Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuet-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):
      
Question:

     While the Government has indicated that it has all along been committed to promoting “Sports for All”, there are views pointing out that there has been a persistent short supply of sports venues of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), and in particular, popular sports facilities such as badminton courts and basketball courts are in high demand. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective usage rates of the LCSD’s major sports facilities in various districts during peak hours (i.e. at or after 6pm from Mondays to Fridays, and any time on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays) in the past three years;

(2) whether the LCSD has short, medium and long-term plans in place to increase the number of sports facilities in the community to encourage more members of the public to participate in sports; if so, of the plans; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that the Government launched the “Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme” (the Scheme) in 2017 to encourage schools to open up their school facilities for leasing to sports organisations, of the implementation situation of the Scheme in the past year, including the number of schools participating in the Scheme, the total number of occasions in which and duration for which the facilities were leased out, as well as the total amount of subsidies disbursed; and

(4) as there are views that at present, the Scheme is exclusively available for facility rentals by specific sports organisations and limits its ability to benefit more members of the public, whether the Government will gradually open up the eligibility criteria of the Scheme to allow more community groups (e.g. District Council members and the District Services and Community Care Teams) to use the facilities, as well as study the feasibility of opening up school facilities for booking by members of the public through the LCSD’s intelligent sports and recreation services booking and information system “SmartPLAY”, thereby increasing the provision of sports venues in various districts in the long run; if so, of the specific plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Education Bureau, the reply to the questions raised by the Hon Chan Yuet-ming is as follows:

(1) The usage rate of major land-based sports facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) during peak hours in the past three years are at Annex 1.

(2) To encourage broader public participation in sports, the LCSD has been adopting a multi-pronged approach to enhance different types of sports and recreation facilities to promote sports development.

     The LCSD is actively implementing the five-year plan for upgrading football pitches to provide more football pitches meeting international standards. As at end-April 2025, out of the 61 works projects commenced, 59 were completed. The LCSD will continue to work with relevant works departments to conduct technical feasibility study for other improvement projects for gradual implementation with a view to promoting the development of football in Hong Kong.

     Meanwhile, the LCSD is implementing the Five-Year Plan for Sports and Recreation Facilities and the 10-Year Development Blueprint for Sports and Recreation Facilities, which include 41 works projects. So far, out of the 25 projects commenced, 13 have been completed or partially completed. In addition, technical feasibility studies for 16 projects have been completed or are in preparation. We are reviewing the order of priority of the works projects under planning with a view to using the public resources more effectively to plan for new sports and recreation facilities and improve existing ones continuously.

     Besides, the LCSD plans and takes forward works projects in collaboration with other government departments to increase and improve existing sports and recreation facilities. For instance, the re-provisioned skateboard ground at the On Lok Mun Street Playground in Fanling, which opened in April 2025, has been upgraded to meet the relevant international standards.

     The LCSD will continue to increase and improve sports and recreation facilities with a view to meeting the demand of the public and fostering a strong sporting culture.

(3) The data for the “Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme” is as follows:

	2023/24 school year
Number of participating schools	225
Number of schools paired with sports organisations	116
Number of programmes	535
Total duration of programmes (Note)	12 840 hours
Total amount of subsidies disbursed	$15.56 million

Note: Calculated on the basis that the 535 programmes successfully held in the school year have each accessed the relevant facilities for a cumulative total of 24 hours at minimum in the school year.

(4) The Government encourages schools to open up their facilities for outside sports organisations to hold sports programmes after school hours through the “Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme”. To ensure that the sports organisations have the capability to effectively conduct sports programmes at schools, the Scheme is currently opened for National Sports Associations recognised by the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and their affiliated club members, district sports associations, and sports organisations subvented by the LCSD. Other organisations that are interested in participating in the Scheme and meeting the specific criteria (see Annex 2) may also apply to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau for participation.

     The main purpose of school premises is for students to learn and engage in extracurricular activities. Opening up school facilities to all organisations and/or members of the public would involve complicated administrative arrangements. In addition to management, security, health, and liability insurance concerns, many schools are concerned about the additional costs arising from opening up school facilities. The Education Bureau has been encouraging schools to assume social responsibility by opening up, as far as practical, their school facilities and premises to public groups. However, given that the education sector remains conservative about opening up school facilities to all organisations and/or members of the public, the Government has no plan to open up school facilities to all organisations and/or members of the public for direct bookings at this stage. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Holden Chow and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):   Question:     &nb… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Joephy Chan and a reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):

Question:

     Last year, the Government optimised the services of the 1823 Contact Centre by fully introducing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to enhance its effectiveness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the current respective ratios of application of AI technology in the various service aspects of the 1823 Contact Centre, such as case triage, automated responses and handling of citizens’ voicemail messages and enquiries;

(2) of the respective numbers and proportions of cases in which the handling was directly completed by the 1823 AI chatbot and those which required referral to staff for handling in the past 12 months; the respective numbers and proportions of citizens who opted for the 1823 self-service options (e.g. AI chatbot service) and those who chose to contact hotline staff directly in the past 12 months; whether a survey has been conducted on citizens’ overall satisfaction with the 1823 AI chatbot service; and

(3) as it is learnt that Beijing has deepened its reform of immediate public complaint processing in order to implement the people-centred concept by adopting a “precise classification and intelligent assignment” mechanism to enhance the overall capacity of the Beijing 12345 citizen hotline for processing public complaints, whether the Government will draw upon such experience to further utilise technologies such as big data to optimise 1823 services and extend their application to non-telephone channels such as email and mobile applications, so as to comprehensively enhance service efficiency and address livelihood issues, thereby strengthening citizens’ sense of fulfilment, happiness and security; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Joephy Chan is as follows:
 
     Operated by the Digital Policy Office, the 1823 one-stop platform provides 24-hour cross-departmental customer service to help answer public enquiries about the services of 23 government bureaux/departments (B/Ds), and receive complaints and service requests for all B/Ds. In addition to telephone hotline, citizens can now use 1823 service through channels such as mobile app, website, email and e-form. In 2024, the total usage volume of 1823 reached 7.55 million.
 
     Generally speaking, upon receipt of public enquiries or complaints from various channels, 1823 will classify them into two broad types for processing. For public enquiries concerning participating B/Ds, 1823 will answer them directly; for complaints regarding government services, 1823 will refer them to the relevant B/Ds for relevant follow-up.
 
     Currently, 1823 has widely adopted artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovative technologies in various service areas to make its work process more automated and smart. These measures include:

(1) At the case triage stage, 1823 employs AI speech recognition technology and algorithms to analyse the content of citizens’ incoming calls and written submissions, automatically assigning cases to staff familiar with the respective subject matter, thereby enhancing work efficiency. For cases that require referral to other departments, 1823 also uses a business rule engine integrated with the Lands Department’s geographic information platform to swiftly refer cases to designated units of relevant departments based on factors such as case nature, time and location; 

(2) For written enquiries handled directly by 1823, we use generative AI technology to assist 1823 staff in drafting responses, thereby enhancing the case processing speed; 

(3) 1823 adopts AI speech-to-text technology to transcribe voice messages into text and thus expedite the work process; and 

(4) Since 2023, 1823 has progressively introduced and enhanced self-service channels, including an AI chatbot, a smart interactive voice response system, and online self-service enquiry service. These channels handle citizens’ general or common enquiries in real time, while allowing resources to be focused on more complicated cases. 

     The above measures demonstrate that we have integrated AI into the major operational areas of 1823 to enhance the efficiency of case intake, triage, referral, handling and resolution. The proportion of citizens using the related smart services has also increased.

     In 2023, the usage volume of 1823 digital self-services was nearly 3.9 million, surpassing traditional manual services (i.e. calls, emails, e-forms, text messages, etc, that require manual processing) for the first time. The usage volume of self-services continued to increase by 10 per cent to 4.26 million times in 2024, which accounted for about 56 per cent of total. Taking the 1823 AI chatbot as an example, it now handles over 10 000 enquiries monthly, which is a two-fold increase compared to 2023, with a resolution rate of over 90 per cent.
 
     The effectiveness of technological applications in enhancing 1823 service performance is also reflected in our customer satisfaction survey. On a five-point scale, the 1823’s overall customer satisfaction score in 2024 was 4.60, up from 4.56 in 2023 and 4.52 in 2022.
 
     The enhancement of 1823 service will continue. We will further strengthen the 1823 mechanisms for case classification, triage and referral, focusing on operational data analysis and case handling process. In addition, we will further expand the use or trial of AI in different service areas and interfaces. For example, we will use AI to capture case information from emails for inputting to the case management system; provide digital self-service for case progress tracking; and enhance the question-answering capabilities of chatbot, etc, to improve operational efficiency and user experience.

     Thank you, President. read more

     â€‹Following is a question by Dr the Hon Hoey Simon Lee and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):

Question:

     Many members of the public have relayed that under the circumstances of a lack of parking spaces, some businesses are occupying on-street parking spaces in various districts on a long-term basis or blocking them with objects in order to use such parking spaces for commercial activities. There are views that such practices defeat the original purpose of installing parking meters to prevent prolonged parking and occupation of road space by vehicles, violate the principle of fair use of public resources, and adversely affect motorists’ convenience when going out. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the measures taken by the Government in the past three years to combat the illegal long-term occupation of on-street parking spaces, and the relevant enforcement situation;

(2) as there are views pointing out that the long-term occupation of on-street parking spaces or their blockage with objects by businesses has existed in various districts for many years, what specific measures the Government has in place to step up efforts in combatting such practices; and

(3) as it is learnt that at present, some Mainland cities have implemented number plate recognition systems by installing sensors to identify vehicles in parking spaces to assist with enforcement, whether the authorities will consider introducing similar systems or other innovative technological devices at on-street parking spaces to assist law enforcement agencies in combatting the illegal occupation of on-street parking spaces, including long-term occupation, blockage with objects and holding of commercial activities?

Reply:

President,

     It is the Government’s policy to centre on public transport, and the Government encourages the public to make good use of the public transport services as far as possible, so as to avoid aggravating the burden on road traffic resulting from excessive private cars (PCs). In response to the parking demand for both PCs and commercial vehicles, over the past years, the Government has been actively pursuing a host of short-term and medium-to-long-term measures, to increase the supply of parking spaces where circumstances permit. Over the past three years, the number of metered parking spaces (metered spaces) has increased by more than 2 300. Having consulted the Transport Department (TD) and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), a consolidated reply in response to the questions raised by Dr the Hon Hoey Simon Lee is as follows:

(1) and (2) The Government has all along been combatting the illegal occupation of metered spaces, deterring fare evasion and other forms of illegal use, to enhance turnover and ensure these spaces meet short-term parking needs. The HKPF conducts inspections and takes enforcement actions against unpaid parking, and maintains close co-ordination with relevant departments, such as the TD, at the district level for ongoing monitoring. Since 2021, the new-generation parking meter system, equipped with sensors, can detect real-time occupancy and enable the TD to identify unpaid metered spaces through its backend computer system. The TD shares this information with the HKPF via a dedicated application to facilitate enforcement. In terms of actual operation, the meter operator engaged by the TD provides information of unpaid but occupied metered spaces detected by the meters’ sensors to the HKPF for follow-up, and dispatches personnel to regularly patrol parking meters in various districts. If any unlawful occupation of metered spaces is observed, the contractor will report the situation to relevant departments (for example, the HKPF, the Lands Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) for enforcement. Currently, the contractor conducts daily inspections, and refers an average of about 120 000 cases per year to the HKPF for non-payment of parking fees, and the number of referrals concerning parking spaces occupied by non-vehicle items to the HKPF and other relevant departments has risen over the past three years to over 200 cases. The TD also refers public complaints to the appropriate authorities for action. Additionally, the HKPF continues its public awareness and education efforts. Between 2021 and 2024, the number of metered spaces increased by over 10 per cent, while revenue from metered parking fees rose by more than 40 per cent, suggesting improved compliance with paid parking regulations.

     Regarding enforcement against other forms of illegal occupation, section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance stipulates that anyone who leaves objects in a public place – such as pallets/shop goods to reserve spaces – without reasonable excuse, causing obstruction, inconvenience, or danger to others or vehicles, is liable to a Level 4 fine ($25,000) or three months’ imprisonment.

(3) As mentioned above, the new generation parking meter system is equipped with sensors to detect the usage status of parking spaces in real time. The purpose of collecting information is to provide motorists with locations of vacant on-street parking spaces in real time, and does not have the function of identifying number plate numbers.

     Having said that, this information could assist the HKPF and the TD in identifying cases where metered spaces are occupied without payment, enabling targeted enforcement actions by the HKPF. The departments will continue to draw on experiences from other places and advancements in relevant technologies, actively exploring the adoption of new technologies to enhance the management and operational efficiency of metered spaces. The TD plans to conduct a two-month pilot scheme in the fourth quarter of 2025, adopting artificial intelligence sensors in targeted areas with greater demand for metered spaces and higher rates of illegal occupation of parking spaces. Depending on the success of the trial, we will expand the coverage of the scheme. Regarding number plate recognition systems, the TD remains open-minded and will assess their reliability alongside the cost-effectiveness of upgrading the meter system’s hardware and software holistically to determine their suitability for application in Hong Kong.

     Thank you, President. read more

     â€‹Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yung and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):
 
Question:
 
     There are views that the official public debut of Hong Kong’s first pair of locally born giant panda twins, elder sister Jia Jia and little brother De De, has sparked a new wave of “panda fever” in the city, which is currently home to six giant pandas, and the authorities should seize this opportunity to develop the panda tourism industrial chain, promote the growth of the panda tourism and related industries in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) since Hong Kong became home to six giant pandas, whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the direct economic benefits they have brought to Ocean Park; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the direct and indirect economic benefits brought to Hong Kong as a whole by the six giant pandas respectively (including the sales of panda merchandise and revenue growth across various trades and industries); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) whether the Government has further plans for the future to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the panda tourism and related industries in Hong Kong, e.g. Ocean Park’s subsequent plans to optimize facilities and services, as well as budget arrangements, or plans to develop the panda tourism industrial chain in collaboration with various trades and industries; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The reply to the questions raised by the Hon Chan Yung is as follows:

     The giant pandas An An and Ke Ke made their debut on December 8, 2024 at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures at Ocean Park, followed by the debut of the pigeon pair of giant panda twin cubs Jia Jia and De De on February 16, 2025 at the “Giant Panda Adventure” of the park. They have been well received by both locals and visitors, and Ocean Park’s attendance has since then increased by around 19 per cent over the same period last year. Together with giant pandas Ying Ying and Le Le, the Hong Kong giant panda family has brought additional revenue to Ocean Park by way of admission tickets, merchandise, etc. The Ocean Park Corporation’s overall financial performance for its Financial Year (FY) 2024-25, including the revenues on admission, food and beverages as well as merchandise in the same FY, will be reported in its 2024-25 Annual Report.

     The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), jointly with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Ocean Park, has collaborated with various parties in Hong Kong to organise a series of promotional activities themed “Come and Enjoy a Pandastic Hong Kong” since September 2024. The Hong Kong giant panda family has been serving as Hong Kong’s tourism ambassadors to promote “tourism is everywhere” travel experience in Hong Kong, attracting visitors from around the world to Hong Kong and driving tourism development. As a result of CSTB’s active promotion, different policy bureaux/departments, the tourism industry and related sectors have launched a number of promotional and marketing campaigns with the theme of giant pandas.

     The above promotional events and initiatives have successfully sparked the craze for giant pandas across the city, creating favourable conditions for various trades and industries and encouraging them to explore and seize the business opportunities, as well as attracting more visitors to Hong Kong. A number of large shopping malls in various districts have displayed giant panda decorations and installations; the catering sector has introduced various giant panda design products; the retail sector has rolled out a variety of crossover products featuring giant pandas; and the MTR Corporation Ltd has collaborated with Ocean Park to offer tourism products bundling High Speed Rail and Airport Express tickets with Ocean Park admission tickets, etc.

     Ocean Park has also actively partnered with various brands to launch giant panda-themed promotions and merchandise, such as giant panda design jewellery, accessories, stationery, household products, Chinese snacks, wood carving items, mobile accessories, red wine, “fai chuns”, red envelopes, cars. Currently, the number of giant panda-themed merchandise under Ocean Park’s catalogue has exceeded 500, which is fourfold of the number before the giant panda cubs were born. Many items of the merchandise are well received and the sales performance is satisfactory.

     Moreover, Ocean Park has launched “A Treasured Moment with the Giant Panda Twins” programme since February 18, 2025 to allow visitors to meet the giant panda cubs in the morning before the park opens, with a daily quota of 40 participants. The prgromme has so far attracted more than 3 000 enrolments. At the same time, Ocean Park is organising various giant panda workshops, such as “Giant Panda Discovery”, “Giant Panda Poo Paper Workshop” and “Wowotou Studio”, which allow the participants to learn about the physical features and habits of the giant pandas through hands-on experience and observation, as well as acquire knowledge of the conservation of giant pandas, thereby bringing a unique giant panda experience to both locals and visitors. It is anticipated that the above activities and promotions will continue to drive up Ocean Park’s attendance and revenues from ticketing and merchandise, etc.

     On promoting the further development of panda tourism, the CSTB will continue to work with the HKTB, Ocean Park and various sectors of the community to better seize the opportunities presented by the Hong Kong giant panda family and exercise creativity to launch more giant panda-related promotional activities and merchandise. The CSTB and the HKTB have also rendered full support for large-scale, giant panda-themed events hosted by other organisations. Those events organised in the past few months have garnered positive responses from locals and visitors. During the recent Dragon Boat Festival, the HKTB hosted the Dragon Boat Carnival featuring “Panda Friends@Ocean Park Hong Kong” festive photo spots. The Hong Kong giant panda family in festive costumes made their debut at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, allowing visitors to take photos with the giant panda family against the iconic backdrop of the Victoria Harbour. A pop-up store was also set up on site offering a great variety of giant panda-themed and festive merchandise. Both initiatives were well-received by the locals and visitors.

     The CSTB will continue to encourage Ocean Park to capitalise on its advantage of being home to the largest number of giant pandas outside the Mainland by launching more Hong Kong-themed giant panda-related promotional activities, merchandise, cultural and creative products, comics and animation products, video games, tourism products, etc., including designs using the giant pandas intellectual property (IP) which were created according to the physical features of the six giant pandas residing in Hong Kong. In addition to the extensive use of the relevant IP in Ocean Park’s social media contents and merchandise, Ocean Park will continue to make use of the relevant IP to launch giant panda-themed festive events, immersive experience activities, light shows, thematic performances, amusement facilities, etc.

     The 15th of this month is Father’s Day, which is also the first Father’s Day for Le Le as a father and hence of special significance. Additionally, the 26th and the 28th of this month are the first birthdays of Ke Ke and An An respectively after their arrival in Hong Kong while August 15 is the one-year-old birthday of Jia Jia and De De. The CSTB together with the HKTB and Ocean Park will launch a new wave of giant panda promotions to keep creating favourable conditions and business opportunities for Ocean Park and different sectors.

     As for the facilities for giant pandas, to provide the giant pandas with a habitat closely resembling the natural environment, Ocean Park completed the first phase of enhancement works in Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures before the arrival of An An and Ke Ke in September 2024, including addition of climbing frames, plants, etc., with sponsorships totalling about $9 million solicited from a number of private organisations. Furthermore, a funding of $121 million was received from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in September 2024 to take forward upgrading works for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures and the “Giant Panda Adventure”. The existing ecological facilities will be enhanced to provide the giant pandas with a high-quality, safe and age-appropriate living environment that closely resembles the natural habitat. The upgrading works is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2025 and to complete in the second quarter of 2027. read more