Benjamin Hung Appointed Chairman of Financial Services Development Council, New Members Join Board.

Appointments to Board of Financial Services Development Council announced

The Government announced today (January 14) that the Chief Executive had appointed Mr Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), and reappointed three incumbent Vice-Chairmen, Ms Ding Chen, Mr Daniel R Fung, SC and Mr Andrew Walter Bougourd Ross Weir.

The Chief Executive has also appointed four new members, Mr Edward Au Chun-hing, Ms Aveline San Pau-len, Mr Tony Tang Xiaodong and Ms Daisy Yeung, as well as reappointed four incumbent members, Dr Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, Mr Damien Allen Green, Mr Jeremy Dinshaw Lam and Ms Amy Lo Choi-wan. All appointments are effective from January 17, 2025, for a term of two years.

The Secretary for the Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "Through conducting policy research, promoting market development and nurturing talent, the FSDC has made most valuable contributions to Hong Kong's financial services industry. Mr Hung is a seasoned banker with extensive experience and profound knowledge in international finance. Over the years, he has been serving the community and taken on various public positions. We are confident that, under Mr Hung's leadership and with four industry leaders joining as new members, the FSDC will continue to develop and strengthen its connections with global stakeholders, thus reinforcing Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre."

Mr Hui added, "We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing Chairman, Mr Laurence Li Lu-jen, SC. Mr Li's sterling leadership has enabled the FSDC to attain remarkable achievements in effectively delivering its missions and promoting the further development of Hong Kong's financial services industry over the past six years." He also expressed gratitude to the four outgoing members, Ms Diana Cesar, Ms Lena Chan, Mr Brian Li Man-bun and Dr Lin Yong, for their contributions to the FSDC during their tenure.

The FSDC was established in 2013 by the Government as a high-level advisory body to engage the industry in formulating proposals to promote the further development of Hong Kong's financial services industry and to map out strategic directions for development.

The membership list of the FSDC Board of Directors with effect from January 17, 2025, is as follows:

Chairman

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Mr Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng*

Vice-Chairmen

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Ms Ding Chen

Mr Daniel R Fung, SC

Mr Andrew Walter Bougourd Ross Weir

Members

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Mr Edward Au Chun-hing*

Mr Ronald Chan Wai-yan

Mr Ben Chan Wei-beng

Dr Adrian Cheng Chi-kong

Mr Damien Allen Green

Mr Jeremy Dinshaw Lam

Ms Luanne Lim Hui-hung

Ms Amy Lo Choi-wan

Ms Aveline San Pau-len*

Ms Jennifer Tan Yuen-chun

Mr Tony Tang Xiaodong*

Ms Daisy Yeung*

Dr Au King-lun (in the capacity as Executive Director of the FSDC)

Ex-officio member

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Mr Christopher Hui (in the capacity as Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

* New appointees

HKSAR Government responds to media enquiries on reporting, photo and video-taking at prohibited places specified in subsidiary legislation made under Safeguarding National Security Ordinance

​In response to media enquiries on reporting, photo and video-taking at prohibited places specified in the subsidiary legislation made under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a spokesman for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region today (May 16) said the following:

The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, at the meeting of the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Two Items of Subsidiary Legislation Made under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance and the subsequent media session yesterday (May 15), clearly said that according to section 45 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a "specified officer" (including a police officer or a guard of the prohibited place), who has reasonable grounds to believe that exercising such power is necessary for safeguarding national security, may order any person not to do or cease to do such acts as that of approaching or inspecting (including doing so by electronic or remote means) a prohibited place, and such officer may also order persons in the neighbourhood of a prohibited place to leave. Any person who contravenes an order commits an offence.

There is no problem for members of the public to purely "check in" and take photos near a prohibited place while passing by, without any intention of endangering national security. However, if they deliberately take photos or videos of the entrances or the interior of a prohibited place so as to inspect such place, or engage in other conduct during photo or video-taking giving people reasonable grounds to believe that they may endanger national security, police officers or guards of the prohibited place have the power to ask the members of the public to leave in accordance with the above legal requirements and the judgment made at the scene at the time.