The 2023 Honours List and Justices of the Peace (JPs) appointments are published in the Government Gazette today (July 1).

     For the Honours List, a total of 403 persons have been awarded by the Chief Executive this year, including:
 

     The citations of the award recipients of the 2023 Honours List are provided in Appendix 1.
 
     The award recipients come from different walks of life with diverse backgrounds. They have made significant contributions to Hong Kong in different areas, benefitting various domains and sectors of the community, including public and community service, education, medical and public health, finance, trade and industry, scientific research, innovation and technology, charity, arts and culture, sports, housing, transport, construction and urban development, environmental protection, labour and welfare, women and youth affairs, and professional services.
 
     A Government spokesman said, “The Chief Executive is grateful to all awardees for their contributions to Hong Kong and hopes that they will continue to excel in their own fields and serve the community.

     “Regarding the murder case that happened at Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill on June 2 this year, the Chief Executive would like to thank a citizen who bravely confronted the suspect with a view to stopping the latter from continuing his assault on others. He has therefore awarded the Medal for Bravery (Bronze) to this citizen. The Chief Executive would also like to thank four citizens for their unreserved assistance in rescuing the victims immediately at the scene, and has therefore awarded them the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service.

     “He also takes this opportunity to express his thanks again to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) search and rescue team deployed to carry out search and rescue operations in the quake-stricken areas in Türkiye in February this year. They have been awarded the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Government/Public Service in recognition of their contributions to the operations. The HKSAR search and rescue team was awarded the inaugural Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance earlier.”
 
     The presentation ceremony for the awards will be held later this year. 
 
     Moreover, a total of 65 persons have been appointed as JPs by the Chief Executive, of whom 52 were appointed under section 3(1)(b) of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap. 510) (commonly referred to as Non-official JPs), and 13 were appointed under section 3(1)(a) of the same ordinance (commonly referred to as Official JPs).
 
     The main function of JPs is to visit correctional institutions, detention centres or other institutions to ensure their effective management and that no individual is unfairly treated or deprived of his or her rights. JPs will ensure that complaints lodged by individuals are handled in a fair and transparent manner.
 
     The name list of JPs appointed under section 3(1)(b) and section 3(1)(a) of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance is provided in Appendix 2.

     The 2022 Honours List and Justices of the Peace (JPs) appointments are published in the Government Gazette today (July 27).

 

     This year’s Honours List and JPs appointments were originally scheduled for announcement at the end of June. For the Honours List, all the 889 persons were awarded by former Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam, as follows:

 

     The citations of the award recipients of the 2022 Honours List are provided in Appendix 1.

     The award recipients come from different walks of life with diverse backgrounds. They have made significant contributions to Hong Kong in different areas, benefiting various sectors of the community, including public and community service, education, medical and public health, finance, trade and industry, scientific research, innovation and technology, charity, arts and culture, sports, creative industry, housing, transport, construction and urban development, environmental protection, labour and welfare, youth affairs, and professional services.

 

     A Government spokesman pointed out that this year’s total number of recipients awarded by former Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam is the highest since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with about 70 per cent (607 persons) being awarded the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service or the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Government/Public Service. Among them, 493 persons are members of the community and public servants who have made significant contributions to the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

     The spokesman added, “A total of 105 persons are awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal or the Gold, Silver or Bronze Bauhinia Star this year, which is similar to the number in the final year of the previous two government terms. This is mainly because, generally speaking, the Chief Executive would award honours to the Politically Appointed Officials and Executive Council Members in the last year of the government term.”

 

     “Former Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam is grateful to all awardees for their contributions to Hong Kong and hopes that they will continue to excel in their own fields and serve the community. With over 30 awardees on this year’s Honours List from the sports sector, she is particularly happy with the unprecedented outstanding achievements of Hong Kong’s athletes and coaches in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games and other major sports events,” the spokesman added.

 

     The presentation ceremony for the awards will be held later this year. The exact timing and arrangements will take into account the social distancing measures then in force.

 

     For JPs appointments, amongst all the 50 JPs appointed by former Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam, 38 were appointed under section 3(1)(b) of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap. 510) (commonly referred to as Non-official JPs), and 12 were appointed under section 3(1)(a) of the same ordinance (commonly referred to as Official JPs).

 

     The main function of JPs is to visit correctional institutions, detention centres or other institutions to ensure their effective management and that no individual is unfairly treated or deprived of his or her rights. JPs will ensure that complaints lodged by individuals are handled in a fair and transparent manner.

 

     The name list of JPs appointed under section 3(1)(b) and section 3(1)(a) of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance is provided in Appendix 2.