Hong Kong to Host Asia-Pacific Summit 2025 at World Internet Conference, Focused on AI and Digital Technologies.

SITI attends press conference of World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit in Beijing

The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, attended a press conference for the World Internet Conference (WIC) Asia-Pacific Summit in Beijing this morning (March 17) together with the Secretary General of the WIC, Mr Ren Xianliang, to announce the launch of the Asia-Pacific Summit 2025 in Hong Kong.

In addition to the highly acclaimed annual Wuzhen Summit, the WIC has designated Hong Kong for the first time to host the Asia-Pacific Summit. Organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and co-organised by the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB), the Summit will be held April 14 and 15 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre under the theme of "Integration of AI and Digital Technologies Shaping the Future - Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace".

The Summit is expected to attract around 1,000 participants from the Mainland and overseas, including representatives from governments and enterprises, international organisations, leading corporations, experts and scholars. Through exploring the latest trends in various technology areas and in-depth exchanges of views and experiences, the Summit aims to enable all parties to seize the development opportunities brought about by digital and intelligent transformation, promoting high-quality development in innovation and technology (I&T), strengthening digital collaboration, and creating new momentum and new advantages for the development of the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Ren said that the WIC has chosen to organise the Asia-Pacific Summit in Hong Kong to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantage of global connectivity, fostering a cross-regional, cross-sector and cross-cultural dialogue platform to inject new impetus and create new opportunities for building an open, inclusive, innovative, connected and co-operative community with a shared future for the Asia-Pacific region.

Professor Sun expressed his gratitude to the WIC for choosing Hong Kong as the host city of the 2025 Summit, affirming Hong Kong's pivotal role of bridging the country and the world as a dual platform. This creates a top-notch platform for exchanges, dialogue and co-operation in I&T, further strengthening Hong Kong's position as an international I&T centre. The HKSAR Government endeavours to collaborate with the WIC in jointly making the Summit into the most influential regional I&T mega event. Professor Sun said he believes that the Summit will deepen regional co-operation in the I&T field, support Hong Kong's development into an international I&T centre, as well as foster the vibrant development of the digital economy across the Asia-Pacific region.

The rich content of the Summit will include the opening ceremony and the main forum on "The Future of Digital Intelligence", and three sub-forums on "Large Artificial Intelligence Models", "Digital Finance" and "Digital Government and Smart Life" on the second day of the Summit, when internationally renowned speakers will share their insights to explore the future development and potential across various domains in digital technology. The Summit will also organise a series of affiliated activities including a government-enterprise dialogue session, a cybersecurity emergency response advanced training programme and an information meeting on Practice Cases and Awards for Pioneering Science and Technology. Details of the Summit are available from the WIC announcement www.wicinternet.org/2025-03/17/c_1079097.htm.

In addition to the Summit, Hong Kong's annual I&T mega event, the Business of Innovation and Technology Week (BIT Week) will take place concurrently in April to feature a series of exciting I&T activities. Co-organised by the ITIB and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, InnoEX will take place from April 13 to 16, bringing together major I&T elites from the Mainland and overseas, industry leaders and buyers from around the world. Through a large-scale exhibition, seminars and a series of business networking events, InnoEX will foster exchanges and dialogues, enabling participants to grasp the latest advancements and applications in I&T and explore global collaboration opportunities.

Professor Sun concluded his visit and returned to Hong Kong in the evening.

SITI attends press conference of World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SITI attends press conference of World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video)

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, met the media today (April 3), after observing the implementation of the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount" on the first day at Tiu Keng Leng Station Public Transport Interchange. Following are Mr Sun's remarks at the media session:

Reporter: How do you evaluate the first-day roll-out of the scheme, and how do you address the fact that some elderly are not comprehensively understanding the whole implementation?

Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Today, 3rd of April, is the date when the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount" is officially launched. For minibuses and for buses, the launch time was midnight today. For the MTR, it started from its first train which departed the terminal at 5.30am this morning.

So far, based on our territory-wide promotion, and also my own personal contact with the elderly through my visit to Wong Tai Sin including a public market and a restaurant, most of them are familiar with the operation of the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount". They know the operation is very straightforward, for any fare that is at $10 or below, they still just need to pay $2. For fare that is over $10, the elderly just bare 20 per cent of the cost, and the rest of the fare will be borne by the Government. I gave them an example, for a bus fare that charges an adult for $15, the elderly people with JoyYou card would only have to pay $3, i.e. 20 per cent of the fare.

So, apart from today, we are also going to step up our promotion through television, radio and posters which have been posted all around Hong Kong. Also, as you can see, in 75 spots in Hong Kong, we are stationing the ambassadors for a total of three weeks. They are in the spots to help answer questions about the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount". Apart from that, we have had the support of district councillors, Care Team members, and also staff of our welfare NGOs (non-governmental organisations). They are using their own ways to explain the operation of the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount". We are pretty confident that the scheme is now being launched smoothly, and for those who will be using the new arrangement, they know about the operation.

Thank you very much.

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

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases