The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesman for Queen Elizabeth Hospital made the following update today (May 24) regarding a patient leaving the hospital without notification earlie… read more
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, started his itinerary shortly after arriving in Paris, France, yesterday morning (May 23, Paris time). He promoted Hong Kong’s unique advantages to the local business and financial communities, and visited enterprises to encourage them to create business opportunities in Hong Kong.
In the morning, Mr Chan attended a brunch meeting and briefed leaders of French financial institutions and business communities about Hong Kong’s latest situation, including the economic and financial positions, the performance of the asset market, and the measures by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government to build a vibrant economy and strive for development.
Mr Chan emphasised at the brunch meeting that under the “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong continues to practise the common law, maintain a free, open, friendly, and efficient business environment, and ensure the free flow of capital, goods, people, and information. The linked exchange rate system operates smoothly, and the financial regulatory system aligns with international standards. The rule of law is robust, and the city has good law and order. He also focused on elaborating on the policies and achievements of the SAR Government in actively attracting enterprises and talents, and encouraged French financial institutions and enterprises to use Hong Kong as a platform to explore the Mainland and Asian markets. He had in-depth exchanges with participants on several topics, including the business environment in Hong Kong after the completion of the Basic Law Article 23 legislation, economic and trade exchanges between Hong Kong and the Middle East and Southeast Asia regions, the ongoing advancement of the mutual access programmes between the Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, the measures recently announced by the Central Government to deepen capital market co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong, the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong, the venture capital ecosystem and opportunities, as well as strengthening co-operation between Hong Kong and France in green and transition finance.
In the afternoon, Mr Chan visited a French company, Prophesee, which develops sensor chips, and listened to the company’s executives in introducing their technology and business development. The company’s innovative visual sensor technology, combined with artificial intelligence, can differentiate information that is difficult to be gathered with traditional technologies. It is applicable in various industries and scenarios such as photography in mobile phones, medical, autonomous driving, industrial automation, and more. With the assistance of Invest Hong Kong and support from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the company started operations in Hong Kong last year, and is co-operating with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute on technological development. They will soon establish a regional headquarters in Hong Kong with a view to expanding into the Mainland and Asian markets. Mr Chan expressed a warm welcome to the enterprise for setting up research and production bases in Hong Kong, and fully utilising Hong Kong’s vibrant financing platform to grow their business and achieve continuous development.
Mr Chan also visited La Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), which operates the public transportation system in Paris. The company is involved in operating various types of public transportation systems and vehicles worldwide, and currently owns Hong Kong Tramways Limited wholly. During the meeting, the company’s management introduced the company’s various businesses, including using innovative technology to improve service quality and implementing low-carbon transformation. Mr Chan remarked that several large-scale projects and new development areas will be launched in Hong Kong in the future, and they would involve different transportation network facilities. He welcomed the company to actively consider participating in the projects and bringing relevant knowledge and technology to Hong Kong. Mr Chan then visited the control centre of Paris Metro Line 14.
The delegation to Paris also included the Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Clement Woo, and the Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Miss Shirley Yung.
Today (May 24, Paris time), Mr Chan will attend the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—Europe (France) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Conference”, jointly hosted by the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the Macao SAR Government.
​In relation to media reports about a former Korean artiste who planned to move to Hong Kong and the talent admission schemes of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government were mentioned, a spokesman … read more
​A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau issued the following statement today (May 23).
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, met with the Deputy Consul-General of the United Kingdom (UK) in Hong Kong (the Consul-General is not in Hong Kong today) this afternoon on the incident regarding the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in London. Mr Yau reiterated the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s concern about the incident, especially the death of a person who was arrested by the UK Police and reportedly a UK immigration officer, and demanded the UK side to give an open account of the incident as soon as possible to let the public know the truth and prevent unwarranted speculation. Mr Yau also reiterated that the UK should fairly handle the matter, protect the legitimate rights and interests of the arrestees, and ensure the normal operation of the ETO.
Mr Yau stressed again that the duties of ETOs are to maintain close liaison with interlocutors in the local government, business, think tanks and various sectors, with a view to enriching bilateral ties in different areas such as trade, investment, arts and culture, enhancing local people and enterprises’ knowledge of Hong Kong’s unique strengths, and promoting the economic and trade interests of Hong Kong.
As part of their routine work in discharging the abovementioned duties, ETOs organise a wide range of activities and make security arrangements to ensure their smooth proceedings. ETOs also co-ordinate and arrange duty visits by HKSAR officials. To ensure smooth and safe visits by HKSAR officials, where necessary, ETOs will arrange local security companies to provide security services and co-ordinate transport arrangements for the visits. Besides, ETOs also make appropriate security arrangements to ensure the safety of their office premises and staff. All ETO activities have been conducting in accordance with law. The UK government is obliged to ensure the normal work and activities of the ETO are free from interruption and conducted in an orderly manner. read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (May 23) investigating an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) involving staff members, and hence reminded the public and management of institutions to maintain personal and environmental hygiene against AGE.
The Hospital Authority issued a press release last night (May 22) about staff members of PYNEH experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis after consuming food purchased from the two hospital canteens. Subsequent to the notification from PYNEH last night, the CHP immediately conducted investigation. As at 3pm today, 43 staff members are identified in the outbreak, (comprising 24 males and 19 females aged 20 to 62) who developed abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea from May 17 to 22. Twenty-eight of the affected persons sought medical attention and none required hospitalisation. All patients are in stable condition. Testing of clinical specimens is in progress.
The CHP’s epidemiological investigation revealed that no patients or members of the public are involved in the outbreak so far, and over half of the affected staff members worked in East Block of PYNEH. Meanwhile, it was also revealed that some of the affected staff members did not consume food from the two hospital canteens. In addition, according to a joint site visit and investigation conducted by the CHP and the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today, no major irregularities were identified at the two hospital canteens concerned so far. The CFS has provided health education related to food safety and environmental hygiene to the management and staff of the premises. The food premises concerned have already conducted cleaning. Investigations are ongoing.
Based on the currently available evidence, the CHP considers that the outbreak has a higher chance of environmental contamination or person-to-person transmission involving norovirus infection.
The CHP has instructed PYNEH to carry out immediate disinfection to affected areas, especially places visited by the affected persons. Health advice on proper disposal of vomitus, and personal and environmental hygiene were also given.
A spokesman for the CHP reminded that alcohol-based handrub should not substitute hand hygiene with liquid soap and water, as alcohol does not effectively kill some viruses frequently causing AGE, e.g. norovirus. Members of the public are advised to take heed of the following preventive measures against gastroenteritis: