Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Uzbekistan Investment, Trade and Tourism Forum today (April 9):
 
Ambassador Arziev (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the People's Republic of China, Mr Farhod Arziev), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good afternoon. It gives me great pleasure to join you all for today’s forum, which seeks to promote exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan in investment, trade and tourism.
 
     Located at the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan enjoys a long history as a hub for trade, culture and innovation along the historic Silk Road trade route. Today, it plays an important role in fostering economic development and connectivity between Asia and Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative, a key development strategy implemented by our motherland.
 
     Hong Kong treasures the vast opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative and drives the advancement of this blueprint in various areas.
 
     And trade is one of those areas, I am pleased to say. As an international trade centre, Hong Kong promotes free trade, maintains a robust trading and investment system, and facilitates the free flow of capital, talent, goods and information.
 
     All those advantages have enabled our city to continuously enlarge our global economic and trade networks and expand our reach to Belt and Road markets, including Uzbekistan.
 
     For one thing, our two economies enjoy close trade ties. In 2022, Uzbekistan was Hong Kong's largest trading partner in Central Asia, accounting for some 67 per cent of our total trade with the region.  
 
     Strengthening regional co-operation is always close to our heart. In January this year, our Government's Deputy Secretary for Justice led a Hong Kong delegation to join the forum on China-Uzbekistan co-operation in Xinjiang.
 
     Hong Kong will continue to proactively develop a more stable, open, inclusive and mutually beneficial international economic and trade environment. Our city will also continue to serve as the prime gateway between Mainland China and the rest of the world, thanks to our "one country, two systems" framework – and the distinctive advantages that brings us.
  
     Those advantages include a robust legal and regulatory framework, and a market-oriented and internationalised business environment. They also include our motherland's support for Hong Kong's development of eight strategic centres, covering areas like trade, finance, innovation and technology (I&T), and art and culture.
 
     We encourage enterprises from Central Asia to make good use of Hong Kong's world-class financing, professional services, I&T solutions, and much more, for business development.  
 
     Business aside, we are equally determined to strengthen Hong Kong’s positioning as a premier tourism destination. We welcome travellers from Uzbekistan to come experience our unique East-meets-West tourism offerings.
 
     We also encourage Hong Kong people to develop tourism and cultural ties with Uzbekistan. I am especially pleased to note that, since 2020, Hong Kong SAR passport holders can visit your country visa-free. 
 
     Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to the closer co-operation between our two economies. Today's inaugural ceremony of the Uzbekistan Economic, Trade, Investment and Cultural Centre in Hong Kong will surely foster our ties.  
 
     On that note, I wish you all the best of business, and health, in the year to come.  Thank you. 

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the spokesperson for Kwong Wah Hospital made the following updates today (April 9):
 
     In accordance with the prevailing infection control guidelines, the hospital has performed an enhanced surveillance and two more patients, a 51-day-old girl and a 12-day-old boy, were confirmed as MRSA carriers without clinical symptoms. The patients are in stable condition and are being treated in isolation, in which the boy was transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit.
 
     The hospital has performed enhanced medical surveillance and screening of the patients in the NICU. The following infection control measures have been stepped up according to established guidelines:
 

1. Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the NICU, including the environment, incubators, equipment and instruments;
2. Enhanced medical surveillance of the patients and environmental screening procedures in the NICU; and
3. Applied stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene of staff. Family members are reminded that infection control measures must be implemented when visiting their babies.

 
     The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for follow-up.
 

     The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, together with the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, today (April 9) held a briefing session on the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Charging Demonstration Scheme for District Council (DC) members to introduce the background, objectives and details of the survey. 
 
     Mr Cheuk said that MSW charging directly affects the daily lives of 7 million citizens, and therefore the Government must act cautiously and assess the process and practical operations of MSW charging, involving different participants in various scenarios, as well as understanding the issues or difficulties faced by the stakeholders and participants. A survey on the MSW Charging Demonstration Scheme will be conducted anonymously at 14 selected premises in the third week after the commencement of the demonstration scheme. It aims to collect opinions and trial experiences from different stakeholders, including residents, cleaning workers, property management and business operators, in order for the Government to have a comprehensive understanding of the implementation status of the MSW charging and the readiness of relevant groups, and make practical arrangements and decisions.  
 
     He said, "Respective DC members were invited to participate in the survey. It is hoped that they can collect opinions from members of the public more effectively, independently and objectively than government personnel, and reflect them to the Government faithfully. This is an important and honourable mission to DC members as it realised the purpose of reforming the DC to ensure effective communication between the Government and members of the public."
 
     An interdepartmental task force, led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, is responsible for overseeing and reviewing every aspect of the MSW Charging Demonstration Scheme. As decided in previous meetings, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB)/Home Affairs Department, and the Environment and Ecology Bureau/Environmental Protection Department will jointly conduct an opinion survey. The HYAB will arrange for relevant DC members to conduct face-to-face interviews with selected respondents at selected premises.
 
     The MSW Charging Demonstration Scheme commenced on April 1 in 14 locations, covering public and private residential buildings, restaurants, residential care homes, shopping malls and government buildings. An interdepartmental committee led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration will summarise the results of the demonstration scheme and report them to the Legislative Council in May to June this year.

    

     The Government announced today (April 9) that the Chief Executive (CE) in Council decided that the recommendations of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service in relation to the Civil Service Pay Level Survey (PLS) in its Report No. 66 should be accepted in full, and that Stage 2 of the current PLS would not be proceeded with.
 
     The Standing Commission recommended earlier that Stage 2 of the current PLS should not be proceeded with, in view of the severe and unprecedented turbulence in the current labour market which has had an impact on market pay practices and levels and in turn the timeliness and accuracy of pay-related data to be collected in the private sector, and that the effect of the talent and labour-trawling measures introduced by the Government in recent years on restoring the stability of the labour market is yet to be observed. The Standing Commission considered that the reconvening of another round of the PLS should be subject to review of relevant circumstances (including the then overall labour market conditions). Noting that a number of talent-trawling measures were introduced for two years tentatively, the Standing Commission recommended the Government to revisit the conditions in a reasonable period of time for the conduct of a PLS.

     "The Government accepts the recommendations of the Standing Commission in full after holistic consideration on its prudent and in-depth analysis and the valuable comments from various stakeholders. The Government is grateful for the Standing Commission's work and the participation of various stakeholders," a spokesperson of the Civil Service Bureau said.

     The Standing Commission decided in 2020 to accept the Government's invitation to conduct a new round of Civil Service PLS and to adopt a two-stage approach. Stage 1 of the PLS was disrupted by the pandemic and eventually completed in end-2023. The Standing Commission later submitted its Report No. 66 to the CE on February 6, 2024, to recommend on whether and when to proceed with Stage 2. Upon consulting the staff-side representatives and relevant stakeholders, the CE in Council made the above decision today in relation to the way forward for Stage 2 of the PLS.

     To tie in with the first Hong Kong Reading for All Day to be held on April 23, the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will join hands with various stakeholders to organise the first Hong Kong Reading Week from April 20 to 28. A series of large-scale territory-wide reading activities will be rolled out to encourage the public to enjoy the pleasure of reading and cultivate a reading habit, so as to foster a citywide reading ambience and build Hong Kong into a city of avid readers.

     Addressing the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Reading Week, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, said that the LCSD would organise over 200 online and offline library activities under the theme of "Self/LIBRARY" to enable members of the public to experience the joy of reading. In support of the establishment of the Chinese Culture Promotion Office earlier this month, the HKPL will put the reading focus on books related to Chinese history, stories of celebrities and venerable tradition to promote Chinese culture. Meanwhile, starting from April 23, the maximum number of loaned library items will be raised from eight to 10 to encourage and enable readers to read more. In support of the theme "Arts and Action" of this year’s Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival, the HKPL will launch the Creative Writing Event and Roving Exhibition on "Chivalrous Heroes: My Favourite Characters in Martial Arts Novels", offering opportunities for those who love writing to demonstrate their creativity and let reading nourish their life.

     The inaugural Hong Kong Reading Week will feature an array of activities suitable for people of all ages. Some are even specially designed for parents and children. The HKPL will collaborate with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) to produce the radio programme "One-minute Reading" by inviting government officials, Legislative Council members, writers, athletes and celebrities to share their reading tips and recommended book lists. The broadcast will start on April 20. Apart from the radio programme, RTHK will also produce videos of these individuals sharing their tips. The videos will be uploaded onto the HKPL's website and social media platforms. In addition, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will create a themed music video for Hong Kong Reading Week to disseminate the message of reading for all times through familiar music tunes.

　　The HKPL will also participate in the "2024 Hong Kong Reading+" carnival organised by Hong Kong Publishing Federation (HKPF) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong from April 20 to 23 at the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin. The carnival includes an opening ceremony of Hong Kong Reading Week and the 2024 Hong Kong Reading+ carnival on April 20. The HKPL will also introduce its electronic resources at the electronic reading experience zone with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workshop tailor made for young readers to let them know more about relevant e-resources. In addition, the HKPF will stage an exhibition with the theme "n reasons for reading", alongside a themed book fair, electronic reading experience zone, parent-child workshops and various talks by renowned writers and music performances. Furthermore, the Publicity Department of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee has accepted an invitation to display selected parent-child books from Shenzhen at the designated Shenzhen zone in the carnival to promote Shenzhen and Hong Kong co-reading.

     In response to the first Hong Kong Reading for All Day, the "2024 Hong Kong Reading+" will present over 30 activities in schools and the community from April 10 to May 12 to promote reading.

     On April 23, the first Hong Kong Reading for All Day, the HKPL will join hands with stakeholders to organise a number of activities. Apart from the main venue of the Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL), the LCSD will set up different reading locations in the department's venues and libraries for "Read Together for Half an Hour" activities. While the Education Bureau will organise joint secondary and primary school 30-minute reading activities to enhance the reading ambience at schools, the HKPF will invite the public to join the "Read Together for Half an Hour" activities at the "Hong Kong Reading+" carnival. The Hong Kong Teacher-Librarians' Association will organise the finale and awards presentation ceremony of the Hong Kong Inter-school Chinese Reading Contest, hoping to encourage students to read more extracurricular materials beneficial to the development of their mind and body through competitions.

     In addition, the HKCL will organise the Prize Presentation Ceremony of the 4.23 World Book Day Creative Competition, co-organised by Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao libraries, and a fun day at the Exhibition Gallery on April 27. The winning works created by students from the three areas under the theme "Reading Love (Love Reading)" will be on display. There will also be a lot of fascinating activities on the fun day including a story theatre on traditional Chinese stories, a Chinese acrobatic performance, booth activities and more. Special book shelves, thematic decorations and thematic book displays will be introduced in selected public libraries in each of the 18 districts to create a favourable reading environment. Game booths and workshops related to Chinese culture will also be organised.

     There are a lot more supporting events in the Hong Kong Reading Week, and members of the public can visit the thematic website (www.hkpl.gov.hk/hkrw) for the latest information and more details.