Hong Kong Celebrates Success of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 at Award Ceremony

EDB and SCOLAR organise Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025

The Education Bureau (EDB) and the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) held the Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of the Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 today (June 27) to celebrate the success of activities in promoting biliteracy and trilingualism across various sectors of society over the past six months.

Officiating at the ceremony, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said in her speech that Hong Kong, as an international metropolis where East meets West, requires a large pool of biliterate and trilingual talent to demonstrate its important role as a "super connector". This is also crucial to consolidating its status as an international education hub in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. She emphasised that mastering biliteracy and trilingualism is essential for realising Hong Kong's development of the "eight centres" as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan, and for seizing opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Under "one country, two systems", biliteracy and trilingualism stands as one of the advantages of education in Hong Kong.

She said that over the years, the EDB and SCOLAR have been working together to promote biliteracy and trilingualism. Measures introduced in recent years include encouraging teachers to improve their Putonghua proficiency by utilising the Language Fund to sponsor them to take the Putonghua Proficiency Test. In addition, a one-off grant has been provided to schools for implementing the promotion of self-directed language learning (English and Putonghua) initiative, helping students to enhance their self-directed learning capabilities and biliterate and trilingual skills. It is hoped that, through collective efforts, the Campaign will strengthen Hong Kong's language and talent capital, enabling the city to leverage its advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world.

At the ceremony, the Chairperson of SCOLAR, Dr Anissa Chan, expressed gratitude to the Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 Ambassador, Hins Cheung, and organisations and individuals from various sectors for their support, which contributed to the success of the Campaign. She particularly thanked Hins Cheung and individuals from diverse professional fields for sharing language-learning insights and personal experiences through short videos, illustrating how their biliterate and trilingual abilities have played a crucial role in their personal and career development. She also thanked community partners for organising engaging and meaningful competitions and activities, schools for enthusiastically participating in the One-minute Video Production Competition, and partners from the education sector and various industries for their assistance in producing the videos to promote biliteracy and trilingualism.

Dr Chan pointed out that the Student Language Ambassadors will play a key role in enhancing language proficiency in the community. SCOLAR, in partnership with the EDB, programme partners and key industries, will continue to promote language learning with a view to enhancing the language abilities of Hong Kong citizens.

Awards of the One-minute Video Production Competition were presented at the ceremony. The award-winning works, produced by students, integrated vibrant creative elements, showcasing their proficiency in biliteracy and trilingualism. They effectively promote Hong Kong's position as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and as an international educational hub.

Community partners, including the Methodist Epworth Village Community Centre Social Welfare, the Smart Education Charitable Foundation and the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, invited winners of their respective activities and competitions to perform or share insights at the ceremony. Their performances were engaging and rich in content. Students demonstrated outstanding language skills and mastery of biliteracy and trilingualism. The vibrant atmosphere infused the ceremony with joy and dynamism, marking a successful conclusion to the Campaign.

The ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, with around 400 attendees, including guests from the business sector, arts and cultural sector, and community organisations, as well as teachers, parents and students. For further information about the ceremony and the Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025, please visit the SCOLAR website (scolarhk.edb.hkedcity.net/en/Biliteracy_and_Trilingualism_Campaign) or SCOLAR's social media page.

EDB and SCOLAR organise Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

EDB and SCOLAR organise Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

EDB and SCOLAR organise Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

EDB and SCOLAR organise Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

EDB and SCOLAR organise Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony of Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Update on chikungunya fever

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced that, as of 5pm today (January 11), no new cases of chikungunya fever (CF) had been recorded.

Latest surveillance data

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Hong Kong has recorded a total of 82 confirmed CF cases last year. Among them, 11 were local cases, and the rest were imported cases.

Since the beginning of 2025, and as of December 10, 2025, a total of 502 264 CF cases and 186 CF-related deaths have been reported in over 40 countries/territories. Cases have been reported in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Although the northern hemisphere has entered the winter season, temperatures in subtropical and some temperate regions remain elevated due to climate change, creating favourable conditions for mosquito breeding. In addition, CF outbreaks continue to occur in many countries worldwide. The risk of imported cases persists. Members of the public should check the situation of the destinations before travelling abroad, especially when travelling to Southeast Asian countries.

Government's comprehensive follow-up actions

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Given that some local cases of CF have visited the Tsing Yi Nature Trails or the surrounding area in November last year, the trails are currently closed until further notice. Relevant government departments continue to conduct large-scale mosquito control and prevention efforts along the trails, and the CHP appeals to the public not to enter the area in order to reduce the risk of contracting CF and to avoid exposure to chemicals or interfering with the mosquito control operations. Since the confirmation on December 10, 2025, of a case involving a person who had visited the Tsing Yi Nature Trails on November 30, 2025, no further local cases have been recorded to date. The CHP continues to urge individuals who have recently hiked along the Tsing Yi Nature Trails to seek medical attention as soon as possible if they develop relevant symptoms and to call the enquiry hotline (Tel: 2125 2373), which operates from 9am to 6pm.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has been continuously conducting intensive fogging operations to eliminate adult mosquitoes along the Tsing Yi Nature Trails and the surrounding area. At suitable locations, large ultra-low volume foggers have been deployed, and a robot dog is being put on trial to enhance operational effectiveness. The FEHD has also set up new mosquito trapping devices, cleared discarded containers and garbage that could cause stagnant water, and applied larvicide oil or larvicides in areas with stagnant water that cannot be removed immediately. The FEHD has been collaborating with the Kwai Tsing District Office, the Lands Department and the Drainage Services Department to strengthen efforts in eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites along the Tsing Yi Nature Trails. Pamphlets have been distributed to hikers in the area, urging citizens to be vigilant against mosquito infestations and take personal protective measures. The FEHD has also held meetings of the interdepartmental task forces on anti-mosquito work across districts to discuss the latest developments regarding the situation and plan accordingly to co-ordinate relevant departments and stakeholders in strengthening mosquito prevention and control measures in areas under their purview.

Continuously strengthening prevention and control

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The FEHD and relevant departments have comprehensively enhanced the mosquito control operations in Hong Kong since July last year, and this has continued. Among these, the FEHD has conducted vector investigations and targeted mosquito control operations against the imported and local cases. In light of the local case, the FEHD has immediately conducted follow-up actions, including:

carrying out intensive fogging in scrubby areas within a 250-metre radius of the relevant locations to kill adult mosquitoes;

carrying out inspections of the locations, removing stagnant water, applying insecticides and disposing of abandoned water containers every week with a view to preventing mosquito breeding; and

enhancing public education efforts through organising health talks, setting up mobile education stations, and distributing publicity leaflets.

The abovementioned measures will be continued. Furthermore, the Government will further enhance the mosquito control efforts in addition to the existing measures.

Preventive measures to be taken by the public

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Members of the public should use DEET-containing insect repellents or other effective active ingredients properly to prevent mosquito bites, but the following precautions should be taken when using them:

read the label instructions carefully first;

apply right before entering an area with a risk of mosquito bites;

apply on exposed skin and clothing;

use DEET of up to 30 per cent for pregnant women and up to 10 per cent for children (for children who travel to countries or areas where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic or epidemic and where exposure is likely, those aged 2 months or above can use DEET-containing insect repellents with a DEET concentration of up to 30 per cent);

apply sunscreen first, then insect repellent;

reapply only when needed and follow the instructions; and

in addition to DEET, there are other insect repellents available on the market containing different active ingredients, such as IR3535 and picaridin. When using any insect repellent, the public should follow the usage instructions and precautions on the product label.

The FEHD also appeals to members of the public to continue to stay alert and work together to carry out mosquito prevention and control measures early, including inspecting their homes and surroundings to remove potential breeding grounds, changing water in vases and scrubbing their inner surfaces, removing water in saucers under potted plants at least once a week, and properly disposing of containers such as empty cans and lunch boxes. The FEHD also advises members of the public and property management agencies to keep drains free of blockage and level all defective ground surfaces to prevent the accumulation of water. They should also scrub all drains and surface sewers with an alkaline detergent at least once a week to remove any mosquito eggs.

The public should call 1823 in case of mosquito problems, and may visit the following pages for more information: the CF page of theCHPand theTravel Health Service, the latestTravel Health News,tips for using insect repellents, and the CHPFacebook Page,Instagram AccountandYouTube Channel, and also theMosquito Prevention and Control dedicated pageof the FEHD.

Source: AI-found images