Hong Kong's Innovation Chief Highlights Start-ups at NovaX Global Investmatch Carnival 2024.

Speech by SITI at NovaX Global Investmatch Carnival 2024

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the NovaX Global Investmatch Carnival 2024 today (August 28):

Clarence (Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Mr Clarence Ling), Raymond (Member of the All-China Youth Federation Mr Raymond Zhao), Steve (Executive Chairman of the Hong Kong Young Scientist Association and Member of the All-China Youth Federation, Mr Steve Gao), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is my great pleasure to attend the NovaX Global Investmatch Carnival 2024. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Innovating Hong Kong for bringing together top-tier innovative companies, investment institutions, and industry experts from around the world to Hong Kong to explore technological frontiers and investment opportunities and shape the future of innovation.

Start-ups are the heartbeat of innovation. As I have mentioned in many occasions, funding is an essential element to support the growth and sustainable development of start-ups, as well as to enhance the global innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem. I am delighted to see that today's event provides a platform for start-ups to connect with investors, and innovation to meet with opportunity. This echoes our I&T development strategy to diversify venture financing channels and support the development of start-ups and industries.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to providing comprehensive support to start-ups at different stages of their development. Apart from the various entrepreneurship schemes and incubation programmes provided by the two I&T flagships in Hong Kong, namely the Hong Kong Science Park and the Hong Kong Cyberport, there are multiple fundraising channels available for start-ups from other government and private investment funds. We encourage the enrichment of venture financing channels and welcome more participation from the venture capitalists and business sector to build a more vibrant I&T ecosystem.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has the distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support from the motherland, and at the same time being closely connected to the world. By leveraging our role as a "super-connector" and a "super value-adder", Hong Kong can pool together innovation resources all around the world to promote I&T development and investment, also serve as the bridge linking the Mainland and the rest of the world, as well as the springboard for overseas enterprises to access the huge Mainland market and for Mainland enterprises to go global. This year, in the Global Innovation Index, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster continued to rank second in the world for the fifth consecutive year. We welcome start-ups, talent and investors to come to Hong Kong to explore the amazing I&T landscape with open arms.

Ladies and gentlemen, to foster a vibrant I&T ecosystem, we need to develop a sustainable I&T ecological chain through close collaboration across various sectors. Promoting collaborative efforts among the government, academia, research institutions, and the investment sector is of paramount importance. Let us join hands to embark on an I&T journey across borders.

In closing, may I extend my best wishes for the success of the NovaX Global Investmatch Carnival and a fruitful experience to all attendees present here today. Thank you very much.

Speech by SITI at NovaX Global Investmatch Carnival 2024 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by US for S after Fight Crime Committee meeting (with video)

Following is the remarks by the Under Secretary for Security, Mr Michael Cheuk, at a media session after the Fight Crime Committee meeting at the Central Government Offices this afternoon (September 13):

Reporter: Firstly, following up again on the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), is the Security Bureau aware of the reports of harassment and doxxing reported by the HKJA today? Can you provide any details, perhaps the state of these cases, whether they are being investigated or not? Second, will the Bureau itself take any action to assist the HKJA as there is concern that this incident would affect the perception of press freedom in Hong Kong? Lastly, again following up on the potential leakage of the Government database, there are some concerns from the HKJA that there was leakage in Government databases as three individuals received threatening messages after they were searched by the Customs. Does the Government have any comment on that?

Under Secretary for Security: First of all, I was just attending the meeting so I am not aware of it. I am not quite sure whether my fellow officers in the Security Bureau are aware of it, so at the moment I could not give you a definite answer. But in any event, Hong Kong is a place of rule of law. We condemn all sorts of actions that should be outlawed. Any individual should be free from threats, free from fear and free from harassment. If any individual, irrespective of who you are, if you are receiving such threat or harassment, please come out and report. As to the allegation by the HKJA about the leakage of data from Government database, first of all, I don't think there is any basis for that allegation. At the moment, we have not received any information that the database of any individual department is being compromised. As for freedom of the press, I would say that Hong Kong already has freedom of the press and we already enjoy freedom of the press. Anyone's freedom, not just about freedom of the press, but free from fear, freedom of expression, whatsoever, those rights should be respected and should not be compromised. If any of these individuals consider themselves under threat or being harassed, please come forward to report to us. We will take action accordingly.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Source: AI-generated images