Chief Executive Meets Minister of Education to Strengthen Cooperation in Education and Talent Development

CE meets Minister of Education

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met the Minister of Education, Mr Huai Jinpeng, today (November 2) to exchange views on deepening co-operation and exchanges in education. Also attending the meeting were the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip.

Mr Lee welcomed Mr Huai's visit to Hong Kong. He said that Hong Kong is home to five universities ranked among the world's top 100, with its education competitiveness ranking among the top in the world. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is fully implementing the Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan to develop Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent, and, through the Task Force on Study in Hong Kong, attracting outstanding students from around the world to pursue studies in Hong Kong. The inaugural Study in Hong Kong Week was launched this year, while the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education 2026 Conference held as part of the event was the largest ever, underscoring the international influence of Hong Kong's post-secondary education. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantages of connecting the Mainland and the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, roll out the international publicity campaign "Hong Kong: Your World-class Campus", and support institutions in conducting student recruitment activities in the Mainland and overseas to further expand the pool of outstanding talent.

Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM). With a university town as the main focus of its development, the NM will bring together five key elements, namely education, technology, industry, talent and urban development, to promote the synergistic development of the Government, industries, academia, research and investment sectors, and develop it into an important strategic platform for high-level post-secondary education, the integration of innovation and technology, and the clustering of high-end talent. The HKSAR Government will further strengthen co-operation with the Ministry of Education to encourage more top-tier Mainland higher education and research institutions to establish a presence in the NM, thereby pooling top academic and research strengths with local institutions, promoting the transformation and realisation of more innovation and technology outcomes, and achieving complementary advantages and mutual benefit.

Mr Lee said that higher education exchanges and co-operation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) are thriving. At present, all eight University Grants Committee-funded universities of Hong Kong have established industry-education-research bases in Shenzhen, while four of them have set up campuses in Mainland cities of the GBA. Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance this year, the HKSAR Government will continue to enhance the collaboration mechanism between higher education institutions in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and deepen co-operation in innovation and technology as well as talent exchanges. He expressed confidence that, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Hong Kong and the Mainland will deepen collaboration in areas including teacher training, digital education and patriotic education, and jointly contribute to the country's endeavour to build a leading country in education.

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee (right), meets the Minister of Education, Mr Huai Jinpeng (left), today (November 2). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Customs detects drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport

Hong Kong Customs today (November 2) detected a drug trafficking case involving an incoming passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 5.1 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds, three types of products containing suspected Part I poison, and 261 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes, with a total estimated market value of about $1.06 million.

A 42-year-old Mainland male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found the batch of suspected cannabis buds, products containing suspected Part I poison, and duty-not-paid cigarettes inside his carry-on baggage. He was subsequently arrested.

The arrested man has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, one count of possession of dutiable goods, one count of failing to declare to a member of the Customs and Excise Service the possession of dutiable goods and one count of possession of Part I poison. The case will bebrought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (November 3).

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who possesses any poison included in Part I of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.

Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance(DCO), cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Hong Kong Customs detects drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases