Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon Alan Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (October 28):
 
Question:
 
     According to the information provided by the Administration in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on June 3 this year, the number of persons receiving pensions and total expenditure on pensions for them increased over the past five financial years, from approximately 150 000 recipients and $42.2 billion in expenditure in the 2021-2022 financial year, to over 160 000 recipients and $50 billion in expenditure in the 2025-2026 financial year, representing respective increases of 9 per cent and over 18 per cent. There are views suggesting that the expenditure on pensions for civil servants will continue to be affected by factors such as the progressive retirement of civil servants, increasing life expectancy and inflation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the average monthly pension payment made to each retired person in the 2025-2026 financial year, together with a breakdown of the relevant information as follows: (i) newly retired persons in that year; (ii) persons already retired; and (iii) the amount of pension increase arising from inflation adjustments;

(2) of the respective numbers of retired civil servants and serving civil servants appointed on terms which attract pension benefits, and set out, by five-year age groups, the gender and age distribution of persons in each of the two groups;
 
(3) as the Civil Service Bureau has indicated in its reply to this Council on the Estimates of Expenditure 2026-2027 that expenditure on pension is projected to start decreasing gradually from the mid-2030s, of the authorities’ projection of the number of newly retired civil servants by that time and the year in which all civil servants are expected to have retired respectively;
 
(4) whether it has made any estimate of the Government’s total liability for expenditure on pensions for civil servants ; if so, provide a breakdown of the relevant information as follows: (i) the total amount of such expenditure, with the figures broken down into “retired civil servants” and “serving civil servants”; (ii) whether an assessment has been made of the impact on total expenditure on pensions for civil servants of the gender distribution of civil servants, the increase in life expectancy for the gender groups, and the cumulative annual rate of inflation; if no such estimate has been made, the reasons for that; and
 
(5) whether consideration will be given to exploring the launch of inflation-linked retail bond for approximately $650 billion to cap expenditure on pensions for civil servants and to defuse at an early stage the “snow-ball” financial liabilities that may arise from factors such as the increasing life expectancy of civil servants and inflation; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The response to the five parts of the question is as follows:
 
(1) For the 2025-26 financial year, the average monthly pension of civil servants and judicial officers who retired in that year was about $20,200 per person, while the average monthly pension of those who retired before that year was about $17,700 per person. Based on the established pension adjustment mechanism, pensions were increased by 2.1 per cent in the 2025-26 financial year, resulting in additional payment of an average monthly pension of about $370 per retired civil servant and judicial officer receiving pension.
 
(2) As at March 31, 2026, the number of retired civil servants and judicial officers receiving monthly pensions as well as the number of serving civil servants and judicial officers appointed on pensionable terms by age groups are provided below:
 

Age of retired civil servants and judicial officers	Number of persons
Below 60	9 456
60-64	36 196
65-69	42 514
70-74	33 017
75-79	22 944
80-84	9 143
85-89	6 610
90-94	3 023
95 or above	862

 

Age of serving civil servants and judicial officers appointed on pensionable terms	Number of persons
Below 50	5 949
50-54	16 243
55-59	11 927
60-64	2 036
65 or above	79

 
     The Treasury does not have readily available information on the numbers of retired and serving civil servants and judicial officers broken down by gender.
 
(3) The civil service pension schemes are only applicable to civil servants appointed before June 1, 2000. As serving officers under the pension schemes gradually retire, the Government’s expenditure on pensions will increase in the short term, with the annual expenditure projected to start decreasing gradually from the mid-2030s. The Civil Service Bureau does not keep records of the planned retirement dates of all civil servants appointed on pensionable terms. For some of the civil servants appointed on pensionable terms, there is still some time until they reach retirement age, and the retirement plans of these officers vary. Therefore, the number of newly retired civil servants at that time, and when all such civil servants will retire, cannot be accurately projected. A rough estimate is that they will all have retired some time before or after 2040. 

(4) The Government engages an independent qualified actuary to conduct annual actuarial assessments of pension obligations, during which various data and assumptions (including membership profile, salary adjustments, life expectancy and inflation) are appropriately incorporated to calculate the impact on pension obligations. As at March 31, 2025, the present value of statutory pension obligations was $924.8 billion, of which the liability attributable to serving civil servants and judicial officers accounted for about 40 per cent, and that for retired civil servants and judicial officers accounted for about 60 per cent. It is important to note that the obligations reflect the present value of projected future cumulative pension expenditures, rather than a provision that the Government needs to set aside in a lump sum at the moment. Civil service pension expenditures will be paid out gradually over a period of 40 to 50 years or even longer, and annual expenditures are expected to decrease progressively from the mid-2030s. The Government will continue to earmark funds in the annual estimates to cover annual pension payments.
 
(5) Pensions are retirement benefits provided by the Government, as an employer, to civil servants who were appointed before June 1, 2000. Its nature is the same as the Government’s contributions under the Civil Service Provident Fund (CSPF) Scheme, only that the former is disbursed after the officer retires and the latter is paid while the officer is in service. The provision of pensions by the Government as retirement benefits for civil servants appointed before June 1, 2000, along with their calculation and payment methods and timing, are prescribed not only under the relevant legislation but also form part of the employment contract terms signed between the Government as an employer, and civil servants appointed on pensionable terms. As a good employer that honours the spirit of contract, the Government should not and cannot make changes to these terms lightly, just as it cannot alter the Government’s contribution amounts, calculation and payment methods under the CSPF Scheme without careful deliberation. According to the relevant pension legislation (including the Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89), the Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99), and the Pension Benefits (Judicial Officers) Ordinance (Cap. 401)), pensions are charged to and payable out of the general revenue of the Government. Having consulted relevant parties, the Government has no plan to make any changes to the amounts and methods of pension payments for civil servants and judicial officers.  read more

     The Transport Department (TD) today (October 28) reminded members of the public and visitors that the following temporary road closures will be implemented on Sunday (November 1) to facilitate the holding of an event at Pak Tam Chung and Sai Kung Man Yee Road, Sai Kung:
 

1. The section of Tai Mong Tsai Road between Pak Tam Chung Physically Handicapped and Able-bodied Site and Sai Kung Man Yee Road will be temporarily closed from 6.55am to 7.10am and 7.25am to 7.45am; and
2. The section of Sai Kung Man Yee Road from its junction with Tai Mong Tsai Road to a point about 8.3 kilometres south of the same junction will be temporarily closed from 6am to 11am.

     During the closure of Sai Kung Man Yee Road, the service of New Territories green minibus (GMB) route No. 9A (Pak Tam Chung – East Dam, High Island Reservoir) will be suspended from its first departure from Pak Tam Chung at 9.30am until it resumes at 11am, and taxi access will also be prohibited, until the reopening of the road.

     A spokesman for the TD reminded visitors that they may only access the East Dam on foot during the suspension of public transport services. Visitors should plan their journeys well in advance and pay attention to on-site instructions. The GMB operator is ready to deploy vehicles as soon as the road reopens to enhance services to meet passenger demand, in co-ordination with the Police’s traffic control measures to ease passenger flow. Road closures and traffic control measures will be implemented and adjusted by the Police depending on the actual traffic conditions.

     Visitors should refer to the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk) or mobile app HKeMobility for the latest traffic news. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Julia Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (October 28):

Question:

     There are views pointing out that in recent years, garages and business operators have been suspected of occupying on-street metered parking spaces (metered spaces) in various districts or blocking on-street parking spaces with objects on a long-term basis. On-street metered spaces are limited public road resources. Even if the relevant parking fees have been paid, the prolonged or repeated occupation of the same metered space or the same road section may render time-limited parking a mere formality, thus affecting its normal use by other motorists, nearby residents and business operators. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) when parking fees are paid by Octopus, mobile applications or other electronic means at present, whether the system records the consecutive payment periods of the same parking space, payment tool identifiers, parking space occupancy status, changes in vehicle entry and exit, or other data that can be used to determine whether a parking space has been occupied for prolonged periods or repeatedly; if so, whether the authorities have used such data to analyse and monitor situations of repeated extension of parking time, prolonged occupation or abnormally high-frequency usage in respect of the same parking space or the same road section; if not, of the reasons for that;

(2) of the respective numbers of complaints received, inspections conducted, enforcement actions taken, fixed penalty notices issued and prosecutions instituted by the Police and the Transport Department in respect of non-compliant or improper occupation of on-street metered spaces over the past three years (set out in tabulated form by district);

(3) as the Transport Department has, since July 2, 2026, commenced a six-month trial of new sensors in parking meters at four designated locations, namely Kut Shing Street in Chai Wan, Cheung Ning Street in To Kwa Wan, San Ma Tau Street in To Kwa Wan and Lo Tak Court in Tsuen Wan (the trial), under which the sensors record the occupancy status of metered spaces or occupied objects round the clock, and AI technology is utilised to analyse the categories of the objects, of the criteria for selecting the aforesaid four locations as pilot sites; the respective numbers of cases involving prolonged occupation of metered spaces, unpaid parking, blocking of parking spaces with objects and related complaint/enforcement cases at such locations over the past three years; the specific assessment indicators of the trial, including whether the effectiveness of the new sensors in identifying prolonged occupation of parking spaces, repeated extension of parking time, blocking of parking spaces with objects and other instances of improper occupation will be evaluated; and

(4) as the aforesaid new sensors will not record vehicle registration numbers or facial images, whether the authorities will, on the premise of protecting privacy and achieving cost-effectiveness, consider conducting a comprehensive analysis of the data from the new sensors in conjunction with parking meter payment records, parking space occupancy periods and records of complaints/enforcement actions, with a view to establishing a proactive monitoring and follow-up mechanism, rather than relying mainly on complaints from members of the public; if so, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:
      
President,
      
     In response to parking demand, the Government has provided more than 20 000 on-street metered parking spaces (metered spaces) for short-term parking. The Government has all along been striving to combat illegal occupation of metered spaces, and deter evasion of parking fee and other forms of illegal use, with a view to speeding up metered space turnover and meeting motorists’ needs for short-term parking.
      
     Having consulted the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the consolidated reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
      
(1) and (2) The new-generation parking meter system, which came into service in 2021, is equipped with sensors to detect the occupancy status of parking spaces in real time. Motorists can search for available metered spaces through the HKeMeter mobile application and the HKeMobility mobile application and webpage, thereby saving the time that vehicles spend driving around in search of metered spaces and reducing the road traffic flow. The sensors serve to detect whether the parking spaces are occupied and do not collect any personal data, information on vehicle models or vehicle registration numbers.
      
     The Transport Department (TD) can also identify occupied metered spaces with fees unpaid via the system, and share the information with the HKPF through a dedicated application to facilitate their enforcement. The parking meter operator (the operator) engaged by the TD also regularly deploys staff to inspect metered spaces in each of the districts across the territory. Such inspections are carried out at least once every four days. When spotting improper occupation of metered spaces, the operator will report the situation to relevant government departments (for example, the HKPF, the Lands Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) for their enforcement actions. Upon receiving public complaints, the TD will also refer the cases to the departments concerned for suitable follow-up actions. Over the past three years (2023 to 2025), the TD referred an average of about 120 000 cases on unlawful or improper occupation of metered spaces to the HKPF each year, and received a total of 111 relevant complaints, including nine cases, 64 cases and 38 cases regarding Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories respectively.
      
     Currently, pursuant to section 8 of the Road Traffic (Parking) Regulations, any person who parks a vehicle in a parking place continuously for more than 24 hours commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 1, i.e. $2,000. The police officers will prosecute in accordance with the law when they find vehicles parked for over 24 hours continuously during patrols. In serious cases, the vehicles can be impounded. For cases involving other forms of illegal occupation of metered spaces, according to section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance, any person who leaves objects without reasonable excuse, such as placing pallets/goods to reserve spaces, thereby causing obstruction, inconvenience, or danger to others or vehicles in a public place, is liable to a fine at level 4, i.e. $25,000, or imprisonment for three months. The numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF in respect of offences related to metered spaces across the territory over the past three years is set out below:
      

Year	Numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF
2023	259 589
2024	242 550
2025	225 489

 
(3) and (4) With a view to further enhancing parking meter services, since July 2, 2026, the TD has selected four designated locations for the installation of new sensors, including the metered spaces on Kut Shing Street in Chai Wan, Cheung Ning Street in To Kwa Wan, San Ma Tau Street in To Kwa Wan and Lo Tak Court in Tsuen Wan. The new sensors enhance the accuracy of real-time metered space information with AI optical components, enabling motorists to obtain more precise parking space information. Meanwhile, the new sensors can also record the occupancy status or the objects occupying the metered spaces. The backend system can then utilise the collected data for analysing the object types with AI technology, identifying whether the objects occupying the metered spaces are vehicles, so as to facilitate follow-up or enforcement actions by relevant government departments.
      
     The TD finalised the aforesaid sites after taking into consideration a range of factors, including the types of vehicles parked at the sites, the layouts and utilisation of the metered spaces, to ensure the performance of new sensors can be assessed comprehensively under different scenarios. According to past records, the metered spaces at the aforesaid sites registered an average utilisation rate of over 80 per cent, covering locations concerning complaints about illegal occupation. 
      
     The numbers of complaints received and fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF in the past three years, in relation to prolonged occupation of metered spaces, parking with unpaid fees and occupation of parking spaces by objects at the aforesaid sites, are set out below:
      

Year	Numbers of complaints received by the HKPF regarding the four designated sites (including complaints about prolonged occupation of metered spaces, parking with unpaid fees and occupation of parking spaces by objects)	Numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF regarding offences related to metered spaces at the four designated sites
2023	126	4 836
2024	115	5 058
2025	132	3 799

 
     The TD is conducting an on-site trial to evaluate the operational performance and technical feasibility of the new sensors in actual environment. After the expected completion of on-site trial between late 2026 and early 2027, the TD will review the effectiveness of the trial scheme and consider whether to further take forward the scheme. read more

     ​Following is a question by the Hon Wu Yingpeng and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (October 28):

Question:

     The National 15th Five-Year Plan and the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) both support Hong Kong in consolidating and enhancing its status as an international maritime centre, as well as deepening its status as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre; the 2026 Policy Address has also proposed building an ecosystem under which Hong Kong-invested enterprises adopt Hong Kong law, take out Hong Kong insurance and choose for arbitration to be seated in Hong Kong, with the aim of developing Hong Kong into a global maritime capital. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of maritime arbitration and maritime mediation cases handled in Hong Kong in the past three years (i.e. 2023 to 2025);

(2) regarding the amendment of the Arbitration Ordinance, which the Government plans to complete by 2027, of the support measures specifically targeting maritime arbitration therein;

(3) in the face of the situation where the standard contract templates published by the Baltic and International Maritime Council and other international maritime organisations mostly apply English law and arbitration in London, of the specific strategies and timetable of the Department of Justice and the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board for promoting the adoption of Hong Kong law as the applicable law for standard maritime contracts, as well as the measures for designating Hong Kong as the agreed seat of arbitration;

(4) in the course of implementing the dual registration arrangement, how the authorities assess and handle conflicts of legal jurisdiction arising from the splitting of the management rights and ownership of ships between two flag states, and which flag state will bear regulatory responsibilities (e.g. blurred boundaries of powers and responsibilities); and

(5) of the current preparatory timetable, operational framework and resource allocation of the maritime academy; how the maritime academy will collaborate with the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy to nurture more legal talent in foreign-related maritime affairs in the future?

Reply:

President,

     The National 15th Five-Year Plan Outline indicates clear support to Hong Kong in consolidating and enhancing its status as an international maritime centre (IMC). In the opening year of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for the first time has formulated the Hong Kong Five-Year Plan to proactively align with the national development strategy. This includes developing the ecosystem of high value-added maritime services and, with quality enhancement as the core guidance, driving the comprehensive upgrading and development of high value-added maritime services cluster comprising maritime legal and arbitration sectors, thereby consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an IMC.

     In response to the Member’s questions, having consulted the Department of Justice (DoJ), our reply is as follows:

(1) According to the information provided by the Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Group (HKMAG) and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), the number of maritime arbitration cases handled by them in the past three years (2023 to 2025) are tabulated below:
 

	2023	2024	2025
HKMAG	107	146	144
HKIAC	45	43	77

 
     As for maritime mediation, the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed), headquartered in Hong Kong, was officially inaugurated in October 2025. In May 2026, IOMed successfully accepted and mediated an international maritime dispute involving parties from Chinese Mainland and Singapore, facilitating the reaching of a settlement agreement between the two sides. To date, IOMed has handled multiple cases.

(2) The DoJ has established the Working Group on Arbitration Law Reform (Working Group) in 2025 to comprehensively review amendments required to be made to the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609), so as to ensure that Hong Kong’s arbitration regime remains at the forefront of international development. Although the 25 issues for reform previously reviewed by the Working Group did not include support measures specifically for maritime arbitration, the overall optimisation of the regime will benefit maritime arbitration. The proposed legislative amendments are guided by the core principles of enhancing speed, convenience and finality, strengthening the protection of confidentiality, making arbitration more readily available to resolve various types of disputes, ensuring fairness and justice, and respecting party autonomy. These proposed legislative amendments cater for the demands of maritime and shipping disputes for highly efficient resolution. An overall upgrading of the system can effectively bolster Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a leading international arbitration centre.

(3) Hong Kong is one of the four designated arbitration venues under the Baltic and International Maritime Council standard contracts. To further promote the development of high value-added maritime services in Hong Kong, we introduced the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions for Shipping-related Activities and Physical Commodity Trading) Bill 2026 (the Bill) to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in June 2026, introducing a half-rate tax concession regime for physical commodity trading in order to attract more commodity traders to set up their businesses in Hong Kong, thereby driving demand for Hong Kong’s maritime services, of which maritime legal and arbitration services are one. The Bill proposes that, for a qualifying commodity trader to be eligible for tax concession, the expenses incurred for its relevant maritime services must meet the minimum proportion requirement for the use of specified maritime services provided by Hong Kong services providers; services relating to maritime legal and arbitration are among the specified maritime services, and the relevant arbitration agreement must specify Hong Kong as the place of arbitration. This supports the development of our maritime arbitration services.

     Since the announcement in the 2025-26 Budget and the 2025 Policy Address that the Government would introduce a half-rate tax concession regime for physical commodity trading, the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), together with the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board (HKMPDB), has been promoting the new regime to the industry through various channels, including paying visits to Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2026 and to Beijing and Shanghai in September 2026 to promote the new tax concession and Hong Kong’s high value-added maritime services such as maritime legal and arbitration to commodity traders there. The TLB will continue to work closely with the HKMPDB, Invest Hong Kong and the Marine Department to step up promotion of the tax concession and Hong Kong’s high value-added maritime services, including maritime legal and arbitration, to both Chinese Mainland and overseas enterprises.

     Moreover, the DoJ has been committed to promoting Hong Kong’s maritime legal and arbitration services through organising, co-organising and supporting various activities, such as mock arbitrations on maritime disputes, maritime arbitration summit and seminars organised during the Hong Kong Legal Week, being DoJ’s annual flagship event. The DoJ will continue to organise, co-organise and support relevant activities, so as to encourage more maritime enterprises to choose Hong Kong law as the governing law of their maritime contracts and designate Hong Kong as the agreed seat of arbitration.

(4) To strengthen Hong Kong’s high value-added maritime services ecosystem, the Government will introduce an amendment bill to the LegCo within this year to revamp Hong Kong’s ship registration system, including the introduction of a dual registration arrangement (i.e. the arrangement for undertaking a demise charter registration at another ship registry when the registration of the original owner is suspended). According to the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a vessel shall only fly one flag during a voyage. The vessel is subject to the jurisdiction of the place of registration of the ship flying the flag at the time. The vessel concerned also operates and fulfils its contracts in accordance with the laws of the relevant jurisdiction. We will include new provisions in the amendment bill to clearly stipulate the flag suspension mechanism – the effect of the primary flag (i.e. the owner registration) is suspended before the secondary flag (i.e. the demise charter registration) can take effect, so as to ensure clear boundaries of rights and responsibilities and no situation where two legal jurisdictions exist for the same vessel.

(5) The TLB will promote the establishment of a Maritime Academy through a new “institution-enterprise collaboration” model for talent cultivation. Under the existing framework and available resources, we will co-ordinate with partners including renowned maritime institutions locally and overseas and leading international shipping enterprises to jointly organise maritime-related courses for maritime industry practitioners. The maritime industry covers a wide spectrum, encompassing high value-added fields such as maritime legal, marine insurance and maritime arbitration. To support and strengthen the nurturing of high value-added maritime talent, the TLB has been continuously enhancing the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund and launched the Maritime Services Traineeship Scheme – Legal in September 2023, encouraging law firms or barristers engaged in maritime business to provide traineeships for those aspiring to a career in maritime law, thereby nurturing more home-grown maritime lawyers for Hong Kong’s maritime industry. Since the Scheme was launched in 2023, 11 trainees have been subsidised, of whom eight have completed their traineeships.

     The Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy looks forward to exploring opportunities for collaboration with the Maritime Academy in the future, combining the professional strengths and resources of both sides to further leverage synergies, and to organise diversified training programmes and professional exchange activities for the industry, with a view to enhancing participants’ practical legal skills and international perspectives, and cultivating more talents in foreign-related maritime law. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Lam Wai-kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (October 28):

Question: 

     As extremely hot weather has become increasingly frequent, the Labour Department (LD) has earlier on announced further enhancements to the Heat Stress at Work Warning (Heat Warning) system, including lowering the threshold for triggering the Heat Warning in extremely high temperatures. However, workers engaging in frontline outdoor work and working in high-temperature environments have relayed that, while the latest mechanism has enhanced the sensitivity of the warning and increased the frequency with which higher-level warnings are issued, it still fails to accurately reflect the actual heat stress levels in specific working environments (such as construction sites and restaurant kitchens). Furthermore, as the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work (GN) lack legal effect, it is difficult to enforce the rest periods for employees stipulated in the GN. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the LD has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of cases of employees suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion or even sudden death while working in hot weather over the past three years (from 2023 to 2025); among these, of the respective numbers of cases successfully confirmed as “work injury” and covered under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) as there are views that the latest enhancements to the Heat Warning system still underestimate the heat stress levels experienced by workers who are directly exposed to the sun while working outdoors, whether the Government will consider enacting legislation to make it mandatory for employers to carry out on-site heat stress risk assessments for their employees (particularly in outdoor high-temperature workplaces or in workplaces lacking air conditioning, such as restaurant kitchens and food processing factories); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that even with the lowering of the threshold for triggering the Heat Warning, frontline workers may still be forced to work in high temperatures due to the need to catch up with the construction schedule and are unable to enjoy the rest periods stipulated in the GN, whether the Government will consider conferring legal status on the GN to enhance their effect; whether it will consider establishing clearer legal liabilities for employers in cases where they require workers to work in high temperatures on the grounds of catching up with the construction schedule, resulting in workers having to stop work, be hospitalised or even die due to heat stroke; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) as it is learnt that the LD currently conducts inspections and institutes prosecutions against employers who fail to provide appropriate heat stroke preventive measures under the general duty clauses of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509), of the specific numbers of prosecutions, inspections and convictions over the past three years (from 2023 to 2025); and

(5) as the GN lack specific standards for heat stroke preventive equipment for outdoor workers, whether the Government will draw up clear safety specifications for outdoor heat stroke preventive equipment; whether it will consider including mandatory clauses in government public works contracts and outsourced service contracts across various departments, requiring contractors to provide outdoor workers with heat stroke preventive equipment that meets the specifications?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the Hon Lam Wai-kong’s question is as follows:

(1) The numbers of heat stress-related work injury cases registered by the Labour Department (LD) from 2023 to 2025 are tabulated below. There was no death case during the period.
 

Year	2023	2024	2025
Number of cases	31	29	33

     Among the aforesaid 93 cases, most of them have been settled after the employers paid compensation (65 cases), or the employers and employees had reached a private settlement (3 cases). In 17 cases, employees withdrew or did not pursue their claims further. Seven cases are still being processed, while the remaining case did not fall under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance.

(2) The LD launched the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work (GN) and established the Heat Stress at Work Warning (HSWW) system based on the Hong Kong Heat Index in 2023 to help employers and employees formulate appropriate heat stroke preventive measures in response to the territory-wide general heat stress level reflected by the HSWW and the risk assessment of individual workplaces, based on the risk-based principle and thorough consultation, thereby reducing the risk of employees suffering from heat stroke at work.

     The HSWW system indicates the territory-wide heat stress level using the same principle as internationally commonly used methods, which comprehensively assesses the territory-wide heat stress risk level by combining various factors such as temperature, humidity, air movement and radiant heat. The LD has continuously enhanced the HSWW system, including establishing the linkage between the Amber HSWW and the “Extremely Hot Weather” Special Alert issued by the Hong Kong Observatory in 2024, adjusting the cancellation mechanism of HSWW to avoid re-issuance of warning within a short time after cancellation, and including data from more locations to adjust the criteria for issuing the HSWW to enhance the sensitivity and coverage of the system in April 2026. In the end of August 2026, the LD further enhanced the system by introducing additional triggering conditions and a level-raising mechanism on top of its original functions to enhance the warning alert under abnormally high temperatures.

     The GN is applicable to work that needs to be carried out under hot weather or in high-temperature environments, such as work conducted in outdoor locations without shelters and work conducted in indoor locations without air-conditioning system installed. Employers should conduct risk assessments of the heat stress faced by employees working at these locations, and take effective preventive measures according to the assessment results. The prevailing GN has clearly indicated that, due to the special circumstances of the workplace (e.g. geographical location, working environment), if employers believe the HSWW does not fully reflect the real-time risk of heat stress posed to employees at work by the weather conditions or environment in the workplace, they have the responsibility to make assessment accordingly, such as seeking occupational health professionals to measure the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index at the workplace for evaluating the level of heat stress faced by the employees, and taking corresponding preventive measures including risk management, control strategy and provision of personal protective equipment based on the results to reduce the risk of heat stroke at work. The LD will continue to review the operation of the system for prevention of heat stroke at work and make improvements when necessary to safeguard the occupational safety and health of employees.

(3) Under the general duty clauses of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO) (Cap. 509), employers are required to provide or maintain a working environment and systems of work that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health. Therefore, employers are required to conduct risk assessments on the heat stress of employees at work, and take appropriate measures based on the assessment results to prevent employees from getting heat stroke at work. The GN outline various factors that employers have to consider when conducting heat stress risk assessments for employees, including work environment, work nature and personal factors, and introduces preventive and control measures that are applicable to different risk factors. It helps employers implement appropriate preventive and control measures according to the actual work situation in order to reduce the risk of heat stroke posed to employees working in hot environments. 

     Employers may face prosecution if they endanger the health of employees without providing suitable heat stroke prevention measures. The LD will continue to step up inspections targeting workplaces with a higher risk of heat stroke (including those for workers in the construction and catering services industries) and enhance enforcement actions, coupled with enhanced publicity and education, to ensure that employers have taken appropriate measures to prevent employees from suffering heat stroke at work.

(4) From 2023 to 2025, the LD conducted a total of 21 493, 23 620 and 23 054 inspections respectively related to risk control measures against heat stress during summer and issued 993, 1 031 and 708 warning letters to relevant stakeholders. The warnings were mainly related to failure to conduct a heat stress risk assessment in accordance with the GN to ensure the implemented heat stroke preventive measures are appropriate and effective, failure to keep records of heat stress risk assessment, or failure to take adequate preventive measures to reduce the risk of heat stroke at work. We did not find any serious contravention in the period of inspection that warranted prosecution under the general duty provisions of the OSHO. We believe that most employers recognise the need to prevent their employees from getting heat stroke at work and are willing to take necessary measures against heat stress in accordance with the recommendations in the GN. However, as climate change is expected to bring more frequent and higher heat stress conditions, the LD will make corresponding adjustment on the actions of surprise inspections and review whether the enforcement thresholds need to be adjusted. 

(5) The risk of heat stroke for employees working in hot weather or high-temperature environments depends on multiple risk factors, such as environmental temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, workload, employees’ clothing, personal health status and the acclimatisation to work in a hot environment. To effectively prevent heat stroke at work, employers should, based on the risk assessment results of individual workplaces, adopt a series of control measures, including engineering controls (such as setting up shade covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment), administrative control (such as rescheduling work periods, job rotation and rest arrangements) and personal protection (such as providing cooling vests and sun protection clothing). Currently, there are no widely recognised and unified safety specifications or standards internationally for outdoor heat stroke preventive equipment. The LD will continue to monitor the latest international developments in the prevention of heat stroke at work, including new technologies for heat stroke preventive equipment and related standards.

     Since 2023, the Government requires tenderers bidding for relevant government service contracts to submit a Heat Stroke Prevention Work Plan for non-skilled workers to safeguard the occupational safety and health of workers. Currently, various government departments have incorporated heat prevention requirements into government service contracts, such as requiring outsourced service suppliers to adopt work uniforms featuring breathable and sweat-wicking functions, and providing portable waist fans to outdoor working staff. read more