The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, will depart for Xi’an in Shaanxi Province today (May 21) in the afternoon. He will attend a high-level meeting related to tourism.
Mr Yeung will return to Hong Kong on May 22 (Wednesday) in the evening. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, will be the Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. read more
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (May 21):
Reporter: Good morning. Some English questions. Over the weekend, the head of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Henry Tang hoped that the Government can reply to the authority’s financial proposals promptly. What is the progress at the moment? Secondly, several days ago, YouTube announced that it has taken off dozens of videos of the “2019 protest song” since the injunction order came into effect. Does the Government have any plans to request other online platforms to do the same? Thank you.
Chief Executive: The West Kowloon Cultural District is designed to self-finance after some big government endowments. It is supposed to be a self-financing and self-running institution. That is the KPI set by the Government for the West Kowloon Cultural District. We appreciate that it is facing some difficulties in financing its day-to-day operation in the long run. Yes, the Government is in communication with the governing body of the West Kowloon Cultural District. We will discuss possible options, but whatever is eventually decided, one important point, I think, for everybody to note, is that government money must be spent very carefully. Whatever option is eventually agreed, it is important that there will be KPIs set for some of the development and operation of the West Kowloon Cultural District. We have high expectations of the successful operation of the West Kowloon Cultural District, and it has been creating value for Hong Kong. In many areas, it has been doing a job which satisfies the expectations and wishes of the community and the Government, but we want to ensure that there will be a long-term viable financing plan with good KPIs, and we will be in communication with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to achieve that purpose. A decision will be made very soon.
In regard to the song in question, which you have asked, the court order is an injunction against four specified acts in relation to the song in question. We have noted that there is no link (as specified in the injunction) shown on any local platform relating to the song, and also Google search (in Hong Kong) doesn’t show any link to the song in question (as specified in the injunction) either. We will continue to monitor the situation to see whether there is any non-compliance with the court order. If we notice such instances, then we will notify the platform of the contents of the court order. I believe that operators in general operate within the law. We will continue to monitor the situation.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more
​Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo) jointly organised an Innovation and Technology (Biotech) Mission, comprising 15 delegates from 10 Japanese biotechnology companies, two Japanese venture capital firms and a Japanese startup incubator to visit Hong Kong from May 15 to 18 to understand Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) market and its investment environment.
This is the second sectoral business mission from Japan in recent years, following a food and beverage mission successfully held in April 2023.
The mission delegates joined the Asia Summit on Global Health organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on May 16 and 17, and attended the deal-making session to conduct a number of business matching meetings with potential investors, investees and business partners.
At the welcome dinner held on May 16, the Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Jimmy Chiang, said, “Hong Kong’s strengths in scientific research, policy support, intellectual property protection, financial markets, and talent make the city an ideal place for life and health sciences development. We look forward to assisting more Mainland and foreign I&T companies to set up their base in Hong Kong,”
On May 17, the delegates visited the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to attend a briefing session on the business environment and opportunities available in Hong Kong and a tour to the HKSTP’s Japanese tenants’ lab and other facilities. The delegates then attended a networking dinner organised by InvestHK.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Tai Yau Bank, Limited relating to a suspicious website, which has been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.
The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks’ websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).
Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the website concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. read more
The Government Property Agency (GPA) is inviting tenders for a tenancy of Shop No. 321 on the Ground Floor, Passenger Clearance Building, 33 Shun Fai Road, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port, Lantau, Hong Kong, for a three… read more