Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by Professor the Hon Lau Chi-pang and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):
 
Question:
 
     It is learnt that at present, quite a number of public housing estates (PHEs) in Hong Kong are provided with bicycle parking spaces for use by residents. However, some members of the public have from time to time relayed that the bicycles parked at such parking spaces have been damaged or even stolen. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the current number of PHEs provided with bicycle parking spaces and the number of bicycle parking spaces in each PHE; whether the Government has plans to review if such bicycle parking spaces are sufficient for use by residents based on the usage situation;
 
(2) of the total number of cases or complaints received by the Housing Department (HD) or the Police in the past five years about theft or criminal damage of bicycles parked at bicycle parking spaces in PHEs, and the number of PHEs involved;
 
(3) whether the HD has formulated specific guidelines and measures on the management of bicycle parking spaces, such as the frequency of inspections by security personnel and/or the number of surveillance devices, etc; if so, of the details; if not, whether it has plans to formulate the relevant guidelines and measures, so as to reduce the number of cases of bicycle theft or criminal damage; and
 
(4) given that the HD has earlier on launched “Well-being design” guide, which will serve as a reference for the future design of new PHEs and the improvement works of existing estates, and it is learnt that the newly completed Yip Wong Estate in Tuen Mun has adopted the “Health & Vitality” concept covered in the guide by placing the bicycle parking spaces near the Tuen Mun River cycle track so that residents can conveniently take their bicycles for cycling, whether the HD has plans to gradually review the management of bicycle parking spaces in various PHEs and apply the guide to older estates to enhance the quality of life of residents?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     The reply to the question raised by Professor the Hon Lau Chi-pang is as follows:
 
(1) to (3) The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) currently provides about 22 000 bicycle parking spaces in 72 public housing estates to facilitate residents’ temporary parking of their bicycles if necessary. The number of bicycle parking spaces in each public housing estate is at Annex. If the bicycles are not frequently used, residents should store their bicycles at home.
 
     The Housing Department has established guidelines and measures for frontline estate management staff on the use and management of bicycle parking spaces in public housing estates. It also issues notices to remind residents of the rules for using the bicycle parking spaces. If any irregularities are observed, frontline management staff may take possession of the bicycles or properties placed or abandoned in the bicycle parking spaces. To assist daily estate management, estate management offices may install closed circuit television surveillance system at suitable locations taking into account the environment and situation in individual estate. If residents found their bicycles stolen or damaged, they should report the case to the Police or frontline estate management staff for follow up. The HA does not keep a central record of the number of theft and criminal damage cases or complaints related to bicycle parking spaces in public housing estates. 
 
(4) In September 2024, the HA has published the “Well-being design” guide, which serves as a reference to the design of new public housing estates and the refurbishment works of existing estates in future. The “Urban Integration” well-being concept in the guide includes design suggestions fostering bicycle-friendly neighbourhoods. For example, in the newly completed Yip Wong Estate in Tuen Mun, the ingress and egress of the bicycle parking spaces are placed at a location that conveniently connects to the Government cycle track outside the Estate. Additionally, the bicycle parking area features distinctive mural decorations, making it easy for users to identify the location of their parking spaces. Apart from application of the “Well-being design” guide in new housing projects, the HA would also take into account the situation of individual public housing estate and the infrastructure in the neighbourhood, and introduce the same concepts to existing public housing estates to enhance the sense of well-being of the residents. read more

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Lo Wai-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):

Question:

     There are views that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is ever-evolving and has become an important driving force for developing new quality productive forces and promoting technological revolution and industrial transformation. It has been reported that some AI enterprises on the Mainland have recently developed large language model with higher efficiency and lower cost, demonstrating the enormous potential of AI innovation. Moreover, the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint published by the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau in 2022 proposes to focus on the development of AI and data science industries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will expeditiously formulate a comprehensive AI development blueprint and strategy, and provide comprehensive supporting policy measures in respect of the cooperation among the Government and the industry, academia, research and investment sectors, including the formulation of relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, land supply, dedicated funding, tax concessions, training and admission of talents, technological research and development (R&D), market development and regional cooperation, so as to capitalise on Hong Kong’s edge to promote AI’s R&D and application with enhanced speed and efficiency; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; 

(2) whether it will allocate additional resources to expedite the admission and training of AI talents and support the application of AI in the industries and public services, as well as encourage people engaging in different industries to learn to make use of AI to comprehensively upgrade their skills through subsidy schemes such as the Continuing Education Fund, with a view to promoting the empowerment of industries and business with AI; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether it will further strengthen the coordination with the Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in respect of promoting AI development, particularly when the Mainland has successively introduced policy initiatives such as the Implementation Opinions of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province on expediting the creation of a hub for innovation in general AI in the province and Measures of the Shenzhen Municipality for building an AI pioneer city, whether Hong Kong will explore with the Mainland ways to strengthen the relevant cooperation and positive interaction; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,

     In respect of the question raised by Dr the Hon Lo Wai-kwok, having consolidated the information provided by the Education Bureau and the Labour and Welfare Bureau, my reply is as follows:

(1) Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the core of developing new quality productive forces. It is a key industry that Hong Kong is committed to developing, and it lends support to the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries. The Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint (the Blueprint) published by the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) at the end of 2022 has proposed to focus on the development of AI industry, setting out clear strategic directions and detailed action plan for promoting the development of AI in Hong Kong. On this basis, the Government has been implementing a series of initiatives to support the development of AI in recent years, thereby realising the AI development strategy. Key initiatives include:

(i) Continuously nurture local talents and gather top-notch researchers from all around the world, as well as foster global research collaboration, through the AIR@InnoHK research cluster and its research and development laboratories focusing on AI and robotic technologies, including the Hong Kong Generative Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Center (HKGAI) set up in 2023 with the support of the AIR@InnoHK platform;
(ii) Cyberport set up the Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre (AISC) to enhance the local supply of high-performance computing power;
(iii) Put in place a $3 billion AI Subsidy Scheme to subsidise local universities, research institutes and enterprises, etc. in leveraging the computing power of AISC to achieve scientific breakthrough;
(iv) Continue to promote data centre development, including commencement of the rezoning procedures to convert the Sandy Ridge innovation & technology (I&T) site in the North District for data centre and related development, so as to support the development of digital industry including AI; and
(v) Prepare to set up a $10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund, and include AI and robotics as one of its thematic areas of emerging and future industries of strategic importance, with a view to channelling more market capital to promote the development of AI and robotics industries.

     In addition, to further promote the research and development (R&D) and applications of AI in Hong Kong, the 2025-26 Budget announced that $1 billion has been earmarked for the establishment of the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute to spearhead and support Hong Kong’s innovative R&D and industrial application of AI, as well as to facilitate upstream R&D, midstream and downstream transformation of R&D outcomes, and application scenarios.

(2) The Government has introduced a series of measures to step up efforts in nurturing local talents and attracting those from the Mainland and overseas, as well as to promote AI applications including that for public services.

     In terms of training local talents, apart from encouraging the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities to offer programmes which cater for Hong Kong’s development needs and expand the talent pool of important areas such as I&T, the Government also subsidises students to pursue designated self-financing undergraduate and sub-degree programmes through the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors, with a view to nurturing talent in support of specific industries with keen demand for human resources, including the Computer Science discipline which is related to AI. The UGC also launched the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education in 2023, with a funding allocation of $100 million, to provide an impetus for the eight UGC-funded universities to harness innovative and breakthrough technologies in transforming pedagogies and enriching student learning experiences, as well as fostering academia-industry collaboration, thereby nurturing their students to become a digitally competent and technologically responsible generation in the digital economy.

     In addition, in response to the manpower demand of the industries, the Vocational Training Council with the Government’s support established the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology (HKIIT) in November 2023, which specialises in the provision of information and technology and other technology-related programmes covering a wide range of disciplines including AI. The HKIIT admitted its first cohort of students in the 2024/25 academic year.

     The New Industrialisation and Technology Training Programme under the Innovation and Technology Fund also subsidises local enterprises for their staff to receive training in advanced technologies, which includes AI-related training.

     Meanwhile, Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above are eligible to enrol in more than 20 AI-related courses under the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) and claim for CEF subsidy upon successful completion of the courses.

     As for attracting AI talents from the Mainland and overseas, the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS) provides a fast track arrangement for eligible companies to admit Mainland and overseas technology talents to undertake R&D work in Hong Kong. As at end-January 2025, 152 non-local persons approved for entry under TechTAS were related to AI. Besides, the Government has included in the Talent List a number of professions in the I&T segment, including Experienced AI Specialists, etc. Outside talents who meet the eligibility criteria for relevant professions can enjoy immigration facilitation when applying under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals.

     In respect of AI applications including those enhancement to digital government services, the HKGAI announced its self-developed HKGAI V1 large language model (LLM) in February this year. It aims to launch to the market a chatbot based on its LLM this year for use by the general public. Since mid-2024, the Government has commenced the pilot use of HKGAI’s locally developed generative AI document processing copilot application (HKPilot) to assist government personnel in handling document processing tasks such as drafting, translation and summarisation of documents. The Digital Policy Office (DPO) has invited all bureaus and departments (B/Ds) to arrange government personnel of different grades to participate in the pilot. On top of these, B/Ds will roll out over a hundred of digital government and smart city initiatives progressively from 2024 to 2025, of which nearly half involve the application of big data analytics and AI technology. The above-mentioned and other initiatives related to the application of AI technology are mainly supported by the Capital Works Reserve Fund Head 710 Computerisation Subhead A007GX (Block Allocation) managed by the DPO, and other government I&T-related resources.

(3) Given the distinctive advantages under “One Country, Two Systems”, Hong Kong is poised to converge both Mainland and international data, creating a favourable environment for strengthening our AI-related collaboration with the Mainland (particularly cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)). Through the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-operation in Informatisation, the Government has been co-ordinating and promoting the development and application of information and communications technology (including AI) between Guangdong and Hong Kong, and implementing co-operation measures to complement the development of the GBA into an international I&T centre. In addition, the ITIB signed the “Co-operation Agreement on Technology and Innovation Exchange between Guangdong and Hong Kong” with the Department of Science and Technology of the Guangdong Province in March 2023 to further deepen technology and innovation exchanges as well as bolster collaborative innovation of industries, academia and research between the two places. The Guangdong-Hong Kong Technology Cooperation Funding Scheme jointly implemented by the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments has also been encouraging co-operation between universities, research institutions and technology enterprises from both places in various technology areas (including AI), and promoting work on high technology and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, with a view to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises in both places.

     The Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Co-operation Zone is one of the major co-operation platforms in the GBA. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government promulgated the Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (the Development Outline) in November 2024, setting out the vision and mission, planning, development directions, strategies and targets of the Hong Kong Park. As set out in the Development Outline, the Hong Kong Park will focus on the development of core frontier technological fields including AI, etc.; strengthen the supporting infrastructure required for the development of AI technologies; and establish a cross-boundary data flow management mechanism, so as to attract Mainland and overseas enterprises engaging in AI to Loop to set up and expand their businesses therein. read more

     The Water Supplies Department (WSD) announced that a WSD-registered consumer of a subdivided flat in Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, was convicted today (March 19) of failing to give receipts for charges for water to a subdivided unit (SDU) tenant and overcharging the tenant for water, in contravention of regulations 47C and 47 of the Waterworks Regulations (WWR). The consumer pleaded guilty to a total of eight counts of offences at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts.
      
     This case is the first conviction pursuant to the new regulation of the 47C of the WWR (duties to give receipts for charges for water), whereas the effective date of the regulation is July 19, 2024. Also, this is the 28th similar conviction of overcharging SDU tenants for water since the first conviction in June 2022, with associated fines ranging from $1,000 to $22,000.
      
     A spokesman for the WSD said that the Waterworks (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 (the amended WWO) has strengthened the power of the Water Authority in evidence collection and information disclosure during the investigation of suspected cases of overcharging for water. The Water Authority can request the landlords, their agents, etc, to provide the tenancy agreement, receipt or payment record for charges for water. Failure to comply with such a request can be an offence and the offender is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and a further fine of up to $1,000 for each day the offence continues. It is anticipated that there will be more prosecution cases. The maximum penalty for overcharging SDU tenants for water has been raised to $25,000 to deter this illegal act. Moreover, providing false or misleading information to the Water Authority is also an offence with a maximum penalty of a $25,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment.  
      
     The WSD spokesman strongly appealed to landlords to apply for the installation of separate water meters for their SDUs, which can greatly reduce the risk of contravening the amended WWO. The WSD encourages the public to report any illegal act of overcharging SDU tenants for water for follow up and investigation by the department. The public can call the WSD Hotline 3468 4963 or WhatsApp 5665 5517 to apply for the installation of separate water meters for SDUs. The WhatsApp hotline also handles matters relating to water overcharging in SDUs. Alternatively, the public can call the WSD Customer Enquiry Hotline 2824 5000 to report water overcharge cases. After calling the hotline and choosing a language, they can press “7” for reporting to staff directly. read more

     The Water Supplies Department (WSD) announced that a WSD-registered consumer of a subdivided flat in Hung Hom, Kowloon, was convicted today (March 19) of failing to comply with the Water Authority’s request to provide relevant information or documents for a suspected case of overcharging for water, in contravention of regulation 47A of the Waterworks Regulations. The consumer pleaded guilty to the offence at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts.
      
     A spokesman for the WSD said that the Waterworks (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 (the amended WWO) has strengthened the power of the Water Authority in evidence collection and information disclosure during the investigation of suspected cases of overcharging for water. The Water Authority can request the landlords, their agents, etc, to provide the tenancy agreement, receipt or payment record for charges for water. Failure to comply with such a request can be an offence, and the offender is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and a further fine of up to $1,000 for each day the offence continues. It is anticipated that there will be more prosecution cases. The maximum penalty for overcharging SDU tenants for water has been raised to $25,000 to deter this illegal act. Moreover, providing false or misleading information to the Water Authority is also an offence with a maximum penalty of a $25,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment. 
 
      The WSD spokesman strongly appealed to landlords to apply for the installation of separate water meters for their SDUs, which can greatly reduce the risk of contravening the amended WWO. The WSD encourages the public to report any illegal act of overcharging SDU tenants for water for follow up and investigation by the department. The public can call the WSD Hotline 3468 4963 or WhatsApp 5665 5517 to apply for the installation of separate water meters for SDUs. The WhatsApp hotline also handles matters relating to water overcharging in SDUs. Alternatively, the public can call the WSD Customer Enquiry Hotline 2824 5000 to report water overcharge cases. After calling the hotline and choosing a language, they can press “7” for reporting to staff directly. read more

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, will depart for Beijing this afternoon (March 19).

     During his stay in Beijing, Mr Tse will visit the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to exchange views on various topics such as safeguarding food supply to Hong Kong, the facilitation arrangement for exporting Hong Kong-manufactured food products to the Mainland, as well as strengthening co-operation on food trade. He will also visit the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the PRC, and exchange views with officials on the sustainable development of agriculture and fisheries, restocking, multi-storey livestock farms and offshore fishing, with a view to enhancing communication and co-operation.

     In addition, Mr Tse will meet with representatives from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the PRC and the BRI International Green Development Coalition to exchange views on combating climate change. He will also meet with representatives from the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, and the Carbon Neutral Industry Development Innovation Committee to discuss issues including green development, ocean governance, and carbon market.

     The Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Food), Ms Irene Young; the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Mr Mickey Lai; the Commissioner for Climate Change, Mr Arthur Lee; the Controller of the Centre for Food Safety, Dr Christine Wong; and officers from the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and the Environmental Protection Department will also join the visit.

     Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong on the afternoon of March 21. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, will be the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology. read more