went missing after he left his residence on Pung Loi Road yesterday morning (October 16). His family made a report to Police on the same day.
        
     He is about 1.75 metres tall, 60 kilograms in weight and of thin build. He has a pointed face with yellow complexion and short white hair. He was last seen wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt, black shorts and black shoes.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0331 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (October 16) detected a suspected smuggling case involving a medium goods vehicle at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and seized 195 suspected smuggled mobile phones and 681 suspected smuggled computer RAM units with a total estimated market value of about $1.36 million.

     Based on risk assessment, Customs yesterday intercepted an outgoing medium goods vehicle at the control point. Upon X-ray examination, Customs officers spotted irregularities in the images of the underneath of the vehicle. The batch of suspected smuggled mobile phones and computer RAM units were found concealed inside the chassis frame under the cargo compartment of the medium goods vehicle.

     After an investigation, Customs arrested a 54-year-old male driver suspected to be connected with the case. He has been released on bail pending further investigation.

     Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).