Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation Visits New Community Living Room in Tsuen Wan West

Seventh-term Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation convenes second meeting and visits Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, this afternoon (November 12) chaired the second meeting of the seventh-term Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation (the Commission) and led members to visit the Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room (CLR).

The Tsuen Wan West CLR officially opened in June this year and is the first CLR in the New Territories. The CLR was spearheaded by the Government, with the venue provided by the Shaw Foundation Hong Kong Limited, operating expenses funded by the Community Care Fund, and its operation undertaken by the Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association. The programme showcases the characteristics and strengths of tripartite collaboration among the Government, businesses, and the community under the current-term Government's targeted poverty alleviation strategy. As of August 31 this year, the Tsuen Wan West CLR has recorded over 120000 attendances.

During the visit, members were briefed about the facilities that the Tsuen Wan West CLR offers, including a training room for supporting children with special needs, a children's play corner, a music room, a youth zone, an innovation and technology education room, and a talent development and activity room for women, in addition to essential facilities such as a shared living room, a kitchen and dining area, and a study/learning area for students, as well as self-service laundry and drying equipment, comprehensively catering to the needs of different groups in the community.

To extend the service functions of the CLR and meet the welfare needs of carers, the Tsuen Wan West CLR also provides targeted support services for members caring for children with special needs, including parenting training and student learning support. Members had conversations with beneficiary households and were pleased to note that the users complimented the comprehensive facilities and heartwarming services of the CLR, with hardware and software complementing each other to fully leverage the CLR's multifaceted support functions.

At the meeting, Mr Chan said that the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) and this year's Policy Address both uphold the people-oriented principle of governance and propose to step up targeted poverty alleviation and to set up additional CLRs to provide subdivided households with various facilities, along with referrals to social welfare services, to raise their living standards, broaden their interpersonal networks, and strengthen their sense of belonging to the community. As of now, the total number of CLRs across Hong Kong has increased to 18, which are expected to serve about 10000 subdivided unit families, and new CLRs will be launched before the end of this year.

He continued, saying that, as the Commission has included carers in the target groups under targeted poverty alleviation, CLRs will strengthen their poverty alleviation and mutual assistance functions. The support services provided by the Tsuen Wan West CLR for members caring for children with special needs are precisely a concrete manifestation of the CLR strengthening its poverty alleviation and mutual assistance functions. Members were pleased to note the progress of the relevant work and supported the CLRs in continuing to combine the efforts of the Government, businesses, and the community to provide more appropriate assistance to more families and carers in need.

Seventh-term Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation convenes second meeting and visits Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Seventh-term Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation convenes second meeting and visits Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Seventh-term Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation convenes second meeting and visits Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Immigration Department repatriates 20 Vietnamese illegal immigrants and one overstayer to Vietnam

The Immigration Department (ImmD) carried out a repatriation operation today (November 12). Twenty Vietnamese illegal immigrants and one overstayer were repatriated to Vietnam. The persons removed comprised 14 men and seven women, all of whom were unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants. Among them were discharged prisoners who had committed criminal offences and had been sentenced to imprisonment.

The ImmD has been committed to promptly removing unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants from Hong Kong to maintain effective immigration control and safeguard the public interest. Under the updated removal policy effective from December 7, 2022, the ImmD may generally proceed with the removal of a claimant whose judicial review case has been dismissed by the Court of First Instance of the High Court, thereby enhancing the efficiency of and efforts in removing unsubstantiated claimants.

The ImmD will continue to explore different feasible solutions to expedite the repatriation of unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants, and will actively co-ordinate with relevant authorities to optimise repatriation routes and the operation process. The ImmD will actively maintain close liaison with governments of major source countries of non-refoulement claimants, airline companies and other government departments to repatriate unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants from Hong Kong as soon as practicable through all appropriate measures.

Immigration Department repatriates 20 Vietnamese illegal immigrants and one overstayer to Vietnam Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Immigration Department repatriates 20 Vietnamese illegal immigrants and one overstayer to Vietnam Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases