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2025
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.