Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) announced today (October 30) that, following the announcement made by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC), the nominations of 1 115 candidates for the 2026 Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) Ordinary Elections are valid. There are 856 validly nominated candidates from 31 contested subsectors who will compete for 723 seats in the ECSS Ordinary Elections to be held on November 22.
 
     The 31 contested subsectors are as follows:

• Catering
• Commercial (first)
• Commercial (second)
• Commercial (third)
• Employers’ Federation of Hong Kong
• Finance
• Financial services
• Hotel
• Import and export
• Industrial (first)
• Industrial (second)
• Insurance
• Real estate and construction
• Small and medium enterprises
• Textiles and garment
• Tourism
• Transport
• Wholesale and retail
• Accountancy
• Architectural, surveying, planning and landscape
• Chinese medicine
• Engineering
• Legal
• Medical and health services
• Social welfare
• Technology and innovation
• Agriculture and fisheries
• Grassroots associations
• Heung Yee Kuk
• Representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of Hong Kong and Kowloon
• Representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of the New Territories
   

     Besides, there are five uncontested subsectors, of which 259 candidates are returned uncontested.
 
     The five uncontested subsectors are as follows:

• Education
• Sports, performing arts, culture and publication
• Associations of Chinese fellow townsmen
• Labour
• Representatives of Hong Kong members of relevant national organisations

 
     “The ECSS Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22. Five ordinary polling stations will be set up on the polling day, and the combined voting arrangement will continue to be adopted, i.e. a subsector voter who is also an authorised representative of another subsector can cast two votes at the same polling station. The polling hours of the ordinary polling stations are from 9am to 6pm,” a spokesman for the REO said.
 
     The relevant gazette notices and information on the candidates/nominees have been uploaded to the election website (www.elections.gov.hk).
 
     The Electoral Affairs Commission will hold a briefing session for candidates on November 3 to familiarise them with the electoral arrangements and various regulations to ensure that the elections will be conducted in an open, honest and fair manner. Representatives from the REO, the Department of Justice, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and Hongkong Post will also be present. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, October 30, 2026 is 100 (down 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (October 30) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (see Note 2).

     Twenty-nine beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1) and 11 as Fair (Grade 2).

Grade 1 beaches are:

Big Wave Bay Beach*	Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Cafeteria New Beach*	Middle Bay Beach*
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach*	Pui O Beach*
Chung Hom Kok Beach	Repulse Bay Beach*
Clear Water Bay First Beach*	Shek O Beach*
Clear Water Bay Second Beach*	Silver Mine Bay Beach*
Deep Water Bay Beach*	South Bay Beach*
Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach	St. Stephen’s Beach*
Golden Beach*	Stanley Main Beach*
Hap Mun Bay Beach*	Tai Po Lung Mei Beach*
Hung Shing Yeh Beach*	Tong Fuk Beach
Kadoorie Beach*	Trio Beach*
Kiu Tsui Beach	Turtle Cove Beach
Kwun Yam Beach	Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Lo So Shing Beach

Grade 2 beaches are:

Anglers’ Beach*	Hoi Mei Wan Beach*
Approach Beach*	Lido Beach*
Butterfly Beach*	Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach*
Cafeteria Old Beach	Silverstrand Beach*
Casam Beach*	Ting Kau Beach*
Castle Peak Beach

     Compared with the grading released last week, Deep Water Bay Beach, Golden Beach and Middle Bay Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1. Cafeteria Old Beach and Castle Peak Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2.

     “The changes in beach water quality are generally within the normal range of natural fluctuation,” an EPD spokesman said.

     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.

     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, the EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a tropical cyclone or heavy rainfall.

     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD’s website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666. Members of the public can also obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information for all beaches that are open for swimming through the EPD’s dedicated webpage on the beach water quality forecast (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast).

Note 1: Lifesaving services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 29 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk (*) above, from September 1. For details, please refer to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s Special Announcement (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/beach/index.html).

Note 2: This refers to Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach which has no lifesaving service. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      The 83rd issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (October 30) by the Hospital Authority (HA) as a risk management and communication initiative … read more

     ​The Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC) today (October 30) announced that the nomination of 1 115 candidates for the Election Committee (EC) Subsector Ordinary Elections and 156 nominations for EC members have been determined as valid. In addition, the CERC also determined 341 registrations of ex-officio EC members as valid.

Candidates nominated for EC subsector elections

     As regards the 982 members to be returned by the 2026 EC Subsector Ordinary Elections, the Returning Officers (ROs) received a total of 1 115 nomination forms for candidates during the nomination period. Upon review, the CERC has determined these 1 115 nominations as valid.

Members returned by nominations for EC subsectors

     As for the 156 members to be returned through nominations by designated bodies, the ROs received 40 nomination forms submitted by designated bodies, involving 161 nominees. According to section 12(2) of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Election Committee) Regulation (Cap. 541I), the CERC is only required to determine the validity of nominations for the number that is necessary for filling the assigned seats of the subsector concerned. In this connection, the CERC has determined 156 nominations as valid according to the priorities indicated by the designated bodies. The CERC had not determined the eligibility of the five additional nominees.

Registrations of ex-officio EC members

     In accordance with section 5I and 5J of the Schedule to the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569), a person holding a specified office under Part 2A of the Schedule may register as an ex-officio EC member. Upon review, the CERC has determined 341 registrations as valid.  

     Once published, the gazette notices will be uploaded to the election website (www.elections.gov.hk) and the website of the Registration and Electoral Office (REO). The REO and the respective ROs will also notify the ex-officio registrants, nominees and candidates of the CERC’s determinations.    

     The CERC is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, with three official members (Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak Mei-kuen; and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Miss Janice Tse Siu-wa) and three non-official members (Miss Elsie Leung Oi-sie, Mrs Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai and Professor Lawrence Lau Juen-yee). In accordance with Annex I to the Basic Law, the CERC is responsible for reviewing and confirming the eligibility of candidates for EC membership (including ex-officio members, members to be returned by nomination and candidates of the EC). The CERC decides whether such persons comply with the legal requirements and conditions of upholding the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and bearing allegiance to the HKSAR of the PRC. read more