Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes first meeting
The Chief Executive announced in the 2024 Policy Address the establishment of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents. The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, chaired the first meeting today (December 13). The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and Permanent Secretaries or representatives of the three bureaux attended the meeting.
In the meeting, the Committee discussed the work plan on promoting Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent, targeting the manpower demand of Hong Kong’s strategic positioning of "eight centres". The Committee will adopt the following three major strategic directions to enhance the system, aggregation and synergy of policies, as well as the cross-bureaux co-ordination in the work on promoting integrated development of education, technology, and talent:
(1) Attract high-quality innovation and technology (I&T) talent, lead the I&T sector in revamping its positioning and planning, and develop into an international I&T hub linking the Mainland and the rest of the world by leveraging the development of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Hetao Co-operation Zone);
(2) Establish an international education hub to build and promote the "Study in Hong Kong" brand, provide talent support for "eight centres" as well as technologies and innovations; and
(3) Enhance talent admission schemes and talent services in accordance with the changes brought about by the strategic positioning of industries in Hong Kong, attract I&T and leading talent that are conducive to the development of the country, as well as resolving issues supporting the education of children of incoming talent.
The Committee agreed to focus on following up and implementing these key areas of work in the coming year, with a view to enhancing the system interface in the short term:
enhance the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals by allowing a specified number of young and experienced non-degree talent with relevant professional and technical skills to apply for entry into Hong Kong to join the skilled trades facing acute manpower shortage;
introduce a mechanism under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme to actively invite top-notch talent to come to Hong Kong for development and promote Hong Kong as the focal point of international high-calibre talent;
review the Technology Talent Admission Scheme to tie in with the I&T development of Hong Kong;
seize the opportunity brought by the commencement of operation of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Co-operation Zone next year, and leverage various initiatives conducive to the development of upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the I&T ecosystem to fully realise the notion of attracting talent with industries; and
review the prevailing Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates and education matters of dependents who are children of incoming talent through talent admission schemes.
Mr Chan said, "In formulating the macro policy directions for education, technology and talent, the Committee will build on the strategic positioning and advantages of the "eight centres" and make holistic plans to strategise talent chains, innovation chains, industrial chains and capital chains to drive technological innovation, industrial innovation and the co-ordinated development of human resource supply and demand, while flexibly introducing and gathering specialised talent of various sectors to build an international hub for high-calibre talent for contributing to the high-quality development of Hong Kong and the country and accelerating the advancement of Chinese modernisation."
The terms of reference and membership of the Committee are set out in the Annex.
Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes first meeting Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes first meeting Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKETO, Brussels shares with Dutch companies the opportunities brought by the latest developments of tourism and trade in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) co-organised with the Netherlands Hong Kong Business Association, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Invest Hong Kong the "Dongzhi business seminar-cum-luncheon" in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on December 11 (Amsterdam time), with the theme on tourism and trade developments in Hong Kong. The event has become an annual key business occasion in which prominent speakers from Hong Kong and the Netherlands provide Dutch companies with the latest updates on Hong Kong and the region.
Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Miss Fiona Li gave a presentation to about 70 business executives in the seminar. She elaborated about Hong Kong's prevailing advantages as an international financial, trading and logistics centre which offers unparalleled connectivity and quality services while highlighted also the latest government policies on promoting tourism. It included hosting more world-class mega-events not just for businesses, but also for sports, arts and culture. Efforts were also stepped up to better leverage the city's unique charms and strengths including our stunning harbour and waterfront, tranquil islands and countryside, rich gastronomy, and east-meets-west heritage to innovate tourism with new attractions and rediscovery of local cityscape.
"Besides establishing Hong Kong as a city of mega events, fusing arts with tourism and developing cultural and eco-tourism are also the directions we are going for", she said. Miss Li added that Hong Kong is well equipped with state-of-art infrastructure to realise these initiatives, namely the Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+ Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District, and the Kai Tak Sports Park to be opened in early 2025. In addition to the three-runway system of Hong Kong International Airport coming into operation this November, Hong Kong is expected to become an even more popular tourist destination globally.
Citing the launch of more direct flight routes between Hong Kong and European cities in summer 2025 and Hong Kong's latest initiatives to reduce the duty rate for liquor to boost the development of logistics industry, tourism as well as high-end food and beverage consumption, Miss Li expected that more international visitors would be attracted to Hong Kong. "We are ready to welcome Dutch and other European travellers to experience the city's unique chic and glamour", Miss Li concluded.
HKETO, Brussels shares with Dutch companies the opportunities brought by the latest developments of tourism and trade in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKETO, Brussels shares with Dutch companies the opportunities brought by the latest developments of tourism and trade in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
