Hong Kong and Guangdong Strengthen Cooperation in Smart City Development at Expert Group Meeting in Guangzhou

Third meeting of Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster held

The Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster (EGSCC) convened its third meeting in Guangzhou today (May 28) to continuously deepen co-operation between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Guangdong Province in smart city development.

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, and the Director-General of the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data, Mr Wang Tianguang, who cochaired the meeting, reviewed the work progress and achievements of the Expert Group over the past year. They also discussed and exchanged views on the work plan for the coming year. During the meeting, Hong Kong and Guangdong reviewed the following six work details for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong smart city cluster, namely:

1. expanding the availability of frequently used public services under Cross-boundary Public Services;

2. exploring more industry applications to achieve smart connectivity;

3. promoting the integration and mutual recognition of modern infrastructure public support capabilities between Hong Kong and Guangdong;

4. accelerating the cross-boundary flow of data elements;

5. exploring the application of AI in more government services and industry sectors; and

6. strengthening the exchanges and co-operation on digitalisation between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

Mr Cheung said in the meeting that following the second meeting of the EGSCC held in Hong Kong last year, members of the Expert Group had dedicated themselves to advancing the related work items. They successfully completed a number of initiatives including the full coverage of the Hong Kong Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks and "iAM Smart" self-registration kiosks across the nine Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; enabling "iAM Smart" users to access "iShenzhen" and use its services through the Unified Identity Authentication Platform of Guangdong Province starting from July 2025; enabling the public to check the passenger and vehicular traffic conditions of the eight land boundary control points of both the Hong Kong side and Guangdong side via hyperlinks at HKeMobility starting from September 2025; and the completion of information technology support for the 15th National Games in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao competition regions under the condition of "zero cybersecurity risk and zero interruption to the operation of events". He encouraged members of the Expert Group to continue their efforts, maintain close co-operation, and actively advance various tasks, thereby making an active contribution to the development of the smart city cluster of Hong Kong and Guangdong.

Officials from relevant bureaux and departments, including the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Development Bureau, the Digital Policy Office, the Office of the Communications Authority, and the Transport Department attended the meeting on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Mainland representatives who attended the meeting included officials from the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data, the Cyberspace Administration of Guangdong Province, the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Guangdong Province, the Department of Transport of Guangdong Province, the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, and the Guangdong Communications Administration.

Arranged by the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data, the Hong Kong delegation visited the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Data Special Zone Innovation Cooperation Center, the Guangdong Digital Government Construction and Operation Center (Yuet Gingzai), and the Guangzhou AI Integration and Empowerment Center after the meeting to learn more about the technical solutions used by these three centres to achieve a secure and efficient regional data flow through privacy computing and blockchain technology, the infrastructure that builds the digital government basic foundation and public support platform for Guangdong Province, and AI solutions and contextualised empowerment services in various fields such as government services, healthcare, education and manufacturing.

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung (second right), and the Hong Kong delegation of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster visit the Guangzhou AI Integration and Empowerment Center in Guangzhou today (May 28). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung (second left), and the Hong Kong delegation of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster visit the Guangdong Digital Government Construction and Operation Center (Yuet Gingzai) in Guangzhou today (May 28). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung (third right), and the Hong Kong delegation of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster visit the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Data Special Zone Innovation Cooperation Center in Guangzhou today (May 28). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, attended the third meeting of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster in Guangzhou today (May 28). Photo shows Mr Cheung (first row, sixth right) with the Director-General of the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data, Mr Wang Tianguang (first row, sixth left), and other attendees. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, attended the third meeting of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster in Guangzhou today (May 28). Photo shows Mr Cheung (third right) delivering a speech. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, together with representatives from various bureaux/departments, attended the third meeting of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Group on Co-developing a Smart City Cluster in Guangzhou today (May 28). Photo shows Mr Cheung (fourth left) exchanging views with the Director-General of the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data, Mr Wang Tianguang (fourth right), on continuously deepening co-operation in smart city development between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Guangdong Province. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CFS finds trace amount of Enterococci in samples of individual batches of bottled mineral water

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 28) that two samples of bottled mineral water were found to contain trace amount of Enterococci. The CFS is following up on the incident.

A spokesman for the CFS said, "Under its routine Food Surveillance Programme, the CFS collected bottled mineral water samples at retail level for microbiological testing, including tests for Escherichia coli, Coliform bacteria, Enterococci, Spore-forming sulphite-reducing anaerobes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The test results showed that two samples of the individual batches of bottled mineral water below contained Enterococci at a level of one Colony Forming Unit in 250 millilitres, while all other tested parameters (Escherichia coli, coliform bacteria, Spore-forming sulphite-reducing anaerobes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were satisfactory (i.e. not detected).

According to the Microbiological Guidelines for Food, Enterococci shall not be tested presence in bottled natural mineral water. As a precautionary measure, the CFS has informed the retailers/distributors concerned to stop sales and remove from shelves the affected batches of the products below. The distributors concerned have also initiated voluntary recalls of the affected batches of the products concerned. Members of the public may call the respective hotlines below during office hours for enquiries about the recalls.

Product details are as follows:

Product name: Still Scottish Mountain Water

Brand: Marks & Spencer

Volume: 750ml

Best-before date: December 2026

Distributor: ALF Retail Hong Kong Limited

Hotline: 3656 2253

Product name: LOTTE ICIS Natural Mineral Water 8.0

Brand: Lotte

Volume: 2 litres

Best-before date: September 22, 2027

Distributor: Goldtop Century Ltd

Hotline: 2632 7373

Since January 2026, the CFS has collected 50 samples of bottled drinking water for testing. Apart from the two unsatisfactory samples mentioned above, all other samples passed the tests.

"Enterococci are a group of bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals, generally posing a low risk to healthy individuals. However, certain strains may cause infections in immunocompromised individuals. Members of the public should stop consuming the affected batches of the natural mineral water. Anyone who feels unwell after consuming the products, such as experiencing symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or fever etc, should seek medical treatment," a spokesman for the CFS said.

The CFS had alert the trade, and will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. An investigation is ongoing.

Source: AI-found images