It has been our practice in previous years to publish a Policy Agenda in tandem with the Policy Address to list out all the ongoing and new initiatives of the Government. The 2017 and 2018 Policy Agendas set out about 500 new policy initiatives, of which over 97% have been completed or are being taken forward as scheduled. This year, we have decided to produce a new document, the Policy Address Supplement (Supplement), to complement the 2019 Policy Address. In addition to setting out new initiatives to be rolled out by the Government in the coming years, the Supplement highlights the beliefs of the Chief Executive, outlines the progress made (covering completed initiatives and those that have attained major progress), and presents the challenges faced by Hong Kong. With the use of infographics, we hope the Supplement will provide a more readable yet comprehensive account of the work and commitments of the current-term Government. There are eight chapters in this Supplement. From Chapter II onwards, each chapter focuses on one major policy area and comprises four parts, namely, My Belief, Progress Made, Challenges Ahead and New Initiatives. About 200 new initiatives are covered in this Supplement, on top of those announced in the 2019 Policy Address delivered by the Chief Executive today.

“Hong Kong’s core values are also our absolute advantages, including the rule of law, an independent judiciary, human rights and freedoms, which are protected by the Basic Law. I and the HKSAR Government will do our utmost to safeguard the rule of law and ensure the accurate and full implementation of the Basic Law and ‘One Country, Two Systems’ in Hong Kong.” “As a politician, I have to remind myself all the time of the need to grasp public sentiments accurately. I am also fully aware that while we have good intentions, we still need to be open and accommodating. While the Government has to ensure administrative efficiency, it still needs to listen patiently.” The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), being an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China, is directly under the Central People’s Government and exercises a high degree of autonomy. With the support of the Motherland and an international vision, Hong Kong has maintained its unique strengths which are protected by the Basic Law, including the rule of law, executive power, legislative power, independent judicial power including that of final adjudication, human rights and freedoms, etc. The HKSAR Government will, with utmost endeavours, implement “One Country, Two Systems”, uphold the Basic Law and safeguard the rule of law. Good governance is the cornerstone for discharging the above constitutional responsibilities.Also, the Government will ensure that its future work is closer to the aspirations, sentiments and opinions of the people while proactively enhancing public engagement. Our style of governance needs to be more open and accommodating and our way of listening to public views needs to be reformed. The adoption of the new fiscal policy by the current-term Government is another important measure to improve governance. Under the principle of ensuring the stability of our public finances and in line with the Basic Law’s requirement of keeping our expenditure within the limits of revenues and avoiding fiscal deficits, the new fiscal philosophy aims to use our accumulated surpluses wisely for the community. Since the beginning of our current term, the recurrent expenditure of the HKSAR Government has increased by $79.2 billion (21.9%) from 2017-18 to 2019-20 in support of new initiatives for improving people’s livelihood. Total government expenditure, including infrastructure and other non-recurrent expenditure, is estimated to be $607.8 billion in 2019-20, an increase of 29.1% from that of 2017-18. At the same time, we still maintain a healthy fiscal reserve in excess of $1,100 billion. We will continue to adhere to the new fiscal philosophy to invest in the future, enhance competitiveness and create benefits for society.

2019-20 (Estimate) $441 billion, with an increase of 22% from 2017-18 Education $90.6 billion Social Welfare $84.3 billion Health $80.6 billion Support $61.3 billion Security $48.1 billion Infrastructure and Housing $28.5 billion Environment and Food $19.3 billion Community and External Affairs $14.6 billion Economic $13.7 billion 2018-19 $403 billion Education $85.5 billion Social Welfare $79.5 billion Health $72.5 billion Support $54.4 billion Security $44.3 billion Infrastructure and Housing $24.3 billion Environment and Food $16.9 billion Community and External Affairs $13.3 billion Economic $12.3 billion 2017-18 $361.8 billion Education $80.2 billion Social Welfare $65.3 billion Health $62.6 billion Support $51.3 billion Security $40.9 billion Infrastructure and Housing $22.2 billion Environment and Food $15.3 billion Community and External Affairs $12.6 billion Economic $11.4 billion

CE attended 24 LegCo meetings since taking office. 276 district visits were made by Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau. On average, one visit by a Secretary of Department or Director of Bureau every 2 working days CE chaired summits on: * New directions for taxation * Poverty alleviation * Disability inclusion * Quality education

* So far, 35 committees have joined the Scheme * The number of young people in the "Talent Pool" of the Government has increased from around 900 in October 2017 to around 3 500 now * The overall ratio of youth members in government committees has increased from 7.8% as at end 2017 to 10.9% as at 2019 Q2 and is gradually moving towards the target of achieving 15% in mid-2022

Focusing on the following strategies in handling non-refoulement claims: * combating illegal immigration and strengthening immigration control * expediting screening * expediting removal from Hong Kong * strengthening enforcement Number of claims pending screening 2014 (Q2): 8 779 2015 (Q1): 9 738 2016 (Q1): 11 201 2017 (Q1): 8 956 2018 (Q1): 4 420 2019 (Q2): 279 Number of claims received 2014 (Q4): 4 634 2015 (Q4): 5 053 2016 (Q4): 3 838 2017 (Q4): 1 843 2018 (Q4): 1 216 2019 (Q2): 578 The number of claims pending screening and new claims received has dropped significantly from the peak

A total of 40 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas, of which 39 have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

During the first three years of the current-term Government (i.e. from 2017-18 to 2019-20), the civil service establishment has increased by about 13 500 posts (7.6%). The projected establishment by end-March 2020 will be 191 816 posts. (CSB) In July 2018, invited all serving civil servants joining the service between 1 June 2000 and 31 May 2015 to choose to retire at 65 (for civilian grades) or 60 (for disciplined services grades). (CSB) Identified a “Government, Institution or Community” site with an area of about 11 000 square metres in Kwun Tong for composite development based on the principle of “single site, multiple use”. Apart from the civil service college and some social welfare facilities, there will also be an elevated pedestrian platform, public open space and a green deck to enhance the local environment and walkability of the district. We consulted the Kwun Tong District Council (DC) on the initial plan of the development project in May 2019. The project is expected to be completed in end-2026. (CSB) The public consultation on archives law launched in December 2018 by the Law Reform Commission (LRC) was completed in March 2019. LRC is analysing the responses received during the consultation period. The Government will actively take follow-up action after receiving the report from LRC. (CSO)

Construction works of the staff quarters for the Immigration Department (ImmD) at Heng Lam Street, Kowloon and the rank and file quarters for the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) at Yau Yue Wan Village Road, Tseung Kwan O were completed in end-2018, while the flat intake completed in January and May 2019 respectively. Construction works of the staff quarters at Tseung Kwan O Road, Kwun Tong were completed in June 2019, and occupants have been moving in since August 2019. (SB) Construction works of five departmental quarters have been expedited, namely the staff quarters for the Correctional Services Department at Tin Wan, Aberdeen; the disciplined services quarters for the Fire Services Department at Pak Shing Kok, Tseung Kwan O; the junior police officers married quarters at Fan Garden, Fanling; the departmental quarters for the C&ED at Sheung Fung Street, Tsz Wan Shan; and the departmental quarters for the C&ED at Po Lam Road, Tseung Kwan O Area 123. It is expected that construction works will be completed and flat intake will begin gradually from around the fourth quarter of 2019 to end-2022. (SB) The relaxed award arrangements under the Long and Meritorious Service Travel Award Scheme were announced in April 2019, under which an awardee may flexibly nominate a travelling companion to receive the travel allowance. (CSB)

The Judiciary has established a central steering committee to oversee the implementation of the new High Court and District Court projects. The statutory rezoning procedures for the latter’s development site commenced in May 2019. (CSO/DEVB) Introduced the Judicial Officers (Extension of Retirement Age) (Amendment) Bill 2019 into the Legislative Council (LegCo) in March 2019. The Second Reading debate of the Bill is expected to be resumed at the beginning of the 2019-20 legislative session. (CSO)

Regularised the Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth, under which young people aged between 18 and 35 with a commitment to serve the community are recruited regularly to participate in government advisory committees. So far, 35 committees have joined the Scheme covering a total of 71 seats and 50 members have been appointed. The overall ratio of youth members has increased from 7.8% as at end 2017 to 10.9% as at mid-2019 and is gradually moving towards the target of 15% set by the current-term Government. (HAB) The Chief Executive has chaired six summits on different policy areas, including new directions of taxation, poverty alleviation, disability inclusion and quality education, to exchange views with stakeholders directly on the relevant strategies, policies and measures. (Relevant bureaux)

By end-September 2019, 276 visits (i.e. one visit every two working days on average) were made by Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau to have a better understanding of district affairs. (HAB) Since the launch of the Signature Project Scheme in 2013, 27 projects spearheaded by the respective DCs were funded under the scheme, of which 20 are in operation. (HAB)

Produced new videos for integrity training for government officers and public officers, which covered common corruption pitfalls and addressed the latest issues of concern in the civil service. (ICAC) Organised a series of commemorative events for the 45th anniversary of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, including a television drama series, an open day and a roving exhibition involving virtual reality and augmented reality interactive games. Also, a youth promotional programme was launched to disseminate via multi-media platforms the anti-corruption advertisements created by tertiary students and an online video leveraging on these advertisements was produced to further foster the concept of integrity in the younger generation. (ICAC) Organised 17 visits for exchange and meetings with leaders of seven international anti-corruption ranking institutions to promote Hong Kong’s robust anti-corruption regime and probity environment. An international conference jointly hosted with the World Justice Project, the 7th ICAC Symposium was attended by more than 500 participants. Connections have been established with anti-corruption institutions of over 50 countries and training courses conducted for almost 400 graft fighters from over the world since 2017. (ICAC)

In 2018, the numbers of non-ethnic Chinese illegal immigrants and new non-refoulement claims dropped significantly by about 80% from the peak. ImmD has largely completed the screening of over 11 000 pending claims. (SB)

Worked with the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) to make practical arrangements to ensure that the 2019 DC Ordinary Election will be conducted in a fair, open and honest manner in accordance with the relevant legislation. (CMAB) Followed up with legislative amendments in light of EAC’s recommendations on the boundaries of DC constituency areas for the 2019 DC Ordinary Election. (CMAB)

Since 1 July 2018, the work on formulating legal aid policy and housekeeping the Legal Aid Department was transferred from the Home Affairs Bureau to the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, thereby underlining the independence of the legal aid system. (CSO) Implemented a series of measures, including substantially increasing duty lawyer fees with effect from 1 April 2019, as well as opening an additional office for the Legal Advice Scheme for Unrepresented Litigants on Civil Procedures at Wanchai Tower, with a view to enhancing free legal advice services. (CSO)

Amidst rising demands for public service and uncertainty in the global economy, while we expand the civil service establishment to deliver new initiatives, it is necessary to ensure steady development of the civil service so as to maintain the sustainability of public finance. (CSB)

We must be prudent in dealing with the highly controversial issues relating to constitutional development. It is irresponsible to restart political reform hastily as it will intensify the rift in society. The discussion on political reform needs to be conducted in a pragmatic manner having due regard to the legal basis and in a peaceful atmosphere conducive to mutual trust. The HKSAR Government will consider all related factors, size up the situation and carry out constitutional development in accordance with the Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation and Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. (CMAB)

In light of the latest developments in the community, the Government must be more open, accommodating and patient in listening to public views, firmly grasp public sentiments, and be proactive in responding to the aspirations of the public and LegCo. (CSO)

Over 13 000 non-refoulement claimants still remain in Hong Kong for various reasons, such as pending appeal to the Torture Claims Appeal Board, being engaged in judicial review or criminal proceedings, or awaiting repatriation. (SB)

Roll out electronic record-keeping system to all government bureaux/departments by end-2025 to enhance efficiency in preserving and managing government records. (CSO) Include records management as part of the induction training for newly-recruited government officers in phases. We have prepared a comprehensive service-wide training plan and will significantly increase the number of training targets on records management from about 4 000 to 10 000 per annum. (CSO)

Regularise the additional dedicated allocation of $20.8 million for the promotion of arts and cultural activities under the community involvement programme and provide additional resources to enhance the manpower support for DCs. (HAB) Increase the annual recurrent provision for District-led Actions Scheme from $63 million to $80 million from 2020-21 onwards to further address long-standing problems and capitalise on opportunities in the districts. (HAB)

Develop a corruption prevention guide which sets out the best practices on related work procedures for reference by non-disciplined service departments and public bodies with law enforcement or regulatory functions. (ICAC) Assist the Development Bureau and major public bodies to strengthen their systems on supervision of construction works projects to reduce the possible risk of corruption in the systems. (ICAC) In collaboration with the relevant bureaux/departments, develop a comprehensive framework for and assist public works contractors to implement an Integrity Management System, with a view to enhancing the contractors’ awareness and capabilities in integrity management and corruption prevention. (ICAC) Strengthen co-operation on anti-corruption with the anti-corruption agencies in Guangdong and Macao under the framework of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by co-organising training programmes, strengthening exchange on education and publicity of a probity culture as well as striving to establish a clean and transparent government-business relationship to promote synergy in the anti-corruption mechanism. (ICAC)

Launch a public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) to introduce new offences on voyeurism and non-consensual photography of intimate parts. (SB) With reference to the review on sexual offences conducted by LRC, undertake preparatory work for the amendment of sexual offences provisions of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) to bring the provisions up-to-date. (SB)

The Government and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data are actively reviewing the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486). The directions of amendments include establishing a mandatory data breach notification mechanism and strengthening the regulation on data retention period, etc. We will prepare a draft amendment bill after consulting relevant stakeholders. (CMAB) Develop training resources for the Government disciplined services and incorporate such resources into the regular training courses to enhance frontline officers’ knowledge of and sensitivity towards sexual minorities. We will also establish a communication platform to discuss with stakeholders and implement feasible anti-discrimination proposals based on the findings of the study on the experience of other jurisdictions in implementing measures on anti-discrimination of sexual minorities. (CMAB) Support the Equal Opportunities Commission in stepping up its sexual harassment prevention effort, which includes studying of related legal protection, setting up a one-stop support platform, promoting the formulation of anti-sexual harassment policies and measures among different sectors, and enhancing public understanding and alertness about sexual harassment through education and publicity campaigns. (CMAB)

Propose to increase the financial eligibility limit (FEL) of the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme by about 30%, i.e. from the current level of $307,130 to $400,000; and increase the FEL of the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme by about 30%, i.e. from the current level of $1,535,650 to $2,000,000. (CSO)

“Our people will call Hong Kong their home only when there is adequate housing for all to enjoy living in this city, and it is the Government’s responsibility to provide suitable housing for families in different income brackets.” The housing policy of the current-term Government comprises four elements: (1) housing is not a simple commodity; while maintaining respect for a free market economy, the Government has an indispensable role to play in this area; (2) we will focus on home-ownership and strive to build a housing ladder to rekindle the hope of families in different income brackets to become home-owners; (3) we will focus on supply and, based on the Long Term Housing Strategy, increase the supply of housing units; and (4) when new supply is not yet available, we will optimise the existing housing resources to help families that have long been waiting for public rental housing (PRH) and residents in poor living conditions. To implement the aforesaid housing policies and meet the demand for land and housing in the course of our economic development, it is imperative for us to increase land supply and develop land resources in a resolute and persistent manner. To prevent the acute problem of land shortage from emerging again, the determination of the Government to identify and produce land and build a land reserve should never waver in face of short-term changes in economic environment or fluctuations in property prices.

Revised the public/private split of housing supply from 60:40 to 70:30 Public Housing * Increased 17 658 flats * Allocated 34 679 flats * Conducted around 6 000 investigations of randomly selected or suspected tenancy abuse cases per year Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme * Regularised * Sold 2 545 flats at a discount with reference to buyers’ affordability Home Ownership Scheme * White Form Secondary Market Scheme regularised * Sold 4 431 flats at a discount with reference to buyers’ affordability * Allow owners to let their flats with premium unpaid * Flat for Flat Pilot Scheme for Elderly Owners Starter Homes * Implemented the Ma Tau Wai Road Starter Home pilot scheme * Sold 450 flats at a discount with reference to buyers’ affordability Private Residential Property Market * Offer no less than 20% of total units in each time of pre-sale * Proposed to charge Special Rates on first-hand unsold flats

* The Task Force is providing assistance/conducting feasibility study for more than 20 projects * Earmarked $2 billion to support the projects * As of September 2019, the announced projects can provide approximately 1 580 flats: - Conversion of private/government premises: 3 projects, 210 flats in total, 13% - Existing domestic buildings: 17 projects, 620 flats in total (Occupied), 39% - Erecting temporary structures on vacant private/government land: 6 projects, 750 flats in total, 48%

Streamlining the approval process of Buildings Department, Lands Department and Planning Department * Enhance the transparency and clarity in approval * Align the definition of development control parameters and approval standards * Avoid duplicate control

The Government endeavours to transform Kowloon East into the second core business district. The supply of commercial floor area in Kowloon East from new development or redevelopment and wholesale conversion projects has increased from 1.7 million sq.m. in mid-2012 to 2.8 million sq.m. in mid-2019. Its scale is comparable with the core business district in Central District (about 3.76 million sq.m. of commercial floor area). Details of the supply of commercial floor area (including wholesale conversion and new development/redevelopment) are as below: 2012: 1.7 million sq.m. 2013: 1.8 million sq.m. 2014: 1.9 million sq.m. 2015: 2.1 million sq.m. 2016: 2.2 million sq.m. 2017: 2.3 million sq.m. 2018: 2.6 million sq.m. 2019: 2.8 million sq.m.

A total of 41 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas, of which 34 have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

Revised the public/private split of new housing supply for the 10-year period from 2019-20 to 2028-29 from 60:40 to 70:30. (THB)

Revised the pricing policy of the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) such that HOS flats are priced at an affordable level which is no longer linked to the market price. Since the announcement of the new pricing policy in June 2018, a total of about 7 400 subsidised sale flats (SSFs), including 4 500 HOS units, 2 500 Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) units and 450 “Starter Homes for Hong Kong residents” (SH) units, have been sold in accordance with the new pricing policy. Flats in HOS 2019 will be sold at 59% of their assessed market values, while flats in GSH 2019 will be sold at 49% of the assessed market value. (THB) Regularised GSH. (THB) Regularised the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM). (THB) The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) launched the Letting Scheme for Subsidised Sale Developments with Premium Unpaid (Letting Scheme) and the Flat for Flat Pilot Scheme for Elderly Owners. (THB) The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) assigned its re-development project at Ma Tau Wai Road as an SH pilot project, which provides 450 units. The URA put up the units for pre-sale at 62% of their assessed market values. All units were sold in June 2019. (THB)

Allowed a further increase of domestic plot ratio for public housing sites in selected Density Zones of the Main Urban Areas and New Towns by 10% (i.e. up to maximum 30% increase in total) where technically feasible. (THB) Re-allocated nine private housing sites for public housing. These sites are expected to provide some 11 000 units. (THB) Revised the land premium arrangement for HKHS’ subsidised housing projects, which will enable HKHS to continue to provide rental units and SSFs and implement the re-development programme of aged rental estates on a financially sustainable basis. (THB)

Launched the WSM 2019 in May 2019 with an increase in annual quota from 2 500 in 2018 to 3 000. (THB) Facilitated HKHS’ launch of the Letting Scheme, allowing owners of HKHS’ subsidised housing to let their units with premium unpaid to families in need. In light of the views received, HKHS has formulated improvements to the Letting Scheme. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) has also decided to join on a pilot basis. The improved Letting Scheme will open for applications later this year. (THB) Facilitated HKHS’ launch of the Flat for Flat Pilot Scheme for Elderly Owners, allowing eligible elderly owners of HKHS’ SSFs with premium unpaid to sell their original flats and then buy a smaller one in either HKHA’s or HKHS’ Secondary Market. (THB) HKHA has decided to implement a trial scheme under which full rent exemption will be granted to under-occupation households whose family members are all aged 70 or above upon their transfer to suitably-sized flats. (THB)

Amended the Lands Department Consent Scheme, requiring developers to offer for sale no less than 20% of the total number of residential units that are subject to the relevant pre-sale consent at each turn of sale, regardless of the sales method. (THB) The Sales of First-hand Residential Properties Authority issued a Reminder for the Trade, requiring vendors to set out the details of the discount, financial advantage or benefit and ensure that the information is full and complete. (THB) The URA has identified two clusters of sites involving more than 30 Civil Servants’ Co-operative Building Society Scheme buildings in Kowloon City for re-development as a pilot project. The URA plans to announce in early 2020 the commencement of the relevant re-development plan with a view to maximising the development potential of the sites. Some of the resumed land will be earmarked for public housing development, and the total number of public and private flats after re-development is estimated to be about five times the existing number. (DEVB)

Established a Task Force on Transitional Housing to assist and facilitate the implementation of various short-term initiatives put forward and carried out by community organisations so as to increase the supply of transitional housing. As at September 2019, there were around 620 units in the existing domestic buildings completed for eligible tenants. The Task Force has also provided assistance for 9 projects already announced, in which a total of approximately 960 flats can be provided. Feasibility studies are being carried out for a dozen other projects. Furthermore, $2 billion has been set aside to support non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in constructing transitional housing. (THB) The URA, Hong Kong Construction Association and other organisations to provide professional advices and project management consultancy services so as to assist participation in large transitional housing projects by community organisations. (THB)

Adopted the multi-pronged land supply strategy recommended by the Task Force on Land Supply following an extensive public engagement lasting five months. (DEVB)

“Survey on Business Establishments in Kowloon East 2018” has been completed, with the survey report released in February 2019. (DEVB) The planning and engineering feasibility studies on the Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay Action Areas have largely been completed. The two action areas can provide about 560 000 square metres of commercial/office floor area. (DEVB) Re-activated the re-vitalisation scheme for industrial buildings. (DEVB) Launched a $1 billion funding scheme to support the use of vacant government sites by NGOs. (DEVB) Pursued more vigorously the “single site, multiple use” model in multi-storey development to facilitate “Government, Institution or Community” (GIC) projects with cross-department facilities and earmarked $22 billion for the first batch of projects. (DEVB/FSTB) Promulgated the first and second batches of measures to streamline development control. (DEVB)

The Airport Authority Hong Kong has accepted the Government’s invitation to submit an airport-related business proposal for the topside development at the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. (DEVB) Established the Sustainable Lantau Office in December 2017 to take forward the co-ordination, planning and implementation of various development projects and initiatives in conservation, local improvement and leisure and recreation in Lantau. (DEVB) Earmarked $1 billion for setting up the Lantau Conservation Fund to promote conservation together with the community and pursue local improvement works for Lantau. (DEVB) The Environment and Conservation Fund has approved funding for environmental education and community action projects on nature conservation in South Lantau. So far, 11 projects were approved. (ENB/DEVB) The investigation study, design and associated site investigation works for re-location of Diamond Hill Fresh Water and Salt Water Service Reservoirs to caverns commenced in December 2018 while the Stage 1 Works - site preparation and access tunnel construction for re-location of Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works to caverns commenced in February 2019. (DEVB) Funding approval for Kwu Tung North/Fanling North New Development Area (NDA) for the first phase works has been obtained, and enhanced compensation and re-housing arrangements for government development clearance exercises have also been implemented. (DEVB)

Despite the Government’s commitment in increasing public housing supply, the community’s demand for PRH and SSFs remains strong. For PRH, as at end-June 2019, there were about 147 900 family and elderly one-person applicants, while the number of non-elderly one-person applicants under the Quota and Points System was about 108 200. The average waiting time for family and elderly one-person applicants who were housed to PRH in the past year was 5.4 years. As regards SSFs, the over-subscription rate of about 62 times in the Sale of HOS Flats 2019 reflects that there is a pressing demand for SSFs among low to middle-income families. (THB) Assuming that all sites identified can be delivered on time for housing development, about 248 000 public housing units can be constructed during the 10-year period from 2019-20 to 2028-29, which lags behind the public housing supply target of 315 000 units. (THB) About 80% of the public housing projects for which District Councils have been consulted in the past few years are not “spade-ready”1. The Government needs to go through various processes to turn those sites into “spade-ready” sites. Such processes require time and are subject to uncertainties and challenges pertinent to statutory planning and other procedures, consultations, land resumption and clearance, provisioning and re-provisioning of facilities, site formation and infrastructure provision, securing timely funding from the Legislative Council, building construction, etc. (THB)

Due to local housing demand-supply imbalance and ultra-low interest rates in the global monetary environment with abundant liquidity, local property prices remain high. (THB) The overall price index for private flats reached a record high in May 2019. Although the index dropped between June and August, it rose by a cumulative 15.5% between July 2017 and August 2019. (THB) Home purchase affordability2 rose to 73% in the second quarter of 2019, which was higher than the long-term average of 44% over the 20-year period from 1999 to 2018. (THB)

We are committed to changing the uses of land through re-zoning in order to make available land for housing in the short to medium term. Since 2013, we have completed re-zoning of 129 sites; but there are still 82 sites for which re-zoning work is ongoing or yet to be initiated, involving an estimated supply of over 126 000 residential units. We need to expedite our work on relevant studies and secure support from stakeholders for the re-zoning work. (DEVB) We aim to seek funding approval for implementing the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA project and initiate statutory planning process in respect of Yuen Long South Development in the coming months. We need to gain the understanding of the affected stakeholders before these projects can be taken forward quickly in a timely manner. We also have to facilitate re-establishment of some of the affected brownfield operations in a land-efficient manner. (DEVB) While the multi-pronged land supply strategy recommended by the Task Force on Land Supply was drawn up after extensive public engagement, individual initiatives including the Land Sharing Pilot Scheme and the detailed studies on the reclamation of the artificial islands around Kau Yi Chau remain controversial in the community. (DEVB)

Invite HKHA to explore ways to accelerate the sale of the some 42 000 unsold flats in the estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) so as to meet the home ownership aspiration of PRH tenants, and solve the problems in the management and maintenance of TPS estates arising from mixed ownership. (THB) To meet the community’s keen demand for public housing, we will invite HKHA to examine the feasibility of redeveloping industrial buildings for public housing development. (THB) To proceed with site identification and feasibility studies for several large-scale transitional housing village projects, including parcels of land on loan and surrendered by developers on voluntary basis. Depending on the progress of relevant procedures and taking into account the around 1 580 units completed/announced so far, around 10 000 transitional housing units can be constructed in three years. (THB)

Expedite land use reviews for brownfield sites with higher development potential and certain squatter areas in urban districts, with a view to boosting land supply for public housing development (DEVB). Announce a proposed framework for the Land Sharing Pilot Scheme and start accepting applications in early 2020. (DEVB) Amend the Outline Zoning Plans to incorporate the recommendations of the planning and engineering feasibility studies on the two action areas in Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay, commence demolition of the former Kowloon Bay Waste Recycling Centre to release the land for commercial development, and undertake engineering investigation and design for the infrastructural facilities in Kwun Tong Action Area, with a view to further promoting the transformation of Kowloon East into the second core business district. (DEVB) Review the development potential of over 300 sites originally earmarked for standalone GIC facilities, with a view to optimising land use and expediting development. (DEVB)

1 Sites that have been properly zoned, and do not require resumption, clearance, re-provisioning of existing facilities, site formation or provision of additional infrastructure. 2 The ratio of mortgage payment for a 45-square metre flat to median income of households, excluding those living in public housing.

“To maintain a city’s competitiveness is like sailing a boat against the current and it must forge ahead in order not to be driven back. Hence, Hong Kong must keep consolidating its existing strengths, exploring new advantages, expanding economic and trade ties with the world, and fostering closer exchange and co-operation with the Mainland.” “The HKSAR Government is determined to boost the development of new and emerging industries in addition to our traditional industries, and considers that both innovation and technology and the creative industries have a competitive edge and much potential. They will not only promote a diversified economy, but also create more quality employment opportunities for our young people.” Hong Kong has been acclaimed as the world’s most open, freest and most competitive city by many international organisations. Leveraging our unique strengths under “One Country, Two Systems”, we will continue to provide a business-friendly environment, uphold operation of the market and promote free trade. We will also strive to develop new areas of economic growth. The National 13th Five-Year Plan pledges support for Hong Kong to reinforce and enhance its status as an international financial, transport and trade centre; develop its innovation and technology (I&T) industry; and establish itself as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. The Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative of our country, as well as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development have brought enormous opportunities for the economic development of Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will do its best as a “facilitator” and “promoter”, seizing opportunities to actively connect with the world to explore more business opportunities.

Companies Establishing Presence in HK * Total: 9 040 (growth by 9.9% since 2017) * Regional Headquarters: 1 541 (growth by 9.1% since 2017) Major Origins and Number of Parent Companies * Mainland China: 1 799 * Japan: 1 413 * US: 1 344 * UK: 713 * Singapore: 446 Start-ups * Total: 3 184 (growth by 42.8% since 2017) * Staff Employed: 12 478 (growth by 97.4% since 2017) Percentage of start-ups by key business sectors * Financial technology: 14.3% * E-commerce, supply chain management & logistics technology: 10.7% * Information, computer & technology: 10.1% * Design: 9.5% * Professional & consultancy services: 9.0% * Data analytics: 7.0% * Hardware: 6.6% * Education & learning: 5.0% * Health & medical: 4.7% * Smart city: 3.3%

* Opened up 1 000 government premises for mobile operators to install base stations * Subsidise extension of fibre-based networks to villages in remote areas, benefitting some 110 000 villagers * Assigned 1 200MHz of high-band 5G spectrum * Operators expecting to launch services in around 2020

Encourage R&D * Enhanced tax deduction * $33 billion Funds and matching grants I&T infrastructure * $20.8 billion Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park * $5.5 billion Cyberport * $3 billion Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation Promote “re-industrialisation” * $2 billion Funding support * $2 billion Microelectronics Centre Pool technology talent * $16 billion Strengthen campus facilities at universities * $10 billion InnoHK research clusters * $500 million IT Innovation Lab in Secondary Schools Programme * $500 million Technology Talent Scheme * Technology Talent Admission Scheme Support technology companies and start-ups * $7.3 billion Support start-ups of Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport I&T popularisation * Smart Government Innovation Lab * $500 million Wider use of technology by the government * $500 million City I&T Grand Challenge * Technology Voucher Programme

CreateSmart Initiative * Nurturing Opportunities: 57 300 * Job Opportunities: 23 200 * SMEs Benefitted: 2 050 * International Awards: 180 * 2009-2017 Total Injection: $1 billion *2018 New Injection: $1 billion

Construction 2.0 comprises three elements, namely innovation, professionalisation and revitalisation Innovation * Trial on digital works supervision system * Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technology * Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) - Pilot projects - 6% concession of the floor area constructed by MiC * Prefabricated steel reinforcing bar products * $1 billion Construction Innovation and Technology Fund Professionalisation * Prefabricated steel reinforcing bar products * $1 billion Construction Innovation and Technology Fund * Registered Specialist Trade Contractors Scheme * Hong Kong Institute of Construction Revitalisation * Hong Kong Institute of Construction * Construction Industry Council Approved Technical Talents Training Programme * Trial on digital works supervision system * Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technology

Maritime and Aviation Training Fund * Number of beneficiaries increased from around 2500 in 2016 to more than 7300 by July 2019 Hong Kong Shipping Register World's 4th Largest Shipping Register * Number (Cumulative growth between 2015 and 2019) - From 2 448 ships to 2 613 ships - Growth rate: 6.7% * Gross Tonnage (Cumulative growth between 2015 and 2019) - From 100 million to 128 million - Growth rate: 27% Maritime Services Shipping Finance * Loans and Advances (2008 – 2018) - From $49.7 billion to $121.2 billion - Average growth per annum: 9.3% Marine Insurance * Gross Premium (2008 – 2018) - From $1.1 billion to $2.4 billion - Average growth per annum: 8.2%

Hong Kong as an international aviation hub World's busiest cargo airport since 2010 World's 3rd busiest international passenger airport * Passengers handled (Cumulative growth between 2015 and 2018) - From 68.5 million trips to 74.7 million trips - Percentage increased: 9.0% * Cargo handled (Cumulative growth between 2015 and 2018) - From 4.38 million tonnes to 5.02 million tonnes - Percentage increased: 14.5%

A total of 129 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas, of which 127 have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

The Human Resources Planning Commission, established in April 2018 under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for Administration, has tendered advice on various issues related to human resources planning, including future human resources demand to support Hong Kong’s economic development, the manpower situation of different professional sectors and industries, and policy initiatives to attract talent. (CSO) The first Talent List of Hong Kong, which contains 11 professions, was promulgated in August 2018. Publicity efforts under the theme of “Hong Kong ∙ Talent Hub - Unlimited Opportunities” have been made to attract targeted quality talent from around the world. (LWB)

Signed a free trade agreement (FTA) and an investment agreement (IA) with Australia in March 2019, and an IA with the United Arab Emirates in June 2019. The FTA between Hong Kong and Georgia, which was signed in June 2018, came into effect in February 2019, while the FTA and IA forged between Hong Kong and the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November 2017 have come into effect gradually since June 2019. (CEDB) The new Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in Bangkok commenced operation in February 2019. It is the 13th overseas ETO of Hong Kong and the third one established in the ASEAN region. (CEDB)

Signed the Agreement on Trade in Goods with the Mainland on 14 December 2018 under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). The Agreement fully implements zero tariff on goods of Hong Kong origin imported into the Mainland through the introduction of a general rule of origin. CEPA becomes a comprehensive free trade agreement framework, covering the four major areas of trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic and technical co-operation. (CEDB) The Mainland and Hong Kong have reached a consensus on the working targets for the next phase of liberalisation on trade in services under CEPA, including further opening up the Mainland market to Hong Kong in trade in services, promoting pilot implementation under CEPA of policies and measures on further services liberalisation in various sectors in the GBA, and advancing the full liberalisation of trade in services in the GBA. (CEDB) Extended the Single E-lock Scheme to 52 clearance points in Guangdong Province, of which 43 cover all nine Mainland municipalities in the GBA. (CEDB) Established a high-level co-operation mechanism with Sichuan and deepened co-operation with various provinces and municipalities in areas such as trade, finance, I&T, creative industries and youth exchanges, with a view to creating more business and development opportunities for Hong Kong people and enterprises. (CMAB) As a member of the Leading Group for the development of the GBA set up by the Central Government, the Chief Executive attended two meetings and secured policy initiatives that are beneficial to Hong Kong’s participation in the GBA development. (CMAB) Set up a high-level Steering Committee for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area chaired by the Chief Executive, with membership comprising all Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux, to more efficiently steer, co-ordinate and take forward the development of the GBA. (CMAB)

The “Arrangement between the National Development and Reform Commission and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for Advancing Hong Kong’s Full Participation in and Contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative” (the Arrangement) was signed in December 2017 and a Joint Conference mechanism was set up for regular and direct communication between Hong Kong and the relevant Mainland authorities on the implementation of the Arrangement. Two Joint Conference meetings were held in June 2018 and July 2019 respectively. (CEDB) The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau leads and co-ordinates the HKSAR Government’s participation in and contribution to the B&R Initiative. We have formulated a five-pronged B&R key strategy (viz. enhancing policy co-ordination; fully leveraging Hong Kong’s unique advantages; making the best use of Hong Kong’s position as a professional services hub; promoting project participation; and establishing partnership and collaboration) and adopted a whole-government approach in taking forward the work. (CEDB) Co-organised with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) the annual B&R Summit, which is now renowned as the largest and most important B&R business and investment platform for the Mainland, overseas and Hong Kong enterprises. (CEDB) The enhanced HKTDC B&R Portal, which is a more comprehensive and up-to-date one-stop B&R platform, came into operation in July 2019. (CEDB) The composition and terms of reference of the Trade and Industry Advisory Board were expanded in September 2017 with a view to gauging a wider spectrum of views from different sectors on Hong Kong’s economic development and related policies, including the B&R Initiative. (CEDB) After reviewing the visa requirements of B&R countries, the Government has relaxed the visa requirements for nationals of Belarus, Vietnam, Panama and Armenia visiting Hong Kong. The mutual visa-free access period for Belarus has also been extended. (SB)

The two-tiered profits tax rates regime has been implemented and is applicable to the years of assessment commencing on or after 1 April 2018. It reduces the tax burden on enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). (FSTB)

Established the Steering Committee on I&T chaired by the Chief Executive in December 2017 to steer Hong Kong’s I&T and smart city development. (ITB) The new pro-innovation government procurement policy has taken effect since April 2019. (FSTB) On promoting the adoption of technology and e-commerce by SMEs, the Government has further subsidised enterprises in using technology to improve productivity or upgrade/transform their business processes through regularising the Technology Voucher Programme in February 2019 and increasing the funding ceiling for each applicant from $200,000 to $400,000, and provided training relating to e-commerce through the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the HKTDC. (ITB)

Introduced the enhanced tax deduction for qualifying research and development (R&D) expenditure incurred by enterprises from 1 April 2018 to encourage enterprises to increase their investment in technological R&D activities. (ITB) Doubled the ceilings of the annual funding provided by the I&T Fund to each State Key Laboratory and Hong Kong branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Centre, the technology transfer office of each designated university, and each of the six universities under the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities from 1 April 2019 to promote technology transfer as well as realisation of R&D outcomes. (ITB)

Launched the Technology Talent Scheme, which comprises the Postdoctoral Hub and the Re-industrialisation and Technology Training Programme, in August 2018 to nurture and bring together more technology talent. (ITB) Launched the Technology Talent Admission Scheme in June 2018 to fast-track the admission of technology talent. (ITB) Allocated $10 billion for establishing the InnoHK research clusters at the Hong Kong Science Park, and received proposals from a number of world-leading universities and research institutes. The first batch of R&D centres for Health@InnoHK (focusing on healthcare technologies) and AIR@InnoHK (focusing on artificial intelligence/robotics technologies) will be set up progressively in the next few months. (ITB) Injected $100 million into Cyberport in 2018 to promote the development of the e-sports industry, including the setting up of a dedicated e-sports competition venue in the Cyberport Arcade, talent development and community promotion. The new e-sports venue was opened in July 2019. The E-sports Industry Facilitation Scheme and the E-sports Internship Scheme were introduced in April 2019. (ITB)

Started co-investing in local I&T start-ups with partner venture capital funds through the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund in 2019. (ITB) The Legislative Council (LegCo) approved in 2018 for injecting $7 billion into the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) for enhancing support for its tenants. The HKSTPC has launched a number of new/enhanced initiatives, including expansion of its incubation programmes and Corporate Venture Fund, development of the Smart Campus and introduction of the Accommodation Support Scheme. (ITB) Injected $200 million into Cyberport in 2018 for enhancing existing measures and introducing new ones to support its start-ups and tenants. These include increasing the financial subsidy under the Cyberport Incubation Programme from $330,000 to a maximum of $500,000, and launching the Easy Landing Scheme and the Overseas/Mainland Market Development Support Scheme in the fourth quarter of 2018. (ITB)

Completed the works of Stage 1 of the Science Park Expansion Programme in April 2019. (ITB) The Cyberport Smart-Space 8 co-working space in Tsuen Wan came into operation in July 2018. The occupancy rate was 98% as at end-August 2019. (ITB) The LegCo approved in 2018 for injecting $3 billion into the HKSTPC for developing research-related infrastructure and facilities. The development of some facilities, such as the first phase of the Biobank and the expansion of the Robotics Catalysing Centre, has commenced. (ITB)

Promulgated the open data policy in October 2018. About 700 new datasets in machine-readable formats will be opened up by government departments in 2019. (ITB)

Allocated $500 million for organising the annual City I&T Grand Challenge, which will invite people from all walks of life to put forward solutions with I&T elements on issues that are closely related to our daily lives. The first Grand Challenge is expected to be launched in the first half of 2020. (ITB)

Published the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong in December 2017, with over 70 initiatives under six smart areas. (ITB) Set up a Smart Government Innovation Lab in April 2019 to facilitate government departments to make wider use of the solutions offered by the local IT sector to improve public services. (ITB) Provided funding to support about 70 technology projects proposed by 28 departments through the TechConnect (block vote) to promote the use of technology by government departments for enhancing operational efficiency and improving public services. (ITB) Launched in July 2018, the all-in-one “HKeMobility” mobile application allows the public to acquire real-time traffic and transport information (e.g. public transport information, driving routes, parking vacancy information and walking routes) anytime and anywhere. As at mid-2019, the number of downloads of “HKeMobility” has exceeded 2 million. (THB) The real-time parking vacancy information of about 70% of the hourly parking spaces in Kowloon East has been disseminated to the public for reference. (DEVB)

The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) was established under the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) on 10 September 2018. The operation of the AAIA is independent from the Civil Aviation Department. (THB) Injected $200 million into the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund in May 2019. (THB)

Since its establishment in August 2017, the Financial Leaders Forum, chaired by the Financial Secretary, has been discussing and providing policy steer on strategic and forward-looking proposals to develop and strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre. (FSTB)

The open-ended fund company regime has been in operation since 30 July 2018. (FSTB) With effect from 1 April 2019, different types of onshore and offshore privately offered funds can enjoy profits tax exemption under the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112). (FSTB) As at mid-June 2019, Hong Kong has entered into mutual recognition of funds arrangements with the Mainland, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. (FSTB)

The Financial Services Development Council has been incorporated as a company limited by guarantee with effect from September 2018, and is being supported by Government subvention to strengthen its capacity to conduct strategic studies, provide advice, foster market development and nurture talent. (FSTB) A new listing regime has been launched in Hong Kong since April 2018 for three types of issuers, including pre-revenue/pre-profit biotech issuers; issuers from emerging and innovative sectors with weighted voting rights structures; and qualifying issuers seeking secondary listing through a new concessionary route. (FSTB)

The inaugural green bond under the Government Green Bond Programme was issued in May 2019. (FSTB) A Green Bond Grant Scheme was launched in June 2018 to subsidise eligible green bond issuers in obtaining certification under the Green Finance Certification Scheme. (FSTB) The Faster Payment System (FPS) was launched in September 2018. As at the end-August 2019, the FPS has recorded 3.4 million registrations. In August 2019, the FPS processed 3.5 million transactions (worth HK$58 billion and Renminbi 1 billion), more than double of that in the first month of its launch. To provide the public with greater convenience, the Government is planning to accept payments of taxes, rates and water charges through the FPS by end-2019. The Government is also examining the feasibility of accepting FPS payments at the shroff counters of various departments. (FSTB) The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has granted licences to eight virtual banks as at May 2019. The banks concerned aimed to launch their services in about six to nine months upon the granting of the licence. (FSTB) The HKMA published the Open Application Programming Interface (API) Framework in July 2018. The first phase Open APIs were launched in January 2019 as scheduled. Twenty retail banks have launched over 500 APIs, covering information of deposits, loans, insurance, investments and other banking products and services. The second phase Open APIs will be launched in October 2019 and will cover applications for bank products. (FSTB) In December 2018, the Insurance Authority granted the first authorisation of a virtual insurer under the Fast Track. (FSTB)

Following the passage of the Financial Reporting Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 in January 2019, the new auditor regulatory regime was implemented with effect from 1 October 2019. The Government has provided a seed capital of $400 million to help the Financial Reporting Council migrate to the new regime, and exempt the new levies under the Ordinance for the first two years. (FSTB) The new regulatory regime for insurance intermediaries, which replaced the previous self-regulatory regime, commenced operation on 23 September 2019. (FSTB) The Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 has commenced operation. It empowers the Monetary Authority to prescribe rules on recovery planning and financial exposure limits for authorised institutions so as to enhance the resilience of our banking system in accordance with the latest international standards on banking regulation. (FSTB) The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 was enacted on 24 January 2018 to prescribe statutory customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements applicable to designated non-financial businesses and professions. The Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 was also enacted on the same date, requiring companies incorporated in Hong Kong to maintain beneficial ownership information. Both amended ordinances commenced operation on 1 March 2018, ensuring that the regulatory framework of Hong Kong is in line with the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. (FSTB)

The Financial Secretary has convened the high-level tourism co-ordinating meetings, directing bureaux and departments to drive the implementation of various tourism-related measures in the areas of tourist support and management, planning of tourism facilities and transport support, and tourism diversification through enhanced co-operation and co-ordination. (CEDB)

Provided a dedicated funding of $238 million since 2018-19 to support the Competition Commission’s litigation work. (CEDB)

Introduced three enhancement measures to the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme in November 2018, including reducing the guarantee fee rates by 50%; increasing the maximum facility amount from $12 million to $15 million; and lengthening the maximum loan guarantee period from five years to seven years. Since the implementation of the enhancement measures, the number of applications approved in the first eight months of 2019 and the amount of loans involved increased by 71% and 110% respectively year-on-year. (CEDB)

The Mediation Mechanism for Investment Disputes was established in accordance with the Investment Agreement signed under the CEPA framework. The lists of designated mediation institutions and mediators for the Mediation Mechanism as mutually agreed by the two sides were announced on 14 December 2018. Mediation rules drafted by the Department of Justice and adopted by designated mediation institutions and mediators in Hong Kong were also published. (DoJ)

Launched a pilot scheme in March 2019 to open up over 1 000 suitable government premises for mobile service operators to choose to install base stations. (CEDB) Administratively assigned a total of 1 200 MHz of high-band 5G spectrum in April 2019, expecting operators to launch commercial 5G services in around 2020. (CEDB) Commenced tender exercise in June 2019 for a subsidy scheme to extend fibre-based networks to villages in remote areas, benefitting some 110 000 villagers. (CEDB)

Injected $1 billion into the CreateSmart Initiative in May 2018 to promote further development of the design sector and other non-film creative industries. (CEDB) Set aside $300 million for the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) to implement various initiatives to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as a city of design excellence in Asia. (CEDB) Actively promote design thinking within the Government, including provision of training to about 4 000 civil servants in the past two years, and promulgating guidelines in April 2019 to encourage departments to apply design thinking in the procurement process. (CEDB) Provided funding support for the HKDC to set up an event space at No. 7 Mallory Street in Wan Chai to promote design and design thinking to the public. (CEDB) Implemented the Design and Fashion Project in Sham Shui Po to nurture young designers and support start-ups, promote fashion design, as well as boost district economy and tourism. Construction works of the project commenced in early 2019 and is expected to complete in 2023-24. (CEDB) Completed the review on the operation of the Film Development Fund, and injected $1 billion into the Fund in May 2019 to promote further development of the local film industry through nurturing talent, enhancing local production, expanding markets and building audience. (CEDB) Secured support from relevant Central authorities in April 2019 to implement five measures to facilitate the entry of Hong Kong’s film industry into the Mainland market, thereby expanding the market space for local films and film practitioners in the Mainland. (CEDB)

Launched specific initiatives to promote Construction 2.0, including setting up a working group to oversee the implementation of pilot projects under Construction 2.0, piloting Construction 2.0 in public projects, implementing the Registered Specialist Trade Contractors Scheme and conducting trial run of the digital works supervision system. (DEVB) With the joint efforts of the Development Bureau (DEVB) and the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the first Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) demonstration project in Hong Kong, namely the MiC Display Centre, was opened in November 2018. (DEVB) Taking forward MiC pilot projects, including the Disciplined Services Quarters for the Fire Services Department at Pak Shing Kok, the InnoCell of the Hong Kong Science Park and a student hostel of the University of Hong Kong. The Buildings Department has set up a pre-acceptance mechanism for MiC systems and granted a 6% concession of the floor area constructed by MiC for new buildings. (DEVB) Public works projects are required to adopt Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology from January 2018 onwards. As at end-August 2019, the estimated total contract value of public works projects which have adopted such technology has exceeded $100 billion. (DEVB) Up to 2019, four steel reinforcing bar (rebar) prefabrication yards have been included in the Civil Engineering and Development Department’s List of Approved Steel Reinforcing Bar Prefabrication Yards to supply prefabricated rebar products for construction projects. (DEVB) Launched the $1 billion Construction Innovation and Technology Fund in October 2018 to provide funding for the construction industry to adopt MiC, BIM technology or other innovative construction technology in local projects. So far, more than 500 applications amounting to over $110 million have been approved. (DEVB) The Hong Kong Institute of Construction was established in February 2018. (DEVB) The CIC introduced the CIC Approved Technical Talents Training Programme to provide trainees with systematic and holistic training and clear career advancement pathways. The Government will also encourage contractors to employ these trainees through public works contracts, thereby attracting more young people to join the construction industry. (DEVB)

Resume issuance of new marine fish culture licences starting from early-2020. (FHB)

In the first half of 2019, the Hong Kong economy slowed visibly amid softening global economic momentum and the United States (US)-China trade and technology tensions, expanding only modestly by 0.5% over a year earlier. This was the worst economic performance since the recession in 2009. While external demand contracted, domestic demand stayed sluggish due to the weak economic sentiment. (FSO and relevant bureaux) Entering the third quarter of 2019, the continued social disputes have dealt a further blow to the already subdued economy. Inbound tourism, the local consumption market and overall business sentiment were all hard hit. The sharp falls in visitor arrivals and retail sales in recent months, together with a continued decline in merchandise exports, suggest that a technical recession seems inevitable. (FSO and relevant bureaux) The economic downturn inevitably affects the labour market. The unemployment rates of the more affected sectors, such as retail and accommodation and food services, have gone up from the low levels since the beginning of this year, whereas labour demand of the import/export trade sector also weakened visibly. (FSO and relevant bureaux) Hong Kong’s economic situation is rather austere in the face of various external and domestic headwinds. Our exports will remain under pressure as uncertainties stemming from the US-China trade tensions continue to weigh on the global economy and heighten volatility in the financial markets. The local social incidents happened in recent months have caused significant disruptions to the consumption- and tourism-related segments as well as the damage to Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial and commercial centre. It could take some time to recover Hong Kong’s economy. (FSO and relevant bureaux) Taking into account the much worse-than-expected economic performance in the first half of 2019, and considering the substantial downside risks, the Government revised the economic growth forecast of Hong Kong for 2019 as a whole downwards to 0-1% in mid-August. (FSO and relevant bureaux)

Hong Kong is facing the challenges of an ageing population and a dwindling labour force. According to the latest Manpower Projection to 2027, an overall manpower shortfall of about 170 000 is projected. (CSO)

Hong Kong has been participating in and contributing to the country’s steady implementation of the B&R Initiative, while facing fierce competition from various countries and regions in seizing opportunities arising from the Initiative. (CEDB)

The uncertainties regarding international trade may affect the business environment of local enterprises, which is unfavourable to I&T development. (ITB) There is strong local demand for technology talent. There are signs that the recent social situation in Hong Kong has affected the desire of overseas I&T talent to come to Hong Kong. (ITB) There is a keen demand for R&D facilities and relevant supporting services by I&T enterprises and institutions. As the Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport have reached near-full occupancy, the development of the local I&T ecosystem may be restricted. (ITB) We need various stakeholders (e.g. government departments, public transport operators and operators of commercial public car parks) to provide data for our consolidation and dissemination to the public for greater convenience. (THB)

There has been robust growth in air traffic movements at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in recent years. However, prior to the full commissioning of the Three-Runway System at the HKIA, we can only marginally increase the capacity of the HKIA with the latest air traffic management technologies to meet imminent air traffic demand. (THB) In formulating policies for the maritime industry, the Government faces various challenges, including a highly uncertain global trading and economic environment, keen regional competition arising from rapid development of ports in neighbouring cities, as well as manpower shortage and an ageing workforce in the shipping sector. (THB)

The growth in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong over the past few years, fostered by the commissioning of large-scale cross-boundary transport infrastructure such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, has heightened public concern about the impact of the tourism industry on the local life. Nevertheless, the tourism industry has been hit by, among other things, the continued escalation of the US-China trade tensions and the recent social unrest in Hong Kong. The number of visitor arrivals has reversed from a year-on-year positive growth in the first six months of 2019 to a rapidly worsening decline starting from July. (CEDB)

As the installation of 5G base stations will take some time, the commercial 5G services may only be initially provided in areas with high population-flow and high usage. Additionally, regarding 5G spectrum suitable for outdoor use, both the industry and operators expect a long-term solution for lifting the restriction on the use of 3.5 GHz band spectrum in Tai Po district. (CEDB)

In the face of keen competition from other centres for international legal and dispute resolution services in the region, Hong Kong must enhance its presence, reputation and influence in a systematic manner through closer collaboration with various international and inter-governmental organisations and institutions. (DoJ)

The construction industry is facing manpower shortage due to increasing construction volumes and an ageing workforce. (DEVB)

Launch a one-stop integrated portal on human resources planning and industry development information by end-2019 for providing more information to the public to facilitate decision-making in respect of their career, training and development pathways. (CSO)

The overseas ETOs will launch key promotion campaigns to strengthen our overseas promotion on the unique status of Hong Kong under “One Country, Two Systems” and our strengths on many fronts. (CEDB) It is expected that the Dubai ETO would commence operation in end-2019/early 2020 as the second new ETO established by the current-term Government after the Bangkok ETO. (CEDB)

Reach consensus with the Mainland on specific proposals for further services liberalisation under CEPA (including measures concerning professional services) through the established CEPA mechanism, in order to create more favourable conditions for Hong Kong enterprises and professionals in accessing the Mainland market, including the GBA. (CEDB)

Strengthen co-operation and professional exchanges in areas including capacity building with relevant Mainland authorities through the Joint Conference established under the “Arrangement between the National Development and Reform Commission and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for Advancing Hong Kong’s Full Participation in and Contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative” and the “Mainland and Hong Kong Belt and Road Task Group”, a new platform formed with the Ministry of Commerce, with a view to realising the goal of open, clean, green and sustainable B&R development. (CEDB) Encourage the MTR Academy and the China International Development Cooperation Agency to explore collaboration opportunities in human resources development under the B&R Initiative. (CEDB) Support the HKTDC to explore business opportunities arising from B&R overseas Economic and Trade Co-operation Zones (ETCZs) for Hong Kong enterprises, with a view to facilitating interested Hong Kong enterprises to identify suitable ETCZs in light of the changing dynamics of the international trade landscape, and at the same time exploring new markets abroad. (CEDB)

Explore measures with relevant Mainland authorities to support the development of the GBA, including further expanding the scale and scope of cross-boundary use of Renminbi and enhancing the connectivity among the financial markets in the GBA, including considering measures to facilitate cross-boundary wealth management. (FSTB) Plan to extend the operating hours of the Shenzhen Bay Port to 24 hours. (SB) Abolish the embarkation fee for cross-boundary ferry passengers. (THB) Launch major media and social media campaigns to deepen investors’ understanding of Hong Kong, and organise joint promotion events in Australia on the development of the GBA with the governments of the Guangdong Province and the Macao Special Administrative Region. (CEDB/CMAB) Further to the initiative in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area concerning the steady development of cross-boundary helicopter services, THB and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have agreed to expand the scope of flight destinations to be served by cross-boundary helicopter services to and from Hong Kong to cover the whole Guangdong Province. (THB) Actively explore with the relevant Mainland authorities measures to attract overseas visitors to visit the GBA on a multi-destination basis, which include pursuing the optimisation of the existing 144-hour Facilitation Visa measure to facilitate overseas visitors’ travel to the Guangdong Province via Hong Kong. (CEDB) Sponsor the industry to implement incubation programmes and exchange projects in Qianhai, Shenzhen, and support young creative talent and start-ups from Hong Kong to develop their businesses in the GBA. (CEDB)

Extend the coverage of the Technology Talent Admission Scheme to companies outside the HKSTPC and Cyberport and to cover new technology areas. (ITB) Extend the coverage of the Researcher Programme and Postdoctoral Hub to all technology companies conducting R&D activities in Hong Kong. (ITB) Extend the coverage of the Public Sector Trial Scheme to all technology companies conducting R&D activities in Hong Kong. (ITB) The HKSTPC will kick-start its Phase II expansion programme to explore both on-site and off-site development options with a view to sustaining the momentum in building Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem. (ITB) Examine the setting up of the third InnoHK research cluster to further promote global research collaboration in Hong Kong. (ITB) Explore the adoption of robotics technologies, so as to enhance public services and city management. (ITB) Introduce the Streamlining of Government Services Programme to identify and implement measures to streamline government services involving applications and approvals with a view to improving their convenience, efficiency and transparency. (ITB) Inject $500 million through the Lotteries Fund into the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund to further promote social innovation and cultivate social entrepreneurship, and to address social needs through innovative ideas, products and services, thereby alleviating poverty and social exclusion in Hong Kong. (ITB)

Release the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong 2.0, which will include the latest progress of various smart city initiatives and new proposals. (ITB) Introduce an “iAM Smart” platform to provide one-stop personalised digital government services. (ITB) Adopt technologies to improve traffic management and enhance transport efficiency for effective assessment of traffic conditions, better incident response by departments and provision of more real-time traffic information to the public. (ITB/THB) Prepare for the setting up of a Smart Traffic Fund to promote research and application of vehicle-related I&T for enhancing convenience and efficiency of motorists as well as improving their driving safety, etc. (THB) Consider legislative amendments to stipulate the conditions and supporting measures required for trials of autonomous vehicles so as to foster a suitable and safe road environment for such trials and promote the development and application of autonomous vehicles. The Transport Department will actively work with the industry and R&D institutions involved in automated driving systems to examine the feasibility of conducting joint trials of new autonomous vehicles and related technology on public roads. (THB)

Explore the introduction of a pilot subsidy scheme for providing subsidy to qualified third party logistics service providers, with a view to encouraging the logistics industry to enhance productivity through the application of technology. (THB) Release by phases two port back-up sites through public tender for developing multi-storey port back-up and modern logistics facilities. (THB) Plan to introduce a bill into the LegCo to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) in 2020 to provide tax concession for qualified ship lessors and qualified ship leasing managers so as to attract companies to develop ship leasing business in Hong Kong. (THB) Plan to introduce tax concessionary measures to encourage more commercial principals of the maritime industry (such as ship managers, ship brokers and ship agents) to set up presence in Hong Kong. (THB)

Establish a limited partnership regime for private equity funds. (FSTB) Foster the establishment of an uncertificated securities market regime with a view to enhancing and modernising our financial market infrastructure. (FSTB) Cyberport will enhance Fintech-specific training for in-service financial practitioners to enrich the Fintech talent pool and promote Fintech applications in the traditional financial industries. (FSTB) Collaborate with Cyberport to establish “Fintech@Gloucester”, a new Fintech event space for stakeholders including Fintech companies, traditional financial industries, innovation laboratories and accelerators, venture capital firms and Fintech training institutions, to engage and exchange ideas, with a view to driving demand for Fintech and creating business opportunities. (FSTB)

Make arrangements for the new tenancy of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in light of the expiry of the existing tenancy in mid-2023, with a view to enhancing the facilities at the Terminal and the ancillary commercial area as well as the service standard of the terminal operator. (CEDB) Enhance the appeal of the Wong Nai Chung Gap Trail as a heritage and green tourism attraction by upgrading its facilities to offer better visitors’ experience. (CEDB) Study the feasibility of developing Pak Tam Chung as a green tourism hub and a gateway to the Sai Kung Country Park and the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark in order to further promote green tourism. (CEDB)

Publish the public consultation report on the proposal to stipulate a statutory cooling-off period for beauty and fitness services consumer contracts and introduce the relevant bill into the LegCo in early 2020. (CEDB)

Inject another $1 billion into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales and double the funding ceiling per enterprise under its Mainland Programme to $2 million. (CEDB) Inject $1 billion into the Export Marketing and Trade and Industrial Organisation Support Fund to double the cumulative funding ceiling for each enterprise under the SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) to $800,000, and enhance the operation of the EMF to provide more comprehensive support to SMEs for participating in business missions organised by the Government and related organisations. (CEDB) Introduce a new loan guarantee product under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, under which the Government will provide a 90% guarantee for approved loans to help individuals looking to set up new businesses, enterprises with relatively less operating experience, as well as professionals seeking to set up their own practices, to obtain financing. (CEDB) Extend the application period of the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (i.e. the Government to provide a 80% guarantee for approved loans) and the validity period of the three enhancement measures introduced in 2018 to 30 June 2022. (CEDB) Introduce a new relief measure under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme and the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme where enterprises may apply for principal moratorium of up to 6 months, during which repayments have to be made only for the interest. (CEDB) Through the HKTDC, identify platforms in the Mainland for organising promotional activities to assist Hong Kong enterprises in developing the Mainland market; explore new trade platforms in developed markets outside the US to open up more channels for Hong Kong enterprises to get in touch with overseas buyers; and strengthen promotion activities in emerging markets, including organising trade missions to such markets to explore business opportunities. (CEDB) Integrate the services of the Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs under the Trade and Industry Department, the SME Centre under the HKTDC, the SME One under the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the TecONE under the HKSTPC by adopting design thinking and user-oriented principles, redesign the workflow of SME support services, standardise and enhance the scope of integrated services, and strengthen value-added services to provide SMEs with more convenient and tailored one-stop services and support. To enhance promotion, a dedicated service team will also be established to reach out to SMEs by visiting local trade and industrial associations to provide support service on funding applications. (CEDB) Step up the effort to provide start-ups with business information and opportunities to develop business connections and explore new markets, while doubling the quota under the “Start-up Express” programme from 10 to 20. (CEDB)

Take forward the Phase 2 expansion plan of AsiaWorld-Expo to maintain and enhance Hong Kong’s role as a premier international convention, exhibition and sourcing centre. (CEDB)

Explore the feasibility of establishing a regional arbitration centre of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO) in Hong Kong. (DoJ) Explore the possibility of hosting the 59th Annual Session of AALCO in 2020 and inviting international legal bodies such as the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to host inter-sessional meetings in Hong Kong. (DoJ) Plan to consult the public on a mechanism with the Mainland for mutual recognition of and assistance in corporate insolvency matters, so as to offer better legal protection to stakeholders in Hong Kong and on the Mainland and further optimise the business and investment environment of both places. (DoJ) Provide training and support for Hong Kong legal talent to participate in international organisations, including international legal bodies such as the Hague Conference on Private International Law and UNCITRAL, and encourage and support local legal talent to take up leading positions in international organisations which Hong Kong participates as a member such as taking up the position of Chair of the Economic Committee of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation. (DoJ) Launch a Pilot Professional Exchange Programme to facilitate cross-fertilisation of knowledge and experience among lawyers in the private sector and the Government to enhance mutual understanding, co-operation and collaboration, with a view to widening the experiences and horizons of the industry and consolidating Hong Kong’s status as a legal hub, a leading centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region and a legal platform for deal-making and dispute resolution. (DoJ) Discuss with the Hague Academy of International Law the proposal to organise annual capacity building courses in Hong Kong for the GBA and the neighbouring jurisdictions, and actively explore collaboration opportunities with international bodies to promote rule-based trading system, such as co-organising a conference on the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods with the UNCITRAL, and to enhance the promotion of the rule of law and anti-corruption education in the neighbouring regions. We also propose to conclude a co-operation arrangement with the Ministry of Commerce and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council for establishing a permanent communication platform between Mainland enterprises and the Hong Kong legal profession. (DoJ) Launch an initiative in 2020, namely, “Vision 2030 for Rule of Law” for the promotion and education of the rule of law. As a long term commitment towards 2030, a dedicated inclusive platform will be established for stakeholders, including youth, practitioners and experts, to take forward the initiative through academic and professional exchanges, research, capacity building and activities to promote and reinforce the rule of law. (DoJ)

Provide suitable land lots in Chung Hom Kok Teleport for external telecommunications infrastructure, with a view to further enhancing the overall capacity and diversion capability of Hong Kong’s external telecommunications network. (CEDB) Explore with satellite operators the feasibility of relocating satellite earth stations in Tai Po so as to completely resolve the problems of using 5G spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band in the restriction zone in the long run. (CEDB) Open up suitable sheltered bus stops and public payphone kiosks, and further assist operators under a “demand-led” model to make use of suitable government premises to extend 5G network coverage. (CEDB) Facilitate the implementation of Full Digital TV Broadcast in December 2020 by partnering with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service to launch a Community Care Fund programme to assist needy households to procure digital TV sets or set-top boxes so that they can continue to access free TV services. (CEDB)

Support and sponsor, through the CreateSmart Initiative, non-profit making organisations and government departments in applying design thinking to improve and enhance the quality of public services and facilities. Pilot projects include enhancing support and services for SMEs. (CEDB)

Adopt MiC for designated government buildings such as schools, quarters and offices buildings tendered from 2020 onwards as far as practicable, and encourage or mandate other statutory bodies or non-governmental organisations to adopt MiC for their building projects. DEVB has set up a steering committee to take forward this new construction technology. (DEVB)

Strive to promote high value-added and sustainable development of the agriculture and fisheries industry. The works of the Agricultural Park Phase 1 will commence as soon as possible after obtaining funding approval of the LegCo, and is expected to be completed in stages starting from 2021. (FHB) Commence environmental impact assessment for designating new fish culture zones in 2019, and establish a modern demonstration farm in 2020 to facilitate the mariculture sector to switch to deep water mariculture. (FHB) Examine ways to further remove barriers in making applications for the two funds for promoting sustainable development of agriculture and fisheries industry, with a view to making good use of the funds to improve the operating environment for the trade. (FHB)

“Education is the key to nurturing talent and allocating resources to education is the most meaningful investment for the future.” “My vision for education is to nurture the future generations into quality citizens who are socially responsible and equipped with a sense of our national identity, a love for Hong Kong and an international perspective. We should create a stable, caring, inspiring and satisfying teaching and learning environment for students, teachers, parents and principals.” Talent is the most important element in Hong Kong’s continued development, and education is the key to nurturing talent. Success in education requires the collaborative efforts of all who care about our next generation, with the Government playing a key role. The current-term Government will continue to: (1) devote substantial resources to education; (2) maintain professional leadership in charting the way forward; and (3) listen carefully to the voices of the education sector. “The Government’s expenditure on education is the most meaningful investment for the future” and “we should treat our teachers nicely” – have earned wide support from the education sector and become our internal guiding principles for handling education matters. A stable and caring teaching and learning environment is gradually taking shape. That said, to make our learning and teaching ever more inspiring and satisfying, a lot has yet to be done.

Progress of Task Forces: * Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-Secondary Education - completed * Task Force on Review of Research Policy and Funding - completed * Task Force on School-based Management Policy - completed * Task Force on Home-School Co-operation and Parent Education - completed * Task Force on Professional Development of Teachers - completed * Coordinating Committee on Basic Competency Assessment and Assessment Literacy - completed * Task Force on Review of School Curriculum - ongoing * Task Force on Promotion of Vocation and Professional Education and Training - ongoing

Significant increase of government subvention in kindergarten education starting from the 2017/18 school year Major measures are: * Adjustment of the subsidies relating to teaching staff salary according to the rate of annual civil service pay rise * Extension of tide-over grant for 3 years up to the 2021/22 school year * Headmasters and teachers should attend 60 hours of continuous professional development activities every 3 years

Major Measures on Primary and Secondary Education Student level: * Providing a recurrent Life-wide Learning Grant * Setting up the Student Activities Support Fund Teacher level: * Achieve an all-graduate teaching force School level: * Facilitate Barrier-free campuses * Implement the policies of "one executive officer for each school", "one school social worker for each primary school" and "two school social workers for each secondary school"

Major Measures on Parent Education * Increase subsidies for Parent-Teacher Associations * Kick off the "Positive Parent Campaign"

Major Measures on Post-secondary Education * Injected $3 billion to subsidise local research postgraduates, about 2 000 students benefitted in the 2018/19 academic year * Disbursed $10.3 billion of capital grants under the Hostel Development Fund * Injected $20 billion into the Research Endowment Fund in 2019 * Launched a $3 billion Research Matching Grant Scheme * Matching Grant Scheme (MGS): Granted about $500 million in the 7th MGS; Launched the $2.5 billion 8th MGS * Set aside $16 billion for universities to enhance or refurbish campus facilities

Major Measures on Vocational and Professional Education and Training * The Pilot Training and Support Scheme has been regularised since the 2019/20 academic year, so that 1 200 trainees can "Earn and Learn" every year

A total of 27 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas. All of them have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

A total of at least $8.3 billion recurrent expenditure has been allocated for the implementation of improvement measures to promote quality education. (EDB)

Starting from the 2018/19 school year, a new Promotion of Reading Grant has been disbursed to all public sector primary and secondary schools and the Pilot Scheme on the Promotion of Reading Grant for Kindergartens has been implemented concurrently. The latter is regularised in the 2019/20 school year. A series of activities have been organised to promote reading. (EDB) Starting from the 2019/20 school year, a recurrent Life-wide Learning Grant is provided to public sector schools and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) to support primary and secondary schools in taking forward, on the present foundation, life-wide learning with enhanced efforts. (EDB) A $2.5 billion Student Activities Support Fund was set up in 2019 to support students with financial needs in public sector schools and DSS schools to participate in out-of-classroom learning activities organised or recognised by schools. (EDB) The Quality Education Fund (QEF) has set aside $3 billion for the implementation of a four-year Dedicated Funding Programme for Publicly-funded Schools starting from the 2018/19 school year for launching school-based curriculum and/or student support measures, as well as relevant school improvement works and/or procurement of supplies. As at end-September 2019, the QEF has processed about 500 applications with a funding amount of over $260 million. (EDB) Chinese History has been taught as an independent compulsory subject at the junior secondary level starting from the 2018/19 school year. The revised curriculum framework will be implemented progressively in all schools from Secondary One with effect from the 2020/21 school year. (EDB) To stabilise the teaching force, aided secondary schools with surplus teachers arising from the reduction of Secondary One classes from the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years may apply for extension of the retention period of the surplus teachers concerned to the 2021/22 school year. (EDB) Starting from the 2019/20 school year, aided primary schools may apply for retaining the redundant teachers arising from class reduction due to the decline in Primary One student population up to a maximum of three school years. Besides, starting from Primary One in the 2019/20 school year, for schools with class reduction after the student headcount in mid-September, the basis for calculating the number of approved classes will be adjusted downwards from 25 to 23 students per class. The adjusted basis will be applied to that cohort of students progressively until they have reached Primary Six. (EDB)

Of the eight task forces set up to conduct in-depth studies in eight key areas of education, six have completed their work. They are the Task Force on Review of Research Policy and Funding, the Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education, the Task Force on Professional Development of Teachers, the Task Force on Home-school Co-operation and Parent Education, the Task Force on School-based Management Policy and the Co-ordinating Committee on Basic Competency Assessment and Assessment Literacy. The Government has accepted all their recommendations. The remaining two task forces, namely the Task Force on Promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training, and the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum, launched consultation exercises to solicit public views on their preliminary recommendations in May and June 2019 respectively. (EDB)

$20 billion has been injected into the Research Endowment Fund (REF) for substantially increasing the funding of the Research Grants Council while the Research Matching Grant Scheme was launched in August 2019. Three fellowship schemes for outstanding academics will be implemented within the 2019/20 academic year. (EDB) To nurture more home-grown academic and scientific research talents, $3 billion has been injected into the REF to generate investment return for providing tuition waiver for all local students enrolled in the University Grants Committee-funded research postgraduate programmes. The waiver scheme has been rolled out from July 2018, benefitting about 2 000 students in the 2018/19 academic year. (EDB)

The Government decided to implement in one go the all-graduate teaching force policy in public sector primary and secondary schools. Schools may, taking into account their own circumstances, achieve full implementation in two years starting from the 2019/20 school year. In tandem with the implementation of the all-graduate teaching force policy and whole-day primary schooling, proposals to improve the manpower at the middle management level and rationalise the salaries of heads and deputy heads in public sector primary schools have been submitted to the Legislative Council for approval. (EDB)

Starting from the 2019/20 school year, resources are provided to each public sector school and DSS school for employment of one executive officer to strengthen the administrative support for schools and their management committees. In addition, a new recurrent School-based Management Top-up Grant is offered to these schools for enhancing the operation of their management committees/incorporated management committees /school management committees (SMC) and strengthening the training of school managers/SMC members. (EDB)

Starting from the 2019/20 school year, higher subsidy amounts have been provided for Parent-Teacher Associations of schools and Federations of Parent-Teacher Associations. (EDB)

Starting from the 2018/19 school year, a subsidy has been provided for all public sector and DSS schools to cover the daily expenses of their air-conditioning facilities. (EDB)

The Hostel Development Fund was established in July 2018 and a one-off grant of $10.3 billion in total has been disbursed to six universities. Among the 15 hostel projects, the detailed design of four have been completed and construction is expected to commence soon. (EDB) The eighth round of the Matching Grant Scheme, which covers a period of three years, was launched in July 2019, providing a total of $2.5 billion of matching grants for publicly-funded post-secondary institutions. (EDB) The Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme is regularised from the 2019/20 academic year onwards, with the maximum amount of the scholarships raised from $250,000 to $300,000 per awardee per annum. For awardees pursuing doctoral degree programmes, the duration of the scholarships is relaxed from two years to the minimum years required to complete the programme. (EDB) The number of scholarships offered under the Belt and Road Scholarship Scheme has been increased from 10 to 80, covering all countries along the Belt and Road. (EDB) The number of subsidised places in undergraduate programmes under the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors has been increased to about 3 000 per cohort starting from the 2018/19 academic year. The scheme is expanded to cover sub-degree programmes and about 2 000 places will be subsidised per cohort starting from the 2019/20 academic year. (EDB)

The Pilot Training and Support Scheme of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) is regularised starting from the 2019/20 academic year. The scheme offers 1 200 training places per year under the “Earn and Learn” model to enable trainees to join industries which require specialised skills. (EDB) The key findings and related survey reports of Manpower Projection to 2027 were promulgated in May and June/July 2019 respectively. The full projection report is expected to be completed by end-2019 which could help support the planning and development of vocational and professional education and training (VPET). (LWB)

The various funding programmes for integrated education have been restructured and the Learning Support Grant has been extended to all public sector ordinary schools with the grant rate for tier-3 support increased. For public sector ordinary schools with a comparatively large number of students with special educational needs (SEN), the SEN coordinator post has been upgraded to a promotion rank. The School-based Educational Psychology Service has been extended to cover all public sector ordinary schools. Starting from the 2019/20 school year, school-based speech therapist posts are created in public sector ordinary schools in phases. (EDB) Starting from the 2018/19 school year, sufficient resources have been provided to each public sector primary school for employing at least one graduate social worker to better cater for the needs of the students. (EDB) An injection of $800 million into the Gifted Education Fund was made in early 2019 for generating investment income to support the service enhancement of the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education, to implement measures recommended by the Advisory Committee on Gifted Education, and to encourage gifted education providers to provide quality advanced learning programmes for gifted students. (EDB) We have implemented various measures to strengthen the support for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students (please refer to Chapter VI for details). (EDB)

A new commitment of about $360 million was created in early 2019 to provide a one-off funding support to enable the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) to administer the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination for four cohorts from 2019 to 2022. Study on possible options to resolve the long-term financial problem of the HKEAA is being conducted in parallel. (EDB)

Starting from the 2018/19 school year, salary-related subsidies for teaching staff have been adjusted on a school year basis according to the annual civil service pay adjustment. The two-year tide-over grant (2017/18 to 2018/19 school years) has also been extended by three years to the 2021/22 school year. (EDB) Measures to strengthen the professional development of principals and teachers in kindergartens have been implemented. Starting from the 2018/19 school year, each principal and teacher of kindergartens joining the kindergarten education scheme should participate in 60 hours of continuous professional development activities for every three-year cycle. (EDB) The review on the new kindergarten education policy, including exploring the feasibility of putting in place a salary scale for kindergarten teachers, commenced in mid-2019 and consultation is being conducted. (EDB)

An injection of $1.2 billion into the Qualifications Framework Fund was made in early 2018 to further strengthen and drive the development of the Qualifications Framework. (EDB)

An additional $10 billion was injected into the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) in May 2018. A series of enhancement measures, including increasing the subsidy ceiling and expanding the scope of CEF courses, have been implemented with effect from April 2019. (LWB)

With the significant drop in the population of school-aged Primary One students starting from the 2019/20 school year after a short-term increase earlier on, it is expected that individual public sector primary schools may be affected, resulting in a transient reduction of classes and teacher redundancy. (EDB) At present, the provision of public sector secondary school places is planned on a territory-wide basis. The population of Secondary One students has started to rebound from the 2017/18 school year. It is anticipated that the overall Secondary One student population will gradually increase and reach a peak in the 2024/25 school year. It is not feasible to solely count on the usual practice of netting school places from neighbouring areas to meet the projected demand. Since student population and schools are not evenly distributed in the respective districts, individual secondary schools in individual districts may not immediately or fully benefit from the increase in the overall Secondary One student population. (EDB)

With increased awareness of SEN among schools and parents as well as the improvement in the assessment tools and mechanism, the number of students identified to have SEN has increased continuously. (EDB) NCS students need to be proficient in Chinese in order to be competitive in further studies and career pursuits with a view to integrating into the local community. However, learning Chinese is not easy and there is no short-cut. It also takes time for relevant support measures to achieve the desired effects. While schools, teachers and students have to sustain their efforts, collaboration on the part of families and other stakeholders is also required to create an environment conducive to Chinese language learning. (EDB)

We have reserved $1 billion to take forward a time-limited minor works programme under which simple minor internal conversion works will be carried out at some 600-odd aided school premises constructed according to past building standards to facilitate more flexible use of existing space by schools, thereby enhancing the teaching and learning environment and efficacy. The schools concerned may submit works proposals to the Education Bureau in 2019 and 2020 having regard to the conditions of their premises and school-based needs. (EDB)

Introduce a pilot scheme in the 2020/21 academic year to provide fellowships/scholarships for local students admitted to designated taught postgraduate programmes that meet Hong Kong’s development needs. (EDB) Commence the amendment exercise of the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) and consult key stakeholders on the preliminary amendment proposals in 2020. (EDB) Revamp the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education to enhance its role in facilitating the regulation, support and co-ordination of the self-financing post-secondary education sector. (EDB) Work with the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications to explore ways to enhance the academic accreditation standards and practices, with a view to raising the standard of self-financing post-secondary education. (EDB) Introduce an Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education to provide financial support for self-financing institutions interested in offering designated sub-degree or undergraduate programmes that meet market needs but require high start-up costs, so as to help such programmes take off and to alleviate the financial burden of students due to tuition. (EDB)

Actively follow up on the recommendations of the review report to be submitted by the Task Force on Promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training by end-2019, with a view to better promoting VPET to cater for students’ diverse abilities and interests. (EDB) Enhance promotion of a series of activities under the theme of “2020 Hong Kong Skills Year” in 2020, including the VPET International Conference and WorldSkills Hong Kong Competition and Carnival, to promote professional skills to young people and raise public understanding and awareness of professional education and skills training. (EDB) Provide subsidies for trainees under the Training and Support Scheme of VTC for three years starting from the 2020/21 academic year to take part in study and exchange programmes outside Hong Kong, attend short-term skills and practical courses and visit institutions/enterprises in those places, with a view to facilitating skills exchange and broadening their exposure. If the scheme proves to be effective, we will consider extending it to cover students of suitable VPET programmes in the VTC and other institutions. (EDB)

Enhance the support for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by assisting public sector ordinary primary and secondary schools to deploy a 3-tier intervention model with proven effectiveness in phases from the 2020/21 school year, which is expected to benefit about 10 000 students with ASD. The support will also include the provision of tier-2 support by non-governmental organisations on school-based small group training on social adaptive skills. (EDB) Enhance the staff establishment of the boarding sections of aided special schools starting from the 2020/21 school year so that better services are provided to the boarders of these schools. The measures include upgrading the ranks of warden and assistant warden of boarding sections with a capacity of 40 or above, and increasing the number of assistant wardens and houseparents-in-charge; improving the Saturday and Sunday manning ratios; and providing an additional grant to the boarding sections of schools for children with physical disabilities, moderate intellectual disability (ID), severe ID and visual impairment cum ID to employ personal care workers or hire related services. (EDB) Implement measures to strengthen the support for NCS students (please refer to Chapter VI for details). (EDB)

Further expand the scope of CEF courses to cover eligible online courses provided by local course providers, with a view to providing more diversified channels of continuing learning. (LWB)

“Care for children, family support, patient care, poverty alleviation and elderly care are essential for building a compassionate and inclusive society.” “The Government currently has a fiscal reserve in excess of $1,000 billion. We are well positioned to use our accumulated fiscal surpluses, which are wealth derived from the community, wisely to benefit the community. On the premise of ensuring the health of our public finance, I will adopt forward-looking and strategic financial management principles in making investment for Hong Kong and relieving our people’s burdens...... We must adopt a people-oriented approach and be attentive to the needs of the people.” To promote social harmony and achieve sustainable development, our economic development has to be inclusive and beneficial to different sectors of society. The practice of capitalism and market economy in Hong Kong was not in conflict with the Government’s social policies to actively improve people’s livelihood. Two figures can exemplify the determination of the HKSAR Government to improve people’s livelihood: about 60% of the recurrent government expenditure was allocated to education, healthcare and welfare, and an increase of 86% in social welfare expenditure over the past six years. With limited public resources, implementing policy initiatives on improving people’s livelihood is not just a matter of demand and supply, but also an issue of allocation of resources our society has to face. To make better use of the resources, we should promote cross-sector and cross-profession collaboration as well as public-private partnership in adherence to the following principles: (1) pro-child; (2) pro-family; (3) pro-work; (4) pro-user; and (5) pro-health. Hong Kong people are by nature kind and willing to help others. The Government should further engage in tripartite co-operation with the community and the business sector to build a harmonious society.

Early Stage Work * Set up the Steering Committee on Primary Healthcare Development * Established the Primary Healthcare Office Sep 2019 * Opening of the Kwai Tsing District Health Centre (DHC). DHC focuses on: Tertiary Prevention * Chronic disease management * Community Rehabilitation Secondary Prevention * Health risk assessment * Chronic disease screening Primary Prevention * Enhance health literacy * Promote healthy lifestyle through health coaching Consulted District Councils on locations of 7 DHCs: Tai Po, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Eastern District 2020 * Introduce "DHC Express" Scheme in 11 districts By Jun 2022 * Roll out DHC in 6 other districts * Consult all District Councils on locations of DHCs Sustained Implementation * DHC in 18 districts

* The $500 million Chinese Medicine Development Fund launched in June 2019 with programmes on training, promotion and research * Providing over 600 000 annual quota on subsidised Chinese medicine out-patient service in 18 Chinese Medicine Centres for Teaching and Research from Q1 2020 at a standard fee of $120 * Reducing daily fee for Integrated Chinese-western medicine in-patient service from $200/day to $120/day * Commissioning of the Chinese Medicine Hospital and Government Chinese Medicine Testing Institute earliest by 2024

Low-income Working Family Allowance 2018: 27 600 households From April 2018: * Extending the scheme to cover singletons * Allowing household members to aggregate working hours * Increasing rates of allowance * Relaxing income limit Working Family Allowance 2019: 45 500 households, an increase of 65% from 27 600 households Supporting the Disadvantaged and Caring for the Young Pre-school Rehabilitation Services Places 2017-18 * Integrated Programme in Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre: 1 980 * Special Child Care Centres: 1 834 * Early Education & Training Centres: 3 454 * On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services: 3 000 Total: 10 268 2018-19 * Integrated Programme in Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre: 1 980 * Special Child Care Centres: 1 960 * Early Education & Training Centres: 3 520 * On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services: 5 187 Total: 12 647 2019-20 (Estimate) * Integrated Programme in Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre: 1 980 * Special Child Care Centres: 2 170 * Early Education & Training Centres: 3 771 * On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services: 7 074 Total: 14 995 The total number of pre-school rehabilitation services places will be increased by 46% in 2019-20 (Estimate) compared with 2017-18 Number of Community Support Services Centres for Persons with Disabilities 2017-18 * Parents/Relatives Resource Centre: 6 * District Support Centre: 16 2018-19 * Parents/Relatives Resource Centre: 12 * Support Centre for Persons with Autism: 3 * District Support Centre: 16 2019-20 (Estimate) * Parents/Relatives Resource Centre: 19 * Support Centre for Persons with Autism: 5 * District Support Centre: 18 (The number will be increased to 21 by 2022.)

A total of 152 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas, of which 151 have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

The Steering Committee on Primary Healthcare Development and the Primary Healthcare Office were set up in November 2017 and March 2019 respectively to steer the development of primary healthcare services. (FHB) The first District Health Centre (DHC) in Kwai Tsing District has commenced operation since September 2019, with satellite centres to be set up in five sub-districts within one year. We have earmarked suitable sites for setting up DHCs in 17 other districts and secured the support of the relevant District Councils (DCs) on the locations of seven DHCs. (FHB)

The Towards 2025: Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in Hong Kong was launched in May 2018 to reduce the burden posed by non-communicable diseases on Hong Kong. (FHB) The eligible groups under the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme were expanded in the 2018/19 season to cover people aged between 50 and 64, and outreach vaccination services were provided for primary school students, resulting in an increase in the overall seasonal influenza vaccination uptake rate by 46% when compared with that of the 2017/18 season. The School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme has been regularised from the 2019/20 season onwards to cover more primary schools. Besides, starting from the 2019/20 school year, human papillomavirus vaccination will be provided to Primary Five female students. (FHB) The Hong Kong Cancer Strategy was launched in July 2019, covering directions, strategies and expected outcomes in areas ranging from cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, technology and support, research and surveillance activities. (FHB) The Dementia Community Support Scheme was regularised and has been expanded to cover all 41 district elderly community centres in Hong Kong since May 2019. (FHB) The multi-disciplinary service model of the common mental disorder clinic has been extended to five hospital clusters. (FHB) Three territory-wide mental health prevalence surveys covering children, adolescents and elderly persons were launched in 2019. (FHB) The Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2019 was introduced into the Legislative Council (LegCo) in February 2019. The bill is to prohibit the import, manufacture, sale, distribution and advertisement of alternative smoking products, including e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products and herbal cigarettes. (FHB) Eleven bus interchange facilities located at tunnel portal areas or leading to expressways or tunnels have been designated as no smoking areas. (FHB)

The Chinese Medicine Unit and the Chinese Medicine Hospital Project Office were set up under the Food and Health Bureau in May 2018, and a tendering exercise was launched in September 2019 for the selection of a suitable non-profit-making organisation to operate the future Chinese medicine hospital. (FHB) With effect from December 2018, additional recurrent resources have been provided for 18 Chinese Medicine Centres for Training and Research to increase the salaries of Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) at all ranks as a measure to enhance the prospects of CMPs. (FHB) A $500 million Chinese Medicine Development Fund was launched in mid-2019 to enhance the overall standard of the Chinese medicine industry, including nurturing talent for the industry, promoting Chinese medicine-related research and studies, and enhancing the public’s knowledge of Chinese medicine. (FHB)

A triennium funding arrangement for the Hospital Authority (HA) has been introduced since 2018-19. The Government has undertaken to increase the HA’s recurrent funding progressively on a triennium basis, having regard to population growth and demographic changes. The Government’s recurrent subvention for the HA in 2018-19 and 2019-20 was $63.5 billion and $68.8 billion respectively. (FHB) The means test mechanism under the Samaritan Fund and Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes has been relaxed since early 2019. The enhancement measures include modifying the calculation of annual disposable financial resources for drug subsidy application by counting only 50% of the patients’ household net assets and refining the definition of “household” adopted in financial assessment. (FHB) Continuously extending the scope of the assistance programme to provide individual patients with subsidies for specific drug treatments according to their clinical needs. (FHB) The HA launched a Big Data Analytics Platform on a pilot basis in December 2018 for local academics to explore the HA’s clinical dataset for developing research ideas and carrying out collaborative research projects with the HA. (FHB) A new three-year programme Healthy Teeth Collaboration was launched in July 2018 to provide free oral check-ups, dental treatments and oral health education for adults aged 18 or above and with intellectual disabilities. Moreover, Special Oral Care Service has been set up in the third quarter of 2019 in the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital to provide dental care for pre-school children under six with intellectual disabilities. (FHB) An outreach dental programme in Special Child Care Centres (SCCCs) under the Social Welfare Department (SWD) has been implemented to provide children under six with intellectual disabilities with free on-site dental check-up and oral health education. If necessary, children can be referred to the Special Oral Care Service at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital for follow-up treatment. (FHB) Under the Outreach Dental Care Programme for the Elderly, a total of 23 outreach dental teams have been set up in ten non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide free outreach dental services for elders in residential care homes, day care centres and similar facilities in the territory. The target group of the Elderly Dental Assistance Programme was expanded to cover elderly persons aged 65 or above receiving the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA), and the service scope of the programme was refined in February 2019. The programme has been extended for three years up to February 2022. (FHB)

The HA will employ all qualified local medical graduates and provide them with relevant specialist training. (FHB) The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme has been fully implemented since April 2019. Tax deduction is provided for relevant premiums of Certified Plans. (FHB) Relevant ordinance has been amended to allow paired and pooled organ donations in Hong Kong. The HA launched a pilot Paired Kidney Donation Programme in the fourth quarter of 2018. (FHB)

The Private Healthcare Facilities Bill was passed by the LegCo in November 2018, under which a new regulatory regime for private hospitals, day procedure centres, clinics and health services establishments would be implemented to ensure public safety and enhance consumer rights. (FHB)

The HKMC Annuity Limited launched the HKMC Annuity Plan in July 2018. Continuous sales model has been adopted and a number of enhancement measures have also been introduced for the ongoing annuity plan, including the relaxation of the maximum premium to offer greater protection and flexibility to annuitants. (FSTB) Strengthened the protection of the rights and benefits of employees injured at work, including enhancing Claims Support Services; establishing a platform with relevant stakeholders for implementing a pilot scheme on enhancing the follow-up procedures for sick leave relating to work injury; and strengthening the enforcement of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282). (LWB) Implemented a series of measures for strengthening the protection of the occupational safety and health of employees, including conducting more in-depth surprise inspections targeting work sites with high risk processes or poor safety performance; stepping up participation in site safety management committee meetings of public works projects; issuing the Guidance Notes on Safety and Health of Hand-dug Tunnelling Work and the Guidance Notes on Standing at Work and Service Counter Design; producing publicity materials to encourage employees to lodge complaints against unsafe working conditions through a hotline; and developing an online complaint platform. (LWB) Increased the Statutory Minimum Wage rate from $34.5 per hour to $37.5 per hour with effect from 1 May 2019. (LWB) New measures for enhancing the protection of non-skilled employees engaged by government service contractors have taken effect since April 2019. (FSTB)

Enhanced the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme to encourage employers to hire and train job seekers with disabilities, including increasing the allowance payable to employers and extending the maximum period of allowance. (LWB) Extended the follow-up period for post-placement support for On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities, Sunnyway-On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities and supported employment service from 6 to 12 months. (LWB) Since 2018, the success rates of persons with disabilities as well as those for other candidates have been published to enhance the transparency of civil service recruitment, and the places under the Internship Scheme for Students with Disabilities has been doubled from an average of 50 to 100. (CSB)

Implemented five-day statutory paternity leave with effect from 18 January 2019. (LWB) Extended the maternity leave for all female employees of the Government to 14 weeks. As at 30 September 2019, more than 1 500 government employees benefitted from this initiative. (CSB) Set up the sixth families clinic and enhanced the clinical psychological services and specialised dental services for civil service eligible persons. (CSB)

Launched a new phase of the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses in April 2019 for NGOs to apply for the development or redevelopment of the sites they own, thereby increasing the provision of much-needed welfare facilities. (LWB)

Injected $300 million into the Child Development Fund in 2018-19 for launching more projects which aim to boost the self-motivation and confidence of children from low-income families and help them plan for their future. (LWB) Established the Commission on Children in June 2018 to focus on addressing children’s issues as they grow, and allocated additional resources of $18.4 million for the Commission from 2019-20 onwards. (LWB) Completed the Consultancy Study on the Long-term Development of Child Care Services in November 2018, and put forward a series of short-term and long-term measures to improve the quality and quantity of child care services in Hong Kong. (LWB) Enhanced the manning ratios for qualified child care workers serving in aided child care centres to 1:6 (for children aged 0 to under 2) and 1:11 (for children aged 2 to under 3) in September 2019. By making reference to the enhanced manning ratios of day child care centres, those of residential child care centres were also adjusted accordingly in September 2019. (LWB) Following the extension of the Pilot Project on Children Contact Service to September 2019, five specialised co-parenting support centres were set up across the territory in October 2019 to co-ordinate and arrange children contact, as well as to strengthen support for children and their divorced/separated parents with parenting needs. (LWB) Included child care centres as one of the types of social welfare services required by the Government under the new phase of the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses launched in April 2019. (LWB)

Regularised the on-site pre-school rehabilitation services (OPRS) in October 2018 with the number of service places increased from about 3 000 under the pilot scheme to about 7 000 in the 2019/20 school year in phases. The Government will enhance the professional and support services provided under the OPRS in the 2019/20 school year, including strengthening the establishments of speech therapist and social worker of the inter-disciplinary service teams, and setting up mobile training centres. (LWB) Waived the means test for children on the waiting list of SCCCs (including residential SCCCs) applying for training subsidy and provided additional training subsidy places. (LWB)

Set up the Special Needs Trust in March 2019 to provide affordable trust services for parents of children with special needs. (LWB) Increased the number of parents/relatives resource centres for persons with disabilities from 6 to 12 in March 2019. (LWB) Regularised the Pilot Project on Strengthening Support for Persons with Autism and their Parents/Carers and set up three Support Centres for Persons with Autism. (LWB) Streamlined the application and project management procedures of the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund since November 2017 to encourage more organisations, in particular those of a smaller scale, to apply for grants to implement diversified social capital development projects. (LWB) Regularised the community support programme for residents of new public rental housing estates through the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund in April 2019 to help new residents and families integrate into the community as soon as possible. (LWB) Launched a three-year Pilot Scheme on Relaxing the Household Income Limit of the Fee-waiving Subsidy Scheme under the After School Care Programme for Low-income Families and Increasing Fee-waiving Subsidy Places in October 2017 by the Community Care Fund to strengthen support for low-income families. (LWB)

Launched in June 2018, Higher OALA has become the most popular social security payment among elderly persons aged 65 or above. As at end-July 2019, about 500 000 elderly persons were receiving the Higher OALA of $3,585 per month. Taking into account the 50 000 or so recipients of the Normal OALA (currently at $2,675 per month), the entire OALA supports a total of 550 000 elderly persons, involving an annual recurrent expenditure of about $24 billion. (LWB) Introduced the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme in April 2018 to implement a series of improvements on the previous Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA) Scheme. For the claim period (covering six months) at end-July 2019, the WFA Scheme benefitted some 45 500 households (including singleton households and covering about 63 000 children and adolescents), of which over 20 800 had not applied for LIFA before. (LWB) The WFA and the individual-based Work Incentive Transport Subsidy applications have been centrally processed by the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency since April 2019 to bring more efficient and convenient service for applicants. (LWB)

The total number of vouchers provided under the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly has increased to 7 000 in October 2019 to support ageing in place for elderly persons with moderate or severe impairment. (LWB) Provided an additional 2 000 service quota under the Enhanced Home and Community Care Services in October 2019 to strengthen community care and support services for the elderly. (LWB) Stipulated population-based planning ratios in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines in respect of subsidised residential care services for the elderly, subsidised community care services for the elderly, District Elderly Community Centres and Neighbourhood Elderly Centres in December 2018 to help reserve appropriate land for the provision of these elderly services and facilities. (LWB) Launched the $1 billion Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care in December 2018 to subsidise eligible elderly and rehabilitation service units to try out and procure/rent technology products, thereby improving the quality of life of service users as well as reducing the burden and pressure on care staff and carers. (LWB) Launched a five-year scheme in March 2019 to provide full subsidies in phases for home managers, health workers and care workers of all residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) and residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs) in the territory to enrol in Qualifications Framework-based training courses to enhance the service quality of RCHEs and RCHDs. (LWB)

Created new clinical psychologist posts at Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness to enhance professional support for ex-mentally ill persons and persons with suspected mental health problems. (LWB)

Injected $400 million into the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged in 2018-19 to continue to promote cross-sector collaboration in helping the disadvantaged. The injected fund has been evenly allocated to the regular portion of the fund and the dedicated portion for after-school learning and support programmes. (LWB) Provided subvention to NGOs for setting up five Cyber Youth Support Teams to reach out to at-risk and hidden youths to provide early intervention and support. The service commenced operation on 1 December 2018. (LWB) Raised the ceiling of cash assistance under the District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development since 2018-19 to $2,000 per person per year, and increased the annual quota to 10 000 to better cater for the development needs of deprived children and youths at the district level. (LWB) Injected $50 million into the Trust Fund for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2018 to continue to provide support for SARS patients and their families. (LWB)

Launched the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities and earmarked $250 million in March 2019 to provide funding support for arts programmes or activities for persons with disabilities with a view to enhancing their arts knowledge, fostering their interests in arts and developing their potentials. (LWB) Increased the number of places of pre-school rehabilitation service, day and residential rehabilitation service, and those provided under the Bought Place Scheme for Private RCHDs from 37 945 to 41 809. (LWB)

The Steering Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, was set up in mid-2018. Under the supervision of the steering committee, 11 new measures to enhance support for ethnic minorities (EMs) have been rolled out, covering areas such as education, employment, social welfare and social integration. (CSO) Provided tiered subsidy for kindergartens under the kindergarten education scheme admitting non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students, as well as public sector ordinary schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools admitting NCS students with special educational needs. (EDB) Completed a comprehensive review of the Chinese language proficiency requirements for all civil service grades, with a view to providing more opportunities for EMs to seek employment in the Government. We also launched an internship programme in 2019 for EM university students on a pilot basis. (CSB) Enhanced the training on cultural sensitivity/equal opportunities for civil service new recruits and frontline staff. (CSB) The Employees Retraining Board enhanced the training support for EMs starting from 2019-20, including expanding the dedicated language and industry-specific training courses, and allowing more flexibility in the education attainment criteria for course enrolment. (LWB) Engaged an NGO in 2019-20 to raise EMs’ awareness of domestic violence and sexual violence through community education programmes, and encourage victims to seek help. (LWB) Enhanced the translation services for EMs provided by the CHEER Centre, including introduction of translation services in Vietnamese; enhanced the services of support service centres for EMs, particularly for EM new arrivals and youths; and implemented the District-based Programmes for Racial Harmony to encourage interaction and exchange between the EMs and local communities. (HAB)

Application of pressure washer surface cleaners and leaf blowers has been extended to all districts for enhancing street cleansing efficiency. (FHB) With the installation of Internet Protocol cameras, hygiene conditions have improved significantly and illegal refuse dumping has been effectively tackled. (FHB) The public toilets refurbishment programme has been undertaken to carry out refurbishment or facelifting works. (FHB) Introduced an extendable arrangement to allow a more sustainable use of public niches. (FHB) The Green Burial Central Register for promotion of green burial has been launched. (FHB) The Garden of Forever Love, the first facility for keeping abortuses provided by the Government, has been commissioned. (FHB)

The Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018 was introduced into the LegCo in December 2018 to take forward eight of the recommendations of higher priority in the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)’s Discrimination Law Review. (CMAB)

Public healthcare services in Hong Kong are under mounting pressure due to ageing population and increasing prevalence of chronic and complex diseases. Meanwhile, the HA has to cope with shortage of healthcare manpower and the brain drain of experienced staff to the private market. As members of the public are still inclined to seek treatment-oriented healthcare services, there are considerable difficulties in changing the existing deep-rooted mindset in order to enable the establishment of a prevention-oriented primary healthcare system. (FHB)

Notwithstanding the enhanced arrangements1 announced in the 2018 Policy Address, employer groups have continued to express concern over the possible financial impact on enterprises, in particular the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, brought about by the abolition of the “offsetting” arrangement under the Mandatory Provident Fund System. There are also views that the two-tier Government subsidy scheme, which is linked to the balance of an employer’s designated saving account (DSA), is too complicated. The other processes connected with the abolition, such as DSA’s mode of operation and investment, and tax incentive for employers’ DSA contributions, are also expected to draw concern. Timely passage of the enabling legislation and implementation of the proposed DSA and subsidy scheme would present a major challenge. (LWB) The number of fatal industrial accidents, mostly from the construction industry, has not shown a clear sign of decline in recent years. The Labour Department (LD) has proposed to increase the penalties of occupational safety and health legislation to strengthen their deterrent effect, and will strike a reasonable balance between increasing the deterrent effect of the penalties and addressing employers’ concern. (LWB) The external economic uncertainties may affect the labour market and have a particularly strong impact on job seekers with special needs. (LWB)

With the scarcity of land and many other development needs, we are often faced with a shortage of suitable sites/premises to meet the acute demand for various welfare facilities, including elderly, rehabilitation and child care services. (LWB) The overall manpower provision in various welfare services (in particular elderly and rehabilitation services) is insufficient owing to the lack of newcomers and high turnover rates. Positions involved include frontline care staff and allied health professionals. The Government needs to consider implementing measures to increase manpower supply, and addressing service needs through adopting technologies and new service models. (LWB)

Although EMs constitute a small proportion of the Hong Kong population, they have been growing rapidly in number. They are subject to relatively greater poverty risks than the overall population and the difficulties in learning the Chinese language hinder them from attaining higher education qualifications and securing better jobs. Language barriers and cultural differences also affect their integration into local communities and access to public services. (CSO)

While green burials in 2018 accounted for about 15% of the total number of deaths in Hong Kong, most members of the public still prefer keeping cremated ashes in public or private niches. (FHB)

The remaining recommendations of higher priority in the EOC’s Discrimination Law Review are considerably more complex and controversial, thereby requiring further research and consultation. (CMAB)

Consult the respective DCs on the selection of DHC sites across Hong Kong within the current term of this Government. (FHB) The current-term Government strives to provide primary healthcare services of different scales in all 18 districts, including full-fledged DHCs in seven districts and DHC Express in the remaining 11 districts. Pending the setting up of full-fledged DHCs, the Government will fund NGOs to provide health promotion, consultation and chronic disease management services and enhance public awareness on health management. (FHB)

The School Outreach Vaccination Programme will be extended to cover kindergartens and child care centres on a pilot basis, and nasal live-attenuated influenza vaccine will be offered on trial in some schools. Besides, pregnant women will be given one dose of acellular pertussis-containing vaccine during each pregnancy. (FHB) With reference to the World Health Organization’s recommendations, international practices and actual local situations, the Steering Committee on Prevention and Control of Viral Hepatitis will formulate an action plan in 2020 with a view to reducing the public health burden posed by viral hepatitis. (FHB) The Advisory Committee on Mental Health is exploring ways and means to enhance mental health services for children and adolescents. In parallel, the HA will engage allied health professionals and paediatricians to assist in the handling of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder cases on a pilot basis for speedier processing. (FHB)

More resources will be devoted to promote the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong, including the provision of more than 600 000 quota of subsidised Chinese medicine out-patient, acupuncture and tui-na services at 18 Chinese Medicine Centres for Training and Research in the first quarter of 2020. Also, the additional daily in-patient fee for Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine services will be reduced from $200 to $120. (FHB) Through the Chinese Medicine Development Fund, subsidise studies on the accreditation mechanism of Chinese medicine pharmacists to cater for the development of Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine hospitals. (FHB) Construct the first Chinese medicine hospital in Hong Kong in Tseung Kwan O, and the permanent Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute next to it. The institute will comprise a Chinese medicines testing laboratory and display Chinese medicines specimens to support the research, development and education of Chinese medicines. (FHB)

To complement the Hong Kong Cancer Strategy, the Government will develop an online resource hub to provide health information related to cancer. Separately, the HA plans to enhance the quality of cancer services in terms of diagnosis and treatment, transitional care, etc. Specific initiatives include piloting streamlined cancer-specific diagnostic services, extending the Cancer Case Manager Programme, and continuing to introduce advanced medical technology for cancer treatment and expand the coverage of cancer drugs in its Drug Formulary. The HA will establish a sustainable service model to improve quality of life of cancer survivors and develop a structured rehabilitation and supportive care programme to ensure timely provision of support and care to cancer survivors. (FHB) The HA will enhance its management structure and administrative efficiency through a series of measures including simplifying the resource bidding process, optimising the involvement of clinicians in management processes at the Head Office and cluster levels, and streamlining its decision-making processes and delegation arrangements. (FHB) The Government and the HA plan to further support patients with uncommon disorders by progressively implementing a series of targeted measures. They include developing databases for individual uncommon disorders to facilitate clinical diagnosis and treatment, and to enhance public awareness of such disorders without infringing patient privacy; strengthening support to patients of uncommon disorders and cancers through the Samaritan Fund; reviewing manpower support and deploying resources to help meet the needs of patients and promote technological development and clinical research relating to uncommon disorders. (FHB) The Steering Committee on Genomic Medicine plans to submit a report to the Secretary for Food and Health on the study of strategies for developing genomic medicine in Hong Kong in end-2019. Besides, the Hong Kong Genome Institute will be set up to take forward the Hong Kong Genome Project in 2020. The project will enhance the diagnostic rate of uncommon disorders and promote research on cancers and other hereditary diseases through genome sequencing and the establishment of a genome database. (FHB) A public consultation to seek views on legislative proposals on advance directives and dying in place in relation to end-of-life care services is underway and will be completed in December 2019. We will decide on the way forward in the light of feedback. (FHB) The HA will implement smart hospital initiatives, including exploring the set up of smart wards with real time data collected by mobile and Internet of Things technologies, a patient services co-ordination centre for enhancing co-ordination of hospital services and patient triage, and the use of robots for providing logistical support. Its Data Collaboration Laboratory will also be enhanced for formally launching the Big Data Analytics Platform by end-2019 to support more healthcare-related research projects and provide self-service statistical data analysis to further facilitate the work of researchers. (FHB) An ongoing mental health promotion and public education initiative is scheduled to be launched within six months to raise public understanding and concern about mental wellness in the first phase, and achieve the objective of building a mental health-friendly society in the long run. (FHB)

Explore the feasibility of providing specialist training for those non-locally trained doctors who are newly registered or with a couple of years’ experience to provide more incentive for them to serve in Hong Kong, provided training opportunities for locally trained doctors would not be compromised. (FHB) The results of a new round of manpower projection exercise are expected to be published in 2020 to update the demand and supply projections of healthcare professionals. (FHB)

The Nursing Council of Hong Kong plans to launch in early 2020 a voluntary registration scheme for the development of nursing specialties, to pave way for the eventual setting up of a statutory registration system. (FHB)

Adjust upwards the current jurisdictional limit of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board in respect of the claim amount per claimant. (LWB) Introduce a three-year pilot work injury rehabilitation programme in the construction industry, which employs a case management approach to provide private treatment and rehabilitation services for employees injured at work in a timely and well co-ordinated manner; and propose to commission the Occupational Safety and Health Council to administer the pilot programme through legislative amendments. (LWB) Provide greater support for foreign domestic helpers and better protection of their labour rights, including establishing a dedicated division under the LD. (LWB).

Refine the current Guidance Notes on Continuing Professional Development Programmes for registered safety officers to boost their professional competence. (LWB) Collaborate with different stakeholders to strengthen referral of relatively risk-prone activities in renovation and maintenance works to enable the LD to conduct more targeted inspections to prevent accidents. (LWB) Launch the Construction Safety Ambassador Pilot Scheme to encourage construction workers to report unsafe working conditions. (LWB) Refine the statutory notification mechanism of construction works to expand its scope to cover more construction works with relatively high risks. (LWB)

Prepare a new system for reimbursing the proposed additional four weeks’ maternity leave pay to employers after the passage and implementation of the relevant legislation to extend the statutory maternity leave. (LWB) Implement a pilot scheme to provide Chinese medicine services for civil service eligible persons as part of their medical benefits. (CSB)

Launch a pilot scheme to encourage the elderly, young people and persons with disabilities to undergo and complete on-the-job training under the employment programmes of the LD through the provision of a retention allowance, thereby stabilising employment. (LWB)

Introduce various enhancement measures to strengthen the after school care programme, including addition of 2 500 full fee-waiving places, relaxation of application eligibility, increase of subsidy level, provision of extra subsidy for students with special educational needs, and streamlining of financial vetting process, etc. It is expected that more than 5 700 students and their families will benefit from the measures. (LWB) Inject an additional $500 million into the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund to support social capital development projects (including community support projects for residents of new public rental housing estates) and build mutual help networks in the community through cross-sector collaboration. The funding injection should enable the continual operation of the Fund until 2024, for supporting about 140 projects benefitting more than 140 000 people. (LWB) Regularise the provision of a student grant from the 2020/21 school year, with each secondary day school, primary school and kindergarten student receiving an annual allowance of $2,500, benefitting about 900 000 Hong Kong students. (EDB)

Raise all payment rates of WFA, including increasing the working-hour linked household allowance of the Scheme by 16.7% to 25%, and substantially raising the Child Allowance by 40%. The maximum level of allowance for a four-person household with two children will increase from the existing $3,200 per month to $4,200 per month. (LWB) Put forward a host of improvement measures for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme to further encourage abled-bodied CSSA recipients to work, including raising the maximum amount of disregarded earnings by 60% from $2,500 to $4,000 per month, enhancing the CSSA employment support services, extending a range of supplement and special grants to eligible non-elderly able-bodied recipients, and increasing the maximum rates of rent allowance from about 3% to 27% with reference to the number of members in the household. (LWB)

Provide an additional 1 000 service vouchers, bringing the total to 8 000, under the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly. (LWB) Provide an additional 3 000 service quota under the Integrated Home Care Services (Frail Cases). (LWB)

Provide an additional 1 000 service places under OPRS in each school year from 2020/21 to 2022/23, making a total of 3 000 additional places. (LWB) Provide some 1 200 additional service places in SCCCs and Early Education and Training Centres from 2019-20 to 2021-22. (LWB) Implement a pilot project at the kindergartens/kindergarten-cum-child care centres (KG-cum-CCCs) participating in OPRS through the Lotteries Fund to provide early intervention services for children in kindergartens/KG-cum-CCCs who show signs of special needs. (LWB) Depending on the results of the assessment study of the above pilot project, the Government will explore the feasibility of merging the early intervention programme with OPRS, to provide more comprehensive, flexible and ongoing support to cater for children with various levels of special needs at different stages. (LWB) Set up two new rehabilitation service centres through the Lotteries Fund to implement a two-year pilot project on long-term community care services, by integrating the service of day care centres and home care services in a flexible manner, to provide services to persons with severe disabilities having intensive care needs and living at home. (LWB) Provide additional resources for 17 Social and Recreational Centres for the Disabled to enhance their function in providing community support, particularly for carers. (LWB) Provide a total of about 3 800 additional places in day rehabilitation service units and residential rehabilitation service units from 2019-20 to 2021-22. (LWB) Purchase more than 40 designated residential respite places from private RCHDs, set up a system for enquiry on vacant designated residential respite places and explore the feasibility of developing pre-registration arrangement. (LWB) Set up two additional Regional Guardianship Offices to handle guardianship cases under a new specialised service model. (LWB) Implement an enhanced integrated vocational and skills training service model by the Vocational Training Council, which seeks to equip students with disabilities with skills commensurate with their abilities, assist them in adapting to the work environment, upkeep their work motivation and help graduates sustain continuous employment in the open market. (LWB) Increase the allocation for public education on rehabilitation from $13.5 million to about $20 million with effect from 2020-21 to implement public education exercises with inclusive themes. (LWB) Provide additional 20 Rehabuses in 2020-21 to enhance Scheduled Route service, Dial-A-Ride service and hospital feeder/recreational routes service. (LWB) Increase the number of medical social workers of the SWD to keep pace with the continuous implementation of new initiatives and service enhancement by the HA and Department of Health (DH). (LWB) Regularise the Pilot Scheme on Providing Special Subsidy for Persons with Permanent Stoma from Low-income Families for Purchasing Medical Consumables under the Community Care Fund. (LWB)

Adjust the additional funding models for schools admitting NCS students starting from the 2020/21 school year and step up monitoring and support. Provide all schools admitting a relatively small number of NCS students (i.e. ordinary schools admitting less than ten NCS students and special schools admitting less than six NCS students) with a new two-tiered subsidy with additional funding. The amount of additional funding provided to schools admitting NCS students will be adjusted based on the annual change of the Composite Consumer Price Index and/or the annual Civil Service Pay Adjustment. (EDB) Continue to provide NCS students with the support for Chinese language learning, including the provision of teacher professional development programmes, school-based professional support services and learning and teaching resources, with a view to facilitating the implementation of the Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework; and providing different language learning opportunities for NCS students to boost their confidence in learning Chinese. We will also explore how to gauge their progress in learning Chinese language through longitudinal studies, and provide feedbacks to schools to further enhance support services. (EDB) Strengthen parent education and help parents understand that it is imperative for them to enroll their children as early as possible in kindergartens using Chinese as the medium of instruction, enhance their communication with schools, and make suitable arrangements to cater for their children’s daily learning. Provide a series of parent education programmes for parents of NCS students starting from the 2020/21 school year to help them support their children’s learning, encourage their children to master Chinese language, and have more comprehensive understanding of the multiple pathways available to their children. (EDB) Arrange translation and production of more publicity and educational materials to enable EMs to make better use of the services offered by DH and enhance the effectiveness of health education on communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and mental health, etc. (FHB) Launch a three-year Ethnic Minority District Ambassador pilot scheme in nine districts with higher EM population in 2020-21, which aims to employ more EMs in SWD and NGOs, enhance EM services provided by district centres/service units, and co-ordinate and deepen communication and co-operation with relevant stakeholders. (LWB) The disciplined services will enhance their recruitment and outreaching work to encourage EMs to join the services and will, through school outreaching and Junior Police Call activities, have more interaction with EM children and adolescents. (SB).

Launch pilot programmes in a number of municipal service areas, which include applying technology to improve hygiene, enhance management and achieve timely maintenance of public toilets; and improving focused anti-mosquito and anti-rodent work by collecting quantitative data of mosquitoes and rodent infestation. (FHB) Formulate long-term measures for rodent prevention, e.g. incorporating pest control specifications in government cleansing or management contracts to reinforce the pest control service and relevant management duties of departments; and issuing guidelines to building professionals on rodent proofing designs in new buildings. (FHB) Plan a new public market in the vicinity of the future railway station in Kwu Tung North New Development Area, provide a temporary public market in Tin Shui Wai and complete the site selection for the new public market in Tseung Kwan O shortly. (FHB) Implement the Market Modernisation Programme under which the overhaul or improvement plans of existing public markets included in the first phase programme will be formulated next year for early commencement of relevant works. (FHB) Provide a designated cremation facility for abortuses at a suitable site. (FHB)

Formulate legislative proposal for expanding protection under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480) to prohibit harassment on the ground of breastfeeding. (CMAB)

1 Including assisting employers in setting up their DSAs to save up in advance to prepare for their potential severance payment/long service payment liabilities, significantly increasing the Government’s financial commitment to $29.3 billion and extending the period of the second-tier subsidy to 25 years, with the aim of helping employers, in particular those from the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

“A liveable environment makes Hong Kong people happy, hopeful, confident about the future and have a sense of belonging to Hong Kong.” “Although small and densely-populated, Hong Kong has developed into a liveable city with our continuous effort in improving public transport services and facilities. Over the years, it has been the Government’s transport policy to develop a public transport-oriented system with railway as the backbone. At the same time, we strive to develop other public transport services to complement the railway services and provide the public with more choices for added convenience.” Our people’s aspiration for a liveable city has grown in step with social development. In addition to tackling the pressing problems of land and housing supply, we will also strive to develop a convenient transport network, a green countryside, a beautiful harbour, a sustainable environment, a heritage with historical significance, as well as quality cultural, arts, recreational and sports activities and good social order, so that people will be keen to stay in Hong Kong and make it their home. I set out the policy direction of “according priority to transport infrastructure” in my 2018 Policy Address. Through creating capacity, our transport infrastructure will not only be able to cope with foreseeable demand, but also provide reasonable buffer capacity to support possible long-term developments in the future.

* The Bill on municipal solid waste charging was introduced into the LegCo in November 2018 * Award leases in the EcoPark to support recycling industry * Ceased to provide plastic straws and poly-foam food containers in government canteens * Producer responsibility schemes implemented for waste electrical and electronic equipment as well as glass beverage containers * Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase I has a food waste treatment capacity of 200 tonnes per day * Tai Po Sewage Treatment Works has a food waste treatment capacity of 50 tonnes per day

Energy Intensity (energy required to produce the same economic output) * Achieved in 2018 a reduction in energy intensity by more than 30% (from the 2005 level) and strive to achieve the energy intensity reduction target of 40% by 2025 Energy saving of government buildings * Government buildings achieved the 5% electricity reduction target as compared with 2015 and reduced yearly carbon emission by 50 000 tonnes Statutory building energy standard * Statutory building energy efficiency standards raised by 18% as compared to 2012, which contributes to a reduction of yearly carbon emission by 17 000 tonnes

Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme * Earmarked $2 billion to benefit around 2 000 buildings Operation Building Bright 2.0 * Earmarked $3 billion to benefit 2 500 buildings Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme * Allocated $2.5 billion to benefit 5 000 lifts "Smart Tender” Building Rehabilitation Facilitating Services * Provide professional support and E-tendering platform

* Commuters with monthly public transport expenses exceeding $400 are eligible for the public transport fare subsidy. The Government will provide a subsidy amounting to 25% of the actual public transport expenses in excess of $400, subject to a maximum of $300 per month * The monthly average number of beneficiaries is around 2.2 million * As of August 2019, the total subsidy of the Scheme is around $1.3 billion, with the monthly average subsidy at around $163 million

Exempting toll of seven Government tunnels and two Government roads for franchised buses starting from 2019 * Around $280 million average saving per annum for all franchised bus operators * Relieving the fare increase magnitude by 3% Earmarking around $412 million to subsidise 6 major outlying island ferry routes in 2017-20 * Reducing fare increase magnitude * Benefitting around 17.6 million passenger journeys in 2018

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge * Commissioned on 24 October 2018 * Daily Average (As of August 2019) - 62 250 passengers - 4 140 vehicles * The Highest Daily Figure (As of August 2019) - 159 782 passengers - 7 009 vehicles * Journey Time between Zhuhai and Kwai Tsing Container Terminals is reduced from 3.5 hours to 75 minutes * Journey Time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong International Airport is reduced from 4 hours to 45 minutes The Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link * Commenced operation on 23 September 2018 * Average daily patronage of 52 103, and the highest patronage for a day with 104 155 (up to August 2019) * Direct trains to 58 Mainland destinations * Greatly shorten the journey time from 24 hours to 9 hours to reach Beijing; and from 19 hours to 8 hours to reach Shanghai * Realising "one-hour living circle" within the Greater Bay Area by shortern the journey time from 2 hours to 46 minutes to reach Guangzhou; and only takes 14 minutes to reach Futian Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link * Fully commissioned on 24 February 2019 * Journey Time between Central and Eastern District is 5 minutes Heung Yuen Wai Highway * Opened on 26 May 2019 * Fanling (Kau Lung Hang) to Heung Yuen Wai - Journey time reduced from 24 minutes to 8 minutes * Fanling (Kau Lung Hang) to Sha Tau Kok (Loi Tung) - Journey time reduced from 15 minutes to 4 minutes

Improve existing cultural facilities Earmarking $20 billion for: * Hong Kong Science Museum * Hong Kong Museum of History * Hong Kong Cultural Centre * Hong Kong City Hall Hong Kong Museum of Art will be reopened in November 2019 Construct additional cultural facilities 2021 * East Kowloon Cultural Centre * M+ Museum (West Kowloon Cultural District) 2022 * Hong Kong Palace Museum (West Kowloon Cultural District) 2024 * Lyric Theatre Complex (West Kowloon Cultural District) Increase financial support to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 9 major performing arts groups, the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society and Venue Partners of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department 2017-18: $490 million 2018-19: $560 million 2019-20: $620 million

A total of 115 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas, of which 111 have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has submitted to the Government proposals for the five railway projects, viz. Tuen Mun South Extension, Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station), East Kowloon Line, Tung Chung Line Extension (comprising Tung Chung West Extension and Tung Chung East Station) and North Island Line. The Transport and Housing Bureau had also invited the MTRCL to submit proposals for the implementation of the projects of Hung Shui Kiu Station and South Island Line (West). (THB) The Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) commenced operation on 23 September 2018. To date, the number of Mainland destinations with direct trains by the XRL has increased to 58. (THB) The Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link was fully commissioned on 24 February 2019. (THB) The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) was commissioned on 24 October 2018. (THB) The Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link (TM-CLKL) Southern Connection was put into operation in stages on 24 October and 30 November 2018 to dovetail with the commissioning of HZMB. (THB)

Three franchised bus companies, viz. Citybus Limited, New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited and New World First Bus Services Limited, opened up their real-time arrival information in machine-readable formats on the Public Sector Information Portal (DATA.GOV.HK) in August 2019 for free use by the public and the industry. (THB) The Franchised Taxi Services Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council (LegCo) in May 2019. (THB) The Multi-stakeholder Exchange Forum for Public Transport Sector was held in November 2018 for different representatives from the public transport sector, academics and experts to exchange views on how best to rationalise the respective roles of public transport modes to improve Hong Kong’s public transport ecosystem. (THB)

Established the feasibility of providing a new footbridge across Kwun Tong Road near MTR Kowloon Bay Station Exit A and commenced the investigation and preliminary design. Detailed design for another footbridge across Wai Yip Street near Siu Yip Street has also commenced. (DEVB) Endorsed eight premium waiver applications from landowners for the construction of footbridges and subways at their own cost under the policy of Facilitating Provision of Pedestrian Links by the Private Sector. The relevant lease modification matters are being dealt with. (DEVB) As at September 2019, 135 barrier-free access retrofitting items were completed under the Universal Accessibility (UA) Programme. (THB)

The non-means tested Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme was implemented in January 2019 to relieve the fare burden of commuters. The total amount of subsidies for the first eight months of the scheme’s implementation is about $1.3 billion, involving a monthly average of around 2.2 million beneficiaries. (THB) Completed the review on the Fare Adjustment Arrangement for Franchised Buses. Among others, the Weighted Average Cost of Capital of the franchised bus industry was adjusted. Profits achieved by a franchised bus operator exceeding the rate of return on average net fixed assets of 8.7% shall be shared on a 50:50 basis between the franchised bus operator and passengers through fare concessions. The new arrangement took effect in January 2019. (THB) From 17 February 2019, the franchised bus operators have been exempted from paying the tolls for seven government tunnels and two government roads. Each franchised bus operator has to set up its own dedicated fund account for keeping the toll saved, which will be used for relieving the fare increase pressure. (THB)

A number of short-term and medium-to-long term measures have been drawn up to increase the number of car parking spaces. These measures include designating suitable on-street locations as night-time parking spaces, providing public parking spaces at suitable “Government, Institution or Community” facilities and public open space projects in line with the “single site, multiple use” principle and taking forward pilot projects of automated parking systems. (THB)

The Bill on municipal solid waste charging was introduced into the LegCo in November 2018. (ENB) The Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 1, also known as O•PARK1, has been in operation since July 2018. The Food Waste/Sewage Sludge Anaerobic Co-digestion Trial Scheme at the Tai Po Sewage Treatment Works has also commenced operation since May 2019. (ENB) Starting from January 2019, plastic straws and polyfoam food containers were not provided in premises serving mainly government employees. Government departments, when inviting tenders for new contracts and renewing existing contracts for restaurants at government venues, will also require caterers to avoid using disposable plastic tableware. (ENB) The mid-term review of the Recycling Fund has been completed and a number of enhancement measures have been introduced. They include expanding the scope of eligible Fund applicants, increasing the rental subsidies related to recycling operations, simplifying the reporting and fund disbursement procedures, launching a theme-based scheme for food waste recycling, and adding equipment that handle waste metal and food waste into the prescribed list eligible for funding support. (ENB) Awarded in end-2018 a lease covering four adjacent lots in the EcoPark for developing a waste paper recycling and manufacturing facility; and awarded in March 2019 the leases of two other lots in the EcoPark for developing waste plastics recycling facilities. (ENB)

Implemented a new regulation with effect from 1 January 2019, mandating vessels within Hong Kong waters to use fuel with sulphur content not exceeding 0.5%. (ENB) Reviewed the emission allowances of power plants from 2022 and onwards and submitted the review findings to the Advisory Council on the Environment. The Government will also submit the review findings to the Panel on Environmental Affairs of the LegCo within 2019. (ENB) During the design and procurement of new government vessels, the Government will consider adopting green technologies to enhance environmental performance, including reducing the emission of air pollutants. (ENB)

Established a Clean Shorelines Liaison Platform to co-ordinate and promote shorelines cleanup actions through different media and channels. (ENB) The Countryside Conservation Office was established in July 2018 to co-ordinate efforts in promoting conservation of our countryside, and the Advisory Committee on Countryside Conservation was established in July 2019. (ENB)

The Council for Sustainable Development has completed a public engagement exercise and will submit a report to the Government to facilitate the formulation of Hong Kong’s long-term decarbonisation strategy. (ENB) The Government has been taking the lead in developing renewable energy (RE) and implementing a number of RE projects, including pilot projects of floating photovoltaic (PV) systems at Shek Pik Reservoir and Plover Cove Reservoir, as well as a pilot PV project at the South East New Territories Landfill. In addition, we support the private sector in developing RE, including introducing the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Scheme, suitably relaxing the restrictions on installation of PV systems on the rooftops of New Territories Exempted Houses (i.e. “village houses”), and introducing Solar Harvest to install PV systems for eligible schools and welfare non-governmental organisations (NGOs), etc. (ENB) Measures under the “Energy Saving Plan for Hong Kong’s Built Environment 2015~2025+” have been rolled out to enhance energy efficiency of government buildings, including energy saving projects, retro-commissioning, and encouraging bureaux/departments to seek green building certification for buildings under their management. (ENB) Under the post-2018 Scheme of Control Agreements, the Government has been working with the power companies to further promote the development of RE as well as energy efficiency and conservation. The efforts include introducing FiT and RE Certificates schemes, as well as improving and introducing various energy saving measures. (ENB)

Implemented a number of water saving measures, including the launch of the first stage of the Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme to require the use of water efficient products in designated parts of new plumbing works, and the implementation of Automatic Meter Reading in new buildings to provide customers with timely information of their water consumption. Sample contract clauses were published for the use of property owners and management agents in engaging contractors to carry out leak investigation and repair works for their private water mains. Moreover, the Hong Kong Institute of Construction has launched a certificate course in leakage detection for underground water pipes to help nurture professionals in this area. (DEVB) The review of the Total Water Management Strategy was completed with the strategy updated in the third quarter of 2019. The updated strategy adopts a two-pronged approach: containing fresh water demand growth and building resilience in water supply with diversified water resources. (DEVB)

Released the Manual on the Management of Brown Root Rot Disease; exchanged views with the arboriculture and horticulture industry on the principles and administrative framework of a registration system for tree management personnel to provide the foundation for formulating the implementation details; piloting a number of smart technologies to detect the health and structural conditions of trees more effectively; and conducted several workshops for property managers and frontline street cleansing staff to enhance their awareness of proper tree care. (DEVB)

The “Heritage Vogue • Hollywood Road” street carnival was held again on 4 November 2018, drawing enthusiastic public response and attracting more than 76 000 participants. (DEVB)

The Centre of Excellence for Major Project Leaders (CoE) was established in July 2019 with the first project management and leadership development programme delivered in August. (DEVB) Entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority of the United Kingdom Government and the Ministry of Finance of the Singapore Government in March 2018 and July 2019 respectively to foster partnership for enhancing cost effectiveness and productivity of the construction industry and uplifting project governance and performance. (DEVB)

“Operation Building Bright 2.0” was launched in 2018 to assist owner-occupiers of eligible old buildings to inspect and repair their buildings. (DEVB) “Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme” was launched in 2018 to subsidise eligible owners of old composite buildings to undertake fire safety enhancement measures as required by the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572). (SB)

Implemented the Action Plan for Enhancing Drinking Water Safety in Hong Kong in September 2017 to safeguard drinking water safety with the following measures: - the Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards have been established by adopting the guideline values/provisional guideline values set out in the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality of the World Health Organization; - the Enhanced Water Quality Monitoring Programme was launched in December 2017; - a surveillance programme has been launched for testing randomly selected samples of plumbing products approved under the General Acceptance System of the Water Supplies Department; - the commissioning requirements for new plumbing works have been enhanced; - guidelines and templates have been compiled to assist property owners and management agents to develop and implement Water Safety Plan (WSP) for their buildings; - the Quality Water Supply Scheme for Buildings – Fresh Water (Management System) was established in November 2017 to provide incentive for building owners and management agents to implement WSP for their buildings; - the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) started to implement WSP in public rental housing estates in the fourth quarter of 2018 in phases; and - the Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee, which comprises academics and experts of the related fields, was set up in January 2018. (DEVB)

New Codes of Practice have been promulgated and new support measures, including the Building Management Dispute Resolution Service, the Central Platform on Building Management, the Pilot Scheme on Advisory Services to Owners’ Corporations and the Pilot Scheme on Free Outreach Legal Advice Service on Building Management, have been launched to assist owners in discharging their building management responsibilities properly. (HAB)

The improvement works at Tsun Yip Street Playground (now known as InPARK) and Tsui Ping River Garden were completed and opened for public use in March 2019. The improvement works at Hoi Bun Road Park and its adjacent area commenced in December 2018. (DEVB) Reviewed, evaluated and identified suitable nullahs for revitalisation. (DEVB) The design of the improvement works for the Yuen Long Town Centre Nullah was enhanced to promote the quality and ecological value of the local environment. (DEVB) A funding of $6 billion has been earmarked for taking forward nine harbourfront enhancement projects in full strength, with a view to extending the promenade along Victoria Harbour from around 20 to 34 kilometres within 10 years and providing open spaces amounting to about 35 hectares on both sides of Victoria Harbour. (DEVB)

The Xiqu Centre in the West Kowloon Cultural District was officially opened in January 2019 and the Freespace located at Art Park also came into operation in June 2019. The major renovation and expansion project at the Hong Kong Museum of Art will soon be completed and the museum will re-open in November 2019. All these facilities can help enhance Hong Kong’s status as a cultural hub and enrich Hong Kong people’s cultural life. (HAB) To strengthen support for local cultural and arts development, additional resources have been provided to arts groups of various sizes so that they can stage more performances and exhibitions and raise the quality, and at the same time to enable them to explore opportunities outside Hong Kong and to promote our cultural soft power. (HAB) As compared to 2017-18, the recurrent subvention to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, nine major performing arts groups, the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society and venue partners of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has been increased by about $125 million or 25.5%. We also relaxed the matching parameters under the Art Development Matching Grants Scheme in 2018-19 to encourage donations from the community for supporting the development of arts groups, and to make it easier for arts groups to receive matching fund. For small and medium arts groups, the matching ratio has been enhanced from 1:1 to 1:1.5. (HAB)

The initial phase of measures to enhance the Sports Subvention Scheme has been implemented to gradually provide additional resources, including a recurrent provision of $25 million and an extra two-year subsidy amounting to $50 million for 2019-20 and 2020-21, to 60 subvented national sports associations (NSAs). The NSAs will use the funds to support their participation in overseas competitions, offer more squad training programmes and support underprivileged athletes as well as other operating costs. (HAB)

With rising operating costs, how we can continue to enhance public transport services such that the services are safe, comfortable and sustainable while remaining affordable to the public is one of the major challenges ahead. (THB) Adopting fiscal measures (e.g. congestion charging) for more effective traffic management may spark controversies in society. (THB) To unleash land development potentials, we will follow the principle of “according priority to transport infrastructure development”, in order to complete the relevant roads or railways before the new population intake as far as possible. We need to consider which projects will help unleash land development potentials and accord priority to those projects. (DEVB/THB)

The per-capita waste disposal rate in Hong Kong has kept rising in the past few years, and is higher than those in other advanced Asian cities. We need to step up efforts in driving behavioural changes among businesses and the public. (ENB) Land available for setting up waste treatment facilities is very limited in Hong Kong, while Hong Kong’s nearby economies, including the Mainland, which is the major export market for our local recyclables, have tightened up controls on or even prohibited import of recyclables in recent years, hence affecting the overall performance of the local recycling industry. (ENB)

Though the roadside and ambient concentrations of major air pollutants including respirable suspended particulates, fine suspended particulates, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide have significantly reduced, the ambient ozone level remains a problem due to the impact of regional photochemical smog, and the annual average roadside concentration of nitrogen dioxide stands at about double of the Air Quality Objective limit value. (ENB) With the increasing demand for housing land supply in recent years, a number of new residential developments are inevitably located closer to busy roads, posing greater challenges to planning against noise. (ENB)

Hong Kong has a very long stretch of coastline and we endure changing seasonal weather conditions. Coupled with our geographical location in the busy and vibrant Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), we face the problem of coastal marine refuse. (ENB) A lot of areas with high ecological and conservation values in Hong Kong fall under private ownership. We have to strike a balance among nature conservation, land development and respect for private ownership. (ENB)

The impact of climate change has become more and more apparent. Our society must proactively transform to a low-carbon living style, targeting in particular the two key areas of power generation and buildings’ electricity consumption. Buildings account for some 90% of our electricity consumption, but many building owners lack the technical knowledge, resources and commitment to implement deeper energy saving measures. (ENB) Due to objective factors including topographical constraints, relatively high costs and relatively low stability, the potential for applying local RE in Hong Kong is relatively limited. (ENB)

There are around 5 300 “three-nil” buildings, which do not have owners’ corporations or any form of residents’ organisations, or do not engage property management companies. (HAB)

The arts sector in Hong Kong is growing with new arts groups and artists joining every year. The sustainable development of arts and culture in Hong Kong would be hindered by any failure to keep building audiences in Hong Kong or from abroad and to attract enough audience for the works presented by arts groups and artists from different arts forms. In addition, the arts sector is facing the challenge of insufficient venues for rehearsals, work, performances and exhibitions. (HAB)

The remarkable achievements of Hong Kong elite athletes in a number of international competitions in recent years reflect the city’s sound foundation in elite sports development. There is however room for improvement in the participation in sports by members of the public. Surveys conducted by the Department of Health indicated a prevalence of insufficient physical activity among the general public, particularly the younger generation in Hong Kong. In the interest of public health, we have to encourage members of the public to do more exercise thereby reducing the risk of getting sick. The lack of physical activity, coupled with an ageing population, may otherwise lead to a substantial increase in the number of chronic patients and medical expenses. Besides, a shortfall in sports facilities and resources would present a significant challenge that would hinder greater development of sports in Hong Kong. (HAB)

Strive to put into operation Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 in the first quarter of 2020 and complete the remaining works of the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project by 2021 for the full commissioning of the Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section and Hung Hom to Admiralty Section of SCL. (THB) Request in the coming year the MTRCL to commence the detailed planning and design for the Tuen Mun South Extension, Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station) as well as Tung Chung Line Extension as recommended under the Railway Development Strategy 2014. (THB) Pursue the strengthening of corporate governance of the MTRCL, promote the enhancement of services, and examine the feasibility of establishing a new department specifically tasked to handle and supervise railway planning and delivery matters. (THB)

Continue to provide Special Helping Measures to the six outlying island ferry routes1 and extend the measures to eight other outlying island ferry routes2. We will launch a new Vessel Subsidy Scheme to replace the fleets of 11 ferry routes3 and introduce greener vessels (involving some 47 new vessels including hybrid ones). The scheme will be carried out in two phases within a period of around ten years from 2021 onwards. The objectives are to enhance service quality and promote the development of a green city. (THB) Introduce legislative proposals into the LegCo for raising the penalty level of taxi drivers’ malpractices and launching a Taxi Driver-Offence Points System. (THB) To collaborate with the taxi trade (e.g. through the Committee on Taxi Service Quality) to further improve the quality of taxi service. (THB) Increase the subsidy rate under the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme from one-fourth to one-third of the monthly public transport expenses in excess of $400, and raise the subsidy cap from $300 to $400 per month. (THB)

Taking into account the traffic conditions upon the commissioning of new tunnels, waive the tolls of connecting roads to Lantau (i.e. Lantau Link and the to-be-commissioned TM-CLKL Subsea Tunnel), Tseung Kwan O Tunnel and the to-be-commissioned Tseung Kwan O–Lam Tin Tunnel, with a view to reducing the cost of using these road sections. The toll waiver for Lantau Link will be effected upon the commissioning of the TM-CLKL Subsea Tunnel (tentatively scheduled for end-2020); while that for Tseung Kwan O Tunnel will be effected upon the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O–Lam Tin Tunnel (tentatively scheduled for end-2021). (THB) Continue to pursue a multi-pronged strategy for enhancing efficiency of road space, including: - taking forward the study on “congestion charging” to examine the adoption of different toll levels during different time periods having regard to the degree of traffic congestion of other government tolled tunnels (including the Western Harbour Crossing and Tai Lam Tunnel to be taken over by the Government) and the Tsing Sha Control Area, with a view to changing the commuting patterns of users of the tunnels and Control Area. The study is expected to be completed in 2021-22; - taking forward the Electronic Road Pricing Pilot Scheme in Central; - issuing in-vehicle units to vehicle owners with a view to implementing Free-Flow Tolling System (FFTS) at all government tolled tunnels and Tsing Sha Control Area by phases. As regards the Western Harbour Crossing and Tai Lam Tunnel, FFTS will be implemented after the Government’s takeover in 2023 and 2025 respectively; - actively exploring about 20 new public car park projects to provide a total of about 5 100 parking spaces by batches. In light of the findings of the consultancy study on parking for commercial vehicles, we will also formulate short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to address the anticipated parking demand; and - progressively installing a new generation of parking meters starting from the first half of 2020, which support payment of parking fees through multiple payment means (including remote payment through mobile application) and provide real-time parking vacancy information of on-street parking spaces. (THB)

Review the policy of Facilitating Provision of Pedestrian Links by the Private Sector, including considering extension of the duration and coverage of the policy, strengthening the facilitation measures, etc. (DEVB) Expand the ambit of the UA Programme to retrofit lifts to walkways in estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the Buy or Rent Option Scheme and public rental housing estates with properties divested under HKHA. (THB) Commissioned a consultancy study to review and revise the assessment mechanism for hillside escalator links and elevator systems (HEL) proposals. On the basis of the revised mechanism, the Transport Department will examine over 110 new HEL proposals received in the past few years to conduct preliminary technical assessments and draw up preliminary alignments with a view to conducting local consultations. (THB) Covers will be provided for walkways connecting to public hospitals, as well as those eligible new and existing walkways progressively based on the relaxed criteria of the Transport Planning and Design Manual. District Councils will be invited to each nominate a suitable walkway on which cover is to be provided. (THB)

Continue to examine the introduction of a mandatory registration scheme for vehicle mechanics and vehicle maintenance workshops. (THB)

Continue to expeditiously prepare the draft subsidiary legislation on regulating the operations of small unmanned aircraft in Hong Kong as soon as possible for safeguarding public safety while accommodating the technological development and diversified uses of unmanned aircraft system. (THB)

Fully promote a “plastic free” culture with a view to reducing the use of single-use plastics and creating a circular economy for these materials. In this regard, the Government will: - consult the public on the way forward for the producer responsibility scheme on plastic beverage containers, and launch a pilot scheme on the application of reverse vending machines; - consult the public on the outcome of the review on the operation of the plastic shopping bag charging scheme; - promote and encourage reduction in the use of plastic packaging materials in collaboration with the retail trade; - implement a voluntary scheme for phasing out personal care and cosmetic products containing microbeads, to encourage the trade to stop manufacturing, importing or selling such products and help consumers make choice of microbead-free products; - recruit about 80 schools for a two-year pilot programme under which smart water dispensers with their exteriors designed by students will be provided to participating schools, and support schools to carry out relevant education and experiential activities, such as signing a charter on ceased sale of bottled water; and - implement a “Plastic-free” School Lunch Pilot Scheme to encourage primary and secondary schools to use reusable lunch boxes in serving school lunch, and students to bring along their own reusable cutlery. (ENB) Develop centralised recycling facilities for handling government yard waste and turning it into solid fuels, composts, mulch, etc. Production of biochar from yard waste will also be explored with a view to turning yard waste into energy and useful products. (ENB) Embark on a study on how to promote recycling and proper disposal of batteries from new energy vehicles. (ENB) Deploy resources to co-ordinate relevant Government departments in expediting clearance of abandoned construction waste. (ENB)

Prepare for a $2 billion pilot subsidy scheme to promote installation of electric vehicle charging-enabling infrastructure in car parks of existing private residential buildings. (ENB) Prepare for the implementation of a trial scheme on electric public light buses. (ENB) Tighten the emission requirements for franchised buses in low emission zones to Euro V standards by end-2019. (ENB) Complete the review on the scope of the Pilot Green Transport Fund in 2019 and thereafter consult the LegCo on the results of the review and apply for additional funding to further promote wider use of new energy transport technologies. (ENB) Formulate the details of a pilot scheme on new energy ferries in the coming year and consult the LegCo for seeking necessary resources to take the scheme forward. (ENB) Explore further tightening the sulphur content of locally supplied marine light diesel from the prevailing 0.05% to 0.001%. (ENB) Complete a trade consultation in the coming year for tightening the content limit of volatile organic compounds in architectural paint. (ENB) Extend the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme to March 2025 with a funding of $300 million to encourage Hong Kong-owned factories to adopt cleaner production technologies, thereby continually improving regional environmental quality. (ENB) Compile professional practice notes and conduct a series of seminars to introduce and promote the innovative acoustic windows and enhanced acoustic balconies to the industry; and make use of the 4D Virtual Reality technology first invented in Hong Kong to help architects, engineers, etc. apply the above-mentioned noise mitigation designs in planning residential developments and designing residential units. (ENB)

Construct eight additional dry weather flow interceptors at rural areas in Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan, and enhance the sewerage systems at Tsuen Wan and West Kowloon; plan to install compact and high-efficiency dry weather flow interceptors at Hung Hom, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter and Wan Chai East; and collaborate with research institutes to develop odour reduction measures for storm water systems. (ENB)

Launch the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme in the fourth quarter of 2019 to support NGOs to interact and collaborate with villagers to conserve and revitalise the remote countryside in the long run. (ENB) Explore and introduce enhancements to the recreation and education facilities in country parks and special areas. (ENB)

Formulate Hong Kong’s long-term decarbonisation strategy, taking into account the views collected during the public engagement exercise as well as the recommendations of the Council for Sustainable Development. (ENB) Study in detail the installation of a large-scale floating PV system at Plover Cove Reservoir. (ENB) Formulate the first ever Green Energy Target for the whole Government, covering the use of electricity and other forms of energy in all government buildings and infrastructure facilities, and taking into account both energy efficiency enhancement and RE development. (ENB)

Take forward various new initiatives to implement the Green Schools 2.0. The major work areas include: - promoting the provision of glass container recycling bins on school campuses and providing relevant free collection services; - publicising the concepts of “Dump Less, Save More” and low-carbon lifestyle among young people by stepping up promotion through the Student Environmental Protection Ambassador Scheme run by the Environmental Campaign Committee; - installing inverter air-conditioners, light emitting diode lighting and real-time energy monitoring systems at the premises of primary and secondary schools; and - promoting retro-commissioning to higher education institutions. (ENB)

Press ahead with the ecological civilisation construction in the GBA, in accordance with the strategic policy of the Outline Development Plan for the GBA. (ENB)

Set up a dedicated Tree Risk Inspection Squad to strengthen tree audits and site patrol in 18 districts. (DEVB) Introduce a registration scheme for tree management personnel. (DEVB) Launch the Urban Forestry Support Fund to implement a number of initiatives which include rolling out the Study Sponsorship Scheme and the Trainee Programme, hosting the International Urban Forestry Conference and organising the “People•Trees•Harmony” promotion campaign. (DEVB) Provide more venues for arboricultural field training. (DEVB)

Launch Batch VI of the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme by end-2019. (DEVB)

Draw up legislative amendment proposals to enhance animal welfare. (FHB)

Invite leaders of the construction industry in Hong Kong to participate in the CoE programmes for exchanging expertise and sharing experience with government major project leaders. (DEVB)

Inject an additional $3 billion into “Operation Building Bright 2.0” to assist more needy owners in inspecting and repairing their buildings. (DEVB) Inject an additional $2 billion to enhance the existing Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Elderly Owners, including extending the scheme to cover other needy non-elderly owner-occupiers, raising the subsidy ceiling and relaxing the asset limit. (DEVB) Following the subsidy given for the modernisation of about 5 000 lifts with higher priority under the $2.5 billion Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme, inject an additional $2 billion to expand the coverage to 8 000 lifts. (DEVB) Inject an additional $3.5 billion into the “Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme” to subsidise more eligible owners of old composite buildings to undertake fire safety enhancement measures as required by the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572). (SB) The Buildings Department will use new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and three-dimensional images on a pilot basis in black spot areas to enhance the efficiency of enforcement actions against dangerous and abandoned signboards with a view to protecting public safety. (DEVB)

Launch a subsidy scheme to encourage property owners and management agents to implement WSP for Buildings at their premises in order to further safeguard drinking water safety. (DEVB)

Regularise the Building Management Professional Advisory Service Scheme to intensify the continuous support to owners of “three-nil” buildings and aged buildings. We will engage experienced property management companies to assist “three-nil” buildings and aged buildings in need to form or re-activate their owners’ corporations to perform their building management duties. (HAB)

Conduct public consultation on proposals to strengthen the regulatory regime of harmful substances in food, including industrially-produced trans fat and mycotoxins. (FHB)

To further improve the infrastructure and living environment of rural areas in the New Territories, we propose to increase progressively the annual provision for the Rural Public Works Programme to $160 million. It is expected that the additional funding in the coming five years will be adequate for implementing about 70 additional works projects. (HAB)

Develop and take forward the concept of “Rivers in the City” through river revitalisation projects and introduction of water bodies rejuvenation facilities such as artificial flood attenuation lakes and river parks in planning new development areas. The aim is to allow the public to enjoy river facilities, experience the multiple values of water bodies, treasure water bodies and create a better living environment. (DEVB) Take forward the District Open Space, Sports Centre cum Public Vehicle Park project at Sze Mei Street in San Po Kong to enhance and increase leisure, recreational and sports facilities; and provide about 300 parking spaces underground with the adoption of smart parking system to complement smart city development. (DEVB) Add distinctive play facilities at Kai Tak Runway Park to attract the public and tourists to visit, and bring more vibrancy to the former airport runway tip. (DEVB) Transform a large number of public play spaces under the LCSD in the coming five years and the process will involve enhanced community engagement and encouragement of innovation for meeting community demand. (HAB)

Increase the grant amount under the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme to enhance the capability of arts groups in staging quality performances and exhibitions. (HAB) Incorporate advanced innovative technology into the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, including all-round computerised stage facilities and execution system to provide artists, arts groups and art enterprises with more room for development, while nurturing audience and enhancing opportunities for arts inclusiveness, in order to further promote Hong Kong’s status in the international arts arena. (HAB) Set up a Science Promotion Unit in the LCSD to promote popular science culture and exchanges of scientific inventions through the use of LCSD network and facilities such as the Hong Kong Science Museum, so as to popularise the knowledge of science and technology and raise the scientific literacy level of the general public, integrate the concept of popular science into everyday life, and provide the milieu for creativity and scientific innovation. (HAB)

Implement measures to enhance the Sports Subvention Scheme and progressively increase the yearly subvention for 60 NSAs from about $300 million to more than $500 million to enhance the promotion and development of sports in the community, youth training programmes, public participation, squad training at all levels and overseas exchange programmes/competitions; and enhance the corporate governance of NSAs. NSAs can also make use of the additional resources to improve their manpower and staff remuneration. (HAB) Continue to take forward the expansion of the Hong Kong Sports Institute and commence the advance works soon to equip local athletes with world-class training and support facilities and strengthen support services to athletes on physical fitness, sports science, sports medicine, etc. (HAB) Fully support Hong Kong athletes in their preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so as to facilitate them to scale new heights in the international sporting arena. The elite training grant provided to athletes will also be increased as an incentive. (HAB)

1 The six outlying island ferry routes are the “Central – Cheung Chau”, “Inter-islands” (plying between Peng Chau, Mui Wo, Chi Ma Wan and Cheung Chau), “Central – Mui Wo”, “Central – Peng Chau”, “Central – Yung Shue Wan” and “Central – Sok Kwu Wan” routes. 2 The eight other outlying island ferry routes are the “Aberdeen – Cheung Chau”, “Aberdeen – Yung Shue Wan via Pak Kok Tsuen”, “Aberdeen – Sok Kwu Wan via Mo Tat”, “Tuen Mun – Tung Chung – Sha Lo Wan – Tai O”, “Discovery Bay – Mui Wo”, “Ma Wan – Central”, “Ma Wan – Tsuen Wan” and “Central – Discovery Bay” routes. 3 These 11 routes are the six outlying island ferry routes mentioned in footnote 1, as well as the “Aberdeen – Cheung Chau”, “Aberdeen – Yung Shue Wan via Pak Kok Tsuen”, “Aberdeen – Sok Kwu Wan via Mo Tat”, “Tuen Mun – Tung Chung – Sha Lo Wan – Tai O” and “Discovery Bay – Mui Wo” routes.

“It is the policy of the SAR Government to attend to and care for the youth of Hong Kong. In particular, in the past two years since the establishment of the current-term Government, we have implemented new measures in various policy areas to address their concerns about education, career pursuit and starting business, and to encourage their participation in politics and public policy discussion. I agree that we should do more and do better. Communicating directly with young people and listening to their views is the most important channel to enable us to do more and better.…..” Young people have different talents and aspirations. They care about society and possess diverse views on the current situation. In this connection, apart from providing young people with quality education and business start-up opportunities, we should step up our efforts in hearing the voices of young people of different backgrounds, understanding their feelings and needs, paying due regard to their views, and creating room for them to realise their dreams. The current-term Government will strive to do our best in youth development work by addressing young people’s concerns about education, career pursuit and home ownership, and encouraging their participation in politics as well as public policy discussion and debate. Over the past two years, we have continued with our efforts to nurture talent, provide space for entrepreneurship and construct youth hostels. The Youth Development Commission (YDC), chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration and established in April last year, has also pinned down three broad work directions: (1) assisting young people in their selection of suitable study pathways; (2) facilitating young people’s career development and promoting their upward mobility; and (3) strengthening communication channels with young people. The Government will work closely with the YDC in promoting youth development in Hong Kong by putting the provision of $1 billion to good use. We will enhance the operation of the YDC, so that it can participate, at an earlier stage and in a more concrete manner, in policy discussion relating to education, career pursuit, home ownership as well as young people’s participation in politics, public policy discussion and debate; and communicate with young people in a more open, direct and interactive manner. Furthermore, the Government will continue to attract young people who are interested to take part in public affairs.

Internship Programmes United Nations Volunteers–Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme * Cambodia * Kazakhstan * Laos * Myanmar * Nepal * Philippines * Sri Lanka * Thailand * Uzbekistan * Vietnam Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas * Mainland China * India * Indonesia * Japan * Malaysia * Singapore * Sweden * Thailand * United Kingdom * Vietnam Internship programmes arranged by overseas Economic and Trade Offices * Belgium * Brunei * Cambodia * Germany * Indonesia * Italy * Japan * Malaysia * Portugal * Singapore * Spain * Thailand * United Kingdom * Vietnam Working Holiday Scheme * 14 partner economies * More than 91 000 Hong Kong youth participated Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland * 19 Mainland provinces and municipalities * Benefitting about 3 800 persons in 2019-20 Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland * Palace Museum * Chinese Academy of Sciences * Dunhuang Research Academy * Wuyishan National Park and Wuyi Academy * Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) * Wolong National Nature Reserves * Beijing Organising Committee for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Scholarship and Exchange Programmes Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme * Support up to 100 outstanding students per cohort to study at world renowned universities outside Hong Kong with scholarship of up to $300,000 per year Scheme for Subsidy on Exchange to “Belt and Road” Regions for Post-secondary Students * Covering the whole “Belt and Road” region * Benefitted about 800 persons in the 2017/18 academic year Mainland Experience Scheme for Post-secondary Students * About 40 post-secondary institutions participated in the scheme Scheme for Subsidy on Exchange for Post-secondary Students * Benefitted about 1 300 persons in the 2017/18 academic year Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland * Covering 30 Mainland provinces and municipalities * Benefitting about 19 300 persons in 2019-20 Funding Scheme for International Youth Exchange * Covering some 40 countries and regions around the globe * Benefitting about 1 400 persons in 2019-20

Youth Development Fund * Launched two new funding schemes to provide start-up support and incubation services Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund * Nurturing young people to become social entrepreneurs Incubation Programmes of Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport * Stepping up support for local technology start-ups Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities * Subsidising university research teams to set up start-ups Space Sharing Scheme for Youth * Rolled out 12 projects to support young entrepreneurs and artists * Locations include: Tsuen Wan, Lai Chi Kok, Cheung Sha Wan, Kwun Tong, Quarry Bay, Wan Chai, Wong Chuk Hang

* Enhanced Funding Scheme for Youth Life Planning * Launched “Life Buddies” Mentoring Scheme and “Future Stars” Programme * Devising a Framework for Implementing Life Planning Education * Providing a recurrent Career and Life Planning Grant/an additional regular teaching post * Life Planning Information Website providing one-stop information

A total of 15 new initiatives were announced in the 2017 and 2018 Policy Addresses and Policy Agendas. All of them have been completed or are progressing on schedule. Key initiatives completed or major progress made by the current-term Government are as follows:

Established the YDC in April 2018 to oversee the formulation and co-ordination of youth policies and steer bureaux and departments concerned to take forward the relevant initiatives. The YDC has pinned down three broad directions for its future work, namely assisting young people in their selection of suitable study pathways, facilitating young people’s career development and promote their upward mobility, and strengthening communication channels with young people. (HAB) Launched the YDC Youth Ambassadors (YA) Scheme and successfully recruited around 100 YAs. A series of training sessions and activities, including thematic seminars and exchanges and training outside Hong Kong have been organised for the YAs. Arrangements have also been made for them to serve as volunteers in large-scale and international events organised by the Government. (HAB)

Completed the review of the Youth Development Fund and launched two new funding schemes in March 2019 to provide more relevant start-up support and incubation services to Hong Kong young people who intend to start their own businesses. Both schemes were met with enthusiasm and received applications from more than 40 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in total. The assessment results will be announced shortly. (HAB) Rolled out 12 projects in partnership with property owners and NGO operators under the Space Sharing Scheme for Youth to provide floor space at concessionary rental and relevant ancillary support to young entrepreneurs and artists. (HAB)

Expanded the Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas, under which 18 participating major companies in Hong Kong provided internship placements in various provinces and municipalities on the Mainland and in nine overseas countries for around 250 Hong Kong young people. (HAB) Increased the number of offers for the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship to 40 to promote the culture of multi-faceted excellence. (HAB) Increased the recurrent subvention for 13 subvented bodies, including 11 uniformed groups and two NGOs involved in youth development, by a total of $10 million as from 2019-20, in order to enhance our support for their youth development work. (HAB) The Commission on Poverty expanded the scale of the “Be a Government Official for a Day” programme to cover more senior officials in 2019. (CSO)

Taking forward six projects in order to meet the aspirations of some working youth in having their own living space. (HAB)

Young people in Hong Kong are facing challenges in education, career pursuit and home ownership, etc. How to better gear the array of targeted measures towards the needs of young people, how to establish effective channels for the Government to hear the voices of young people of different backgrounds and appreciate their perspectives and wants, how to be more proactive in soliciting their views, and how to boost upward mobility and provide opportunities to unleash the full potential of young people are the major obstacles the Government is striving to overcome. (HAB and relevant bureaux)

Enhance the operation of the YDC, so that it can participate, at an earlier stage and in a more concrete manner, in policy discussion relating to education, career pursuit, home ownership as well as young people’s participation in politics, public policy discussion and debate; and communicate with young people in a more open, direct and interactive manner. (HAB)

Establish an Alliance of Hong Kong Youth Innovative and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Greater Bay Area. Organisations from Guangdong and Hong Kong with strength and proven track record, such as innovative and entrepreneurial bases, universities, NGOs, scientific research institutes, professional bodies, venture funds, etc. will be invited to join the alliance and jointly set up a one-stop information, publicity and exchange platform to support Hong Kong youth entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area. In addition, members of the alliance and Hong Kong youth entrepreneurs will meet with the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong on a regular basis to review the innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem, listen to the concerns of the stakeholders, deal with problems faced by entrepreneurs, and refine the mechanism in light of the experience gained, making the alliance an effective platform to address entrepreneurial issues. (HAB)

Secure more internship opportunities in international organisations for Hong Kong young people, including expanding the depth and breadth of the existing United Nations Volunteers-Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme, e.g. offering more placements in United Nations (UN) agencies such as the UN Refugee Agency, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; covering more countries; and providing diversified placements for application by Hong Kong young people. (HAB) Explore the launch of new youth internship programmes on the Mainland, including: - the further expansion of the Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland by co-operating with Mainland institutions to offer more quality internship placements; and - a new thematic internship programme related to innovation and technology (I&T) under the framework of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Hong Kong Youth Internship Programme to provide quality internship opportunities at the headquarters of top-tier leading I&T enterprises on the Mainland. (HAB)

Pursue the following initiatives with regard to the Youth Hostel Scheme (YHS), including:- - relaxing the prevailing requirement to allow YHS tenants to submit/retain their applications for public rental housing and continue to accumulate points under the Quota and Points System; - the Salvation Army will commence within this year pre-construction consultancy studies of its YHS project in Wan Chai which will provide around 510 places upon completion; - the first project under the YHS, i.e. the hostel of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in Tai Po, will be open for applications later this year; and - The seven projects being implemented under YHS will provide a total of 3 300 youth hostel places, including 1 760 to be completed in the next two years. (HAB)

AAIA - Air Accident Investigation Authority AALCO - Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation API - Application Programming Interface ASD - autism spectrum disorders ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations B&R - Belt and Road BIM - Building Information Modelling C&ED - Customs and Excise Department CEDB - Commerce and Economic Development Bureau CEF - Continuing Education Fund CEPA - Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement CIC - Construction Industry Council CMAB - Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau CMP - Chinese medicine practitioner CoE - Centre of Excellence for Major Project Leaders CSB - Civil Service Bureau CSO - Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office CSSA - Comprehansive Socail Security Assistance DC - District Council DEVB - Development Bureau DH - Department of Health DHC - District Health Centre DoJ - Department of Justice DSA - designated saving account DSS - Direct Subsidy Scheme EAC - Electoral Affairs Commission EDB - Education Bureau EMF - SME Export Marketing Fund EMs - ethnic minorities ENB - Environment Bureau EOC - Equal Opportunities Commission ETCZs - Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones ETO - Economic and Trade Office FEL - financial eligibility limit FFTS - Free-Flow Tolling System FHB - Food and Health Bureau FiT - Feed-in Tariff FPS - Faster Payment System FSO - Financial Secretary’s Office FSTB - Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau FTA - free trade agreement GBA - Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area GIC - Government, Institution or Community GSH - Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme HA - Hospital Authority HAB - Home Affairs Bureau HEL - hillside escalator links and elevator systems HKDC - Hong Kong Design Centre HKEAA - Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority HKHA - Hong Kong Housing Authority HKHS - Hong Kong Housing Society HKIA - Hong Kong International Airport HKMA - Hong Kong Monetary Authority HKSAR - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region HKSTPC - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation HKTDC - Hong Kong Trade Development Council HOS - Home Ownership Scheme HZMB - Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge I&T - innovation and technology IA - investment agreement ICAC - Independent Commission Against Corruption ID - intellectual disability ImmD - Immigration Department ITB - Innovation and Technology Bureau KG-cum-CCC - kindergarten-cum-child care centre LCSD - Leisure and Cultural Services Department LD - Labour Department LegCo - Legislative Council Letting Scheme - Letting Scheme for Subsidised Sale Developments with Premium Unpaid LIFA - Low-income Working Family Allowance LWB - Labour and Welfare Bureau MiC - Modular Integrated Construction MTRCL - MTR Corporation Limited NCS - non-Chinese speaking NDA - New Development Area NGO - non-governmental organisation NSA - national sports association OALA - Old Age Living Allowance OPRS - on-site pre-school rehabilitation services PRH - public rental housing PV - photovoltaic QEF - Quality Education Fund R&D - research and development RCHD - residential care home for persons with disabilities RCHE - residential care home for the elderly RE - renewable energy rebar - reinforcing bar REF - Research Endowment Fund SARS - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome SB - Security Bureau SCCC - Special Child Care Centre SCL - Shatin to Central Link SEN - special educational needs SH - Starter Homes for Hong Kong residents SMC - school management committee SME - small and medium-sized enterprise SSF - subsidised sale flat Supplement - Policy Address Supplement SWD - Social Welfare Department THB - Transport and Housing Bureau TM-CLKL - Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link TPS - Tenants Purchase Scheme UA - Universal Accessibility UN - United Nations UNCITRAL - United Nations Commission on International Trade Law URA - Urban Renewal Authority US - the United States VPET - vocational and professional education and training VTC - Vocational Training Council WFA - Working Family Allowance WSM - White Form Secondary Market Scheme WSP - Water Safety Plan XRL - Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link YA - Youth Ambassadors YDC - Youth Development Commission YHS - Youth Hostel Scheme