The Government announced today (June 14) that the Chief Executive has re-appointed Mr Ip Kwok-him and Dr Lam Ching-choi as members of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee for three years starting from July 1, 2019.   

     "Mr Ip and Dr Lam have been tendering valuable advice to the work of the Committee. We look forward to their further contribution to the Committee in the coming three years," a Government spokesman said.  

     Established in 1993, the Disaster Relief Fund provides a ready mechanism for Hong Kong to respond swiftly to international appeals for humanitarian aid in relief of disasters that occur outside Hong Kong. The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee is responsible for advising on fund disbursement and monitoring the use of grants by the recipients. 

     The membership of the Advisory Committee from July 1, 2019, is as follows:

Chairman:
Chief Secretary for Administration (ex-officio)

Members: 
Mr Ip Kwok-him
Dr Lam Ching-choi
Dr Helena Wong Pik-wan
Mr Kenneth Lau Ip-keung
Dr Tik Chi-yuen
Mrs Ann Kung Yeung Yun-chi
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury or representative (ex-officio)
Secretary for Labour and Welfare or representative (ex-officio)

     The Central Tender Board (CTB) has announced that the closing time for tenders to be received through the Government Secretariat Tender Box by noon today (June 14) will be extended, until further notice due to blockage of the public access to the Government Secretariat Tender Box. 

     Following removal of the blockage, the CTB will announce the extended tender closing time as soon as practicable. The announcement will be made via press releases on the GovHK website (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/today.htm).

      In response to the arrest of two green minibus (GMB) drivers suspected of abusing Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (the Scheme) by the Police today (June 14) and yesterday (June 13) respectively, a Government spokesman said that the Government attached great importance to the implementation of the Scheme, and would continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that the Scheme would not be abused.

     The Scheme has, since June 2012, been implemented in phases on the general Mass Transit Railway lines, franchised buses, ferries and GMB services, aiming to encourage elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities to participate more in community activities by enabling these groups to enjoy a concessionary fare of $2 per trip.

     The spokesman said, "The Transport Department (TD) has established a series of monitoring measures with the public transport operators that have joined the Scheme, including requesting the public transport operators to strengthen their internal control systems, and regularly submit to the Government the audit and assurance reports prepared by independent auditors in accordance with the relevant standards issued by the Hog Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and deploying TD staff to conduct on-site inspections to monitor the implementation of the Scheme by the public transport operators and the situation of eligible passengers when enjoying the concessionary fare. The TD regularly examines the patronage and differential fare settlement reports submitted by the public transport operators and Octopus Cards Limited to prevent the Scheme from being abused. If abnormal data and suspected abuse cases are detected during the examination of the reports, TD will refer the case to Police for follow-up action.

     "This suspected abuse case was found during the examination works conducted by the TD as mentioned above and the TD immediately referred the case to Police for follow-up action. As the case is still under investigation, the Government has no further comments," the spokesman added.

     The spokesman appeals to members of the public not to defy the law by abusing the Scheme.

     Owing to the maintenance works on the flag poles and the podium at the Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai, the flag-raising ceremony scheduled at 8am today (June 14) will be suspended.

     The Transport Department announced that counter services of Hong Kong Licensing Office at 3/F, United Centre, 95 Queensway, Hong Kong, will resume from 9am today (June 14) to provide licensing and related application services.

     For enquiries, please call 2804 2636.