Task Force Intensifies Efforts Against Illegal Employment, Reveals Significant Arrests and New Reporting Hotline.

Inter-departmental Task Force against Illegal Employment convenes second meeting

The Secretary for Security,Mr Tang Ping-keung, chaired the second meeting of the Inter-departmental Task Force against Illegal Employment today (March 23). At the meeting, the Task Force followed up on the latest situation of illegal employment, including crime trends relating to illegal employment in individual key industries. The Task Force also reviewed the implementation of various measures to combat illegal employment.

The Convenor of the Task Force, Mr Tang, said, "Since the establishment of the Task Force in September last year, the Government has been stepping up efforts to combat illegal employment. During the five-month period from October 2025 to February 2026, over 10 000 operations against illegal workers were conducted, with the monthly average increasing by nearly 30 per cent as compared with that of the first three quarters in 2025. During the operations, around 520 illegal workers and around 200 employers or aiders and abettors were arrested, yielding notable results. At the same time, law enforcement agencies have strengthened publicity for anti-illegal worker enforcement actions to achieve a deterrent effect."

"On intelligence collection, the Immigration Department (ImmD) launched a Dedicated Hotline for Reporting Illegal Workers (Reporting Hotline) in September 2025 and provided new reporting means through WeChat and the 'iAM Smart' mobile application. To further facilitate the public in making reports, the ImmD has simplified the Reporting Hotline today by replacing the original number 3861 5000 with 185 185, which is easier to remember, with a view to encouraging members of the public to combat illegal employment together," Mr Tang added.

The Task Force will continue to closely monitor crime trends in illegal employment, formulate and adjust response strategies in a timely manner, and combat illegal employment in multiple key industries in a targeted manner, to safeguard employment opportunities for the local workforce.

Established by the Security Bureau in September 2025, the Task Force aims to enhance interdepartmental co-ordination to combat illegal employment under a multipronged approach. Members of the Task Force include the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Education Bureau, the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the ImmD, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Labour Department and the Transport Department.

Source: AI-found images

Inter-departmental Task Force against Illegal Employment convenes second meeting Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Inter-departmental Task Force against Illegal Employment convenes second meeting Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Source: AI-found images

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

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 23) that it will hold the second and third rounds of evidential hearings, comprising 13 sessions in total, in April to receive evidence. The evidential hearings will be conducted in Cantonese from 10am to 1pm and from 2.15pm to 4.30pm 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. Members of the public may pre-register for selected hearings that they wish to observe via the online system.

The Committee will hear evidence in the evidential hearings on matters in accordance with its terms of reference. 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 second round of six evidential hearings is as follows:

Date

1.

April 8 (Wednesday)

2.

April 10 (Friday)

3.

April 13 (Monday)

4.

April 15 (Wednesday)

5.

April 16 (Thursday)

6.

April 17 (Friday)

The schedule for the third round of seven evidential hearings is as follows:

Date

1.

April 20 (Monday)

2.

April 21 (Tuesday)

3.

April 22 (Wednesday)

4.

April 23 (Thursday)

5.

April 24 (Friday)

6.

April 27 (Monday)

7.

April 30 (Thursday)

In the second and third rounds of evidential hearings, the Committee will continue to receive oral evidence from witnesses (including oral evidence from Wang Fuk Court residents and representatives of the involved parties). 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.

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. Arrangements will be made for some members of the public 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, for the second round of hearings, individuals (including Wang Fuk Court residents) are required to pre-register online (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ic-hearing/en/) from 10am on March 25 to 10am on March 28. 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 second round of hearings issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by April 2. 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.

Online pre-registration arrangements for the third round of hearings will be announced separately in due course.

According to the current plan, the Committee will continue to hold evidential hearings in May. Details (including the specific dates of the 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. The first round of hearings commenced on March 19 and will last till April 2 to hear the opening remarks from the legal teams and oral evidence from witnesses (including oral evidence from Wang Fuk Court residents).

Source: AI-found images