CE to attend Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in Hainan
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, will depart for Hainan tomorrow (March 24) to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026.
The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026, Photo source: online image
The theme of this year's conference is "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation". Mr Lee will attend the opening plenary of the annual conference and deliver a keynote speech at the Global Free Trade Port Development Forum.
Mr Lee will return to Hong Kong on March 26. During his absence, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, will be the Acting Chief Executive.
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, Photo source: reference image
Remarks by SLW at media session regarding adjustment of Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (with video)
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, met the media today (March 23), regarding the adjustment of the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme). Following are Mr Sun's remarks at the media session:
Reporter: Good afternoon. Firstly, how would you assess the monetary impacts on the Government for the revised policy and the impact on beneficiaries who might have to take more expensive or longer routes after the policy takes effect? And secondly, any concrete timetable on when to review the policy and roll out the second phase, which would be the cap on the 240 trips per month? Thank you.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Thank you for your questions. The estimated annual savings arising from the new measure will be around $550 million, so as to save the public monies by putting in place a new measure. If you look at the number of transport routes that will be affected, it will be around 40 per cent. Currently, if you look at the number of routes taking into account all modes of transport, around 60 per cent of them have fares of $10 or below. That means about 40 per cent will be over $10. We will step up our promotion and publicity to put across all the messages to our elderly people and the disabled to make sure that they are fully informed about the new measure.
Of course, when we roll out the new measure, we will keep a very close watch over usage patterns and also all relevant statistics. I am going to share it with the public from time to time. We will also look at what is needed to make sure that all those elderly people and the disabled are fully informed about the new measure. To put it simply, the process is very simple because they do not have to apply. They do not need to do anything by themselves. What they need to know is just look at the fare. If it is $10 or below, no change. It will be $2. If it is over $10, that means they have to pay 20 per cent of the adult fare, and the rest of the 80 per cent will be fully borne by the government. Thank you very much.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
Source: AI-found images
