The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) held separate meetings today (May 14) with members of the Sham Shui Po District Council (DC) and the Southern DC respectively at the LegCo Complex to discuss and exchange views on matters of mutual interest.
 
     During the meeting with the Sham Shui Po DC, LegCo Members discussed and exchanged views with DC members on the redevelopment of a number of old buildings at Shek Kip Mei Estate; improving the pedestrian facilities connecting Tai Po Road to the vicinity of Lei Cheng Uk Swimming Pool and upgrading the facilities of Lei Cheng Uk Swimming Pool Rest Garden; providing covers and installing barrier-free access facilities at public walkways; relocation of Yen Chow Street Temporary Hawker Bazaar; problems of unlicensed hawkers at Pei Ho Street, Tai Nan Street, Ki Lung Street and Kweilin Street; establishment of litigation funding mechanism for supporting the legal expenses of DC members; and strengthening the enforcement actions against illegal home-stay lodgings, hostels and guesthouses in private residential buildings in Sham Shui Po.  The meeting was convened by Mr Wu Chi-wai and attended by Mr Wong Ting-kwong, Dr Priscilla Leung, Mr Yiu Si-wing, Dr Helena Wong, Dr Chiang Lai-wan, Dr Lo Wai-kwok, Mr Chung Kwok-pan, Mr Wilson Or, Mr Luk Chung-hung, Mr Lau Kwok-fan, Mr Vincent Cheng and Ms Chan Hoi-yan.
 
     As for the meeting with the Southern DC, LegCo Members discussed and exchanged views with DC members on the South Island Line (West) and economic development in the Southern District; Market Modernization Programme in Aberdeen; district facilities and development; and communication mechanism between DCs, Government departments and LegCo. The meeting was convened by Mr Kenneth Leung and attended by Mr Abraham Shek , Mrs Regina Ip, Mr Paul Tse, Mr Kwok Wai-keung, Mr Poon Siu-ping, Dr Lo Wai-kwok, Mr Wilson Or, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, Mr Lau Kwok-fan and Mr Au Nok-hin.

            

     Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Hong Kong Laureate Forum launching ceremony today (May 14):

Commissioner Xie Feng (Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), the Honourable Andrew Leung (President of the Legislative Council), Professor Timothy Tong (Chairman, Council of Hong Kong Laureate Forum, Professor Timothy W Tong), members of the Council of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum, distinguished Shaw laureates, consuls-general, scientists, students, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good afternoon. I am delighted to welcome you all to Government House. Today, we come together, from so many disciplines and professions and aspirations, with one happy purpose: to celebrate the founding of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum.

     On this auspicious occasion, I'm pleased to welcome four Shaw laureates, each of whom has made a profound impact on our lives through transformative research. They're here from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, to pledge their personal support for the Hong Kong Laureate Forum. For that, I am much encouraged and extremely grateful.

     I am also grateful, as we all are, for Hong Kong's "One Country, Two Systems" principle, which creates opportunities available to no other economy. As Chief Executive, my goal is to make use of this singular advantage to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub.

     To that end, innovation and technology has topped my Government's policy agenda since I took office in July 2017. To date, we have committed HK$100 billion, or about US$12.5 billion, to drive innovation and technology development in Hong Kong through a variety of policies and programmes. They include the establishment of two research clusters at the Hong Kong Science Park, one focused on health technology, the other on artificial intelligence and robotics, where our local universities and renowned overseas institutions will do collaborative research. At the same time, we are strengthening R&D through direct government funding and matching grants for scientific research in our universities as well as tax incentives for local enterprises to invest in R&D. We have launched talent nurturing and admission schemes to ensure we have a sustainable pool of researchers to work in Hong Kong.

     Hong Kong's leading efforts in R&D are timely and essential to the aspiration for developing an international innovation and technology hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Comprising nine prosperous cities in Guangdong Province, together with the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, this city cluster has a total population of 71 million and a collective GDP amounting to US$1.6 trillion, all in an area of 56 000 square kilometres. I would call that a global powerhouse economy in the making. The Greater Bay Area's Outline Development Plan released by the Central Government in February this year emphasises co-operation and complementarity, taking full advantage of the varying strengths of each city. The Plan also reaffirms one of the key targets of the Greater Bay Area, which is to develop an international innovation and technology hub. With the support of the Central Government, we will work with other cities of the Greater Bay Area to enhance basic research capability and cross-boundary co-operation, better integrate industries, academia and research, develop platforms for innovation and promote commercial application of technological achievements.

     However, if Hong Kong is to realise the compelling promise of innovation and technology, we must ensure a sustainable flow of talent. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means providing and promoting science and technology education in our schools at every level, from primary and secondary through to our post-secondary institutions and technical colleges.

     I believe, as well, that the surest way to build an interest and enthusiasm for science among our younger generation is by creating opportunities for direct exchange and inspiring dialogue with some of the brightest minds in science. Having attended the 2017 and 2018 Shaw Prize ceremonies, presenting awards to eight Shaw laureates, I came to realise that the answer was right here in Hong Kong, Asia's world city. That by linking the Shaw Prize and its laureates to a youth-centred, science-driven, Hong Kong-based programme, we could make an impactful difference.

     After all, the Shaw Prize is dedicated to recognising and rewarding outstanding international contributions in three scientific disciplines: astronomy, life science and medicine, and the mathematical sciences. Established less than two decades ago, the Shaw Prize has become a world-renowned award. Of the nearly 80 Shaw laureates since the first awards in 2004, 12 are Nobel Prize winners, five are Fields Medalists and two are Abel Prize recipients.

     With the support of the Shaw Prize Foundation, I wrote to each and every Shaw laureate in January this year. I told them of our plans for an annual Hong Kong Laureate Forum and invited them to take part in the first Forum, scheduled for November 2021. I'm delighted that, to date, more than two-thirds have indicated their interest in participating, and four of them are with us today. It is their commitment that has brought us together today to launch the Hong Kong Laureate Forum.

     Apart from the Shaw laureates, I'm grateful as well to the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, which has very generously agreed to support the Forum as its principal sponsor. My thanks, too, to the Council of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum led by Professor Timothy Tong. The Council's Board has been entrusted with the critical responsibility of organising the Forum on an ongoing basis, beginning in 2021.

     In short, this visionary venture could only have come together through cross-sector collaboration on both a local and global basis. The results of that extraordinary connectivity are clearly visible in our esteemed audience today. They are academics and scientists, council chairmen and university presidents, senior members of research institutions and science and technology organisations, Executive Council and Legislative Council representatives, as well as consuls general and their colleagues from all over the world. There are, let me add, nearly 60 young and ambitious scientists among us. More than a few are potential participants in the inaugural Forum in 2021. We all look eagerly forward to that.

     Ladies and gentlemen, let's join hands to make the Hong Kong Laureate Forum a shining example of furthering the understanding of science and its contribution to humanity. Thank you very much.

        

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, and the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, met the media this afternoon (May 14).  Following is the transcript of remarks at the media session:
      
Reporter: Mr Cheung, does that mean that the tripartite talk is not a good solution for now? And would the Government consider any changes to the bill? And I mean, is it better to, you know, put the bill to the full LegCo meeting? Thank you.
 
Chief Secretary for Administration: First of all, if the tripartite talk is about internal procedure of the Legislative Council, which is the issue at the moment, arguing about who should be the Chairman of the Committee concerned, but not the substance of the bill, not the content of the bill, then, it will be inappropriate for the Administration, for the executive authorities to intervene in what is essentially an internal procedural issue of the Legislature. That’s pretty clear. Internal procedure has to be dealt with internally. They have got to iron out the differences entirely through their own internal mechanism. That’s why I understand that Honorable Abraham Shek will be writing to the House Committee Chairman this evening. I think it much depends on the future direction coming out from these exchanges. We are closely following developments here. Okay? The second thing, as I said earlier, my door is always open. I’m here representing the HKSAR Government, speaking and extending a welcome to any political party if they want to discuss the substance of the bill itself, I stand ready. My door is always open, you know. We are ready to listen, we are ready to exchange views, and if there is any constructive idea which we can adopt to clarify any concerns about the bill, we stand ready to consider them.
 
Reporter: But the thing is, the procedural clash is due to the opposite stance of the two camps. So, why did the Government still refuse to do the tripartite meeting, which can, if the Government compromises in some sense, the controversy can be solved? And secondly, if the Government, according to you, is unwilling to do any compromise, why do you hold this press conference? And thirdly, the pan-democrats are calling for withdrawal of the bill, and at least to suspend it to have more talks or to solve this Taiwan case, and for this case only, and then for the other amendments then that’s the second step. So why doesn’t the Government consider this option?
 
Chief Secretary for Administration: As I said, it is a procedural issue. The argument is who should be the Chairman of the Committee concerned, right? It’s an internal procedure of the Legislative Council. It’s got to be ironed out internally, because it will be improper for the Administration to interfere in the internal procedural issue of the Legislature. That point is pretty clear, alright? As I said, our door is always open to discuss any concern about the Bill. We are not closing our door entirely. Any political party, if they want to come to see us, express their view and so on, they are more than welcome. As I said, my door is always open and I stand ready to discuss.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) 
 

     Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, after attending a meeting of the Legislative Council's Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene today (May 14):

Reporter: (Regarding the culling operation at Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse) Are we going to see the disinfection coming up? And also, the closure of the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse also affected the supply of live beef and mutton. What responses and steps are the Government going to take?

Secretary for Food and Health: Regarding the culling of the pigs, they have already culled nearly all the pigs. Right now, our latest information shows that there are only 300 pigs left. Therefore, after colleagues have culled all the pigs, colleagues will start the cleaning as well as the disinfection work, and hopefully this will be done within one week, so that the slaughtering of the pigs, cows and sheep will be resumed as soon as possible and practical. It is for the public good that we closed the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse. Therefore, I hope everybody would be patient in the next few days while we are cleaning and disinfecting the slaughterhouse.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     An employer was prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) under the Employment Ordinance (EO) for failing to pay three employees' wages and defaulting on the sums awarded by the Labour Tribunal (LT). The employer pleaded guilty at Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (May 14) and was fined $76,500. The employer was also ordered to pay outstanding sums of about $76,000 via the court to the three employees.

     The employer failed to pay three employees' wages about $76,000 within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and termination of employment as required by the EO. Also, the employer failed to pay the employees the same awarded sum within 14 days after the date set out by the terms of the LT award in accordance with the EO. 

     "The ruling helps disseminate a strong message to all employers that they have to pay employees wages within the time limit in accordance with the EO and awarded sums according to the terms of the awards issued by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board" a spokesman for the LD said.

     "The LD will not tolerate these offences and will continue to make dedicated efforts in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesman added.