Immigration Department Celebrates 65th Anniversary at Passing-out Parade for New Officers

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade

The Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok, officiated at the Passing-out Parade at the Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development today (April 1) to review 130 officers on parade, including 41 Immigration Officers and 89 Immigration Assistants.

In his speech, Mr Kwok said that the year 2026 marks the significant milestone of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Immigration Department (ImmD). He stated that since its establishment in 1961, the ImmD has always walked abreast with the Hong Kong community, staying united in guarding Hong Kong and serving the public. Reflecting on his 36 years of service with the ImmD, he has witnessed the continuous evolution of its services, which has fully demonstrated the spirit of keeping pace with the times and striving for excellence. With the department's headquarters relocated to Tseung Kwan O, all its branches have been working together to enhance efficiency by proactively embracing technology and harnessing AI to move towards the era of a "Smart ImmD" while steadfastly upholding its original aspiration of providing "people-oriented" services.

Looking ahead, Mr Kwok remarked that the ImmD will continue to stand at the forefront of Hong Kong's development, supporting the National 15th Five-Year Plan, and to better integrate into and serve the overall development of the country. Specifically, this will include further enhancement of clearance modes at various control points, implementing "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" and "contactless clearance"; deep integration of AI with next-generation identity-identification technologies to ensure Hong Kong's continued leading position in immigration management internationally; and constant refinement of visa policies to inject new impetus into Hong Kong's economic development.

Mr Kwok encouraged the graduates to remain united and display team spirit. He also urged them to demonstrate integrity and probity during law enforcement, while maintaining a warm and sincere attitude when delivering services to honour the uniform they put on. He expressed hope that the graduates, in whatever positions, would "identify, respond to and steer changes" to ensure that ImmD service has always acted ahead of time.

During the parade, the Immigration Band played multiple pieces of military band music of a new era, patriotic songs and pop classics, then assembled with the Guard of Honour to form the number "65", followed by concentric circles representing the department's values. This was to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the department's establishment, and to symbolise that all members of the ImmD work in seamless harmony with one heart and one mind. The ImmD is committed to taking the safeguarding of national security as its primary mission by upholding its core values of "Patriotism and Perseverance", thereby guarding the southern gateway of the country while fully supporting social development and the needs of the community.

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Immigration officiates at Passing-out Parade Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Business of Innovation and Technology Week in April gathers global innovation and technology elites to showcase cutting-edge innovations

The Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) are jointly organising the Business of Innovation and Technology Week (BIT Week) in April. A series of mega innovation and technology (I&T) events will be held, including the flagship event InnoEX, which will return with great acclaim, concurrently with the 2026 World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit.

The fourth InnoEX, co-organised by the ITIB and the HKTDC, will be held from April 13 to 16 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). This annual I&T event, themed "Innovate • Automate • Elevate" this year, will bring together I&T enterprises, industry elites and buyers from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas to jointly promote the application of cutting-edge technology solutions in five key areas, namely AI+, robotics, the low-altitude economy, property technology and retail technology, while exploring global collaboration opportunities. The "RoboPark" zone will also be held concurrently, showcasing over 100 robots from technology enterprises in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas.

Another highlight of InnoEX is the Smart Hong Kong Pavilion set up by the Digital Policy Office. This year, themed "AI+ Hong Kong", the pavilion will showcase over 100 I&T solutions, including those developed by the Government that benefit the public and businesses, as well as award-winning I&T projects by local industry and students, demonstrating Hong Kong's achievements in I&T and smart city development.

The third Hong Kong World Youth Science Conference and the Xiangjiang Nobel Forum will also be held from April 12 to 16at the HKCEC. The event is organised by the Hong Kong Alumni Association of Beijing Universities with full support from the ITIB. Top I&T talent from around the world including Nobel Prize and Turing Award laureates, academicians, renowned scientists, etc, will gather in Hong Kong to discuss frontier developments and co-operation in areas such as AI, embodied robotics, biomedicine, quantum technology and green energy, thereby enhancing Hong Kong's international standing in the global scientific arena.

In addition, the International Academicians Hong Kong Forum to be held on April 14by the International Alliance of Academicians has joined the BIT Week this year. The forum has invited a Fields medallist and over 10 globally renowned experts and academicians in the fields of medicine, AI and higher education as speakers to jointly promote the translation of academic achievements from research to application.

Meanwhile, the 2026 World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit will be held April 13 and 14at the HKCEC. Under the theme "Digital and Intelligent Empowerment for Innovative Development - Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace", the summit is expected to attract more than 1 000 government and business leaders, representatives of international organisations, experts and scholars from around the world to Hong Kong. They will engage in in-depth exchanges on Internet frontier topics to strengthen regional digital collaboration and jointly create new momentum and advantages for the development of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, said, "Under 'one country, two systems', Hong Kong is the only open economy in the world that simultaneously benefits from the strengths of both China and the global community. Through flagship exhibitions and a wide range of activities, the BIT Week in April will bring together over 3700 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions. This demonstrates Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support from the motherland and being closely connected to the world, as well as its best bridging role of 'bringing in' and 'going global', thereby helping Hong Kong proactively seek development breakthroughs, actively integrate into the National 15th Five-Year Plan, accelerate its development into an international I&T centre, and deepen co-operation with the Mainland and overseas markets."

Other major industry events during the BIT Week include the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and Smart Lighting Expo, as well as the Hong Kong Web3 Festival. Details of the BIT Week can be found at bitweek.hktdc.com/en.

Source: AI-found images