The Government announced today (June 12) that Mr Vic Yau Cheuk-hang has taken up the post of Director, Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office on June 12, 2023. 

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said, "Mr Yau is a seasoned Administrative Officer with proven leadership and management skills. I have every confidence that he will continue to serve the community with professionalism in his new capacity."

     A brief biographical note of Mr Yau is set out below:

Mr Vic Yau Cheuk-hang
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     Mr Yau joined the Administrative Service in July 1997 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 in April 2022. He has served in various bureaux and departments, including the Home Affairs Department, the former Home Affairs Bureau, the former Environment, Transport and Works Bureau, the Housing Department, the Chief Executive's Office and the Security Bureau. He was Deputy Secretary for Security from March 2016 to December 2018, Deputy Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) from December 2018 to February 2023 and Director, Preparatory Office for Northern Metropolis since February 2023.

  

     The Development Bureau today (June 12) announced the establishment of the Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office (NMCO) to co-ordinate, champion and drive the development of the Northern Metropolis.
      
     In the 2022 Policy Address, the Chief Executive stated that the current-term Government would take forward the development of the Northern Metropolis in full steam and set up a department dedicated to the development of the Northern Metropolis in 2023.

     A spokesman for the Development Bureau said, "With the theme of 'International Innovation and Technology New City', the Northern Metropolis integrates quality living, industries, and culture and leisure. It is a new engine for Hong Kong to scale new heights, and an important platform to promote high-quality economic co-operation between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and for Hong Kong to integrate into the overall national development."

     "The Northern Metropolis project covers aspects such as land development, housing supply, transport infrastructure, ecological conservation, development of industries, and government and community facilities. It is a mammoth undertaking involving a number of government bureaux and departments (B/Ds). The NMCO will assume the overall co-ordination role in taking forward the initiative."

     The NMCO will formulate and promulgate an action agenda and an implementation plan for the Northern Metropolis within this year. The major daily duties of the NMCO include:
 

• assuming an overall championing and co-ordinating role in taking forward the Northern Metropolis initiative;
• formulating innovative planning and lands policies as well as implementation arrangements to drive and support new industrial strategies;
• strengthening the co-ordination of the relevant B/Ds for timely implementation of provision of housing, transport and other infrastructure, ecological conservation, development of industries in different sectors, and provision of government/public facilities, etc in the Northern Metropolis for a comprehensive and coherent development;
• providing strategic advice to senior echelons on development strategies and priorities for the Northern Metropolis, as well as providing secretariat support to the Steering Committee on the Northern Metropolis chaired by the Chief Executive and the Advisory Committee on the Northern Metropolis chaired by the Financial Secretary;
• establishing close and regular contact and strengthening collaboration with the Mainland authorities to make full use of the synergy between the Northern Metropolis and GBA as well as the opportunities arising therefrom, and for better integration into the overall national development; and
• promoting public engagement and strengthening communication with stakeholders on the development of the Northern Metropolis.

 
     For enquiries about the Northern Metropolis, please email nmcoenq@devb.gov.hk.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesman for Kowloon West Cluster (KWC) made the following appeal today (June 12) regarding a patient who left the hospital without prior notification:
          
     A 28-year-old male patient of Kwai Chung Hospital, accompanied by hospital staff, attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) due to injury last night (June 11). The patient left PMH at around 9.45pm.
      
     Security guards were mobilised to search within the hospital compound and the vicinity area but in vain. KWC is very concerned about the incident and has reported to the Police.
          
     The patient was about 1.8 meters tall with a strong body build, short hair and a beard. He wore a green long-sleeved collared top, black and white plaid trousers and slippers.
          
     The hospital appeals to the public to contact Cheung Sha Wan Police Station at 3661 1644 or call 999 if they know the whereabouts of the patient.

     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, yesterday (June 10, Geneva time) concluded his visit to Switzerland.

     Mr Sun attended the plenary sitting of the 111th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) as part of the delegation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on June 9 morning, during which the Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, Ms Wang Xiaoping, delivered an address on the development of labour affairs of the country. In the afternoon on the same day, Mr Sun and officials held a bilateral meeting with the Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Regional Director for the ILO Office for Asia and the Pacific, Ms Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, and introduced the latest situation of the labour market, economy, employment and application of International Labour Conventions in Hong Kong. Mr Sun also outlined the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's support and welfare to foreign domestic helpers working in Hong Kong.

     Apart from sitting in committees of the ILC, on the sidelines of the meetings, Mr Sun met with senior officials of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security as well as representatives of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the China Enterprise Confederation as part of the PRC delegation. They had exchanges on various labour policies and labour relations issues. Mr Sun and colleagues also called on the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the PRC to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, Mr Chen Xu. They exchanged views on further deepening the exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong, China and the ILO. In addition, accompanied by the Commissioner for Labour, Ms May Chan, Mr Sun had in-depth discussions with employee and employer members of the Labour Advisory Board attending the ILC on labour policy initiatives of mutual concern.

     Earlier, upon arrival in Geneva on June 8, Mr Sun visited EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne in the afternoon, toured its campus facilities and learned more about its curriculum. He met with the Chief Academic Officer of EHL Group, Dr Juan-Francisco Perellon, and updated him on the recent strong rebound of Hong Kong's tourism and hotel industries. The sector has a thirst for talents. Hong Kong welcomes professionals around the world to come and pursue development in Hong Kong via various talent admission schemes.

     Mr Sun will return this afternoon (June 11) and arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon (June 12).

              

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation to attend the China Organ Donation Day event held at the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University today (June 11).
 
     The event was jointly organised by the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation (COTDF) and the China Organ Donation Administrative Center. Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee and Chairman of the expert committee of the COTDF, Professor Huang Jiefu, said that he noticed that some individuals distorted the virtue value of devotion in organ donation in Hong Kong earlier and led to thousands of withdrawal from the Centralised Organ Donation Register. He condemned these fraudulent acts.
 
     Professor Lo said, "The nation has made remarkable achievements worldwide in human organ donation work in recent years, while the China Organ Transplant Response System is also highly recognised by the World Health Organization and The Transplantation Society. The Health Bureau (HHB) is in discussion with the Mainland on the setting up of a standing organ transplant mutual assistance mechanism in a bid to make the best use of donated organs for saving lives.
 
     "Over 2 600 patients with organ failures in Hong Kong are currently awaiting organ transplants while there are only some 30 deceased donors annually. To this end, we are actively exploring the setting up of the mutual assistance mechanism with relevant Mainland authorities, in the hope of offering patients in the two places a higher chance to live a new life through cross-boundary regional mutual assistance.
 
     "The HHB and the Hospital Authority (HA) are now exploring with the Mainland by taking reference from the successful experience of the very first cross-boundary organ transplant case last year. The mechanism being considered is a second-tier mutual assistance allocation mechanism which will only be activated when no suitable patient can be identified for receiving the donated organ in a respective place, and matching is unsuccessful in the local allocation system. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is actively examining the proposed mechanism with relevant Mainland authorities so as to align the technical requirements, criteria and operational procedures, as well as to ensure that such organ donations are conducted under the principle of benefitting patients with the greatest need in a legal, fair, equitable and safe manner. It is hoped that the mechanism can be put in place as early as possible so that donated organs in Hong Kong and the Mainland be better utilised when no suitable recipient can be identified in the respective place, thus achieving the greatest benefit for the greater good and giving patients currently on the waiting list an extra chance to live a new life.
 
     "The HKSAR Government has been committed to cultivating a culture of supporting organ donations over the years. The HHB, the Department of Health and the HA will continue to co-operate seamlessly with various professional community partners to advocate organ donations on various fronts. Organ donations are a selfless and generous act of benevolence to save lives, as well as a significant demonstration of the good quality of citizenship," he emphasised.
 
     The delegation will return to Hong Kong from Shanghai in the evening.