The "Quarterly Report on General Household Survey" for January to March 2025 is now available for access and download.
      
     The report contains statistics on labour force, employment, unemployment and underemployment for the first quarter of 2025. It also contains detailed analyses of the characteristics of different categories of members of the labour force, including their age, sex, educational attainment, employment status, occupation, industry, hours worked per week and monthly employment earnings, etc. Information on duration of unemployment for the unemployed is also presented.
      
     Users can browse and download the report at the website of the Census and Statistics Department (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1050001&scode=200).
      
     The summary of broad survey findings published in the report is shown in Table 1 attached. Enquiries about the contents of the report can be directed to the General Household Survey Section (3), Census and Statistics Department (Tel: 2887 5508 or email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk).

     The Government announced today (May 29) that the Chief Executive has, on the recommendation of a selection panel chaired by the Financial Secretary, appointed Mr Donald Choi Wun-hing as the Managing Director of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) for a term of three years starting from June 15, 2025, to succeed Mr Wai Chi-sing upon his upcoming retirement.
 
     The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said, "Mr Choi is a veteran architect and has worked in the fields of architecture and property development for a long time. He has a deep understanding of the local land and housing planning, the property market, conservation of historic buildings, green buildings and innovative construction techniques, among others, and is committed to creating quality and vibrant urban living in Hong Kong. I am confident that Mr Choi will lead the URA management in furthering the important task of urban renewal, as well as effectively handling the challenges of building decay while maintaining the financial sustainability of the URA. I look forward to close collaboration with him."
 
     "I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr Wai Chi-sing, who is retiring upon completion of his term of office, for his invaluable contributions to the work of the URA over the years. Since taking up the position of Managing Director in 2016, with his exceptional leadership and extensive experience, Mr Wai has led the URA in taking forward various urban renewal initiatives with an innovative mindset. Apart from introducing new planning concepts and measures to enhance the speed and quality of redevelopment through a number of redevelopment projects and district studies, he also adopted a forward-looking mindset to promote building rehabilitation and made significant contributions to advancing sustainable urban renewal," Ms Linn added.
 
     The Government appointed a consultancy firm last year to conduct an open recruitment exercise for the Managing Director post of the URA. The shortlisted candidates were considered by a selection panel chaired by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, and the recommendation on the appointment was made to the Chief Executive. Panel members included the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong; the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn; the Chairman of the URA, Mr Chow Chung-kong; and Non-Executive Director of the URA Board Mr William Chan Fu-keung.
 
     The URA Managing Director is the URA's administrative head, responsible for leading project teams to implement the decisions and instructions of the URA Board. The Managing Director is also the Deputy Chairman of its Board.
 
     A brief biography of Mr Choi is as follows:
 
     Mr Choi is an architect by profession. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Chinachem Group from 2018 to August 2024 before his retirement. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of the Nan Fung Development Limited and a Director at Foster + Partners. He previously served as President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design. 
 
     Mr Choi holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of British Columbia in Canada and professional degrees in architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Arts in Comparative and Public History degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

     Police today (May 29) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Sham Shui Po.

     Lung Wai-yan, aged 64, went missing after she was last seen on Cheung Sha Wan Road on May 6 afternoon. Her family made a report to Police yesterday (May 28).

     She is about 1.65 metres tall, 70 kilograms in weight and of medium build. She has a long face with yellow complexion and short grey hair. She was last seen wearing a black dress, white slippers and carrying a black suitcase.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of Kowloon West on 3661 8036 or 9020 6542, or email to rmpu-kw@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (May 28) detected a suspected money laundering case involving about $3.46 million subsequent to a follow-up investigation of two unfair trade practice cases identified in 2022. Two local men suspected to be connected with the case were arrested.
      
     In mid-2022, Customs detected two unfair trade practice cases and arrested a local man. In July 2023, the man was convicted of engaging in commercial practices involving misleading omissions in the sale of training services on dating techniques, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, and was sentenced to 160 hours of community service order.
      
     A subsequent financial investigation and fund-flow analysis revealed that there were numerous suspicious transactions, which were suspected to be crime proceeds, in the personal bank accounts of the man. Meanwhile, the investigation also revealed that another local man used his personal bank accounts to assist the man to receive the suspected crime proceeds, totaling about $3.46 million, during the period between April 2020 and February 2025.
      
     Upon further investigation, Customs arrested the two local men, aged 26 and 35, yesterday for "dealing with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of indictable offenses" (commonly known as money laundering) under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO) and searched their residential premises in Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and Quarry Bay. Two mobile phones, a computer notebook and a batch of bank documents were seized in the operation.
      
     The arrested persons have been released on bail pending investigation. The investigation of the case is still ongoing, and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
      
     Under OSCO, a person commits an offence if he or she deals with any property knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property in whole or in part directly or indirectly represents any person's proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 14 years while the crime proceeds are also subject to confiscation.
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected money laundering activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

     The Nuclear Emergency Committee Office of the Guangdong Province notified the Security Bureau today (May 29) of an operational event at Taishan Nuclear Power Station (TNPS), a Security Bureau spokesperson said today.

     On May 27, when a planned operation was conducted at Unit 1 of TNPS to switch the power supply from the auxiliary transformer to the station transformer on the distribution board, a circuit issue prevented the circuit from closing on time, triggering the emergency diesel generator to activate automatically. Station staff immediately carried out an on-site inspection. After confirming that everything was in order, they safely shut down the emergency diesel generator and restored the normal power supply.

     Throughout the above event, Unit 1 remained in a safe and stable condition, the three safety barriers remained intact and there was no release of radioactive substances. This deviation did not affect the safety of the Unit, the health of the workers, the nearby public or the environment. In accordance with the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale and the relevant nuclear safety regulations, this event was classified as a Level 0 deviation on May 27.
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     Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Co Ltd has reported the relevant situation to the nuclear safety regulatory authority in a timely manner, and will conduct internal experience review. It has also released the details of this event on its website (www.tnpjvc.com.cn) (Chinese only), which can be viewed in the "operational events" section under the "nuclear and radiation safety information" page of the website.