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Guest of Honour at Film Mayo launch on 1st December

An Ap Lei Chau site in the 2020-21 Land Sale Programme will be sold by public tender, the Lands Department announced today.

Ap Lei Chau Inland Lot No. 137 at Ap Lei Chau Praya Road is designated for non-industrial purposes, excluding godown, hotel and petrol filling station.

It has a site area of about 1,128.8 sq m with a minimum gross floor area of 4,921 sq m.

The maximum gross floor area for private residential purposes is 8,201.6 sq m, while that for other designated purposes is computed according to the relevant special sale condition.

The tender invitation for the lot will open on April 24 and close on May 22.

The Transport Department today invited tenders for operating six major licensed ferry services for outlying islands for five years from April 1, 2021.

The six routes are between Central to Cheung Chau, Inter-islands between Peng Chau, Mui Wo, Chai Ma Wan and Cheung Chau, Central to Mui Wo, Central to Peng Chau, Central to Yung Shue Wan and Central to Sok Kwu Wan.

The department said that for the purposes of maintaining financial viability of the six major routes, alleviating the burden of fare increases on passengers, enhancing service quality and promoting a green city development, the Government would continue to provide special measures to the routes.

Such measures would include launching a new Vessel Subsidy Scheme to help selected ferry operators replace the fleets of the six major routes and introduce greener vessels in phases, straddling 10 years from 2021.

Having regard to factors such as passenger demand, overall fleet requirements, flexibility in vessel deployment, operational efficiency, and after consulting the Islands District Council, the six major routes are grouped into two packages for tendering.

The first package covers Central-Cheung Chau, Peng Chau-Mui Wo-Chi Ma Wan-Cheung Chau (Inter Islands) and Central-Mui Wo routes.

The other package covers Central-Peng Chau, Central-Yung Shue Wan and Central-Sok Kwu Wan routes.

Tenderers are required to propose a fare for each fare type of each relevant route and it must not exceed the existing fare level of the corresponding route by more than 5%. Tenders should also include in their submissions fare concession proposals that will be considered in the tender evaluation.

In support of the Government's development of a smart city, tenderers should propose measures including dissemination of real-time arrival/departure time of ferry routes, number of remaining seats via mobile phone apps and opening up such data for the public’s use under data.gov.hk.

The tenders must be sealed in envelopes and placed in the Transport Department Tender Box adjacent to the reception counter of the department on the 10th floor of South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei before noon on June 30.

The cover of the tender submission should be marked with tender reference TD 382/2019 and include the subject of the tender. It should also be addressed to the Commissioner for Transport.

Tender documents will be available for collection at the Transport Department’s Ferry & Paratransit Division on the 14th Floor, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei from April 27 during office hours.

The tender for a Mong Kok site has been awarded on a 50-year land grant at a premium of $467.18 million, the Lands Department announced today.

Kowloon Inland Lot No. 11240 at the junction of Soy Street and Shanghai Street was awarded to Worth Forever, a subsidiary of Bring Bright.

It has a site area of about 625.5 sq m with a minimum gross floor area of 3,751.75 sq m.

The maximum gross floor area for private residential purposes is 4,691.25 sq m.

The maximum gross floor area for non-industrial purposes is computed according to the relevant special condition in the conditions of sale.

As we all know, Hong Kong as well as most parts of the world are facing a pandemic that has an enormous negative impact on our social and economic life. At this juncture, we don't have any accurate way to predict what will happen in the coming months. Two months ago, we were worried about whether COVID-19 would become a pandemic. Yet, the scale of the pandemic as we see now is not what we could have imagined two months ago. What we can do now is tackle the social and economic crisis upfront and build the resilience of our society, in particular, our employment market, so that when the time comes where social and economic activities can resume no matter how gradually or rapidly, our society can bounce back as soon as possible.

Unemployment has edged up bit by bit since the latter part of 2019. Statistics and daily news about business closures are telling us that unemployment is going up rapidly. While we should see what can be done to help those unemployed, the more important and urgent task is to see how we can "stop the bleeding", which essentially means job retention. The Employment Support Scheme, with a budget of over $80 billion, is designed exactly for that purpose. Through providing time-limited financial support, the whole idea of this scheme is to preserve jobs by enabling employers to keep their employees in employment for the coming months, and also when business resumes, employers can immediately grab the opportunities.

The central idea of the Employment Support Scheme is to provide wage subsidy that is equivalent to 50% of the wages of the employees up to a wage cap of $18,000 per month. The subsidy is given to the employers so that they can keep their staff for the coming six months. The employers will be required to have no redundancy or layoffs during the months that they receive wage subsidies from the Government.

In Hong Kong, we do not have a pay-as-you-go income tax system. Neither do we have a social insurance system nor a central provident fund to cover everyone in our workforce. That means we do not have any existing system covering every employer and employee in Hong Kong that we can devise a wage subsidy scheme that covers everyone. Any system meant to cover everyone in our workforce must be mandatory in nature and that will take time for us to have the relevant legislation in place and subsequently the system built.

However, schemes under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) and the other Occupational Retirement Schemes provide a framework that we can develop a wage subsidy scheme to cover the great majority of the workforce. This is definitely not sufficient. In particular, we have identified three sectors that do not have good coverage in the provident fund systems. They are the catering industry, the construction industry and the passenger transport sector. Under the Anti-epidemic Fund, we have three sector-specific schemes to assist the employers and the employees in these sectors.

Many freelance workers or those in the so-called slash economy do not make contributions to the MPF. Though we have over 200,000 self-employed persons having an account in the MPF system, they do not pay MPF regularly. While we will provide a one-off wage subsidy to those self-employed persons who have made MPF contributions within the past 15 months, we also have three separate but mutually exclusive schemes operating under the Home Affairs Bureau, the Education Bureau and the Social Welfare Department, providing the same one-off wage subsidy to those freelance workers who provide arts and sports training. The one-off wage subsidy is $7,500.

Though all the schemes I mentioned above still cannot cover everyone in the workforce, this is the best we can do in making use of existing systems so that we can launch this round of the Anti-epidemic Fund in the shortest possible time to help our employers and employees to survive the challenges that are with us now. Any new systems to be built from scratch will not be able to provide the necessary timely support that employers and employees desperately need.

As mentioned earlier, unemployment is increasing at a disturbing rate. The basic unemployment protection system in Hong Kong relies on two legs. One is the Severance Payment or Long Service Payment payable by the employers, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the monthly salary times the number of years of service with the employer. The other is the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme. The CSSA provides a level of income support to families for their basic level of living in the context of Hong Kong. The CSSA provides a safety net to any family not having sufficient means, including those who are unemployed.

Apart from the income test, the CSSA also has an asset test. For the purpose of providing extra help to those unemployed during this difficult time, the Government will double the existing asset limit for the able-bodied for a limited period of six months, allowing more families with people unemployed to become eligible to receive CSSA. We estimated that about 40,000 families will benefit from this enhancement.

Unfortunately, over the years there is a social stigma towards the CSSA system. People in desperation may be deterred from applying for CSSA simply because of the stigma. This is the time for us to destigmatise the CSSA system. It is the safety net for citizens of Hong Kong. It is the responsibility of an affluent society like Hong Kong to provide the basic level of living to those who cannot afford to do so on their own. This is the time, this difficult time, that this safety net should perform its basic function.

We are doing our best to support Hong Kong in this epidemic fight. Let's weather the storm and brave the challenges together.

This is the Letter to Hong Kong by Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong on anti-epidemic measures and the Employment Support Scheme carried on Radio Television Hong Kong Radio 3 on April 19.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today chaired the fourth meeting of the Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee, during which the funding commitment for 33 measures under the second-round of the fund was approved.

The Legislative Council Finance Committee last Saturday approved a funding application of $137.5 billion, including an injection of $120.5 billion to the Anti-epidemic Fund to roll out the second round of measures to provide further assistance or relief to the public and enterprises hard hit by the current epidemic or affected by anti-epidemic measures.

Mr Cheung said: "The pandemic has caused an unprecedented impact on Hong Kong's economy and various sectors have been hard hit.

“The Government will take resolute and unprecedented measures to expeditiously relieve the imminent needs of the businesses and members of the public.

"To provide assistance and relief to relevant enterprises and members of the public as soon as possible, I have asked the bureaus and departments to implement the measures at full steam to address the pressing needs of the community promptly and achieve the effect of safeguarding jobs and supporting enterprises."

Separately, the Education Bureau said the Finance Committee’s approval of the funding application for the second round of the fund and other relief measures included a one-off interest-free deferral of loan repayment for two years to self-financing post-secondary institutions under the Start-up Loan Scheme, non-profit-making international schools and student loan repayers.

All borrowers of the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes, Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students, Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students, Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students and Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme will be offered an interest-free deferral of loan repayment from April 1 this year to March 31, 2022, including their loan instalments and interests.

The annual administrative fee of $180 charged on the non-means-tested loan repayers during the suspension period will be waived. The risk-adjusted-factor rate for setting the interest rate will also be maintained at zero.

Additionally, support for the construction sector will be enhanced.

The Development Bureau today said a one-off subsidy of $7,500 will be offered to each eligible construction worker.

More than 530,000 workers will benefit from the subsidy, including workers of construction sites as well as those registered under the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department, the Buildings Department, the Water Supplies Department and the Fire Services Department.

At the same time, a one-off subsidy will be provided to 30,000 construction-related enterprises, generally small-scaled, which cannot benefit from the first round of the Anti-epidemic Fund.

Each eligible contractor, specialist contractor, works contractor and supplier can receive a one-off subsidy of $20,000, while minor works contractors, registered contractors of electrical, gas, lift, escalator and fire service installation along with suppliers of construction-related machinery and equipment rental can receive $10,000 each.

About 600 consultant firms offering engineering, architectural and related professional services will receive a subsidy of $50,000 each to support professionals in the sector.

The Government will also provide a direct subsidy of $3 million to each non-profit-making organisation running the 10 projects under the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, PMQ and the Energizing Kowloon East - Fly the Flyover Operation.

The Government said it will continue to spare no effort in improving workers' benefits and protection and enhance occupational safety and health in various industries at a pace commensurate with Hong Kong's overall socio-economic development.

The Government made the statement today in response to the demands of different labour groups, noting that it would take into account both employees' interests and employers' abilities to afford the benefits, despite the severe blow dealt by the COVID-19 epidemic to the local economy.

"The seasonally adjusted unemployment and underemployment rates for January to March this year have soared to their highest levels in recent years. The labour market will continue to face significant pressure in the near term.

“The Government has rolled out relief measures of unprecedented scale, including the one-off measures in the 2020-21 Budget and two rounds of measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) totalling $287.5 billion, with a view to preserving the vitality of the economy and relieving people's financial burden.

“The Government will launch as soon as possible the Employment Support Scheme under the second round of the AEF, with a total commitment of $81 billion, to provide time-limited financial support to employers to help them retain employees who will otherwise be made redundant.”

Moreover, the Government explained that it has earmarked $6 billion to create around 30,000 time-limited jobs in the public and private sectors in the coming two years for people with different skills and academic qualifications.

It emphasised that the Labour Department will raise the ceiling of on-the-job training allowance payable to employers under the Employment Programme for the Elderly & Middle-aged, the Youth Employment & Training Programme and the Work Orientation & Placement Scheme in the second half of this year.

It will also launch a pilot scheme to encourage eligible participants of these programmes to undergo and complete the training by offering a retention allowance.

On improvements to other labour benefits, the Government pointed out that it is working at full steam on the preparatory work to abolish the arrangement of 'offsetting' severance payments and long service payments with employers' mandatory contributions under the Mandatory Provident Fund System.

It stressed that it will strive to introduce the enabling bill into the Legislative Council by the end of this year, aiming to secure its passage by 2022.

Meanwhile, the Government introduced the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2019 into LegCo on January 8 this year. The bill, which proposes to extend statutory maternity leave by four weeks, is now being handled by the LegCo Panel on Manpower.

The Chief Executive announced on January 14 this year 10 new initiatives on improving people's livelihood, one of which is to increase progressively the number of statutory holidays so that it will be on par with that of general holidays.

The Government stated that it will work out the relevant proposal, invite the Labour Advisory Board to discuss, and will facilitate and support its work.

The Minimum Wage Commission is conducting a new round of review on the Statutory Minimum Wage rate and will submit a report on its recommendation to the Chief Executive in Council by end-October.

The Government added that it attaches great importance to employees' occupational safety and health.

It said the Labour Department has been adjusting its strategies of inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion, education and training according to the occupational safety and health risk levels of different industries as well as taking sufficient precautionary measures to prevent accidents by driving employers and employees to work together.

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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has rejected allegations made by certain officials and politicians in the United States, United Kingdom and European Parliament relating to an April 18 arrest operation and other security matters.

In a statement today, the Hong Kong SAR Government said such allegations were totally unfounded and amounted to a serious intervention in Hong Kong's affairs.

The SAR Government strongly disagreed with the grossly irresponsible remarks and expressed deep regret about them.

It pointed out that since its return to the Motherland, the HKSAR has maintained stability and prosperity under the principle of "one country, two systems", exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law (BL).   

"The Central Government has time and again reiterated that it will unswervingly implement the policy of one country, two systems' and make sure that it is fully applied in Hong Kong without being bent or distorted. 

“How to implement the policy in the HKSAR - an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China (BL Article 1) and a local administrative region of the People's Republic of China which shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People's Government (BL Article 12) - are entirely internal affairs of the People's Republic of China.

“No other state has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, in those internal affairs.”

The statement noted Hong Kong people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Basic Law. Basic Law Article 4 states that the HKSAR shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents and of other persons in the region in accordance with law. 

“In addition, human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation, and underpinned by an independent judiciary."

The SAR Government said it always respects and protects human rights and freedoms. Any allegation that there has been an erosion in freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people is unfounded.

However, these rights are not absolute. As pointed out by the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal at the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2020: "It is important to understand that the enjoyment of these rights has limits so as not to affect adversely to an unacceptable level the enjoyment by other members of their community of their rights and liberties."

There are clear limits in the law as to the exercise of these rights. When the law is broken, action will be taken in accordance with the criminal justice system.

"We therefore take great exception to comments made by officials and politicians in foreign countries concerning the recent arrests and prosecution of a number of persons for organising and participating in unauthorised assemblies in Hong Kong. 

“The allegation by some that those arrests amounted to an attack on Hong Kong's freedoms and a breach of the BL is absurd and can hardly stand the test of any law-abiding jurisdiction," the statement emphasised.

It also pointed out that Basic Law Article 63 provides that "The Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall control criminal prosecutions, free from any interference." 

Prosecutors have always been discharging this constitutional duty independently and professionally, without fear or favour. Prosecutorial decisions are based on an objective assessment of all admissible evidence and applicable laws, made strictly in accordance with the Prosecution Code which is available to the public.

Cases will not be handled any differently owing to the political beliefs or background of the persons involved.

When law enforcement agencies have completed their investigation, they would seek legal advice from the Department of Justice. The prosecutors would carefully consider the investigation reports and relevant materials submitted. A prosecution would only be commenced if the prosecutor is satisfied that there is sufficient admissible evidence to support a reasonable prospect of conviction.

In short, the well-established procedures of Hong Kong's criminal justice system include the independent investigations by law enforcement agencies, the independent prosecutorial decisions based on the objective assessment of evidence, applicable laws and in accordance with the Prosecution Code, and finally, open trials by an independent judiciary. 

"The guarantee of judicial independence is explicitly set out in the BL and the quality of the judgments of our courts contributes to the much respected judiciary and rule of law in the HKSAR.

"We therefore note with abhorrence certain overseas politicians' request that the HKSAR Government should drop the charges against the arrested individuals. If we were to accede or to be seen to yield to such unreasonable demands, we would not only be unfair and unprofessional but would also act in violation of the spirit of the rule of law – a core value in Hong Kong," the statement added.

The SAR Government remains steadfast to uphold the rule of law. The latest Rule of Law Index 2020 released by the World Justice Project, in which Hong Kong maintains its ranking as No. 5 in the East Asia and Pacific Region and No. 16 globally, several places ahead of the United States, has clearly affirmed Hong Kong's commitment.

On legislating for Basic Law Article 23, the statement said, "The HKSAR Government has the constitutional duty to ensure that the necessary legislation is in place to safeguard national security.

“Having laws in place to protect national security is common in many jurisdictions, and we do not see how any defence of sovereignty and security by a jurisdiction would impact on its local and overseas investment. 

“Coincidentally, it is relevant to note security issues arising from the social unrest last year were part of the causes affecting Hong Kong's score under 'Investment Freedom' according to the US-based Heritage Foundation 2020 Index of Economic Freedom."

As regards enquiries about the role of the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO) and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR, they represent the Central People's Government to which the HKSAR comes directly under pertaining to Basic Law Article 12. 

These offices have the power and responsibility over the proper and full implementation of the Basic Law and "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.

It is therefore clearly legitimate for the HKMAO and LOCPG to recently express their concerns over the prolonged paralysis of the Legislative Council House Committee, thereby hindering LegCo's performance of its legislative functions under the Basic Law.

"Any suggestion that those legitimate remarks by the HKMAO and the LOCPG amount to interference only illustrates an ignorance of the constitutional order of the HKSAR and its relationship with the Central Authorities," the SAR Government added.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip today visited the Inland Revenue Department and the Labour Department to inspect the resumption of public services.

The Government had earlier announced that public services will be resumed under a phased approach.

Counter services of most government departments have returned to normal.

Mr Nip first visited the Inland Revenue Department in Revenue Tower and was briefed on counter services at the Central Enquiry Counter, the Business Registration Office and the Stamp Office.

He learnt that the department has implemented various infection control and crowd management measures, such as a ticketing system, to safeguard the health of colleagues and the public.

Later Mr Nip visited the Hong Kong East Job Centre and a recruitment centre for the catering and retail industries and was briefed on the resumption of normal services at the Labour Department's job and recruitment centres.

He said: “While maintaining a high degree of vigilance and adopting all necessary precautionary measures, the Government gradually resumed public services today in a smooth and orderly manner.

“Various infection control measures have been put in place at government buildings and offices. These include checking the body temperature of persons at entrances, providing alcohol-based hand sanitiser and enhancing the cleaning of public facilities.

“The Government will closely monitor the situation to determine when to embark on full resumption of normal business.”

(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said the prevailing chairwoman of the Legislative Council House Committee should have the responsibility and power to deal with the matters of the committee.

Mrs Lam made the statement ahead of the Executive Council meeting this morning, noting LegCo President Andrew Leung had sought advice from outside senior counsel on how to address the delay in electing the committee’s chairman.

She said the senior counsels have observed that many of the matters raised in the House Committee’s meetings by the presiding member in the past six months have been irrelevant to the purpose of electing the committee’s chairman and vice-chairman.

“The second point that the senior counsels have observed during their very detailed scrutiny of the deliberations is that there was at least one occasion on March 13 in the House Committee meeting that gave people a very clear impression that the delaying of the election by the presiding member of the House Committee was quite deliberate and deliberate for political reasons.

“And the third thing that I observed from the senior counsels’ advice is, having regard to all these circumstances, they are of the firm view - this is the word taken from the senior counsels’ statement - that the prevailing chairwoman of the House Committee should have the responsibility and the power to deal with the business of the House Committee.”

The Chief Executive added that she expects the committee’s prevailing chairwoman Starry Lee to exercise her power.

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Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today chaired the Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee's fifth meeting to examine the implementation progress of the host of measures launched under the fund.

The committee noted the details of over 20 second-round relief measures have been announced since the Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the $120.5 billion injection to the fund on April 18.

Other measures will be launched as soon as possible to provide timely relief to the affected sectors and individuals. 

The committee also noted that the fund has paid out over $13 billion, and many businesses and members of the public have gradually received subsidies.

Mr Cheung said the measures aim to preserve employment and assist the self-employed, provide additional relief to those sectors hard hit by the pandemic and pave the way for the post-pandemic economic recovery. 

“We will continue to process applications and disburse subsidies as soon as possible to help businesses and members of the public tackle the challenges caused by the pandemic and to support enterprises, safeguard jobs and relieve people’s burden," he stressed. 

For the Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme which provides a one-off subsidy of $80,000 to eligible retailers, about 93,000 applications were received.

The committee was pleased to note that the scheme has been disbursing subsidies progressively and over $2.7 billion in subsidies have been approved so far, involving about 33,000 applications.

The Development Bureau today briefed the Land & Development Advisory Committee on the major recommendations of the Planning & Urban Design Review for Developments at Kai Tak Runway Tip (KTRT).

Members noted the planning objectives, design principles and key study recommendations for the KTRT developments, including the existing and planned public open spaces as well as the Tourism Node site included in the 2020-21 Land Sale Programme.

They generally supported the recommendations of the KTRT study and provided comments on various aspects, such as ways to attract people to KTRT, the connectivity to and within the area, and promotion of healthy city and kid-friendly concepts.

The committee was also briefed on the proposed two-envelope tender arrangement, which refers to evaluation of both design and price proposals, for disposal of Site 3 of the New Central Harbourfront.

With a total area of 4.75 hectares, the site will comprise a commercial development in separate blocks mainly for office and retail, with a total gross floor area not exceeding 150,000 sq m, to be built alongside a spacious public open space of no less than 25,000 sq m to be opened round-the-clock.

There will be a continuous landscaped deck spanning across the site in a north-south direction, allowing visitors to walk all the way from the hinterland of the Central Business District to the harbourfront.

While noting that the two-envelope approach was rather unconventional for government land sale, members agreed that the approach would allow both quality and price considerations to be taken into account, and the setting of a reserve price would ensure reasonable protection to public revenue.

Secretary for Innovation & Technology Alfred Sit today met representatives of the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) and research and development centres (R&D) specialising in innovations winning recognition worldwide.

While touring the Hong Kong Science Park, Mr Sit visited the Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute, the Logistics & Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, the Nano & Advanced Materials Institute and HKSTPC.

He met representatives of HKSTPC start-ups that specialise in healthcare technology, artificial intelligence, chips, material science and vehicle safety technology. Some start-ups have participated in the StayHomeSafe mobile app.

Mr Sit noted that Science Park is a breeding ground for local innovation and technology that shows tremendous strength.

He emphasised that with the concerted efforts of the HKSTPC and all R&D centres, batches of R&D talent have been nurtured, with their innovations winning recognition worldwide.

Their work has also helped consolidate Hong Kong's R&D strengths, promote applied R&D and foster commercialisation of R&D results, he added.

On the application of technology solutions in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the secretary pointed out that the electronic wristbands and StayHomeSafe mobile app used for home quarantine arrangements, the NASK Nanofiber Smart Mask supplied to the Hospital Authority and the CuMask are all R&D achievements from Science Park.

Mr Sit said he hoped that with the collaborative efforts of the HKSTPC and R&D centres, the I&T development in Hong Kong will be further promoted, driving economic development and improving people's livelihood.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui today visited the Companies Registry (CR) to inspect its operation.

Mr Hui visited the New Companies Section, the Public Search Section and the Document Management Section at the registry and spoke with staff there to learn about their work conditions and the services that they provide.

He said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong's overall economy.

“To help enterprises cope with their operating pressure amid the economic downturn, the Financial Secretary announced in the 2020-21 Budget the waiver of registration fees for annual returns, except for late delivery, charged by the CR for two years.

“And with a view to encouraging the wider use of the CR's electronic services, we also propose to reduce the fees payable in relation to the incorporation of companies, including registration of non-Hong Kong companies, through electronic means by 10%."

The Companies (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2020 gazetted today will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on May 13 for the waiver and reduction to take effect from October 1.

The waiver of registration fees for annual returns will benefit about 1.4 million companies.

Mr Hui added that he was pleased that the CR has been providing electronic services for filing of documents and company searches.

He appealed to the department to adopt wider use of technology, adding that a business-friendly environment is needed more than ever in the process of economic recovery.

Mr Hui also expressed gratitude to CR staff for their dedication in providing public services amid the pandemic.

The CuMasks have undergone strict testing and certification processes before the product will be distributed to help people combat the COVID-19 virus, Secretary for Innovation & Technology Alfred Sit said today.

Mr Sit’s remarks came amid public concerns over the safety of the free reusable face masks that the Government plans to distribute to all Hong Kong citizens.

Addressing reporters after attending a radio programme this morning, Mr Sit said: “The product has gone through a very comprehensive and clear testing and certification process.

“The product can fully comply with the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) F2100 Level 1 requirement, so that the product can fully meet the need of protecting our people from COVID-19.

“I have to emphasise that this whole process must be done by proper laboratories and that’s what we have done.”

Mr Sit noted that a dedicated website on the CuMask has been set up that contains information on the testing reports of the masks.

“For those people who may not have a complete understanding about our product, they may go to our website so that they can see the reports and certificates.

“I fully hope this product can help our people to combat COVID-19.That’s what we would like to do."