CE meets Prime Minister of Vanuatu
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Mr Jotham Napat, today (January 27) to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, also attended the meeting.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Napat and his delegation to Hong Kong. Noting that bilateral trade between Hong Kong and Vanuatu continues to grow, Mr Lee said that the prospects for co-operation between the two places are broad and promising. Hong Kong enjoys the dual advantage of having national and global opportunities under the "one country, two systems" principle, and actively gives full play to the roles of a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to deepen international exchanges and co-operation to further explore the Belt and Road and the Global South countries, including Vanuatu, to accelerate the pursuit of new growth opportunities.
Mr Lee said that Hong Kong will further leverage its advantages of connecting with both the Mainland and the world and its role as a functional platform for the Belt and Road Initiative, and will further strengthen economic and trade collaborations with Belt and Road economies and promote participation in green co-operation. Hong Kong and Vanuatu will together seize the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong is the world's freest economy. Mr Lee welcomed enterprises from Vanuatu to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages, such as its highly internationalised business environment and its pool of professional services talent, to explore overseas and Mainland markets, to further strengthen co-operation and exchanges across different areas between the two places, and to jointly explore more opportunities.
CE meets Prime Minister of Vanuatu 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
