John Lee Celebrates Hong Kong Ambassadors Club's First Anniversary and Global Partnerships.

Speech by CE at 1st Anniversary Ceremony of Hong Kong Ambassadors Club (with photo/video)

Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the 1st Anniversary Ceremony of Hong Kong Ambassadors Club today (September 10):

Mr Jeffrey Lam (Founder and Director of Hong Kong Ambassadors Club), Mr Patrick Tsang (Founder and Chairman of Hong Kong Ambassadors Club), Consuls-General, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It gives me great pleasure to join you today, in celebration of the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club and its cheering first anniversary.

The Club has a clear mission - "Hong Kong 3.0 - Prosperity Connected Globally", a mission that is visionary and, indeed, shared by the Hong Kong SAR Government's policy priorities.

The Club brings together companies, entrepreneurs and investors to tell Hong Kong's good stories, and to seek partnerships in strategic markets near and far.

In just its first year, the Club has been up and running - and running around the world, in fact. The Club has organised seven business delegations to the Middle East - to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.

And I note, with delight, that the Club also plans to embrace the promise of ASEAN and the Southeast Asia in general. Your focus in these burgeoning markets is key to our work in boosting friendly ties with the regions.

The Middle East, of course, is an important partner for our country, and a key link in the Belt and Road Initiative. In May, at the opening ceremony of the Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, President Xi Jinping emphasised China's keen interest in working with its Middle East partners through five co-operation frameworks: innovation, investment and finance, energy, economic and trade ties, and people-to-people exchanges.

Meanwhile, the Mainland and ASEAN have been each other's largest trading partners for four consecutive years, to the end of 2023.

The Hong Kong SAR Government, as you know, has also put a central priority on wide-ranging co-operation with the Middle East and ASEAN.

Our efforts have proved rewarding, for all concerned. Last year, bilateral trade in goods between Hong Kong and the Middle East totalled US$26.6 billion. Over the past five years, our trade has grown 9.5 per cent per year, on average.

As for ASEAN, its 10 countries, collectively, have been our second-largest trading partner since 2010. Last year, total trade between us reached US$145 billion, accounting for nearly 13 per cent of our global trade.

Those good numbers between Hong Kong and the Middle East, and Hong Kong and ASEAN, underline Hong Kong's critical role as a bridge between the Mainland and developing markets around the world.

To boost that vital role, and our soaring prospects, I led high-level business delegations to the Middle East, in February last year, and to ASEAN in July last year and again this past July.

Over 100 MOUs and related agreements were signed during those trips. They will enable further co-operation in such sectors as trade, investment, customs, education, logistics, tourism, technology, aviation and finance.

We are, as well, in negotiations with Saudi Arabia on an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. We have signed such Agreements with three of the six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The well-received agreements have created confidence among our respective businesses and investors.

Following the opening of an Economic and Trade Office in Dubai, nearly three years ago now, we are planning to set up an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital. It will help us better serve the region, as well as Hong Kong businesses looking to explore the Middle East market.

As for ASEAN, our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and related Investment Agreement entered into full force in 2021, to wide-ranging mutual benefit.

The FTA's Economic and Technical Cooperation Work Programme, let me add, has allowed us to share best practices for regional growth, promoting people-to-people connections between Hong Kong and ASEAN.

And I'm pleased to say that we plan to open a fourth Economic and Trade Office in the ASEAN region, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Our country and the 10 member states of ASEAN are all founding members of RCEP - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world's largest free trade agreement.

All 15 RCEP members are major trading partners for Hong Kong. Together, they accounted for some 70 per cent of our merchandise trade last year, and 48 per cent of our services trade in 2022. So the answer is yes, ladies and gentlemen: Hong Kong is ready, fully prepared and eager to join RCEP.

Our accession promises wide-ranging benefits, for ASEAN, for all RCEP members and, I'm confident, for Hong Kong. I count on the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club's continuous support of our RCEP accession, and in telling your overseas counterparts about our commitment to multilateralism and regional trade development.

I'm pleased to add that the ninth Belt and Road Summit opens tomorrow morning, under the theme "Building a Connected, Innovative and Green Belt and Road".

The two-day event will bring together some 6 000 senior government officials, business leaders and professionals from Belt and Road countries around the world. That includes those from the Middle East and ASEAN. I invite you all to join us there. To help build a mutually inclusive and rewarding future for all of us.

My congratulations, once again, to the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club on your first anniversary. I am grateful for your commitment to creating wide-ranging communication and collaboration between Hong Kong and other economies around the world.

I wish the Club and its members the best of business in the year to come.

Thank you.

Speech by CE at 1st Anniversary Ceremony of Hong Kong Ambassadors Club (with photo/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Illegal worker jailed

A Pakistani illegal worker, holding a recognisance form, was jailed by Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday (September 16).

During a joint operation conducted by the Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed "Powerplayer" on July 16, investigators raided a hawker pitch on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok District. A Paskitani man, aged 30, was arrested while assembling the hawker pitch. Upon identity checking, he produced a recognisance form issued by the ImmD for inspection, which prohibits him from taking employment.Further investigation revealed that he was a non-refoulement claimant.

The illegal worker was charged at Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday with taking employment while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. After trial, he was sentenced to 22 months and two weeks' imprisonment.

The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order,an overstayeror a person who was refused permission to land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment.

The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order,an overstayeror a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences.The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability.The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.

According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law and employ illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.

Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct aninitial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation, with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

Source: AI-generated images