Police today (June 11) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Tuen Mun. Tsui Yiu-ling, aged 56, went missing after she was last seen at Light Rail Town Centre Stat… read more
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (June 11) ordered the temporary closure of a fresh provision shop in Yau Ma Tei for thorough disinfection following detection of Vibrio cholera in a water sample c… read more
The Government welcomed the passage of the Housing (Amendment) Bill 2025 by the Legislative Council today (June 11), which seeks to combat tenancy abuse more effectively and thus ensure the prudent use of public housing resources.
The series of measures includes: (i) introducing new offences of serious tenancy abuse of public rental housing (PRH) flats; (ii) empowering authorised officers to demand personal details from suspects; and (iii) extending the limitation of time for prosecution of offences of false statements, refusal to furnish information and unlawful alienations. Meanwhile, the Amendment Ordinance also empowers the Director of Housing to specify the forms for fixed penalty notice and demand notice to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) in combating unauthorised use of roads within housing estates.
The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, said, ”Public housing is a precious social resource that must be allocated to those in genuine need and utilised in a reasonable manner. The series of measures to be implemented under the Amendment Ordinance reflects the Government’s determination to combat abuse of PRH flats. The HA will continue to enhance its policies to ensure that public housing resources are focused on helping those in greatest need.”
The legislation as passed will be gazetted on June 20. The amendment empowering the Director of Housing to specify the forms of notices will come into operation upon gazettal. The other three new measures will take effect from March 31, 2026, onwards.
The HA will step up publicity efforts to ensure that PRH tenants and members of the public understand the contents of the new package of measures in combating PRH abuse. read more
Following is a question by the Hon Lillian Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):
Question:
The mental health of academic staff members and students in Hong Kong draws societal concern. There are views that the Government should strengthen the protection of their physical and mental health as well as to provide appropriate support services to the families of suicide victims concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of academic staff members and students committing suicide and attempting to commit suicide in each of the past five years and, among them, the numbers of cases in which death inquests were held, together with a breakdown by types of school (i.e. (i) primary school, (ii) secondary school and (iii) university);
(2) of the Government’s follow-up and support procedures in respect of cases of suicide attempts among academic staff members and students, including the policy bureaux involved, the category of professionals providing support services in those cases and the areas and extent of intervention, as well as details of the support services provided by them; and
(3) in respect of the suicide cases mentioned in (1), whether the Government has provided support services (e.g. professional emotional counselling services) to the families, relatives and friends of the suicide victims; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; primarily which government departments’ staff members to provide assistance to the families of suicide victims and inform them of their rights under the law (including the rights of the families to request for holding a death inquest)?
Reply:
President,
The Education Bureau (EDB) attaches great importance to the mental health of teachers and students, and has all along been encouraging schools to adopt the Whole School Approach. Through cross-departmental, cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration, the EDB enhances the mental health of teachers and students and provides enhanced support for students with mental health needs (including those with suicidal risk) via various measures and activities directed at three levels, namely Universal, Selective and Indicated. In recent years, the EDB has implemented a number of measures to support students’ mental health. This includes implementing the “4Rs Mental Health Charter” in the 2024/25 school year, with a view to helping students develop healthy living habits and positive interpersonal relationships, and enhancing their resilience. In addition, starting from the 2023/24 school year, the EDB has launched the Mental Health Literacy Resource Packages suitable for students at different learning stages. In consultation with the Social Welfare Department (SWD), our reply to the question raised by the Hon Lillian Kwok is as follows:
(1) and (2) The EDB has all along required primary and secondary schools to report fatal suspected student suicide cases. The numbers of relevant cases in primary and secondary schools in the past five years (2020 to 2024) are tabulated as follows. Of the cases reported, secondary students accounted for about 91 per cent of the total cases, while primary students accounted for about 9 per cent.
| Year | Number of cases |
| 2020 | 21 |
| 2021 | 25 |
| 2022 | 25 |
| 2023 | 32 |
| 2024 | 28 |
​The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health, in collaboration with the health authorities of Guangdong Province and Macao, today (June 11) conducted a public health exercise, code-named “Jingfeng”, to enhance the capacity of the three places to co-operate in preventing and controlling communicable diseases during major sports events. The exercise was held in preparation for the 15th National Games (15th NG), the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD), and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG), which will be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao this November and December.
The exercise simulated a scenario in which two players participating in the 15th NG basketball competition in Hong Kong were diagnosed with meningococcal infection while they were in the city. An epidemiological investigation revealed that some of their close contacts had already departed Hong Kong for Shenzhen and Macao respectively. In accordance with the established mechanism, Hong Kong immediately notified the health authorities of Guangdong and Macao. The health authorities of the three places promptly traced the cases and implemented appropriate infection control measures to prevent the spread of the communicable disease.
During the exercise, the CHP, together with the Guangdong Provincial Disease Control and Prevention Administration, the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Bureau of Macao conducted a drill and exchanged views on communicable disease surveillance, prevention, control and notification mechanisms during the 15th NG, and 12th NGD and 9th NSOG via a video conference. More than 30 officers from the health authorities of the three places participated in the exercise.
Before the commencement of the exercise, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, gave a speech. “The 15th NG, and NGD and NSOG are the largest and highest-level national multisport events in the country. It is of great strategic significance for the health authorities of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to jointly organise this exercise on communicable disease prevention and control at the countdown stage of the opening of the Games. Through the simulation, we hope to achieve three major objectives: to strengthen the joint prevention mechanism of the three places; to build a solid risk identification defense; and to consolidate the foundation of event protection. This will allow the top athletes in the country to demonstrate the country’s sports prowess under a ‘zero significant outbreak, zero cross-infections’ condition, and showcase the country’s excellence in public health governance to the world,” he said.
Dr Lam added that since its establishment, the CHP has organised a total of 32 emergency response exercises and drills, simulating human cases of avian influenza, measles, plagues and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. As Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are geographically and culturally connected, only through close collaboration can the three centres cope with major public health challenges. In the future, the three places will continue to strengthen joint efforts in the prevention and control of communicable diseases. They will maintain communication and collaboration on aspects such as the prevention and control of communicable diseases, and the development of the public health system, with a view to enhancing global health safety standards. They will also fulfil the tripartite co-operation agreement on public health emergencies and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Health Cooperation Consensus.
Apart from the health authorities of the three places, representatives from the Medical and Health Office of the Comprehensive Security Department of the Guangdong Provincial Executive Committees for the 15th NG, NGD and NSOG, National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Fire Services Department and the Hospital Authority have also sent their staff to observe the exercise.
