Following is a question by the Hon Louis Loong and a reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (March 19): Question: The Kwu Tung Nor… read more
The Government announced today (March 19) that the Supplementary Medical Professions (Amendment) Bill 2025 (the Bill) will be gazetted this Friday (March 21), with the First Reading at the Legislative Council scheduled for March 26.
　　In recent years, supplementary medical professions have been playing increasingly important roles in the healthcare system, particularly in primary healthcare development. To recognise their professional status and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration, the Bill proposes to rename “supplementary medical professions” as “allied health professions”; remove obsolete restrictions while providing a legal framework to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaborations, include allowing patients to accept physiotherapy and occupational therapy services without a doctor’s referral under specified circumstances, and enable allied health professionals to accept referrals from Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs). In addition, to further enhance the manpower resources of allied health professions, the Bill introduces a new pathway to admit qualified non-locally trained allied health professionals to practise in designated institutions in order to address the manpower shortage of specific allied health professions within the public healthcare system. The Bill also introduces continuing professional development (CPD) as a mandatory requirement for all allied health professionals, with a view to ensuring the overall professional standard of allied health professions. To promote the development of allied health professions, the Bill proposes to enhance the composition and structure of the Supplementary Medical Professions Council (to be renamed as the Allied Health Professions Council) (the Council) and its five constituent Boards to ensure better performance of their regulatory roles, and further enhancing representativeness and credibility.
Renaming “supplementary medical professions” as “allied health professions”
Since the enactment of the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Cap. 359) (the Ordinance) in 1980, the term “supplementary medical professions” has been used for over 40 years. In view of the increasingly important and specialised roles played by these five professions under the Ordinance in Hong Kong’s healthcare system, the Bill will rename “supplementary medical professions” as “allied health professions” to reflect their important function and enhanced professional status within the healthcare system, particularly primary healthcare.
Accepting physiotherapy and occupational therapy services without a doctor’s referral
　　At present, physiotherapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) may only provide services to patients upon a doctor’s referral, except in emergency or other specified situations. To address the new challenges to the healthcare system posed by an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the Government is committed to developing primary healthcare, encouraging members of the public to seek early medical intervention in the community for common illnesses. Allowing patients to access physiotherapy and occupational therapy direct under specified conditions for early treatment is one of the key elements.
　　The healthcare sector generally agrees that, on the premise of ensuring patient safety and enhancing risk management, allowing patients to seek assistance directly from PTs and OTs can expand access to primary healthcare by members of the public, thereby achieving the goals of streamlining processes and reducing costs, and further promoting the development of primary healthcare. The Bill sets out three circumstances under which patients may seek physiotherapy and occupational therapy services directly without a doctor’s referral:
(1) Clinical protocol or cross-disciplinary collaboration arrangement
　　Citizens may seek services directly from PTs or OTs for health conditions covered by recognised clinical protocols. PTs and OTs must adhere to the recognised clinical protocols at all times, including timely referral of patients to doctors for diagnosis and treatment if specific “red-flag” symptoms are detected. Regarding cross-disciplinary collaboration arrangements, PTs and OTs registered under the future Primary Care Register will be allowed to provide direct services to patients under the arrangements of the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission). They must record the patient’s condition and, if necessary, notify the patient’s registered family doctor via the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth) to ensure that patients can receive timely follow-up treatment when needed.
(2) Diagnosis by a registered doctor or CMP within the past 12 months
　　Patients may seek direct physiotherapy or occupational therapy services for health conditions diagnosed by a registered doctor or CMP within the past 12 months without obtaining a new referral letter each time. Patients must provide proof of the diagnosis. Apart from a referral letter, the proof can also be in the form of outpatient records, follow-up consultation records, or discharge summaries.
(3) Emergency or other situations approved by the Council
PTs and OTs may provide direct services to patients without a doctor’s referral in emergency or other situations (applicable to PTs and OTs) and community services (applicable to OTs) approved by the Council. The details of these designated situations will be set out in the two professional codes of practice issued by the Council.
Allowing allied health professionals to accept referrals from CMPs
Chinese medicine is an integral part of Hong Kong’s healthcare system, and the Government has long been committed to strengthening its role in primary healthcare, supporting the development of Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese-Western medicine services in secondary and tertiary healthcare, and encouraging the cross-disciplinary collaboration between healthcare professions. There are practical needs for CMPs to refer patients in accordance with clinical needs for other treatments and modern diagnostic technologies, which can improve clinical diagnostic accuracy and monitor treatment effectiveness, thereby further enhancing the quality of healthcare services.
To further Chinese medicine as a constituent part of Hong Kong’s healthcare system, the Bill provides a legal framework for allied health professionals to accept referrals from CMPs under suitable conditions. The Chinese medicine profession and relevant allied health professions must reach a consensus on professional standards regarding knowledge, skills, professional competencies and conduct, in order to formulate implementation details and update the relevant codes of practice. In view of the practical clinical and operational needs of The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong (CMHHK), the Bill also allows relevant allied health professionals to accept referrals from CMPs within the hospital, supporting the hospital’s phased commencement of services from the end of this year.
Admitting non-locally trained allied health professionals
In view of the persistent manpower shortages in certain allied health professions within the public healthcare system, the Bill introduces a new limited registration pathway to admit qualified non-locally trained allied health professionals to practise in designated institutions within their specialised fields on the premise of not compromising professional standards. Applications will be subject to approval by the Council. These designated institutions include the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority, the PHC Commission, the CMHHK, and institutions offering allied health profession training programmes. The Council may impose conditions on an applicant’s practice to confine them to a specific scope of practice. Allied health professionals under limited registration will not be eligible for migration to full registration.
Meanwhile, the Government also proposes a new temporary registration pathway to enable non-locally trained allied health professionals to come to Hong Kong for academic exchanges and clinical demonstrations. A temporary registration will be valid for no more than 14 days and is not renewable.
Other amendments
The Bill introduces CPD as a mandatory requirement for allied health professionals to maintain and enhance the overall professional standards of the allied health professions. It also amends the composition and structure of the Council and its five constituent Boards to better regulate the professions and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration. The Bill includes other technical amendments, such as extending the validity of the existing practising certificates to three years and adjusting various fees under the Ordinance. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (March 19) the composite interest rate at the end of February 2025 (Note 1).
The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, decreased by 7 basis points to 2.09 per cent at the end of February 2025, from 2.16 per cent at the end of January 2025 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The decrease in composite interest rate reflected the decreases in the weighted funding cost for deposits during the month (see Chart 2 in the Annex)(Note 2).
The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of February 2025 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk).
Note 1: The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest-rate-sensitive liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and all other liabilities that do not involve any formal payment of interest but the values of which are sensitive to interest rate movements (such as Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits) on the books of banks. Data from retail banks, which account for about 90 per cent of the total customers’ deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation. It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses. There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate.
Note 2: Since June 2019, the composite interest rate and weighted deposit rate have been calculated based on the new local “Interest rate risk in the banking book” (IRRBB) framework. As such, these figures are not strictly comparable with those of previous months. read more
Following is a question by the Hon Benson Luk and a written reply by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):
Question:
According to the Hong Kong Fact Sheets issued by the Government in October 2024, more than three million people in Hong Kong adhere to a religion. It is learnt that, from time to time, various religious bodies have a demand for places to conduct religious activities. However, in recent years, some religious bodies have encountered difficulties with the approval processes and procedures when applying for the construction of permanent places for religious activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of applications received from religious bodies of different religions for the construction of permanent places for religious activities in the past five years; among such applications, the respective numbers of those that have been approved, those that are pending approval and those that have been rejected, as well as the reasons for the rejection of those applications (set out in a table);
(2) whether the Government currently has established approval mechanisms in place, including a dedicated land allocation system for religious purposes and a special land premium system for the conversion of land designated for non-religious uses into places for religious activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and whether the Government will consider introducing specific and relevant mechanisms in the future;
(3) whether the Government will provide assistance or financial support to religious bodies for the construction of permanent religious places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the Government will provide funding schemes to religious bodies for the construction of religious places, expedite the vetting and approval of applications in this regard, and assist religious bodies in carrying out renovation or enhancement works for new or existing religious places, so as to promote tourism activities and enable more members of the public to visit and tour such places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Development Bureau (DEVB), I give the consolidated reply to the Hon Benson Luk’s question on behalf of the Government as follows:
Hong Kong is an open and inclusive city in which religious freedom is the fundamental rights enjoyed by Hong Kong residents as protected by the Basic Law and other relevant legislation. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been maintaining close liaison with religious groups and attends events organised by them with a view to promoting the communications with them and understanding their needs.
The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) is responsible for liaising with local religious groups and plays a co-ordinating role in local religious affairs. While adhering to the principle of non-intervention of the freedom of religion and religious groups’ internal affairs, HYAB listens to the views of respective religious groups and, where necessary, renders assistance to them through appropriate channels.
According to the DEVB, while sites are currently not reserved specifically for religious purposes in the course of land use planning, “Religious Institution” is always permitted under a number of statutory planning uses, including “Government, Institution or Community” and “Commercial” zones. Religious groups may acquire or lease from the market private land or premises for religious use according to their needs. So long as the religious use is compatible with the specified uses under the relevant approved Outline Zoning Plans and land leases, the relevant land or premises may be used for religious purposes without the need for any applications or approval. For example, for a commercial building situated in “Commercial” zone with the permitted use under lease as commercial use, religious use is a permitted use. In fact, a number of churches or places of worship are situated in commercial buildings. If a site is within a “Residential” zone, the proponent only needs to submit a simple planning application to the Town Planning Board (TPB). If the land or premises is restricted to residential use under lease, applications may be made to the Lands Department (LandsD) for lease modification. When processing the relevant applications, the TPB and the LandsD will take into account the views from the relevant bureau(x)/department(s), including the HYAB.
Also, under the current land policy, if religious groups wish to develop religious facilities on Government land, they may apply to the Government by way of private treaty grant (PTG). When processing the relevant land grant applications, the LandsD would consult the relevant bureau(x)/department(s) with regard to the actual circumstances of the case, and seek the HYAB’s policy support. If the HYAB’s policy support can be secured for the project, there will be concessionary premium arrangement for the respective religious facilities. The HYAB does not provide any other financial support to religious groups for acquiring permanent religious facilities at present.
As regards applications from religious groups to develop permanent religious facilities as mentioned in the question, the LandsD received a total of four PTG applications related to religious use in the past five years or so (three of which are solely for religious use, and the other application covers other facilities). So far, two applications have been withdrawn by the applicants while the remaining two are under processing. Separately, in the past five years the LandsD also approved two applications, both of which were received prior to 2021. The relevant information is set out in the table below:
| Year | Number of Applications Received | Number of Applications Approved* | Number of Applications Withdrawn |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2025 (as of March 2025) |
0 | 0 | 0 |
Following is a question by the Hon Lam Chun-sing and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):
Question:
According to the definition of local students by the Education Bureau (EDB) for the purpose of admission to post-secondary programmes, students holding dependent visa or entry permit who were below 18 years old when they were first issued with such visa or entry permit by the Immigration Department are also defined as local students. There are views that the definition of local students is too loose, which may affect the fairness of competition for places and the accurate use of resources by the University Grants Committee (UGC). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of persons aged between 12 and 17 who were admitted to Hong Kong as dependants under various talent admission schemes in each of the past three years and so far this year, together with a breakdown by age;
(2) whether it will collect data on whether students admitted to UGC-funded programmes through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System are holders of dependent visas, and consider introducing a tiered system of tuition fees for UGC-funded bachelor’s degree programmes, under which local students with dependent visas will be charged higher tuition fees; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as it has been learnt that the EDB has indicated earlier that it is reviewing the definition of local students for the purpose of admission to post-secondary institutions, of the current progress of the relevant work?
Reply:
President,
Hong Kong possesses a sound education infrastructure, and diversified and quality basic education, and the quality of teaching and learning ranks high in a number of international rankings. Coupled with highly internationalised and diversified post-secondary education, education in Hong Kong is highly attractive. The eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities provide 15 000 first-year-first-degree (FYFD) places for local students each year, and local senior secondary school graduates may apply for admission to publicly-funded degree programmes through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) and the non-JUPAS route. As for non-local students, at present, institutions may admit non-local students (up to 40 per cent) by way of over-enrolment. All institutions follow the principles of fairness and meritocracy in selecting and admitting students in accordance with established mechanisms and procedures.
Under the prevailing arrangements for student admission, students who are dependant visa/entry permit holders who were below 18 years old when first issued with such visa/entry permit by the Immigration Department (ImmD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are classified as local students. There have been recent concerns that if the holders of the aforesaid dependant visas have never come to Hong Kong to study or live, but as local students on the basis of their dependant visas alone are allowed to enrol in the subsidised places of the UGC-funded universities and enjoy university fee subsidies, the fairness of competition for the places and the targeted use of public funds will be affected. In this connection, the Government is conducting a comprehensive review of the relevant arrangements and considering various feasible options in a holistic manner, with a view to optimising the use of public resources and addressing the concerns of the community.
Our reply to the questions raised by the Member is as follows:
(1) The Government has since 2022 implemented a series of proactive initiatives to attract talents, including the Top Talent Pass Scheme, etc. From the end of December 2022 to the end of February this year, more than 450 000 applications were received under the various talent admission schemes, of which more than 290 000 were approved. During the same period, around 196 000 talents arrived in Hong Kong, with some of them bringing along their families to settle in Hong Kong. From 2022 to the end of February this year, around 132 000 unmarried dependant children under the age of 18 were permitted to come to Hong Kong as dependants under the various talent admission schemes. (Detailed annual statistics are at Annex.) The ImmD does not maintain statistics on dependant children broken down by age.
(2) According to the JUPAS Office, the number of dependants admitted to UGC-funded FYFD programmes through the JUPAS route in the three years from the 2022-23 to 2024-25 academic years are 62, 68 and 185 respectively.
At present, the tuition fee level for local students of UGC-funded undergraduate programmes is a flat rate of $42,100 per annum. All non-local students enrolled in UGC-funded programmes are not publicly-funded and the universities are required to charge tuition fees at least sufficient to recover all additional direct costs. In accordance with the above principle, universities may determine the appropriate level of tuition fees for non-local students, having regard to their own circumstances and programme costs, and taking into account various factors. At present, the Government has no plan to change the relevant principles and arrangements. However, for dependant visa holders with residence requirements, we will consider making reference to the practices of other countries/regions and review the conditions and requirements for subsidising tuition fees for local students on undergraduate programmes, e.g. considering requiring the visa holders to have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a certain period of time prior to admission before they become eligible for a tuition fee subsidy for local students, so as to ensure the effective use of public funds.
(3) The review of the definition of “local students” is now well underway. We have met with different stakeholders and listened to their views. At the same time, we have made reference to the policies of the United Kingdom and Singapore, and been in close contact with other policy bureaux and departments. We are consolidating comments from various parties, conducting in-depth examination and carefully assessing the feasibility of different options and their implementation details, having regard to their impact on the attractiveness of various talent admission schemes, tertiary institutions’ arrangements for student admission, and entry restrictions for overseas persons. At the same time, in order to minimise the impact of the new measures on the children of talents, we will actively consider putting in place transitional arrangements. The Education Bureau (EDB) will announce the latest arrangements as soon as possible after considering various options.
President, education is the key to a hundred-year plan. Education is the key to nurturing talents, who are the driving force behind Hong Kong’s development and the foundation of a strong nation building and national revival. Under the leadership of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents, the EDB will continue to proactively complement various measures for the admission of talents. Whilst strengthening the educational support for children of incoming talents, the EDB will continuously nurture local talents, enhance the quality of education in Hong Kong, and tie in with the direction of the integrated development of education, technology and talents.
Thank you, President. read more