Police today (May 16) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Yau Ma Tei. Hung Chi-shing, aged 55, went missing after he was last seen at an elderly home on Can… read more
​Hong Kong Customs seized about 77 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds, with an estimated market value of about $16 million, at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound on May 9.
Through risk assessment, Customs on that day inspected a seaborne container, declared as carrying assorted foodstuffs and arriving in Hong Kong from Thailand, at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. Upon inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected cannabis buds concealed inside instant noodles and cornflakes packages.
After a follow-up investigation and a controlled delivery operation, Customs officers on May 14 arrested a foreign male consignee, aged 32, in Prince Edward. Two local male truck drivers, aged 42 and 49, were further arrested in North Point yesterday (May 15).
The two arrested local men have been released on bail pending further investigation. The arrested foreign man has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (May 17).
Customs will continue to enhance enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary returns. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people, nor to release their personal data or home address to others for receiving parcels or goods.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking 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).
The Development Bureau (DEVB) published the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill today (May 16) to establish a mechanism for improving the delay payment problems among contracting parties, which have existed in the construction industry for a long time.
A DEVB spokesman said that there is a wide scope of construction work that involves a variety of professions/trades, and the work has unique features, making it challenging for an individual contractor or consultant to undertake an entire project. To enhance the flexibility in project procurement, subcontracting arrangement is commonly adopted in the construction industry in Hong Kong. There are various contracting parties involved in construction projects including clients, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, consultants, etc. If a party delays in payment, it will pose financial pressure on various stakeholders along the supply chain, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises with relatively low financial risk tolerance level. Payment problems may also lead to project delays and disruptions, and wage arrears of construction workers.
The Bill stipulates provisions to improve contractual payment terms, establish an adjudication mechanism to resolve disputes quickly, and grant unpaid parties the right to suspend or slow down the progress of work or services under the circumstances specified in the legislation, to ensure that all stakeholders can get their entitled payment in a timely manner. The key provisions of the Bill are as follows:
1. Improvement of contractual payment terms
Prohibit the use of unfair payment terms, such as “pay when paid” and impose time limits for the paying party to give response to payment claims and make payment of the full amount that the paying party has admitted payable;
2. Introduction of adjudication mechanism
When a payment dispute arises, the claiming party is entitled to initiate the adjudication proceedings; the contracting parties can resolve the payment dispute through an independent adjudicator; the adjudicator has to make the determination within 55 working days after the appointment; and both parties have the rights to refer the payment dispute to litigation or arbitration, if they are dissatisfied with the adjudicator’s determination; and
3. Suspension or slowing down progress
If the paying party has admitted the amount payable but fails to pay to the claiming party the admitted amount in full on or before the deadline, or the adjudicator has made a determination on the case but the paying party fails to pay the adjudicated amount in full on or before the deadline, the claiming party is entitled to suspend or slow down work or services.
The Bill applies to contracts with the main contract values not less than the specified minimum contract values, i.e. $5 million for carrying out construction work and $0.5 million for contracts for the supply of goods (e.g. materials and plant) and services related to the construction work. Considering that the general public may not be familiar with the construction contracts and relevant legislations, and it is difficult for them to comply with the requirements in the legislation, to avoid causing impact to the general public, the Bill will not apply to: (1) contracts for works on existing private residential buildings (e.g. interior renovation, building maintenance, etc); and (2) contracts for relatively minor works on existing private non-residential buildings, i.e. those works not requiring approval and consent of the Building Authority under the Building Ordinance (Cap. 123) (e.g. maintenance and repair of building services installation, shop renovation, etc).
The spokesman said that great importance is attached to the freedom of contracting parties to agree among themselves terms of a contract. The Government/legislation will not determine or order payment for any of the contracting parties. The Bill prohibits unfair contractual payment terms, and provide a speedy and binding adjudication mechanism for the contracting parties to revolve interim payment disputes.
When establishing the legislative framework and drafting the legislation, the DEVB has maintained close contact and communication with various stakeholders in the construction industry. The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Development was briefed on the proposed legislation in November last year.
The spokesman said, “As the construction volume in Hong Kong will be maintained at a high level, it is an opportune time to bring forward the legislation to improve the delay payment problem in the construction industry. The construction industry has also reached a broad consensus on the major provisions of the Bill, and urged for early legislation. We expect that the project procurement cost may reduce over time after the implementation of the Bill as price premiums for risk in association with delay payment will decline following improved security of payment. The Government will fully support the LegCo’s examination of the Bill, with the hope that the Bill could be passed and implemented as soon as possible.”
The Bill will be gazetted tomorrow (May 17) and introduced into the LegCo for first reading on May 29. For details of the proposed legislation, please refer to the LegCo Brief issued today. read more
Hongkong Post announced today (May 16) that, as advised by the postal administration of New Caledonia, due to protests, mail delivery services to New Caledonia are subject to delay. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) Convention 2024 is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in both physical and virtual formats today and tomorrow (May 16 and 17), with around 160 overseas, Mainland and local distinguished speakers sharing their knowledge and insights on various health topics of interest with over 7 000 healthcare and academic professionals.
The HA Convention this year is focusing on the HA’s core values, namely People-centred Care, Professional Service, Committed Staff and Teamwork. It aims to promote the sharing of knowledge and experience on clinical advances and approaches to modern healthcare service, and facilitate exploration and discussion of contemporary concepts among healthcare professionals and stakeholders.
The HA Convention 2024 was officially opened this morning by Vice-Minister of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China Mr Cao Xuetao; the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau; the HA Chairman, Mr Henry Fan; and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Tony Ko.
In his welcome address, Mr Fan said that the HA has been strengthening its recruitment effort for healthcare professionals worldwide and significant progress has been made. The number of non-locally trained doctors in the HA has increased from over 40 in 2022 to about 150 at present. “With the establishment of the HA Global Healthcare Professional Recruitment Centre last year to provide one-stop services for potential candidates, we have seen a further boost in enquiries and applications. We are confident that by the end of this year, over 250 non-locally trained doctors would be working at the HA,” he said.
He mentioned that the HA has been collaborating with various Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and beyond to commence diversified exchange programmes. Currently, more than 100 Mainland healthcare professionals are working at public hospitals through the GBA Healthcare Talents Visiting Programmes. The HA will further promote exchanges of Hong Kong healthcare professionals to the Mainland in the future.
Mr Fan also expressed gratitude for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for increasing the funding for the HA despite the pressure on public finances. The annual funding to the HA will be increased to $95.4 billion in 2024-25. The HA will continue to enhance sustainability of healthcare services. He said, “Apart from modernising the hospital hardware, the HA is taking forward a series of measures to address the structural issues in managing the escalating service demand arising from the ageing population, rising prevalence of chronic illnesses and the increasing community expectations. These measures include reorienting service models and strengthening the development of ambulatory care services.”
Delivering his keynote address, “Championing Sustainability Development and Driving for Excellence”, Dr Ko shared his vision for a sustainable development of the public healthcare system.
“In the face of the fast-evolving future of healthcare and paradigm shift of service delivery model, we must upgrade both our hardware to increase service capacity on one hand, while developing an agile workforce in the new era and reorienting our service delivery model on the other hand. We do so by leveraging big data, advanced technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve health outcome and enhance operational efficiency,” he said.
Dr Ko emphasised that the HA has adopted a multi-front human resources strategy to strengthen the existing healthcare workforce and to continue to recruit talent both locally and around the world. The HA Global Healthcare Professional Recruitment Centre was established last year to co-ordinate the recruitment of healthcare talent from around the world. He said, “Riding on the success of the recruitment of non-locally trained doctors, we are extending the recruitment to suitable non-locally trained healthcare professionals, including nursing and allied health staff. One-stop service and comprehensive information would be provided by a designated team to facilitate the process.”
He mentioned that the HA is taking forward various talent-exchange programmes to promote Hong Kong as an international hub for healthcare professionals. About 30 non-locally trained doctors will engage in medium-term exchanges in 10 public hospitals through the Global Healthcare Talent Scheme to gain exposure to cutting-edge medical technologies and research experience across nine specialties. In the past year, about 100 doctors, nurses, radiographers, and Chinese Medicine (CM) practitioners from the Mainland had completed their exchange under a series of the GBA Healthcare Talents Visiting Programmes. Thirteen senior GBA CM experts of various specialties have come to Hong Kong to share their knowledge and expertise by providing in-depth clinical training to over 100 local CM practitioners under the model of clinical apprenticeship.
“In the face of manpower shortage, the HA has long demonstrated our ongoing commitment to investing in human capital through training and development, aiming to sustain a robust talent pool of diversified, solidary and competent healthcare staff. Together with attracting new blood and facilitating the inflow of diverse talent from different regions, the HA will continue to contribute to reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a talent hub full of opportunities for our valuable healthcare professionals.”
On the hardware side, the HA will continue to upgrade its hospital facilities to enhance capacity and service capabilities. Dr Ko stated, “The HA is actively pursuing the first Hospital Development Plan in the order of some $200 billion, adding about 6 000 additional hospital bed spaces and 90 operating theatres. In parallel, the HA is planning for the second Hospital Development Plan with a budget size of $270 billion.”
The HA has also actively adopted various forms of advanced information technology, digital technology and AI infrastructure in order to enable Smart Care and enhance productivity. Dr Ko cited the HA mobile application, “HA Go”, as an example, highlighting how leveraging technology can significantly improve patient experience.
“With ‘HA Go’, one can check appointments made in HA hospitals or clinics, pay HA bills and drug charges, book appointment for general outpatient services and new case of specialist outpatient services, etc. Currently, ‘HA Go’ has more than 2.5 million registered users, where patients can be empowered to manage their own health at their fingertips,” he said.
Furthermore, the HA will continue to promote the development of Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine (ICWM). Since early last year, the ICWM services have been regularised and further expanded to 26 public hospitals across seven clusters, with the hospital sites increasing from eight to 53.
“Under the service framework, Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) and WM doctors will collaborate in formulating a clinical treatment protocol for each of the selected disease areas. They will team up to jointly assess the suitability of in-patients for CM treatment, and conduct ward rounds and consultations together. To facilitate collaboration, CMPs will review clinical records of patients in the HA Clinical Management System and input CM clinical notes.”
In his concluding remarks, Dr Ko said, “We are reshaping the future of healthcare from provider-centric to patient-centric, from conventional to smart and digitalised, and from within to beyond hospital walls.” He said he is confident that with the determination of all members of the HA and the support from the community, the HA will build a brighter future of sustainable public healthcare.
