kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
CE meets Chairman and IAC members of China Investment Corporation
19.9.2023

​The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (September 19) met with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Investment Corporation (CIC), Mr Peng Chun, and members of the International Advisory Council (IAC) of CIC. The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong; the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Mr Eddie Yue; and the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, also joined the meeting. Mr Lee welcomed CIC to host the CIC Forum in Hong Kong tomorrow (September 20) and wished the Forum a great success. Mr Lee said CIC's decision to hold the Forum and the annual meeting of the IAC in Hong Kong, which is the first time they will have been held in places outside the Mainland, demonstrates CIC's recognition of Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre. The theme of this year's Forum, "Promotion of Global Industrial Cooperation and Sustainable Development through Cross-Border Investment", aligns with Hong Kong's advantages as a platform for allocating assets by international investors. Noting that Hong Kong is the only place in the world where the global advantage and China advantage converge in a single city, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is the gateway of the Mainland to the world's financial markets and investors. He added that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages under "one country, two systems", and strive to deepen mutual access between the capital markets of Hong Kong and the Mainland to facilitate two-way capital flow. The Government will also continue to work closely with financial regulators and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited to develop Hong Kong into a deeper and broader fundraising platform, thereby strengthening Hong Kong's competitiveness as a premier financial centre while offering more diverse investment choices to investors. Ends/Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Issued at HKT 19:45 NNNN
CE leads delegation to attend opening ceremony of 19th Asian Games Hangzhou
19.9.2023

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, will lead a delegation to visit Hangzhou in Zhejiang on September 22 to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou (Asian Games) to be held on September 23. Members of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation include the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung; the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Vincent Liu; and the Commissioner for Sports in the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Mr Sam Wong. Mr Lee will visit the Asian Games Village to attend the flag-raising ceremony for the Hong Kong, China Delegation. He will meet with athletes to learn more about their preparation. He will also watch some Asian Games events and cheer for Hong Kong athletes. Mr Lee will return to Hong Kong on September 25. During his absence, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, will be the Acting Chief Executive. Mr Yeung will return to Hong Kong on September 26. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, will be the Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. Ends/Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Issued at HKT 11:00 NNNN
Appointment of Director of Immigration
19.9.2023

The Central People's Government, on the nomination and recommendation of the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, has approved the appointment of Mr Benson Kwok Joon-fung, formerly Deputy Director of Immigration, as Director of Immigration and the removal of Mr Au Ka-wang from the post of Director of Immigration with effect from today (September 19). Mr Au proceeded on pre-retirement leave on the same day after serving the Immigration Department for 34 years. Commenting on the appointment of Mr Kwok, Mr Lee said, "Mr Kwok has served in the Immigration Department for 34 years and has extensive experience in departmental operations. He possesses solid management and leadership skills. I am confident that he will lead the Immigration Department to meet the challenges ahead." Speaking on the retirement of Mr Au, Mr Lee said, "Since taking up the appointment as Director of Immigration in July 2020, Mr Au has made admirable efforts in ensuring effective entry-exit control and smooth passenger clearance, leading the Immigration Department to become an immigration service that displays high efficiency and professionalism. On behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, I convey my gratitude to Mr Au for his contribution to the HKSAR and wish him a happy retirement." The following are biographical notes on Mr Au Ka-wang and Mr Benson Kwok: Mr Au Ka-wang ----------------- Mr Au joined the Immigration Department as an Assistant Immigration Officer in November 1988. He was promoted to Immigration Officer in 1992, to Senior Immigration Officer in 2003, to Chief Immigration Officer in 2009, to Assistant Principal Immigration Officer in 2014 and to Principal Immigration Officer in 2015. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Immigration in 2018 and to Deputy Director of Immigration in 2019. He took up the Director of Immigration post in July 2020. Mr Au was awarded the Hong Kong Immigration Service Long Service Medal in 2007, with the first, second and third clasps in 2014, 2019 and 2022 respectively; the Hong Kong Immigration Service Medal for Distinguished Service in 2020; and the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2023. Mr Benson Kwok ------------------ Mr Kwok joined the Immigration Department as an Assistant Immigration Officer in September 1989. He was promoted to Immigration Officer in 1994, to Senior Immigration Officer in 2002, to Chief Immigration Officer in 2009, to Assistant Principal Immigration Officer in 2013 and to Principal Immigration Officer in 2016. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Immigration in 2020 and to Deputy Director of Immigration in 2022. Mr Kwok was awarded the Hong Kong Immigration Service Long Service Medal in 2008, with the first and second clasps in 2015 and 2020 respectively; and the Hong Kong Immigration Service Medal for Distinguished Service in 2023. Ends/Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Issued at HKT 9:30 NNNN
CE visits Yuen Long to gather public views on Policy Address
17.9.2023

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, visited Yuen Long today (September 17) to meet and exchange views with local residents to listen to their suggestions for the upcoming Policy Address. He also inspected the effective outcome of tackling hygiene black spots in the district. The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan; the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; and the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Cheung, also joined the district visit. Accompanied by the District Officer (Yuen Long), Mr Gordon Wu, Mr Lee and the officials first visited a grassroots family living in a subdivided flat to learn more about their living conditions and issues they encounter in their daily lives and raising their children. Mr Lee then inspected a hygiene black spot at Yuen Long New Street to learn more about the effectiveness of the joint efforts made by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Police in combating shop front extensions. He also chatted with members of the public to understand their daily lives. He was pleased to receive positive feedback regarding the improvement in hygiene and their support for the Government's measures. Mr Lee said that since the launch of the Government Programme on Tackling Hygiene Black Spots last August by the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force, chaired by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, more than 700 hygiene black spots have been eliminated and cleansing of more than 4 000 public places has been strengthened, resulting in enhanced environmental hygiene and cityscape. Noting that tackling hygienic black spots requires perseverance and sustained efforts, Mr Lee said that under the strengthened district governance structure, the Steering Committee on District Governance chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Task Force on District Governance chaired by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration will better promote co-ordination and co-operation in district work, and formulate and direct appropriate responses for the benefit of the general public. Afterwards, Mr Lee and the officials went to a local restaurant, where they interacted with members of the public having morning tea and listened to their views on the upcoming Policy Address. "I have felt the support and demand from the public for the Government to make continuous improvement of their livelihood and living conditions, and I can feel everyone's deep affection for Hong Kong, our home. My team and I will continue to visit different districts to listen to their views. We will do our utmost for the people's livelihood and the economy," Mr Lee said. The public consultation exercise for the 2023 Policy Address was launched in late July. Mr Lee appealed to members of the public to actively give their views on issues of their interests to the Government. Ends/Sunday, September 17, 2023 Issued at HKT 12:30 NNNN
Transcript of remarks by CE at media session after visiting Tsuen Wan
15.9.2023

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session after visiting Tsuen Wan today (September 15): Reporter: A research report yesterday discovered a lot of these sea-front mansions have unauthorised occupation of government land. There's a perception that the Government is allowing wealthy people to keep doing this under your nose. Do you consider this risk-based approach not effective and will you start a special work to inspect all these estates named in that report? Chief Executive: First of all, the Government is serious about the problem of illegal structure. But we have to face the reality that there are at least 40 000-odd private buildings. Each building, of course, is multi-storey. If you look at the number of households, then you are talking about a very big number. Then pragmatically, we have to think of a way to address the problem. We are adopting the policy of taking action according to the risk. Risk means safety risk. For illegal structures that we assess to have a safety risk, that may cause problems to society, then of course, they will be the ones we will deal with. I must emphasise that ensuring one's house has no illegal structure is the responsibility of the house owner. That must be made very clear. The law specifically requires that anybody who has an illegal structure and when they are told, they should restore it. Also, if it has a safety risk, then it has to be rectified immediately. If it is not done quickly, then the Government will, of course, come in to do it, but then we'll ask the person to of course shoulder the costs as well as taking legal action as the case requires. That's the policy. In regard to Redhill Peninsula, I think the Secretary for Development has already indicated that they will be doing an inspection of the area and also take action again to the risks they identified, i.e. if there are slopes or there are illegal structures that cause safety risks, then they will be dealt with immediately. If the person cannot rectify immediately, we will rectify immediately for the sake of safety. But we have to also be pragmatic as to how we approach this problem. But I can assure you that for those identified problems, we will take all possible means to ensure that safety is first of all protected, and then the person concerned will face the legal consequences. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Friday, September 15, 2023 Issued at HKT 20:22 NNNN
CE visits Tsuen Wan to gather public views on Policy Address
15.9.2023

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, visited Tsuen Wan today (September 15) to visit local residents to listen to their views on the upcoming Policy Address. He also visited two elderly services centres to learn more about the work of elderly services at the district level. The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; and the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, also joined the visit. Accompanied by the District Officer (Tsuen Wan), Mr Billy Au, and representatives of the District Services and Community Care Teams in the Tsuen Wan District, Mr Lee and the officials visited an elderly family living in Fuk Loi Estate to learn more about the daily lives of the elderly with chronic diseases and dementia, and the challenges faced by their family members as carers. Mr Lee then visited the Yan Chai Hospital Yim Tsui Yuk Shan Active Mind Centre to learn more about the care services, training and support provided by the centre for people with dementia. Mr Lee said that starting from this year, the Government will progressively roll out a number of measures to enhance support for carers, including regularising the allowance for carers of elderly persons and persons with disabilities under the Community Care Fund and raising the amount of monthly subsidy starting from this October. He said he hoped that the Care Teams set up by the current-term Government will continue to strengthen community support work and organise caring activities, with a view to building a caring and inclusive Hong Kong. Mr Lee then visited the St. James' Settlement Project Care Neighbourhood Elderly Centre to learn more about the facilities and services provided by the centre for the elderly in the district, and chatted with the elderly people there. Mr Lee said, "I care about elderly services and the issues faced by carers. My team and I will continue to listen to views of various strata of society. I express my gratitude to members of the public for their opinions, which are very helpful to me in preparing the upcoming Policy Address." The public consultation for the 2023 Policy Address was launched in late July. Mr Lee appealed to members of the public to give their views on issues of their interests to the Government. Ends/Friday, September 15, 2023 Issued at HKT 17:45 NNNN
CE meets SASAC and SoE chief executives attending eighth Belt and Road Summit
12.9.2023

The eighth Belt and Road Summit jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will be held in Hong Kong for two consecutive days from tomorrow (September 13). The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (September 12) met with the delegation of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and the chief executives of state-owned enterprises (SoEs) at Government House. The delegation came to Hong Kong to attend the Summit. The delegation is led by the Vice Chairman of the SASAC, Mr Gou Ping, and comprises more than 260 members from over 35 SoEs. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan; and the Commissioner for Belt and Road, Mr Nicholas Ho, also attended the meeting. Mr Lee said that the delegation led by the SASAC to participate in this year's Summit is the largest compared with the previous ones. He thanked the SASAC and SoEs for their strong support for the Summit, marking the milestone of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. Mr Lee pointed out that with its diversified and comprehensive professional services, as well as its financing channels, Hong Kong could open up the Belt and Road market with SoEs together to enhance the "soft connectivity" of the Belt and Road and contribute to its high-quality development. A special Middle East Forum and sessions on finance arranged for this year's Summit will promote the connections of Hong Kong's business and professional services sectors with enterprises on the Mainland and the rest of the world, he added. Mr Lee encouraged Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises to participate in the exchange session with enterprises of the Middle East to build connections and explore collaboration opportunities. He also encouraged the SoEs to actively participate in the Summit and make use of Hong Kong as a platform to explore the immense business opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative. In the evening, Mr Lee hosted a networking dinner at Government House. The attendees included representatives from Hong Kong's political, business and professional sectors, members of the SASAC delegation, as well as representatives who will attend the Summit, including the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Mr Zheng Yanxiong; the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Ms Guo Tingting; the Vice Chairman of the SASAC, Mr Gou Ping; the Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr Xiao Weiming, and the Acting Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR, Mr Pan Yundong. Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the guests and his hope that they would continue to support Hong Kong's full participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. Ends/Tuesday, September 12, 2023 Issued at HKT 20:08 NNNN
CE meets Governor of Hainan Province
12.9.2023

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met the Governor of Hainan Province, Mr Liu Xiaoming, today (September 12) to exchange views on further deepening Hong Kong's co-operation with Hainan. Also attending the meeting were the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip. Mr Lee welcomed Mr Liu's visit to Hong Kong with his delegation. He said he is pleased to meet with Mr Liu again since they last met when attending the Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation Chief Executive Joint Conference in Guizhou in July. Mr Lee welcomed the People's Government of Hainan Province's decision to issue bonds in Hong Kong again, after the province issued offshore Renminbi local government bonds in the city in October last year. Noting that the bond portfolio issued this time includes bonds related to sustainable development, biodiversity and marine ecosystem, Mr Lee said he believes that Hong Kong can leverage its strengths as an international financial centre and the gateway between China and the rest of the world, with a view to connecting the flow of green and sustainable funds with the Mainland and the world to promote green investments and ecological civilisation on the Mainland. On strengthening trade and investment co-operation between Hong Kong and Hainan, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong has all along been adopting a free trade policy and a legal system in line with international standards. He held that Hong Kong and Hainan can complement each other by leveraging Hong Kong's advantage as a highly internationalised city and seizing the development opportunities of the Hainan Free Trade Port, in order to help Hainan enterprises go global. Noting that Hong Kong has a large pool of talent in professional service industries such as accounting, finance, law and innovation and technology, Mr Lee said that these talents can provide support for the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, while creating greater room for development for talents in Hong Kong's professional service industries. Ends/Tuesday, September 12, 2023 Issued at HKT 17:00 NNNN
Mobilisation protocol for civil servants activated to enhance relief work following extensive flooding caused by torrential rain brought by low pressure associated with remnants of Haikui
9.9.2023

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, announced the activation of the mobilisation protocol for civil servants to conduct at full steam the relief work following extensive flooding caused by torrential rain brought by low pressure associated with remnants of Haikui, said a Government spokesman today (September 9). Following the end of "extreme conditions", the Government promptly mobilised a quick response unit comprising about 250 civil servants from different departments to provide support in the North District. Supporting members arrived at Ma Mei Ha in Fanling, Lo Wu Station Road and Lee Uk Village in Ta Kwu Ling separately to carry out clean-up work. They also provided assistance to residents who stayed at a temporary shelter in Luen Wo Hui, Fanling. Accompanied by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, Mr Lee inspected Ma Mei Ha Tsuen to understand the progress of relief work after torrential rain and showed support for supporting members. Mr Lee then visited people affected who are staying at the temporary shelter in the Luen Wo Hui Community Hall to learn more about their needs. The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, accompanied by the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung, arrived at Lo Wu Station Road to learn about the work done by supporting members. ​"I thank all supporting members and colleagues from relevant departments for their wholehearted efforts in the relief work. Their contribution helps to swiftly restore normal operation of the community and demonstrates their dedication to serving the public. The torrential rain recently experienced in Hong Kong was unprecedented in the past century, causing flooding in extensive parts of the territory and landslides. Various districts were faced with extreme conditions. During the early hours yesterday morning, I have instructed all departments to respond with all-out efforts to assist members of the public in need. I later activated the mobilisation protocol for civil servants and mobilised the District Services and Community Care Teams to participate in the related work. The Government will continue to strive to handle the relief work with every effort possible to ensure that citizens' daily lives could be fully resumed as early as possible," Mr Lee said. Ends/Saturday, September 9, 2023 Issued at HKT 16:36 NNNN