kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
SWD holds fun day for foster families to show appreciation for foster parents (with photos)
4.11.2023

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (November 4) held the Fun Day for Foster Parents and Foster Children at Ocean Park and invited around 400 foster parents and children from 100 families to spend an enjoyable weekend at the theme park to express appreciation to foster parents. Stories on foster families were also shared at the kick-off ceremony of the event to appeal to more people to sign up as foster parents. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, officiated at the kick-off ceremony. The Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, also joined the ceremony with representatives from 11 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) subvented by the SWD for operating foster care service. Addressing the ceremony, Mr Sun said that the Government has all along attached great importance to foster care service and is eager to encourage more people to serve as foster parents so that children who cannot be adequately taken care of by their own families due to different reasons can live in a homelike environment. "The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address" has announced that the Government will substantially increase the incentive payment for foster families starting from next April. Additional support will also be provided to foster families taking care of children with special learning or care needs, including arranging early assessment and appropriate professional rehabilitation therapy and training. Mr Sun said that the SWD has, apart from stepping up publicity efforts in promoting foster care service this year, launched a "one-plus-one" recruitment programme to encourage persons interested in joining foster care service to pair up with their family and friends when signing up for the service so that they can take care of the same foster child and support each other. Mr Sun appealed to foster parents to actively introduce foster care service to their families and friends to motivate more people to serve as foster parents. Participants watched a video ( youtu.be/mWm6asNxOUU ) about foster care service during the ceremony. The video featured two foster families who shared their background of joining the service as well as their memorable experience and feelings. A few foster children also took the opportunity to express their appreciation to their foster parents. The SWD co-ordinates and liaises with 11 NGOs to provide foster care service. Currently, there are about 950 foster homes. The SWD holds fun days for foster families every year to show appreciation to foster parents. The Fun Day for Foster Parents and Foster Children at Ocean Park today also echoes the "Happy Hong Kong" Campaign, where Ocean Park admission tickets and meal coupons were distributed to the participating foster families. Members of the public who are interested in becoming foster parents may contact the SWD's Central Foster Care Unit at 2573 2282 during office hours.
Transcript of remarks by SLW on establishment of HKTE office (with photos/video)
30.10.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage, Mr Anthony Lau, on the establishment of the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) office at a media session after officiating at the HKTE Office Opening Ceremony this afternoon (October 30): Reporter: It looks like that more and more Mainlanders are coming to Hong Kong through various talent drives in the past year, but not expatriates. What would you do to diversify or whether diversification of talents is on your agenda, Mr Lau? Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage: Obviously Hong Kong is an international city. Of course talents from the Mainland are always welcomed, but I think we also need to promote ourselves to talents around the world, so we can get a good mix of talents coming to Hong Kong to flourish in different professions, and continue to ensure Hong Kong being a global international city. Secretary for Labour and Welfare: If you look at the figures from the past nine months of the Top Talent Pass Scheme, when you count those coming from outside the Mainland, i.e. either they studied overseas or came from overseas, it accounted for around 20 per cent. They might be Mainlanders, but they are overseas graduates, and some of them worked in overseas territories. If you look at the overall effect of talent admission schemes, we have been very successful in attracting quite a large number of people. Of course a majority are from the Mainland, but if you look at the absolute number - those from outside the Mainland, from overseas - it's still quite significant. It's a success for us. Thank you. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
HKTE to co-host online job fair with insurance industry
20.10.2023

Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) will co-host the "Greater Bay Area New Era: Insurance for the Future" Hong Kong Insurance Industry Online Live Recruitment Event today (October 20) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) to engage Mainland talents who are interested in coming to Hong Kong for development, particularly those from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in better understanding the outlook and opportunities of the insurance industry in Hong Kong. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the member of the Governing Committee of the HKFI Ms Winnie Wong, will deliver opening remarks. Eleven major insurance companies in Hong Kong will participate in the job fair and offer over 140 vacancies in areas including actuaries, business development, data analytics and contract service. Mainland talents can submit job applications and enquire about the job vacancies through the online live recruitment event to explore job opportunities in the Hong Kong insurance industry. They may also learn more about the details of various admission schemes through HKTE after the online event. The job fair will be broadcast at 3pm online and job seekers may watch and participate via xjh.zhaopin.com/show/13903 (Chinese only). This online live recruitment is the first large-scale event co-hosted by HKTE and a local business sector. An HKTE spokesman said that HKTE will continue to collaborate with different sectors to attract talent from around the world to come to Hong Kong for development.
Speech by SLW at Swire Group's TrustTomorrow "Connecting for a Brighter Tomorrow" event
26.9.2023

Following is the speech (English portion) by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, at Swire Group's TrustTomorrow "Connecting for a Brighter Tomorrow" event this afternoon (September 26): Mr Guy Bradley (Chairman of John Swire & Sons (HK)), Hon Tik Chi-yuen (Legislative Council Member), Thank you so much for having me today for this event. Since I took over the post of the Secretary for Labour and Welfare last year, I have made it a very important part of my job to reach out to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and to different stakeholders including the business sector. I believe despite all the resources and all the power we have as the Government, we cannot solve all the problems simply on our own. We have to join hands with the business sector and the NGOs to work together. It's not just for the money. For me, my own takeaway, first of all, is the idea. We need new ideas, and usually for a private trust, you are more willing to take risk. Even if you made a wrong bet, the consequence for a private trust is more bearable. As for the Government, we really have to be very careful with what we do. If you are the first one to try out and if the concept is a proven one, we are very happy to take it over and fund it on a regular basis. I think this is a collaborative way for the Government to work together with all kinds of different foundations to make Hong Kong a better place. Secondly, I see a lot of efficiency in private trust. It's all because of the rules and regulations of the Government - say if you give me a free place to use, I will have to refurbish it. To refurbish it as a government premises, it takes maybe nine months or one year to complete all the procedures. For me, it requires lots of very precious space and time. But say if the private sector can do a little bit more, you refurbish it, you make it "ready and go", you save us months of time, and then all the people who need the service can enjoy it right away. This is the way I see it, that we can just work together, and we are trying it already. Within my remit, I try it with what we call the Community Living Room project. I want to achieve a lot, so when I received invitation from Guy, I'm going to come. First of all, I want to meet the Swire Group Charitable Trust. I want to connect with you all and let you know the concept and the belief of this term of the Government. I see a lot of great outcome coming from TrustTomorrow's fund. I look forward to learning from you all about the great things we have achieved with all the money. I know for this gathering, some of you may prefer me to speak in Cantonese, so I am going to switch to it. Guy, please put on your headphones.
SLW visits elderly service facilities in Guangzhou and Foshan (with photos)
31.8.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the delegation of the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services today (August 31) continued their visit to Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Mr Sun visited an elderly apartment in Guangzhou this morning to learn about how the medical-and-elderly care integrated approach facilitates ageing in place and in the community. The delegations then departed for Foshan and toured a retirement community, including its residential care services and facilities, and took a closer look at its links with the neighbouring hospital to support elderly people's health needs. Mr Sun said that, to assist with Hong Kong elderly persons' retirement on the Mainland and provide more choices of subsidised residential care service, the Social Welfare Department relaxed the eligibility criteria of operators under the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong from late July so that private operators with satisfactory track records of providing subsidised residential care services for the elderly in Hong Kong can also take part. The target beneficiary was also expanded from elderly persons awaiting subsidised care and attention places to those awaiting subsidised nursing home places. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government hopes that the relaxed Scheme can attract more Hong Kong operators with rich experience and of high quality to provide more residential care services in the nine Mainland cities in the GBA with a view to fostering experience sharing and professional exchanges, thereby promoting the sustainable development of elderly services in the two places. With Super Typhoon Saola approaching Hong Kong, to gear up preparedness and response, Mr Sun cancelled the scheduled visit to Zhaoqing and advanced his return to Hong Kong this afternoon with his delegation.
SLW leads delegation to visit Guangzhou, Zhaoqing and Foshan
29.8.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, will lead a delegation of the Labour and Welfare Bureau tomorrow morning (August 30) to visit three cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, namely Guangzhou, Zhaoqing and Foshan, together with a delegation of the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services. The delegations will call on the Department of Civil Affairs of Guangdong Province and visit residential care homes for the elderly. The delegations will also tour community care service units for the elderly and meet with retired Hong Kong people on the Mainland. Mr Sun will return to Hong Kong on the evening of September 1. In his absence, the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming, will be the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
Award Ceremony of Most Improved Trainees of the Youth Employment and Training Programme 2023 cum Concert held today (with photos)
25.8.2023

The Award Ceremony of Most Improved Trainees of the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) 2023 cum Concert, co-organised by the Labour Department (LD) and Radio 2 of Radio Television Hong Kong, was held today (August 25) to commend the distinguished trainees of the YETP, which is a programme run by the LD. The award ceremony was themed "Fly with YETP". Most Improved Trainees Awards were presented to 10 outstanding trainees who achieved significant improvements in personal development, leadership or work performance during the training period. Merit Awards were also given to 10 other trainees to encourage them to work hard in realising their career goals. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, said that young people are the future of society. The YETP of the LD has been co-operating with social partners to assist young people in creating extraordinary career journeys by supporting them to enter the labour market and master work skills, thereby boosting their employment competitiveness. Mr Sun also expressed gratitude to stakeholders for the efforts they made for the trainees. He pointed out that the advancement of the awardees had not come easy. Apart from their own dedication, the concerted efforts of employers, service providers and case managers in providing them with work opportunities and assistance were indispensable. He encouraged young people to equip themselves and seize every opportunity during their career journey to contribute to the future of Hong Kong and the development of the nation. The YETP is open to young school leavers aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at a sub-degree level or below. Enrolment in the YETP is free of charge. Services offered include pre-employment training, workplace attachment training, on-the-job salaried training and case management services provided by registered social workers. For details, please visit the YETP's website at www.yes.labour.gov.hk . The LD has also set up a Youth Employment Services hotline at 2112 9932 to provide a one-stop enquiry service regarding the programme and receive registrations of on-the-job training vacancies from employers.
Transcript of remarks by SLW on placement fees for employment of Indonesian domestic helpers at media session (with photo/video)
11.8.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, on placement fees for the employment of Indonesian domestic helpers at a media session after officiating at the opening ceremony of the 8th Golden Age Expo and Summit 2023 of the Golden Age Foundation this morning (August 11): Reporter: Mr Sun, can you recap in English? How would you ensure Hong Kong employers do not need to pay more to hire Indonesian helpers and not to affect their employment opportunities in Hong Kong? How would you ensure there will be more domestic helpers from other countries such as Cambodia? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: The key message we got back from the meeting between the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong and myself yesterday (August 10) is that, for any policy change concerning the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers into Hong Kong, it must be conducted on the basis of Government-to-Government meeting. For that discussion, it must be based on mutual trust as well as mutual respect. I also made it very clear to the Acting Consul-General of Indonesia in Hong Kong that, for whatever changes being made or being contemplated for the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers, they should not increase the burden of Hong Kong employers, nor should it affect the opportunities for employment of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong. As for my meetings with the other two Consul-Generals, i.e. the Consul-General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Hong Kong and the Consul-General of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in Hong Kong, it's a very good start for us to explore possible ways to increase the number of foreign domestic helpers coming from Cambodia and Bangladesh. We've already had a few hundred from these two countries, but we want more to come to Hong Kong. With that discussion, we hope to start a dialogue looking for ways to increase the number of helpers coming from these countries. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SLW meets Acting Consul-General of Indonesia in Hong Kong (with photos)
10.8.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, today (August 10) met the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong, Mr Slamet Noegroho, to reiterate the stance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government on the issue of placement fees for the employment of Indonesian domestic helpers (IDHs). Mr Sun made it clear to the Acting Consul-General that, in order to maintain the long-standing cordial, mutually beneficial and close co-operative relationship between Hong Kong and Indonesia, no change should be made by the Indonesian side to the arrangement of IDHs' placement in Hong Kong that would increase the burden of Hong Kong employers or undermine the employment opportunities of IDHs in Hong Kong. Furthermore, there should be equal treatment for any change, and Hong Kong should not be singled out. Mr Sun said, "The Acting Consul-General clarified at the meeting that there is no change to the cost structure of fees for arranging IDHs to work in Hong Kong. As to the information communicated by the Indonesian Manpower Placement Agency Association (ASPATAKI) with employment agencies in Hong Kong last week, the Acting Consul-General also stated that the ASPATAKI does not represent the Indonesian Government. The Acting Consul-General said that both governments' policies and regulations remain the same, and issues relevant to employment of IDHs in Hong Kong should continuously be discussed between the Indonesian Government and the HKSAR Government as before." The HKSAR Government will continue to communicate and collaborate with the Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong in protecting the interests of IDHs in Hong Kong as well as their employers, in order to maintain Hong Kong as an attractive place for foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to come to work. The HKSAR Government will also actively discuss with other places, including Bangladesh and Cambodia, to widen the sources of FDHs for Hong Kong.
Transcript of remarks by SLW on Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work at media session (with photos)
4.8.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, on Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work at a media session after officiating at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong International Airport Career Expo 2023 jointly launched by the Airport Authority Hong Kong and the Labour Department this afternoon (August 4): Reporter: Yesterday there's an NGO (non-governmental organisation) releasing a survey finding that more than 80 per cent of cleaners in Hong Kong did not fully follow the guidelines under the Heat Stress at Work Warning system. How would you comment on this phenomenon and does the Labour Department have any plans to make this guideline legally binding? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: The very purpose of Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work is to provide a clear guidance to employers and also, of course, employees, so that the arrangements including work hours could be adjusted having regard to the weather condition in Hong Kong. This is the first time a revised guideline has been introduced. The Labour Department has stepped up inspections, and for cases where we see a need for improvement, we will issue warnings. We will review the situation but clearly for this moment, having a guideline for us is the most balanced approach to deal with the challenge of climate change, and more days where we will see higher temperatures and with greater heat stroke risk. Right now we have no plan to legislate. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Labour Department holds sharing session of Thankful Week for Families with Foreign Domestic Helpers (with photos)
9.7.2023

âThe Labour Department (LD) held a sharing session of the Thankful Week for Families with Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs) at M+ today (July 9). FDHs and employers who earlier submitted to the LD videos highlighting their good relationships were invited to share their experiences and tips on maintaining a harmonious employment relationship. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, the Commissioner for Labour, Ms May Chan, as well as representatives from Consulates-General of the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Thailand in Hong Kong attended the event. A spokesman for the LD said: "We thank the general public for supporting the Thankful Week for Families with FDHs. Over 1 600 families sent us videos during the event. We invited some of the families to the sharing session today, such that the employers and FDHs could share their unforgettable experiences and tips on getting along with each other. Some of the video clips received were played at the sharing session, showcasing heartwarming moments of employers and children expressing thanks to their FDHs with songs and gifts; elderly people praising their FDHs for their good care; and touching stories of helping each other out during trying times. Through this event, we hope to further promote the message of mutual respect and harmony between FDHs and employers." The Thankful Week for Families with FDHs was launched on May 15. FDHs and employers were invited to record video clips together to express gratitude and appreciation for each other, and to share tips on their harmonious relationship, mutual respect and care under the same roof. The LD has given Ocean Park admission tickets to relevant families and FDHs as a token of thanks for their participation.