​The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) today (March 22) is highly concerned about the errors in the printing of some of the tickets for Coldplay: Music of The Spheres World Tour by Cityline. … read more
Attention TV and radio duty announcers: Please broadcast the following special announcement as soon as possible, and repeat it at suitable intervals: A fire broke out at a warehouse near Ha Tsuen, Tin Shui … read more
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, held a gathering at Victoria House today (March 22) with the third-term Partners’ Board under the Strive and Rise Programme and some 200 guests who have been actively involved in the Programme, sharing the Programme’s fruitful achievements since its implementation.
Speaking at the gathering, Mr Chan remarked that, thanks to the close tripartite collaboration among the Government, the business sector, and the community, the Programme has steadily advanced into the third cohort. To date, the cumulative number of mentees exceeds 10 000. He expressed gratitude to the Programme’s Partners’ Board, star mentors, supporting organisations, and mentors for their selfless dedication to helping the mentees unleash their potential and set goals for the future.
Mr Chan mentioned that 4 000 mentees had been admitted to the third cohort of the Programme and that the matching of mentors and mentees had been completed. Mentees, their parents, and mentors have been attending orientation sessions and training courses since January this year. About 380 enterprises and organisations offered enthusiastic support to the third cohort, including nominating a sufficient number of mentors, raising about $18.6 million in donation and providing a wide range of group activities, study tours, diversified learning opportunities, and internship programmes.
Mr Chan also said that, in addition to continuing the enhanced measures adopted for the second cohort of the Programme, the third cohort of the Programme focuses on strengthening the support for mentors and further encouraging youth leaders of the Strive and Rise Alumni Club to organise more activities for self-development, maintaining the Programme’s spirit and sustaining its effectiveness. A newly-developed mobile application for the Programme has also been launched to facilitate mentor-mentee communication, featuring functions such as signing up for group activities, arranging meetings, and submitting mentees’ personal development plans.
With the launch of the third cohort of the Programme, the third-term Partners’ Board has also been officially established. Membership includes the Chief Secretary for Administration as Chairperson and comprises members who are representatives from relevant government departments and strategic partners who provide continuous key support for the Programme (see the list in the Annex). Regular meetings will be held for the Government to report on the Programme’s progress and to tap into the collective wisdom of the members to enhance the Programme.
Furthermore, outstanding leaders from various professions continue to be star mentors for the third cohort of the Programme, and 20 new star mentors have also joined the line-up. They will share their experiences and insights in their respective areas of expertise with the mentees (see the list on the designated website: www.striveandrise.gov.hk/en).
Participants in the gathering shared their experiences and gains from the Programme. Mentors said that with the resources allocated by the business sector, various innovative activities were organised to enrich the mentees’ learning profiles and broaden their exposures. In addition, mentors shared how to effectively support their mentees, especially those who are shy or have special educational needs, in building trusting relationships and guiding them to develop a positive outlook on life.
​Mr Chan emphasised that joint efforts of all sectors are pivotal for driving societal progress. He said that through the powerful synergy of the Government, the business sector, and the community, the Programme will continue to help uplift more underprivileged youths by broadening their horizons, reinforcing self-confidence, and developing a positive outlook on life.
​The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, who is currently in Beijing, made visits to a number of companies today (March 22). He will also attend the dinner of the China Development Forum this evening.
In the morning, Mr Chan visited a leading pop cultural entertainment company on the Mainland. This company, listed in Hong Kong, operates several popular intellectual property (IP) artistic toys that are well-received both domestically and globally. Mr Chan visited the company’s thematic park and met with its senior management to understand their business status and development plans. He expressed his pleasure that the company, as a leading cultural and creative enterprise, has successfully used Hong Kong as a platform to enter both regional and global markets. He welcomed the company’s plans to establish more physical sales networks in Hong Kong and to diversify its services. Mr Chan pointed out that to promote the development of Hong Kong as a regional intellectual property trading centre, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has proposed in the Budget to review the tax deduction arrangements for acquiring IP usage rights, etc., with a view to driving the further development of the relevant industries and ecosystem. He also encouraged the company to fully leverage Hong Kong’s advantages in funding, talent and professional services by establishing its international business headquarters and corporate treasury centre in Hong Kong to support their global business development.
Mr Chan then visited another company focused on the research and development of high-precision artificial intelligence products. Their intelligent sensing solutions are widely applied in smart traffic management, self-driving, perception robots and the low-altitude economy. They have been adopted by several cities across the country, including Beijing and Shanghai. The company is planning to establish its international business headquarters and global research and development (R&D) centre in Hong Kong, and is preparing for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mr Chan viewed the company’s latest high-end products and engaged in in-depth discussions with the company’s senior executives and R&D team. He encouraged them to bring their R&D teams and more technological solutions to Hong Kong, and to utilise Hong Kong’s international capital, talent and professional services to further expand their business into other markets in the world.
Mr Chan will attend the China Development Forum tomorrow (March 23) and will speak at a thematic seminar during the forum.
​Hong Kong Customs yesterday (March 21) seized about 39 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $33 million in Tsim Sha Tsui. A man was arrested.
During an anti-narcotics operation conducted in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday afternoon, Customs intercepted a man outside a commercial building unit. The man was then escorted to the unit for a search and about 39kg of suspected cocaine was seized inside. The 37-year-old man was immediately arrested at the scene.
An investigation is ongoing.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking 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).
