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CE meets Governor of Guangdong

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Chief Executive John Lee met Governor of Guangdong Wang Weizhong at Government House today for an exchange of views on a wide range of topics, including ways to further strengthen co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangdong and promote the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).   Welcoming Mr Wang and his delegation to Hong Kong, Mr Lee said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to the city’s better integration into national development and the formulation of strategic plans for Hong Kong to dovetail with national strategies.   The current-term Hong Kong SAR Government has established a steering group to guide and co-ordinate Hong Kong’s integration into overall national development, including key national strategies such as the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the development of the bay area, and the Belt & Road Initiative, and oversee regional co-operation between the Hong Kong SAR and various provinces, citie

Unemployment rate stays at 2.9%

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The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.9% for the period between December 2023 and February 2024, unchanged from November 2023 to January 2024, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The underemployment rate also remained unchanged, at 1%.   Total employment decreased by around 2,300 to 3,694,700, while the labour force shrank by around 2,700, to 3,797,000.   The number of unemployed people was 102,300, unchanged from the preceding three-month period. The number of underemployed people decreased by around 1,200 to 37,600.   Besides highlighting that the unemployment rates of various sectors remain low, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said the labour market is expected to stay tight in the near term, in parallel with continued growth in the local economy. http://dlvr.it/T4H8V0

CS chairs human resources meeting

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Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired the third meeting of the third-term Human Resources Planning Commission.   Representatives of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) briefed members on their achievements in trawling for talent, enterprises and investment as well as their work plans, and exchanged views with them.   Since December 2022, the Government has been implementing an array of new initiatives to proactively attract and retain talent under the steer of the Chief Secretary. They included enhancing various existing talent admission schemes, establishing the Top Talent Pass Scheme and running the HKTE online platform.   At the meeting, members were pleased to note that the various talent admission schemes had been well received.   As at end-February 2024, the schemes had received a total of more than 250,000 applications, about 160,000 of which had been approved. More than 100,000 talented individuals have

Response to art event overwhelming

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Advance registration places for all sessions are fully booked for the first week of teamLab: Continuous, an exhibition at the lawn area of Tamar Park which forms part of "Art@Harbour 2024", a large-scale outdoor art project. Bookings for the second week will open at noon on March 25.   Online booking was open from noon today, through the Klook system, for special sessions during the first week of the exhibition, from March 25 to March 31.   The Leisure & Cultural Services Department said it had received an overwhelming response, and that advance bookings were full.   It added, however, that members of the public can still attempt to make same-day bookings, from 1pm daily from March 25, also through the Klook system.   The department stressed that admission to some parts of the exhibition zone will be reserved for holders of a valid QR code. Those who do not have one are free to view teamLab: Continuous exhibits at those areas of the exhibition which do n

Public housing recycling expanded

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The Environmental Protection Department today said that six more recycling stores have opened at public rental housing estates since December last year.   The community recycling network GREEN@COMMUNITY has been being expanded to 50 public rental housing estates. The first two recycling stores located in Kwai Fong Estate and Tai Wo Hau Estate commenced services in June last year.   In December last year, the department has awarded 19 operation service contracts of the recycling stores in public rental housing estates, with each service contract covering two to three PRHs for a period of 28 months.   Six recycling stores have been put into service from December last year to February this year, including GREEN@KAI YIP, GREEN@ON TING, GREEN@YAN TIN, GREEN@WAN TSUI, GREEN@YUE WAN, and GREEN@CHUN YEUNG.   The remaining recycling stores will be opened in succession from the second quarter of this year after the completion of renovation works.   Meanwhile, the department h

Wah Fu Estate redevelopment set

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The Housing Authority today announced the latest progress on the phased clearance and redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate and the relevant rehousing arrangements.   The authority said the views it collected generally supported the proposal on the estate redevelopment and clearance in three phases.   The proposed developments in the five Pok Fu Lam South sites, namely, Wah King Street, Wah Lok Path, Wah Fu North, Kai Lung Wan South and Kai Lung Wan North, and the existing Wah Fu Estate will serve as major reception resources for the redevelopment of the estate.   In accordance with the latest progress, the anticipated intake date of the phase one Wah King Street site will be advanced from 2027 to 2026 for rehousing tenants of Wah On House and Wah Lok House.   The anticipated intake date of Wah Lok Path site in 2027 to 2028 will remain unchanged while the anticipated intake date of Wah Fu North site will be revised from the second half of 2028 to the first half of 2030 due to

Learning award applications open

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The 2024 Award Scheme for Learning Experiences, aimed at those in industries implementing the Qualifications Framework (QF), will be open for applications from tomorrow until May 31, the Government announced today.   Practitioners from 23 industries implementing the QF are welcome to apply.   The Education Bureau explained that the scheme encourages practitioners to engage in learning activities locally or globally so as to keep up to date on the latest developments in their own industries and extend their networks.   Since its launch in 2013, the scheme has attracted more than 2,300 applicants from different industries, with 700 awards being given.   Over 60% of awardees participated in overseas learning activities, and about 40% engaged in such activities locally.   Activities include competitions, seminars, sharing sessions, exhibitions and study tours.   Awardees engaging in local learning activities will receive an award of $10,000, while those engaging in