​Hongkong Post announced today (March 6) that, as advised by the postal administration of Australia, due to the impact of severe weather, mail delivery services to Queensland and New South Wales in Australia are subject … read more
A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (March 6) that the FEHD plans to take measures starting from this year’s swimming season to strengthen the prevention of suspected violations involving private swimming pools employing unqualified life-saving attendants to combat such offences. These steps aim to protect the safety of swimming pool users.
The spokesman said, “In accordance with the law and licensing conditions, licensees of private swimming pools are obliged to arrange a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants on duty during the opening hours of the pools. To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities, the FEHD will explicitly require licensees to verify identity documents, Pool Lifeguard Awards (PLA) and personal logbooks before employing a life-saving attendant, and to properly keep a copy of the documents. The FEHD will also establish a standard template for licensees to record the information shown on the identity document and PLA of the life-saving attendants on duty.”
At the same time, the FEHD will step up inspections, including checking the identity documents of each life-saving attendant on duty during monthly surprise inspections to verify their identity. The FEHD will also co-ordinate with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society to confirm the validity of PLAs and ensure the life-saving attendants on duty possess valid qualifications. In addition to routine inspections, the FEHD will flexibly deploy its manpower resources and analyse complaint cases to draw up a target list of private swimming pools, to which inspections will be stepped up during July and August to specifically focus on lifeguard qualifications. In case of insufficient qualified life-saving attendants on duty, the department will take immediate follow-up actions, including requiring the licensee to immediately close the swimming pool until sufficient qualified life-saving attendants can be present at the pool, and will issue a warning or institute prosecution against licensees. The FEHD will consider cancelling the licences of swimming pools with repeated contraventions. Cases involving the use of false documents or documents relating to other persons will be reported to the Police.
The FEHD will also maintain close communication and enhance collaboration with other departments and organisations. Currently, many licensees of private swimming pools are either property management companies (PMCs) or their employees. The FEHD has already discussed with the Property Management Services Authority (PMSA) to jointly step up publicity and educational work before the swimming season this year, including issuing letters to PMCs calling for measures to prevent the employment of unqualified life-saving attendants. Meanwhile, the FEHD and the PMSA will establish a communication mechanism in respect of violation cases for both parties to take follow-up actions, according to their respective authorities, against licensees and PMCs.
According to the Swimming Pools Regulation (Cap. 132CA) and relevant licensing conditions, licensees must arrange a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants to be on duty during the opening hours of the pools. The qualifications of life-saving attendants are assessed by the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society, which issues PLAs featuring the life-saving attendant’s name and photograph to those who qualify. At present, there are about 1 400 licensed private swimming pools across the territory. The FEHD has required licensees to display at a conspicuous location of pool entrances the required number of life-saving attendants during the opening hours of swimming pools, as well as recent photographs, names and PLA numbers of the life-saving attendants on duty. This empowers pool users to take part in the monitoring of swimming pools. Licensees are also required to keep duty logs of life-saving attendants for at least 90 days for inspection by the FEHD.
The spokesman said that the FEHD will consult relevant stakeholders and continue to monitor and review relevant enhancement measures in a timely manner. read more
​Correctional officers at Tai Lam Centre for Women today (March 6) intercepted a female remand person in custody smuggling a suspected dangerous drug into the centre by concealing it inside her body. &… read more
Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible: Here is an item of interest to swimmers. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (March 6) that due… read more
The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, leading a delegation of representatives from the innovation and technology (I&T) sector, continued his visit in Barcelona, Spain on March 5 (Barcelona time) and attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025.
Delivering a keynote speech at the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Ministerial Programme “2025+: A Tech Odyssey”, Professor Sun said Hong Kong is actively building a smart city and a digitally inclusive society to bridge digital divide. “One of the best testimonies to a city’s I&T achievement is the degree of digitalisation. In Hong Kong, all submissions and payments to the Government have electronic options. More than three millions of people are enjoying the convenience and efficiency of accessing government services and online identity verification through a mobile application called ‘iAM Smart’. A corporate version of ‘iAM Smart’, nick-named CorpID, is upcoming too.”
He noted that on digital inclusiveness, Hong Kong’s household broadband penetration rate and smartphone penetration rate are both approximately 97 per cent. The internet usage rate among Hong Kong citizens aged 65 and above rocketed, from 56 per cent in 2018 to 84 per cent in 2023, slightly ahead of the European rate of around 78 per cent.
He added, “As society becomes so digitally knitted and increasingly mobile, we recently launched the ‘Smart Silver’ Digital Inclusion Programme for Elders, to address the challenges of an increasingly aging society. This programme fortifies our digital inclusive efforts by providing elders with community-based training and on-the-spot helpdesks to enhance elders’ knowledge on new digital technologies and support their navigation by common mobile applications.”
During the Congress, Professor Sun met with the Head of Greater China of GSMA, Ms Sihan Bo Chen, to learn about the international mobile industry association’s work in developing the mobile communications industry and ecosystem as well as promoting industrial innovation in Asia.
Professor Sun visited various exhibition pavilions on-site, including the EU Quantum Flagship, to learn about the latest quantum technologies and initiatives of companies under the flagship.
Professor Sun and the delegation also visited the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. They were briefed on the technology of MareNostrum 5, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Spain, and quantum computers, the establishment of AI factories, and the innovative achievements in promoting the development of high-performance computing in Spain and the whole of Europe as well as applications.
Members of the delegation include heads from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC), Cyberport, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute and the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute, as well as representatives of 24 local I&T enterprises or institutions. The HKSTPC and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council co-ordinated the participation of the I&T representatives of the enterprises and institutions at the MWC 2025.
Professor Sun Dong will proceed to Lisbon, Portugal on March 6 (Lisbon time) to continue his visit.
