Hong Kong – HKSAR Government’s Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments call on Zhejiang Province leaders (with photos)
HKSAR Government’s Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments call on Zhejiang Province leaders (with photos)
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The delegation of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government on a study and duty visit led by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, called on the Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Mr Yi Lianhong today (June 29).
Mr Yi met every member of the delegation. Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO), Mr Wang Linggui; member of the Standing Committee and head of the Organization Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Cheng; and Vice Governor of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, Mr Li Yanyi also attended the meeting.
Mrs Yeung sincerely thanked Mr Yi for taking the time to meet the delegation. She said Zhejiang and Hong Kong had signed a number of co-operation agreements a few days ago, one of them is that with the co-ordination of the HKMAO, both sides will continue to promote exchanges between civil servants in Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and share management experience and professional knowledge in public services. This study and duty visit truly symbolises the closer co-operation and exchange between the two places.
The delegation visited various places in Hangzhou and Wuzhen to learn about different scopes of work covering sports, commerce and economy, tourism and ecological conservation.
The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou will be officially opened on September 23 and the preparatory work is in full swing. The delegation took this rare opportunity to visit a venue of the Asian Games, the Tennis Center Finals Hall in the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, which is termed “Small Lotus”, to let the HKSAR Government’s senior civil servants learn about the venue and experience for this major sports event to prepare for organising future mega events, especially the 15th National Games to be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in 2025.
The delegation also visited the Hangzhou International Expo Center which provided facilities for conventions, exhibitions, catering, tourism, hotel and office space. The centre will soon be one of the venues for the Asian Games.
As there are many private enterprises in Zhejiang Province, the delegation also visited Zhejiang Geely Holding Group headquartered in Hangzhou to learn about the development of electric and new energy vehicles.
The delegation also made the best use of the time at night and visited the West Lake Comprehensive Protection Project to know more about how the local government balanced conservation and development through environmental protection governance as well as greening and beautification projects, which also enhanced the competitiveness of Hangzhou’s tourism industry.
Meanwhile, in Wuzhen, a place commonly known as beautiful water town, the delegation went to West Scenic Zone to gain a picture of the development of the leisure and holiday industry there. They also visited the permanent site for the World Internet Conference.
The delegation will continue the visit in Hangzhou tomorrow (June 30) and return to Hong Kong in the afternoon.
HKSAR Government’s Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments visit Zhejiang for practical experience of grassroots governance (with photos)
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HKSAR Government’s Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments formally start study programme (with photos)
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Government’s response to enquiries on “Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles”
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The governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong announced at noon today that the Scheme will be open for application from eligible Hong Kong private cars from 9am on June 1 this year, and approved Hong Kong private cars will be allowed to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) starting from 0.00am on July 1.
The Government’s early announcement of the implementation time and detailed arrangements of the Scheme today would allow sufficient time for the public to learn about the Scheme, obtain Mainland driving licences and prepare the documents required for application in advance, etc. There is also a one-month interval between application commencement and the start of travel of the approved vehicles, with a view to allowing ample time for more members of the public to orderly complete the relevant application procedures.
To ensure that the Scheme is implemented in an orderly manner, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong have agreed to set a cap on the number of applications to be accepted, which will be allocated by computer balloting, at the initial stage of launching the Scheme (200 applications will be accepted per working day in the first week, followed by 300 applications to be accepted per working day from the second week onwards). The Government will review the application situation and progressively increase the number of applications to be accepted as necessary.
As for vehicle examination, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong have been devising measures to enhance the examination arrangement while complying with the Mainland regulations. We believe the examination capacity will be sufficient to meet the demand under the Scheme. The governments of the two sides will closely monitor the situation and launch further enhanced measures in a timely manner.
To ensure a better northbound travel experience for the approved applicants, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong have also agreed to set a daily cap on the number of northbound vehicles. Applicants who have obtained the relevant licences for the Scheme may book for travelling within a designated period via the online booking system. The HKSAR Government is now in discussion with the Guangdong Provincial Government on the daily cap, and will separately announce the details in due course after reviewing the application situation.
To cope with the upsurge of workload in the first quarter this year, the Transport Department (TD) has implemented a range of measures to expedite the processing of Closed Road Permit (CRP) applications, including streamlining the application procedures, arrangement of staff for overtime work on weekdays and weekends, and deployment and recruitment of additional staff. With the efforts, all applications pending processing have been vetted by end of April this year. Currently, new CRP applications can be completed within five working days as in the past in general, while renewal applications can be completed within one day. To facilitate the implementation of the Scheme, the TD will continue to utilise electronic service, deploy and recruit additional staff, etc. for continued enhancement of the application handling capacity.
In the longer term, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong will draw on the implementation experience of the Scheme at the HZMB and proactively study the extension of the Scheme to a Shenzhen/Hong Kong land boundary control point, such that Hong Kong private cars can travel to both the eastern and western parts of Guangdong.
Government’s response to tree collapse incident at Perth Street, Ho Man Tin
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Hong Kong – HKSAR Government’s Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments visit Zhejiang for practical experience of grassroots governance (with photos)
The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, led Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments to visit Huzhou City and Jiaxing City of Zhejiang Province today (June 28) to obtain a deeper understanding of the practical experience of grassroots governance and common prosperity.
In Anji County, they visited places including Yucun and Villa & Resort to learn more about rural transformation and success stories about improving rural environment and increasing rural income. They also talked to local residents and shop operators to learn more about their daily lives and business practices.
More than a decade ago, Yucun closed the county’s largest mining area which caused serious pollution. Through improving the environment, the local government rediscovered the value of the village and put efforts on rural rebuilding and reconstruction of urban and rural areas. Following the concept of “clean waters and green mountains are just as valuable as gold and silver”, the local government established the first ecological county in the country and developed rural tourism economy. After years of continual and dedicated efforts, Anji County has accelerated green development and paved the way for the modernisation of grassroots governance, creating a path of transformation and upgrading for ecological economisation and economic ecologisation, which increased farmers’ income, narrowed income gap between urban and rural areas to achieve common prosperity.
Similarly, after a careful conversion, Villa & Resort, a homestay cluster, has been transformed from a “hollow village” where most of the young people left the village for work in the city in the past, to an integrated community for leisure tourism, arts, culture and creativity which attracted a large number of young people to start their businesses and let tourists to stay and enjoy village life there.
The delegation also visited the Hello Kitty Amusement Park in Hangzhou; the China Bamboo Expo Park, the first county-level base for giant pandas in the country; the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History; and the Song Ming Tea Expo Garden in Anji which is developed in the direction of agriculture, tourism and culture.
Mrs Yeung said development needs to balance economic interests and the impact on the environment and lifestyle. In the course of development, there is a need to assist those who are less capable financially to find opportunities to improve their lives. The successful practical experience of common prosperity and Chinese-style modernisation in Zhejiang has enabled senior civil servants to gain a first-hand understanding of ways to resolve conflicts in the process of development. It is believed that upon their return to Hong Kong, the participants can, taking into account their own experience from this trip, formulate more people-oriented policies in their respective positions so as to boost momentum for development in community and improve people’s livelihood.
She also said many of the places visited today have green, tourism and cultural elements, and are examples of successful transformation combined with advantages of natural valuable resources. She believed that they would be an inspiration to colleagues in different positions.
The delegation will continue its visit in Zhejiang Province tomorrow (June 29).Hong Kong – HKSAR Government’s Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments formally start study programme (with photos)
A delegation of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government for study and duty visit formally started their study programme at the National Academy of Governance (NAG) this morning (June 26). The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO), Mr Xia Baolong, had a meeting with the delegation participants this afternoon.
The Executive Vice President of the NAG in charge of daily operations, Mr Xie Chuntao, and Deputy Director of the HKMAO Mr Wang Linggui, attended and delivered speeches at the opening ceremony for the study programme, marking the resumption of the study programme for the most senior colleagues in the civil service of the HKSAR Government since 2018.
The leader of the delegation, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said Hong Kong is now in a new phase of advancing from stability to prosperity. The civil service is the backbone of the HKSAR Government, while Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments are the core of the civil service of the HKSAR Government. It is most timely for them to come to the NAG to receive training at this critical period and she hoped that the participants will seize this learning opportunity.
She added that the NAG’s training could reinforce the participants’ understanding of the country’s important policies and future development strategies, helping them formulate and implement future policies and initiatives and obtain a deeper understanding on how Hong Kong can better integrate into national development.
After the ceremony, vice-dean of National Security College at National Defense University of the People’s Liberation Army, Major General Tang Yongsheng, and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief designer of the space station system of the China Manned Space Program, Mr Yang Hong, gave lectures to the participants on national security and the national manned space programme respectively.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the HKMAO Mr Wang Linggui, delivered a lecture on Chinese-style modernisation to the Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments of the HKSAR Government.
The Secretary for the Civil Service yesterday led a delegation of more than 20 Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments of the HKSAR Government to Beijing and Zhejiang Province for a six-day study and duty visit. This arrangement was made after the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland and the full resumption to normalcy of society for Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments to study on the Mainland following the one in 2018. It also has the largest number of participants ever.
The delegation will continue the study at the NAG tomorrow morning, and depart for Zhejiang Province for duty visit tomorrow afternoon.Hong Kong – Government’s response to enquiries on “Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles”
In response to media enquiries on “Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles” (the Scheme), a Government spokesman gave the following response today (May 1):
As regard the fees for participating in the Scheme, the State Council announced in November last year that eligible Hong Kong private cars under the Scheme are exempted from paying customs duties or applying for guarantee arrangements with Mainland customs, thereby largely reducing the relevant fees. The fees that applicants need to pay include the CRP application to the TD, vehicle examination and buying insurance (i.e. Compulsory Traffic Accident Liability Insurance for Motor Vehicles of the Mainland or “unilateral recognition” insurance policies of Hong Kong) in accordance with the Mainland requirements. The fees will vary subject to the vehicle conditions, duration of policy period, etc. Generally speaking, the fees for a maximum of one-year validity period amount at around 2,000 to 3,000 Hong Kong dollars; while those for one-month validity period amount at around 1,000 Hong Kong dollars.Hong Kong – Government’s response to tree collapse incident at Perth Street, Ho Man Tin
In response to media enquiries on the tree collapse incident at Perth Street, Ho Man Tin this morning (September 16), the Development Bureau (DEVB) as well as the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) gave a response as follows:
The 9.5-metre high Delonix regia located at the pavement outside 6 Perth Street is under the LCSD’s maintenance. It is not an old and valuable tree. LCSD staff had all along been monitoring the health of the tree and conducting regular tree maintenance work including pruning. During the last inspection carried out by LCSD staff on April 22, no signs of decay were found on the branches, trunk and the surface of the tree roots.
The Tree Management Office (TMO) of the DEVB is highly concerned with the incident and requested the LCSD to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the tree collapse by early October.
Meanwhile, members of the LCSD’s tree team had also preliminarily inspected the other 34 trees managed by the department at Perth Street and confirmed that no irregularities were found.
The TMO of the DEVB has requested the LCSD to conduct detailed inspections on the health and structural conditions of the trees there. The TMO will take prompt follow-up actions once the report on tree collapse is completed by the LCSD.
Moreover, the TMO has already requested all tree maintenance departments to review the situation of large Delonix regia located near the roadside within the area under their management in order to ensure public safety.
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