Police today (January 28) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Lantau South.

     Chung Kwok-fai, aged 45, went missing after he was last seen on South Lantau Road near Fu Kong Shan Road on January 26 morning. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     He is about 1.7 metres tall, 50 kilograms in weight and of thin build. He has a square face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a brown long-sleeved windbreaker, blue jeans and carrying a blue rucksack.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1174 or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     Police today (January 28) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Sau Mau Ping.

     Yeung Choi-tai, aged 59, went missing after she left her residence in Sau Mau Ping Estate yesterday (January 27) afternoon. Her family made a report to Police on the same day.
       
     She is about 1.5 metres tall, 63 kilograms in weight and of fat build. She has a round face with yellow complexion and short black hair. She was last seen wearing a red and white long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black sports shoes.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0316 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) today (January 28) held a briefing session to introduce to medical and healthcare professionals new training resources aimed at enhancing their knowledge of and sensitivity towards sexual minorities. Around 80 representatives from various professional bodies from the medical and healthcare sector attended the briefing.

     The training resources have been developed by clinical psychologists of the Social Welfare Department who have rich experience in designing and teaching relevant courses. The resources comprise two parts. The first part is the generic content aimed at enhancing the knowledge of medical and healthcare professionals on the fundamental concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the concerns of and services needed by sexual minorities. The second part is related specifically to the medical and healthcare field, including the possible scenarios the practitioners may encounter and the handling skills they can adopt when providing services to sexual minorities, as well as the sources for obtaining further information and advice in dealing with complicated cases.

     Addressing the briefing session, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, said, "The Government has all along been committed to promoting equal opportunities for people of different sexual orientations and transgendered persons with a view to fostering the culture and values of inclusiveness, mutual respect and non-discrimination. One of the key initiatives is to provide domain-specific training resources to cater for the needs of different fields to enhance the knowledge and sensitivity of respective practitioners towards sexual minorities.

     "I express my gratitude to all the experts who have helped draw up the training resources, and all the medical and healthcare professionals who have generously shared their invaluable advice. This has enabled us to produce suitable training resources that cater well for the actual circumstances and needs of the medical and healthcare industry. I hope that the training resources would be included as part of the pre-service or in-service training of the various medical and healthcare departments, institutions and organisations so that practitioners can provide more suitable services to sexual minorities.

     "We will also continue to roll out training resources targeting social workers, human resources professionals and teachers in due course."

     He added, "In addition to drawing up these training resources, we have been supporting sexual minorities by implementing a series of measures, including subsidising a 24-hour support hotline, PRIDE Line, operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. PRIDE Line provides instant support, counselling and referral services for sexual minorities and their family members to relieve the stress and difficulties they face in everyday life. Since its establishment in January last year, the hotline has provided services to over 2 400 users. Regular support groups and interest classes have also been organised for different groups of sexual minorities.

     "At the same time, we have been actively promoting to employers the Code of Practice against Discrimination in Employment on the Ground of Sexual Orientation. At present, more than 300 organisations employing over 500 000 employees have adopted the Code. We are also drawing up a charter on non-discrimination of sexual minorities covering various domains for voluntary adoption by service providers. We will continue our efforts in promotion and education through multiple channels such as online platforms, television, radio, newspapers, seminars and briefings to promote the message of equal opportunities for people of different sexual orientations and transgendered persons."

     Medical and healthcare professional bodies that are interested in further understanding the training resources are welcome to contact the CMAB Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Unit by phone at 2810 3205 or by email to gisou@cmab.gov.hk.

     The Lands Department announced today (January 28) that in respect of the tender for the site New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6575 at Kai Tak Area 4B Site 2, Kai Tak, Kowloon, which was awarded on December 27, 2018, to the successful tenderer, Macfull Limited (parent company: China Overseas Land and Investment Limited), on a 50-year land grant at a premium of $8,033,880,000, the tender amounts submitted by the unsuccessful tenderers in descending order are published on an anonymous basis as follows:

(1) $7,249,000,000
(2) $6,566,000,000
(3) $5,980,000,000
(4) $5,718,000,000
(5) $4,690,000,000

     The information disclosed in this press release is for information only.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, this morning (January 28) met with the Founder of the Heritage Foundation, Dr Edwin Feulner, at Government House and received from him a copy of the recently published 2019 Index of Economic Freedom report. The report again ranked Hong Kong as the world's freest economy, a title which Hong Kong has received in each of the past 25 years since publication of the Index began.
 
     Mrs Lam said she was very pleased to meet Dr Feulner, as well as the Director of the Center for International Trade and Economics of the Heritage Foundation, Mr Terry Miller, and the Research Manager of the Center for International Trade and Economics and Editor of the Index of Economic Freedom of the Heritage Foundation, Mr Anthony Kim, again in Hong Kong and expressed her gratitude to the Heritage Foundation for affirming Hong Kong's commitment in upholding the free market principles over the years. She said she was pleased that Hong Kong's overall score remained at 90.2 in this year's report, making it once again the only economy to attain an overall score higher than 90. The report recognised Hong Kong's economic resilience, high-quality legal framework, low tolerance for corruption, high degree of government transparency, efficient regulatory framework and openness to global commerce.
 
     Mrs Lam said that with economic globalisation and increasingly keen competition between cities in the region, Hong Kong has to keep moving forward. Adding that Hong Kong will continue to facilitate free market operation and improve the environment for doing business, including the launch of the tax concession measures in this financial year, she said Hong Kong will give full play to its unique advantages and enhance its international competitiveness to consolidate its leading status as an international city and financial centre.
 
     However, Hong Kong's rating for "judicial effectiveness" in the 2019 report is lower than that of last year. The report said that the judiciary is independent, but Beijing reserves the right to make final interpretations of the Basic Law, effectively limiting the power of Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal. Disagreeing with this view, Mrs Lam emphasised to Dr Feulner that the power of interpretation of the Basic Law is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) and that the arrangement of enabling the Court of Final Appeal to exercise the power of final adjudication over court cases and the NPCSC to exercise the power of final interpretation of the Basic Law is a unique arrangement which realises "One Country, Two Systems" and a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong. The relevant constitutional order has been implemented fully in Hong Kong since its return to the motherland, ensuring the city's prosperity and stability. She said that, as pointed out by the report, judicial effectiveness requires efficient and fair judicial systems and that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's independent judicial power and the power of final adjudication are protected by the Basic Law. The fairness and impartiality of the judiciary, which is free from any interference, are beyond doubt.