The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, began his visit to Harbin yesterday (August 30) to meet with the Secretary of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, Mr Xu Qin. Mr Chan introduced the latest situation in Hong Kong and exchanged views on promoting and deepening co-operation and exchanges between Hong Kong and Heilongjiang. He noted that the two places have maintained close relations with strong ties and frequent exchanges in economic and trade, culture and arts, and many more areas. Hong Kong benefits from the unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world. Under key national strategies such as the 14th Five-Year Plan and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the two places can realise deeper collaboration and achieve complementarity and mutual benefits, contributing together to the high-quality development of the country.

     Mr Chan visited the Harbin Planning Exhibition Hall this morning (August 31) to learn about the latest situation of the local economic development, city development and social planning. Later, he met with the Director-General of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Heilongjiang Province (HLJHKMAO), Mr Wu Wenge. He thanked the HLJHKMAO for their staunch support and assistance, which have facilitated exchanges and co-operation between Heilongjiang Province and Hong Kong in various areas. They also had an in-depth discussion on the updates and development directions of Hong Kong and various cities in Heilongjiang. Mr Chan then visited the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, which is one of the first batch 100 demonstration bases for patriotic education in the country. The Exhibition Hall displays the crimes of the Unit 731 through physical objects, pictures, archives, multi-media information, etc, which not only serves as witnesses to history, but also as an important venue for patriotic education.

     In the evening, Mr Chan attended the welcome dinner of the 2024 China Industrial Transfer and Development Matchmaking Activities (Heilongjiang) and introduced to local enterprises the latest developments and unique advantages of Hong Kong. He also encouraged them to leverage Hong Kong as a bridge between domestic and overseas enterprises to do business and invest in Hong Kong, and to explore further co-operation with Hong Kong to open up broader prospects in the course of continuous upgrading and transformation.
      
     Mr Chan will continue his visit to Harbin tomorrow (September 1), which includes meetings with leaders of Heilongjiang Province and Harbin City to discuss issues of mutual concern and strengthen exchanges and co-operation in various areas.

            

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) confirmed cases, the spokesperson for Tuen Mun Hospital made the following update today (August 31):

     Following a contact tracing investigation, one more patient, a 56-year-old male in the surgical ward, was identified as a carrier of VRE. The patient is now being treated in isolation and is in stable condition.

     The hospital will continue the enhanced infection control measures and closely monitor the situation of the ward concerned. The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health for necessary follow-up.

     The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force conducted an enforcement operation yesterday (August 30) in Kowloon and the New Territories and arrested a man and a woman, aged 41 and 28 respectively, for being suspected of "doing with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention", contravening Section 24 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Police conducted searches at the arrested persons’ residences with a court warrant, where light boxes, materials for making light boxes and relevant electronic communication devices were seized. The arrested persons are now being detained for investigation.

     Investigation revealed that the arrested woman was suspected of publishing fraudulent “last words” of the deceased in relation to a recent suicide case, while the arrested man was suspected of persistently placing so-called “memorial light boxes” in various places, with contents provoking hatred towards the Central Authorities and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

     The enforcement action is still on-going. Police remind the public that "doing with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention" is a serious offence. Offenders shall be liable on first conviction to imprisonment for seven years. Members of the public are urged not to defy the law.

     After attending the Mainland Olympians Gala Show to meet with the public yesterday (August 30), members of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Mainland Olympians delegation gave two sports demonstrations and had exchanges with local athletes this morning (August 31).

     The delegation attended a number of events in the past few days, including a visit to the Hong Kong Sports Institute where they had dialogues and skill exchanges with Hong Kong elite athletes, and shared their stories of struggles and success. The delegation also met and interacted with primary and secondary school students, representatives of disciplined services and members of the general public. The delegation was also arranged to visit the Peak and Victoria Harbour.

     The delegation left Hong Kong after attending a farewell luncheon held by the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China today.

          

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, welcomed a delegation led by the Administrator of the National Energy Administration (NEA), Mr Zhang Jianhua, to Hong Kong at the Central Government Offices today (August 31).

     The two sides held an exchange meeting on the same day to share and communicate on deepening co-operation in the energy field and green development. At the meeting, Mr Tse introduced the delegation to the latest development of Hong Kong's decarbonisation strategies, including measures on net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings. 

     Mr Tse said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government expresses gratitude to the NEA for supporting Hong Kong in accelerating its green and low-carbon transformation and improving the quality and efficiency of energy supply, thereby driving Hong Kong towards carbon neutrality."

     â€‹The Environment and Ecology Bureau will continue to maintain close liaison with the NEA at different levels and work together towards high-quality development in the energy field.