kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
Walk with Kids@Healthy Happy FUNday encourages children and family members to build a healthy life (with photos/video)
22.6.2023

The Commission on Children (CoC), the Hong Kong Police Force and the Social Welfare Department today (June 22) jointly held the Walk with Kids@Healthy Happy FUNday at the Junior Police Call Permanent Activity Centre and Integrated Youth Training Camp at Pat Heung (JPC@Pat Heung). Parents and children joined a variety of interactive games and activities, thereby enhancing their awareness on the importance of physical and mental health. About 70 participants from more than 20 families attended; half of them were children and some have special education needs or require specific support. The Healthy Happy FUNday is the first outdoor engagement event under the "Walk with Kids" thematic campaign of the CoC. The CoC attaches great importance to the development and well-being of children, and endeavours to work together with different sectors to build a caring and inclusive society for children. Through a series of publicity initiatives and engagement sessions on different themes throughout the year, the "Walk with Kids" campaign aims to raise public awareness of child protection and enhance their understanding on the CoC's work in different dimensions. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare and Vice-chairperson of the CoC, Mr Chris Sun, attended the event and said that the various adventurous and experiential activities designed on-site were both fun and inspiring. He hoped that children and parents can play more together on weekdays, enjoy relaxing time and foster communication for better physical and mental health. Also attending the event, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, said that the activities engaged families in playtime with children. He added that protecting children is a heavy responsibility and he encouraged the public and all sectors to work together in the work of children protection. In addition, the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, said that taking care of children is inevitably stressful to parents and those who are looking after children with special needs deserve more support from the community. She appealed to the public to show concern to their neighbourhood and provide a loving and harmonious environment for children. Participants took part in ice-breaking, adventurous and experiential activities across JPC@Pat Heung to experience healthy living in an interactive and interesting manner, followed by group sharing sessions moderated by non-official members of the CoC. Participating children and parents shared their everyday challenges and parents' experience of overcoming the challenges of taking care of children with specific needs. Parents were also encouraged to communicate more with children and take care of their own needs.
SLW concludes Switzerland visit after attending International Labour Conference (with photos)
11.6.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, yesterday (June 10, Geneva time) concluded his visit to Switzerland. Mr Sun attended the plenary sitting of the 111th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) as part of the delegation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on June 9 morning, during which the Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, Ms Wang Xiaoping, delivered an address on the development of labour affairs of the country. In the afternoon on the same day, Mr Sun and officials held a bilateral meeting with the Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Regional Director for the ILO Office for Asia and the Pacific, Ms Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, and introduced the latest situation of the labour market, economy, employment and application of International Labour Conventions in Hong Kong. Mr Sun also outlined the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's support and welfare to foreign domestic helpers working in Hong Kong. Apart from sitting in committees of the ILC, on the sidelines of the meetings, Mr Sun met with senior officials of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security as well as representatives of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the China Enterprise Confederation as part of the PRC delegation. They had exchanges on various labour policies and labour relations issues. Mr Sun and colleagues also called on the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the PRC to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, Mr Chen Xu. They exchanged views on further deepening the exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong, China and the ILO. In addition, accompanied by the Commissioner for Labour, Ms May Chan, Mr Sun had in-depth discussions with employee and employer members of the Labour Advisory Board attending the ILC on labour policy initiatives of mutual concern. Earlier, upon arrival in Geneva on June 8, Mr Sun visited EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne in the afternoon, toured its campus facilities and learned more about its curriculum. He met with the Chief Academic Officer of EHL Group, Dr Juan-Francisco Perellon, and updated him on the recent strong rebound of Hong Kong's tourism and hotel industries. The sector has a thirst for talents. Hong Kong welcomes professionals around the world to come and pursue development in Hong Kong via various talent admission schemes. Mr Sun will return this afternoon (June 11) and arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon (June 12).
SLW to attend International Labour Conference in Geneva
6.6.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, will depart for Geneva, Switzerland, tomorrow evening (June 7) to attend the 111th Session of the International Labour Conference, as part of the delegation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He will be joined by the Commissioner for Labour, Ms May Chan, as well as employee and employer members of the Labour Advisory Board. While in Geneva, Mr Sun will call on the Regional Director for the International Labour Organization Office for Asia and the Pacific; government, employer and employee representatives of the PRC delegation; and the Permanent Mission of the PRC to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland. He will also visit a tertiary institution in Lausanne. Mr Sun will arrive in Hong Kong on June 12 afternoon. In his absence, the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming, will be the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
Transcript of remarks by SLW after attending Starting a New Chapter in Hong Kong Social Welfare Summit
29.5.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, at a media session after attending Starting a New Chapter in Hong Kong Social Welfare Summit jointly organised by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Social Welfare Department and the Heart to Heart Joint Action today (May 29): Reporter: Mr Sun, may I know what do you think about Mr Zheng (the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zheng Yanxiong)'s speech? Do you think his speech is actually adding pressure on the welfare sector to perform better and even for promoting patriotic values? Do you think the Government will have to set key performance indicators for the social welfare sector? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: I am sure Mr Zheng's speech is a full recognition of the contribution and good work of our social welfare sector. What he outlines is three broad directions, mainly once again calling upon the welfare sector to stay true to our mission, to unite together and to provide support and services to those in need in a very concrete way. What the Director saying is fully in line with what Peter (the Chairman of the Heart to Heart Joint Action, Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon) and I have been trying, together with the platform, that is to unite the whole sector, making use of our very wide network services, our very great social workers, and all people for providing much needed services to our elderly and the disabled. This is a way to help us to unite together and to make use of our resources, to make use of our energy, and most important of all, to make use of our passion to build a better and caring Hong Kong. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Transcript of remarks by SLW on expanded Talent List at media session
16.5.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, on the expanded Talent List at a media session before attending a meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Manpower this afternoon (May 16): Reporter: Mr Sun, why is the Government expanding the Talent List at this moment and why specifically on the medical and construction sectors? On the KPI, what is the aim of the Government? Are you confident that you can reach this aim in attracting more talent? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Thank you for your question. Expanding the Talent List is part and parcel of our effort to attract talent to Hong Kong. It's a follow-up to the work plan set out by the Chief Executive last October. The Talent List covered 13 professions. As for today, the Talent List is expanded to comprise altogether 51 professions, covering nine sectors. The purpose of the Talent List is to provide facilitation for foreign talent to come to Hong Kong under three schemes: (1) The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme is a scoring system. For those fulfilling the Talent List requirements of respective professions, they will get 30 extra points under the General Points Test. This is a points system; and (2) The General Employment Policy and (3) the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals are employment-driven. If employers are going to recruit people outside Hong Kong fitting the professions of the Talent List, they do not have to prove to the Immigration Department the local recruitment requirement, which will be waived for jobs falling within the remit of the Talent List. The main purpose is to enable employers to get the talent they need to help Hong Kong grow. On the key performance indicator (KPI), the overall KPI we set for ourselves on talent is to attract at least 35 000 talent into Hong Kong each year from this year to the next two years and they are expected to stay in Hong Kong for at least 12 months through the talent admission schemes. We are confident that we are going to make that target for this year, having regard to the very positive response to the various schemes we have put in place to attract talent from out of Hong Kong to Hong Kong to help us grow our economy.
Transcript of remarks by SLW at media session
13.5.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, on workplace safety and Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work, at a media session after attending radio programmes this morning (May 13): Reporter: Mr Sun, we would like to follow up on the bee attack incident yesterday. What more can the Government do to protect workers working outdoors? Also, on the heat stroke warning system, why isn't it legally binding? Would the Government consider making it legally binding? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: The incident of bee attack yesterday is of course a great concern to us. It is part of our overall system to ensure that workplace safety is given priority. For employers, the key is they have to assess the risk of workplaces under their remit to make sure there are enough measures in place so that workers in these workplaces are provided with adequate protections. Every employer has to follow this general direction and guideline. Referring to the arrangements on prevention of heat stroke, what we are going to publish next Monday is a revised Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work on ways to make sure we have better protection for workers to protect them against heat stroke. This time round we are going to have a new system. We devised three levels of Heat Stress at Work Warning, from Amber, Red to Black. It remains a guideline, because when you look at the risk of heat stroke at workplaces, it varies a lot. It depends on weather conditions but also the very unique situation of each and every workplace as well as the measures in place, they all have a role to play. Having a guideline with clearer description and more prescriptive requirements is going to provide much better protection to workers than before, this is what we believe a better way. Of course for those who have clearly violated the guidelines in a very blatant way, we can pursue them by using the employers' general duties under our law. Eventually they will be subject to legal punishments for those who just turn a blind eye to the guideline. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SLW continues calls on central ministries during Beijing visit (with photos)
9.5.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, today (May 9) continued his visit in Beijing. Mr Sun called on the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, in the morning. Mr Sun reported the latest labour and welfare initiatives and their way forward, including the work progress of various measures to improve people's livelihoods. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will fully and faithfully implement the principle of "one country, two systems" and further improve governance. The Labour and Welfare Bureau will strive to do its best in attracting talents to enhance competitiveness, and take care of the underprivileged to build a caring and inclusive Hong Kong. In the afternoon, Mr Sun and the delegation paid a courtesy call on Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Mr Yu Jiadong, and senior officials. They held a meeting on issues of mutual concern, including the HKSAR Government's talent attraction and labour policies as well as issues on the International Labour Organization. Mr Sun said that the global competition for talents and manpower shortage has escalated after COVID-19. As the gateway for talents from both the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and overseas, the HKSAR Government will enhance a diversified talents exchange with the Mainland, with a view to expediting the establishment of a GBA talent hub and promoting high quality development in the region and the whole nation. In addition, Mr Sun and his team visited an occasional child care facility in Beijing to keep abreast of local infant and child care services. Mr Sun said that the Mainland's quality child care service model serves as a valuable reference for Hong Kong to improve its child care service quality and quantity, and unleash the potential of the female labour force. Mr Sun attended a live dialogue hosted by Liepin, one of the Mainland's biggest online service platforms for talents, in the evening and introduced Hong Kong's talent attraction policy initiatives and unique advantages. He has taken a close look at how it conducts job matching, especially trawling for top and overseas talents, to meet the development needs of various sectors in his visit. Prior to its departure, the delegation will visit a residential care area for the elderly tomorrow (May 10) to learn more about how health-and-aged care facilitates ageing in place, and meet with representatives of the China Enterprise Confederation to thank enterprises providing diversified and quality job opportunities under the GBA Youth Employment Scheme of the HKSAR Government. Mr Sun and the delegation will arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow evening.
SLW to visit Beijing
6.5.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, will depart for Beijing tomorrow afternoon (May 7). The Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ms Alice Lau, and representatives of the Social Welfare Department and the Labour Department will also join the visit. While in Beijing, Mr Sun will call on the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council. He will also meet with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Disabled Persons' Federation. In addition, Mr Sun and the delegation will visit elderly and child care facilities, keep abreast of how local recruitment platform works, and meet with university students in Beijing. Mr Sun will return to Hong Kong on May 10 evening. In his absence, the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming, will be the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
SLW and SED attend stakeholder engagement session of Commission on Children (with photos)
5.5.2023

The Commission on Children (CoC) today (May 5) held an engagement session for collecting views of children and relevant stakeholders on the challenges of resuming normal school life after the COVID-19 epidemic. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare and Vice-chairperson of the CoC, Mr Chris Sun, and the Secretary for Education and ex-officio member of the CoC, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, joined the session to listen to views from children on the resumption of normalcy and resuming normal school life through interactive games. The engagement session is the first activity under the theme "Walk with Kids" of the CoC. Through a series of publicity initiatives and engagement sessions on different themes throughout the year, the "Walk with Kids" thematic campaign aims to raise public awareness of child protection and enhance their understanding on the core values of promoting the well-being of children and the work of the CoC in different dimensions. The engagement session was held in six parallel breakout sessions moderated by the non-official members of the CoC and attended by a total of some 60 primary and secondary school students as well as some 60 parents, principals, teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals. The participants expressed their views on the challenges of various aspects, including academics, social activities, and physical and mental health, being faced by children on the resumption of normalcy and resuming normal school life as well as corresponding support. The CoC will consolidate the views collected and relay them to relevant government bureaux and departments for reference and follow-up when formulating policies and work plans in the future.
SLW leads delegation to visit Guangdong
23.4.2023

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, will lead a Hong Kong social welfare sector delegation for a three-day visit to three cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), namely Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhongshan, tomorrow morning (April 24) to visit elderly and rehabilitation service facilities and exchange views with relevant units. The delegation will comprise heads and high-level representatives from the Hong Kong Social Welfare Sector Heart to Heart Joint Action, community associations, non-governmental organisations and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. Representatives of the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Elderly Commission, the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee and the Social Welfare Department will also join the visit. Mr Sun and the delegation will attend an exchange seminar to be hosted by the Department of Civil Affairs of Guangdong Province on the development of the GBA. In addition, the delegation will visit community and residential care service units and keep abreast of the latest developments of Qianhai in Shenzhen and the GBA. Mr Sun will return to Hong Kong on April 26 afternoon. In his absence, the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming, will be the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
SWD hosts film show to appeal for participation in foster care service (with photos)
8.4.2023

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (April 8) hosted a film show "Lost Love" for about 100 serving foster parents and individuals interested in joining foster care service, to show appreciation to foster parents for their care and concern for foster children, and also to encourage more people to join the service. The movie "Lost Love" tells the story of a couple along their journey serving as foster parents, as well as the family's heart-melting interactions with their foster children. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ms Alice Lau; the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee; the film director of "Lost Love", Mr Ka Sing-fung; members of the Committee on Review of Residential Child Care and Related Services, as well as representatives from 11 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) subvented by the SWD for operating foster care service, joined the event today. Addressing the event, Mr Sun said that 12 improvement measures on foster service have been put forward in the Report of the Second Phase Review of Residential Child Care and Related Services, released earlier by the SWD, focusing on developing foster care service with enhanced publicity, including a "one-plus-one" recruitment programme to encourage persons interested in joining foster care service to pair up with their family and friends to support each other to care for foster children. He said he hoped that today's film show would raise the community's awareness of foster care service and encourage more people to become foster parents. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to all foster parents for their selflessness and continuous contributions. He also commended the 11 NGOs operating the service for their wholehearted support and guidance to the foster families. He appealed to the community to participate in foster care service so that needy children may enjoy a family life. He also encouraged families and friends to sign up as foster parents. At the event, Mr Ka shared with the audience his ideas on the production of the movie. A foster parent also shared her experience on foster care service. Foster care service provides residential family care for children aged under 18 who cannot be adequately taken care of by their families due to family problems or crises, before they can be re-united with their families or settle down with a long-term welfare arrangement. Currently, there are about 950 foster homes and 880 foster children in placement. 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.