Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, at the question-and-answer session of the media session today (September 27) on the quarterly land sale programme for October to December 2018:
      
Reporter: As a lot of sites have been allocated for public housing, are there still enough in the land sale programme that allow you to have it for private flats?
 
Secretary for Development: If you look at the figures for the first three quarters of 2018-19, you will know that in the fourth quarter, we need to put up land that can provide more private housing. I said earlier that the Chief Executive announced in late June this year that there is a site on Anderson Road, providing about 1 160 flats. Originally, it will be put up for tender. The decision has been made that it will be used to provide public housing. As I said before, I used the analogy of left hand and right hand, but here, we are not talking about net addition of land, we are talking about using land either for private housing or public housing. I have also explained the rationale underlying the Government approach. Indeed, we are giving more emphasis to public housing and I think that is something the community would agree with.
 
     Coming back to private housing, we will do the best we can in the remaining time of this year to provide the supply. At this stage, I would not make any conjecture, but you can safely assume that in the fourth quarter, we will be providing more land that would be capable of providing more private housing units than the first three quarters.
 
Reporter: Did the Chief Executive have a conclusion in her Policy Address? Wouldn't that actually pre-empt all the work that the Task Force on Land Supply has done and basically make the whole exercise futile because she already has her own ideas in mind and that the public engagement is basically just not really useful?

Secretary for Development: I think the Policy Address is for the lady to call, so the Chief Executive will decide on the exact content to be put into the Policy Address. I will not make any conjecture. As I said before, the public engagement exercise conducted by the Task Force has been most meaningful, very fruitful, in terms of enhancing the understanding in our community about the pros and cons of different options and also about the severe shortage we are facing in terms of land supply. I do think that it is very fruitful and will not be undermined by any other things.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     To further enhance the emergency ambulance service (EAS), the Fire Services Department (FSD) started a full-scale trial run of a new computer system for the provision of post-dispatch advice (PDA) today (September 27) to assist personnel of the Fire Services Communications Centre (FSCC) in, after dispatching ambulances, providing callers with immediate, comprehensive and appropriate advice on more than 30 types of injuries and sicknesses. The service will be launched on October 4.
 
     Through providing timely and appropriate first-aid advice, the PDA system enables the callers to stabilise patients' conditions before the arrival of an ambulance crew, and helps reduce the risk of inadvertent mishandling of patients, as well as alleviating the anxiety and distress of both the patients and the callers.
 
     Since May 2011, the FSD has been gradually offering PDA to callers in respect of six common types of injuries and sicknesses, namely bleeding, burns, fracture/dislocation of limbs, convulsion, heat exposure and hypothermia. The new system brings the number to more than 30, covering, among others, physical trauma, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest. PDA is simple and easy to follow. Also, the computer system will automatically send the patient information to the responding ambulance or fire appliance to enable the responding crew to make better preparation before arrival at the scene. In contrast to the case without PDA, the callers can help to stabilise the patients' conditions before the arrival of an ambulance. Receiving immediate advice is of paramount importance, especially for those in critical condition. 
 
     PDA is an added-value service. The callers for ambulance service are not required to prepare any additional information and initiate a request for the service. The target response time for EAS calls will remain unchanged, i.e. 92.5 per cent of EAS calls can be handled within 12 minutes.
 
     The spokesman for the FSD said that, with the aid of the computer system, the dispatch of ambulances and the provision of advice are handled by separate personnel to ensure no delay in rescue. To ensure the quality of the PDA service, the FSCC personnel are required to receive dedicated training and hold valid Emergency Medical Dispatcher Certificates before they are authorised to provide the service.
 
     The protocols incorporated in the computer system were developed by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and have been in wide application. At present, similar computer systems and corresponding protocols have been adopted by some 3 000 mobilising centres of emergency services in more than 40 regions, including the Mainland, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

     Police will implement crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements to facilitate the public order events to be held on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon on October 1 (Monday).

(1) Public procession and public meetings

Hong Kong Island
——————-

Crowd safety management measures
——————————————

     Police will implement crowd safety management measures to facilitate a public order event to be held in Causeway Bay and Central on October 1.

     The public order event consists of three parts, namely a public meeting commencing at 2pm at East Point Road and Lockhart Road Pedestrian Precinct, a public procession starting at 3pm heading to Central followed by a public meeting in Central.  

     Participants of the public procession will set off from the venue of a public meeting in Causeway Bay and pass through Yee Wo Street, Hennessy Road, Queensway, Rodney Street, westbound Harcourt Road, Cotton Tree Drive, eastbound Harcourt Road and Tim Mei Avenue for a public meeting at the East Wing Forecourt of Central Government Offices (CGO) and the designated public activity area on the western pavement of Tim Mei Avenue.

     Participants who wish to leave upon arrival or during the public meeting in Central may leave via various directions towards Admiralty or Wan Chai. For safety reason, if the venue of the public meeting is saturated, other participants arriving at a later stage should leave via the same directions. They should pay attention to announcements made by the organiser and follow instructions given by Police, staff of CGO and event marshals for a safe departure.

     To maintain public safety and public order, Police have imposed several conditions to the organiser. The conditions include requesting the organiser to appeal to the participants taking part in fund-raising, hawking or any other propaganda activities to ensure that their stalls or temporarily-erected structures will not cause obstructions to the public procession or endanger the safety of the public procession participants or other road users.

     Members of the public going to Admiralty, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay are encouraged to use public transport. They should follow the instructions given by Police or event marshals, and pay attention to the temporary signage displayed on site.

     It is the Force’s policy to facilitate all lawful public order events. Police will take measures to ensure public safety and public order and engage the organisers to garner their full cooperation. Participants should express their views in a peaceful manner.

Special traffic arrangements
——————————-
 
A. Road closure
 
     If necessary, the following roads will be closed from about 2pm, until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

1. The leftmost lane of westbound Yee Wo Street;
2. The leftmost lane of westbound Hennessy Road;
3. Jardine’s Bazaar;
4. Tang Lung Street;
5. Canal Road East between Russell Street and Hennessy Road;
6. Canal Road West between Sharp Street West and Hennessy Road;
7. Wan Chai Road between Canal Road West and Morrison Hill Road;
8. Bowrington Road between Sharp Street West and Hennessy Road;
9. Lee Garden Road between Kai Chiu Road and Hennessy Road;
10. Kai Chiu Road; and
11. Yun Ping Road between Lan Fong Road and Kai Chiu Road.

     The following roads will be intermittently closed from 2.30pm, until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

1. Westbound Yee Wo Street;
2. Westbound Jardine’s Bazaar;
3. Westbound Hennessy Road;
4. Queensway;
5. Rodney Street;
6. Harcourt Road; and
7. Northbound Tim Mei Avenue.

     If necessary, the following roads will be closed from about 3pm, until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

Wan Chai
———-

1. Luard Road between Johnston Road and Hennessy Road; and
2. Westbound Johnston Road between Ship Street and Landale Street.

Central
——–

1. Westbound Harcourt Road service road between Rodney Street and Cotton Tree Drive;
2. Southbound Tim Wa Avenue between Lung Wo Road and Harcourt Road;
3. All lay-bys along Tim Mei Avenue and Lung Wui Road; and
4. The unnamed road outside ex-Hong Kong Red Cross Headquarters.
 
B. Traffic diversions
 
     If necessary, the following traffic diversions will be implemented from 3pm, until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:
 
Wan Chai
———

1. Traffic along Tai Wong Street East cannot enter Luard Road;
2. Traffic along eastbound Johnston Road cannot turn left to northbound Luard Road;
3. Traffic along westbound Johnston Road cannot turn right to northbound Luard Road;
4. Traffic along westbound Johnston Road must turn left to Ship Street; and
5. Traffic along westbound Johnston Road from Landale Street must turn left to Anton Street.

Central
——–

1. Traffic along eastbound Queensway cannot turn left to northbound Rodney Street;
2. Traffic from United Centre Bus Terminus must turn left to westbound Drake Street;
3. Traffic along westbound Harcourt Road near the exit of Harcourt Garden car park will be diverted to westbound Harcourt Road flyover;
4. If necessary, traffic along eastbound Harcourt Road near City Hall will be diverted to eastbound Harcourt Road flyover, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
5. Traffic along Lung Wo Road cannot enter Tim Wa Avenue, except for vehicles accessing Chief Executive’s Office and Central Government Complex car park; and
6. Traffic along Lung Wo Road cannot turn to southbound Edinburgh Place.
 
C. Suspension of parking spaces
 
     All on-street parking spaces and disabled parking spaces on Lung Wui Road will be suspended from 12 noon to 11.59pm.

     During the road closure period, vehicles may not be allowed to enter or leave car parks on the closed roads.

(2) National Day fireworks display

Kowloon
———

Crowd safety management measures in Tsim Sha Tsui
————————————————————-

     Police will implement crowd safety management measures in Yau Tsim Police District and Hung Hom Waterfront Promenade, including pedestrianising roads at Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom Waterfront Promenade in phases.

     Depending on the prevailing situation, Police will implement crowd safety management measures within the pedestrianised area, including closing pedestrian subways and putting up barriers. One-way flow will be carried out on overcrowded footbridges and in the vicinity of the waterfront promenade.

     The Hong Kong Cultural Centre Complex and the vicinity of the Clock Tower are known to be popular gathering and vantage points. If these areas are saturated, the crowd will be diverted to other areas.

     Due to the closure of the Avenue of Stars and the Hong Kong Museum of Art, special crowd management measures will also be implemented. People going to and from the waterfront promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui East and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre will be diverted to the pavement in Salisbury Road.

     In addition, there are a number of construction works within the West Kowloon Cultural District. Only the Nursery Park will be opened for the public to watch the fireworks display. If the Nursery Park becomes saturated, for the sake of public safety, Police will divert the crowd by closing the entrance of the park and encourage members of the public to go to other areas.

     At present, there are some other on-going construction and maintenance works in Yau Tsim District, including the sites in the vicinity of Salisbury Garden, Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Exit D at Nathan Road near Carnarvon Road, Lin Cheung Road and Austin Road West. Members of the public are urged not to enter these sites nor climb or lean against the barriers. 

     Members of the public should follow the instructions given by Police officers and take heed of signage and broadcasts at scene. 

Special traffic arrangements
——————————-

     The following special traffic arrangements will be implemented by phases until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

A. Phase One (from 7pm onwards)

     The following roads will be closed:

1. Hung Hom Bypass between Salisbury Road and Hung Hom Road;
2. Princess Margaret Road Link between Metropolis Drive and Hung Hom Bypass;
3. Westbound Salisbury Road between Cheong Wan Road and Kowloon Park Drive, as well as its elevated road;
4. Eastbound Salisbury Road between Kowloon Park Drive and Science Museum Road;
5. U-turn slip-road outside New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel leading from eastbound Salisbury Road to westbound Salisbury Road;
6. Mody Lane;
7. Hong Wan Path;
8. Canton Road between Kowloon Park Drive and Salisbury Road;
9. Kowloon Park Drive, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
10. Salisbury Road between Star Ferry Bus Terminus and Kowloon Park Drive, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
11. Ashley Road;
12. Hankow Road;
13. Lock Road;
14. Northbound Nathan Road between Bowring Street and Salisbury Road;
15. Southbound Nathan Road between Granville Road and Salisbury Road;
16. Carnarvon Road between Bristol Avenue and Granville Road;
17. Bristol Avenue;
18. Hanoi Road;
19. Hart Avenue;
20. Minden Row;
21. Blenheim Avenue;
22. Middle Road;
23. Hau Fook Street;
24. Cameron Lane;
25. Cameron Road;
26. Prat Avenue;
27. Humphreys Avenue;
28. Peking Road;
29. Haiphong Road;
30. Mody Road between Chatham Road South and Nathan Road;
31. Westbound Mody Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road;
32. Minden Avenue;
33. Northbound Chatham Road South between Granville Road and Salisbury Road;
34. Southbound Chatham Road South between Mody Road and Salisbury Road;
35. Granville Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
36. Granville Square; and
37. Ichang Street.

     The following traffic diversions will be implemented:

1. Traffic along southbound Hung Hom Road will be directed to Cheong Tung Road South roundabout via Hung Hom Bypass;
2. Traffic along eastbound Metropolis Drive cannot turn right to southbound Princess Margaret Road Link;
3. Traffic along southbound Princess Margaret Road Link must turn right to westbound Metropolis Drive;
4. Traffic along eastbound Mody Road cannot enter Mody Lane;
5. Franchised buses along southbound Nathan Road must turn right to westbound Public Square Street or westbound Jordan Road;
6. Franchised buses along southbound Chatham Road South must turn left to eastbound Granville Road;
7. Traffic along southbound Canton Road must make a u-turn to northbound Canton Road outside China Hong Kong City;
8. Traffic along northbound Kowloon Park Drive cannot turn left to southbound Canton Road;
9. Traffic along Granville Road between Nathan Road and Carnarvon Road will be re-routed to one-way eastbound;
10. Traffic along southbound Nathan Road must turn left to eastbound Granville Road;
11. Traffic along southbound Chatham Road South cannot turn right to westbound Cameron Road;
12. Traffic along southbound Chatham Road South must turn left to eastbound Mody Road;
13. Traffic along Science Museum Road cannot turn to westbound Mody Road;
14. Traffic along Science Museum Road cannot turn to Granville Road;
15. Traffic along westbound Salisbury Road near Cheong Wan Road will be diverted to Tsim Sha Tsui East direction;
16. Traffic along southbound Chatham Road South cannot turn left to eastbound Granville Road, except for franchised buses and GMBs only;
17. Traffic along eastbound Granville Road must turn left to northbound Chatham Road South;
18. Traffic along eastbound Salisbury Road must turn left to northbound Kowloon Park Drive;
19. Traffic along northbound Kowloon Park Drive cannot turn right to Peking Road; and
20. Granville Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road will be re-routed to one-way eastbound and restricted for the use of franchised buses and GMBs only.

B. Phase Two (from 7.30pm onwards)

     The following roads will be closed:

1. Kowloon Park Drive;
2. Salisbury Road between Canton Road and Kowloon Park Drive; and
3. Star Ferry Bus Terminus.

     The following traffic diversions will be implemented:

     All franchised buses and GMBs cannot enter southbound Kowloon Park Drive.

C. Phase Three (from 8pm onwards)

     Kin Wan Street will be closed. Traffic along Hung Luen Road cannot turn to Kin Wan Street.

D. Phase Four (from 9pm onwards)

     The following roads will be closed:

1. Northbound Nathan Road between Jordan Road and Bowring Street;
2. Southbound Nathan Road between Jordan Road and Granville Road;
3. Pine Tree Hill Road;
4. Carnarvon Road between Kimberley Road and Granville Road;
5. Shun Yee Street;
6. Granville Circuit;
7. Northbound Chatham Road South between Observatory Road and Granville Road;
8. Bowring Street between Pilkem Street and Nathan Road;
9. Tak Shing Street between Nathan Road and Tak Hing Street;
10. Hillwood Road;
11. Kimberley Road between Nathan Road and Observatory Road;
12. Kimberley Street;
13. Granville Road between Nathan Road and Chatham Road South;
14. Southbound Chatham Road South between Cheong Wan Road and Mody Road, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
15. Eastbound Mody Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road; and
16. Mody Square.

     The following traffic diversions will be implemented:

1. Traffic along southbound Nathan Road must turn right to westbound Jordan Road;
2. Traffic along westbound Jordan Road cannot turn left to southbound Nathan Road;
3. Traffic along westbound Austin Road and southbound Cox’s Road cannot turn to Pine Tree Hill Road;
4. Traffic along Observatory Road cannot turn to westbound Kimberley Street;
5. Traffic along westbound Cheong Wan Road cannot turn left to southbound Chatham Road South;
6. Traffic along southbound Chatham Road South must turn to westbound Austin Road or eastbound Cheong Wan Road;
7. Traffic along northbound Pilkem Street cannot turn right to eastbound Bowring Street; and
8. Traffic along eastbound Bowring Street will be diverted to northbound Pilkem Street.

E. Contingency plan

     If necessary, the following roads will be closed:

1. Hung Luen Road between Wa Shun Street and Hung Lok Road; and
2. Oi King Street.

     If necessary, the following traffic diversions will be implemented:

1. Traffic along westbound Hung Luen Road must turn left to Wa Shun Street;
2. Traffic along Wa Shun Street must turn right to eastbound Hung Luen Road;
3. Traffic along southbound Hung Lok Road cannot turn left to eastbound Hung Luen Road; and
4. Traffic along eastbound Hung Luen Road must turn left to northbound Hung Lok Road.

F. Hotel access

     Vehicular access to and from hotels within the affected area will not be permitted during the road closure period. Vehicles bearing a hotel logo will only be allowed to drop off passengers at the following locations before the road closure implementation:

– The junction of Kowloon Park Drive and Peking Road; and
– The junction of Chatham Road South and Mody Road.

G. Suspension of car park

     Vehicles will not be permitted to access or leave car parks in the affected areas during the road closure period.

H. Suspension of on-street parking spaces

     All on-street parking spaces in the southern area of Tsim Sha Tsui (south of Austin Road and Cheong Wan Road) will be suspended from 3pm to 11.59pm. All illegally parked vehicles will be towed away.

Hong Kong Island
—————-

A. Road closure and traffic diversions before the fireworks display

Central
——–

     The slip road leading from Garden Road to the office of World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong outside Lower Peak Tram Terminus may be closed from 1pm to 11pm, except for franchised buses.

From 7.30pm onwards:

Wan Chai
———-

     The following roads will be closed:

1. Eastbound Fenwick Pier Street;
2. Lung King Street;
3. Eastbound Harbour Road between Fenwick Street and Tonnochy Road;
4. Expo Drive;
5. Expo Drive Central;
6. Expo Drive East;
7. P2 Road;
8. A5 Road;
9. A2 Road;
10. D11 Road;
11. Convention Avenue;
12. Fleming Road flyover;
13. Fleming Road between Convention Avenue and Harbour Road;
14. Tonnochy Road between eastbound Harbour Road and Hung Hing Road;
15. The access road at eastbound Victoria Park Road leading to Causeway Bay Promenade.
16. If necessary, Marsh Road between Gloucester Road and Hung Hing Road;
17. If necessary, Marsh Road flyover;
18. If necessary, Hung Hing Road;
19. If necessary, Hung Hing Road flyover;
20. If necessary, Wan Shing Street; and
21. If necessary, Wan Ying Street.

Central
——–

     The following roads will be closed:

1. Yiu Sing Street;
2. Westbound Lung Wo Road between D11 Road and southbound Legislative Council Road;
3. Westbound Lung Wo Road between Edinburgh Place and Man Yiu Street;
4. Eastbound Lung Wo Road;
5. Lung Wui Road;
6. Southbound Legislative Council Road;
7. Star Ferry Concourse;
8. Loading and unloading area outside Central Ferry Piers 7, 8 and 9;
9. Chung Kong Road between Shun Tak Centre and Rumsey Street;
10. Man Kwong Street;
11. Man Fai Street; and
12. Man Yiu Street between Man Kwong Street and Man Po Street.

From 8pm onwards:

Peak area
———-

1. The uphill section of Stubbs Road beyond Stubbs Road roundabout will be closed to all goods vehicles with a gross weight exceeding 5.5 tonnes;
2. All uphill traffic along Peak Road towards Harlech Road, Lugard Road and Mount Austin Road will be diverted downhill via the slip road beside the car park entrance at the Peak Galleria, except for residents’ vehicles or vehicles with permits;
3. Lay-bys along Stubbs Road between Peak Road and Stubbs Road roundabout, and lay-bys along Magazine Gap Road between Peak Road and May Road will be suspended;
4. Northbound Peak Road beyond the car park entrance at the Peak Galleria will be closed, except for residents’ vehicles; and
5. Barker Road will be closed, except for residents’ vehicles.

From 8.45pm onwards:

Wan Chai
———

     The following roads will be closed:

1. Tonnochy Road flyover and northbound Tonnochy Road between Gloucester Road and Harbour Road;
2. Westbound Harbour Road;
3. Westbound Fenwick Pier Street;
4. Fenwick Pier Street flyover;
5. Fleming Road between Gloucester Road and Harbour Road;
6. Fenwick Street between Gloucester Road and Harbour Road;
7. Harbour Drive; and
8. Northbound Tonnochy Road between eastbound Harbour Road and Gloucester Road.

B. Road closure and traffic diversions during the fireworks display

From 8.55pm onwards:

Eastern District
—————-

1. Traffic along westbound Island Eastern Corridor between Victoria Park Road and Man Hong Street will be diverted, except for franchised buses;
2. Traffic along westbound Island Eastern Corridor will be diverted to Man Hong Street; and
3. Slip roads leading to westbound Island Eastern Corridor from Healthy Street Central and Tong Shui Road will be closed.

Central
——-

     Traffic along eastbound Connaught Road West flyover will be diverted to Connaught Road Central.

C. Traffic arrangements after the fireworks display

     To facilitate the dispersal of the crowd after the fireworks display, the following roads will be closed from 9.08pm onwards:

1. Fleming Road between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road;
2. Lockhart Road between Percival Street and Luard Road;
3. Jaffe Road between Percival Street and Luard Road;
4. Stewart Road;
5. O’Brien Road;
6. Tonnochy Road between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road;
7. Marsh Road between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road;
8. Canal Road West between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road;
9. Canal Road East between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road;
10. Southbound Luard Road between Gloucester Road and Jaffe Road;
11. If necessary, Percival Street between Lockhart Road and Gloucester Road; and
12. If necessary, westbound Gloucester Road service road between Percival Street and Canal Road East.

D. Suspension of parking spaces

1. All parking spaces on the slip road outside Lower Peak Tram Terminus will be suspended from 1pm to 11pm;
2. All parking meters at Victoria Peak Garden and Mount Austin Road will be suspended from 7pm to 11pm; and
3. All parking spaces at the following locations will be suspended from 5pm to 11pm:

– Man Kwong Street;
– Lung Wo Road;
– Lung King Street;
– Hung Hing Road;
– Expo Drive East;
– Lung Wui Road;
– Gloucester Road service road;
– Stewart Road between Jaffe Road and Gloucester Road service road;
– Marsh Road between Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road;
– Jaffe Road between Percival Street and Luard Road; and
– Lockhart Road between Percival Street and Luard Road.

E. Suspension of car parks

     Vehicles parked in car parks within the above closed areas at Wan Chai and Central will not be permitted to leave the car parks during the road closure period.

     If necessary, the car parks on westbound Gloucester Road between Paterson Street and Percival Street will be closed at short notice.

     Actual implementation of the crowd safety management measures and traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the areas. Members of the public are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.
 

     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a roundtable discussion on vocational education and skills enhancement for a value-added and diversified economy held in London, the United Kingdom  today (September 27, London Time):
      
Mark (Director, Schools and Skills of British Council, Mr Mark Herbert), Carrie (Executive Director of the Vocational Training Council, Mrs Carrie Yau), Jeff (Director of British Council, Hong Kong, Jeff Streeter) distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. I am most honoured to join you all at this roundtable discussion. Gathering here today are prominent academics and experts from the UK and Hong Kong who will share their valuable experience and insights on skills training and youth enhancement. 
      
     Talent is the most important element in driving economic growth and upward social mobility. The current-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is determined to develop Hong Kong into a regional talent hub for the long-term economic development and social progress of this Asia's World City. To this end, we have injected new resources and introduced a series of measures to strengthen our education infrastructure and improve various areas of our education system including vocational and professional education and training as well as self-financing post-secondary education.
 
Investment in Education
 
     Education is founded on dedication and commitment. The HKSAR Government accords the highest priority to education. In fact, it has long been the lion's share of Government's spending. Through learning, young people can explore their potential, cultivate their interests and enhance their strengths so that they are well equipped for the future and able to contribute to the community.
      
     As soon as the current-term Government took office in July last year, we immediately increased the annual recurrent provision to education by HK$3.6 billion  with effect from the 2017/18 school year to roll out a package of priority measures to improve our education system. The 2018-19 financial year will witness a historic high of HK$113 billion government expenditure on education, an increase of 28 per cent over the previous year and accounting for over one-fifth of Hong Kong's total government expenditure.
      
     Every dollar spent on education is an investment for the future of our youth and Hong Kong as a whole. The HKSAR Government will continue to invest in education and strive for academic excellence. We have earmarked HK$3.4 billion recurrent expenditure for education. We will come up with the best recommendations in consultation with our education stakeholders.
 
Quality Post-secondary Education
 
     For students interested in pursuing post-secondary education, we provide quality, diversified and flexible pathways with multiple entry and exit points. There are 20 local degree-awarding post-secondary education institutions in Hong Kong including nine publicly-funded and 11 self-financing institutions. These institutions are well-recognised by their peers across the globe. Four of them are even ranked within the world's top 100 by the 2019 QS World University Rankings. The EMBA programmes offered by two of our universities were ranked the world's top two by the Financial Times in 2017.
      
     To diversify our talent pool and sustain Hong Kong's long-term competitiveness, the HKSAR Government attaches great importance to vocational and professional education and training, or vocational and professional education and training (VPET) in short. We have taken forward a number of policy measures to achieve this ambitious goal. These include regularising the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions and Sectors from the 2018/19 academic year onwards with an increase in the number of subsidised places to about 3 000 per cohort, and continuing the industrial attachment projects to improve students' employability. 
      
     However, Government's efforts alone are never enough. We need the support of relevant sectors of the community including the Vocational Training Council (VTC). Since its establishment in 1982, the VTC has all along been our staunch ally in the promotion and development of VPET in Hong Kong. Today, VTC is offering training courses to more than 250 000 students a year at its 13 member institutions, playing a pivotal role in ensuring skill-based training for our workforce. 
      
     The VTC also creates value for its students and our society, aligning vocational and professional education and training services to the ever-changing needs of industry. It enhances apprenticeship training and, through its "Earn and Learn Pilot Scheme", attracts young people to industries with a keen demand for labour while providing apprentices with first-hand experience in the workplace.
      
     The HKSAR Government and VTC work closely with employers, training institutions and secondary schools to encourage more young people to pursue VPET as a valued choice and raise public awareness of the potential and prospect of pursuing VPET. We have stepped up measures to promote VPET on various fronts including introduction of dedicated funding to support job attachment and internship programmes run by the VTC and subsidise students pursuing designated self-financing undergraduate programmes with strong professional or vocational elements. We are also exploring new strategies to work with secondary schools to facilitate students to pursue VPET programmes.
      
     To sustain the continuous development of the VTC, we fully support the VTC to enhance further its infrastructure, including the development a modern and multi-disciplinary campus in East Kowloon as well as the Aircraft and Marine Engineering Centre within the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education Tsing Yi campus.
      
Lifelong Learning
 
     In view of the dynamic development of the world, we must respond swiftly to the needs of the changing environment. It is imperative for us to enable our people to do so in career as well as personal development through lifelong learning.
      
     We are injecting HK$1.2 billion into the Qualifications Framework Fund to bolster its functions so as to enhance the recognition of qualifications for different industries including vocational qualifications and provide young people with quality-assured pathways for continuous studies and further career development. At present, the Qualifications Framework is providing common benchmarks for quality assurance in 23 industries.
      
     Internationally, the Qualifications Framework is gaining recognition of our qualifications by our overseas counterparts. We have completed four comparability studies with the qualifications' framework of the European Union, Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand. The studies demonstrate the high standards of our Framework and quality assurance system, boosting their credibility and recognition world-wide. It now stands as a solid foundation in Hong Kong's progressive development into a knowledge-based economy.
 
Future Prospects
 
     The Belt and Road Initiative pioneered by our Motherland will be the new engine for Hong Kong's economic growth, offering enormous opportunities to our next generation. Covering 4.4 billion people of over 60 countries and accounting for over 30 per cent of global economic value, this national development strategy will certainly create new and abundant opportunities for our young people to unleash their versatile potential. 
      
     At the same time, highly promising brilliant prospects are also presented by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) development. It is a mega regional co-operation plan among Hong Kong, Macao and nine Guangdong cities. It has a total population of over 66 million in southern China (about the size of the UK) and a combined gross domestic product of over US$1.4 trillion or about the size of Australia or Korea.
      
     To help our younger generation establish interpersonal networks, broaden their horizons and assist their future career planning in the wake of these mammoth developments, we have allocated substantial resources to provide an average of more than 70 000 annual places for Hong Kong young people to participate in exchange and internship programmes on Mainland China including the Greater Bay Area and other places outside Hong Kong.
      
     We have also launched the Pilot Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas in collaboration with major enterprises to provide around 250 internship places for Hong Kong young people on the Mainland and overseas.
      
     In parallel, we have signed Working Holiday Scheme agreements with New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Canada, Korea, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands to provide opportunities for young people in Hong Kong to gain first-hand experience living and working in foreign countries, thereby broadening their horizons. The HKSAR Government will proactively sign more Working Holiday Scheme agreements with suitable partners, including countries along the Belt and Road corridors.
      
     To open up new markets and seize new opportunities in front of us, we need a supply of talent for different sectors. The four pillar industries, comprising trading and logistics, financial services, professional services and tourism, have been a driving force of the Hong Kong economy for years. While the HKSAR Government will continue to improve training resources and policy initiatives to sustain our competitiveness in these areas, we have also identified and promoted emerging industries to help diversify our economy.
      
     Innovation and Technology is one of the key areas that the Government seeks to further develop. To nurture a pool of innovative and IT-savvy talent, we have launched a HK$500 million Technology Talent Scheme to train and gather more technology talent and to encourage them to pursue a career in innovation and scientific research. One of the initiatives is to establish a Postdoctoral Hub to provide funding support for enterprises to recruit postdoctoral talent for scientific research and product development. We have also injected HK$3 billion into the Research Endowment Fund to provide studentships for local students enrolled in research postgraduate programmes funded by the University Grants Committee.
      
     In parallel, we have also invested heavily in strengthening the soft-power for our emerging sectors. Our creative industries and culture and arts sector have immense development potential. In 2016, it contributed 4.5 per cent to our GDP and employed 212 800 persons. To nurture a talent pool for the long-term development of this sector, we have injected HK$1 billion to enhance our support for grooming young talent and raise the community's awareness of creative thinking and design capability. In addition, we have also launched design incubation programmes for fashion and other design disciplines. 
      
     To enhance Hong Kong's status as the creative capital in the region, creative industry is identified as one of the 11 Industry Segments and Occupations with keen manpower demand in Hong Kong under the Talent List. The List aims to offer a separate avenue under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme to import top-notch talent. We hope that more UK talent of these creative disciplines can make use of this new avenue to tap the vast opportunities in Hong Kong.
      
     The HKSAR Government is also committed to consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international maritime and aviation centre. The maritime and aviation industries account for 4.2 per cent of Hong Kong's gross domestic product. To enhance further our air passenger and cargo capacity, we are actively assisting the Airport Authority of Hong Kong in implementing the Three-Runway System. Upon commencement of full operation in 2024, the System will substantially strengthen the capacity of the Hong Kong International Airport to handling 100 million passengers and nine million tonnes of cargo annually. 
      
     To nurture local and regional air transport management talents, the Airport Authority has established the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy to further strengthen Hong Kong's leading position as a regional and international aviation hub.
      
     Hong Kong is also a major cargo port worldwide. I am most pleased to note that our Transport and Housing Bureau has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Maritime London last September to further strengthen liaison and collaboration between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom in promoting high value-added maritime services and training of maritime practitioners. 
      
     To entrench Hong Kong's position as a diversified international maritime centre, we have introduced the HK$100 million Maritime and Aviation Training Fund to provide training schemes and scholarships and worked closely with the Maritime Services Training Institute under the VTC to provide training courses for new entrants, in-service seafarers, and employees of maritime industry.
      
     At the policy-making level, it is important to chart a holistic plan for nurturing talent in Hong Kong in a sustainable manner. In this connection, the current-term HKSAR Government has set up the Commission on Children, the Youth Development Commission and the Commission for the Planning of Human Resources, all under my chairmanship, to co-ordinate resources and efforts of the Government and relevant sectors to ensure that people of different age groups are prepared to meet the short-, medium- and long-term development needs of Hong Kong and keep up with our country's latest developments as well as the evolving trends in the global market.
 
     Ladies and gentlemen, the HKSAR Government is determined to continue to invest heavily in education and work closely with the industry players locally and from overseas in nurturing our young people and unleashing their potential, thereby sustaining the prosperity and competitiveness of Hong Kong.  
      
     On this positive note, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to VTC and the British Council for organising this roundtable discussion for experts in the post-secondary sector to share your valuable experience and insights in enhancing skills training and youth development. My warmest appreciation also goes to Mrs Carrie Yau for travelling all the way from Hong Kong to join me at this event. I look forward to learning more from you today. Thank you.
     

     The Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mrs Cherry Tse, today (September 27) officiated at the presentation ceremony for the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship and commended 21 scholarship recipients with talents in non-academic fields. Full scholarships will be granted to the awardees for undergraduate study in local universities and post-secondary institutions.  
      
     Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Tse said, "The Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship has been well received since its launch. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government aims to encourage young people, through the scholarships, to explore and develop their potential in different areas. The scholarships highlight that academic achievement is not the only criterion for excellence."
      
     Mrs Tse also encouraged young people to hold strong aspirations and determination in order to find the direction for development and gain support from society. 
      
     To foster a culture of multifaceted excellence, the Home Affairs Bureau launched the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship in late 2014 to support local universities and tertiary institutions in admitting local undergraduate students who excel in sports, arts and/or community services, providing an alternative path for students with talents to receive higher education.
      
     Applicants for the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship are nominated by their secondary school principals. After selection, the assessment panel comprising members from various sectors recommends candidates for admission by universities and post-secondary institutions. If deemed necessary, the institutions may conduct interviews with the selected candidates. The institutions give conditional offers to the selected candidates that they intend to admit before the release of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination results. If nominees attain HKDSE results that meet the admission conditions and are subsequently admitted for the undergraduate programmes they have applied for, they are awarded the scholarship.
      
     The awardees of the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship this year are listed in the Annex.