LCQ13: General Employment Policy and Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals
Following is a question by the Hon Kingsley Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 7):
Question:
According to government data, in 2024-2025 (as at February 2025), among the approved cases under the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (Two Talent Schemes), nearly 50 per cent of the applicants earned a monthly salary of less than $20,000. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of applications received, approved and rejected by the Government respectively under the Two Talent Schemes in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, with breakdowns on "short-term employment" and "non-short-term employment" cases;
(2)among the non-short-term employment cases approved by the Government in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 as mentioned in (1), of (i) the distribution of the industries/sectors in which the applicants are employed and the median wage, and (ii) the minimum and maximum monthly salaries of the applicants and the respective industries/sectors in which they are employed (broken down by year and talent scheme); and
(3)among the short-term employment cases approved by the Government in 2024-2025 as mentioned in (1), of the minimum and maximum daily wages of the applicants, and the respective industries/sectors in which they are employed (set out by talent scheme)?
Reply:
President,
The General Employment Policy (GEP) and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) are market-driven employment-tied admission schemes. Where a job vacancy arises, an enterprise, having through the market availability test proved difficulties to fill the vacancy in local recruitment, may apply to employ an outside talent via one of the aforesaid employment-tied admission schemes. The employed outside talent should have a good education background, normally a bachelor's degree or higher qualification in the relevant field, and have been engaged in a job relevant to his/her academic qualifications or work experience. The remuneration package should also be commensurate with the local prevailing market level for professionals. As the professions on the Talent List are in local manpower shortage, enterprises could be exempted from the market availability tests if the positions for recruiting outside talents under the aforesaid admission schemes fall within the professions on the Talent List. The Immigration Department (ImmD) has put in place mechanisms for assessing applications under the talent admission schemes in a rigorous manner to ensure that approved applications meet the eligibility criteria of the schemes, including that their remuneration packages are broadly commensurate with the prevailing market levels for relevant professions at the time of applications.
Our reply to the Member's questions, in consultation with the ImmD, is as follows:
(1)In the past two years, over 67 000 applications were received under the GEP, and the numbers of applications approved and refused during the same period were nearly 63 000 and 1 000 respectively. Among the approved applications, around 70 per cent were in respect of short-term positions with contract duration of less than 12 months, while the remaining applications, around 30 per cent, were long-term positions with contract duration of 12 months or more. Over 53 000 applications were received under the ASMTP in the past two years, and the numbers of applications approved and refused during the same period were about 47 000 and 600 respectively. About 46 per cent of the approved applications were in respect of short-term positions, while long-term positions accounted for about 54 per cent of the approved applications. The breakdowns of the statistics are at Annex I.
(2) and (3) In the past two years, among those approved to take up long-term positions in Hong Kong under the GEP, most were engaged in the tourism industry, followed by academic research and education, and financial services. As for those approved under the ASMTP to take up long-term positions in Hong Kong, most were engaged in commerce and trade, followed by financial services, and academic research and education. Among the approved incoming talents, most have monthly remuneration falling within the range of $20,000 to $39,999, followed by those in the range of $40,000 to $79,999. As the job nature, job type and contract duration of individual cases are different, their salary levels also vary and should not be put in direct comparison.
The breakdowns of the numbers of approved applicants taking up long-term positions in Hong Kong under the aforesaid employment-tied admission schemes by industry/sector and monthly remuneration are at Annex II.
The ImmD does not maintain the other statistical breakdowns sought in the question.
Source: AI-generated images
Special traffic and transport arrangements for Hong Kong Marathon 2026
The Transport Department (TD) today (January 12) reminded members of the public that, to facilitate the holding of the Hong Kong Marathon 2026 this Sunday (January 18), temporary road closures will be implemented at various locations in phases from 11.30pm on Saturday (January 17)and will be reopened subject to the race progress. It is anticipated that all closed roads will be reopened by about 2pm on Sunday.
This year, the full and half marathon races will start at Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. The full marathon race will route through major road sections including Nathan Road (from Granville Road to Argyle Street), Argyle Street, Lin Cheung Road, West Kowloon Highway, Stonecutters Bridge, Nam Wan Tunnel, Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Tsing Kwai Highway, the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC), Connaught Road West flyover, Lung Wo Road, Expo Drive, Hung Hing Road, Lockhart Road, Percival Street, Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street and Sugar Street, and finish at Victoria Park. The half marathon race route will follow that of the full marathon race from the starting point at Nathan Road to Lin Cheung Road with the turning point at Tsing Kwai Highway and then rejoin the full marathon race route at West Kowloon Highway.
As for other races, the starting point will be set at different locations on Hong Kong Island, while all the finishing points will be set at Victoria Park. The 10-kilometre race will start at the Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) near the exit/entrance of Central-Wan Chai Bypass Tunnel (CWBT) and run along the IEC eastwards to the turning point near Oi Tak Street and then return to the finishing point. The 10-kilometre wheelchair race will start at Wan Chai Sports Ground and route through Hung Hing Road, Expo Drive, Lung Wo Road and Central Ferry Piers area and then return to run along Lung Wo Road, Hung Hing Road, Marsh Road, Lockhart Road and Hennessy Road heading for the finishing point. The Wheelchair Trial and Leaders Cup will also start at Wan Chai Sports Ground and route through Hung Hing Road and Marsh Road and then rejoin the 10-kilometre wheelchair race route heading for the finishing point.
According to the arrangements for the full and half marathon race routes, temporary closures of major road sections and their vicinities in the Yau Tsim Mong area will be implemented extensively, including (i) the whole section of Nathan Road (in both directions) between Salisbury Road and Gascoigne Road, (ii) the northbound carriageway of Nathan Road between Gascoigne Road and Argyle Street, (iii) the westbound carriageway of Argyle Street between Nathan Road and Tong Mi Road, and (iv) the slip road from Lin Cheung Road southbound to Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section). The above road sections will be reopened at or before about 10.30am in phases, subject to the progress of the races. At the same time, public transport services in this area will also be subject to extensive adjustments. Members of the public heading to this area are advised to use railway services.
Moreover, since the full marathon will use the Kowloon-bound carriageways of Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel as the race route, vehicles on Lantau Link (Tsing Ma Bridge) heading to Kowloon will be diverted to use North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road. It is anticipated that traffic congestion along North Lantau Highway, Tsing Ma Bridge and the vicinity of North West Tsing Yi Interchange may occur.
The above road closures will not affect vehicles travelling from Hong Kong Island/Kowloon/New Territories East to Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island.Vehicles from the New Territories West to the airport and Lantau Island could travel via Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel. Due to the closure of the Kowloon-bound carriageway of Ting Kau Bridge, vehicles travelling via Tuen Mun Road or Tai Lam Tunnel to the airport and Lantau Island will be diverted to use Tsuen Wan Road, Tsuen Tsing Interchange, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsing Tsuen Bridge and Tsing Yi North Coastal Road to enter Tsing Ma Bridge.
During the races, the Kowloon-bound tube of the WHC will remain open, while the Hong Kong-bound tube of the WHC will be temporarily closed from 0.45am on Sunday till about 1.15pm, subject to the progress of the races. Motorists travelling from Kowloon West to Hong Kong Island are advised to use the Cross-Harbour Tunnel or Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC). For the race routes in Causeway Bay, Yee Wo Street eastbound will be temporarily closed to serve as a race route. Most of the public transport services operating along Yee Wo Street (in the direction of North Point) will be diverted to use Percival Street, Leighton Road and Pennington Street during the closure period.
According to the arrangements for the 10-kilometre race, both bound carriageways of the IEC between Victoria Park Road and Shau Kei Wan, and the CWBT linking to and from the IEC will be closed from 1.15am on Sunday in phases, and traffic will be diverted via appropriate alternative routes such as Connaught Road Central, Gloucester Road, King's Road, Shau Kei Wan Road, etc. Traffic to and from the EHC will be diverted to the Sai Wan Ho or Kornhill exit/entrance. Depending on the progress of the races, different sections of the CWBT will be reopened in phases to minimise the impact on traffic. Upon the anticipated reopening of the IEC before noon, the section of the CWBT between Central and North Point will be reopened, while the Wan Chai North exit from and entrance to the CWBT will be closed for most of the race time.
In connection with the road closure arrangements, starting from 11.15pm on Saturday until the reopening of the roads, 220 daytime bus routes and 34 daytime green minibus (GMB) routes will be subject to suspension, truncation or diversion, and the stopping points concerned of the affected bus and GMB services will be relocated accordingly in phases. Also, 49 overnight bus routes and six overnight green minibus routes to be affected by the road closures will be subject to the associated service adjustments. These affected bus routes include the cross-harbour routes and bus services operating in the following areas:
Hong Kong Island - bus routes operating along the IEC, the CWBT, in Central and Western District, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas;
Kowloon - bus routes operating along Nathan Road, Lin Cheung Road, Argyle Street, Shanghai Street, Jordan Road and Yau Tsim Mong areas; and
New Territories - bus routes operating along Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel.
The following bus termini and public transport interchanges on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon will be suspended:
Hong Kong Island - Tin Hau Station Public Transport Interchange, Expo Drive East Bus Terminus, Central Ferry Piers Bus Terminus and Whitfield Road Bus Terminus; and
Kowloon - China Ferry Terminal Public Transport Interchange and Star Ferry Bus Terminus.
To enable participants in the full/half marathon and 10-kilometre races that start in the early morning to go to Tsim Sha Tsui or Causeway Bay, the first departures of eight rail lines of MTR services will be advanced suitably on Sunday, with the first departures on the Tuen Ma Line and East Rail Line (Sheung Shui to Admiralty) to be operated at 3.25am. In addition, 28 special bus routes will also be operated to serve participants going to Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay on Sunday.
During the road closure period, bus stops, taxi stands, taxi pick-up/drop-off points, public light bus/GMB stands, roadside parking spaces and private car parks within the closed roads and their vicinities may be suspended subject to the situation.
The commencement time of the pedestrian precinct on Lockhart Road, East Point Road and Great George Street in Causeway Bay will be postponed to 3pm on Sunday subject to the road reopening situation in the vicinity of Causeway Bay.
Members of the public and tourists heading for Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal, Hong Kong Station and Kowloon Station of the Airport Express Line, Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, China Ferry Terminal or Ocean Terminal are advised to plan their journeys early to avoid any delays caused by road closures and traffic diversions.
The TD anticipates that the traffic at various locations on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon and the New Territories will be more significantly congested when compared with normal Sundays, including:
Hong Kong Island - King's Road, Shau Kei Wan Road, Victoria Park Road, Leighton Road, Hennessy Road, Gloucester Road, Queensway, Connaught Road Central, Aberdeen Tunnel (Wan Chai bound) and Central Ferry Piers areas;
Kowloon - Nathan Road and its vicinity, Argyle Street, Wylie Road, Gascoigne Road flyover, West Kowloon Corridor and Cross-Harbour Tunnel (both bounds), with a higher chance of long traffic queues along Gascoigne Road flyover and West Kowloon Corridor; and
New Territories - Lantau Link (Kowloon bound) and North West Tsing Yi Interchange.
Motorists should avoid driving to the above affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, they should exercise patience and drive with care, and follow the instructions of the Police on-site.
Members of the public should plan their journeys early and use alternative routes to avoid delays, and take railway services as far as possible. Public transport users are advised to pay attention to the arrangements of route diversions and changes of stop locations.
Other ad-hoc traffic and public transport measures, including adjusting the extent of road closures, traffic diversions, alterations and suspensions of public transport services, may be implemented by the Police on-site at short notice depending on the actual traffic and crowd conditions. The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures whenever necessary. Members of the public are advised to stay alert to the latest traffic news through the media.
For information about the above special traffic and transport adjustments, members of the public may browse the TD's website at www.td.gov.hk or the "HKeMobility" mobile application.
Source: AI-found images
