Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, in the Legislative Council today (June 4):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that, while default payments of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions by employers are considered as a “bad omen for closure of businesses”, the number of such cases has been rising in recent years. In 2022, the number of “Payment Notice for Mandatory Provident Fund Contributions and Surcharge” (Payment Notice(s)) issued by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) to employers defaulting on MPF contributions was about 340 000, and such number had increased to about 370 000 in 2023 and even reached about 400 000 last year, representing an average annual increase of about eight per cent. Also, the amount of default contributions which could not be recovered last year was as much as $13 million. What is more, the increasing trend of cases of employers defaulting on MPF contributions is in line with the trend of closure of businesses. According to information from the Companies Registry, from 2022 to 2024, about 88 000, 94 000 and 116 000 companies were dissolved in Hong Kong respectively. On the other hand, there are views that among the 400 000 cases of employers defaulting on MPF contributions last year, the MPFA only filed 1 432 civil claims and issued 352 summonses for criminal prosecution, which indicated a low percentage of prosecutions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it has studied the reasons why the aforesaid number of cases of employers defaulting on MPF contributions, which is considered as a bad omen for closure of businesses, increased drastically to about 400 000 last year; as there are views pointing out that the aforesaid situation is very much different from the Government’s view that the economic trend continues to be positive, whether the Government has explored the reasons for such a huge difference;
 
(2) whether it knows why the MPFA has filed civil claims and instituted criminal prosecutions in respect of only a very small number of employers defaulting on MPF contributions, and the criteria based on which the MPFA determines to file civil claims or institute criminal prosecution in respect of the cases of default contributions;
 
(3) given that default payments of MPF contributions is a criminal offence and the employers concerned are liable on conviction to imprisonment of a maximum of four years, and there are views that employers will not default on MPF contributions unless they are left with no alternative, and therefore the situation of employers defaulting on MPF contributions can be taken as a prediction of the economic outlook, whether the Government knows if the MPFA will consider publicising on a monthly basis the number of Payment Notices it has issued, or compiling a list of enterprises defaulting on MPF contributions for a prolonged period of time, e.g. more than six months, to enable the various sectors of the community to have an early grasp of the economic situation of Hong Kong; and
 
(4) there are views pointing out that given the current operating conditions of enterprises which are even worse than those of the period during the epidemic, the continued bad omens for closure of businesses, increasing number of affected unemployed persons, and the unemployment rate which has risen to 3.4 per cent, whether the authorities will consider allowing business operators and enterprises with similar operating difficulties as mentioned above, as well as their employees, to temporarily suspend their MPF contributions, so as to alleviate the burdens on employers and employees and prevent “the wave of closure of businesses” from spreading?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     One of the important functions of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) is to ensure that employers fulfil their statutory responsibility of making the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions for their employees on time, so as to protect the interests of employees. Based on various sources of information, including reports from trustees on default contribution cases, employee complaints, referrals from trade unions, media reports, etc, the MPFA will issue “Payment Notices for MPF Contributions and Surcharge” (Payment Notices) in accordance with statutory requirements to employers who are suspected of failing to make timely MPF contributions, and initiate investigations as needed. Once it is verified that an employer has defaulted on making contributions, the MPFA will recover the default contributions and impose a surcharge calculated at five per cent of the default amount, which will be allocated in full to the affected employees’ MPF accounts upon successful recovery.
 
     In consultation with the MPFA, the reply to the four parts of the question is as follows:
 
(1) According to Payment Notices issued by the MPFA to employers in the past, most cases involved administrative issues, such as incomplete or incorrect information in submitted documents, calculation errors, failure to receive contributions by trustees due to technical issues, etc. Moreover, an employer who continuously defaults on contributions will receive multiple Payment Notices. It is therefore not appropriate to rely solely on the number of Payment Notices issued by the MPFA to assess the overall situation of employers defaulting on contributions or Hong Kong’s overall economic condition. Nevertheless, we agree that all cases of defaulting on MPF contributions should be taken seriously.
 
(2) In 2024-25, the MPFA issued a total of around 400 000 Payment Notices to employers, with around 25 per cent of the cases having settled their default contributions and surcharges within the time limit (i.e. two weeks after Payment Notices were issued). For the remaining cases where the employers were confirmed to be in arrears after the time limit, almost all of them settled the outstanding payments upon the MPFA’s communication and request. The MPFA was only required to recover outstanding payments from a small proportion of these cases (about 1 700 cases) by taking legal actions through civil proceedings. Should these employers fail to settle the default contributions even after the court rulings, the MPFA would take further legal actions, including applying to the court for charging orders, garnishee orders, requesting actions from the bailiff, etc. In the aforesaid year, the MPFA successfully recovered around $200 million of default contributions, whereas around $10 million of default contributions were not recovered, representing about 0.01 per cent of the total contributions made. In addition, to enhance deterrence, the MPFA prosecutes non-compliant employers if sufficient evidence is found during investigation, and the complainant is willing to become a prosecution witness and provide relevant information. In 2024-25, a total of around 280 summonses were issued against employers and directors and managers of limited corporations who had defaulted on contributions. There were about 180 successful convictions with fines imposed for each case ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
 
(3) To enhance transparency, the MPFA has regularly published relevant figures on default MPF contributions. For instance, the MPFA reports monthly to the Legislative Council Panel on Manpower the number of complaints received for employers’ default contributions, the number of Payment Notices issued to employers, the number of cases filed in courts, etc. Such information is also published on the MPFA’s website for public inspection. In addition, the MPFA provides on its website a “Non-Compliant Employer and Officer Records”, which enables the public to access information about non-compliant employers, as well as relevant civil and criminal court rulings, thereby strengthening the deterrence against non-compliant employers. To further safeguard the interests of employees, the MPFA has submitted to the Government the proposal on implementing a tiered surcharge for default MPF contributions. The Government will give due consideration and follow up as appropriate.
 
(4) There are currently no provisions in the legislation providing for the suspension or deferral of part or all of the mandatory contributions. The suspension of mandatory MPF contributions will inevitably undermine the integrity of the MPF System as a long-term and steady retirement savings scheme for the accumulation of benefits and value growth. Not only will implementing this proposal reduce the retirement protection of employees, but also the support provided to employers is limited. The Government considers it inappropriate to implement the recommendation after analysing and weighing carefully its long-term implications. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yung and a reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (June 4):

Question:

     This year, the 15th National Games (NG) and the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NGD and NSOG) will be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) how the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) will collaborate with relevant government departments and organisations to publicise NG, NGD and NSOG;

(2) of the plans of the CSTB and the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to step efforts to attract Mainland and overseas visitors to Hong Kong for watching the tournaments of NG, NGD and NSOG; and

(3) given that the 2025 Legislative Council General Election will be held immediately after the NG, how the Government will integrate the publicity efforts of the NG and the Legislative Council General Election so that the two mega events can mutually foster with each other; what is the current progress and timetable of the relevant work?

Reply:

President,

     The NG, NGD and NSOG, to be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao for the first time, will be held from November 9 to 21, 2025 and from December 8 to 15, 2025 respectively. The CSTB is committed to enhancing public awareness of and interest in the NG, NGD and NSOG through multi-channel publicity, including the use of traditional media, social media, city dress-up, roving exhibitions, as well as collaborations with community organisations, sports associations and schools.

     Our publicity strategies are rolled out in three stages. The first stage started in end-2024 to enhance public awareness of the NG, NGD and NSOG. The second stage, running from January to July this year, aims to foster a welcoming atmosphere for the Games in Hong Kong, including the launch of those photo-taking spots featuring the mascots Xiyangyang and Lerongrong. The third stage will start from August this year to significantly boost the popularity and participation of the NG, NGD and NSOG, including the organisation of the 100-day countdown, torch relay and the Sport For All Day, as well as other enhanced promotional efforts like city-dress-up initiatives.

     Our reply to Hon Chan Yung’s question is as follows:

(1) The CSTB is working with various relevant government bureaux/departments and organisations to carry out publicity. Highlights include:

(i) launching publicity campaign jointly with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department for the athlete selection sessions for the mass participation events of the NG, NGD and NSOG under the theme of “I want to join the National Games” (「我è¦�上全é�‹ã€�), and taking the opportunity to promote the two mass participation events organised by Hong Kong, namely Bowling and Para Dance Sport;

(ii) launching Announcements in the Public Interest and special programmes through the Information Services Department (ISD) and Radio Television Hong Kong respectively, covering local athletes, Mainland competition events and preparations of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao for the Games. The ISD also assisted in publicity in the Mainland and overseas, including promotion through social media and digital platforms in the Mainland as well as advertisements in overseas media;

(iii) joining hands with the Home Affairs Department and the Education Bureau to conduct community engagement activities in all 18 districts across the territory and diversified promotional activities in schools, with a view to widely publicising the events both in the community and in schools;

(iv) beautifying the cityscape in areas around the competition venues in collaboration with the Highways Department to infuse the community with elements of the NG, NGD and NSOG. Besides, we co-organised the Architectural Installation Design Competition for the 2025 National Games in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects; and

(v) collaborating with various organisations and groups, including the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, the China Hong Kong Paralympic Committee, the Hong Kong Sports Institute, related national sports associations and the HKTB, to include elements of the NG, NGD and NSOG in their events.

(2) Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will deploy the same ticketing platform. The Guangdong Provincial Executive Committees for the NG, NGD and NSOG is actively working on the ticketing policies and the system setup. Upon confirmation of the ticketing arrangements, the CSTB will collaborate with the tourism industry to design various tourism products, with a view to attracting Mainland and overseas spectators and visitors. As for the Mainland market, the HKTB will target at sports enthusiasts by carrying out publicity work on related social media and other forms of media.

(3) On December 7 this year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will hold the 8th Legislative Council General Election. Given the relevance of this election to the successful and robust implementation of the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” and good governance and long-term stability of the HKSAR, the Government attaches great importance to the successful organisation of this election, the NG, NGD and NSOG, and is determined to carry out related publicity and promotion works well, striving to achieve extensive publicity effect. Currently, relevant Government bureaux and departments are actively considering the co-ordination arrangements for taking forward the publicity of these two major events, and will announce any specific arrangement at a later stage.

     Thank you, President. read more

     The Government welcomed the passage of the Banking (Amendment) Bill 2025 by the Legislative Council today (June 4) to facilitate the sharing of account information among banks under specified conditions to enhance the efficiency in detecting and preventing crime in Hong Kong.
 
     The Amendment Ordinance introduces a voluntary mechanism for banks and relevant law enforcement agencies to share with each other, swiftly and safely via electronic means, information of corporate and individual accounts through secure platforms designated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), when banks become aware of suspected prohibited conduct (i.e. money laundering, terrorist financing or financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction). The Amendment Ordinance also provides legal protection for banks that disclose relevant information. The mechanism will enable banks and relevant law enforcement agencies to act swiftly to intercept illicit funds and expedite intelligence gathering so that the public will be better protected from fraud and associated money laundering activities.

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, “The new mechanism not only enhances Hong Kong’s ability to combat fraud and associated money laundering activities, providing better protection for citizens, but also helps maintain the stability of Hong Kong’s banking system and showcases the efforts made by Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, in international collaborations to combat relevant illegal activities.”
 
     The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, said, “The new information sharing mechanism will further enhance the ability of the banks to detect and prevent fraud and other financial crime. The HKMA will continue to work closely with the Hong Kong Police Force and the banking sector to take forward the preparation work, including the upgrade of systems and formulation of practical guidelines, with a view to implementing the new mechanism as soon as practicable.”

     The Amendment Ordinance will come into effect this year. The commencement date will be announced separately.
  read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (June 4):
 
Question:

     It is learnt that the Government, public organisations and some private enterprises have set biliteracy and trilingualism (i.e. the ability to write Chinese and English fluently along with an excellent command of spoken Cantonese, Putonghua and English) as the language proficiency requirement for recruitment. However, there are views pointing out that such requirement makes it impossible for talents with exceptional qualifications but uneven levels of biliteracy and trilingualism, or those who are proficient in specific languages and possess specific expertise to be recruited, and this may affect the talent diversity and competitiveness of Hong Kong in the long run. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of personnel in the Government and public organisations who are proficient in specific languages at present; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will compile the relevant statistics;

(2) given that Hong Kong is following closely the footsteps of our country in deepening international exchanges and co-operation, such as promoting economic and trade co-operation with Latin America and the Middle East region, etc, of the specific measures the Government has put in place to recruit talents proficient in the languages spoken in such regions and with local connections to undertake the aforesaid work; and

(3) whether the Government will take the lead in formulating more flexible language proficiency standards for recruitment to some government posts (especially those requiring specific expertise or international experience), so as to bring in diversified talents and enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness?

Reply:

President,

     Consolidated reply to various parts of the question is as follows:

     The Government attaches great importance to attracting talents from different backgrounds to join the civil service and building up a diversified pool of talents to enhance the quality and efficiency of the Government and public service. Appointment to the civil service is conducted on the principle of open and fair competition in order to select and recruit the most suitable and most meritorious talents. Departments will, having regard to the job requirements of different civil service grades, specify appropriate entry requirements, including academic qualification, experience, language proficiency, etc, and will review these requirements from time to time to ensure that they are commensurate with the objective of achieving good performance. In selecting applicants, we fully assess their character, performance, ability and capability to ensure that only candidates who meet the required standards in all aspects would be appointed. It is of paramount importance for appointed officers to be able to meet the core competency requirements, including language requirements, of their grades. In particular, for degree level jobs, apart from discharging professional duties, officers are generally required to communicate with members of the public, stakeholders and other government departments, and to express complicated concepts and views. They may also be promoted to directorate level. In this connection, they must have good communication skills.

     We will ensure that the language proficiency requirements set by departments and grades would not be higher than the requirements of the job. For posts requiring a university degree, there are two different levels of Chinese and English language proficiency requirements. Departments and grades may set their language proficiency requirements at one of the two levels according to their operational need. For posts requiring qualification below university level, departments or grades may set their own language proficiency requirements.

     While the Government has a basic requirement on the Chinese and English proficiency level of the majority of civil servants, we will flexibly adjust the language proficiency requirements for individual post having regard to job nature and operational need, so that those who possess exceptional qualities or professional expertise but with uneven levels of biliteracy and trilingualism may also be appointed. For example, Government Counsels handle professional legal works, including criminal advocacy, civil litigation, legal advice, law drafting, public international law and legal policy matters. In order to attract a wider pool of talents, the Department of Justice may, without affecting the operation of the Department, recruit a small number of persons with unique experience or professional knowledge, but whose Chinese language proficiency do not meet the entry requirement to be Government Counsel. If there is a need for departments to adjust the language proficiency requirements for other jobs to meet their operational needs and to better trawl talents of different backgrounds, we are prepared to consider giving greater flexibility provided that the overall quality of public service is not affected.

     In international business, finance or other fields, English is still the main working language. Although different countries have their own official languages, English is widely used in most settings. People who need to work with foreigners are generally willing and accustomed to communicate in English. For attracting enterprises and investment, promoting Hong Kong and other international engagements (examples on international engagements include attending international conferences and liaison work outside the conference venue, Hong Kong’s young civil servants working in United Nations and its affiliated organisations as Chinese personnel), they can generally be carried out in English. Depending on actual need, say organising investment promotion activities overseas, interpretation service will be arranged by the relevant departments and/or Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) overseas.

     Government positions in overseas ETOs involve extended postings abroad, where officers must develop long-term and in-depth political, commercial and cultural ties with places where they work. As such, their roles call for higher proficiency in foreign languages. At the moment, we do not maintain statistics on the number of civil servants who are proficient in foreign languages. However, in respect of Administrative Officer (AO) grade which have the largest number of posts in overseas ETOs and the greatest opportunities to be responsible for external liaison and promotion work of Hong Kong, we will collect information on foreign languages proficiency of the applicants during recruitment. In addition, we also subsidise AO grade officers to learn foreign languages so as to build up a pool of officers with foreign languages ability for selection. For civil servants posted to ETOs or seconded outside Hong Kong, for example Executive Officers, Information Officers and Trade Officers, subsidies will be provided for them to learn foreign languages. Separately, where there is a need to use a foreign language for a specific period of time, departments may recruit persons who know the foreign language on civil service agreement or non-civil service contract terms. If there is a long-term need for the post holder of a particular post to know a foreign language, but applicants who know the relevant foreign language and proficient in both Chinese and English are rare, as mentioned in the earlier part of my reply on special arrangement, without affecting the operation of the departments, they may employ persons with unique foreign language ability but whose Chinese or English language proficiency do not meet the entry requirement.

     The Government will also, having regard to the needs of the job at different times, fill vacancies in an appropriate way. For posts at promotion ranks, including directorate posts, if they require experience which may not be commonly found in the civil service, we will consider filling vacancies by open recruitment to widen the pool of candidates. Examples on open recruitment of directorate posts include Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Director of Legal Aid, Director-General of Investment Promotion and Commissioner for Belt and Road, all of which are at the rank of Directorate Grade 6. Unlike recruitment of officers at entry ranks which require no or limited working experience, in the above cases, applicants’ proficiency in Chinese and English is evident in their working experiences. For those who have rich experience and outstanding achievements in various industries, their communication skill in Chinese and English would not be inadequate to cope with their work. In this connection, the Government generally requires applicants to have good command in Chinese and English, instead of requiring them to possess specific public examination or civil service examination results, in order to attract talents who have the most suitable experience and capability. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 is 103.4 (same as yesterday’s index). read more