kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
CE&apos;s Office response to media enquiries
4.2.2020

In response to media enquiries on the wearing of surgical masks by officials, a spokesman from the Chief Executive's Office today (February 4) said the following: Surgical masks are in short supply globally. Taking into account experts' advice in relation to the novel coronavirus infection, the Steering Committee cum Command Centre considers it necessary to prioritise the use of surgical masks, with priority accorded to healthcare workers and front-line staff. To this end, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau issued internal guidelines to the heads of departments yesterday morning, stating that the top priority is to ensure the supply of surgical masks for workers in healthcare settings or when contact with patients is involved, and that departments should economise on the use of Government surgical masks as much as possible. In particular, heads of departments should ensure that those masks are only provided to staff members for use if (i) he/she will have frequent contact with members of the public as part of his/her duties (e.g. counter staff) or work in crowded places; or (ii) it is for meeting essential operational needs; or (iii) it is for meeting special needs of the staff members concerned (e.g. medical conditions). The above-mentioned internal guidelines do not apply to civil servant colleagues who wear their own surgical masks. The Government has not requested colleagues not to wear surgical masks. The Chief Executive has earlier reminded Principal Officials to lead by example, minimising the need to wear surgical masks unnecessarily in order to reduce their consumption. In practice, officials will take a risk-based approach and take into account relevant factors such as their personal condition, whether they have left Hong Kong or visited any hospitals recently in deciding whether to wear surgical masks at public functions. At the press conference yesterday, officials present decided whether to wear surgical masks according to their personal conditions. The Chief Executive wore a surgical mask while meeting petitioners this morning, taking into account the need to interact with members of the public in close proximity. Ends/Tuesday, February 4, 2020 Issued at HKT 16:49 NNNN
Transcript of remarks by CE at media session before ExCo meeting
4.2.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting this morning (February 4): Reporter: Hello, Mrs Lam. You have announced the further closure of borders yesterday but it was criticised as coming too late. What took you so long? Were you worried about upsetting Beijing or hurting the feelings of Chinese people? Or you did not want to appear as bowing to pressure amidst the threats of a strike? Are you putting politics ahead of public health? And second question, in your opening remarks you seem to be blaming the medical sector for doing the strike. So, but even the calls of the medical sector and pro-Beijing parties are calling you to minimise the flow of people across the border. Can’t the Government do more to close - the complete closure of the borders? Thank you. Chief Executive: First of all, the situation of the coronavirus infection is evolving, so our public health strategy is to ensure that we could speedily respond to the changing situation and implement as quickly as possible the necessary response measures. Since January 25, four announcements of various measures have been made in line with that strategy. I certainly would not agree with the allegation that we are not addressing this public health concern adequately and certainly I don’t agree with the allegation that we are putting politics above public health. This is a public health situation and we are assisted by our experts in both external and in-house to tackle this very important situation. But let me make a further appeal: any public health emergency situation could only be tackled effectively by the whole community. Everybody has to do his or her part in order to fight this infection. But of course the Government has primary responsibility. As far as the strike that has taken place in the public hospitals under the Hospital Authority, I was just laying out the implications and the consequences according to a report by the Hospital Authority. The consequences yesterday were quite serious. Important services, critical operations have been affected, whether it is in the Neonatal ICUs, in the isolation wards or patients awaiting certain cancer treatments, all these have been affected. So I’m appealing to those who are taking part in this action that let’s put the interests of the patients and the entire public health system above all other things. Having said that, there is actually a high degree of consistency between what they are asking and what the Government is doing. It’s all pointing to, as you have rightly described, minimising the people flow. All the measures that we have adopted in the last 10 days or so are focusing on this one single objective. We want to minimise, reduce very significantly, the cross-border passenger traffic so as to reduce the chances of infection, and we will continue to do that. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Tuesday, February 4, 2020 Issued at HKT 16:12 NNNN
Government response to media enquiries
2.2.2020

In response to media enquiries on the plan of some healthcare workers to go on strike, a Government spokesman said the following today (February 2): Various sectors in Hong Kong have been working hard to tackle the novel coronavirus infection in the past month. Healthcare workers have been dedicated and standing fast at their posts at the forefront. The Government would like to thank and pay tribute to them. The Government understands that healthcare workers have been facing extreme pressure recently and some of them are worried that cross-boundary transmission of the virus would overload the public healthcare system. The Government agreed with the need to tighten management of the control points and reduce the flow of people across the boundary, and it has spared no efforts to implement relevant measures to reduce the flow of people, resulting in the remarkable drop in the number of arrivals of Hong Kong residents, Mainland residents and foreign visitors at various control points. The Government is examining the infection continuously and will explore further tightening of the management of control points. Meanwhile, to ensure the needs of the healthcare workers are addressed when supply of equipment such as surgical masks remains tight, the Government is taking the needs of healthcare workers as prime consideration. The Hospital Authority (HA) has also amended its fee-charging policy against Ineligible Persons. At this critical moment in disease prevention and control, the Government appeals to those healthcare workers planning to go on strike to reconsider their decision, continue to safeguard Hong Kong with their professionalism and together win the battle against the disease. The Government noted that the management of the HA will meet with its staff members later today to listen to their concerns and discuss solutions. The Chief Executive will also convene a meeting of the Steering Committee cum Command Centre later today to study ways to prevent and control the disease. Ends/Sunday, February 2, 2020 Issued at HKT 1:01 NNNN
Government clarifies rumours about surgical mask supply
1.2.2020

A Government spokesman today (February 1) solemnly clarified online rumours about the supply of surgical masks and stressed that the Government is sparing no efforts to increase the supply of surgical masks in Hong Kong. The spokesman said that the Government is proactively increasing the overall supply of surgical masks through a multi-pronged approach. Measures include (1) sourcing globally; (2) liaising with relevant Mainland authorities to facilitate speedy clearance and delivery to the market; (3) contacting the Mainland suppliers to enhance production of surgical masks for Hong Kong; (4) increasing local production; (5) appealing to private organisations for donations. The Government will always take the health of Hong Kong people as the first consideration, stressing that all the surgical masks produced and procured will be used to meet local demands. In particular, priorities will be given to healthcare staff and frontline officers. Concerning a media report which said that surgical masks produced by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) were found in the community, the spokesman said that the CSD had provided surgical masks to some non-governmental organisations before the disease outbreak. It is, therefore, not unusual for people in the community to be using surgical masks produced by the CSD. Owing to keen local demand, the CSD has stopped taking orders other than from the Government Logistics Department (GLD). Surgical masks obtained by the GLD from the CSD will only be distributed to various departments in need. They will not be delivered outside Hong Kong. The Government will follow up in accordance with the law if any public officer is found to have stolen surgical masks. On media reports about distribution of surgical masks donated by a non-governmental organisation by a political party, the spokesman said that though the Chief Executive is the honorary patron of the non-governmental organisation concerned, the surgical masks involved were not provided by the Government. The spokesman said that the Government has announced a series of measures to minimise people from gathering and contacting. Given the tight supply of surgical masks, the spokesman appeals to members of the public to go out less and pay attention to personal hygiene to reduce the use of surgical masks. Ends/Saturday, February 1, 2020 Issued at HKT 23:26 NNNN
Government&apos;s response to media enquiries
28.1.2020

Regarding an online post saying that the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, agrees to "a request to make use of Hong Kong's medical system to help the country tackle the disease", a Government spokesman today (January 28) said that the post is unfounded. The Chief Executive is leading the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in its all-out effort to tackle the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus. She activated the Emergency Response Level on January 25 and announced a series of measures, including indefinitely suspending flight and high-speed train services to and from Wuhan of the Hubei Province. The Government further announced on January 26 the restriction of Hubei Province residents and persons who have visited Hubei Province in the past 14 days from entering Hong Kong. In parallel, the Government is studying measures to further reduce people flow between Hong Kong and the Mainland to lower the chances of infected persons entering Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government regrets over the spread of the rumour. As the situation is severe now, the HKSAR Government appeals to the public to fight against the disease together, and pay close attention to the information disseminated by the Government so as not to be misled by rumours. Ends/Tuesday, January 28, 2020 Issued at HKT 0:49 NNNN
HKSAR Government imposes immigration restrictions on Hubei Province residents and persons visited Hubei Province in past 14 days
26.1.2020

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, convened a meeting of the Steering Committee cum Command Centre in relation to the Novel Coronavirus today (January 26). As the outbreak is mainly found and the situation is getting more severe in the Hubei Province, and experts have advised that asymptomatic patients would increase the difficulties in disease prevention and control, the Steering Committee cum Command Centre has decided to impose restrictions on all Hubei Province residents and people who visited the Hubei Province in the past 14 days from entering Hong Kong until further notice to reduce the chances of infected persons entering the city. With effect from 0.00am tomorrow (January 27), except for Hong Kong residents, residents from Hubei Province and persons who visited the Hubei Province in the past 14 days will not be permitted to enter Hong Kong until further notice. To facilitate the implementation of the above-mentioned measure, all the self-service clearance channels (i.e. e-Channels) at control points will only be open to Hong Kong residents. Non-Hong Kong residents have to use normal immigration counters for immigration clearance. The clearance process may take longer time and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government appeals for travellers' understanding for the inconvenience caused. Mrs Lam announced yesterday (January 25) the activation of Emergency Response Level under the "Preparedness and Response Plan for Novel Infectious Disease of Public Health Significance" and rolled out a package of strategies and measures to tackle the disease. In particular, given the current confirmed cases in Hong Kong are imported ones, the HKSAR Government enhanced the immigration control to contain the spread of the virus. The Steering Committee cum Command Centre is monitoring the development of the disease and listening to advice of experts to study measures that can further reduce the chances of infected people entering Hong Kong. At the meeting today, the Steering Committee cum Command Centre considered that, for public health and disease containment, restriction should be imposed as soon as possible on residents of Hubei Province and persons who visited Hubei Province in the past 14 days from entering into Hong Kong, before the formulation of other more comprehensive measures. Ends/Sunday, January 26, 2020 Issued at HKT 23:45 NNNN
Response by CE&apos;s Office to media enquiries
26.1.2020

In response to an online post today (January 26) saying that the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, engaged in private activities during her duty visit to Switzerland, the Chief Executive's Office states that the content of the post is far from the facts and has no basis. The Chief Executive arrived in Zurich, Switzerland in the morning on January 21 and travelled to Davos by car, arriving at noon. In the morning on January 24, she left Davos by car, and departed from Zurich by flight at noon. During her visit, Mrs Lam attended over 30 bilateral meetings, interviews by international media organisations and other speaking occasions. In the last day of her visit (January 23), the Chief Executive met with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Mark Rutte; Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland, Mr Ueli Maurer; the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Professor Klaus Schwab; the Executive Chairman of Investcorp, Mr Mohammed Alardhi; the Group Chairman of Standard Chartered, Mr José Viñals; and the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Initiative, Mr Yoichi Funabashi, and attended the lunch of the WEF Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders, a speaking session organised by the Young Presidents' Organization and "the Hong Kong Night" - a flagship event co-organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and various Hong Kong organisations and enterprises to promote Hong Kong in Davos. The Chief Executive had no time during her visit, and in fact did not engage in any private activity. Her itinerary was covered by press releases issued earlier. The Chief Executive's Office expresses regret over the false accusations deliberately made by some people against the Chief Executive. Ends/Sunday, January 26, 2020 Issued at HKT 15:37 NNNN
CE expresses shock and sadness over passing of Customs officers
22.1.2020

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, who is currently on duty visit in Davos, Switzerland, today (January 22) expressed shock and sadness over the passing of three Customs officers in a vessel sinking incident when they were carrying out duties near Sha Chau, and extended her deepest condolences to their families. She also expressed sympathy to the other two officers who were injured in the incident and hoped that they would recover soon. "The Hong Kong Customs is entrusted with the important tasks of law enforcement and customs control, including dangerous duties such as combating smuggling and drug trafficking. Customs officers have always been fearless and dedicated to serving the public with professionalism. I am profoundly grieved by the unfortunate loss of three Customs colleagues who were on duty last night and I offer my deepest condolences to their families. The Civil Service Bureau and the Customs and Excise Department will make every effort to support the families," Mrs Lam said. Ends/Wednesday, January 22, 2020 Issued at HKT 4:23 NNNN
Approved Chai Wan Outline Zoning Plan referred back for amendment
17.1.2020

The Town Planning Board announced today (January 17) that the Chief Executive in Council has referred the approved Chai Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) to the Board for amendment to reflect the latest land use proposals. The OZP incorporating the respective amendments will be exhibited for public inspection under the provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance. The Chai Wan OZP was last approved by the Chief Executive in Council in September 2017. Ends/Friday, January 17, 2020 Issued at HKT 16:00 NNNN
CE meets guest speakers of Asian Financial Forum
13.1.2020

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr Péter Szijjártó, and the President and Chairman of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr Jin Liqun, at Government House today (January 13), expressing her gratitude to them for accepting the invitation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to speak at the plenary session of the 13th Asian Financial Forum, themed "Redefining Growth: Innovation．Breakthrough．Inclusiveness", this morning. Accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, Mrs Lam met with Mr Szijjártó at noon. Mrs Lam thanked Mr Szijjártó for supporting the HKSAR Government's strict implementation of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and a high degree of autonomy. Given that Hungary is Hong Kong's largest trading partner in Eastern Europe and the first European country to sign an intergovernmental co-operation agreement with China on the Belt and Road Initiative, Mrs Lam said Hungary is well positioned to become a regional hub in Central and Eastern Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative and added that there is much room for further co-operation between Hong Kong and Hungary in various aspects. She said the HKSAR Government is committed to opening new markets for Hong Kong enterprises and professionals. She encouraged them to explore opportunities in Hungary and also welcomed companies from Hungary to make use of Hong Kong’s unique edge as the gateway to Mainland China and the Asian market. Pointing out that Hong Kong's start-up ecosystem has skyrocketed in the past few years, Mrs Lam said that the city is a particularly suitable place for young entrepreneurs from Hungary for development opportunities. Mrs Lam, accompanied by Mr Lau, met Mr Jin in the afternoon. She thanked Mr Jin for his support all along for the active participation of the HKSAR as a member in providing professional and financial services for the work of the AIIB. Mrs Lam also expressed the hope that the AIIB will continue to leverage on Hong Kong's capital market, asset management professionals and variety of financial products to support its operation in various aspects including project finance, bond issuance, investment, financial management and foreign exchange management. Ends/Monday, January 13, 2020 Issued at HKT 20:19 NNNN
CE meets University Grants Committee members
10.1.2020

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met members of the University Grants Committee (UGC) at Government House today (January 10) to exchange views on the latest developments of the higher education sector, including the nurturing of talents, support for research activities as well as the challenges ahead. The UGC Chairman, Mr Carlson Tong, also briefed Mrs Lam on the universities' measures to ensure the safety and readiness of campuses for the start of the second semester. Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to some 20 overseas and local members of the UGC under the leadership of Mr Tong, for their valuable advice to the Government on the allocation of funding to the funded universities and the strategic development of higher education in Hong Kong. She was pleased to note the progress made in various initiatives to enhance the research capacity of Hong Kong launched by this term of Government over the past two years, such as an injection into the Research Endowment Fund, the launch of the Research Matching Grant Scheme and the establishment of three new research fellowship schemes. A number of overseas members said that despite the social unrest in Hong Kong in the past seven months, the research work generally remained normal, reflecting the strength of the universities. Some local members also expressed concern about the recruitment of local and non-local staff and students in the future following the social events. Mr Tong thanked the Chief Executive for her tremendous support for the UGC-funded sector over the past few years. The UGC will continue to spare no efforts in performing its role as a bridge between the Government and the universities, and providing expert advice to the Government on the funding and strategic development of higher education in Hong Kong. Ends/Friday, January 10, 2020 Issued at HKT 18:25 NNNN
Re-appointments to Deposit Protection Appeals Tribunal
10.1.2020

The Chief Executive has made the following re-appointments to the Deposit Protection Appeals Tribunal in accordance with the Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (Cap. 581) for a term of three years with effect from January 14, 2020: Chairman ------------ Mr Anthony Kenneth Houghton, SC Members ------------ Ms Dilys Chau Suet-fung Professor Stella Cho Lung Pui-lan Mr Anson Wong Man-kit, SC Announcing the appointments, a government spokesman said, "We are confident that, with their expertise and experience, the appointees will continue to contribute to the effective operation of the Tribunal." The Tribunal was established under the Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance to hear appeals from depositors or member banks of the Deposit Protection Scheme who are aggrieved by certain decisions made by the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board or the Monetary Authority in relation to the Scheme. The above appointments were gazetted today (January 10). Ends/Friday, January 10, 2020 Issued at HKT 11:00 NNNN