Panel of Advisors to Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes second engagement session
The Committee on Education, Technology and Talents (CETT), chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, held the second engagement session with the Panel of Advisors to the CETT today (March 3). The theme of the session was "Building Hong Kong into an International Post-Secondary Education Hub".
The Government strives to establish the "Study in Hong Kong" brand, promote the nurturing of local talent and attract outstanding non-local students and scholars to Hong Kong through a series of policy measures. At the engagement session, members of the Panel of Advisors pointed out that Hong Kong's post-secondary institutions are highly internationalised and diversified, boasting five of the world's top 100 universities, achieving new heights in academic influence, research standards, and internationalisation and laying a solid foundation for building an international hub for post-secondary education.
In light of the changes in the global education landscape, the Panel of Advisors exchanged views on different strategies and measures to enhance Hong Kong's status as an education hub during the engagement session. The Panel of Advisors supported the Government and local institutions in taking the initiative to seize opportunities by continuously optimising campus facilities and accommodation provisions, thereby fully leveraging the advantages of Hong Kong's education, creating a diverse and inclusive international learning environment to attract more high-calibre non-local students to study in Hong Kong. Ways to enhance the promotion of the unique strengths of Hong Kong’s post-secondary and basic education were also discussed.
Regarding the promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET), the Panel of Advisors focused on exploring how to enhance its social acceptance and attractiveness so that VPET can better fulfil its role in cultivating diverse talent, as well as supporting and promoting socio-economic development. The Panel of Advisors also attached great importance to the development of the Northern Metropolis University Town. It suggested institutions to establish closer collaboration among industry, academic and research sectors, to introduce more branded programmes, research collaborations and exchange projects, and in line with the industry-driven and infrastructure-led approach of the Northern Metropolis, to cultivate talent suitable for Hong Kong's economic development to strengthen its impetus.
Mr Chan expressed gratitude for the insightful suggestions provided by members in the engagement session and stated that the Government will study the opinions in detail, as well as maintain close communication and co-operation with the members to formulate strategies for building Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education. The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; Permanent Secretaries or representatives of the three bureaux and members of the Panel of Advisors attended the engagement session today.
Panel of Advisors to Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes second engagement session Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Panel of Advisors to Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes second engagement session Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Panel of Advisors to Committee on Education, Technology and Talents convenes second engagement session Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
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
