Independent Committee to Begin Hearings on Wang Fuk Court Fire from March 19 to April 2. Public Registration Opens Soon.

Dates announced for first round of evidential hearings of Independent Committee in relation to fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po and online pre-registration for public observation

The following is issued on behalf of the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po:

The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today (March 3) that it will hold the first round of eight evidential hearings from March 19 to April 2 to receive evidence. Members of the public may pre-register for selected hearings that they wish to observe via the online system from 10am on March 5 to 10am on March 8.

At the direction conference held on February 5, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Justice David Lok, announced that the evidential hearings would commence on March 19 to hear evidence on matters in accordance with the terms of reference of the Committee. The Committee aims to clarify the relevant facts through oral evidence, written submissions, and other forms of evidence presented by witnesses. This will provide an important basis for the preparation of its report and recommendations.

The schedule for the first round of eight evidential hearings is as follows:

Date

1.

March 19 (Thursday)

2.

March 20 (Friday)

3.

March 24 (Tuesday)

4.

March 26 (Thursday)

5.

March 30 (Monday)

6.

March 31 (Tuesday)

7.

April 1 (Wednesday)

8.

April 2 (Thursday)

The Committee will first hear the opening remarks from the legal teams, which is expected to take a few days. Afterwards, the Committee will hear oral evidence from witnesses (including oral evidence from Wang Fuk Court residents). The Committee will release the list of exact witnesses who will be giving evidence at each date of hearing on its website (www.ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk/eng/timetable.html) nearer the time.

The evidential hearings will be conducted in Cantonese from 10am to 1pm and from 2.15pm to 4.30pm on the aforementioned dates at the Multi-purpose Hall, 3/F, City Gallery, 3 Edinburgh Place, Central. Simultaneous interpretation in Putonghua and English will be provided in the City Gallery.

Some seats of the hearings will be reserved for the involved parties, and some seats will be open to the public to observe the proceedings. To allow more members of the public to attend the hearings, the proceedings will be broadcast simultaneously in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of the City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library. Some members of the public will be arranged to observe the hearings in these two areas. A total of about 360 seats will be available for public observation in the main venue and the two transmission areas. About half of the seats will be set aside for residents of Wang Fuk Court on a priority basis. Separate arrangements will be made for the media.

To avoid members of the public queuing up outside the venue for a long time, and to allow those who wish to observe the hearings to have certainty of whether seats have been secured before the day of the hearings, individuals (including Wang Fuk Court residents) are required to make an online pre-registration for the first round of hearings (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ic-hearing/en/) from 10am on March 5 to 10am on March 8. Registrants should select on the online registration form the dates that they wish to observe (one or more sessions can be selected) and submit the duly completed form. The Secretariat of the Committee will allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis according to the system's record of the time that the pre-registration forms are received.

Successful registrants will receive a "Confirmation of Successful Registration" regarding the first round of hearings issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by March 17. An SMS notification will be sent from the sender name "#IC-hearing". If an email address is also provided during pre-registration, an email notification will be sent from hearing@ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk. The pre-registration will be considered unsuccessful for those who have not received a notification by that date. Each person can only pre-register for each day of hearing once. Duplicate registrations will not be processed.

According to the current plan, the Committee will continue to hold evidential hearings in April and afterwards. Details (including the specific dates of the remaining rounds of hearings, the witnesses who will be giving evidence, and the pre-registration arrangements for public observation) will be announced separately at a later date.

The Chief Executive established the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to review the causes of the incident and related issues of the fire, and to make recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. The Committee formally commenced its work on December 19, 2025.

Source: AI-found images

Home and Youth Affairs Bureau launches new round of HYAB Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) today (March 3) announced the launch of a new round of the HYAB Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland (the Programmes) to provide young people with thematic internship opportunities in cultural, nature conservation and scientific research institutions and a media organisation on the Mainland.

To promote young people's understanding of the country and support their integration into the overall development of the nation, the HYAB collaborates with relevant Mainland institutions to provide diverse, unique and in-depth thematic internship opportunities every year under the HYAB Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland. In addition to continuing the six internship programmes of last year, the Chief Executive announced in the 2025 Policy Address that a new media thematic internship programme on the Mainland will be launched as part of the Young Talent Training Programme. A new internship programme under the theme of "media industry" will be introduced to provide post-secondary students studying communication-related disciplines with internship opportunities at a large media organisation on the Mainland under the new round of HYAB Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland. Through the internship, students will be able to gain a deep understanding of the media landscape, industry operations and development trends on the Mainland. It aims to cultivate young talent with enhanced understanding of the country's development and a professional media perspective.

A total of seven internship programmes will be rolled out this year, namely:

Hong Kong-Macao Youth Internship Programme atPalace Museum, co-organised with the Palace Museum in Beijing;

Youth Internship Programme at Wolong Region of Giant Panda National Park, co-organised with the Sichuan Provincial Administration of the Giant Panda National Park;

Youth Internship Programme at Chinese Academy of Sciences, co-organised with the Chinese Academy of Sciences;

Youth Internship Programme at Dunhuang, co-organised with the Dunhuang Academy;

Youth Internship Programme at Shandong on Marine Sciences, co-organised with the Laoshan National Laboratory at Qingdao;

Youth Internship Programme at Wuyishan on Biodiversity Conservation, co-organised with the Wuyishan National Park Administration; and

Youth Internship Programme at Hunan onMedia Industry, co-organised withHunan Satellite TV.

The internship programmes will take place from June to August this year, with a duration of three to six weeks and a total of nearly 130 thematic internship positions covering areas such as cultural heritage preservation, scientific research and technology, ecological and environmental conservation, and media. Under the guidance of experts, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the national cultural, nature conservation and scientific research institutions and a media organisation, and participate in their work. Moreover, the programmes will provide training, field trips and other cultural exchange activities for participants.

Applicants should be aged between 18 and 30, and be (i) a full-time post-secondary student (including sub-degree, undergraduate, or postgraduate) holding a Hong Kong permanent identity card; or (ii) a local full-time post-secondary student (including sub-degree, undergraduate, or postgraduate) holding a Hong Kong identity card.

Details of the new round of the Programmes are available on the website of the Youth Development Commission (www.ydc.gov.hk/en/programmes/ip/ip_youththematic.html).

Source: AI-found images