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2026
The Home Affairs Department said the instant messaging application account of a sub-district care team in Kowloon City was suspected to have been hacked, possibly causing the leakage of 23 service users' personal data. The care team’s operating organisation has reported to Police, notified the Kowloon City District Office (KCDO) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, as well as informed the service users affected immediately to remind them to be vigilant. The operating organisation of the Sheung Lok Sub-district Care Team – Homantin Residents Association – reported the incident to the KCDO yesterday evening. The 23 service users’ personal data, including their names, telephone numbers and addresses, may have been exposed. It may also involve seven of the individuals' full or partial Hong Kong identity card numbers. If anyone suspects a person impersonating a member of the Sheung Lok Sub-district Care Team, they may contact the care team concerned, the KCDO or call 182 111 to verify the person's identity. In case of suspicious circumstances, call Police’s 24-hour Anti-Scam Helpline 18222. The KCDO apologises to those affected for any inconvenience caused. It has set up a hotline 2712 9182 for enquiries. Members of the public may visit the care teams' dedicated webpage to learn about the anti-fraud measures. The Home Affairs Department said care teams will never ask members of the public for bank account numbers. It added that members and volunteers of care teams will wear care team uniforms and display care team member or volunteer certificates of identity when providing services. The KCDO has issued a letter to the care team concerned, requesting it to heighten vigilance and strengthen security measures, as well as to continue to handle and keep personal data confidential strictly according to the guidelines. The Home Affairs Department has also reminded all care teams accordingly. The Sheung Lok Sub-district Care Team is reviewing and will further strengthen its security measures.
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport holders will be able to enjoy visa-free travel to Azerbaijan, the Immigration Department announced today. The arrangement will allow Hong Kong SAR passport holders to visit the country up to three times, for as long as 30 days each time, from February 2, 2026 to February 2, 2027. Highlighting that Azerbaijan is a member of the Belt & Road Initiative, the department said the arrangement will bring travel convenience, and strengthen tourism-related, cultural and economic ties between the two places. Including Azerbaijan, 175 countries and territories allow visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to Hong Kong SAR passport holders.
The Security Bureau today said Guangdong's Nuclear Emergency Committee Office notified it about an operational event at Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station. Yesterday, unit 3 of the station was undergoing a planned overhaul. Station staff carried out steam generator drainage operations while the protection signals had not yet been cancelled, triggering the automatic initiation signal for the auxiliary feed water pumps. At present, the auxiliary feed water pumps concerned have returned to normal operation and the overhaul work is continuing as planned. The deviation did not affect the unit’s safety, the workers’ health, the nearby public or the environment. The bureau noted that the event was classified as a Level 0 deviation in accordance with the International Nuclear & Radiological Event Scale and the relevant nuclear safety regulations.
(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.) Chief Executive John Lee said today the new seat belt mandate might cause inconvenience at first, but is essential to enhancing passenger safety. Starting from January 25, all seated passengers on public transport and in commercial vehicles must now wear seat belts. Outlining that the measure will require a change of behaviour, Mr Lee said that this small modification can potentially reduce serious injuries by 70%, and also reduce deaths. He remarked that, when enforcing the new laws, the Government will handle each case based on "law, reason and compassion". “The primary focus of the initial phase will be on public education, advice and changing habits," he said. “The law allows for a reasonable excuse, such as emergency or sudden special need, and those people will be exempted from liability.” Mr Lee added that the Transport & Logistics Bureau will require public transport operators to properly manage the cleanliness, functionality and regulatory compliance of seat belt installations.
The Correctional Services Department (CSD) today held the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong International Correctional Services Response Tactics Training Academy. With the motto of "Fusing East and West through tactics; Forging new heights through synergy", the academy aims to promote the sharing of emergency response tactics and experiences among law enforcement agencies from different jurisdictions, thereby further enhancing the CSD's collaboration with them and professional capabilities of each other. Located at the former Cape Collinson Correctional Institution, the academy offers a wide range of training facilities as well as an authentic correctional institution environment to provide members of law enforcement teams from the Mainland and overseas with professional correctional response tactics training. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung said that the academy stands as a bold testament to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's vision in correctional services - establishing a global hub where knowledge converges, skills are honed and professionalism is elevated. He added that the academy is poised to become a beacon of tactical mastery. It will provide meticulously crafted training courses for correctional and law enforcement professionals from around the world. It is also a dynamic platform for the exchange of cutting-edge tactics, where experience meets innovation, and where every lesson learned strengthens the fabric of correctional security. The academy offers tactics training courses that combine both theory and practice, including the Certificate in Safe & Effective Control Tactics, the Certificate in Close Quarter Defense & Control Technique, and other courses relating to correctional response forces' anti-riot tactics. It also plans to progressively introduce instructor courses, enabling graduates to provide relevant training for other personnel to elevate professional standards in their respective organisations. In addition, the academy will proactively reach out to correctional institutions worldwide to foster learning and exchanges among different jurisdictions. The first batch of 29 participants from the Mainland, Macau, Brunei, Fiji, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam arrived in Hong Kong yesterday for tactical exchanges with the CSD's response teams and the Certificate in Safe & Effective Control Tactics course.