kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
CE meets Secretary of CPC Zhongshan Municipal Committee
26.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Secretary of the CPC Zhongshan Municipal Committee, Mr Chen Xudong, at the Chief Executive's Office this morning (February 26). Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Chen's first visit to Hong Kong after his assumption of office as the Secretary of the CPC Zhongshan Municipal Committee. Noting that Hong Kong and Zhongshan enjoy close geographical and cultural ties and share a common language, she said that the two places have enjoyed frequent co-operation and exchanges in areas including economic affairs and trade, investment and culture over the years. Along with the completion of infrastructure projects such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express ​​Rail Link, the commuting time between Hong Kong and Zhongshan will be substantially shortened, further enhancing the connectivity between the two places. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Macao Special Administrative Region Government and the National Development and Reform Commission to draw up the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area (Bay Area). Mrs Lam said that Hong Kong and Zhongshan, both of which are cities in the Bay Area, are looking forward to the new opportunities to be brought about by the development of the Bay Area. She said she believes that the development of the Bay Area is set to foster the increased flow of people, goods, capital and information among the cities in the area, which will deepen co-operation between Hong Kong and Zhongshan in various areas, enabling them to complement each other for mutual benefits. Ends/Monday, February 26, 2018 Issued at HKT 19:52 NNNN
CE celebrates Chinese New Year with families of Light Housing project in Sham Tseng
25.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, attended a New Year Feast this afternoon (February 25) with dozens of residents of the Light Housing project in Sham Tseng to extend her Chinese New Year greetings to them. She was accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong; the Chairman of Light Be, Mr Laurence Li; the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Light Be, Mr Ricky Yu; and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Social Ventures Hong Kong, Mr Francis Ngai. The Sham Tseng Light Housing project, which involves a previously vacant factory staff quarters building belonging to the Government, is the first collaboration between the Government and the social enterprise Light Be. With the support of donations from the business sector, Light Be renovated the building to provide more than 40 units of rental housing with affordable rent below the market level to families in need for a maximum of three years. Aside from providing a secure place to stay for the resident families, Light Be also offers a wide range of support and counselling services to encourage the residents to help one another as well as their own self and develop self-reliance upon expiry of the lease. The concept is similar to the measure promulgated by the Chief Executive in her maiden Policy Address to develop transitional housing to alleviate the hardship faced by families on the public rental housing waiting list and the inadequately housed. In fact, the Sham Tseng Light Housing project was made possible with active involvement of Mrs Lam while she was the Chief Secretary for Administration. Noting that she had visited the Light Housing in Sham Tseng several times, she said she is pleased to know that circumstances of some families had improved during their stay at the Light Housing. Coupled with the provision of professional guidance and support, they were able to start again to fend for themselves and look after their children down the road. She said she appreciates Light Be for its ongoing efforts. Since the launch of the first Light Home in September 2012, Light Be has, including the Light Housing in Sham Tseng, provided over 100 flats, benefitting about 200 families with over 600 members. Expressing her gratitude to the community and the business sector as well for their active participation in helping the disadvantaged, she said that the Government will continue to facilitate the implementation of various short-term community initiatives to increase the supply of transitional housing and pool the efforts and resources from all sectors in society to alleviate the housing problem faced by the grassroots. Mrs Lam enjoyed a hot pot meal with the residents on the rooftop where they hold gatherings frequently. She also harvested lettuces which were grown by the residents on the rooftop farm for a "lo hei" ceremony, wishing all the residents a smooth, vibrant and prosperous year ahead. Ends/Sunday, February 25, 2018 Issued at HKT 15:55 NNNN
CE holds engagement sessions with HK deputies to NPC and HK members of CPPCC
22.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by a number of Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux, held engagement sessions at Government House yesterday and today (February 21 and 22) to exchange views with Hong Kong deputies to the 12th and 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and the 12th and 13th Hong Kong members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on matters of mutual concern, in particular Hong Kong’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. Addressing more than 20 Hong Kong deputies to the NPC and over 60 Hong Kong members of the CPPCC, Mrs Lam said all of them, as leaders from various sectors with profound knowledge on Mainland and Hong Kong affairs, are tasked with the vital responsibility of taking part in national affairs. As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government attached great importance to their views, she extended yet another round of invitations to all of the Hong Kong deputies to the NPC and Hong Kong members of the CPPCC for a meeting following the Policy Address consultation sessions last July. Given the integration of Hong Kong into the development of the country, Mrs Lam said the city will take a more active role in participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. She expressed the hope that the Hong Kong deputies to the NPC and Hong Kong members of the CPPCC would give their full support to the HKSAR Government to promote Hong Kong’s unique advantages including those in its professional services to encourage Mainland enterprises to make use of Hong Kong as the platform to “go global”. Noting that the HKSAR Government is working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Macao Special Administrative Region Government and the National Development and Reform Commission to draw up the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, including the development of an international innovation and technology centre in the Bay Area, she appealed to the Hong Kong deputies to the NPC and Hong Kong members of the CPPCC to further introduce to the others the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, and to support the efforts of the HKSAR Government to advance the flow of people, goods, capital and information within the Bay Area. They were also encouraged to help seek from the Central Government further concrete measures to make it more convenient for the people of Hong Kong to study, work and live in the Bay Area and the rest of the Mainland. Ends/Thursday, February 22, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:57 NNNN
CE saddened by passing of Mr Zhang Junsheng
19.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (February 19) was saddened to learn of the passing of former deputy director of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, Mr Zhang Junsheng. "Mr Zhang had worked in Hong Kong for a long period of time and was actively involved in the work for Hong Kong's return to the Motherland, contributing a lot to the preparation for the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. With deep attachment to Hong Kong, he had been concerned about the affairs of the city even after he had left Hong Kong. I am saddened by his passing and extend my deepest condolences to his family," Mrs Lam said. Ends/Monday, February 19, 2018 Issued at HKT 22:53 NNNN
CE inspects clean-up work at Lunar New Year Fair site and visits elderly of residential care home
16.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, and the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Miss Vivian Lau, visited staff members of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) on duty at the site of the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair this morning (February 16). Expressing her gratitude to the staff members for their dedication to duties during the festival, she said their efforts in cleaning up the site after the closure of the fair to restore it to the original state would enable the public to use the venue as soon as possible. She also said she appreciated the volunteer teams made up of FEHD staff for delivering pots of flowers and plants donated by the vendors in the fair to the homes for elderly and hospitals, showing support for environmental protection and expressing care for the residents. Mrs Lam then visited elderly residents in a contract home of the Social Welfare Department to share with them the festive joy. Accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, and Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Services), Mr Lam Ka-tai, she extended her New Year greetings to some 40 elderly people (including a centenarian aged 117), their families and the nursing home staff. She presented mandarin oranges to them, wishing them a sweet and auspicious year ahead. She expressed her appreciation to the operator of the residential care home for their service that meets the needs of the elderly. She also visited the 97-year-old Uncle Fook, who moved into the nursing home last year. She was presented spring couplets prepared by him and had a walk with him in the garden. Mrs Lam met Uncle Fook during her tenure as the Director of Social Welfare more than 10 years ago and has been visiting him from time to time since then. Ends/Friday, February 16, 2018 Issued at HKT 13:17 NNNN
CE delivers Lunar New Year message
15.2.2018

Following is the translation of the Lunar New Year message delivered by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (February 15): "The Lunar New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people. Though busy, as we all are, I always make time to do shopping and decorate my home for the New Year to get myself in the festive spirit. "This year is the Year of the Dog. Faithful and gentle, dogs have always been our best friends. More than that, police dogs are police officers' wonderful workmates and provide loyal service to the Force. They help the police maintain law and order, making Hong Kong a safe place to live and work. "I am honoured to extend my New Year greetings to you for the first time in my capacity as the Chief Executive. I wish Hong Kong prosperity, stability, progress and success in the year ahead. "We wish you all a healthy and happy Year of the Dog." The message is available on the Chief Executive's website ( www.ceo.gov.hk/lny_message18/eng/ ). Ends/Thursday, February 15, 2018 Issued at HKT 12:00 NNNN
Transcript of remarks by CE at media session
12.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the media with the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, at the ground floor lobby of the Office of the Chief Executive today (February 12). Following is the transcript of remarks: Reporter: Mrs Lam, could you explain your considerations behind your decision, in reaching the decision, in calling off the fireworks, Chinese New Year Fireworks, a long-time annual tradition? And also you mentioned that the Government started forming the special committee, the independent committee, and you've already started to draft the responsibilities and powers. So what sort of powers and responsibilities are you planning to give this committee? Chief Executive: This bus incident is an extremely tragic one, and in the last two days we have heard from various quarters, including Legislative Council members across the political spectrum, suggesting that in order to pay respect to the deceased and the victims, and also for the community to express their grief, it was not very appropriate to continue with the Chinese New Year fireworks on the second day of the Lunar New Year. I have taken into account their suggestion, their views and the general sentiments in the community and come to the decision that we would cancel this year's Chinese New Year fireworks. We have already notified the sponsoring organisation and they have graciously agreed and also will support this decision to the extent that they said that if they have any money left as a result of this cancellation, they are willing to donate the funds for supporting the families. So, I'm extremely grateful to that corporation. The second point about this independent review committee, I have already explained why I want to set up this independent review committee. It is not just to investigate into the causes or the circumstances of this particular incident, because in any case the police will be investigating the incident. More importantly is to take an independent and comprehensive view on Hong Kong's franchised bus services to ensure safety and reliability of this very important form of public transport service, which provides over 4 million passenger trips every day. But at the moment, we are still drafting the terms of reference of this review committee, but I am more than willing to take into account the views and suggestions made by various organisations as well as political parties in finalising the terms of reference of this independent review committee. Reporter: Mrs Lam, would you consider expanding the committee's scope of reference so that it includes other types of our public transport sector, such as minibuses? Chief Executive: No. At the moment the focus of this independent review committee is on Hong Kong's franchised bus services. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Monday, February 12, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:40 NNNN
Transcript of remarks by CE at media session
11.2.2018

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session in relation to the traffic accident on Tai Po Road this afternoon (February 11): Reporter: Mrs Lam, with a number of fatal bus accidents in recent years, you won’t comment on this particular case before the inquiry is done but do you see a need to change the way how bus companies train their staff and train their drivers? How bus companies arrange their drivers’ schedule and things like that, so that we are going to have safer…prevent that such an accident? And also would you be able to tell us like when will we see the inquiry, the independent inquiry committee set up? Chief Executive: Thank you for that question. The concerns that you have expressed are exactly the reasons why I have decided last night to set up an independent committee to look at not only this particular tragic incident, but to look at the various aspects of Hong Kong's franchised bus service. As you all would agree, Hong Kong has a very good public transport service that takes care of 90 per cent of the passenger trips. As far as the franchised buses are concerned, I understand that they are taking care of about 4 million passenger trips every day, so if we want to have a safe city, we need to have a very safe and reliable public transport service including the franchised bus service. So I am sort of initiating this comprehensive review to be undertaken independently to advise the Government on what sort of measures we need to put in place in order to ensure the safety of Hong Kong’s franchised bus service. Because you are right, I don’t know whether you are in possession of the figures, but in the last 12 months, we have indeed seen quite a number of very fatal and tragic bus incidents involving deaths as well as a large number of passengers being injured. So, that is the basis of why I have made this decision. As far as the timing, of course, I would like to see this independent review to be conducted and completed as soon as possible, so that if need be, the improvement measures could be put in place as early as possible. But at this point in time, I am afraid I could not give you a very definite timetable because we need to identify this judge, and perhaps with or without another expert or person to assist the judge in doing this review. But based on other previous examples, it would at least require a few months before we could have a report from the independent review committee. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Sunday, February 11, 2018 Issued at HKT 17:57 NNNN
CE expresses sorrow at passing of Professor Jao Tsung-i
6.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (February 6) expressed deep sorrow over the passing of world-renowned sinologist Professor Jao Tsung-i. "I was grieved to learn of the passing of Professor Jao Tsung-i," Mrs Lam said. "I am so privileged to have known Professor Jao personally for years and participated directly in the establishment of the Jao Tsung-I Academy under the Government's Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme during my tenure as the Secretary for Development. I had a fond relationship with Professor Jao and his family and benefited greatly from his teaching. On behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, I would like to extend deepest condolences to Professor Jao's family. "Professor Jao was very learned in matters of the ancient and modern worlds and strong in both the academic field and fine arts. His significant academic and artistic achievements over the past eight decades contributed tremendously to the promotion of Chinese traditional culture. Professor Jao's research, spanning decades, covered areas including history, literature, language and religious studies as well as philosophy, arts and Chinese and Western cultures. He is world-renowned for his outstanding achievements and his scholarship deserves our deep respect. Being assiduous and diligent, Professor Jao came up with his own philosophy before the age of 30 and has been a prolific writer in the past 80 years. He inspired the world with great wisdom and produced many great works. "Professor Jao, you have been the treasure in the academic and arts sectors of Hong Kong and the world. You will be sorely missed, always." Ends/Tuesday, February 6, 2018 Issued at HKT 17:04 NNNN
Transcript of remarks by CE at media session before ExCo meeting
6.2.2018

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 6): Reporter: Mrs Lam, a question about the disqualification of candidates because some pro-establishment figures, such as Professor Lau Siu-kai and Jasper Tsang, said that the current rules on disqualifying candidates are not clear. For example, Professor Lau says he doesn't even know in the future if a candidate opposes the need to legislate Article 23 would be regarded as not upholding the Basic Law. Would the Government consider reviewing the current legislation so that it can reflect the rules more clearly? Chief Executive: Up to this moment, the law is very clear, and we will act in accordance with the law in so far as deciding, by the Returning Officer, whether a candidate is eligible to become a qualified candidate in an election. But as far as the future situation is concerned, as I have said in the Legislative Council last week, if there is a need to clarify the rules and the criteria by amending local legislation, of course the Government will seriously consider that proposition. And by the way, there is also a judicial review case in the court which has yet to be decided and announced, so we will also take into account any court ruling and decision to address the question you ask - whether there is a need to amend local legislation. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Tuesday, February 6, 2018 Issued at HKT 12:27 NNNN
CE meets Director of Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
4.2.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) of the State Council, Ms Qiu Yuanping, at Government House this afternoon (February 4), and then attended the "Cultures of China, Festival of Spring" Spring Festival Gala jointly organised by the OCAO and the Hong Kong Federation of Overseas Chinese Associations (HKFOCA) in the evening. Noting that that this is the eighth consecutive year for the OCAO and the HKFOCA to hold the Spring Festival Gala, Mrs Lam said the annual premier event brings performances highlighting the rich and varied Chinese culture by top arts groups to Hong Kong. The gala has attracted a total attendance of more than 120 000 over the years. The groups that performed at the gala also travel overseas to promote Chinese culture. Mrs Lam noted that Hong Kong, with the freedom and environment conducive to diverse artistic creation, has a host of arts groups that can collaborate with Mainland counterparts. She expressed the hope that such co-operation could be enhanced to unite Chinese people overseas and promote cultural exchanges and co-operation, including strengthening people-to-people bonds through cultural and traditional performances to complement the Belt and Road Initiative. Ends/Sunday, February 4, 2018 Issued at HKT 22:47 NNNN