CJ expresses sorrow over passing of first Chief Executive of HKSAR, Mr Tung Chee Hwa
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, today (September 9) expressed deep sadness over the passing of the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Tung Chee Hwa.
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, Photo source: reference image
"As the first Chief Executive of the HKSAR, Mr Tung Chee Hwa led and guided the region in the implementation of the principle of 'one country, two systems' and the Basic Law through the most critical time in its history. He made significant contributions to the HKSAR's smooth transition and return to the motherland, as well as the successful implementation of the 'one country, two systems' arrangement," Chief Justice Cheung said.
"Mr Tung served our country and the HKSAR with dedication and commitment, commanding wide respect from various sectors. In 1997, Mr Tung appointed the first Chief Justice, as well as the first batch of permanent and non-permanent judges, of the Court of Final Appeal of the HKSAR in accordance with the Basic Law. This was essentially important to maintaining the rule of law and judicial independence of the HKSAR. He gave full support to the work of the Judiciary throughout his tenure.
"On behalf of the Judiciary, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to his family."
Mr Tung Chee Hwa, Photo source: Xinhua News
Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing
The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, led a delegation from the Department of Health (DH) to Beijing today (September 9) to pay a visit to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). In addition to exchanging information on the latest progress in promoting scientific regulation and innovation in drugs and medical devices, both sides also signed a co-operation agreement to further deepen collaborations and exchanges in testing technologies of Chinese medicine (CM) and the internationalisation of CM standards. On the same day, the DH and the Beijing Municipal Health Commission (BJHC) co-hosted the Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference, with a view to jointly advancing the high-quality healthcare development in Hong Kong.
Witnessed by the Commissioner of the NMPA, Mr Huang Guo, Dr Lam and the Director General of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the NMPA, Ms He Li, signed a co-operation agreement on research for CM testing and standards to further extend and deepen collaboration in this area, which has spanned more than a decade.
Under the co-operation agreement, both sides will strengthen exchanges and collaborations in the standards and technologies of CM covering research on and formulation of standards for Chinese Materia Medica, CM decoction pieces, proprietary CM and CM granules; the development of testing technologies; as well as safety tests and risk control for the quality of CM, through multiple channels such as expert meetings, seminars and training. Both sides will also deepen talent training and technical interfacing in accordance with the co-operation agreement, with a view to promoting CM standards and testing technology innovation in alignment with international standards.
Dr Lam thanked the NMPA and its affiliated institution, the National Institute for Drug Control (NIDC), for their longstanding support for CM development in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The permanent building of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute under the DH commenced operations late last year. The Chinese Medicines Herbarium inside has received professional technical guidance from the NMPA and the NIDC, and was endowed with more than 300 valuable and representative specimens of Chinese Materia Medica commonly used nationwide, enriching its collections and enhancing public understanding of CM.
Dr Lam remarked that the Outline of the National 15th Five-Year Plan has promulgated to advance the inheritance and innovation of CM and to promote its global expansion. The DH will actively leverage its technical strengths in CM testing and quality control to become an important anchor for CM going global, and to strengthen the exploration, utilisation and research of global medicinal resources. This co-operation arrangement will extend the longstanding close collaboration, and further enhance testing expertise level as well as quality and safety control of CM to promote the development of Hong Kong as a bridgehead for CM going global.
Regarding scientific regulation and innovative development of drugs and medical devices, Dr Lam also introduced the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, the preparatory work for the 30th Global Harmonization Working Party Annual Meeting and Technical Committee Meeting scheduled for December this year, and the progress of the 2026 annual bilateral work plan, covering issues on strengthening cross-boundary drug regulation and enhancing training and exchanges between the two sides in different areas such as primary evaluation of new drugs and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) for clinical trials of pharmaceutical products.
In the afternoon of the same day, upon the invitation of the BJHC, the DH co-hosted the annual Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference during the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services. Other co-organisers included the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Beijing Municipal Disease Prevention and Control Administration, the Beijing Hospitals Authority and the Cross-straits Medicine Exchange Association. The theme of this year's conference is "Beijing and Hong Kong, Join Hands for a Shared Healthy Future", focusing on discussions of smart healthcare, transformation of scientific achievements, inheritance and innovation of CM and public health emergency response.
Dr Lam said that this year is significant as it marks the beginning of the National 15th Five-Year Plan. Under the principle of complementing each other in bringing about mutual benefits, the DH will continue to promote exchanges and collaborations with Beijing, actively integrate into and serve the overall national development, and implement a health-first development strategy to fully leverage Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of having strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world to contribute to a "Healthy China".
At the meeting, DH representatives shared how, under the framework of building a health big data ecosystem, Hong Kong's Electronic Health System (eHealth) connects the public and private healthcare sectors to enable realtime sharing of electronic health records, empower citizens to manage their own health, and optimise the allocation of healthcare resources through bigdata analytics. They also introduced Hong Kong's CM regulatory regime and the formulation of CM standards and advancing innovations in testing. Representatives also highlighted Hong Kong's commitment to strengthening primary healthcare under the guiding principle of "prevention first, community-based". The reform is being deepened through chronic disease co-care, intensified tobacco control, and the development of community networks. These measures aim to integrate health management into daily life and encourage citizens to take on the role of being the "first person responsible" for their own health.
During Dr Lam's stay in Beijing, he will also attend some activities on Health and Wellness Service at the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services, and pay a visit to related public health authorities.
Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
