Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony Held Today

Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony held today

The Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony was held today (April 26). The competition was jointly organised by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE) and the Local Community Sub-group under the Working Group on Constitution, Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law of the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee. This year's competition received an overwhelming response, attracting over 35 000 participants.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, said that the Constitution is the fundamental law of the state, and gives the legislative backing and source of validity for the Basic Law. The Basic Law enshrines within a legal document the important concepts of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy. It also regulates the various systems to be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to provide solid legal protection for the practice of "one country, two systems". As for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, this is not only the highest principle of implementing the policy of "one country, two systems", but also the constitutional responsibilityof the HKSAR.

She added that this year marks the beginning of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan and represents a critical year for Hong Kong as it advances from stability towards prosperity. She encouraged participants to deepen their understanding of the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Constitution, the Basic Law, and safeguarding national security through the competition, to enable them to better integrate into and serve the overall national development.

The quiz competition covered the relationship between the Constitution and the Basic Law, the Basic Law and its history as well as safeguarding national security. The competition comprised the Family, Senior Primary School, Secondary School and Open categories. To tie in with the quiz competition, the organisers are hosting five seminars between March and June to introduce the Constitution and the Basic Law to secondary and primary school students.

The HYAB has long been working closely with the CPCE in promoting the Constitution, the Basic Law and safeguarding national security at the community level through various channels and diverse means, including publishing parent-child magazines, creating websites and social media pages, organising competitions, seminars and exhibitions, as well as sponsoring eligible organisations to organise various promotional and exchange activities on civic and national education.

The Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony was held today (April 26). The competition was jointly organised by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE) and the Local Community Sub-group under the Working Group on Constitution, Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law of the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee. Photo shows the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak (ninth right); the Chairperson of the CPCE, Mr Stanley Choi (eighth right); and the Convenor of the Local Community Sub-group under the Working Group on Constitution, Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law of the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, Mr Robert Lui (tenth right), and other guests. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony was held today (April 26). The competition was jointly organised by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE) and the Local Community Sub-group under the Working Group on Constitution, Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law of the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee. Photo shows the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak(centre); the Chairperson of the CPCE, Mr Stanley Choi (right); and the Convenor of the Local Community Sub-group under the Working Group on Constitution, Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law of the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, Mr Robert Lui (left), officiating at the ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony was held today (April 26). The competition was jointly organised by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau , the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education and the Local Community Sub-group under the Working Group on Constitution, Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law of the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee. Photo shows the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, delivering a speech at the Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FEHD continues to strengthen regulation of life-saving attendants at private swimming pools to enhance management and monitoring standards

A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (April 27) that, to safeguard the safety of swimming pool users, the department will continue to implement regulatory measures for life-saving attendants at private swimming pools this summer, and will further strengthen related management and monitoring work.

Since May 2025, the FEHD has implemented a series of enhancement measures, including stepping up surprise inspections, clearly stipulating the responsibility of licensees to verify the qualifications of life-saving attendants, introducing a tiered penalty mechanism, and strengthening collaboration with relevant organisations. In 2025, the department had conducted about 11 000 inspections of over 1 400 licensed private swimming pools across the territory, and had verified the qualifications of more than 5 000 life-saving attendants through the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society (HKCLSS). One case involving suspected use of a fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate was identified. The FEHD had reported the case to the Police and initiated two prosecutions against the swimming pool licensee concerned for failing to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants during pool opening hours on two occasions. In addition, the FEHD initiated two prosecutions against the licensees of two other premises for failing to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants. The licensees concerned in the above four cases were subsequently convicted at the magistrate's courts for contravening the Swimming Pools Regulation (Section 12 of Cap. 132CA).

The spokesman stressed, "Swimming pool licensees must strictly comply with the Regulation (Cap. 132CA) and the licensing conditions, ensuring that sufficient qualified life-saving attendants are on duty during the opening hours of the pool. The FEHD will continue to implement various regulatory measures, including stepping up surprise inspections and increasing the frequency of spot checks during the peak swimming season."

Under the existing penalty mechanism, if a licensee is found twice within a year to have insufficient qualified life-saving attendants on duty during the opening hours of the swimming pool, the FEHD will consider suspending its licence for six months and require the licensee to report the situation to relevant persons such as the Owners' Corporation. In case three violations are recorded within a year, the licence may be cancelled, and the licensee or related persons will not be allowed to apply for a swimming pool licence in respect of the same location within 12 months.

To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities properly, the FEHD will explicitly require them through licensing conditions to verify the identity documents of life-saving attendants before employment, and to keep copies of their Pool Lifeguard Awards and personal logbooks on proper record. The FEHD has also established a standard template of life-saving attendants' duty records. Licensees are required to clearly record the relevant information of life-saving attendants on duty in accordance with the prescribed format, and the records have to be verified and signed by both the inspecting staff assigned by the licensees and the life-saving attendants. FEHD officers will check the relevant records as necessary during inspections or complaint investigations, and will follow up on any violations.

In addition, the FEHD will continue to maintain close collaboration with relevant organisations and regulatory bodies to enhance compliance with the regulatory measures. This includes sustaining close liaison with the HKCLSS and making good use of its mechanism for verifying life-saving attendants' qualifications, and strengthening co-operation with the Property Management Services Authority to require property management companies to exercise strict gatekeeping over the recruitment procedures of life-saving attendants.

The spokesman said that the FEHD will continue to review the effectiveness of the measures and appealed to members of the public to assist in monitoring by reporting suspected irregularities to the department. The FEHD looks forward to further collaboration with the trade to jointly uphold high standards of swimming pool management and monitoring, thereby effectively safeguarding the safety of swimming pool users.

Source: AI-found images