Police today (October 3) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Ma On Shan. Leung Pak-on, aged 34, went missing after he left his residence in Heng On Estate on… read more
A man who went missing in Tseung Kwan O was located. Tam Ching-kwok, aged 41, went missing after he left his residence on Tong Tak Street on September 8 morning. His family made a report to… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) hosted the second annual Conference for Independent Non-Executive Directors (the Conference) today (October 3) in Hong Kong.
Building on the success of the inaugural conference last year, this year’s Conference was a continuation of the HKMA’s effort to equip and empower Independent Non-Executive Directors (INEDs) to perform a more effective role on the boards of banks in Hong Kong. The Conference was attended by nearly 80% of all INEDs of the banking industry.
At the Conference, the Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Norman Chan, remarked that “Promoting sound culture in the banking sector is important because regulation and supervision are more effective in prescribing what constitutes unacceptable behaviours or outcomes, but much less so in defining and driving what is good and desirable. A bank and its staff must internalise good culture and values in such a way that they behave properly not because they are afraid of being caught and punished by the supervisors or the law enforcement agencies but because they think it is unethical to do otherwise.”
Member of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and former Superintendent of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions of Canada, Ms Julie Dickson, delivered a keynote speech on “Implementation of Sustainable Culture”. She took the view that INEDs play an important role in driving the sustainability of sound culture in banks. They can be lulled into a false sense of security that culture is sound, fail to react quickly enough when problems are identified, and may also underestimate forces leading to cultural weakness. Therefore, they should always stay alert and should not understate their responsibility in upholding sound culture in banks.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Banking Standards Board (BSB) in the United Kingdom, Ms Alison Cottrell, also shared her view on the “Assessment of Bank Culture”. Ms Cottrell observed that there is no one template of what a “good” bank culture should look like; each firm will have its own identity and culture reflecting its own history, leadership, people and many other factors. Despite these differences, banks can use comparative data and evidence to help them assess and manage their own culture and raise standards across the sector. She described how this approach is being undertaken in the United Kingdom banking sector, with the BSB providing Boards with objective and comparative evidence on different parts of their organisation, over time and relative to other firms.
Other speakers attending the Conference included:
September 2018 was marked by the ferocious strike of severe typhoon Mangkhut, which necessitated the issuance of the No. 10 Hurricane Signal in Hong Kong for 10 hours on September 16. This is the second longest duration of the … read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (October 3) called on members of the public to heighten vigilance against hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and acute gastroenteritis (AGE), as the local activities of HFMD and AGE have been increasing recently.
“Members of the public and management of institutions are urged to maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene. The CHP has issued letters to doctors, hospitals, schools and institutions today to draw their attention to the latest situation,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
A. Hand, foot and mouth disease
According to the CHP’s latest surveillance data, sentinel private medical practitioners and General Out-patient Clinics (GOPCs) recorded an increase of HFMD activity in the past two weeks.
The weekly consultation rate of HFMD at private medical practitioners has increased from 0 per 1,000 consultations in the week ending September 15 to 2.3 and 1.2 in the subsequent two weeks. The rate at GOPCs has increased from 0.4 in the week ending September 15 to 1.1 in the subsequent week.
The numbers of institutional HFMD outbreaks in the past two weeks were 11 (affecting 32 persons) and eight (affecting 24 persons) respectively. As of yesterday (October 2), five outbreaks (affecting 22 persons) had already been recorded in the first three days this week. In the past four weeks, child care centres and kindergartens reported most outbreaks (43 per cent).
As for enterovirus (EV) 71 infection, the weekly number of cases recorded has increased from one case in the week ending September 15 to two and three cases in the subsequent two weeks respectively. As of yesterday, 42 cases had been recorded this year.
“In Hong Kong, HFMD occurs throughout the year. While the disease activity is usually higher from May to July, a smaller peak may also occur from October to December. Schools, institutions and play facilities should observe our guidelines and health advice against outbreaks to better protect young children who are more prone to infections,” the spokesman added.
The latest local situation of HFMD and EV 71 infection is published on every Friday in EV Scan at the CHP website.
B. Acute gastroenteritis
The CHP’s latest surveillance data also showed an increase in the number of institutional AGE outbreaks, from two (affecting 11 persons) in the week ending September 22 to five (affecting 38 persons) last week. In the last four weeks, most outbreaks occurred in primary schools (44 per cent).
Sentinel child care centres and kindergartens and residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) also recorded a corresponding increase in the activity of diarrhoea.
“In Hong Kong, AGE occurs throughout the year, but is known to occur more frequently in winter. Schools and institutions are reminded to follow the Guidelines on Prevention of Communicable Diseases on preventive and control measures as well as management of outbreaks, which should be reported to the CHP for prompt follow-up,” the spokesman noted.
The public may visit the CHP’s pages on HFMD and EV71 infection, acute diarrhoeal diseases and norovirus infection for more information. read more