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2026
The Government today announced that following an open recruitment exercise, Francis Chan will take up the appointment as the Commissioner of Critical Infrastructure (Computer-system Security) for a three-year term with effect from today. The appointment is made by the Chief Executive in accordance with the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance. The Government said Mr Chan possesses outstanding cybersecurity expertise, international vision, law enforcement experience and strategic management capabilities, along with excellent leadership, management and communication skills. It added that Mr Chan will lead the Commissioner's Office under the Security Bureau to safeguard the security of computer systems of critical infrastructures in Hong Kong. Mr Chan is the former Chief Superintendent of the Police’s Cyber Security & Technology Crime Bureau and has served as the Chairperson of the INTERPOL Cybercrime Expert Group. After retiring from the Police in 2020, he has taken up managerial roles related to computer systems and cybersecurity in the private sector. He has been serving as the Assistant Director (Critical Infrastructure) of the Security Bureau since May 2024. The Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance, which comes into effect today, provides a comprehensive legal framework to safeguard the security of computer systems of critical infrastructures in Hong Kong, regulate operators of critical infrastructures and investigate and respond to relevant computer-system security threats and incidents. Mr Chan will head the Commissioner's Office, established today, to implement and enforce the statutory regime of the ordinance, including designating "operators of critical infrastructures" and "critical computer systems" as well as monitoring their compliance with statutory obligations. In addition, the Chief Executive also appointed members of the Appeal Panel under Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance for a two-year term from today to December 31, 2027.
Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing today officiated at the opening ceremony of the "Yau Ma Tei Police Station: A Cinematic Journey" exhibition at the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station. The exhibition, presented by the Cultural & Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, will be open to the public from tomorrow. It showcases film sets reconstructed by Hong Kong film professionals, collectable items and original pieces, presenting the city's memories of the era portrayed in Hong Kong crime film classics, allowing visitors to experience Hong Kong's film culture and the unique creativity of local filmmakers. This exhibition is one of the major projects of the Government's Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots. It is also the second tourist attraction themed around Hong Kong films, following the "Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey" Movie Set Exhibition which opened last year. Also officiating at the opening ceremony were Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung and Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law. Situated at 627 Canton Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station is a Grade 2 historic building. An admission ticket to the exhibition costs $30, a concessionary ticket is $10, while children aged six or below get in for free. Members of the public may book tickets through the online booking system as tickets will not be available onsite. To coincide with the exhibition and promote district tourism, the Yau Tsim Mong District Office also launched the Yau Ma Tei Dining & Shopping Festival as well as a Mini Bazaar today. Exhibition visitors may enjoy a wide range of special offers at participating merchants. The Mini Bazaar, which operates on weekends and public holidays until March 1, is located opposite the main entrance of the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station, and sells cultural and creative products as well as local traditional snacks.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today strongly condemned the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for a deliberate and unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition in an attempt to fabricate facts to mislead the public by intentionally portraying him as a victim to cover up his offences and conviction by the court. In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the court's verdict was entirely free from any political considerations, noting that reasons for the verdict, including the court's analysis of the relevant legal principles and evidence, are fully open for public inspection. The court's verdict is well-founded and reasoned, fully demonstrating that its decision was made strictly in accordance with the law and evidence and free from any interference, the statement said. The court clarified that Lai Chee-ying's only intent, whether pre or post National Security Law, was to seek the downfall of the Communist Party of China, even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong. Additionally, the court found that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind of the conspiracies charged in all three counts, and his actions showed his intent to pursue these conspiracies, which constituted a threat to the national security in the PRC and the city, the statement added. The Hong Kong SAR Government emphasised that Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed and lawbreakers be held accountable, noting that Article 5 of the security law and section 2 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly state that the principle of the rule of law shall be adhered to in preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for offences endangering national security. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organisations should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a privilege to break the law, and is totally contrary to the spirit of the rule of law, it added. The statement dismissed the claims regarding Lai Chee-ying's health condition as reported by BBC, noting that the Hong Kong SAR Government has repeatedly insisted that the Correctional Services Department (CSD) handled the custodial arrangements for him in the same manner as other persons-in-custody. It said that Lai Chee-ying has received adequate and comprehensive medical attention. All correctional facilities, equipped with hospitals or sick bays, maintain 24/7 staffing by medical officers seconded from the Department of Health and correctional staff with professional nursing qualifications. The Hospital Authority and the Department of Health’s medical specialists visit correctional institutions regularly to give persons-in-custody specialist consultation and treatment, including dental treatment. Those with dental health issues are referred to dental specialists, and in serious cases are transferred immediately to a public hospital for treatment, the statement added. The statement noted that during the public court hearing in August 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying informed the court that he had consistently received appropriate treatment and care in prison. The statement said that daily medical check-ups were arranged for Lai Chee-ying, and he raised no complaints about the care he received. Consequently, the court commended the CSD for its medical arrangements. On December 15, 2025, when the court handed down its verdict, the senior counsel representing him stated in response to questions from the media that everyone in the court could clearly see his health condition, the statement added. The CSD provided dental treatment for Lai Chee-ying in 2021 and 2022 based on his needs. Since then, Lai Chee-ying has had no dental health problems and has made no further requests for dental treatment, the statement noted. Separately in 2025, Lai Chee-ying notified the CSD of problems with his fingernails. However, he fully recovered after treatment with ointment prescribed by the institution's medical officer, with no loss of fingernails as alleged in the media reports, the statement added. In August 2025, before the public hearing, the CSD arranged for him to wear a cardiac monitoring device and prescribed heart medication for heart palpitations, to be used as needed. The statement emphasised that since then, Lai Chee-ying has made no further complaints to the department about his heart palpitations. The statement stressed that the allegations made by Lai Chee-ying's daughter and relevant media reports, including those by BBC, are completely baseless. The Hong Kong SAR Government pointed out that individuals with ulterior motives, including Lai Chee-ying's family members and certain media, have ignored the facts and continue to spread lies and engage in despicable acts.
2025
The legal departments of Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region today officially launched the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Arbitrator Panel and the Greater Bay Area Mediator Panel 2025. According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), these panels, comprising 143 arbitrators and 233 mediators, will strengthen professional collaboration and dispute resolution expertise in the GBA. The DoJ stated that these panels will maximise regional resource advantages and align the arbitration and mediation regulatory frameworks across the three jurisdictions while establishing unified GBA standards. Ultimately, the DoJ intends for the panels to strengthen the region’s multifaceted dispute resolution mechanism. The panels were jointly established by the Hong Kong SAR Government’s DoJ, the Guangdong Province’s Department of Justice, and the Macao SAR Government’s Office of the Secretary for Administration & Justice. They were endorsed at the GBA Legal Departments Joint Conference.
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) today alerted members of the public to fraudulent WSD website addresses that encourage recipients to pay water bills via a hyperlink provided. The fraudulent websites are: “wsd.govi[.]qpon/hk”, “wsd[.]giov[.]lat/hk” and “wsd[.]pijhhsj[.]sbs”. The WSD stresses that these websites have no connection to the department, which has reported the cases to the Police. The department said that people who have registered for the WSD's electronic services account and e-billing service must complete verification on the department website before they can view their e-bills and obtain the Faster Payment System QR code on the bill to make payments. People who have provided personal information to these or other suspicious websites should contact the Police. Call 2824 5000 for enquiries.
The General Assembly of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) has decided to establish its Asia-Pacific Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The office is expected to open in the second half of 2026, marking the first regional presence of UNIDROIT outside its seat in Rome in its 100-year history.Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said UNIDROIT or its members could have decided to set up the office in any of the member states as there are numerous choices, but ultimately it decided to set up the office in Hong Kong which is a very significant vote of confidence in the city. “The decision to set up the Asia-Pacific Liaison Office is a very important move to enhance the level of our co-operation, which is of critical importance in enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international legal service centre.”Hong Kong has already housed the Hague Conference on Private International Law Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific and the Department of Justice Project Office for Collaboration with United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. Also, the International Organization for Mediation has its headquarters in the city. Mr Lam believes that this will help solidify Hong Kong's position as an international legal hub. “If more and more international organisations are willing to do the same, by agreeing to have some sort of physical presence in Hong Kong, that would imply that more and more people are willing to cast their vote of confidence in Hong Kong. “Having regard to its status and function as an international legal service centre, that naturally will enhance Hong Kong's reputation in this respect, it will attract more people to come here to participate in different types of activities. “It is just sort of a snowball effect. Hopefully it can enhance Hong Kong's reputation. It can attract more people to come to Hong Kong to use our legal service. “I think in the long run, this is a very significant development and I am very confident that this would help to reinforce Hong Kong's position as a genuine international legal service and dispute resolution services centre.”
Police announced today that they have so far arrested 16 people on suspicion of manslaughter in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, including an external wall repair subcontractor’s male person-in-charge arrested yesterday, and 15 others from various construction companies who were arrested earlier. All arrestees have been released on bail. The possibility of further arrests has not been ruled out as Police gather evidence through various channels for a thorough and in-depth investigation. Regarding accommodation support for the affected residents in Tai Po, as of this morning, 489 residents are staying in hotel rooms through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, and 551 residents are staying in youth hostels/camps. Another 3,591 residents are living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau, the Housing Society or Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun.
In view of New Year’s Eve countdown events, the interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by the Chief Secretary, announced special boundary-crossing and corresponding public transport service arrangements during New Year’s Eve and the New Year holidays. Passenger clearance services at the Lo Wu Control Point will be extended to 2am on January 1. As such, the departure time of the last MTR East Rail Line train from Admiralty to Lo Wu will be 12.56am. Additionally, passenger and passenger vehicle clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay Port (SBP) will operate overnight on December 31. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) and the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port (LMC/HG Port) will maintain 24-hour operations as usual. The working group added that only cross-boundary private cars issued with Closed Road Permits for the LMC/HG Port are allowed to use the LMC/HG crossing. Cross-boundary private cars issued with permits for the SBP, LMC/HG, Heung Yuen Wai, Man Kam To Boundary Control Point (BCP) or Sha Tau Kok BCP can use the SBP during early-morning hours on New Year’s Day. For cross-boundary coaches, services using the SBP during early-morning hours on New Year’s Day, and services using the LMC/HG Port will be stepped up. To tie in with the special round-the-clock passenger clearance arrangements of the SBP on New Year’s Day, franchised bus operators will operate two special overnight bus routes, namely NB2 and NB3, to provide services to and from Yuen Long/Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun respectively. Furthermore, after the closure of the Lo Wu Control Point at 2am on January 1, travellers may take the specially arranged short-working bus service, route N73, from MTR Sheung Shui Station to Lok Ma Chau (San Tin) Public Transport Interchange, and transfer to the Yellow bus for their journey to Shenzhen. Members of the public may visit Easy Boundary to obtain useful information and plan their trips.
The Fire Services Department started a two-day citywide special fire safety inspection and enforcement operation yesterday on commercial buildings with a high fire risk to ensure public safety. In regulating the fire safety of licensed premises such as restaurants, the department specified relevant fire safety requirements to licence applicants and conducted inspections to ensure the premises complied with fire safety standards. Inadequate management of buildings and individual premises may give rise to potential fire hazards, such as smoke stop doors being wedged open, means of escape obstructed or locked, the depositing of combustible articles in the means of escape, or fire service installation or equipment (FSIs) not in efficient working order. Anticipating a significant increase in the number of people visiting commercial buildings with a higher number of licensed premises, the department targeted 132 such commercial buildings in its special fire safety inspection and enforcement operation. A total of 376 fire hazard abatement notices were issued for various fire hazards, and 53 prosecutions were initiated. Among the buildings, 57 were suspected of lacking annual inspections for FSIs which the department has followed up in a serious manner.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today expressed opposition to the unfounded comments by so-called “human rights experts” after the Hong Kong SAR court had convicted Lai Chee-ying, in strict accordance with the law and evidence, of offences of endangering national security. In a statement, the Government said these “human rights experts” had entirely no respect for the court’s independent judgment of the case, refused to acknowledge the evidence set out in the reasons for verdict, and refused to understand the court’s considerations and the reasons for verdict. Instead, they wantonly launched attacks, slandered and attacked the Hong Kong SAR Government, with despicable political manipulations to demand the immediate release of Lai Chee-ying, overriding the rule of law with politics and confounding right and wrong. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organisations should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special privilege to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law, the Government stressed. Moreover, it said the “experts” conflated the criminal acts in this case with freedom of speech and of the press, with the purpose of misleading the public and defaming Hong Kong, pointing out that the Lai Chee-ying case has nothing to do with freedom of speech and of the press at all, and remarked that the defendants, over the years, were using journalism as a guise to commit acts that brought harm to China and Hong Kong. The Government further noted that the public trial of the Lai Chee-ying case revealed his hands-on control of Apple Daily’s editorial direction. Lai Chee-ying had repeatedly and personally colluded with foreign forces, begging for sanctions and hostile actions against the central authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government. The court also clearly pointed out that Lai Chee-ying’s only intent, whether pre or post-Hong Kong National Security Law, was to seek the downfall of the Communist Party of China, even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people of the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong SAR. Anyone who vilifies the rule of law and human rights situation in Hong Kong using this case is fact-twisting and has no integrity at all, the Government stated. It urged the so-called “human rights experts” should understand the facts clearly and stop making any unfounded criticisms.