The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is highly concerned about a family tragedy that happened in a building on Kweilin Street in Sham Shui Po today (June 5). The woman and her three daughters involved in the in… read more
The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) of the Development Bureau today (June 5) announced that Haw Par Mansion will be reopened on June 9 for the public to visit by appointment through a guided tour.
Guided tours, in Cantonese, will be held from Fridays to Sundays and on public holidays (except for the first three days of Lunar New Year). There will be four sessions per day and each session will accommodate 24 participants. Docents will guide participants to tour the private garden and most of the Mansion’s interior. They will also introduce its history, architectural features and heritage value. The public can make appointments through the AMO website (www.amo.gov.hk/en/visitor-centre/docent-services/public/haw-par-mansion/index.html) starting from 10am, June 6 (Tuesday). For enquiries, please call the AMO on 2208 4406 or 2208 4407.
Located at No. 15A, Tai Hang Road, Hong Kong Island, Haw Par Mansion was the residence of Mr Aw Boon Haw, an overseas Chinese merchant. It was accorded Grade I historic building status in 2009.
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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, will depart for Paris, France, tonight (June 5) to attend the Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He will also visit Hungary to forge closer economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and Hungary.
　　
At the MCM of the OECD in Paris on June 7 (Paris time), Mr Yau will join a discussion session with participating ministers on trade policies for resilient and inclusive growth. He will also meet with the French business sector to promote Hong Kong’s advantages and business opportunities.
　　
After the OECD meeting, Mr Yau will visit Budapest, Hungary, from June 8 to 9 (Budapest time). He will attend a roundtable luncheon with Hungarian business leaders and also meet with senior officials to have exchanges on economic and trade co-operation issues.
Mr Yau will then depart for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend the 10th Arab-China Business Conference on June 11 (Riyadh time). Under the theme of “Collaborating for Prosperity”, the event aims to promote co-operation between China and the Arab nations in the areas of economy, trade and investment.
Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong on June 12. The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development during Mr Yau’s absence. read more
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at HKU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Day DreamOn 2023 today (June 5):
Professor Zhang Xiang (President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong (HKU)), Ms Priscilla Wong (Chairman of the HKU Council), Mr Charles Li (Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect and HKU Council Member), Professor Max Shen (Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of HKU), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. I am very pleased to join you all today at DreamOn 2023, the annual event dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the community of the University of Hong Kong.
HKU is well respected for its pursuit of academic excellence and groundbreaking innovations. Over its distinguished 112 years of history, HKU has been a nurturing ground for top-tier talents, a cradle for pioneering scientific discoveries, and a powerhouse for transformative innovations. Today’s event highlights HKU’s latest innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives. These pioneering endeavours underscore HKU’s unwavering commitment to promoting entrepreneurship and exhibit the University’s dedication to nurturing the dreams of our future innovators.
Despite the upheavals caused by the pandemic in the past three years, the Government’s commitment to I&T (innovation and technology) development has remained resolute. To realise the vision of developing Hong Kong into an international I&T centre, we published the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint last December, setting out a clear development path and systematic strategic planning for Hong Kong’s I&T development over the next five to 10 years.
One of our major strategies set out in the Blueprint is to enhance the I&T ecosystem and to promote interactive development of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. In this regard, the Government will adopt a multi-pronged approach to strengthen Hong Kong’s unique advantage in scientific research and accelerate commercialisation of R&D (research and development) results from universities. We will launch a $10 billion Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme, RAISe+ in short, which will fund, on a matching basis, at least 100 university research teams with strong start-up potential, fostering an effective “from 1 to N” transformation of exceptional R&D outcomes from universities.
It is inspiring to see the confluence of various I&T stakeholders today demonstrating their support for HKU. This is indeed a concrete example of cross-sector collaboration, which is particularly important in I&T development. This united vision will be instrumental in transforming Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology centre. The Government is dedicated to mobilising all sectors of the community towards this vision.
With these words, I once again appreciate HKU for its relentless pursuit of excellence and its tireless efforts to translate deep tech into impactful solutions. Your contributions fortify Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem and create a lasting impact. Let us collectively harness the power of innovation and technology to turn dreams into reality.
May I wish today’s event a great success. Thank you very much. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Minimum Wage Commission:
The Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) today (June 5) launched the second-stage consultation to further invite views from the public on enhancing the review mechanism of the Statutory Minimum Wage.
The MWC completed the first-stage consultation on enhancing the review mechanism on April 24. Taking account of the views received, the MWC would like to listen to the views from the public and stakeholding organisations in a more focused manner through the second-stage consultation. On completion of the second-stage consultation, the MWC will consolidate and deliberate the views received with a view to putting forth recommendation(s) to the Government.
The consultation document can be downloaded from the MWC’s website (www.mwc.org.hk/en/consultation/index.html). The public is welcome to give views by e-form on the MWC’s website, email (mwc@labour.gov.hk), fax (2110 3518) or post (Minimum Wage Commission, 1/F, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central), on or before June 25.
The Chief Executive (CE) announced in his 2022 Policy Address that the MWC would be invited to study how to enhance the review mechanism, including the review cycle, how to improve efficiency, balancing a host of factors such as the minimum wage level and sustained economic development, and to make proposals to the Government. The CE has exercised the power conferred by the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) (Cap. 608), and tasked the MWC to conduct the aforesaid study and submit a report on the study to the CE by end-October 2023.
Pursuant to the MWO, the MWC’s main function is, when required by the CE to do so, to make recommendation on the Statutory Minimum Wage rate to the CE in Council. In performing its functions, the MWC needs to maintain an appropriate balance between the objectives of forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs, and give due regard to sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness. read more