The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (June 16) investigating a cluster of Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) involving six residents of a residential care home for the e… read more
Three incoming female passengers were each sentenced to three to four months’ imprisonment with a fine of $1,000 at the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts today (June 16) for possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs Officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
Customs officers intercepted three incoming female passengers, aged 25 to 42, at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point on June 14 and the Lo Wu Control Point yesterday (June 15). A total of 30 162 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $123,000 and a duty potential of about $99,000, were seized from their personal baggage. They were subsequently arrested.
Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, tobacco products are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/en/).
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank (HKBMB) held its opening ceremony today (June 16), marking a milestone in neonatal care and demonstrating the joint commitment of the Government, the HA and the community to protect the most vulnerable lives and give them a healthy start in life.
The ceremony was officiated by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau. Other distinguished guests included the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan; and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko.
In his address, Professor Lo said, “The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address proposed the establishment of a breast milk bank and a donation mechanism to benefit premature and critically ill newborns. After over a year of effort, the HKBMB began operations in early January this year. In just six months, more than 230 mothers have registered as breast milk donors, providing a precious gift to newborns in clinical need. I sincerely thank all the mothers who selflessly donated their breast milk and encourage citizens to support breastfeeding and motivate more mothers to join the breast milk donation. The Government has been dedicated to promoting breastfeeding, and currently, there are eight public hospitals with obstetrics and gynaecology departments and one private hospital certified as Baby Friendly Hospitals. Additionally, 15 Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) have been certified as Baby Friendly Health Facility. The Government and frontline healthcare teams will continue to work tirelessly to promote breastfeeding and breast milk donation.”
Mr Fan said, “Currently, more than 230 mothers have successfully registered as donors, donating a total of over 900 litres of breast milk, benefiting 120 infants. The results have far exceeded expectations.” He thanked the obstetric and paediatric healthcare staff of public hospitals, the MCHCs of the Department of Health (DH), private hospitals and breastfeeding advocacy groups for their tireless efforts in promoting to and recruiting donors. The success of the HKBMB is truly a collective achievement.
Breast milk donors and parents of recipient infants were invited to the opening ceremony to share their journeys on stage. A donor identified as Yoyo expressed that every life is worth cherishing and described donating breast milk together with her daughter as life-saving and meaningful. Another donor, identified as Fuk, said the establishment of the HKBMB ensures that every drop of mother’s milk is put to good use by helping babies in need. Together, they encouraged recipient families, “We hope to be a support for families of premature babies and to safeguard the healthy growth of the next generation.”
Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Tong’s premature twin daughters were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit right after birth. After learning from healthcare staff about the benefits of breast milk for premature infants and the rigorous operation of the HKBMB, they decided to give their daughters donor breast milk while Mrs Tong also worked hard to pump more breast milk herself. Eventually, the twins recovered and were discharged. Mrs Tong was able to produce enough breast milk to feed her children.
Mrs Tong said, “Donor breast milk greatly alleviated my anxiety as a new mother at that time. I feel very fortunate to have access to this new service. Donor mothers are so loving, spending time and effort to pump milk so that babies can benefit. I am truly grateful for their contribution.”
The HKBMB began operations in early January this year, and started recruiting donors and collecting milk. By the end of March, it was supplying breast milk to all neonatal intensive care units in nine public hospitals across Hong Kong for infants with clinical needs.
The HKBMB has set up a breast milk donor service centre on the ground floor lobby of Tower B of Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, providing information, counselling and breastfeeding support. Members of the public can also visit the HKBMB website (www.ha.org.hk/hkch/hkbmb) for more information and register as breast milk donors. There are also related leaflets available in obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics departments in public hospitals, as well as MCHCs under the DH.
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (June 16) chaired the second meeting of the fourth-term Human Resources Planning Commission.
At the meeting, Mr Chan, also the Chairman of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents (CETT), introduced the CETT’s work to the members. The Chief Executive announced in the 2024 Policy Address the establishment of the CETT, which is responsible for co-ordinating cross-bureau efforts to drive technological innovation, industrial innovation and the co-ordinated development of human resource supply and demand on the basis of strategic positioning and advantages of the “eight centres”, while flexibly bringing in and gathering specialised talent from various sectors to build an international hub for high-calibre talent for contributing to the high-quality development of the country and the building of a strong nation. Members exchanged views on how to advance the integrated development of education, technology and talent, and expressed their continued support for the relevant work of the CETT.
The Education Bureau (EDB) at the meeting introduced to members the work on promoting the development of universities of applied sciences (UAS). In pursuance of the strategy to develop vocational and professional education and training (VPET) through fostering industry-institution collaboration and diversified development, the EDB announced in February 2024 the criteria for qualifying as a UAS and allocated a start-up fund of $100 million to support the establishment of the Alliance of UAS (the Alliance) in November of the same year, with a view to promoting the development of UAS in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Metropolitan University and Saint Francis University went through stringent procedures last year and successfully became the first two UAS in Hong Kong. Members supported the Government’s continued efforts in promoting the innovative development of VPET, and provided opinions on the relevant work and work plan of the Alliance.
In addition, the Security Bureau also briefed members on the measures to facilitate the southbound and northbound two-way flow of Mainland and Hong Kong high-end talent, which include exit endorsements for talent and business visits to enable Mainland residents to travel to Hong Kong, as well as multiple-entry visas and the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (non-Chinese Citizens) to benefit non-Chinese Hong Kong residents travelling to the Mainland. Members were pleased to note that these measures would enhance the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)’s strategic planning on the mobility of talent and expedite the development of a talent hub in the GBA, fully reflecting Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of being closely connected to the world with the strong support of the motherland under the “one country, two systems” framework.
Members were also briefed by the Labour and Welfare Bureau on the arrangements for admission of professionals of specified skilled trades to Hong Kong. The new arrangements, formulated under the CETT’s steer, allows young and experienced non-degree professionals to apply for entry into Hong Kong under the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals to join eight skilled trades facing acute manpower shortages. Applicants are required to be non-degree professionals meeting the relevant qualifications as specified in the Technical Professional List, and be aged between 18 and 40. The new channel will accept applications starting June 30 for a period of three years, with an overall quota of 10 000, with the quota for each skilled trade limited to 3 000. Members welcomed the new arrangements, and anticipated that this measure would effectively address the shortage of mid-level technical professionals and inject new impetus into the relevant trades.
​The Department of Health (DH) today (June 16) organised the first workshop to provide guidance and share good practices and real-life experiences on submitting applications under the “1+” mechanism with the pharmaceutical industry and relevant stakeholders. The DH aims to work with the pharmaceutical industry to achieve the goals of early consultation to enhance quality and efficiency throughout the process so that registration approval can be expedited, thereby bringing more good drugs for use in Hong Kong.
“The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” announced that a consultation service for new drug applications (NDAs) under the “1+” mechanism would be introduced to enhance the efficiency in processing relevant applications. The consultation service comprises three components, including briefing seminars, workshops and pre-NDA meetings. The first workshop held today attracted over 90 participants from local pharmaceutical and consultancy companies.
Additionally, since March of this year, the DH has organised four briefing seminars to brief the trade and stakeholders on the basic requirements and procedures for Hong Kong drug registration under the “1+” mechanism. These seminars have attracted approximately 200 representatives from pharmaceutical companies, consultancy firms and research institutes, etc, in and outside of Hong Kong. The response from the trade was very positive and the DH will continue to organise workshops and briefing seminars from time to time. The next briefing seminar is scheduled for August 12 and online registration is open. The materials of the briefing seminar have been uploaded to the thematic webpage on the “1+” mechanism for the trade’s reference.
As for one-on-one pre-NDA meetings with potential applicants under the “1+” mechanism, the DH will launch them in the fourth quarter of this year as planned. As the trade gains a better understanding of the application process through the briefing seminars and workshops, the pre-NDA meetings will greatly improve the quality of the application documents and hence the processing efficiency. Details of the arrangements of the pre-NDA meetings will be announced in due course.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government implemented the “1+” mechanism on November 1, 2023, and has extended it to all new drugs from November 1, 2024, including all new chemical or biological entities and new indications, and vaccines and advanced therapy products. Under the “1+” mechanism, new drugs which are supported by local clinical data and recognised by local relevant experts can be applied for registration in Hong Kong by submitting approval from the drug regulatory authority of one of the reference places (instead of two in the past).
The “1+” mechanism serves to attract more new drugs from different parts of the world seeking approval for registration in Hong Kong, giving patients more choices and further strengthening the local capacity for drug evaluation while enhancing the development of relevant software, hardware and expertise with a view to progressing towards “primary evaluation”. Since its implementation, registration of a total of 11 new drugs has been approved under this mechanism. These included five new drugs (including two drugs for treating colorectal cancer, one for treating paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, and two for treating secondary hyperparathyroidism and certain hypercalcaemia) that have already been approved for listing on the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary, facilitating more good drugs for use in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the Government will expedite the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, including announcing the timetable for establishing the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation and a roadmap towards “primary evaluation” very soon, aiming to spur the growth of new industries in pharmaceutical and medical device research and development and testing.
