FEHD earnestly follows up on court ruling against eight former Principal Hawker Control Officers
A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) emphasised today (June 17) that the FEHD attaches great importance to staff discipline and integrity and will not condone any misconduct or illegal behaviour, following the District Court's sentencing of eight former Principal Hawker Control Officers for conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. Any staff members found guilty of a criminal offence will not only be subject to court sentencing but will also face disciplinary sanctions by the department in accordance with the established civil service disciplinary mechanism. When conducting civil service recruitment exercises, civil servants must strictly comply with the relevant policies and procedures and ensure that the recruitment process is conducted according to the principles of fairness, transparency, and merits.
The FEHD will seek advice from the Civil Service Bureau to determine appropriate follow-up actions following the court judgment, including whether to consider cancelling, suspending, or reducing the pension benefits of the officers concerned under Section 29 of the Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99).
Following the incident, the FEHD has reviewed the recruitment procedures for Assistant Hawker Control Officers and introduced refinements to the modus operandi and the monitoring mechanism. Such enhancements include emphasising to recruitment board chairpersons and members that failure to uphold the principles of fairness, impartiality, and confidentiality during the selection process may result in disciplinary action or even criminal liability; adjusting the composition of recruitment boards to ensure a more balanced representation of relevant grades and enhance objectivity and diversity in the selection process; providing additional guidance to board secretaries to strengthen their role in supporting procedural fairness; and arranging for supervisory staff to observe interviews on an irregular basis and offer feedback on overall selection arrangements with a view to further ascertaining the propriety of the process.
In addition, the FEHD has strengthened integrity training for enforcement and supervisory officers at all levels, including inviting officers of the Independent Commission Against Corruption to conduct seminars on anti-corruption laws and related administrative codes to heighten staff awareness of corruption risks and the offence of misconduct in public office. The department also continues to use various channels to remind staff at all levels of the importance of upholding core civil service values and conduct at all times.
HKETO, Washington DC promotes Hong Kong as hub for life and health sciences
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, DC, (HKETO, Washington DC), hosted on April 24 (Washington time) a briefing on opportunities in Hong Kong's life and health sciences industry.
The event, entitled "Hong Kong: Current Landscape and Development Opportunities in the Life Sciences Sector", was held under the Economic and Trade Express initiative. It was jointly organised by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) New York Office. The event featured a presentation by co-founder of ElohaX, co-director of the University of Hong Kong-Cambridge AI to Advance Wellbeing and Society Research Platform and Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge, Professor Jacqueline Lam, on leveraging the strength of Hong Kong being a global "super connector" as well as a hub for converging talent, AI innovation and translational research that successfully transforms research into commercialisation.
The event was attended by members of the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group and locals from various sectors, including life and health science professionals, federal and local government representatives of the United States (US), think tanks, businesses and other private sector entities.
The Director of the HKETO, Washington DC, Ms Elania Luk, said that with Hong Kong's prominent status as an international financial centre and international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, good human capital (including world-class education institutions and top talent attraction programmes), holistic government support and a strong business and start-up presence, Hong Kong is poised for strong growth in the life and science sector.
"Hong Kong is the second-largest biotech funding hub globally, following only New York. Our listing rules allow pre-revenue companies to list and raise capital.In addition, Hong Kong is home to five of the world's top 100 universities with a world-class research landscape supported by the Hong Kong Science Park and the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.
"Hong Kong is actively advancing the integrated development of life and health technology at upstream, midstream and downstream levels.On upstream research and development (R&D), we will pursue its development through Life and Health Technology Research Institute and various R&D centres under the InnoHK research clusters.On midstream outcome transformation, the Research, Academic, and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme has supported 15 projects.As for downstream industries, three major I&T parks together host nearly 500 relevant enterprises and organisations, creating a vibrant ecosystem," Ms Luk added.
The Head of Business and Talent Attraction/Investment Promotion at InvestHK New York Office, Ms Xie Yi, spoke of how the office can provide bespoke services to US companies wishing to set up or expand their operations in Hong Kong to capitalise on regional markets and shared success stories of life and health sciences companies using Hong Kong as a platform for business development and expansion.
The Director (New York & Midwest) of the HKTDC, Mr Curtis Louie, introduced how the Asia Summit on Global Health - one of Hong Kong's flagship exhibition events which will take place on May 11 and 12 - would be relevant for American businesses and how the office's support services and strong networks can facilitate commercial and market opportunities.
Professor Lam shared how ElohaX seeks to improve health and quality of life through AI innovation, particularly with regard to research and therapy for Alzheimer's disease. She spoke of Hong Kong being a launch pad for interdisciplinary AI innovation.
Attendees also enjoyed an exhibition of curated paintings under the theme of "Hong Kong: Our Home". The paintings were commissioned by the Social Welfare Department under the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with various non-governmental organisations. The paintings, among other things, exemplify Hong Kong's efforts in unleashing the potential of persons with disabilities in artistic activities and their contribution to society.
HKETO, Washington DC promotes Hong Kong as hub for life and health sciences Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKETO, Washington DC promotes Hong Kong as hub for life and health sciences Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKETO, Washington DC promotes Hong Kong as hub for life and health sciences Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKETO, Washington DC promotes Hong Kong as hub for life and health sciences Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
