​The Social Welfare Department (SWD) noted that a video on a murder case in Diamond Hill this afternoon (June 2) has been going viral on the Internet. Members of the public are advised to seek professional support if the… read more
The Department of Health (DH) is today (June 2) investigating a case of pulmonary embolism after receiving an injection of hyaluronic acid in the Mainland, and reminded the public that such injection should only be performed by healthcare… read more
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Gerald Choa Oration 2023 organised by the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong today (June 2):
Francis (Dean of Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Francis Chan), Nisa (Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, Ms Nisa Leung), professors, distinguished guests, students, alumni, friends of CU Medicine (Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong), ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening, and thank you for inviting me to join you tonight for this year’s Gerald Choa Oration, an event commemorating the legacy of Professor Gerald Choa, who founded the University’s Faculty of Medicine in 1981.
Today, 42 years later, CU Medicine is a world-class medical school, with more than 1 200 fulltime teaching and research staff in 19 departments and schools. And it all began with the leadership, drive and vision of Professor Choa.
Today’s gathering looks back to those heady early years of CU Medicine. It looks forward, as well, to the future.
In just a few minutes, Nisa will share her insights on the way forward, under the theme of “Accelerating Change in Current Times: Advances and Opportunities in China’s Healthcare Innovation”.
Before that, please allow me to share some humble thoughts on the prospects of Hong Kong in making a decided difference for healthcare innovation.
Hong Kong has world-class medical infrastructure and research capabilities. Our medical professionals, services and standards are among the best in the world. We are home to two of the world’s leading 40 medical schools as well as numerous award-winning scholars and researchers.
We also have eight State Key Laboratories related to life and health sciences. Our InnoHK Research Clusters, on the other hand, have brought together local and the world’s leading research institutions, which drive cutting-edge researches on healthcare-related technologies.
Over the years, we have been committed to building a strong ecosystem for life and health innovation. Central to this is the funding available to the start-ups and tech firms. In addition to the Government’s different seed funding schemes, Hong Kong is home to a rich circle of venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds – including those under the charge of visionary venture capitalists like Nisa – which nurture and support firms at their different stages of development.
In fact, over the past few years, the Government has been working to boost the VC and PE industry, including modernising and diversifying our fund structures, offering tax concessions, expanding fund distribution networks, and giving out investment mandates, etc. As at March this year, PE capital under management in Hong Kong was more than US$210 billion, which is No. 2 in Asia, just behind the Mainland.
In 2018, we launched new listing rules to allow pre-revenue or pre-profit biotech companies to go public in Hong Kong. Now, we have become one of the world’s leading fundraising hubs for biotechnology companies. Up to March this year, 56 such companies have been listed on our stock exchange, having raised over HK$116 billion in initial public offerings.
Riding on our strengths in talent pool, research and a vibrant funding ecosystem, the Government will continue to invest in and promote the development of life and health technology as an industry of strategic priority.
Our ambitions have been boosted by the prospects of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park and the San Tin Technopole in the Northern Metropolis. They will become the life and health technology hub of Hong Kong.
Ladies and gentlemen, the National 14th Five-Year Plan attaches great importance to developing the Greater Bay Area (GBA) as an international innovation and technology centre.
One of the key directions for this is life and health science, and Hong Kong has been designated to play a leading role. With top-class expertise, the best international professional standards, easy access to financing and the Mainland market, as well as a trusted legal system protecting intellectual property rights, Hong Kong is becoming home to respected clinical research centres recognised by the National Medical Products Administration of China and other regulatory bodies around the world. We are also favoured by local and multinational pharmaceutical companies for conducting clinical trials in order to be able to venture into the vast market of the Mainland.
On this front, we are making pleasing progress. With the support of the Central People’s Government, Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices can now be used by healthcare institutions in the GBA. The Health Bureau is actively seeking to enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial platform, and will consider revising the mechanism in vetting and approving the registration of new drugs, so as to enable Hong Kong to serve as the window of medical technologies, drugs and medical devices for the GBA and the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is only the beginning. I’m sure we will hear more enlightening perspectives from Nisa, the orator tonight, on what Hong Kong can do more to inspire healthcare innovation in the GBA and beyond. Before I close, I would like to express my gratitude to CU Medicine for organising this wonderful annual event where we can all learn from the wisdom of remarkable leaders of our community.
Thank you very much.
The Transport Department (TD) today (June 2) alerted members of the public to fraudulent SMS message purportedly issued by the HKeToll. The SMS message provides a hyperlink with the domain name of “https://eftctw.buzz/” to a fake HKeToll website, which seeks to obtain the recipient’s credit card information.
The TD clarifies that the SMS message was not issued by the HKeToll. The case has been reported to the Police for follow-up. Members of the public are reminded that the HKeToll will not send SMS messages or emails to vehicle owners with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the website to carry out transactions. If a vehicle owner wishes to pay an outstanding toll online, they must log in to the HKeToll website (hketoll.gov.hk) or mobile app.
Members of the public should stay alert when receiving unidentified messages and refrain from disclosing any personal information and visiting any suspicious websites. Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website concerned should contact the Police. For enquiries about the HKeToll, please call 3853 7333. read more
The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, has concluded his visit to Beijing today (June 2). He called on the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, with the officials in his entourage, to report on the Beijing visit and the work plans, as well as the latest developments of the rule-of-law-related aspects of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Mr Lam expressed his gratitude to Mr Xia for his encouragement and support, and said that the Department of Justice will continue to fully and faithfully implement the principle of “one country, two systems”, to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to further capitalise on Hong Kong’s unique advantages as the only common law jurisdiction in the country, so as to leverage the city’s strengths to meet the country’s need and more proactively integrate into the overall development of the country, thereby contributing to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
In addition, Mr Lam attended an annual exchange meeting with the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday morning (May 31). He met with the Minister of Justice, Ms He Rong, to discuss further promoting the alignment and harmonisation of legal rules and mechanisms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the pilot measures for Hong Kong and Macao legal practitioners to practise in the GBA, and the arrangements concerning legal talent exchanges and training.
Mr Lam visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same day to meet with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Deng Li. Mr Lam also attended an annual exchange meeting with the Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ma Xinmin, to discuss the role of the HKSAR in the country’s development in the practice of foreign-related legal affairs, the work progress of the International Organization for Mediation Preparatory Office established in the HKSAR, and the continuing co-operation and exchanges with international organisations.
Yesterday morning (June 1), Mr Lam called on the Ministry of Commerce to meet with Vice Minister of Commerce Mr Sheng Qiuping. Mr Lam also attended an annual exchange meeting with the Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce, Ms Li Yongjie, to proactively deliberate on the plan for implementing the tripartite exchanges and co-operation arrangement signed by both parties together with the Bureau of Policies, Laws and Regulations of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. They also discussed the participation of the HKSAR, as part of the Chinese delegation, in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s work on the reform of the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.
Mr Lam then met with the Director of the Research Office of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee and Macao Special Administrative Region Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), Mr Yang Zhaoye, and the Administrative Office Director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPCSC, Mr Sun Zhenping, to discuss topics including the progress of the HKSAR’s work on the implementation of national laws and related work, the exercise of systematic review of statutory laws, and the rule of law education on promoting national laws.
Mr Lam returned to Hong Kong this afternoon.
