CE announces measures to further promote sports development
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The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, together with the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Caspar Tsui, today (August 10) announced various measures conducive to the sustainable development of sports in Hong Kong. She also called on the academic sector, enterprises and members of the public to further support Hong Kong athletes to scale new heights, as well as to promote the professionalisation of sports and the development of the sports industry in Hong Kong.
“The performance of the Hong Kong, China Delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was distinguished, with it achieving the best results in Hong Kong history and making all Hong Kong people feel proud. The success of the Hong Kong athletes did not come about by chance. In addition to their own efforts and the support of different sectors, the Government’s policy directives and its resource allocation were also indispensable,” Mrs Lam said.
Mrs Lam pointed out that the Government has been promoting sports development through a three-pronged approach since more than a decade ago, namely supporting elite sports, promoting sports in the community and maintaining Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, and has invested heavily in it in recent years. The Government has allocated $60 billion of new resources from 2017 to date, and the recurrent expenditure on support for sports development has been increasing. In the year 2021/22, the Government’s annual funding for the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), through the Elite Athletes Development Fund, amounted to $737 million, representing an increase of about 42 per cent over the amount in the year 2017/18.
“The Government will step up efforts in supporting sports development in the future. It is hoped that more elite athletes can bring glory home in international competitions down the road,” Mrs Lam said.
Measures announced by Mrs Lam today to further support sports development are as follows:
Expediting the new building project of the HKSI
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The HKSI is a training centre for elite sports in Hong Kong that provides direct financial subsidies and comprehensive support services for elite athletes. To enhance the facilities for training athletes in the HKSI, the Government has decided to allocate $990 million (in money-of-the-day prices) as the project cost for the new building in the HKSI with about 9 000 square metres of net operating floor area to expand its Scientific Conditioning Centre and Sports Medicine Centre, and provide additional training, resting and accommodation facilities for athletes. The Government will strive to have the funding approved by the Public Works Subcommittee and the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council (LegCo) before the current term of the LegCo ends in late October, so that works can be launched as early as possible. The target is to commission the new building in June 2024, that is, before the opening of the Paris Olympic Games.
Establishing a fund to enhance the competitiveness of athletes
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The Government and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust will finance jointly the setting up of a $300 million special fund to enhance the competitiveness of athletes at international events in the coming few years. The fund will be used to conduct research in sports science and sports medicine, improve athletes’ gear, purchase extra equipment for the Scientific Conditioning Centre and the Sports Medicine Centre in the HKSI and more, benefiting elite athletes including athletes with disabilities. Meanwhile, the HKSI will continue to provide targeted support and competition preparation plans for athletes, and enhance training to raise the levels of sports science and sports medicine of its teams.
Strengthening sports development at the school level
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The Government encourages schools to attach greater importance to sports development. The Home Affairs Bureau and the Education Bureau will study how to build a good foundation of sports for students through the school curriculum and extra-curricular activities and increase the opportunities for them to participate in various sport events and competitions, promoting sports in the community and its development as well as nurturing more elite athletes for Hong Kong in the future. The Government will also step up efforts to support the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation to scout for elite athlete successors.
Strengthening support for elite athletes’ dual career development in sports and academic pursuits
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The Government encourages tertiary institutions to provide support for elite athletes, enabling them to engage in dual career development in sports and academic pursuits and encouraging parents to let their children with sporting talent join the ranks of elite athletes. In fact, the Government injected $250 million into the Hong Kong Athletes Fund in 2020 to increase scholarships to support athletes’ dual career development, including stepping up support for athletes to study bachelor’s degrees or above. In addition, the HKSI has collaborated with 12 local tertiary institutions to create multiple pathways for athletes and provide them with more flexible learning arrangements. Currently, about 170 active HKSI athletes are studying in tertiary institutions, and about 60 of them have benefited from the co-operation agreements between the HKSI and various tertiary institutions. More than 200 other active athletes have already completed post-secondary programmes.
Development of the sports industry
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With the commissioning of the Kai Tak Sports Park in 2023 and the growing importance the community attaches to the development of sports, the Government aims to promote the development of sports as a career, a profession and an industry to provide retired athletes as well as young people with job and development opportunities in areas including venue management, sports administration, sports science, sports medicine and organisation of mega sports events. The Secretary for Home Affairs will chair a working group to discuss with the business and sports sectors on the development of the sports industry in Hong Kong and the relevant manpower needs, and will submit a report to the Chief Executive later.
“There will be a number of important sports events taking place in the future, including the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to begin later this month, the National Games to be held in Shaanxi Province next month, the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the Asian Games in Hangzhou to be held next year, as well as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I call on members of the public to continue their support for Hong Kong athletes and also encourage them to do more exercise to create a sports-for-all atmosphere,” Mrs Lam said.
Jul 9, 2021 | International
Security measures at CFA Building
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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary today (July 9) announced that enhanced security measures will be implemented at the Court of Final Appeal Building (CFA Building) starting from July 12.
“The introduction of enhanced security measures aims to help ensure the safety of judges and judicial officers, Judiciary staff and court users in the CFA Building,” a spokesman for the Judiciary said.
Court users will be required to undergo security screening, including screening by metal detector and bag inspection, when entering the CFA Building. The Judiciary will deploy additional staff and security guards to provide guidance and assistance for court users.
Out of security considerations, court users will not be allowed to bring water or drinks into the CFA Building upon implementation of the security screening. The Judiciary will provide drinking water and encourage court users to bring their own cups.
The spokesman said, “We have taken into account all relevant matters including operational efficiency and the convenience of court users when implementing the security screening.”
In implementing security screening in the CFA Building, the Judiciary will make every effort to minimise inconvenience caused to court users. However, it is inevitable that more time will be required for court users to gain access to courtrooms. The Judiciary urges the relevant parties and other court users to arrive at the CFA Building earlier, in particular during the peak hours in the mornings or after the lunch breaks.
Security arrangements have been implemented on floors with courtrooms at the High Court Building, the Family Court and the Small Claims Tribunal. The relevant arrangements are planned to be extended to cover the whole West Kowloon Law Courts Building by the end of this year.
May 24, 2021 | International
Measures to render further support to financial needy individuals and families to be implemented
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The Government today (May 24) announced that a series of measures would be implemented to render further support to financial needy individuals and families.
The 2021-22 Budget announced that a one-off extra allowance, equal to half of one month of the standard rate of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance, would be provided to eligible recipients of these social security payments. Similar arrangements will apply to recipients of Working Family Allowance (WFA) and the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy (WITS). The above recipients will receive the extra allowance starting from today (see details in the annex).
A Government spokesman said that recipients who were eligible for social security payments on April 28, 2021 (the date the Legislative Council approved the Appropriation Bill 2021), and those whose WFA/WITS applications were made in the period from October 1, 2020, to April 28, 2021, and eventually approved, would be eligible for the one-off extra allowance. It is estimated that about 1.51 million social security recipients, 70 000 WFA households and 20 000 WITS recipients would benefit from the arrangements, involving a total of over $2.5 billion. The payment will be credited to the designated Hong Kong bank accounts of the eligible households/recipients without the need to make an application.
In addition, the Government will relax the eligibility criteria for the WFA Scheme and the Short-term Food Assistance Service Projects (STFASPs) starting from next month, for a period of one year.
Regarding the WFA Scheme, the working hour requirements for non-single-parent households will be reduced for the claim months from June 2021 to May 2022, viz substantially reducing that for Basic Allowance from 144 to 72 hours per month and reducing that for Medium Allowance from 168 to 132 hours per month, so that more low-income households will be eligible for WFA despite a decrease in their working hours, and some existing beneficiary households may receive a higher allowance. Taking an eligible four-person household with two children as an example, if its aggregate monthly working hours reach 72, it may receive a maximum of $3,800 in WFA per month.
As for the STFASPs, the asset limits will also be relaxed from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, by pitching them to those of the WFA Scheme. For example, the asset limit of a four-person household will be relaxed from $264,000 to $548,000, while that of a one-person household will be relaxed from $99,000 to $266,000.
For enquiries on social security and the STFASPs, please call the Social Welfare Department’s hotline (2343 2255) or visit its website (www.swd.gov.hk). As for enquiries on the WFA and WITS Schemes, please call the hotline (2558 3000) of the Working Family Allowance Office of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency or visit its website (www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/wfao).
