Tag Archives: China

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, and his delegation continued with the last day of their visit in Zurich, Switzerland, yesterday (May 30, Zurich time), subsequent to his visit to another multinational pharmaceutical group in Basel, Switzerland, the day before yesterday (May 29, Basel time).

     Professor Lo and his delegation paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Consul General in Zurich and for the Principality of Liechtenstein, Ms Chen Yun. Professor Lo introduced to her the latest healthcare developments of Hong Kong, including the vision for driving health and medical innovation.

     He said, “The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been ushering in immense opportunities for the development of biotechnological healthcare innovations in recent years. The National 14th Five-Year Plan has expressed clear support to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. The Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone promulgated by the State Council in August last year also put forward the initiative for synergistic collaboration under the mode of “one zone, two parks” between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Shenzhen in developing life science innovation and establishing the Greater Bay Area international clinical trial centre.

     “The Chief Executive subsequently announced in the 2023 Policy Address that the HKSAR Government will revamp the prevailing evaluation, approval and registration mechanism for drugs, so as to achieve registration of drugs and medical devices under the ‘primary evaluation’ approach, with the long-term objective of establishing an internationally recognised regulatory authority for drugs and medical devices. All these aim at accelerating the clinical use of new drugs and medical devices so as to enhance healthcare standards, and spurring the development of industries relating to the research, development and clinical testing of drugs and medical devices. The Health Bureau (HHB) will definitely seize the opportunities to develop HKSAR into an international health and medical innovation hub, and to become integrated into the national development.”

     The delegation visited the University Hospital Zurich for a meeting with the representatives of its Clinical Trials Center in the afternoon to get a grasp of the Center’s latest achievements in medical research and clinical trials, and the development of the network of international clinical trial centres. At the meeting, Professor Lo briefed the attendees on the HKSAR Government’s multiple initiatives to push forward the development of clinical trials, particularly the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute to be established in the Hetao area by the end of this year, with a view to co-ordinating and further enhancing the capacity and efficiency of clinical trials in Hong Kong as well as collaborating with the Shenzhen Municipal Government on the construction of a clinical trial network for over 86 million population of the GBA.

     He added, “The Hospital Authority (HA) has an extensive, comprehensive, highly integrated and standardised healthcare data system, encompassing medical records of every patient receiving care in the HA. The ‘eHealth+’ development will further connect and consolidate the medical records of public and private healthcare systems in Hong Kong, with a view to building a comprehensive central health data repository supported by data analytic tools, laying a good foundation for promoting clinical research and studies. In addition, the HA is implementing a series of measures to facilitate the development of clinical research, including streamlining and expediting the process for the ethics review of clinical research, setting up the Central Clinical Research and Innovation Office for one-stop co-ordination of clinical research work conducted in the HA, and setting up a Cluster Clinical Research Support Office in each cluster to provide advisory and support services for frontline staff in aspects such as research study design, data collection and analysis. The aforementioned measures are conducive to Hong Kong in becoming a first-class international clinical research platform.”

     The delegation members include the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, Deputy Secretary for Health Ms Elaine Mak, as well as officials of the HHB and the Department of Health. Upon conclusion of their visit at night, they left Switzerland and will arrive in Hong Kong later this afternoon (May 31, Hong Kong time).  

          

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 Department of Health (DH) today (May 31) alerted members of the public to fraudulent advertisements published on social media and online platforms about free medical insurance provided by the Hong Kong Government.  &nbsp… read more

     The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, led a delegation of representatives of the University Grants Committee (UGC) and UGC-funded universities to attend the NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo in New Orleans, the United States, on May 29 (New Orleans time) to exchange views on the latest developments, strategies and best practices in education with global education experts, and explore collaboration opportunities between Hong Kong and different parts of the world in the area of higher education. 
 
     In her speech on “Study in Hong Kong” in a seminar of the event, Dr Choi promoted the competitive edges of Hong Kong as an international post-secondary education hub to overseas partners. She said that Hong Kong is a diverse cosmopolitan city with a highly internationalised higher-education sector. With talented students and esteemed academics from across the world calling Hong Kong their academic home, Hong Kong has become a cradle for future talent.
 
     She pointed out that with the support of national policies, Hong Kong’s higher-education sector has been actively complementing the development of the “eight centres”. Coupled with the Government’s substantial investment and the industry’s concerted efforts, Hong Kong provides diversified development opportunities for both local and overseas students. Hong Kong enjoys the dual advantage of being close to the motherland and connected to the world, providing overseas academics and students with a wide array of opportunities. She welcomed overseas counterparts to explore collaboration with Hong Kong’s higher-education sector.
 
     Speaking at the seminar, the Secretary-General of the UGC, Professor James Tang, shared insights about the strengths of the UGC-funded universities as well as the latest developments in the areas of teaching and learning, including the launch of the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education with a funding allocation of $100 million by the UGC last year to provide impetus for universities to apply artificial intelligence in transforming pedagogies and enriching students’ learning experiences. In the Research Assessment Exercise 2020, around 80 per cent of impact-case studies were rated as “outstanding” or “considerable”, the two highest levels. These examples attest to the high quality and impact of research conducted by Hong Kong’s higher-education sector.
 
     In addition, Dr Choi visited the Hong Kong Pavilion, which was set up by the Heads of Universities Committee Standing Committee on Internationalisation (HUCOMSCI) and funded by the UGC, to learn about the proactive work of the publicly funded universities in expanding their global network as well as their promotion efforts in recruiting overseas students for further studies in Hong Kong. She also visited booths of various countries and regions at the Expo, and exchanged views with representatives of the China Education Association for International Exchange, the Department for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation, the Qatar Foundation, the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia and the National Agency for Exchange and Mobility of Switzerland on the development and promotion of post-secondary education. 
 
     On May 30 (New Orleans time), Dr Choi attended the “Study in Hong Kong” lunch reception organised by the HUCOMSCI. She introduced to overseas education experts the unique advantages of Hong Kong in developing into an international post-secondary education hub, and encouraged more exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and the rest of the world on higher-education development.
 
     She said that Hong Kong has sound education infrastructure, outstanding research talent and strong capabilities in scientific research, and is the only city worldwide with five universities in the world’s top 100. The quality of teaching and learning is at the forefront of various international comparative studies, and the brand name of quality education is widely recognised and acknowledged locally and internationally.
 
     She pointed out that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government supports the expansion and quality enhancement of local post-secondary institutions to attract more Mainland and overseas students to study in Hong Kong, so as to promote internationalisation and multi-cultural experiences, and at the same time enable students to have a broader international perspective and diversified choices of development and pathways. In addition, the HKSAR Government has set a target of having 35 per cent of students in UGC-funded programmes pursuing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) subjects, nurturing talent for supporting Hong Kong’s development in digital economy. She looked forward to the fostering of closer collaboration between renowned education institutions around the world and Hong Kong’s higher-education sector. She also welcomed more international students to participate in exchange activities in Hong Kong.
 
     Dr Choi will begin her visit to New York on May 31 (New York Time).

            

     The Government Gazette published today (May 31) contains a Legal Notice to the effect that the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury has authorised a change in the rate of interest payable on Tax Reserve Certificates. Fr… read more