kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
Three Directors of Bureaux conclude LegCo joint-panel duty visit to major cities in Yangtze River Delta Region (with photos)
24.4.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang; and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, continued the visit with Legislative Council (LegCo) members in Hangzhou today (April 24), the last day of LegCo's joint-panel duty visit to major cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region. The three Directors of Bureaux and LegCo members visited the headquarters of the Alibaba Group in the morning and learned about its development of e-commerce, intelligent logistics and financial inclusion systems. They were also briefed on the traffic management system which combines the technologies of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and big data. The delegation also had an exchange session with the Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group, Mr Jack Ma, as well as senior staff members of the company on the use of big data in improving city management. In the afternoon, the delegation met with Hong Kong people working and living in Zhejiang to understand more about their life in the province. They also toured the Hangzhou Hi-tech Industry Development Zone and visited a company specialising in ocean energy application technologies to see the latest developments in nurturing high-tech industries in the development zone, which is a national-level incubation hub for small to medium-sized technology firms. The delegation then proceeded to the last stop of the trip and visited WeDoctor. The company has set up an online platform linking the information systems of hospitals in different provinces of the country and provides online medical consultation services to clients. It also makes use of artificial intelligence to conduct research in the field of Chinese medicine. Concluding the trip, Mr Nip said that the four-day duty visit covered major development areas in Shanghai and Hangzhou, including innovation and technology, culture and conservation, education, financial services and tourism. The delegation also met with provincial and municipal officials and was briefed on the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Region. The visit enhanced LegCo members' knowledge and understanding of the developments and opportunities in the Yangtze River Delta Region. Mr Nip said that Hong Kong is an important gateway for the country's opening up and a core engine for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As the country's economy moves towards the new era of high-quality development, Hong Kong and the Yangtze River Delta Region can seize the development opportunities by enhancing co-operation from the perspective of regional development and leverage their respective advantages to serve the country's needs and contribute to the country's development.
Three Directors of Bureaux conduct third-day programme of LegCo joint-panel duty visit to Yangtze River Delta Region (with photos)
23.4.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang; and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, continued the Legislative Council (LegCo) joint-panel duty visit to the Yangtze River Delta Region today (April 23). The three Directors of Bureaux and LegCo members attended a seminar organised by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) in the morning during which they were briefed by the Director of the SDRC, Mr Ma Chunlei, on the latest progress of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Region. In the afternoon, the delegation left Shanghai and travelled to Hangzhou by high-speed railway. They first visited the Hangzhou Public Service Center to learn about how the municipal government streamlined procedures to provide one-stop service to process different kinds of applications from residents and enterprises. The delegation met with the Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Mr Che Jun, to exchange views on issues relating to Hong Kong-Zhejiang co-operation in the evening. They also attended programmes relating to tourism and cultural promotion afterwards. The delegation will continue their visit in Hangzhou tomorrow (April 24) and return to Hong Kong in the evening.
Three Directors of Bureaux continue LegCo joint-Panel duty visit in Shanghai (with photos)
22.4.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang; and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, continued the first leg of the Legislative Council (LegCo) joint-Panel duty visit to the Yangtze River Delta Region in Shanghai today (April 22), visiting the city's innovation and technology bases and financial institution as well as meeting with officials of the Shanghai Municipality. The three Directors of Bureaux and LegCo members visited Zhangjiang Science City in Pudong New Area this morning to learn about the development of the integrated national science and technology centre and its various innovation and technology projects. The delegation also toured the National Center for Protein Science Shanghai, an important national-level scientific research facility in the Science City. They then paid a visit to the Shanghai Stock Exchange to get updates on the development of the newly-launched Science and Technology Innovation Board and Chinese Depository Receipt. The delegation met with Hong Kong people living, working and studying in Shanghai in the afternoon to get a better understanding of their life in the city. They also visited Chang Yang Valley, an innovation and start-up hub revitalised from a textile factory, and toured the West Bund Xuhui Waterfront, a cultural landmark project in Shanghai, to keep abreast of Shanghai's planning on cultural conservation. In the evening, the delegation met with the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Ying Yong, to exchange views on issues relating to co-operation between Hong Kong and Shanghai. They also took a boat trip along Huangpu River to get first-hand knowledge of the development along the riverbank and to enhance their understanding on Shanghai's tourism industry. The delegation will depart for Hangzhou tomorrow (April 23) after completion of the Shanghai leg in the morning. While in Hangzhou, they will visit its latest developments on the innovation and technology, tourism and cultural fronts.
Three Directors of Bureaux start LegCo joint-Panel duty visit to major cities in Yangtze River Delta Region (with photos)
21.4.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang; and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, departed for Shanghai today (April 21) to join the Legislative Council (LegCo) joint-Panel duty visit to the major cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region to learn about the latest developments in areas such as innovation and technology, economy, finance, culture, education and tourism in the cities. The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, also joined the visit. Upon arrival at Shanghai in the afternoon, the delegation visited a commercial aircraft manufacturing enterprise and toured its assembly lines to see for themselves the production of Mainland-made aircraft and the development of the industry. The delegation visited Fudan University in the evening. They met with the university's management staff and professors as well as Hong Kong students studying there to exchange views on various issues relating to talent nurturing, including STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. Sixteen universities from Shanghai and Hong Kong established the Shanghai Hong Kong University Alliance last year to foster exchanges and co-operation in higher education between Hong Kong and Shanghai. The delegation will continue their visit in Shanghai tomorrow (April 22).
Three Directors of Bureaux to join LegCo joint-Panel duty visit to major cities in Yangtze River Delta Region
20.4.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang; and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, will join the Legislative Council (LegCo) joint-Panel (Panel on Economic Development, Panel on Commerce and Industry, Panel on Financial Affairs and Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting) duty visit to the major cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region and visit Shanghai and Hangzhou from April 21 to April 24. The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will also attend. The three Directors of Bureaux will, together with LegCo members, tour the latest developments of Shanghai and Hangzhou in areas such as innovation and technology, economy and finance, culture and conservation, education and tourism and learn about the progress of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region. They will also meet with the respective provincial and municipal officials as well as Hong Kong people living, working and studying there. After the visit, Mr Nip and Mr Yang will depart for Beijing to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Mr Lau will return to Hong Kong.
Transcript of remarks by SCMA at media session on Register of Electors case
15.4.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session today (April 15) at the Legislative Council (LegCo) Complex on the loss of a Register of Electors relating to the 2016 LegCo General Election: Reporter: Secretary, do you think you also have a responsibility to monitor this kind of incident that should not have happened? Why don't you need to step down for this incident? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: First of all, we need to conduct a thorough investigation to find out what actually has happened, whether it is a systemic issue or there are insufficient guidelines or protocols, or whether there are problems in implementing the relevant guidelines and protocols. We need to find out the problems, the cause of the issues and who should be accountable or responsible. As I said, if there was deliberate cover-up or human error, we would, of course, follow strictly the existing disciplinary mechanism. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Transcript of remarks by SCMA at media session on Register of Electors case
9.4.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session today (April 9) at the Central Government Offices on the latest situation of the search by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) for a Register of Electors relating to the 2016 Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election: Reporter: Mr Secretary, over the weekend you called this incident unacceptable, so what steps are being taken now in going forward to address the situation? This is the second time electors' data have been lost in recent years. Do you have confidence in the leadership of the REO? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: As I said, this incident is of course unacceptable so we have taken proactive ways to handle the matter and we will handle it in a very serious manner. So the follow-up actions we are going to do - as I said - the REO has already reported the incident to the Police, and also notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. The REO will also notify the affected electors about the incident and issue letters to government departments and organisations which have frequent contact or handling of personal data so that they are aware of the incident. Also, the REO will review the voter registration information of about 8,000 affected electors and if there were unusual changes to their registrations, the REO will take proactive steps to contact the concerned electors, verify the registrations and follow up as appropriate. The REO will compile and submit a full report to my bureau and also to the Electoral Affairs Commission on the incident. If, arising from the investigation, there are deliberate cover-up or human errors involved, we would act in strict accordance with the established disciplinary mechanism. Apart from that, the Electoral Affairs Commission will also conduct an investigation on the incident and try to locate problems and loopholes related to the electoral arrangements and also the management within the REO, and would suggest improvement measures. We would take forward these various steps earnestly and also in a very serious manner. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Opening remarks by SCMA at media session on Register of Electors case
9.4.2019

Following is the English translation of the opening remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session today (April 9) at the Central Government Offices on the latest situation of the search by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) for a Register of Electors relating to the 2016 Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election: It had come to the attention of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) last week that a Register of Electors relating to the 2016 LegCo General Election could not be located. I considered that the matter was very serious and immediately demanded the REO to conduct a thorough search to ascertain if the Register had been lost. The REO has done detailed and comprehensive searches of a number of storage areas for electoral materials over the past few days and it was confirmed this morning that the Register cannot be found. The REO has reported the case to the Police and formally notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) this morning. I have also instructed the REO to: (a) inform affected electors as soon as possible; (b) send letters to government departments and organisations which have frequent handling of personal data in their daily work to alert them to the incident; and (c) review the voter registration information of the some 8,000 electors on the Register to see if there have been unusual changes since 2016. If any abnormality is found, the REO will contact the relevant electors to verify and follow up. I feel regret about the incident and once again extend my apology to the affected members of the public. I understand that the way REO handles the matter is disappointing. Public elections in Hong Kong have all along been held in an open, fair and honest way. There is no question of compromising people's confidence because of any wrongdoing. I have requested the REO to follow up on the matter in a serious manner, including: (a) fully co-operating with the Police and the PCPD in their investigations; and (b) submitting a comprehensive report on the incident to the CMAB and the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC). If it is found that human errors or deliberate cover-up are involved, we will definitely handle the matter in accordance with the established disciplinary mechanism. The EAC has decided to conduct a thorough review of the incident to find out if there are any problems or loopholes relating to the electoral arrangements as well as overall management of the REO with a view to mapping out improvement measures. The CMAB will provide independent administrative support to the EAC in conducting the review. It is expected that the EAC will complete the report eight weeks after commencement of work.
SCMA to attend Conghua Racecourse Exhibition Raceday opening ceremony in Guangzhou
19.3.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, will depart for Conghua, Guangzhou, in the afternoon on March 22 (Friday) to accompany the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, in attending the opening ceremony of the Exhibition Raceday at Conghua Racecourse the next day (March 23) to be held by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in collaboration with the Conghua District Government. Mr Nip will return to Hong Kong in the evening on March 23. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Andy Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.
SCMA to visit Shanghai
15.3.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, will visit Shanghai from March 17 to 18. During the visit, Mr Nip will meet with the officials of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government to exchange views on issues relating to Hong Kong-Shanghai co-operation, and to discuss arrangements for the Legislative Council joint-Panel duty visit to the major cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region (joint-Panel visit) in April. Mr Nip will view one of the sites of the joint-Panel visit. Mr Nip will also attend a high table dinner organised by the HKU Shanghai Alumni Network and deliver a keynote speech. Mr Nip will return to Hong Kong in the evening of March 18. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Andy Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.
SCMA visits Tuen Mun District (with photos)
11.3.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, visited Tuen Mun District this afternoon (March 11), where he met with members of the Tuen Mun District Council (TMDC) and toured an inclusive playground in the district, as well as calling at T.PARK, the first self-sustaining sludge treatment facility in Hong Kong. The Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Andy Chan, also joined the visit. Accompanied by the District Officer (Tuen Mun), Ms Aubrey Fung, Mr Nip first met with the Chairman of the TMDC, Mr Leung Kin-man, and members of the TMDC to exchange views on district and community affairs. Mr Nip then visited the inclusive playground in Tuen Mun Park. This playground is the first barrier-free play space for children in Hong Kong incorporating two natural elements, water and sand, in its design. He said he was glad to learn that the facilities and the play components were specially designed to cater for children of different ages, abilities and physical condition, so that they can enjoy the same playing experience and acquire various skills in the course of playing, thereby fostering the balanced development of their body and mind. Parent-child facilities are also available in the inclusive playground, whereby parents and children of different physical abilities can enjoy the fun of playing together, thus enhancing the parent-child relationship. Mr Nip said, "Children's growth and development is one of the priority policy areas of the current-term government. We have spared no effort in providing our children with equal opportunities to learn and grow, and in helping them to bring their talents into full play despite differences in background and ability." He paid tribute to colleagues of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Architectural Services Department in taking forward this inclusive playground pilot scheme, giving children with different abilities equal opportunities to enjoy the fun of playing in the playground. Mr Nip also visited T.PARK and toured its incineration, power generation, desalination and sludge treatment facilities. He was briefed on the sludge incineration technology adopted at T.PARK as well as its waste-to-energy process, and learned more about the concepts of sustainable development behind the park and the operation of its various self-sustaining facilities. Mr Nip was also briefed by colleagues from the Environmental Protection Department on waste recycling in Hong Kong.
SCMA to visit Beijing
26.2.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, will depart for Beijing in the afternoon on February 28 (Thursday) to accompany the Chief Executive in attending the second plenary meeting of the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on March 1. He will also join part of the Chief Executive's visit programme in Beijing, including attending a ceremony to mark the donation by Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation to the Palace Museum, as well as calling on central ministries. Mr Nip will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon on March 5. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Andy Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.
SCMA visits Islands District (with photos)
31.1.2019

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, visited Islands District this afternoon (January 31), meeting with members of the Islands District Council (IDC) and attending a briefing session by the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) on a number of airport development projects. He also toured a community service centre in Tung Chung and visited two families in the district. Accompanied by the District Officer (Islands), Mr Anthony Li, Mr Nip first met with the Chairman of the IDC, Mr Chow Yuk-tong, and members of the IDC to exchange views on district and community affairs. Mr Nip then paid a visit to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), where he was briefed by representatives of the AA on the latest progress of various airport expansion projects, including the Three-Runway System, SkyCity and the premium logistics centre at Kwo Lo Wan. Mr Nip said, "With the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and improvement in the infrastructure network of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), HKIA will serve as the 'double gateway' connecting Hong Kong with other parts of the world and the GBA. When the various airport development projects are completed, Hong Kong will further strengthen its leading position as an international aviation and cargo hub in the world." Mr Nip also went to the HKIA taxi station to see the implementation of "Luggage Ambassador", a scheme jointly organised by the AA and a non-government organisation in Tung Chung. He chatted with two ethnic minority students who were working as luggage ambassadors there to learn about their life and study in Hong Kong. He then visited an integrated services centre in Tung Chung and toured the centre's new services and facilities. The centre has been set up for more than 20 years and provides various community services, including medical and employment services, family education, and volunteer work for children, families, the elderly and new arrivals in Tung Chung. He encouraged staff members of the centre to continue to provide professional community support to Tung Chung residents with a view to building an inclusive and caring community. Mr Nip also visited two families in Tung Chung to understand their daily life and needs, and offered New Year greetings to them ahead of the Lunar New Year.