Steering committee on handling extreme weather releases latest information
The steering committee on handling extreme weather, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, released the following information today (September 22) in response to the latest assessment and forecast on Super Typhoon Ragasa by the Hong Kong Observatory.
According to the current forecast by the Observatory, the local weather is expected to deteriorate rapidly later tomorrow (September 23). The Observatory will consider issuing the Gale or Storm Signal No. 8 between 1pm and 4pm tomorrow. The weather will be persistently adverse on Wednesday (September 24). Gale to storm force winds will prevail locally, and winds may reach hurricane force offshore and on high ground. There will be frequent heavy squally showers and thunderstorms. Under the influence of significant storm surge, the sea level over coastal areas by then may be similar to that during Hato in 2017 and Mangkhut in 2018. Members of the public are advised to prepare immediately for high winds and flooding.
Considering the aforementioned forecast by the Observatory, to ensure students' safety and to avoid students leaving the school when the weather may rapidly deteriorate, the Education Bureau (EDB) announces that classes in all schools, including secondary schools, primary schools, special schools, kindergartens, kindergarten-cum-child care centres and evening schools, will be suspended tomorrow and the following day (September 24). During the class suspension period, schools will not accept paper applications for discretionary places under the Primary One Admission (POA) 2026. The deadline for submitting paper applications has been extended to September 30 (Tuesday). Parents may also choose to submit e-applications via the POA e-Platform (epoa.edb.gov.hk) on or before September 26 (Friday). Details are available on the EDB's website.
In view of the forecast by the Observatory that the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 will be issued tonight, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) advises members of the public not to take their children or family members to units providing child care centre services, services under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project, and after-school care programmes for pre-primary or primary school children, elderly services centres, day pre-school rehabilitation service units or day rehabilitation units including sheltered workshops, integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres, integrated vocational training centres and day activity centres. These centres and services units will, however, remain open during their normal operating hours to serve those whose families cannot provide alternative care for them. Members of the public who have the need for the services mentioned may contact the centres or services units concerned in advance. When the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above is hoisted, the aforementioned day child care services units, centres providing after-school care programmes, day rehabilitation units, elderly day services centres and SWD welfare services units will not open.
District Offices have initiated relevant response measures. In view of the possible threats that Ragasa may pose to Hong Kong, District Offices will advance the opening of temporary shelters at 8am tomorrow for people in need. District Offices will closely monitor the situation, and if necessary, individual temporary shelters will commence operation earlier today. The Home Affairs Department has also activated a round-the-clock hotline (2572 8427) at noon today for public enquiries on the relevant information and will continue to release information on the operation of temporary shelters through different channels.
In addition, District Offices have co-ordinated with relevant departments and organisations to enhance preparedness, setting up sandbags and water-stop boards, among others. District Council members, members of "the three committees" and Care Teams are mobilised to disseminate the latest weather information to residents in flood-prone areas, reminding them to make necessary preparations. Residents in flood-prone areas are advised to stay away from their homes or stay at temporary shelters.
The Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) under the Security Bureau was fully activated at 10.30am today, more than 24 hours earlier than normal, in order to achieve the objective of "early planning and early intervention". Utilising the Common Operational Picture, directorate officers of relevant departments at the EMSC conduct real-time citywide monitoring and integrate updates from various departments to swiftly assess risks and formulate response plans and measures.
Various emergency response teams, including the Fire Services Department, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Civil Aid Service and the Auxiliary Medical Service, are on standby and have completed all necessary preparatory work. Sufficient manpower has been deployed to handle possible emergencies during heavy rainstorms and high winds, and to provide assistance to those in need.
The Government will closely monitor the situation in the city to assess whether to initiate the Government-wide Mobilisation mechanism after the typhoon for providing emergency support. The Civil Service Bureau has reminded all 77 bureaux and departments (B/Ds) to remain highly vigilant and stand ready to form quick response units at any time to provide support. Each B/D has also drawn up their lists of designated personnel for mobilisation and made duty rotation arrangements in advance.
It is expected that Ragasa may pose serious threats to Hong Kong, Members of the public should be well prepared for the continued severe weather conditions over the next two days, including implementing emergency, wind and flooding prevention measures, with a view to reducing the risk of property damage and casualties. The Government also reminds residents in flood-prone areas and those who are staying in temporary structures, such as rooftop houses and squatter huts near slopes, to stay away from their homes or stay at temporary shelters. It also recommends that vehicles parked outdoors be parked indoors.
Under the cross-departmental co-ordination by the steering committee, various government departments have completed all necessary preparatory work and response plans, served with their dedication to duty, and combined efforts to safeguard the lives and property of the public as well as public safety, with a view to minimising the threats and impact of the storm. The public is urged to stay alert and continue to pay attention to the latest news released by the Government.
Steering committee on handling extreme weather releases latest information Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the CUHK EMBA Annual Conference today (May 9):
Professor Dennis Lo (Vice-Chancellor and President, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)), Professor Lin Zhou (Dean, CUHK Business School), Macy (Chairperson of Organizing Committee, Ms Macy Chan), Michael (Chairperson of Organizing Committee, Mr Michael Chan), CUHK EMBA alumni and students, business leaders, distinguished guests and friends,
Good evening.
Addressing a room full of Executive MBA students and graduates is both an honour and a privilege. There is a particular kind of ambition in this room — one that is not content with success alone, but driven to understand it more deeply, in the belief that better ideas lead to greater impact.
That kind of commitment — to learning, to growth, to asking harder questions — is precisely what today's conversation is about.
The theme of this conference, which focuses on innovation and agile leadership, could not be more timely. Most of us here have lived through the Internet age and the smartphone revolution, which made communication faster and more seamless than anyone had imagined.
Today, the rise of AI places us at a more fundamental tipping point. Technology is not merely changing the answers — it is redefining the questions themselves.
Consider what is already within reach. An AI assistant can learn your preferences, curate a personalised shortlist, and simply ask for your confirmation. We should even ask whether the smartphone and the search engine will remain our primary gateways to the digital world, or whether something altogether new is already taking shape.
To draw an analogy, the power of technology does not lie in drawing the old map with greater precision. It lies in revealing how much of that map remains uncharted — and in showing us that entirely new maps, with new co-ordinates, are being drawn.
This redefinition is unfolding across three dimensions simultaneously.
First, the redefinition of products. Products are no longer discrete, standalone objects. A smart car is a vehicle, but also a mobile platform for data. An insurance policy can be a contract, but equally a dynamic reflection of health data. Innovation today is born from cross-sector convergence and continuous evolution.
Second, the redefinition of services. Services are no longer delivered solely by enterprises. They emerge from collaborative networks of people and AI. But the more profound shift is in what customers now expect. In the past, good service meant reaching the right person quickly. Today, customers expect a solution that anticipates their needs before articulating them. This requires a new architecture of service delivery: human and machine, with AI handling the scale, the speed, and the personalisation that no human team alone could sustain.
Third, and most importantly, the redefinition of business models. In the past, we sought optimal solutions within established frameworks — when demand rose, we expanded capacity; when service needs grew, we opened more branches. Technology invites us to break out of those frameworks entirely. Intelligent manufacturing means that "economies of scale" is no longer the only answer; flexible supply chains have made customised, on-demand production the new normal.
These three redefinitions are opening a commercial frontier unlike anything we have seen before. But if the benefits of technology accrue only to a small circle, its power remains fundamentally constrained. This brings me to the second message I want to leave with you today: inclusivity.
Inclusivity is not charity. Yet it is the smartest business strategy available. The unmet needs of the broader public represent the largest and most underserved market opportunity in existence. When you make quality healthcare, education and financial services accessible and affordable to ordinary residents, you are not serving a group in need of handouts — you are unlocking a vast market that traditional business models have consistently overlooked.
Hong Kong has a distinctive role to play here. We can be a co-architect of standards, a hub for capital, and a bridge between innovation and real-world deployment — from clinical validation of smart healthcare, to green technology financing, to regulatory sandboxes for fintech. Our contribution draws not only on institutional strengths and international networks, but on our genuine commitment to broad-based participation.
Yet inclusive products and services are only the first step. The deeper dimension is empowerment.
History reminds us that the dividends of technological revolution need to be actively guided to reach the many. In the age of steam, and again in the Internet era, early gains concentrated among capital owners and top-tier talent. But today we have the opportunity to write a different story. AI, as an amplifier of human capability, is already enabling what was previously unimaginable: a solo entrepreneur, with the right tools and the right vision, can build a unicorn.
In other words, the unit of competitive advantage is shifting — from the size of your team to the skill with which you orchestrate your tools.
Our mission should be to make that shift available to everyone. To turn individual readiness into collective prosperity, and to ensure that the productivity gains of AI flow broadly across the society.
This is precisely why, in this year's Budget, I placed such emphasis on the "AI Training for All" initiative.
We are not trying to turn everyone into an engineer. We are ensuring that workers, managers, SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) owners, and ordinary residents become capable collaborators with AI: people who can access it, use it effectively, and put it to work as their assistant.
That may sound ambitious, but consider this: if AI can one day be as intuitive as the smartphone, then mass adoption is not difficult to imagine at all. Just as computers once migrated from specialist facilities into offices and homes, AI will find its way into everyone's daily work and life.
For business leaders, it may be tempting to think of AI as "digital employee" that can replace existing workers. But think of a different framing: equipping your workforce with powerful digital assistants can achieve productivity gains, while also freeing your people to do what humans do best — create, imagine and innovate.
Companies that take those extra steps, and think those extra moves ahead, will find that an empowered workforce is also a more innovative one.
All in all, the power of technology must ultimately be measured by its contribution to inclusive growth. And inclusive growth, in the end, depends on, yes, commercial acumen — but also empathy, compassion, and the conviction that a rising tide should lift all boats. I can see that those qualities live in this room.
I will close with this thought. Someone once joked that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. With AI, let us never fall into the same trap — in our race to price every efficiency gain, let us not lose sight of the deeper value we are trying to create: a society where the fruits of innovation are broadly shared, and where technology lifts not just the fortunate few, but everyone willing to reach for it.
So here is my ask: let us grow the pie together. And make sure we cut it well.
Thank you very much.
Source: AI-found images
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Source: AI-found images
