This is the 1,700th issue of "Hong Kong in a Day"
Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policy Heng Swee Keat will pay a six-day official visit to China from April 7 to April 12. This is his second visit to China in five years. .
Today (April 12), Heng Swee Keat returned to Singapore after completing his visit to Hong Kong. He posted on his social media platform that he was very happy to meet the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chiu. As global cities and financial centers, Singapore and Hong Kong share many similarities and common challenges. "We can carry out more cooperation in areas of common interest such as trade, investment, innovative research, etc., and solve issues of important significance to both sides."
Wang Ruijie said that I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to prosper and develop under the "one country, two systems" framework. I look forward to maintaining a good momentum of bilateral exchanges and further promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chiu, said that he was very pleased to meet with Wang Ruijie again in Hong Kong after meeting during his visit to Singapore in July last year. He said that Hong Kong and Singapore have close relations. Singapore has always been Hong Kong's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Last year, the bilateral trade volume of goods between the two places reached HK$394.7 billion. Hong Kong will continue to make every effort to strengthen diversified cooperation with Singapore, especially in the green and digital economy, as well as other emerging industries.
Li Jiachao also thanked Singapore for its continued support of Hong Kong’s early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, making greater contributions to regional cooperation and adding development momentum to Hong Kong.
Li Jiachao pointed out that the bilateral relationship between China and Singapore was upgraded to a "comprehensive and high-quality forward-looking partnership" last year. Under "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has the unique advantage of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world. It will play its role as a "super connector" and "super value-added person" to help the country and Singapore promote mutually beneficial economic growth.
A deadly fire that cannot burn out the fire-fighting black hole
The Hong Kong Fire Services Department confirmed today (12th) that smoke doors on 11 floors of the Wah Fung Building on Jordan Road where a major fire occurred recently were damaged. Moreover, the building’s fire protection installations and equipment do not have valid annual inspection certificates.
At the same time, the Fire Services Department stated that as of the end of last month, the Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department had inspected a total of 10,900 old mixed-use buildings. The Fire Services Department has issued more than 290,000 "fire safety instructions" to owners and occupiers of 10,400 target buildings, but nearly 180,000 of them have not been implemented.
It is reported that the Hong Kong Buildings Department issued fire safety instructions to Wah Fung Building as early as 2008, but has still not complied with them.
Statistics from the Buildings Department show that as of the end of 2023, there were 9,578 buildings in Hong Kong that had not complied with the "Fire Safety Instructions", mainly distributed in Yau Tsim Mong District, Sham Shui Po District and Central and Western District, with 1,843 and 1,267 buildings respectively. and 1076 buildings.
"Fire Safety Instructions" refers to directives to owners to comply with the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance, the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance and the Fire Safety (Industrial Buildings) Ordinance within a specified period. Fire safety construction measures to improve the fire safety standards of their premises or buildings. For buildings that have received "fire safety instructions" but have not implemented them, it means that they have not met safety standards in terms of fire protection.
The Buildings Department said that if the owner fails to comply with the instructions and there is no reasonable explanation, the Department will take enforcement measures in accordance with the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance as appropriate, including issuing warning letters and prosecuting the defaulting owner. In addition, the SAR government is proposing to amend the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance to empower relevant departments to carry out fire safety renovation projects on behalf of owners of old target buildings who fail to comply with the requirements of the Ordinance and take back the relevant cost of.
Yau Tsim Mong District Councilor Yip Ao-tung said that when many property owners carry out fire safety improvement projects, they will encounter the problem of "difficult and expensive bidding". Therefore, he suggested that the government assist owners to conduct unified bidding within a specific scope, so that contractors can conduct unified construction of two to three buildings, thereby reducing some of the owners' expenses.
Legislative Council member Liang Wenguang suggested that the SAR government should first understand the reasons for owners who failed to comply with the "fire safety instructions" and then prescribe appropriate measures. If it is found that there has been deliberate delay, a criminal investigation should be initiated.
"Three Connects, Two Links and One Bay Area", the "Action Program for the Construction of the Rule of Law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" was released
The Department of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR Government today (12th) released the "Action Program for the Construction of the Rule of Law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" (hereinafter referred to as "Action Plan"), which elaborates on the basic principles, development paths and specific policies and measures for the future rule of law construction in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The Secretary for Justice of the SAR government, Lam Ting-kwok, introduced that the Action Plan focuses on two aspects: establishing the basic policy of "three connections, two connections, and one Bay Area"; and strengthening collaboration with the industry and other stakeholders to effectively implement the Action Plan. various policy measures.
Regarding the specific measures of the "Three Connects", Deputy Secretary for Justice Zhang Guojun said that in terms of mechanism docking, the Department of Justice will actively promote the establishment of a regular high-level docking platform for the Greater Bay Area with the Supreme People's Court, and will also promote the establishment of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao University. An information platform for legal and dispute resolution services in the Bay Area; in terms of rule convergence, we will continue to actively strive to expand the scope of application of "Hong Kong-funded Hong Kong Law" and "Hong Kong-funded Hong Kong Arbitration" measures, and promote the formulation of non-litigation dispute resolution rules in the Greater Bay Area Best practices include planning to hold Greater Bay Area mediator training courses in Hong Kong, establishing an online dispute resolution platform for the Greater Bay Area, and continuing to actively support Hong Kong mediation institutions to participate in commercial mediation cases in mainland courts in the Greater Bay Area as specially invited mediation organizations; In terms of talent connection, the Hong Kong International Legal Talent Training Institute will be established, and the establishment of a specific platform organization for lawyers in the Greater Bay Area will be actively promoted.
Lin Dingguo said that the Department of Justice released the "Action Plan" for the first time, demonstrating its great importance and positive and pragmatic attitude towards the construction of the Greater Bay Area. In the future, we will use action as a means and results as the goal, implement the "Action Program" in a pragmatic spirit, and help build a "Law-Based Bay Area" with tangible results.
"Snow Dragon 2" ends its visit to Hong Kong and returns to Shanghai
my country's first self-built polar scientific research icebreaker "Xue Long 2" ended its five-day visit to Hong Kong and set off today (12th) to return to the Shanghai base for supplies , to prepare for the next polar scientific research expedition.
At the farewell ceremony held at the Tsim Sha Tsui Marine Terminal, Ma Fengguo, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the "Snow Dragon 2" visit to Hong Kong, and Huang Shuxian, Deputy Secretary for the Environment and Ecology Bureau of Hong Kong, saw off the ship. Representatives of the "Snow Dragon 2" waved goodbye to everyone on the deck. At around 2 p.m., the "Snow Dragon 2" set sail and left the pier, escorted away by a fleet composed of the SAR government and non-governmental organizations.
Ma Fengguo said that the "Snow Dragon 2" visit to Hong Kong ended successfully. He thanked the country for its support. Led by Chief Executive Li Ka-chiu and cooperating with the academic, business and civil society, the message of "Understanding the Polar Regions, Protecting the Polar Regions and Utilizing the Polar Regions" has penetrated into all strata of society. He hopes to use this opportunity to encourage more citizens to care about climate change and inspire more young people to participate in polar scientific expeditions.
According to the organizing committee of the event, the "Snow Dragon 2"'s five-day visit to Hong Kong attracted nearly 7,200 citizens to visit the ship, and nearly 5,000 people communicated with scientists. Ma Fengguo revealed that the SAR government has actively started discussions with relevant departments and hopes to secure quotas for young Hong Kong scholars and students to participate in future scientific research expeditions, especially in the polar regions.
Author丨Guo Yongji, chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News
