Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at Riding Ups and Downs: Hong Kong-Indonesia Partnership Webinar this afternoon (August 18):
     
Vice-Minister Siregar (Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Mahendra Siregar), Commissioner Xie (Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Mr Xie Feng), Ambassador Xiao (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Xiao Qian), ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good afternoon. It gives me really great pleasure to welcome you to today's webinar, jointly organised by the Indonesian and Hong Kong SAR governments. May I first take the opportunity to congratulate the Republic of Indonesia on the 75th anniversary of its independence.
      
     As COVID-19 continues to afflict Asia and the world at large, I'm heartened by your participation at today's webinar. It is palpable testimony to the longstanding friendship between Hong Kong and Indonesia, and our mutual determination to build on our strong ties and wide-ranging co-operation.
      
     For several months, Hong Kong was relatively virus free. Unfortunately, we have been battling another viral wave since early July. In response, we have put in place our strictest containment measures to date. This includes tougher social-distancing measures, enhanced testing and expanded treatment and quarantine facilities. We are also encouraged by and deeply grateful for the Central People's Government's support, with which we will soon launch an expanded community testing scheme to help us identify infected persons in the community as early as possible, particularly amongst those who are asymptomatic. 
      
     While both the Hong Kong and Indonesian governments are sparing no effort to combat the epidemic, it would be important for economic partners to support each other to enhance our resilience and to join hands to ride over the storm. Such partnership and mutual support are at the centre of the Belt and Road Initiative, which continues to make progress despite COVID-19. As President Xi Jinping pointed out in his message to the High-level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation held in June, be it in taming the virus or in achieving economic recovery, we cannot succeed without solidarity, co-operation, and multilateralism. The right approach to tackling global crises and realising long-term development is through greater connectivity, openness, and inclusiveness, and this is where Belt and Road international co-operation can make a big difference.
      
     Hong Kong is keen to strengthen our co-operation with Indonesia, one of Asia's and the world's most promising economies. Despite the challenging global trade environment last year, our bilateral trade still recorded positive growth. Hong Kong last year was also third in the source of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Indonesia, amounting to nearly US$3 billion – an encouraging 10 per cent of Indonesia's total FDI for the year. People-to-people bonds are no less reassuring, with more than 170 000 Indonesians in Hong Kong supporting our families and actively contributing to our cultural diversity. 
      
     Our two economies last month marked a bilateral relations milestone, when the part relating to Indonesia in the Free Trade Agreement and Investment Agreement between ASEAN and Hong Kong came into force. In a time of unparalleled uncertainty, such agreements underline our unwavering commitment to pursuing partnership possibilities wherever they may emerge. 
      
     Looking ahead, after we have overcome COVID-19, I believe the digital economy, and innovation and technology in general, will bring fresh opportunities for Hong Kong and Indonesian business co-operation. Indeed, digital innovation has helped Hong Kong contain the spread of the virus and, in doing so, minimise community disruption. In June, the Hong Kong Government launched a business-promotion platform featuring applications for testing, contact tracing, e‑health, e-learning, e-commerce, e-communications and other smart innovations. These are open for sharing with our overseas partners, including those from Indonesia.
      
     During my visit to Jakarta in 2018, I enjoyed constructive meetings with President Jokowi, as well as major Indonesian business leaders. In these high-profile discussions, I detailed Hong Kong's deep pool of multicultural talent, embracing law, accounting, financial services, urban planning, engineering and much more. We have professionals who are experienced in working with East and West, and professionals with the expertise to help plan and operate such major development projects as Indonesia's upcoming capital relocation. 
      
     The Economic and Trade Co-operation Zones set up with co-operation between the Mainland and Indonesia also offer plentiful prospects for collaboration. These zones, built for enterprises ranging from processing and manufacturing, to trade and logistics, science, technology and more, offer ideal entry points for Hong Kong companies looking to establish a presence in Indonesia. These zones can also serve as springboards for Hong Kong companies to go global alongside our Mainland and Indonesian counterparts. I know that operators of two of Indonesia's Economic and Trade Co-operation Zones will deliver a presentation later today, giving our business sector a much anticipated introduction to all that these industrial parks can offer. 
      
     Let me add that the fifth Belt and Road Summit will be held on November 30 in Hong Kong. By now this Summit has become the world's largest annual Belt and Road gathering, featuring commerce, investment and business-matching opportunities for Hong Kong, Mainland and overseas companies. This year's Summit will take place under the theme of "A Business Vision for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future." I invite our Indonesian friends to join us for this year's Summit and to explore the Belt and Road future together.
      
     Finally, allow me to thank the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong for joining us in organising today's webinar. In addition, my thanks to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce for being co-organisers. Last but not least, my thanks to the Ministry of Commerce, our embassy in Indonesia, and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong for their vital support.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, the pandemic is the great global challenge of our time. But we will prevail. So, too, will the irreplaceable bonds that exist between the peoples and the businesses of Hong Kong and Indonesia.
      
     I wish you all the best of business and health in the coming year. Thank you very much.

  

     Hongkong Post today (August 18) announced that postal services to the destinations listed below will resume from tomorrow (August 19) as airlines gradually scale up their air traffic capacity and some postal administrations have resumed acceptance of overseas mail. Notwithstanding this, local postal operations are still under the influence of the pandemic and delays in mail delivery are expected.
     

 
     Members of the public may visit the web page of Hongkong Post at www.hongkongpost.hk/en/about_us/whats_new/notices/index_id_975.html to refer to the service types currently available for overseas destinations.

     The Government announced today (August 18) that further to its earlier handover of Blocks 4 and 5 (i.e. Chun Sze House and Chun Wu House) of Chun Yeung Estate to the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), the intake for these two blocks will commence gradually at the end of this month. The Housing Department (HD) will soon inform prospective tenants of the details of the intake formalities.
           
     As for Blocks 1 to 3 (namely Chun Yat House, Chun Yi House and Chun San House), due to the rapid deterioration of the COVID-19 epidemic and the severe situation over the past few weeks, the significant increases in both the number of confirmed cases and the number of close contacts of confirmed cases in Hong Kong have resulted in huge demand for quarantine facilities. To safeguard public health, the Government considers it necessary to continue to use these three blocks as quarantine centre. The Government will continue to closely monitor the developments of the epidemic situation and review the number of quarantine facilities available, and will cease the use of these three blocks as quarantine centre as soon as practicable. The Government currently estimates that Blocks 1 to 3 of Chun Yeung Estate should be able to cease being used as quarantine centre by the end of this year when the 2 000 quarantine units located in Phase 3 of Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre come into operation. The Government will then clear and thoroughly disinfect the relevant units before handing them over to the HA. The HA estimates that it may need a few months to carry out a considerable amount of restoration work and the intake of the prospective tenants may commence gradually at the beginning of the second quarter of 2021 at the earliest.
 
     The Government deeply understands the disturbance to prospective tenants caused by the latest changes to the intake schedule of Blocks 1 to 3 of Chun Yeung Estate. The Government will actively consider providing further relief arrangements for the affected eligible prospective tenants under the Anti-epidemic Fund, and will notify them separately.
 
     During the period when Blocks 1 to 3 of Chun Yeung Estate are being used as quarantine centre, the Department of Health will adopt strict quarantine management measures, which include restricting the persons under quarantine to stay inside the quarantine units. If the persons under quarantine have medical needs, they will be arranged to be taken to hospital by ambulance from the quarantine centre direct. In addition, persons under quarantine are not allowed to come into contact with any persons other than the quarantine centre staff and medical personnel. The HD will segregate the quarantine centre (Blocks 1 to 3) and the remaining parts of the Estate (Blocks 4 and 5 and the Chun Yeung Shopping Centre) with tall partitions. There are also separate pedestrian and vehicular entrances and exits at Blocks 4 and 5 for residents' access to Chun Yeung Estate through separate channels. The above measures can effectively prevent persons and vehicles going to or leaving the quarantine centre from entering or exiting the premises of Blocks 4 and 5. Thus, Blocks 4 and 5 are suitable for accommodation. The Government also recommends that residents of Chun Yeung Estate continue to adhere to the general hygiene measures for the public provided by the Government for epidemic prevention, including wearing surgical masks properly, maintaining personal hygiene, performing hand hygiene frequently, and keeping social distance from others as far as possible.
 
     In regard to the above arrangements, the HD will also issue letters to the prospective tenants of Chun Yeung Estate to update them on the latest developments of the intake of the Estate.
 
     The Government deeply understands that the use of the Estate as quarantine centre has caused a great impact and inconvenience for prospective tenants. However, since Hong Kong is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections, the quarantine centre located in Chun Yeung Estate has been playing a very important and irreplaceable role. The Government would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all prospective tenants for their patience and understanding. 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at 9am today (August 18), 78 COVID-19 confirmed patients were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 3 677 patients with confirmed or probable infections have been discharged.
 
     At present, there are 689 negative pressure rooms in public hospitals with 1 251 negative pressure beds activated. A total of 751 confirmed patients are currently hospitalised in 19 public hospitals, a community isolation facility and a community treatment facility, among which 31 patients are in critical condition, 38 are in serious condition and the remaining 682 patients are in stable condition.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner. 
 
     Details of the above-mentioned patients are as follows:
 

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, today (August 18) met with non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) students participating in the government internship programme to learn about their internship experience. He encouraged them to fully equip themselves to meet the challenges ahead before entering the job market.
　
     Mr Nip said that in light of the positive feedback on the pilot internship programme last year, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) invited more local higher education institutions to take part in the programme this year and doubled the number of internship placements so that more NEC students could have the opportunity to take up internships in the Government and acquire work experience to prepare well for their future careers.
 
     "We also hope that through participating in the programme, the students can gain a better understanding of the Government's delivery of public services to NEC people in different areas," Mr Nip said.
 
     "The Government attaches great importance to providing support for NEC people and strives to help them integrate into society. The CSB has all along been reminding all heads of departments and grades to keep on reviewing and ensuring that the Chinese language proficiency requirements (LPRs) of related government jobs are no more than necessary for performance of the job, so that NEC people would have equal access to government job opportunities like other applicants. In recent years, we have also strengthened our promotional efforts, hoping to let NEC people have a better understanding of civil service job opportunities with a view to attracting them to join the civil service. This internship programme for NEC students is one of our notable measures."
 
     This year, a total of 30 NEC students have been posted to various government bureaux and departments for internships lasting around eight weeks. Some placements are relevant to the provision of public services to NEC communities or require application of knowledge of NEC languages or cultures, allowing the interns to give full play to their strengths.
 
     One of the interns, Miss Rukayya Bibi, has been posted to the Medical Social Services Unit of the Social Welfare Department in Tuen Mun Hospital, where she has assisted in handling the medical fee waiver applications by non-refoulement claimants. Being multilingual, Miss Bibi communicates with the applicants in their languages as far as possible to help them better grasp the application procedures. She said she has not only been able to acquire hands-on work experience through the programme, but also found it fulfilling to have the opportunity to serve NEC people directly.
 
     Another intern, Miss Sujasna Tamang, has been posted to the Census Planning Section of the Census and Statistics Department to conduct proofreading of the translation of the 2021 Population Census website and publicity materials in NEC languages. Miss Tamang said that the internship programme has enhanced her understanding of the importance of population census work and she has learned a lot with the guidance and support from her colleagues, especially in learning Chinese.
     
     Mr Janam Patel, an intern in the Europe Division of the Trade and Industry Department, has been tasked to assist in compiling trade statistics relating to Hong Kong and European countries and collecting data on some economic and trade issues. Mr Patel, who majors in marketing, said the internship has allowed him to apply his knowledge and deepened his understanding of the economic and trade relations between Hong Kong and Europe, giving him a fruitful internship experience amid the epidemic.
 
     Miss Bibi, Miss Tamang and Mr Patel shared the view that the Government's ongoing review of the Chinese LPRs for all civil service grades would help to provide more opportunities for NEC people to join the Government to serve the community.