Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" Showcases Hong Kong's Phased Carbon Reduction Achievements

Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" showcases Hong Kong's phased carbon reduction achievements

The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:

To encourage citizens to transform carbon reduction awareness into action and jointly practice a green and low-carbon lifestyle, the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Auditorium of the Hong Kong Palace Museum. The event marked the first announcement of the interim results of the Let's Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits, and recognition of active responses from key strategic partners of the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign for the Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) and the ECC to drive green transformation, continuously reduce carbon emissions in their operations and help promote carbon reduction messages, contributing to Hong Kong's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Acting Secretary for the Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, officiated at the event. Other officiating guests included the Chairperson of the ECC, Ms Grace Kwok; the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, Dr Eric Cheng; the Chairman of the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, Dr Lam Ching-choi; and the Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Ecology (Environment), Mr Eddie Cheung.

In her remarks, Miss Wong said that with the funding support from the Environment and Conservation Fund, the ECC has partnered with the EEB since 2023 to officially roll out the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign. Through diversified publicity activities, the campaign builds public awareness on carbon reduction and encourages citizens to transform their awareness into action to jointly contribute to the carbon neutrality goal. Miss Wong noted that the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign this year continued to receive support from all sectors of society, with numerous organisations joining as key strategic partners. Moreover, the Government has set clear binding indicators for future environmental protection projects in the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026–2030) announced last month. With the steadfast support from all sectors, the Government is confident in achieving these targets and looks forward to continuous co-operation between stakeholders and citizens, with the EEB in building a green and livable Hong Kong.

In her welcome speech, Ms Kwok stated that since the official launch of the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign in 2023, the ECC has progressively raised public awareness on climate change, enhanced carbon reduction awareness and promoted collective action from the public. Since its launch in 2024, the Key Strategic Partners Scheme under the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign has successfully brought together 42 organisations to help promote carbon reduction messages. Ms Kwok also mentioned that the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign has received enthusiastic public participation. Notably, the "Carbon-reducing Habit" dedicated webpage has recorded over 112 000 page views since its launch in May this year. The cumulative carbon reduction goal set by the public through the webpage has exceeded 24 270 tonnes, equivalent to the carbon absorption of over 1.05 million trees in a year. Ms Kwok hoped that all sectors can continue their efforts and march towards the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Certificates of appreciation were also presented at the event to the key strategic partners in recognition of their adoption of carbon reduction technologies or lower-carbon methods in improving their existing operational models. Representatives from Radio Television Hong Kong were invited to introduce to participants a series of carbon reduction-related radio and television programmes jointly produced with the ECC. School representatives participating in the Carbon Reduction @ School Inter-school Competition also shared their green and low-carbon initiatives of the campuses. More than 200 guests attended the event. Members of the public can visit the ECC "Carbon-reducing Habit" webpage (www.ecc.org.hk/en/publicity/crh.html) for more details.

The Environmental Campaign Committee held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Environment), Mr Eddie Cheung (right), presenting a certificate to the Principal of St. Joseph's Anglo-Chinese School, Mr Poon Wing-keung (left), one of the schools participating in promoting the Carbon Reduction @ School Inter-school Competition. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Chairperson of the ECC, Ms Grace Kwok (right), and the Chairman of the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, Dr Lam Ching-choi (centre), sharing the progress of the Carbon Reduction@School Inter-school Competition. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Environmental Campaign Committee held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong (first row, centre), with all key strategic partners. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Environmental Campaign Committee held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, Dr Eric Cheng (left), presenting a certificate of appreciation to the Controller (Radio) of Radio Television Hong Kong, Ms Angel Cheng (right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong (centre); the Chairperson of the ECC, Ms Grace Kwok (second left); the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, Dr Eric Cheng (second right); the Chairman of the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, Dr Lam Ching-choi (first left); and the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Environment), Mr Eddie Cheung (first right), officiating at the event. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Environmental Campaign Committee held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, speaking at the event. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) held the Campaign Presentation of "Count and Build Carbon-reducing Habits" today (October 30) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo shows the Chairperson of the ECC, Ms Grace Kwok, speaking at the event. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hospital Authority responds to Office of Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data investigation report

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) said today (October 30) that the HA notes the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has completed the investigation, and published the report today, regarding a suspected incident of patient data theft and the unlawful uploading of the data onto a third-party platform in the Kowloon East Cluster (KEC) in April this year. The HA accepts the investigation findings and recommendations, and will take appropriate action to seriously follow up on them. The HA will continue to strengthen its security of information system to ensure that hospital operations, patient services and personal data security are stringently protected.

In April this year, the HA's routine surveillance system detected a suspected incident of patient data theft in the KEC. The incident was an isolated event involving the management of data access control of a contractor during maintenance works in a peripheral clinical system, resulting in the theft of some patient data. The HA attaches great importance to the incident and had proactively reported it to Police and the PCPD in a timely manner. The Police subsequently arrested a staff member from the contractor on suspicion of access to a computer with dishonest intent. The HA has been fully co-operating with Police and the PCPD in the investigation. As the Police's criminal investigation is ongoing, it is not appropriate to further comment on the incident at this stage.

The HA takes the PCPD's recommendations on the protection of personal data seriously. Following the incident, the KEC immediately put in place a series of measures and conducted a comprehensive review, implementing a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the security of information system and oversight of contractors, including the procedures recommended by the PCPD, to prevent unauthorised access to the personal data of patients and staff through system maintenance work. The measures include:

1. strictly requiring that whenever contractor personnel access the system on-site, they must be accompanied by duly authorised hospital information technology (IT) staff, with records kept of the contractor personnel's identity, purpose of access, time of operation, and equipment brought in and taken out;
2. regularly auditing data access of the information systems concerned, and requiring contractors to submit audit reports to the HA periodically, reporting any anomalous, unauthorised or suspicious activities;
3. strengthening oversight of contractors' access rights, configuring data access rights according to roles and functions, restricting use to authorised personnel and approved circumstances, and allowing data exports only under specifically approved circumstances; and
4. regularly conducting independent security risk assessments and audits of the systems concerned by the cluster's IT department together with the Information Technology and Health Informatics Division of HA Head Office, in accordance with the HA Information Security Policy.

The KEC has previously informed and expressed an apology to the patients and staff affected through different channels.

The spokesperson emphasised that the HA has always attached great importance to the security of information systems and personal data privacy. The HA will continue to monitor the operation of its information systems around the clock and, should any anomaly be detected, appropriate contingency measures to safeguard the privacy of patients and staff will be taken promptly. The HA will also maintain close liaison with the PCPD and other law enforcement agencies, as well as professional cybersecurity organisations, to exchange security information and intelligence; continuously enhance system security; strengthen internal training, data management policies and guidelines; regularly conduct tests and reviews; and adopt up-to-date security technologies and solutions to effectively prevent any unlawful acts.

Source: AI-found images