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Thailand National Day Celebrated in Hong Kong, Highlighting Strong Trade and Cultural Ties

HK

Thailand National Day Celebrated in Hong Kong, Highlighting Strong Trade and Cultural Ties
HK

HK

Thailand National Day Celebrated in Hong Kong, Highlighting Strong Trade and Cultural Ties

2024-12-03 21:02 Last Updated At:21:18

Speech by DSJ at Thailand National Day Reception in Hong Kong

Following is the speech by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the Thailand National Day Reception in Hong Kong today (December 3):

Consul-General Chaiyakam (Consul-General of Thailand in Hong Kong, Mr Chaturont Chaiyakam), Deputy Commissioner Fang (Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Fang Jianming), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. I am delighted to be here tonight in celebration of the Kingdom of Thailand's National Day, together with the birthday anniversary of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and Thailand's Father's Day, too.

For the great nation of Thailand, it's a triple celebration. For Hong Kong, tonight is also a welcome opportunity to pay tribute to the country of Thailand - our longstanding friend, business partner and happiest holiday destination.

Hong Kong-Thai business ties

Let me begin with business and trade. Our bilateral trade is strong, reaching more than US$19 billion last year, with an average annual growth rate of 1.6 per cent from 2019 to 2023.

And you know we like to invest in each other's opportunities. At the end of 2022, Thailand ranked 11th in inward direct investment (IDI) into Hong Kong, with an IDI stock of US$18 billion. And Hong Kong was 14th, overall, in outward direct investment (ODI) into Thailand, with an ODI stock counting a very auspicious US$8.8 billion.

ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement

I have no doubt that trade and investment will expand in the years to come. It helps that we established a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok in 2019, and that the ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement entered into full force in February 2021.

Our Free Trade Agreement has also made possible the Economic and Technical Co-operation Work Programme, set up for best practice-sharing and capacity-building.

In the past five years, the Programme, which is funded by Hong Kong, has approved 35 projects covering a range of trade and investment initiatives. Five of them are with Thailand. They're focused on areas ranging from eco-friendly packaging and food supply, to textiles and garments, and the cold-chain development of fisheries. The projects enable technical assistance and knowledge transfer. And I am pleased to say that Hong Kong will support the Programme for another five years, boosting its funding by 20 per cent a year, beginning in 2025.

Hong Kong's accession to Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

The natural next step in our co-operation, and progress, is for Hong Kong to become a member of RCEP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We are grateful for Thailand's support of our accession to RCEP. It will surely boost trade and investment, benefiting all concerned.

Legal co-operation

As Deputy Secretary for Justice, I am proud to say that Hong Kong's legal framework offers significant advantages for Thai businesses and investors. Our longstanding commitment to the rule of law encourages an environment conducive to investment, cross-border transactions and dispute resolution.

The 2019 MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Department of Justice and Thailand's Office of the Judiciary, marked a significant step in our legal collaboration.

The initiative has inspired increased legal exchanges and professional development opportunities, benefiting both our legal communities. And I look forward to continuing legal co-operation between us.

Tourism and Thai student scholarships

As I touched on at the outset, Thailand is more than one of the world's great travel destinations. For many Hong Kong people, it's a second home, rich in culture, hospitality and, yes, culinary delights, too.

And it's reassuring to hear that Thai tourism is returning to pre-Covid numbers, with foreign tourist arrivals up 24 per cent, year-on-year, through the first eight months of 2024.

The relationship between Hong Kong and Thailand extends beyond trade and business. In fact, since 2017, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(HKSAR) Government has been awarding Belt and Road Scholarships to exceptional Thai students to study here. This programme will surely continue to foster greater academic and youth exchanges between the two regions.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a toast: To His Majesty of the King of Thailand, and to everlasting friendship between the peoples of the Kingdom of Thailand, and the People's Republic of China, and the HKSAR of the People's Republic of China.

GREEN@COMMUNITY has taken over recycling service of waste plastics

​The "Pilot Scheme on Collection and Recycling Services of Plastic Recyclable Materials" (Pilot Scheme) of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) concluded yesterday (January 18). The collection service of waste plastics in all 18 districts of Hong Kong has been taken over by the operators of GREEN@COMMUNITY.

A spokesman for the EPD said: "After the conclusion of the Pilot Scheme, the recycling service of plastics has been handed over to the GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling network in the respective districts, and the door-to-door collection service of waste plastics provided by the GREEN@COMMUNITY operators to relevant housing estates has also been successfully extended across the territory. The EPD conducted site inspections across districts yesterday and today (January 19) and found that the situation of plastic recycling of residents and housing estates is in order and the operation of GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling stations is generally smooth. The department did not receive any complaint regarding collection service of waste plastics from the relevant housing estates, nor were there any cases observed of certain types of waste plastics not being collected or left unattended. The EPD will continue to monitor the situation."

"After the taking over of waste plastic collection services by GREEN@COMMUNITY, the operators may pass the collected plastics freely to any EPD-approved recyclers for handling, from merely the three designated recyclers under the Pilot Scheme to the current 10 downstream recyclers for processing. The EPD is expediting the approval process and will gradually add more qualified downstream recyclers to the list, further opening up market competition to reduce the cost of collection and recycling of waste plastics," the spokesman added.

The EPD stressed that it will strive to ensure that the plastic collection services for housing estates will remain unaffected after the conclusion of the Pilot Scheme. GREEN@COMMUNITY operators will continue to liaise with the housing estates for more flexible collection services for plastics, as well as other recyclables, with a view to enhancing the cost-effectiveness.

The EPD will continue to strengthen collaboration with GREEN@COMMUNITY operators, downstream recyclers, and relevant housing estates to provide the required plastic recycling services, ensuring that the recycling situation of residents and housing estates remains as usual. The EPD will also step up monitoring of the work of downstream recyclers, including conducting more frequent spot checks, to ensure that all collected waste plastics are properly processed and converted from waste into valuable resources.

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