Financial Secretary Strengthens Jiangsu-Hong Kong Cooperation During Nanjing Visit

FS visits Nanjing

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19).

He called on the Governor of Jiangsu Province, Mr Liu Xiaotao, and the Secretary of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee, Mr Zhou Hongbo, respectively, to discuss further deepening co-operation between Jiangsu and Hong Kong, and between Nanjing and Hong Kong. Mr Chan said that Jiangsu and Hong Kong have all along maintained close and multi-level co-operation, with frequent economic and trade exchanges and fruitful results in areas such as finance, innovation and technology (I&T), education, and youth visits and exchanges.

He pointed out that Jiangsu has strong capabilities in technological innovation and advanced manufacturing, a solid industrial foundation, and a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem, with a number of sectors taking leading positions globally. Hong Kong, meanwhile, has the advantages of being an international financial centre and a business environment that is friendly and highly internationalised, making it an important platform for Mainland enterprises to "go global". The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has set up a Go Global Task Force, which co-ordinates at a high level resources in policy, funding, external promotion agencies and professional services, pooling strengths and proactively dovetailing with and better serving the needs of Mainland enterprises going global. He said that, building on the current sound foundation for co-operation, the two places could explore more modes of co-operation and launch more collaborative projects, including organising delegations from Hong Kong's financial, I&T, logistics and professional services sectors to visit Jiangsu, so as to further deepen exchanges and co-operation between the two places.

In the morning, Mr Chan attended an exchange session for technology enterprises organised by Huatai Securities, where he had in-depth exchanges with more than 10 I&T entrepreneurs from Jiangsu and other provinces. The participating enterprises covered frontier areas including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors, embodied intelligence, the low-altitude economy and advanced manufacturing. They are all industry leaders, and many hold important positions in the global market and relevant production and supply chains. Mr Chan listened to their briefings on trends in the relevant industries and their development plans in the respective areas. He also briefed them on the latest overall economic situation of Hong Kong, as well as the key focuses during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, in particular the four centres and one hub, and the strategy for the integrated development of education, technology, talent and industries. He welcomed them to make good use of Hong Kong's internationalised platform as their first stop and support base for going global and expanding their global businesses. The HKSAR Government has set up a task force to organise cross-sectoral efforts to accompany them in going global.

Speaking at the exchange session, Mr Chan noted that the country is accelerating the promotion of high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology, and has already taken global leading positions in many I&T areas. As leading Mainland enterprises accelerate innovation and expand into international markets, they need to connect with international capital markets. On the one hand, they can capitalise on the current positive sentiment among international investors towards China's technological development; on the other hand, they can further align their corporate governance with international standards and best practices, gain greater recognition from investors, and enhance their international visibility. He also encouraged enterprises to actively consider listing in Hong Kong, establishing international business headquarters and cross-boundary treasury centres in the city, and making full use of Hong Kong's quality financial and professional services, as well as relevant tax concession policies, to strengthen their own development and better position their production and supply chains in response to geopolitical challenges.

Mr Chan also visited two representative I&T enterprises in Nanjing today to gain an in-depth understanding of the city's cutting-edge developments in high-end manufacturing as well as life and health technology. One of the enterprises specialises in intelligent equipment and industrial robots, with products widely applied in advanced manufacturing scenarios. The other focuses on biotechnology research and development and is at the international forefront in areas such as gene and cell engineering. Both enterprises are listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, leveraging Hong Kong's capital market to accelerate the commercialisation of scientific research and their global deployment. Mr Chan encouraged them to continue to expand and strengthen their businesses through Hong Kong.

Mr Chan concluded his visit to Nanjing this evening and will return to Hong Kong tomorrow morning (June 20).

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (second right) visiting GenScript Biotech, a company engaged in gene and cell engineering, and being briefed by company representatives on its business. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (centre) visiting Estun, a company engaged in intelligent equipment and industrial robots, and posing for a photo with its Chairman, Mr Wu Bo (second right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (left) visiting Estun, a company engaged in intelligent equipment and industrial robots, and being briefed by its Chairman, Mr Wu Bo (right), on the company's business. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (front row, centre), the Chief Executive Officer of Huatai Securities, Mr Zhou Yi (front row, fourth right), the Vice Mayor of Nanjing, Mr Xu Feng (front row, fourth left), and others posing for a group photo with the participating innovation and technology entrepreneurs after attending an exchange session for technology enterprises organised by Huatai Securities. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (sixth right) attending an exchange session for technology enterprises organised by Huatai Securities, and having in-depth exchanges with innovation and technology entrepreneurs from Jiangsu and other provinces. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (second right) attending an exchange session with technology enterprises organised by Huatai Securities, and having in-depth exchanges with innovation and technology entrepreneurs from Jiangsu and other provinces. The Chief Executive Officer of Huatai Securities, Mr Zhou Yi (first right), and the Vice Mayor of Nanjing, Mr Xu Feng (third right), also attended. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (sixth left) meeting with the Secretary of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee, Mr Zhou Hongbo (sixth right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (left) calling on the Governor of Jiangsu Province, Mr Liu Xiaotao (right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit programme in Nanjing today (June 19). Photo shows Mr Chan (left) calling on the Governor of Jiangsu Province, Mr Liu Xiaotao (right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DH distributes individualised school health reports to schools participating in Whole School Health Programme

The Student Health Service (SHS) of the Department of Health (DH) will start releasing the "School Health Reports and Recommendations" (health reports) tailored to each participating school for the 2025/26 school year under the Whole School Health Programme (WSHP) tomorrow(June 26). Based on the overall health status of students in each school, the health reports provide tailored and targeted school-based health promotion measures. In addition, the DH will arrange school visits by health professionals to provide in-depth explanations of the health reports and recommendations, aiming to assist schools in continuing to implement or roll out relevant health promotion initiatives in the new school year, thereby further promoting students' physical and mental well-being in schools.

The Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address announced that the WSHP would be strengthened and extended to cover all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Based on the overall health status of students in each school, health reports will also be compiled for each participating school to recommend targeted school-based health promotion measures for physical activities, meals and other matters, to improve students' physical and psychological well-being. This year marks the second time the DH has distributed the health reports.

Currently, 901 schools (415 primary schools, 428 secondary schools and 58 special schools) have participated in the WSHP, covering nearly 80 per cent (77.8 per cent) of all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Based on the progress of health promotion measures implemented, participating schools will be upgraded from "Pledged Schools" to "Action Schools", and ultimately promoted to "Advanced Schools" if they have fully implemented the Health Promoting School (HPS) framework, with a view to achieving the World Health Organization (WHO)'s vision of "making every school a health-promoting school". This year, a total of 254 schools have been classified as "Pledged Schools", 622 as "Action Schools" and 25 as "Advanced Schools" (see Annex). The number of "Advanced Schools" has doubled compared to last year, reflecting the education sector's active promotion of students' physical and psychological well-being. The DH expressed gratitude to the participating schools for actively promoting healthy schools and working together to create a safer, healthier and more positive environment in which students can flourish.

"The DH has comprehensively reviewed and analysed the overall results of the health reports. The proportion of participating schools implementing health promotion measures in the 2025/26 school year is generally higher than in the 2024/25 school year, and the progress is satisfactory. In particular, based on the aggregated data from the checklists submitted by schools, all schools have integrated the four major health themes, namely physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and social well-being, into their school curricula. There is still room for improvement in certain areas, such as inviting stakeholders in the community to provide advice for HPS, and providing space for staff and students to relax," the Consultant Community Medicine (Family and Student Health) of the DH, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, said.

Dr Chuang encouraged schools that have not yet joined the WSHP to do so as soon as possible. The WSHP is divided into three phases. First, the DH provides participating schools with guidelines and a checklist, referencing the HPS framework advocated by the WHO, to help them systematically review and formulate health promotion measures. Next, the DH will conduct an in-depth analysis of the annual health assessment data of students attending Student Health Service Centres and the checklists submitted by the schools. Finally, based on these assessments, the DH will compile a health report and provide targeted health promotion recommendations tailored to each school's specific circumstances to assist schools in establishing priorities and strategies for their school-based health promotion work.

"Evidence from international research shows that implementation of the HPS framework can bring about positive impacts on the health of students, such as effectively reducing the risk of smoking among students, reducing bullying cases, helping to improve the body mass index of students, as well as increasing their physical activity and intake of fruits and vegetables. Schools that have not yet joined the WSHP may visit the DH's designated webpageand sign theWhole School Health Charter,or call 3163 4574 to contact the DH'sHealth Promoting School Divisionto register for the WSHP," Dr Chuang said.

In addition, the SHS of the DH provides a comprehensive and free annual health assessment service for all primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong, including growth monitoring; screenings for vision, hearing and scoliosis; physical examination; health assessment questionnaires on health behaviours and psychosocial well-being; individual health counselling; health education; and mop-up vaccinations. Through these comprehensive assessments, the DH enables parents to understand their children's health condition and identify potential health problems early. The DH's healthcare professionals will offer health advice and recommendations based on students' health conditions. Referrals will be made for students in need of further assessment and follow-up at the Special Assessment Service of the SHS of the DH, specialist clinics, or other organisations as appropriate, thereby safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of students. Furthermore, data from the annual health assessment service, with personal data removed, will be used to compile individualised school health reports for schools participating in the WSHP.

Source: AI-found images